you belong with me | c.w. ✓

fourteen [the hardest part]

____________________

f o u r t e e n

the hardest part

____________________

I smiled as my phone dinged, signaling an incoming text. I unlocked my phone and started to respond when I heard someone groan beside me.

"Are you seriously still texting that guy?" Raegan whispered as she sat halfway up in bed before letting out a yawn.

I rolled my eyes. "He has a name, you know."

"Fine. Are you still texting Mason?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He's actually a pretty great guy. I just don't think it's gonna go anywhere."

"Well, you know I'd love to talk about it - but not at one in the morning."

I laughed softly and laid back down. "Yeah, sorry." I turned on my phone and sent a quick goodnight text to Mason before turning over in my bed. "Night, Raegan."

"Goodnight."

--------------------------------------

The crowd held its breath as the next batter stepped up to the plate. It was the last inning of the Mid-Atlantic regional, and Red Land was up by two - but the bases were loaded, and Mason was at bat, one of their best hitters.

I looked nervously towards the mound, where Cole was standing. I had total faith in him and his pitching ability, but I couldn't keep my heart from pounding in my chest. What happened next could change their lives forever.

He drew his arm back, took a deep breath, and let it fly.

Strike.

Immediately, all the Red Land fans jumped up and start screaming and cheering and hugging each other. Meanwhile, Cole's teammates ran over to him and tackled him, laughing and smiling bigger than I'd ever seen before.

Beside me, my parents were hugging each other, and I could already see the tears forming in my mom's eyes. I laughed and turned to hug Raegan, who was sitting to my right.

"I can't believe it!" she yelled over the cheers of the crowd.

"Me neither," I agreed. I looked out onto the field where the boys were still celebrating, and my eyes locked on Jaden. I had never seen him this happy - ever. I felt my heart swell with pride as I watched him. Sure, we didn't always get along, and ninety percent of the time I felt like punching him, but at the end of the day, he was still my brother. And I'd always be proud of him.

----------------------------------------

Several minutes later, Raegan and I went down to congratulate the guys. My parents had already talked to Jaden, so they stepped aside to let us have our moment.

As soon as I saw Jaden, I started to head towards him, but Raegan beat me to it. She ran up to him and hugged him, and he picked her up off the ground, spinning her around before setting her back down on the ground - and kissing her.

My mouth dropped open in shock, and all the guys started whistling and "oohing." Jaden pulled away after a second, his face quickly turning bright red when he realized what he'd done.

"I, uh...s-sorry, I-" he started to apologize, but Raegan cut him off with another kiss.

The whistling grew even louder and my jaw dropped even lower.

I couldn't help grinning, though - I had secretly shipped them all along. I mean, who wouldn't? It was so obvious they liked each other, and they were so cute together.

Finally, they pulled away, and immediately they both started blushing. Jaden stared at her for a second, a small smile on his face. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Um, Raegan, can I ask you something?"

She nodded, biting her lip to keep from grinning.

He hesitated, and the silence was excruciating - though I could only imagine how it must have felt for Raegan. Finally, he spoke.

"Can I borrow ten bucks? There's this really cute girl I want to take out for ice cream."

Her mouth dropped open, and she smacked him on the shoulder before bursting into laughter. "Oh my god, I hate you!"

He laughed. "Okay, I deserved that." Then he took another deep breath and smiled at her. "So, on the off chance that this girl rejects me...would you maybe want to take her place?"

She chuckled softly. "That depends. Is this a date?"

"Well, remember, this is purely hypothetical. But...I guess I wouldn't mind going on a date with you."

She rolled her eyes, but still grinned. "You're such a loser."

"But in the best possible way."

Raegan shook her head before leaning in for another kiss. I smiled before turning and walking away. I'd congratulate Jaden later - he seemed pretty busy right then.

As I was walking back towards the dorms, I saw Cole out of the corner of my eye. He was surrounded by his teammates, and had the biggest grin on his face. I felt myself smiling subconsciously. Despite all we'd gone through, there was nothing I wanted more than for him to be happy.

----------------------------------------

"Pack your bags everyone, we're going to Williamsport!" Coach Wagner yelled when we got back to the dorms later that night.

We all cheered, exchanging high-fives with one another.

"Seriously though, we're leaving in the morning, so get moving. I wanna see you all ready to go at eight a.m. sharp," he said before leaving the room.

We nodded and got to work, packing up all our things (except for what we'd need for that night and the next morning). It didn't take too long, since we'd only been in Bristol for barely two weeks. Jaden, however, took the longest - apparently it takes a while to pack up all his hair products.

Twenty minutes later, I went into one of the changing stalls in the bathroom to get ready. Right after I closed the stall door, I heard the door to the bathroom open, and several guys came in.

"How've you been? After everything with Riley, I mean," one of them said, and I recognized his voice as Kaden.

My eyes widened when I heard my name, and my heart started pounding when I realized who the other guy was.

"I wish I could say I was fine. But honestly, I'm not," Cole said. "I just don't know why she's doing this. That's the hardest part about this. She won't even tell me why she's acting this way, why we can't-"

He stopped mid-sentence, drawing in a shaky breath. "Sorry, I-" he stopped again. "Look, can we just not talk about it?"

"Yeah, sure. Sorry," Kaden said.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, as a wave of guilt washed over me. I hated what I was doing to him. I hated that I was hurting him so much. But I didn't have a choice. Yes, I loved Cole - but Jaden was my brother. I couldn't take any chances.

I'd already hurt him enough.

------------end of chapter------------

i'm so so so sorry for not updating in so long, i've honestly just been so swamped with schoolwork, not to mention dance...and the NBA playoffs tbh.

i know this isn't the best chapter (or the longest), but it's the best i can come up with right now, and i hope it's decent enough.

i love you guys, and i'm so grateful for everyone who continues to stick with me and my stories even when it takes me way too long to update.

~lindsay