Glass Castles

July 7th 2011

July 7th 2011

"They're waiting for you."

Troy jumped, startled, and spun towards the owner of the voice.

Ella Danton- at least he thought that was still her surname- was sitting on an orange sofa about twenty feet away, her legs tucked beneath her, and a book in her hands, watching him curiously.

He'd been so focused on the field that he hadn't noticed her. Or the horrible sofa she was seated on.

"I... umm okay." He looked back at the field and took a few steps back. Then the reality of what he was about to do hit him, and he couldn't seem to get enough air into his lungs. Spots danced in his vision and his breathing became more ragged.

"You okay there, Troy?" she asked, a hint of concern lacing her voice.

"I... I don't know", he replied feebly.

She sighed and patted the spot on the sofa, "Here, come sit"

Troy dragged his feet towards the hideous sofa and sat down a few feet away from her. She gave him an amused smile, "Nervous?"

"A little."

She chuckled, "Don't be. They're all looking forward to this."

"They're people I haven't seen in two years. Except for Harry. And we were never even friends, even in high school."

"Everyone's agreed to play nice." She sounded almost amused. He looked at her carefully then. She was wearing a white sundress that was just past her knees and the thin straps hung loosely over her dainty shoulders. Her hair was mostly the same, but the frizz had given way to the voluminous waves, and the sun seemed to be hitting her hair in all the right angles, bringing out the brown, auburn, gold and bronze in them. A myriad of emotions swam in her gentle sea-green orbs, but she was still smiling, and Troy couldn't help but think about how he was lucky to share a seat with the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Are you good to go now?" she asked, the concern giving way to the amusement.

"I... I should be"

"Its just baseball."

"I hope so."

"Can you walk?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Thanks for the pep talk"

She giggled, "I didn't do anything." She cocked her head in the direction of the field, "They're waiting. Joanna can be quite the devil if you're late for Saturday morning ball."

Two teams had already been formed and Harry's team seemed to be short of one player. Perfect.

"Are you sure you can go now? Or do you want me to come?"

Troy studied Ella's face closely, looking for any signs of sarcasm but she seemed to be genuinely posing a question. He shook his head and got up, "I should go."

And as he walked to the field, an image of her had been burned in the back of his mind. It was as if she were constantly in front of him, and smiling giddily the way she just had. The image blurred for a slight moment and Troy saw her with bloodshot eyes, but when he glanced back, she was still sitting on the sofa, wearing an encouraging smile.

"Have a good game, Montgomery!" she called after him and as he joined his team, all he could think of was the sweet lull of her concern-filled voice, ringing in his ear like a melody.