I woke up late, at 3 pm. I was surprised Benny did not come and wake me up, then I looked at my phone.
9:00 AM- you comin to play baseball?
9:30 AM- Angel, you comin? Are you awake?
10:23- imma be a good person and let you sleep ;) see you tonight.
All from Benny.
I jumped out of bed and grabbed some clothes. I ran downstairs.
"About time," my mom said. "Thought you were dead."
"Sorry mom." I kissed her on the cheek, grabbing an apple.
"I'm going to the Sandlot. Where's Will?" She nodded.
"With his friends."
I nodded and walked to the sandlot. As I looked through my texts, I realized Benny wasn't the only one blowing me up.
Hey Angel.
You ready for tonight?
6pm, don't forget.
And remember, if you don't come, there will be consequences. Starting with pretty boy getting hurt.
All Phillips.
I decided to call him.
"Hey, Angel."
"Quit calling me that," I said. "And quit calling Benny 'pretty boy'."
He chuckled. "Never, baby." I rolled my eyes.
"What do you want, Phillips?" I realized I was tearing up.
"Don't cry, babe. I just wanted to see ya." I was at the Sandlot and realized I was screaming.
"Quit calling me that, Phillips! I don't even like you! Damn it, just leave me the fuck alone!"
I knew I was crying. I didn't really know why. I didn't want to go see Phillips, but I had no clue what might happen to Benny if I didn't.
Benny ran up to me. "Angel, what's wrong? Did you say Phillips?"
I lied, shaking my head. "It's uh, it's nothing. I just...miss home." He hugged me. I looked back at Ham and Squints, who could tell I was lying, they looked sad.
Benny looked me in the eyes. "I'm sorry. It's ok. You in the mood for baseball?" I shook my head.
"Maybe in ten minutes, I don't know. I need to clear my mind." He nodded in agreement.
As he ran back to the batters square and held the bat, pointing to me.
"Cheer for me, sweets!" He screamed, winking at me. I blushed.
I was happy again.
Until I got another text from Phillips.
"More than just Benny will get hurt. So will Johnny..."