Catching Faith

Chapter Five: Our New Normal

Jake sat on his couch, staring at the computer screen. It had been less than a week since everything had shut down and he felt as if he was in a daze. He had never been without baseball a day in his life and now he had to adjust to this new normal for god knows how long. He didn't know how he was even gonna begin to tackle it. But amidst it all, Nick and Jake both agreed that they had to keep a connection with the team. Because if that got lost...

They had a very real chance of not getting through this.

The way Nick proposed that they keep the faith going is to use Zoom, a tool that everyone was now cozying up to. If people couldn't see each other in person, through a computer screen was the next best thing for now. It was a great idea but Jake just was having trouble adjusting and believe it or not? Parker was too. Jake was glad that Parker had both his and Nick's numbers before all this happened. Just in case he ever needed to talk, they were there.

"Jake? You alright?"

Nick's voice shook Jake out of his daydream. As well as communicating with the team, Nick knew that he and Jake had to keep a connection with each other.

"Yeah. I'm alright."

"You know, it's okay if you're not. I know I'm not," Nick said, staring at his computer from his own couch.

Jake cocked his head at the screen. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's Mac. Her dad was just admitted to the hospital this morning."

"Oh jeez. Does he have COVID?"

"They don't know yet. I think they gave him a rapid test but it was inconclusive so they have to do it again, I guess."

"Well, I hope he's okay. How's Mac?" Jake asked.

Nick took a breath and shook his head. "She's alright. She's upstairs asleep right now."

"At... 12 in the afternoon?" Jake asked, concerned, as he checked his clock in the corner of his screen.

"I know. It's not like her. I'm gonna try to make her eat something soon cause she hasn't but yeah, that's the way things are going here. How are you?"

Nick purposefully was trying to steer the conversation back to Jake because even through a computer screen, he could tell something was bothering his best friend.

"I'm dealing, Nick. I'm alright."

"How's Riley?"

"She's good. I called her this morning. She drove back to Massachusetts to be with her parents. Her dad has a heart problem and she was worried about him. She said she would be back home soon."

Nick nodded as a wave of silence washed over the two friends.

"How's your sister?" Jake asked, breaching the topic he really didn't want to open but he knew he had to.

"She's fine, Jake," Nick said, coldly.

Jake sighed as he watched Nick through his computer screen. Sarah was always a topic Nick and Jake could never really talk about. Her problems became Nick's problems. And Nick's problems were always Jake's problems. That was how Nick and Jake got through life. Without each other, there was a chance they would both be closed off from humanity. Jake hated how much Sarah hurt him and he wished with all his heart he could take that pain away but he knew he couldn't. Not this kind of pain. This pain Nick needed to handle on his own.

Jake sometimes felt frustrated when Nick shied away from Sarah but still proclaimed that he wanted a relationship with her. Jake thought, more or less, that Nick was afraid. Afraid of letting her back into his life. Afraid of letting her hurt him again. But in Jake's mind, Nick didn't have anything to lose. Sarah was essentially estranged from Nick and Jake was fearful that she would lose Nick too. And if Sarah lost Nick, then Jake would probably lose Nick too.