Play Ball

You Look Terrible

Welp, we had a good run. I made the baseball team, and I got to see five of my teammates wear dresses today. I can die happy now?

Or... I guess I could try one last thing. I'll probably get run over but between getting run over and smashing into a tree I don't know which one would be better. Probably not the being run over one, but I'm still gonna try that plan instead.

With only about 5 meters left of the road, I pull up on the parking break as high as I can, open my car door, and jump out.

I land very awkwardly, and the wind gets knocked out of me right away.

GET UP MADISON!

The truck pushes my car over the hill, and I watch as it goes down and smashes into a large tree. The airbags deploy and the front of my car is crushed.

The truck backs up so quickly that I barely have time to realize that they've started to drive quickly towards me. Okay... if I had any doubt about whether they want to kill me, that doubt has long left.

They just narrowly miss me as I jump over the edge of the hill. As I roll down, I hear the driver of the truck rev their engine and take off.

I dig my nails into the ground to try and stop before hitting the trees. It helps a little, but my left leg ends up smashing into a tree regardless.

I let out a squeal of pain as it feels like someone just stabbed me with ten knives that were dipped into lava. That's how bad it hurts. I can't even describe it as anything less.

I don't move. Can I? Yes? But I think I'm in shock. Then why can I feel so much pain in my leg? Aren't you not supposed to feel physical pain as much when you're in shock?

I slowly reach to grab my phone out of my pocket. I call 911 and they let me know that they'll be there soon.

What did I tell them on the phone? That my brakes have been failing recently and they just gave out. Why did I say that? Well because if I had told them the truth then they would tell my aunt and then she would try to pack us up and move us to another state. I can't do that again. I already had to leave my best friends once, and I'm not gonna do it again.

I'm done though. Trust me... the severity of what just happened is not passed me. I am FED UP. If these psychopaths think that they're gonna get away from literally trying to kill me then they have another thing coming.

Two can play at this game.

I'm obviously not gonna pull some shit like they just did. I'm not a killer. And the fact that me joining a baseball team was reason enough for these sickos to think that they need to KILL someone is absolutely insane. It's idiotic. What if they were to get caught? Are they literally going to spend the rest of their lives in jail because they felt the need to kill a girl who wanted to play baseball? Insane.

I need to show them that I am here to stay. They need to realize that I'm not going anywhere. But how do I do that? And should I tell any of my friends? I think I'll tell Alyssa because they don't want her on the team too.

Should I tell any of the boys? Probably not, because they would just go straight to the police. But what makes me think that Alyssa won't do the same thing? I don't know. Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't tell her either.

I shouldn't tell anyone.

It'll be harder that way, but I think involving anyone might actually hurt them. I don't want harm coming to anyone just because I want revenge. Just because I want to prove a lesson to these psychos.

The first part of my plan already gets made difficult when the police arrive on the scene and tell me that my aunt Allison is going to meet me at the hospital. I didn't think about the fact that I'm 17 so I'm technically underage which means that an adult has to sign off on the papers.

They bring me in an abulance to the hospital because it hurts to even walk. They give me x-rays and it luckily shows that my leg is not broken just very badly bruised. Even the bone is bruised. I also have bruised ribs from when I jumped out of the car.

My aunt Allison quickly hurries over next to the side of my bed once she arrives.

"Oh my god! You look terrible! And I just asked recently if we needed to get you new brakes and you said no!" she says, "But then here the police officer was telling me that you said that your brakes have been faulty recently. Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"I'm good yes, thanks," is all I respond, and then realize that Ryan isn't with her but school would have already ended for the day. "Where's Ryan?" I ask in a panic.

"He's at his friend Luke's house. His mom is gonna drop Ryan off at home at around 7. But hey - you're deflecting the question. Why didn't you tell me about the brakes?" she asks again.

Because my brakes were fine, and I completely lied about them not working.

"I don't know I thought that they weren't too bad, but obviously I was wrong."

"Yeah, no kidding kid," she responds.

"That's a lot of kids," I say, and she gives me an annoyed look.

"Well hey - what did the doctors say then? Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. They just said I'll have some bruises," I say, trying to downplay it all.

"Oh, great! Wait. Then what are we here for? We can just head out right?" she asks.

"I think so. You'll just have to sign some papers or something," I say.

We eventually end up heading home that night. What I didn't tell her was that the doctors told me I need to stay home and rest for the next couple of days. I'm only going to stay home tomorrow though. I need to get back to school so they aren't proud of themselves for hurting me. I would go back tomorrow but it honestly hurts so bad to walk and even breathe.

The next day

"Where are you??" Alyssa texts me the next morning around the time of our first class.

"I think I have food poisoning. Tummy ache. I'll be there tomorrow though," I respond.

"Oof, that's rough! I hope you feel better," she says.

I get a few more messages from Bene, Julien, and Luis like this and I say the same thing.

I told Allison that we had a late start for school today, and she has already left for work, so I don't have to worry about any more questions from her.

What I do need to do is start thinking about what my next steps are. What am I going to do to teach Jacob and Tim a lesson? I honestly have no idea.

I don't want to hurt them. Okay... maybe a few times I have wanted to punch them in the face. But that would be kind of hypocritical.

My ribs and leg start to hurt even more so I head downstairs to grab some packs of ice. I lay down on the couch and pull up my left pant leg. Holy shit.

I hadn't even looked at my leg since I hit the tree. It looks horribly bruised. It's completely black and blue in the large area where I hit the tree. I lift up the left side of my shirt and see that my ribs are all bruised on the left side of my body also.

I take the packs of ice and wince as I put the cold bags on my leg and ribs. I try to watch television for a little while and get comfortable, but it seems that in any position everything feels uncomfortable.

How am I gonna go back to school tomorrow like this? Do I skip another day? No, I can't. I need to show up.

We have practice tomorrow though. Oh crap. How on earth am I going to get through practice? There's no way! No, I can't miss it. Whatever happens, I can't give Jacob and Tim that satisfaction.