A Perfect Game. ➳

APG | 7.

August 14th, 2015-

"Bro, I'm serious. Why do we cook bacon but bake cookies? I don't get it." Travis unbuckled his seatbelt, opening the passenger car door and climbing out the vehicle.

"Yo, Trav, stop smoking in the bathroom during last period." Drew laughed at his best friend, as he picked up his bag from the backseat of his truck and started walking over to his front door.

"But, this is a serious question that I'm curious to find an answer too, man." Travis stroked the imaginary hairs on his chin, watching as Drew pushed by him to the front door and stuck the key in.

"You're something else." He shook his head, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Dropping his bag to the floor as he held it open for Travis to walk through behind him.

"Hey fellas." The sound of another voice made Drew stop dead in his tracks, as he looked up and took sight of his father on the other side of the room.

Whom was sitting cross legged in their recliner chair, with a newspaper on his lap and a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. He glanced up at his son with a shady smile, standing up and tossing the newspaper to the side as he extended his arms widely.

"Well, what are you just gonna stand there, boy? Come here and give me a hug, son." He gestured for Drew to come closer, but the young man just shook his head.

He eyed his father suspiciously, tucking his hands into the pocket of his joggers. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Chicago."

"I was but now we're back home to prepare for another home game," His dad finally sighed, placing his arms back at his sides. "Why do I get the feeling you're not happy to see me, son?"

"I'm feeling a lot of things right now but I can't really say happiness is one of them." Drew's words dripped with venom, as he finally walked past his father and went straight into the refrigerator for a drink.

There was an awkward silence in the room after that, the tension thick and heavy between Drew and his dad as Travis stood to the side, scratching the back of his neck.

"Uh, you know what, Drew... I'm gonna go. You and your dad probably wanna catch up or whatever." Travis finally spoke, turning towards the door, getting prepared to make an exit.

Greg looked over at the teenage boy, giving him a small head nod. "Thank you, Travis. I appreciate that."

"No problem, Mr. Montgomery-"

"Trav, you don't have to go anywhere. There's nothing for my dad and I to catch up on." Drew walked back into the living room, throwing a bag of cookies at Travis as he awkwardly caught it in his free hand.

"Son, I want to know what's going on with you. How is senior year going?" Greg stepped closer to the couch, resting his hands on the back as Drew cracked open the can of soda he had in his hand.

He tilted his head back, taking a long gulp of the Mountain Dew beverage before burping loudly and uttering a response. "You say you want to know but you don't. So let's not go through all that hassle."

"Now, how do you know that?" Greg's voice raised a bit, as he turned to his son with a blank face.

"Because if you really cared- you would have been here my first day of school or even on my 18th birthday two days before. You don't care, nor have you ever. I'll see you later." Drew turned to exit the threshold of the kitchen, before he heard his father's voice again.

"Drew..." His name came out in a strained type of way, but as he went to go look at his father, he didn't feel any sympathy for his behavior.

"Look dad, I know what you're going to say. I work hard so we can live. I get it. So on that note, I'll see you later." He actually left this time, opening the side door and making his way into the garage/studio.

Travis followed suit, awkwardly walking past Greg and following Drew in, watching as the young man took a seat in one of the the lawn chairs they had stored in there.

"Hey, you alright, man?" Travis asked his boy, awkwardly patting Drew on the back as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'll be good."

Travis accepted this answer, taking a seat in the chair beside Drew, and letting the air fulfill with their silence. For as long as he knew his best friend, he and his dad's relationship was always something that he never wanted to discuss. And even after his mother passed away two years ago, it was never something that ever really became fixed.

If anything, it had become worse. And with Greg taking on more responsibilities at work, Drew was left to raise himself. So it wasn't a shock to Travis that his best friend was upset.

He would be too. He looked around the studio, taking notice of all the paintings that was scattered across the wall, and ripped opened his bag of cookies.

"I've never been in here. Who's artwork is this?" Travis asked a question, stuffing a few cookies into his mouth at once.

Drew looked around, sipping his drink. "My mom's."

"I didn't know these were in here, they're really nice." Travis complimented, as Drew slightly smiled and took a deep breath.

"He doesn't either. And that's the way I intend to keep it," He picked up the painting that his mom never finished beside him. The one of him and her as he wiped the lone tear that was falling. "He'll just ruin it for me."