The Summer of a Lifetime

chapter 24

A few days after the wedding, I woke up and smiled, since tomorrow was the Fourth of July, one of my favorite holidays.

I was about to leave to go to the baseball field, when I saw Lucas.

"I'm going to play some baseball. Wanna come with?" I asked him, picking up my glove.

"Yeah," he muttered.

"I guess we have to invite Alexia too. Let's just hope she says no," I say, rolling my eyes at the thought of her.

"Look, I know she seems like a spoiled brat, but try to cut her some slack. She's not really like that. Or at least she didn't used to be. The real her is in there somewhere," he shrugged and then walked upstairs.

I sat downstairs waiting on the couch, and I wondered if maybe I'd judged Alexia too soon. After all, I'd no idea what was going on with her really, what she'd been through. Maybe there was a kind person underneath the bitchy demeanor, and I decided I was willing to give that idea a chance. She agreed to come and walked down the stairs with a confidence I'd never have, but I wondered if behind that she was as insecure as the rest of the world.

We all walked outside, and walked to the baseball diamond, going through the gate to get in.

We got to the dugout and my eyes automatically went to Andrew, who smiled at me.

Danny spoke up, his arm around Paige's shoulders.

"Hey guys," he said with a smile, "we were just talking about how we were gonna come here to watch the fireworks tomorrow night."

"Sounds cool," I shrugged, pulling a coke out of our cooler.

We all began playing, while Alexia sat in the dugout. After a little while of playing, I walked over to her while the guys continued the game.

"Hey," I muttered, sitting beside her.

"Um...hello," she said, clearly skeptical of me saying hi to her.

"Why don't you try playing?" I suggested.

"Um, no thanks," she mumbled, looking towards the ground and rolling her eyes.

"Why not?" I asked firmly.

"I...I can't," she muttered.

"I could teach you."

She eyed me suspiciously.

"Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me slightly.

"I don't know, I just think maybe you're a nice person who just does this stuff because of reputation," I shrugged, and suddenly, I saw an ounce of something in her eyes, but instantly she shook her head.

"No, I'm not, I'm a spoiled bitch, you know that as well as everyone else," she muttered.

"I think I misjudged you, Alexia. I think there's good in you, and I'm guessing that you act the way you do because you've been hurt by many in the past. I think that you believe the only way to keep from getting hurt is to act like you don't have feelings. But let me tell you, I think everyone here, including me, would love you if you'd just open up and show us who you really are."

Without warning, she burst into tears, looking at the ground. I reached out to hug her tightly and she sobbed into my shirt. It was strange seeing her like this, so vulnerable, so human. It caught me off guard.

Eventually, when she pulled away, I saw her glance at Andrew with glossy eyes.

"You like him a lot, huh?" She asked, gesturing towards him.

I looked over at the tan boy who was short, but still taller than me, wearing his backwards baseball cap, a smile on his face, and I didn't have to hesitate on my answer.

"Yeah, I guess I do," I muttered, smiling as I watched him.

"I'm sorry for everything," she muttered "I was terrible to you, and I know that, but I want to be the good person you see in me."

"You are that person," I smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand.

"You know, you're the only person who's ever really given me a chance. And Olivia?"

"Yes?"

"He definitely likes you, too," she smiled at me, then glanced over to Connor, standing on the field.

"You like him?" I asked with a smirk.

"A little, yeah," she admitted quietly, blushing.

"Tomorrow, wear some jean shorts and a t shirt with some sneakers or something comfortable like that, I'll teach you to play baseball with us," I said smiling at her.

"That'd be great!" She said genuinely, smiling widely at me.

We continued playing, and later we were done.

"Let's play some ball tomorrow, then we'll meet back here at 8:30 to watch the fireworks," Danny told us all as we sat in the dugout.

After we'd finished that day, we all walked home and I went to bed, anxiously awaiting tomorrow.