Love Prevails (Kris Bryant)

4| Gone

McKayla

"Hello" I call out as I got home from school. The semester is halfway over and midterms were about to come up, that means time to crack down and push harder. With everything going on it's becoming harder and harder to stayed focused but it's possible. That was enough for me to keep going. I set my stuff down and go in search for food before I hear my parents fighting in the kitchen then decide I wasn't that hungry after all.

"Kayla wait, come here" my dad commands and I do as I'm told. He reeks of alcohol and it was only 3 in the afternoon.

"Yes father" I say carefully.

"Why is your mother always such a jealous bitch" he asks and I cringe under his shadow. I hated when he talked about her like that. She might not be my biggest fan but she was still my mother.

"I'm not a jealous bitch. I'm just tired of you thinking it's okay to hook up with anything that has boobs" she yells back. I watch as they argue back and fourth before slipping out and grabbing my stuff. I walk right back out the door and go in search of peace and quiet. Eventually I find myself knocking on Kris' door.

"Hey Kayla, what's up" he asks opening the door.

"Hey. I was wondering if I could study here for a little" I whisper. I hated intruding on his family but he was the only one I could trust with these type of things.

"Of course. But why didn't you go to Kyles" he asks. Kyle might be my boyfriend but he doesn't exactly know of my family situation. At least not the whole thing.

"He's at football practice" I say quickly. That wasn't a lie, he really was. But if I told him I needed him he would leave in a heartbeat, but I just couldn't do that to him. We head up to Kris' room to study and quiz each other for tests. I loved his room, it was filled with medals and trophies and jerseys of the baseball kind. He was going places and I was proud to say my best friend was going to be one of the greats one day. Maybe even the greatest. After studying for a few hours I close my book and decide to call it a day.

"Want to go train" he asks and I smile.

"You know it" I laugh and he pulls me off the bed. We head out to his backyard in the warm Las Vegas air to take up some batting practice. Mike built batting cages in his backyard and it was a great stress reliever. I pick up my bat I and start taking hacks off the tee.

"I'm sorry about your parents" he says after unloading on a ball. I actually felt sorry for it.

"Don't be, it's not your fault. They just can't seem to see eye to eye. They have all this money but can't seem to buy kindness or compassion of any sort. I live in a nice ass house that I can't call home" I sigh. I don't open up a lot, especially about my parents, but Kris is my go to in any situation.

"Still, you shouldn't have to avoid being home or believe that this is okay. You deserve better" he claims.

"Life isn't about what is given to you, it's about what you do with what is given to you. Not my broken home or bad upbringing will stop me from being the best I can possibly be" I comment before crushing a ball.

"Why does it sound so simple when you say it" he asks.

"You tell yourself something enough times then eventually it comes true. Like how my batting average will crush yours this season" I challenge.

"That's not even fair, you only pitch every three games" he pouts.

"Not true. When Michael is being a wimp I play center field" I remind him.

"Fine. If your batting average is better than mine at the end of the season you can come on vacation with us" Kris says.

"Fine. And if I win then you have to join drama club for one play" I smirk before grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Wait" he yells chasing after me.

"Nope, you already shook on it. A deal is a deal" I tease and he shakes his head. We return back to batting until it gets dark and I knew I had to go home.

"You can stay for dinner. We love having you over" Kris' mom claims.

"I'll be fine, I promise" I insist with a weak smile. I slowly make my way to my house to see it nearly destroyed. There was shit all over the place, the couch was turned on its side and there was glass on the floor by the kitchen. My mom sat at the island just sobbing into her hands. There were a bunch of bags by the door and I had this bad feeling. She looks up at me and wipes her tears away.

"Mom what's going on" I ask setting my stuff down. She comes over to hug me then places a kiss on my head.

"I love you sweetie. Somehow, through all this mess, you kept it together but I'm not that strong. So I'm leaving" she informs me.

"Okay" is all I say. It was hard to feel sympathy when she isn't willing to make things better. I only turned out like this because I put my all in making sure I'll be okay. But she won't fight so she decides she has to leave. Just like that she grabs her things then drives away. To where? I'm not sure, but all I know is that she gave up on me and that hurts. I go to the roof like I do most nights, but tonight I just stare at the stars, they were beautiful out here. I feel the tears fall and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I hear the fence rattle then someone sit next to me.

"You need a friend" they ask. I sit up and see Kris there in black nike shorts and a shirt from school. He looked like he had just gotten out the shower. I can tell he felt bad and I usually hate when he babies me but I didn't care anymore, I just lost the only woman I could ever call mother and I don't know if I'll ever see her again. Without a word he pulls me into his chest and I let out all the sobs I was holding in. I hated that it got this bad and I hated even worse that I had more to hide now.

"Why did she leave me" I sniffle.

"She sees how well you're doing and wants that. But she isn't like you because for some reason, in all this mess, you were able to create this impossible reality where you come out on top. She wasn't happy here and thought that if she left her problems will stay here" he says.

"I hope she finds something makes her happy" I admit. He pulls away to look at me as I dry my tears. I can't hate her, she was my mom and through all the shit I knew she will be there if I ever really needed her to be, but not anymore.

"My dad makes her miserable. I wasn't supposed to happen but she thought having me would make things better, I just made it worse. She's unhappy. She shouldn't have to live like this, you know" I reiterate.

"And neither should you. Even though you're doing great you shouldn't have to come home to this" he claims.

"But that's just the way it is Kris. Nothing you nor I can do about that" I say.

"I know. I just... hate seeing you like this" he sighs.

"Then lets look at the stars" I suggest. We lay down and look up at the sky. The stars were so breathtaking, I loved the night sky. Eventually Kris has to go home and I do too. I walk down the hall and pass my parents room. All my moms stuff was gone and my dad was passed out on the bed. This was my life now, it's still sucks but now I'm even more alone than before.