Can anyone hear us?

2

"Hold out your hand." The doctor said. He examined it, touching in various spots. Luckily, nothing had hurt.

"No pain." I responded.

It had been a month since I was hit. I had 3 surgeries on it and the doctor said that it is healed. However, that was the good news. The baseball had hit a metacarpal and caused some nerve damage. In the end, I am not able to move two of my fingers.

"You are not needed for another check up." He said.

"Thank you." I grabbed my stuff, which included a few clothes and baseball 'stuff' in a duffel, and left the office. Now I had to go to my coach hoping he will let me play. The doctor had said that through practice, I would. But I doubt I would ever be as good as I was.

I crossed the street to the baseball field.

"Coach," I began. The coach turned around while the rest of the team practiced on the field. "I can come back to play."

"Prove it." He replied harshly. I set down my duffel and picked up my bat.

"Not batting, pitching. If you play again for me, you're pitching. I got a new player out there. We don't need another batter."

"Fine." I muttered. The coach tossed me a ball. I entered the bullpen.

I lifted my left leg and threw the ball as hard as I could, but couldn't get a grip on it and it fumbled to the floor. I picked up the ball and tried again, but couldn't wrap my fingers around it. The same result happened.

The coach chuckled. "I knew you couldn't-" I cut him off.

"No, stop. A coach is supposed to look after their players and not be a jerk like you to them. I'd play for any other team than this one." I spat.

The coach looked shocked and offended. Not surprising.

"Have your uniform." I threw my outfit and hat at his feet and walked out of the field. I had kept my bat, tho.

This whole month I was either in a hospital bed or out on the streets. My house would just be as bad as the coach. I managed to get a small job at a local restaurant but quit a few days ago because I didn't have time for it. I had a total of $137 in my pocket.

I walked to the nearest bus stop and sat on the bench, waiting for a half hour when the bus finally came. I walked on the bus and few people were on it. Handing the driver a dollar, I took my seat in the back.

"Where ya goin'?" The driver asked me.

"The closest ballpark out of this town." I replied.

The ride was taking forever, at least two hours had passed. Watching the sun go down out the window, I finally fell asleep in the rocky bus.

-----------------------------

"Wake up."

I awoke to hearing those words. Disoriented at first, I took in my surroundings. Now I remember, I was going to a different ball park.

"This is your stop." The bus driver said to me. I grabbed my duffel and walked out the front of the bus. I was now the only one on board.

"Thank you. Do you know what time it is?" I asked him.

"11:30 pm." He replied.

I nodded my head and walked off the bus. Watching it ride away, I crossed the street to what looked like a ball field.

It was small and only had one set of bleachers. The grass was spotty and there was old wooden dugouts.

I walked up to the 'entrance' and entered the park. There was a small light in one of the dugouts. I approached it, hoping a coach was inside.

Knocking on the wood, a man turned around startled.

"Hi, sorry to scare you." I began as I stepped inside.

"Nah, it's fine." He replied, wondering why I was there.

"I'm Aron and I came here hoping to play for a baseball team. Are you the coach?"

"Yes, I am. I was just up late working. So, you wanna play. Why now?" He asked.

"I came from a very rich ballpark. A month ago I was hit in my hand with a baseball and had to have multiple surgeries. I had left my team today, actually, because of how they treated me."

"Okay, and how do I know you are good enough to play for me?" The coach asked.

"I can prove it." I replied, hoping he would give me a chance.

"Tell you what, come here to practice tomorrow with the team. I'll decide then if you make it." He replied.

"Thank you, sir." I said as a smile spread across my face. I decided not to ask anymore questions and left the old baseball field.

Walking on the sidewalk with my duffel in hand, I was too excited and happy to see a police car park behind me.

"Sir, may I have a word?" The officer asked behind me. I turned to face him.

"Sure. What is it, officer?" I asked politely.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Aron LaBeck."

"We have a report of a missing young adult, probably in his early twenties. I'm glad we found you when we did. They were about to give up!" The officer continued. "The description matched you perfectly and you have the same name."

"Okay." Was all I could say. I knew he wanted me to get in the car.

The police officer opened the car door and motioned for me to get inside. I knew I couldn't do anything to resist. I climbed in the back.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he began driving.

"Yes, I'm fine." The words came out small.

In a short time, we reached the old looking house my parents were in. The officer got out and was about to open the car door for me, but I let myself out.

"Have a nice night." The officer said and got into the car, watching to making sure I got inside the house.

I knocked on the door gently. It swung open almost instantly. My dad had answered, probably because mom was at a bar or something.

"Your back! Get inside." He tried to say nicely, knowing the officer was still watching. As soon as my dad closed the door behind me, I heard the engine roar to life as the police car drive away.

My dads face turned from a smile to pure anger. He tightly grabbed my arm without the duffel and practically dragged me up the stairs.

He pushed me into my room, causing me to drop my duffel so I could steady myself.

"You are not going to leave or eat until tomorrow night!" He screamed angrily. He shut the door. I heard clicks behind it and walked over to the white door. I tried opening the knob but it wouldn't even turn. The lock on it wasn't there before...

I walked over to my window and that too was locked from the outside.

I searched my duffel and pulled out something wrapped in thin paper. I unwrapped it and revealed a small sub.

"At least I had money to buy this." I said and chewed it gracefully.