The Perfect Pitch

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Why did Aiden drive you home? I could've driven you home, Striker. I literally live right behind you."

Richie sighs and falls onto the chair in the corner of my room. He came over an hour after I got home with Chinese food for dinner because my Dad still isn't home. He probably went to get himself dinner or something, assuming my Mom would feed me. But of course, she isn't home from work yet either.

I roll my eyes at Richie's brotherly nature. That's what happens when you have been friends with a guy since you were little. He becomes an overprotective big brother and only that. 

"Trust me, if I had the option of you taking me home I'd choose you in a heartbeat. But as usual, my Dad was a no show and nobody was there except Aiden." I shrug, breaking my fortune cookie.

"Strike, Aiden is a good guy and all, I mean he is one of my best friends, but-"

My scoff interrupts him. "Yeah right, good guy my ass."

He gives me a disapproving look of my belief that Aiden is not a good person. Richie always bitches about how I don't even know Aiden and shouldn't make such big accusations about him.

"He's got a lot of shit going on, Striker. He isn't as bad as you think he is or as reckless, for that matter. Just because he likes to have some fun every now and then doesn't make him a bad guy."

I glare at Richie playfully and he laughs and shrugs. We both know what he means by Aiden's terms of "fun" and even Richie's terms. Their ideas of fun may be similar but the difference is that Richie knows when enough is enough while Aiden doesn't have a clue when to quit. Like this past summer, for instance. 

Aiden and Richie thought it would be a killer idea to take a bunch of girls and some of their other buddies to our local beach one night and go skinny dipping off the pier. It was late at night so they figured they wouldn't be seen. According to Richie, he was making out with one girl (and probably doing more but he spared me the gory details) when he saw Aiden lead one of the girls up a decent sized cliff that would lead into the water below. The girl was giggling and probably way drunk but Rich says he doesn't recall Aiden drinking enough to blame his reckless behavior on his lack of sobriety.

Rich tried to go and stop Aiden because not only was cliff diving not allowed but the drop to the water was a long one and one of them would end up hurt. Aiden was dead set on what he wanted to do though and he'd said he'd do it with or without the girl. Too drunk to decide for herself, Rich decided for her and called her back down from the cliff but Aiden wouldn't be so easily persuaded. He ended up jumping and shattering a few bones in his foot and ankle. He also earned himself a ban from the beach for the rest of the summer (which I'm sure he ignored).

Long story short, the kid likes trouble and in my opinion he is thoughtlessly reckless with no good motivation to behave the way he does.

"The local police department would beg to differ." I raise a challenging brow.

Richie sighs yet again, a bad habit we both have in common, but then chuckles and shakes his head at me.

"Do you choose to be so difficult or does it come naturally?"

I smile wide at him. 

"I get it from my Dad." 

"Oh I know." He responds, knowing full well how difficult my father could be having dealt with him first hand.

I crack my fortune cookie open and read my fortune as I bite into one half of the cookie. 

Your eyes will soon be opened to a world full of charm, love, and adventure.