The Guy Who Gave Up His Jersey (New Version)

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"Hey, I can't come to the phone right now but leave me a message and I'll call back as soon as I can" I sighed heavily. I tried calling Alejandro a few times and every calls was sent to voicemail. I should've taken the message as if he didn't want to speak to me either.

"Ale, where did you go? I'm worried about you. Call me back, please." I left a voicemail for him and ended the call. My night was ruined due to Alejandro's dad remarks and I left the dinner early. It's Thanksgiving meaning we needed to be together as a family, yet all we do is fight with each other.

How are we suppose to be in a stable environment when our parents are as dysfunctional as we are? I'd be lying if I haven't wished about being normal. Everyone has their own problems but the people around me seem to be going through the same rough patch as me. For a long time, I thought Alejandro was the only one in the group who had a normal upbringing. Now, I know he is a good hider. He rather bottle everything up rather than telling someone what is going on.

I guess that's why he picked me to open up too...could it be I made him feel safe?

Most of my night was spent me staring at my phone waiting for a text or a call from him. I had almost given up when soft tapping came from my balcony window. I could see the tall silhouette of a person instead of running out like a normal person would when seeing a stranger standing outside their window, I went to go open the door.

A part of me knew who was standing outside, it was too late for him to be coming through the front door. Although I'd prefer he'd call first to let me know he was on his way. Opening my balcony stood Alejandro in the chilly night with no jacket on. He gave me a sympathetic look and I let him in.

He sat on the edge of my bed while I went into my closet and grabbed a blanket for him. I placed the blanket around him and took a seat next to him, waiting for him to say something to me. I wasn't expecting him to full out tell me where he had been or what was going on. It seemed like all he wanted was to have me next to him. So I got myself comfortable on the bed and pulled him down towards my legs. He rested his head on my lap while I ran my fingers through his hair.

The sadness he was feeling radiated out of him and it began to tear me apart inside. This was a side of Alejandro I wasn't used to seeing and I felt hopeless. I had no clue on how to make him feel better and I wish I did know.

"Sorry for embarrassing you tonight." He finally spoke up.

"You didn't embarrass me," I assured him.

"I caused a scene and it was exactly what my dad was looking for. I can keep my composure most of the time but tonight everything flooded me at once. I...it became too much." He whispered.

"What's going on Alejandro?" I asked him. He needed to let me in so I could find a way to fix things. Or at least to try to understand why his dad said those things.

He sat up and turned to look at me. "When we returned back from Florida my dad had thrown all of my belongings out. He was furious I missed the baseball practice since the scouts were supposed to be there that weekend. I've pissed him off before and I thought he'd get over it in a few days but when I tried calling my calls wouldn't go through. I got disowned by my parents and I am living with Mindy." He turned to look down at his hands and began to fidget around with his thumbs.

"Now, I  understand when you said to me your dad hates you..." His voice trailed off. "My parents hate me, Jules." His lip quivered. "They hate me so much they disowned me like if I never meant anything to them and for the first time in my life I don't have the answers to fix my problems."

"Did I cause this?" I blurted out. Did his father blame me for ruining his chances of getting a scholarship for baseball? My intentions were never to sabotage his future, he doesn't deserve to be treated this way.

"What?" He snapped his head to the side. "Of course not!"

He was lying--his face said it all. He knew what he was loosing when he took me away from here, he gave up his chances of getting a scholarship for me. I wasn't special enough to cause him so much trouble. Alejandro should've told me what was happening, I would've tried to fix this.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid you'd think this was your fault and it's not. I've been having problems with my parents for months now. I've made bad decisions and these are the consequences. I never thought they'd disown me, but here we are." His eyes watered.

I reached out towards his face and caressed his cheek. "It's their loss cause you are a sweet, kind, and caring individual. They're going to miss out on their own son, but you have so much love around you, you don't need them."

"My heart's breaking because of them." His voice cracked and he began to cry. Without hesitation, I wrapped my around him and began to comfort him. No words would be comforting enough to ease his pain.

The night of my party I was torn apart believing my dad didn't love me, but he does. I believe my parents aren't capable of disowning me and kicking me out. Regardless of how dysfunctional we may be, we love each other. I never imagined Alejandro's parents being capable of doing something like this.

"It's okay." I cooed him. "I promise everything will get better, love."

I grabbed onto his face and pressed my lips on his, giving him several pecks. I know I wasn't enough to ease his pain, yet I couldn't help but to try. Alejandro responded to my kisses before deepening it. He got on top of me and things quickly escalated. I thought something was going to happen between us. I wanted something to happen.

The same way he escalated to making out, he seized. He departed his lips from mine and looked straight into my eyes.

"I...you're amazing." He smiled. "I got lucky."

I touched his cheek, smiling with him. "Are you going to be okay?"he nodded.

"As long as I have you, I'll be fine."