Second Chances ~ l.h.

Chapter 11

The boys we’re able to stay longer when they visited and were able to stay for Gillian’s Birthday. Since she was turning 18 we had a small party just the eight of us because we invited Christine too. Michael and Ashton brought beer, even though we were all under the drinking age besides Ashton, but fuck it, you only live once- and yes I did just say that. But it’s defiantly a night we wouldn’t forget because of course Gill got so drunk she ended up getting arrested, I don’t even remember what for because we all got drunk but not as much as Gill and we had to bail her out and pay a fine since she was drinking under age, well more like Christine had to bail her out since she didn’t go near one can of beer all night cause she’s too sweet and innocent for that. Also cause the rest of us couldn’t go inside the police station without getting busted for drinking too.

After that, in November, Luke came out to my house for Thanksgiving and meet the rest of my family, they all loved him and thought he was a gentleman and very sweet. That December, over my winter break (which is their summer and it’s very confusing how our seasons are opposite)  my mom, dad and I flew to Australia and spent Christmas with Luke and his family, this way I could finally meet his family. They all thought I was the cutest thing and really liked me. For Christmas, Luke gave me a necklace that was a cut out of his name, this way he would “always be with me”, ask Luke said it. It was the cheesiest, yet sweetest thing I have ever gotten and I wear it all the time, when I’m not playing softball.

Then in March, my birthday came around and they guys came out to visit again and we did the same thing for my birthday as we did for Gill’s, but this time making sure Gill didn’t get arrested. It’s now May and within all this time since the radio interview, the fans have eased up on me more, but there’s still a lot of hate on me and I just ignore it because they don’t know me and I have other important things to be worrying about, like my future. Gill and Michael have made it public about their relationship back in January, they’ve been dating for 7 months now and I’m still waiting on the world to explode. Calum finally got the balls to ask Katey out, they’ve been dating for about two months now and I wouldn’t be surprised if they started planning out their wedding, they are that crazy about each other. It’s cute and disturbing at the same time.

The end of my final season of playing softball as a Mahwah Raven was coming to an end in a few weeks, meaning I only have a month and a half left of high school and graduate. I have multiple colleges watching me, some really want me to play softball, but I haven’t decided yet if I want to play in college, of course my dad and I have talked about it, but I’m still not 100% sold on the idea of playing. However, scouts still come to watch me and offer me all these opportunities that are at their school.

***

I stood in the batter’s box of my schools turf field. We we’re facing our longtime rivals, the Hawthorne Panthers. I could hear people cheering for me and the rest of my team, but I zoned them out becoming focused on the pitcher and the ball as the first pitch was thrown.

“Strike!” the umpire yelled. “0-1 on the batter.” I stepped out of the box and took a few swings watching my coach give me a sign for the next pitch, it usually was to swing away, and this time wasn’t any different. I continued repeating this cycle after every pitch, I worked the count to 3-2 (3 balls and 2 strikes) and kept fouling the balls, keeping me alive at bat.  

“Let’s go Katharine! Hit the ball!” I could hear my dad yelling from the sidelines with the other parents cheering me on. My dad has come to every single one of my softball games since I first started playing when I was 5 years old. He has spent so much time and money one me to play this sport that I could never thank him enough. We’ve always talked about softball, it’s an everyday conversation between us, even when it’s not the season, we talk about it every day, 365 days a year. He’s my biggest supporter, even when he really pisses me off with the stupidest things, but I still always love him and I’m thankful for what he has given up and done for me to be able to play this sport.