Stealing Home

Chapter Two

PAXTON

"Good game, bud!" One of my teammates says to me while he slaps me on the back. "That arm of yours is insane."

I laughed holding the ice on my shoulder to keep it from falling. It was a great game and I was proud as fuck. My first opening day and I didn't screw anything up. I got a standing ovation when coach took me off the mound to go rest and I knew my mom was up in the executive box screaming her head off for me. It was a great feeling, knowing that you were someone that people depended on. Even if it was just a sport. I was treated like royalty. It was only on my second year but the fans made it feel like I invented the sport. It was surreal.

I went to sit on the bench in front of my locker and take my jersey off to get ready to shower and head home when suddenly I was bombarded by reporters.

"Paxton! How does it feel to be the most loved pitcher in the MLB right now?" She asks me under thick lashes.

I laughed. "I don't think I'm the most loved pitcher, but I love and adore all my fans. They keep me going."

"How do you feel playing for the San Francisco Bears?"

"I love it. I grew up around here and I always dreamed of playing on this team. We have a great group of guys and I know we're going to the World Series in October."

The reporter giggled at me and then asked me a bunch of questions about how I was feeling and how my arm was. It was nice to be the center of attention from reporters, but funny enough I was an introvert. I didn't like the one-on-one attention. I constantly thought that I would screw up and sound like an idiot.

"We heard about Maddie. I'm so sorry... Was she at the game tonight?"

Even though I knew I had to face this, the question still caught me off guard.

"She uh... she's..."

"Hey! I need to grab Pax here for some paperwork, thanks for all the questions!" Coach says as he grabs me away from the reporter.

We walked, no jogged, into the back room where the guys got worked on by the physical therapists after the game and Coach Max roughly shut the door scaring everyone inside.

"You okay kid?" His eyes were glued to mine.

I took a deep breath. Then exhaled.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay."

Max gave me a nod and then left.

I looked around me at the other people in the room and I was met with a beautiful set of emerald green eyes. The woman was wearing a tank top that accentuated her beautiful curves. Her tan skin looked like honey against her dark brown curls that fell down her back. How did I not know that we had a female physical therapist?

As quickly as she looked at me she turned away to focus on Jonathan. He was a great outfielder, but he was a jerk the rest of the time. He had been drafted right after college and had been playing for the last four years in the majors.

"Hey there golden boy. Get a good look at her? She's busy and you're distracting her." I hear Jonathan say while shooting me darts from his eyes.

"She seems to be doing a great job on a guy who isn't at all injured and just needs an excuse to have a woman touch him" I turn around and wink at the woman stretching him out. "I'm heading to the showers, see ya."

I walk back to the door and I hear the woman giggle under her breath. I smiled to myself and walked as fast as I could to the showers so I could head home without being badgered again.

***

I park my motorcycle in my reserved parking space under my apartment building and take another deep breath. This place felt so empty I didn't even want to go home but since it was past midnight I figured nothing else would be interesting enough to waste time on so instead I decided to watch netflix and passout with my ice pack on.

I walk into the living room and throw my keys on the island in the kitchen. It's a big space with floor to ceiling windows that show the Bay Bridge all lit up. I loved it here. This city was where my dreams were coming true and I will always be thankful to San Francisco for giving me a chance to showcase my skills.

I kick off my shoes and sink into my couch as I turn on ESPN. They're talking about baseball as a whole and I don't pay much attention until I hear my name. I focus on the anchormen talk about the game and how we won today. No major news, which is good. Then I hear them say her name.

"Paxton Thompson played extremely well for his first opening day debut, but do you think he will be able to withstand the pressure without Maddie by his side? How will he be able to cope without the love of his life cheering him on."

How did they know she wasn't there?

"I heard from a reporter who was in the locker room that as soon as her name was brought up that he froze and ran away. Such a sad story."

Ran away? I don't run away from my problems. I just...have coach run away while pushing me in front of him.

Fuck. They made me sound like a little bitch.

I can't stand people talking about her. Maddie was my weakness. She was my whole world until she decided I wasn't good enough anymore. When I thought of her I tried not to let the anger inside of me consume my every thought, but it was hard not to when your heart gets ripped into a million pieces a week before the season officially started.

Back when we were in Arizona for Spring Training I brought Maddie with me so we wouldn't be away from each other. Most wives and girlfriends end up staying home, but we felt like this was the best idea for us so she packed up her bag and met us down there. Everything seemed great, she was at each game, hung out with me and the team afterwards and we had great sex every night. At least as good as it could be with her being 5 months pregnant.

I was overjoyed to be a father. I always wanted to be a pitcher and have a huge family and when Maddie told me she was pregnant I was elated. I bought every baby book I could find at the store and did everything in my power to make sure she was as comfortable as she could be.

Then one night I got back from a game early and headed to our hotel room where I heard her on the phone.

"I know, I'm going to. I promise. I want to be with you too it's just... it's not the right timing..."

I pressed my ear against the door as hard as I could and continued to listen to her.

"He thinks the baby is his and I don't want to crush him. He's been so good to me and this would kill him. Yeah, I love you too."

I opened the door and stared at her as she hung up the phone and acted nonchalant.

"Oh hey love! How was the game? We missed seeing you but I was exhausted and the heat was unbearable!" She beamed at me while rubbing her belly.

I couldn't make out coherent words...I just looked at her and felt my whole world fall apart.