The Girl That Made Baseball

11

Jess simply made herself a sandwich, ate it in silence, and then trudged up to her room and grabbed a book.

She read until she felt her eyes grow heavy and fell asleep.

"Jessie, it's time for dinner" Reagan said softly

"I'm not eating" Jess turned her back to Reagan and opened her eyes, realizing she wouldn't be going back to sleep. She had to have been sleeping for a while.

"okay" Reagan said real quiet, Jess could barely hear.

Reagan and Jess weren't super close, Reagan never having any interest in the same things as Jess. Reagan knew just how hard Jess was taking what Paul had said to her. Jess really did want to make her father proud, as she never could her whole life, and for him to finally spit it out, hurt the whole family. Why was Jess not good enough in the eyes of Paul?

Reagan lightly closed the door and made her way down the stairs. Reagan and Alex both decided they weren't talking to Paul. Reagan, being 7, didn't know better when her sister was hurting, but Alex? That was whole new game. Alex had looked up to Paul since he was a toddler. For Alex to ignore Paul was how you really knew that something wasn't right with the family.

After Jess could hear everyone having clean up dinner, she knew it was time to move. She put on a sweatshirt and tied her hair into a ponytail.

Jess grabbed a blanket from her closet and stuffed it in her bed to look like her was sleeping in it. Then, she slipped on her hat, pulling her ponytail through the hole, and grabbed a short piece of wood she had in her room.

If she was going to do this, she needed to make sure to not get caught. She knew the drop from the roof outside her window was a tall one, but luckily she knew how to climb the gutter.

Jess slowly opened her window, grabbing the wood and propping it open just enough for her to be able to get back in.

Jess slowly made her way down the gutter, taking her sweet time. She looked around the empty street, there still being light in the sky, meaning the street lights weren't on yet.

Jess looked back at her house before walking down the street to Benny's house.

Jess thought about knocking on the door, then she figured his sisters and mother would be sleeping, maybe even Benny himself would be.

"Up the gutter it is" Jess sighed and whispered to herself

Jess took her time to quietly climb the window, making sure to not make a lot of ruskus. The sun had just gone down, and Jess knew her family would be asleep.

Jess made it to Benny's window and lightly tapped on it.

Benny appeared from his curtains, in a tank top and his underwear. This didn't faze Jess at all.

"Jess? What are you-" Benny started

"C'mon, lets take a walk" Jess whispered

"Okay, let me get dressed" Benny grabbed the girls arms and helped her inside his bedroom.

Jess safely and quietly made it into Benny's room, sitting on his window sill while he put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

"Where are we going?" Benny asked while he tied his shoes

"I don't know. But I want out. I can't stand that house" Jess shuttered

"Let's go" Benny grabbed the girls hand and led her out the window.

The street lights were on now, each one barely lit, so you could only see maybe a foot down from them. They were useless really.

Benny stopped and turned to look at Jess, his eyes lingering over her body.

"Just walk, Benny. I don't care where we go, just not here" Jess said

Benny nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Benny and Jess unknowingly walked to the sandlot. The two sat on the bench, just looking at the diamond in front of them.

"The past 7 years of my life have revolved around this place. I really always thought I'd play here until I'd go to college. I can't believe at the end of summer I just have to pack up and leave" Jess sighed

"But you'll be back next summer, right?" Benny asked

"Yeah. I think so. I haven't talked to my parents about it at all" Jess said

"Well, I'll tell you what, I'll try to call you sometime or something. Worst case scenario, I'll write you" Benny smiled at the girl

Jess smiled back at the boy and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you, Benny" Jess said

"Yeah, I guess I'll miss you too" Benny replied, chuckling

"You won't go and get another best friend, will you?" Jess laughed

"Nope. It'll always be you... Unless you go and get another best friend" Benny laughed

"That won't happen. I promise" Jess held out her elbow

Elbow promise was something Benny and Jess came up with when they were little kids. It meant that if they ever broke that promise, the other person had every right to cut the other off completely. It was just between Jess and Benny.

Benny lightly tapped his elbow against Jess' and looked back at the sandlot.

"We'll never be able to replace you, you know that right?" Benny said

"Yeah. I know." Jess said

The rest of the time was silent. They stayed well into midnight, looking at the stars.

"I think we better go home, Jessie" Benny said

"Okay" Jess lifted her head from Benny's shoulder and slowly stood up.

The two walked home silently.

"You know, if it hadn't been for you taking us to the sandlot, we probably still wouldn't be a team" Benny said

"Yeah? Why is that?" Jess asked

"Remember, everyone was sick of sneaking onto the school diamond. I bet every one of the guys would have quit if you didn't say something" Benny said

"Maybe" Jess whispered

Benny grabbed her the girls hand and held it the remainder of the walk.

Benny made sure Jess safely made it in her window before going back to his own house. He realized that one day, he'd be proud to say, that the summer he was 14, he snuck out and met the girl of his dreams, without getting caught, too.