I made it, Ma

xii

Counsell started to find himself looking for pitchers, trying to find someone to fill in for the girl while she mourned. He needed pitchers, and so he struggled to find pitchers. Man after man was brought to Milwaukee, but again and again he found himself struggling.

He needed to end this. He needed his girl, and he needed her now.

Skayler had put enough trust in him to give him her address, telling him that if anything was needed (with himself or some of the team), he could come over. He'd ended up asking James where she kept a spare key, if she had one, and he begrudgingly told him.

She didn't answer the door, so he now found himself standing in the living room of the apartment that Skayler lived in. The couch was black, a comfortably sized television sat in front of it, on top of a bookshelf. There were a few books and small objects organized around it.

Turning to his left, he saw a counter that opened into the kitchen. Straight ahead he saw two doors, a fair distance apart. One was closed while the other, the right-most one, was open. Another door was open and light poured into the darkened room. He saw a silhouette, just of the bottom half of their body.

He sidled inside the room, peaking around the door-frame to look inside what he recognized as a bathroom. His eyes flashed to the woman who was leaning over the sink. Skaylers head snapped up, face pale and eyes wide, as she dropped something in the sink and stumbled backwards. 

Her eyes were puffy and red, while her cheeks were no better looking. Tear tracks looked to have burned themselves down her face.

Craigs eyes flashed down to her hands, where her right hand was gripping her left arm just below the elbow. His eyes flickered quickly up and back down, to her eyes then to her arms. She shifted slightly.

"Uhm, I didn't know you were coming," she whispered, turning her head to the left. 

His eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, I just wanted to come and talk to you about something," he murmured back. Nodding quickly, Skayler gave a half-assed smile.

"Yeah, sure, of course. Um, could you go in the living room? I should probably make myself look not so," she gestured up with her left hand. He nodded, sliding back a bit before turning and walking out. He listened to the shuffling in the bathroom as he stood on the threshold of her bedroom door.

He listened to her sigh heavily, muttering a few things that he couldn't hear before the sound of ripping echoed out from it. He hustled quickly out of her bedroom and onto her couch.

Just moments after, she came in moving slowly and carefully. He saw a bandaid slapped over the spot that she'd hidden on her left arm. She sat down slowly just a small way away from him.

"Skayler, you wouldn't mind if you let me see what you did?" He asked, reaching forward. Her eyes widened just a fraction, as she maneuvered her arm just that much more into her body. "Please?" She looked at him, her eyes glittering with tears. 

"'m sorry," she muttered, her head dropping down, her chin touching her chest. He tugged her left arm, which was noodle-like, no life in it. He tugged the bandaid off, seeing a small and thin line of clotted blood where a very obvious cut was stroked on. It seemed to be marked over a scar, which seemed to have been cut into previous times.

"Skayler," he spoke, barely audible. "I don't have any right to ask you why, and I don't want you to do something you don't want to, but know that I will be here. I don't want to see you go down this path. No one does," he added.

She nodded. "I know, I thought that it was something that, I don't know, might not happen anymore," she gave a soft smile.

He nodded. "I just wanted to come and ask if you'd come and join the season. I, we, need you. Come help?" She nodded her smile looking more relaxed, more real. 

"Yeah," she huffed softly. "I'd love to be able to live up to the contract, help all of you out," her body heaved with her sigh. He smiled back to her and tapped her upper arm. 

Standing up, he stretched. "I will be going to find out what the contract says and if its still, I don't have any clue. Good, I guess?" They both laughed. "I'll let you know what happens,"

Skayler nodded, leaning her body back into her couch before he closed the door, replacing the key back in its spot, and heading down the stairs.

He had his pitcher back, now he just needs to make sure that everything else was good.