FWB Friends With Baseball

Catch 22.

Tyler~

"Christian: Hey, how's she doing?" Sighing, I run my hand through my hair as I look at the message. This isn't exactly a fun or easy position for me to be in. Jai needs time to process everything, and I would never fault her for that, I just hate that Christian is being left in the dark about everything. As much as I would like to give him an explanation, I know it's not my place. 

"She's okay. I haven't been able to get her to eat much, but she's talking more. That's something, I guess." Hitting send, I look up as Dylan comes back into the living room before joining me on the couch. As soon as Dylan sits next to me, my phone buzzes again. 

"Christian: Try Burger King chicken nuggets. That's the only thing she wanted when she got strep a while back."

Chuckling, I can't help but shake my head surprised I didn't think of that. She's always had those as a go-to for some reason, and the fact he remembers that says a lot. "I'll give that a try. She's taking a nap right now but when she's up I'll have Dylan grab those." 

"Christian: Sounds good. Any other updates?"

God, this fucking sucks. I hate that he doesn't know, but it's just not my place. Hell, even if I thought it was, I don't know that I even know the extent of where her head is at to give him a good explanation. It's been four days since, and Jai hasn't said more than ten words in that time. Taking a breath I try to figure out a reply. "That Christian again?" 

"Yeah," I reply, looking at my boyfriend. "I'm stuck on how shitty this position is. I know he should know what's going on, but on the other side, she's the one who needs to tell him when she's ready. I also have to respect what she wants right now, and it doesn't seem like she'd want me saying anything." 

"I get it," Dylan replies, giving me a small sympathetic smile, "You're caught in a Catch-22, and it sucks, but I do admire how good of a friend you are. I'm sure she'll tell him when she's ready, I can't even blame her for needing time. It's heavy shit. It just sucks that Christian is out of the loop."

"Yeah," I reply as I let out a breath, "Thank you for everything, and for being here. You don't have to be, but I'm grateful you are." 

Dylan smiles slightly, giving me a small nod, "Of course. Jai is as good as family to you, which means she's family to me. She's also always been incredible to everyone she's around, it'd be hard not to want to be here for her." 

"Yeah," I comment with a sigh. "I just don't get how she doesn't seem to be able to catch a break." Shaking my head, I can't help but get a little pissed off thinking about everything she's been through, and for what? "She's never been a bad person. She has her human moments, but nothing that would've ever warranted her to go through a fraction of the shit she has at twenty-one. I get that sometimes there are checks and balances, but no one deserves this many kickbacks. It's like every time she gets into a good spot, something fucked up has to steal it from her."

"It's not fair," Dylan tells me, confirming my thoughts but also trying to keep me from getting too frustrated. "Knowing her in the time that I have, she's never deserved to go through anything that she has. She's tough though, and she'll get through it. She's got you, and she has me, and Christian when she lets him. She's got her team, and I'm sure any number of teammates she's had throughout the years. She's got an army of support and people who love her that she'll be okay. She just needs a little time right now to process it."

"Thanks, Dyl," I tell him with a small smile. He returns it before leaning in and kissing me gently.

"Anytime," He tells me, the soft smile still on his face. Looking back at my phone, I figure out a reply back to Christian.