FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS OF THE CHEATER.FAKER.TROUBLEMAKER SERIES (WATTY'S 2016, FICTION AWARDS 2016, HACHETTE AUDIO 2017), JENNY ROSEN & KRISTEN MAGLONZO.
After bullies, braces, and brutal heartbreak shatters his faith in love, soon-to-be fre...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
NOTE: Need a little humor in your life this weekend? Check out this week's humorous recording by kaelking12!
CHAPTER 45
Lacey
"Holy cannoli, the Lacenator's back! MBH bench-warmers, assemble!"
I don't know what having a best friend is supposed to be like. But if I had to guess, it'd be a fraction of what I'm feeling right now.
I'm barely two steps inside our dust-covered dug out when Maddie, Camilla, and Dani, the two other freshmen benchies on the softball team trap me in an unexpected hug. I freeze up at first, unsure of how exactly I'm supposed to react to a welcome I'm not sure I deserve.
Right before I left for Mountain Ridge, the bullying at school had gotten bad enough for me to start skipping out on softball practice. When I joined this team, I promised to do the exact opposite. I promised to work hard. To be here. To support the upperclassmen. And I wanted my word to mean something.
Even though I don't play often, I know what not showing up can mean for a small team like ours. I know our coach well enough to understand that he expects even the smallest of us to show support for each other.
But then I disappeared.
And I don't know how the team took it.
I missed the rest of the season.
Sure, my dad sent my official leave of absence to the school letting them know that I wasn't going to be back for the rest of the semester, but that doesn't change the act of leaving.
Quitting is quitting and no matter how you do it, people still get hurt. People still resent you for it.
And the fear of having to face that resentment nearly kept me from coming to summer training today.
On the car ride over here, I kept trying to convince my dad to stay in the parking lot when he dropped me off in case the team or the coach didn't want me back.
Summer break softball camp is only supposed to be for the dedicated. But for some God-given reason, right now I'm surrounded by warmth, support, and super wide Big League Chew smiles. And it feels—a lot like coming home.
When the excitement eventually simmers down to a buzz, Dani, Camilla, and Maddie show me over to my favorite spot on the bench like I'm their guest of honor.
"Your throne, your highness!" Maddie says as she grabs a dingy looking towel from off the hangers on the back wall and lays it out for me to sit on.
