The Ninth Inning (The Boys of Baseball #1) - J. Sterling Page 0,94

time I’d had seafood, and suddenly, it was all I wanted.

“So, what brings you home?” he asked as he pulled the fish out of the oven to cool, and the smell of spices and seasoning grew even stronger.

“I just wanted to talk,” I said, feeling a little uncomfortable because my dad and I didn’t usually go around, having heart-to-heart conversations all the time. Or ever.

“Is everything okay?” He glanced at me as he scooped rice out of the pot and into a large bowl and set it on the table before heading back to grab the fish.

“Yeah,” I said before contradicting myself. “No.”

He laughed, his eyes wrinkling in the corners. “Well, which one is it?” he asked before sitting down and watching me with curious eyes. “Baseball’s good, right? I’ve been following you online. You have the best batting average on the team and the second in the whole league.”

I had known about the team part but not about the league. I was too busy actually playing to stalk online stats. Plus, I knew how quickly things could change. All it took was one bad or good game for everything to shift around. “Baseball’s great, Dad. But there’s this girl.”

“There always is.”

I gave my dad the CliffsNotes version of Christina’s and my relationship as he ate and asked questions every so often. When I got to the parts about Logan and what he’d done and everything we’d been through the past few weeks up until today, he leaned forward, arms on the table like this was the most interesting thing he’d ever heard. When I finished, he stared at me.

Taking a swig of his beer, he asked, “So, what’s the problem? You found out it was all a lie, so why are you here with me and not with her? What am I missing? Unless this is about Logan? Do you want to know if I think you should kick his ass again or not?”

He forked more fish into his mouth as he waited for my answer.

“No. I’m not here because of Logan, although I do want to fucking destroy him. Coach might not be so forgiving the second time around.”

“Your coach might help you.” He shrugged, and I laughed as I tried to imagine Coach Jackson actually fighting a player. “So, if this isn’t about Logan, then it’s about Christina. I’ll ask you again, what’s the issue?”

“How do I forgive her, Dad?” I looked at him and felt myself getting worked up. The last thing I wanted to do was lose it in front of my old man, but I was afraid I was about to.

“Forgive her for what exactly? She didn’t do anything. There’s technically nothing to forgive,” he said, and I knew logically that he was right, but my emotions ran deeper than that.

“I don’t know how to forgive her for letting me walk away,” I said with a wince, feeling like the admission made me weak somehow.

“That’s a tough one, son. She was in a position she couldn’t win. Until she knew the truth, what was she supposed to do?”

“She was supposed to do something. Hell, she was supposed to do anything. But she did nothing.” I dropped my fork, and it clanged against the plate. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he reassured me before asking, “Why are you so mad?”

“I’m mad because she stayed quiet. And because she stayed away. And because she left me holding a bag of fucked up emotions I couldn’t process, just like Mom had done when she left.” I hated the things that were coming out of my mouth, but I also felt a sense of relief in saying them. They’d held me hostage for so long, and I hadn’t even realized it. All this time, I’d been living with these emotional demons inside of me that had nowhere to go.

“Oh, Cole. This girl is not your mother.”

“But it feels the same,” I said as a single tear escaped. I quickly wiped it away and cleared my throat.

“But it’s not.” He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. “You can see that, can’t you?” His voice was calmer than I’d ever heard before, and it encouraged me to continue opening up.

“Why am I so easy to walk out on?” the question spilled from my mouth like it had come straight up from my heart, and my dad exhaled like he’d been sucker-punched in the stomach.

“Cole, your mom leaving had nothing to do with you and everything to do with her