to go back home.
Then again, if I’d gone through a shooting where I thought I was going to die, I might not have ever had the guts to leave my own room, let alone move out and live alone. Rocky was the definition of a badass, and maybe that was why it hurt so bad. I felt for her, and naturally, I wanted to fix it.
Sunny brought me over a giant plate of cookies while I sat on the couch, my mind still in a Rocky-filled fog. Snapping out of it, I forced myself to think about something else. That was easy—baseball.
Practice had been great today. I felt good on the field. Better than I’d felt in a long time. I belonged there, and I knew it. Coach had even mentioned that some scout had asked about me. And even though he wouldn’t tell me who it was, it was still a good sign. Things were looking up.
Which always made me a little apprehensive. Everything I’d ever wanted in life always felt like a struggle. Mostly because I seemed to be working against Dick Davies. If I wasn’t following his plan for me, then I was letting him down. The guy had tried to talk me out of playing baseball my entire high school career, reminding me that I was just wasting my time and taking small digs at my ability whenever he could.
“So, I wanted to talk to you,” Sunny started, and I almost choked on the cookie I’d just put in my mouth.
“Are you breaking up with me?” I asked quickly as nerves filled me. I had no idea why my mind had instantly gone there, but it had.
There were days I waited for Sunny to tell me I wasn’t worth the hassle. That the other girls and their fucking rude comments were too much for her to take. Not to mention that I really had hooked up with a ridiculous number of girls at this school and Sunny had to face that fact every single time she walked across campus or entered a classroom.
My past was in her face. I wouldn’t blame her if she was sick of dealing with it.
“What? No. Never.” She looked at me like I was insane and moved on like I hadn’t just asked that question in the first place. “It’s about Thanksgiving.”
My stomach instantly settled. “Oh. Yeah? What about it?” I sucked in a few quick breaths and stared at my girl. How did I get so lucky?
“We haven’t talked about the holidays. Do you go home for them?” she asked tentatively, and I realized that she was tiptoeing around something.
“I don’t usually go home for Thanksgiving. I just stay here. Go to Chance’s house. But I guess this year …” I just realized that Chance wasn’t here anymore and he was probably going to be with Danika.
Maybe Sunny was going to ask me to go to her parents’ house instead. I would agree in a heartbeat. I still hadn’t met them yet, but from all of Sunny’s stories, her mom sounded insane. In a good way.
“I thought we could go to New York and have Thanksgiving with Chance and Danika if you wanted?” Sunny blurted out, like keeping that idea inside for one second longer might have made her explode if she didn’t say it out loud.
Her whole face was happy, but I noticed that she was holding her breath, waiting for me to say something in response.
“Hell yes! When did you plan this? I definitely want to do that. Does Chance know?” I reached for my girl and pulled her onto my lap, her silver hair falling all around us.
She looked at me and shrugged. “I don’t know if he knows. But I talked to Danika earlier, and she’s so excited. I just didn’t know what your plans were. I figured you went home for Christmas, but I wasn’t sure what you did for Thanksgiving.”
I swallowed at the mention of my going home to Arizona. I hated it every year but felt obligated, of course, to go back during Christmas. Plus, leaving my mom alone with DD made me sick. I had to give her some reprieve and check in on her. “I do go home for Christmas. But then I come right back ’cause baseball starts.”
“So, you want to go?” Her tongue stuck out as she grinned at me. “To New York? With me? For Thanksgiving?”
“Definitely.” I leaned forward and kissed her. “You know,” I said, “I’ve never