One of the Guys (23 page)

Getting home, I went to my room and
looked through the sheets of paper Carly had given to me. It was a
list of all the stunts she did during the routine. They weren’t
difficult, but I had to look up some of them on the
internet.

I had no idea what a ‘basket’ was
until I Googled it. Fortunately, I was confident in everything that
she could perform. I even had a few ideas of my own. I just had to
make sure that the girls were confident in catching me as I
landed.

This was going to be the weirdest
experience of my entire life. I just hoped I could pull it
off.

“
Chase, do you need anything from
the store?” My Mom asked, popping her head into my room.

“
No thanks, Mom. I’m good.” I said,
not looking up.

“
What’s all that?” She asked,
noticing the papers with the diagrams on.

“
Just something I’m helping Poppy
with.” I said, gathering the papers together.

The last thing I wanted was my Mom
finding out I’d joined the squad, even if it
were
only for the one day. She’d
make me talk about why I was doing it, and start analyzing why I’d
done a complete one-eighty, going from tomboy to girly in just a
few hours. Not that
that
was true, I just didn’t want to get her hopes
up.

“
Ok, honey. I’m going to get a few
things for Bren, and I’ll be right back.”

Bren.

I felt guilty that I’d not gone
shopping for her. Just as well really. My Mom told me that she saw
Logan there the first time; as if he were waiting for me to turn
up. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

My Mom didn’t tell me whether she’d
spoken to him or not, and I knew I had my Dad to thank for that. He
didn’t want to upset me after I hadn’t even come out of my room for
the first week.

I heard my Mom leave, and I quickly
searched for the songs that Sian had listed as new possibilities
for the routine. I cringed when I heard the tinny pop music coming
through the speakers, although there was one song that caught my
attention. It was hip-hop, not my usual tastes, but it was kinda
fitting for what Sian, Carly, and even Poppy had in
mind.

Smiling to myself, I listened to
the music. I stood in the middle of my room and moved about to the
beat, getting the feel of the rhythm to match my moves.

Stripping off my T-shirt once more,
I watched myself in my mirror, checking my form. I saw how I looked
as I moved in time with the beat. I corrected myself when I didn’t
look right doing a certain move, and wrote down suggestions of my
own.

After a short while, I smiled,
satisfied that I could pull this off.

Suddenly, I felt as though I was
actually
l
ooking
forward to the event, which was an alien feeling to me. I snorted a
laugh at the irony.

As strange as it was to myself, it
was certainly going to be a shock to others who knew me.

Well… the
old
me.

Chapter
11

Logan

The day I’d waited for was finally
here; my eighteenth birthday.

Chase’s too.

I’d been excited to share this day
with her for such a long time. We were supposed to be spending the
day together. Happy and laughing and enjoying our time in each
other’s company. I should’ve been kissing her and giving her the
presents that I had made especially for her, along with the one I’d
bought.

I’d wished, and wished, that she
would’ve given me a chance to explain by now, but no matter how
many times I tried… I couldn’t get to her.

I’d tried texting her, but I still
didn’t get any response from her. Even my calls wouldn’t go
through, and I realized that she must’ve blocked my
number.

Larry, her Dad, had told me not to
go to the house, and after the time I’d spoken with him last, I’d
listened.

I’d even turned up to the store, on
the usual day she shopped for Bren, I’d seen Laura, her Mom,
instead.

I’d asked her how Chase was, and
she sucker punched me with the single word that came out of her
mouth.

“
Coping.”

Laura had walked away from me, not
saying another word.

That was all I got from her.
‘Coping’.

Chase was coping. I had no idea
what that meant, but it didn’t sound good at all.

Fuck!
I
wasn’t coping! Not in the
slightest.

I hadn’t been able to eat, able to
sleep properly… I’d even locked myself in my room as I cried.
Holding my pillow over my face, I’d tried to drown out the sobs so
that my parents, and Matt, wouldn’t hear.

I was a mess.

I hadn’t been around the guys all
that much, either, because I couldn’t stand the pitiful looks they
gave me. They’d asked me how I was doing, and after a while, they
stopped. They knew, to an extent, how much I was
hurting.

Carl especially.

At first, he looked happy that
Chase wasn’t around anymore, but this week, he seemed a little
pissed.

I’d found out, from Sian, that
Carly had fractured her ankle, but he was more concerned with
Poppy. Yeah, I’d gotten that wrong. He had a thing for
her
, not
Carly.

When Pike had asked about their
squad, Sian had shrugged and said they were having to change their
game plan, but it was going to be amazing.

Carl, being the prick that he was,
asked Sian if the girls wanted to hang out with us. Sian laughed
and asked if he were joking.

He wasn’t, which only made Sian
laugh louder. Carl wasn’t happy about it. So much for his theory
that Chase was his problem.

Sian had said that even though the
girls were busy with their ‘secret’ practicing, they had no
interest in hanging out with us.

Sian was only there because of Lex,
and even though I knew her big secret, she hadn’t broken up with
him.

That was a week ago, and I hadn’t
seen her with Lex since. He said that she and the girls were
finalizing their performance. Whatever
that
meant.

Now, today, I was
eighteen.

I didn’t want to celebrate. I
didn’t want to go out for a family dinner or have a party with my
friends. I just wanted Chase back.

I wanted to see her smiling at me
as I walked into her room. I wanted to see her eyes sparkle as the
sunlight glanced off her sky blue irises. I wanted to be able to
hold her and wish her happy birthday. I wanted to take her away and
do everything I’d planned for us. I wanted…

I wiped the tear that had rolled
down my cheek, hating how I’d turned into a pussy. I didn’t want to
cry, but I couldn’t help it.

I was glad that Matt wasn’t around.
He’d stayed at his own place more, but I knew he was coming over
today. After all, what better way to gloat in your brother’s misery
than on his birthday?

So, he hadn’t actually ridiculed
me, or had been particularly pleased about what had happened, but
one look at my face and I’d never hear the end of it.

Crying over a girl.

That was a huge no-no in his eyes.
No matter what.

“
Happy birthday sweetheart!” My Mom
said as I walked into the kitchen.

She pulled me in for a hug, and my
Dad quickly joined in.

“
Eighteen. Now you’re a man.” He
said, slapping me on the back. “Well, not quite. Not until you’re
twenty-one.” He teased, pointing at me.

I knew what he meant. I still
wasn’t old enough to drink alcohol. I didn’t care though. If I
wanted a beer, or two, I’d have them. It’s not as if I were going
to get drunk out of my mind.

“
I’m going to call Laura, and wish
Chase a happy birthday too.” My Mom said, almost absent
mindedly.

My heart sank; knowing I wouldn’t
be allowed to talk to her. Not that she’d even come to the phone,
but I wasn’t able to even ask for her.

“
You guys still not talking?” My
Dad asked.

Matt had told them why I was a
‘grumpy ass’ as he’d explained it, telling them about the last time
Chase and I had spoken.

They’d been disappointed in me,
leaving her like that. That hadn’t made me feel any better, and
since then all I’ve been able to think about was that
night.

I’d royally fucked up. I should’ve
blown Adam off and left with Chase.

Baseball was
not
more important than she was…
correction… is. Chase
is
more important than baseball.

“
Happy birthday little brother.”
Matt said, walking into the kitchen. “This just came for you as I
walked up the path.” He said, handing me a box. “This is for you,
from me.” He handed me an envelope with two tickets to see Fall Out
Boy.

I should’ve been happy but instead,
I was raging inside. The only person I had ever wanted to go to
that concert with, was Chase. Matt knew that.

“
Sorry. I got those a while ago.
Thought you might still want to go. You can always take somebody
else.”

I clenched my jaw and breathed
heavily through my nose.

“
Matt! That’s really insensitive of
you.” My Mom scolded him.

“
What? I bought them months ago!
They weren’t cheap either.” He said, holding his hands out and
shrugging as if he didn’t know what was wrong.

“
You know what, Matthew Jason
Blackwood!” My Mom used his full name, a sure sign that she was
pissed.

Matt walked out, my Dad close
behind, and my Mom turned to me.

“
Honey, I’m sure he meant well.”
She said, rubbing my arm. “Look, maybe one of your other friends
wants to go. You’ve wanted to see the band for so long.”

“
No.” I said, quietly. “I wanted to
go with Chase.”

My Mom put her hand over her mouth,
holding back her tears and I couldn’t stand there and watch her get
upset again over my stupid ass mistake.

Walking out of the kitchen, I took
the box to my room.

I wondered what it could be,
because I hadn’t ordered anything, and I knew my family hadn’t
either. They’d given me money and gift cards.

Closing my door, I sat on my bed.
Turning the box so I could read the stamp; it said it had come from
Massachusetts.

Weird. I wonder who sent
this?
I thought to myself; ripping open
the tape.

I pulled back the flaps and on top
of the packaging, there was a letter with my name on the
front.

Opening it, I read the handwritten
letter.

Logan.

I hope this gets to you in time
for your birthday.

If it does… Happy
Birthday!

I received a letter, from a very
good friend of yours, telling me how great a baseball player you
are. Well, from the footage I received, I can absolutely agree. You
have one heck of a swing on you kid, and man you are fast! You
remind me of myself at your age.

I want to wish you all the success
in the world, and I have no doubt that you’ll be one of the best
professional baseball players this country has ever
seen.

I really hope to be able to come
and watch you play when I get the chance.

I’ve also enclosed a small gift
for you. I hope you like it.

Happy birthday, again.

Sincerely,

Brent Loman

Mass. Lions.

My heart threatened to beat out of
my chest.

Brent Loman of the Massachusetts
Lions had not only written to me, but had sent me a present! He is,
in my opinion, the greatest baseball player since Babe
Ruth!

With shaking hands, I dug through
the packaging until I found something soft. I pulled out a baseball
shirt, covered with the signatures of the whole team.

I felt something hard and pulled
out a baseball that he’d signed by himself.

My breathing stopped when I found
the pen drive that, I assumed, held the footage that he’d been
sent.

I had a strong sense of who had
done this.

As I plugged the drive into my
computer, I fell into my chair.

The video played, and I could hear
the voice that was music to my ears, cheering for me as I made my
home run.

Chase.

I couldn’t hold anything back as
the sobs wracked my body. I held my arms around my waist as I
struggled to catch my breath.

Chase had done this for me… for my
birthday… and obviously before I’d fucked up.