Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Twenty-Six

Brigham

I was in a fucking mood. Our coach wanted me to have an off day since my stats against the starting pitcher weren’t great, and that left me sitting in the dugout, watching Samson play my position, one week after the second worst day of my life. The sunflower seeds I was eating started to hurt my tongue, but I didn’t care. It was getting easier to not care.

“Dude, why the fucking face?” Samson asked, hitting my shoulder. “Was it my two-run double?”

“Shut up, man.” I focused on the field, the sounds of the crowd, the smell of the dugout. Gideon stole second and the crowd roared. I clapped, but it was robotic. One week since Sarah had cut me out of her life. Rightfully so, because my dumb ass couldn’t figure out the words to explain everything. I’d panicked. Full-on panicked, and my lack of response had let her think everything she thought was true. Which it wasn’t.

Five days since I’d texted her asking to talk, without a response. Three days since I’d heard from Charles, who refused to think he’d done anything wrong.

Samson frowned at me and narrowed his eyes. “You always push me back.”

“Not in the mood.” I picked up a few seeds before tossing them onto the ground.

“Brigs, you’re always in the mood. Seriously, don’t fucking weird me out.” He shoved a handful of my sunflower seeds into his mouth and raised an eyebrow, daring me to say something. I let him. My heart was broken at the cost of me getting to stay with Los Soles. Was it worth it? Was creating a plan with our coach and pouring my heart out to him about Sarah worth getting an extended contract, if I didn’t have the person I wanted to share it with?

Undecided.

My entire future came down to a phone call. It could come any time from my lawyer or from Charles. Hell, it could come from Sarah, saying she would hear me out. Any call from the three of them would change my life.

Would they be charging me with a felony? Would they offer a plea deal? Had the plan worked with Los Soles? Those unknowns ate at my gut to the point I’d lost weight. If they charged me with a felony and tried to take me to court—where I could get sentenced—the weight loss didn’t matter. The prime of my professional career would be spent in prison and there was no chance I could play baseball after that. I hung my head and ate more seeds.

The salty taste gave me something to do and focus on. Bite, crunch, spit out the shell and swallow the seed. Repeat. On and on it went, until the inning changed and the guys went back onto the field. Our starting pitcher had already reached his pitch count and was out for the night. Riley sat four feet from me with ice on his arm and jutted his chin down at the pile of discarded seeds. I shrugged.

When I sat out, I liked to study the pitchers to see if I could find their tells. Maybe they leaned to the right when they threw a fast ball or did a leg kick before a change. But I had zero motivation. We were up three runs against the leader of our division and my blood should’ve been pumping.

I scanned the crowd behind home plate and my heart lurched in my throat, seeing blonde hair. It’s not Sarah. She hates me. I blew out a long breath and tried not to stare at the woman who looked kinda like her. God, everything sucked. My life, my future, Sarah. The glass-is-half-full attitude had disappeared when Sarah looked at me with those tortured blue eyes, thinking I’d used her the entire time. Maybe I’d find love again sometime, maybe not. But sulking and wallowing in self-pity was my plan for the foreseeable future.

It was three up, three down and the guys headed back into the dugout. Gideon pressed his lips together tight and squeezed my shoulder before plopping down next to me. “Nice play,” I said, looking at the opposing team taking positions on the field.

“You’re a fucking mess.”

“Well, I still might go to jail and Sarah thinks I used her for my image. Let her believe it was the truth, too. Don’t have a lot going for me now.”

“You can pull your head out of your ass, to start.”

I snapped my gaze to his. There wasn’t sympathy there. There was anger and irritation. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t even know what the hell will happen to your case. Trust your lawyer—you said you hired the best.” He shook his head and took some of my seeds. “Have you actually tried talking to her about what she heard in the hall? Did you explain your irrational and dumbass behavior?”

“No.”

“You’re annoying me.” He stood and got his helmet before returning. “This isn’t the obnoxious, life-of-the-party Brigham that irritates the hell out of me most days. This sulking, lifeless version of you sucks. Nothing is determined yet, so stop living like it. Goddamn it.” He exhaled and positioned the helmet between his legs so he could strap on his batting gloves. “Fix it.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is. I would know.” He lowered his voice and his meaning wasn’t lost on me. He’d had a blow-up that could’ve cost him his career—only his was physical too. “Fix it.”

He gave me a curt nod and went to wait in the on-deck circle. His words weighed heavy on me, because he actually could relate to a moment in time that had the power to shift everything in his future. And he found Fiona.

Maybe there was a way to try and fix this, but how? I needed the issue with the case solved first. That was my first mistake in all of this, getting involved with her when my life was at a low point. Fuck. I wiped my face with my hands. How could I better her life and be the guy she deserved, when I didn’t even like who I was?

* * * *

Fire Charles.

Call my lawyer.

Accept and plan.

Find a new agent.

Get Sarah back.

The list was on my fridge and I stared at it, content with my decision. A thrill went through me—firing Charles had been weighing on me for a while. I didn’t appreciate the way he talked about Sarah or women in general, and while it would be hard to find an agent who wanted to rep me right now, it wouldn’t be impossible. I took a deep breath and was about to hit dial, when the familiar sound of a dog collar’s bell jingling caught my attention. Sarah. She was letting the dogs out.

Without thinking, I bolted to the hallway to see her approach the elevator. She turned and made eye contact with me for a second before shaking her head. “Blue Bell.”

She flatted her lips and looked at me with so much sadness, I knew I had to fix it. “Don’t call me that anymore. We aren’t friends.”

“I’m firing Charles,” I said, leaning against my doorframe and enjoying her struggle to ask why. She wanted to know. I could see the curiosity on her face.

But she shrugged and put her head down, walking into the elevator with the pups. When she looked up and met my gaze, she spoke softly. “I don’t care what you do anymore.”

The disappointed look on her face would keep me up at night, and my chest tightened. What if it’s too late?

No. I will not think that. I have my plan.

Each breath felt like ice in my lungs as I waited for Charles to answer. “Go for Charles,” he answered.

“We need to talk,” I said, ready to stand up for myself for the first time in a long time. “Today.”

“Can it wait?”

“You know what, fuck it. We’re done. We have different visions for how we work and I’m done with your bullshit. Prepare the papers to end this and send them to me.”

“Brigham, don’t be an idiot. No one will fucking sign on to your shitshow right now. I get you’re pissed about Blue. I’m sorry. There, better?”

“Nope. Send the papers to end our contract. I’m not fucking around.”

He laughed, and the sound unsettled me. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“Yes, it does. You’re fired. I have our original contract here and I quote, either party can end agreement if they are displeased. I’m displeased. Have been for a while.”

“Look, let’s figure it out.”

“No. We are done.” I hung up, smiling. If I could have lost weight from pressure and anxiety alone, I just had. I felt freer. Myself. Ready to start anew.

Lawyer.

“Hello?

“Hey, Wynona, it’s Brigham.”

“How you holding up?”

“I’m sick of waiting and playing defense. I did nothing wrong. Call whoever you need to and let’s go to court. I want a fucking jury there and witnesses who were at the club. All of it.”

“Woah, why the sudden change of heart?”

“Because I’m sick of waiting for someone else to make decisions about my life.” And if I want a future with Los Soles and Sarah, I have to close this Chapter for good. “I need to move on, and I can’t until this shit is done.”

“I’ll make the calls. Damn, Brigham. I’m glad you’re going this route. They’ve been intimidating you from the start.”

“Yup. And I’m going to do a video release. Explaining how I fired my agent and want my life back. I know you said no interviews but this is me telling my story now.”

“Go for it. I’ll call you in a few days with next steps.”

“Thank you. Can’t wait to end this shit.”

We hung up and I put another checkmark on my list. Now, I had to wait to see what would happen and find a new agent.

Then it was time to get Sarah back.