33. Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
Liam
“ W hy are you smiling like that?”
I try to wipe my smile, but it’s no use. “Because Griffin is mad.”
Jordan breaks into a laugh, and I shake my head at him as I finish putting my gear on. We're playing against the Hale brothers today, and they are losing by a shit ton. Sire is the captain and takes their losses so personally.
I get that this is our job, and I want to win, too, but God , that kid is dramatic. He’s letting his emotions get in the way, and it’s interfering with the way he’s pitching. Usually, when I piss him off, it bites me in the ass because he channels his anger and pitches ten times better, but now? He’s throwing horribly, and I know he’s going to be swapped out soon.
I doubt they can catch up at this point, but pissing him off a bit more will make him play worse and guarantee our win.
“You look like you’re plotting.” Jordan eyes me suspiciously, and I grab my glove.
“Maybe I am.” I slip my helmet on before stepping onto the field. I glance over at the big screen, and when I see Sire is up to bat next, I shake with a soft laugh.
“Liam, give me a heads up right now if we’re going to fight.”
I roll my eyes at how dramatic he is. “I’m not dumb enough to fight at our game. Coach was a dick the last time I fought Griffin on the field.” I couldn’t play for the rest of the season. We were nearing the end, but still, the end of the season was the best part, and I missed it. Either way, I'm on thin ice with Sage. No way I'm going to put my hands on her brother.
I get in my position behind home plate, and after Jordan throws me a few warm-up pitches, Sire comes up to bat. As a catcher, I watch every batter, and I know all of Sire’s flaws by now. I hold two fingers between my legs, and when Jordan nods in response, I get into position.
Sire takes a swing, and when he misses, I can’t help but laugh. I toss the ball back to Jordan, and Sire glances back at me but surprisingly doesn’t say anything.
I signal for another curve ball, and when he misses again, I genuinely can’t help myself. “This is embarrassing, Griffin.”
“So is your bitch.”
I rise to my full height before his entire sentence is even out of his mouth. In a swift move, I flip my helmet off, and he takes a step towards me.
I hear the umpire calling for us to back up from each other, but when a smirk grows on Sire’s face, my tongue slips. “It’s not very nice to speak of your sister like–”
My words are cut off by his fist, and I stumble back, pulling every will of strength I have not to hit him back because I know Sage will tear me a new one, but he hits me again, then again , and reflex takes over.
I don’t stop swinging, and after being pulled apart too soon the last two times we fought, I definitely don’t hold back. When he stumbles, I realize Jordan hit him from behind, and it was definitely a cheap shot, but I don’t stop as he loses his balance.
“Are you fucking dumb ?”
I turn at the sound of August’s voice, and he knocks Jordan on his ass.
With my head turned, Sire takes another swing at me, and a metallic taste fills my mouth.
“You son of a bitch.” I grab a fist full of his jersey and hit him back, but in a quick move, he flips us and punches me back.
“ENOUGH!” Someone must've pulled Sire to his feet, but he drags me with him, and with a punch to the gut, he lets me go.
“It’s every other fucking game with you three!” My coach shoves me back, but I push his arm away. “I said enough !”
“Fuck you, Walker!” Sire takes another swing at me, but I quickly dodge it, and with his coach dragging him away, he wasn’t going to reach me.
“Shut the fuck up, Griffin.” I spit out the blood in my mouth, but just as I look up, August hits me in the mouth again. I punch the side of his face before we're pulled apart again.
When Sire lunges at me, I take another swing, and he doesn’t get to hit me back as August catches him. “Sire, let’s fucking go !”
I let my coach push me back as Sire tries to fight August off.
“In the dugout, Walker, or–”
“Listen to your bitch, Griffin!”
My coach pushes me again as Sire tries to get out of his brother's grasp.
“You’re lucky I don’t let him break your mouth!” August shouts as they make it across the field, but I got the last hit, so I don’t give a shit about whatever else they yell about.
Both teams are on the field, but after more yelling from the umpire, everyone heads for the dugout. When my coach shoves my back again, I stop in my tracks.
“Stop. Fucking. Shoving me.” I turn to him slowly, and he looks just about pissed enough to hit me, but I’d love another excuse for a fight.
“Get your ass in the dugout now. ”
“Do not touch me.”
“Now!”
“Lower your tone.” I take a step forward, and I immediately get pushed back. I almost swing again until I realize it’s Jordan.
“Are you fucking insane?” He steps between our coach and me and walks me backward. “The brothers are one thing. Coach Finn ? Did Griffin give you a damn brain injury, or are you actually insane?” He whispers now, and I turn on my heels instead of responding and head for the dugout.
No one says anything to me as I start taking my gear off and tossing it aside. I’m clearly not playing anymore, and I honestly don’t give a shit. I spit out some more blood, but my mouth fills again.
“You seriously need to stop fighting those guys at games. You’re going to–”
I turn to my teammate, and he’s smart enough not to say anything else, but then my coach storms in.
“Pack your shit!”
I turn to my coach and gesture to the bag in my hand. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
He tosses his clipboard aside before stalking towards me. “That smart mouth of yours is going to get you kicked off this team someday.”
“So–”
“Liam.”
I pull in a deep breath and look over at Jordan, and he shakes his head ever so slightly. “Don’t.”
“No, go ahead, Liam.”
I direct my glare back to our coach, and when I swallow more blood, I’m not sure if it’s because I was punched in the mouth a minute ago or if it's from how hard I bite my tongue.
“Nothing to say?”
I let out a scoff, but just as I open my mouth, Jordan steps in front of me, blocking my view from our idiot coach, who’s about to get punched in the damn throat.
“Breathe, Liam.”
My hands start to shake, and I pull in another deep breath at his reminder, but I can feel myself growing hot all over again.
“You need to calm down.” Jordan keeps his voice low, and when he takes a step towards me, I know it’s because he wants me to put more distance between myself and Finn, so I back away as he moves towards me.
The umpire walks into the dugout, and as soon as our eyes lock, I know what he’s going to say. “Liam Walker and Jordan Rhodes, out !”
I turn for my bag and pass Jordan his, without a word. My coach tells me he’ll deal with me later, and I know I’m automatically suspended for the next few games, but I’m sure he’ll muster up some other consequence for me.
I head straight for Sage’s place, and I want to change out of this damn uniform, but I want to see her more. I doubt her brothers told her about this so fast, but I want to tell her first. As I walk into her building, her front desk guy stands up to greet me, but I keep walking before he can speak to me.
“Oh–” He closes his mouth.
I press the elevator, and he clears his throat from behind me. “Sage isn’t here.”
I let out a long breath before turning to him. “How long ago did she leave?”
“This morning.”
I ask if she mentioned what time she’ll be back because she usually tells people random shit like that, but he says he doesn’t know, so I call her as I head for my car.
The phone rings for a while, and when I get her voicemail, I immediately call back, but it goes directly to voicemail this time. I glance down at my phone and almost call again because I’m certain she had nothing planned today, but maybe she’s on the phone, so I text her and tell her to call me before heading home.
As I step out of the elevator, I pull my phone out and start recording. Mars has been trying to scare me, and I want to show Sage because it’s the cutest shit ever. He’s usually in the kitchen, so I make sure to make some noise so he knows I’m home. As I walk into the kitchen, he jumps out from behind the counter and meows so softly as he hops onto my foot.
“Ah!” I fake my surprise, and he hops around before running off. I shake with a soft laugh before sending Sage the video. After getting some pictures of all three of the kittens eating, I also send them to her, but she doesn’t respond, which is weird because she’s quick with her responses, especially for the cats.
I call her again and it rings twice before I get her voicemail. “What the fuck?”
I decide to take a shower before I think the worst, but as soon as I’m dressed, I call Moon.
“Should I play the damn lottery?!”
I roll my eyes in return, and his laugh spills through the speaker as I flop onto my couch. “Are you with my girl?”
“Nope. I was going to meet up with her later, but she canceled on me.”
“Call her and ask what she’s doing.” I scoop Periwinkle into my arms and lay her on top of me, but then Meeko starts scratching my damn couch for attention, so I bring him up with us.
“No need, I know what she’s doing.”
I wait for him to tell me, but a second passes, and he’s silent.
“Well, enlighten me, Moon.”
“Oh, she’s with her sisters.”
I hang up on him and call Sage back, and this time, she answers.
“Why the fuck are you ignoring me?” I ask innocently, although the annoyance slips into my tone. There's no way she saw that fight so quickly . “And don’t even say you aren’t, Sage Loana.”
She’s silent for a beat, and it sounds like she’s on mute because she’s too quiet. “Can you state your name for the record?”
I feel my brows furrow because that is not Sage’s voice, and there’s some ruffling in the back, then some hushed laughter.
“Who the fuck is this?”
“I asked first,” Whoever this is goes on.
“I don’t give a shit. Where the fuck is Sage?”
“Oh, you are rude .”
I let out a breath, but she continues before I can tell her to give Sage the damn phone. “Can you just tell us if you’re Mr. L or Mr. K who texted her that dirty message?”
“Lisette!” That sounds like Sage now, and I think they’re fighting because there's more background noise.
“Mr. who? Sage, I swear–”
“No one texted me!” Sage screams, and I’m certain she’s fighting for her phone now.
“Where are–” They hang up on me, and I call back, but she sends it to voicemail again. I feel myself growing more annoyed, and when I call back, she either turns her phone off or blocks me, but either way, I grab my helmet and storm out.