Chapter 26
Alfie followed his teammates into the center. A lot of them were splitting off into groups, and chatting. Just like they did at the clubhouse. Alfie’s gaze hunted for Rhys. He wanted to actually talk to him. He’d been working up to that, when Rhys left the clubhouse without even talking to Alfie.
Even now Rhys would barely look over at him.
He’d been fine, joking during batting practice.
He’d disappeared for nearly an hour. Alfie had gone back to the video room, but he hadn’t been there.
When he’d finally seen him, dressing for the game, he’d been more subdued than Alfie could ever remember seeing him.
Even when he’d been talking to Caleb after the game. Then he’d just left. Alfie still had not gotten a chance to talk to him.
He knew that was wrong. He’d had plenty of chances to say something. He had been too much of a coward to do it. Rhys stood there talking to that person, the barista from the coffee shop, the one he kept going in to flirt with, and Alfie could not make his feet move.
Zaid stepped up beside him and nudged him in the side with his elbow. “You going to help clean some of this nonsense up? Or just keep staring daggers at Rhys and his friend?”
“I am not staring daggers. How does that make sense?”
The young catcher shrugged one shoulder. “It is what it looks like. I do not know what he has done to sever your hip connection.”
Alfie was sure Zaid would say he himself was the target of Alfie’s eye daggers, but he shrugged again. “Everyone always says it. You’ve been ignoring each other all day.”
“I have not. We had a game to play.”
“That has never stopped the two of you from being in each other’s space before.”
He turned and walked off. All Alfie could do was stare at him. Was that how the others saw them? Like they were one unit, and just because they were not spending all their time together now, there must be something wrong?
That was so far beyond the truth Alfie didn’t know where anyone would have come up with it.
He sent one more glance toward Rhys, but he wasn’t there anymore.
The person he’d been talking to seemed to be directing people to different areas.
Mel. That was their name. He supposed he should figure out where he could be put to use.
He had come here to help with the destruction someone caused because what? Someone offered kids a place to go where they’d know they were wanted. That there wasn’t something wrong with them. Alfie had always had the sanctuary of his family, even when it felt like he didn’t belong anywhere else.
Mel looked up at him as he approached. “Rhys is cleaning up in the library,” they told him. “We already have enough help there, though. Could you take on the kitchen?”
“Si. Yes,” he added, remembering the looks he got when he spoke Spanish anywhere but the clubhouse. They smiled at him and pointed in the direction of the kitchen.
He spotted more destruction on his way there.
It wasn’t right to try to take this from kids who might not have anything else.
And yet someone still tried to destroy it.
Probably more than one someone, Alfie thought as he took in the extent of the damage to the kitchen.
At the sight of the dented pans, he winced.
Jen would have hated to see this. Rosalita’s girlfriend loved to cook.
He knew what care she took with her cookware.
Alfie didn’t understand the point of this destruction.
Even more so than the rest of it. Just standing here and staring at it wasn’t going to do any good.
Until he knew exactly what he should say to Rhys, neither would hunting him down.
He started picking up the scattered pans.
He could see what could be salvaged and go from there.
It was more than what he could do for his relationship with Rhys. Especially when he saw the way Rhys looked at Mel as they’d stood there. Rhys had looked at Alfie like that once, too. So much he had been sure their teammates would know what sometimes happened between them.
No one ever said anything. Not even after Brock and Caleb had gotten together. Maybe no one really knew. That would be better. Since Alfie was sure Rhys wasn’t going to look at him like that again. Not if he had someone who could give him what he seemed to need.
Alfie tossed a pan onto the counter, the clatter of it reverberating in his head. It was fine. He would at least clean up one mess. Then figure out how he could pack away all these other feelings so he didn’t completely lose Rhys from his life.