A Brand New Ballgame by Declan Rhodes

Author:Declan Rhodes [Rhodes, Declan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

13

Chase

It was already a miserable morning. I kept replaying Aaron’s comment on the phone in my head. “Maybe accepting the job in Philadelphia would be the best thing for us. We wouldn’t need to hide anymore.” It was impossible to end the call happily after he said that.

He was right, and that’s what I hated so much about it. It wouldn’t be an easy thing to be open about our relationship and come out to the team brass, the league officials, players, and, most of all, the fans, but if we worked for different teams, the revelation wouldn’t be likely to endanger our positions in baseball. I tried to think about playing a season while only getting to see Aaron when our teams played each other. Every time the idea came to mind, I buried my face in my pillow and slammed a fist against the mattress.

I woke up with the sour taste of my own words in my mouth. The batting coach position in Philadelphia would be a promotion for Aaron, and I never offered a word of congratulations. Instead, I was selfish and said, “That sucks!”

Rolling over, I buried my face in the pillow once more and reared back to slam my fist into the mattress again. I winced when I felt a twinge in my shoulder before my fist connected with the fabric. I tumbled over onto my back and reached up for the joint. Sharp pain like the thrust of a tiny knife shot through the shoulder.

“Holy shit!” I growled at the world in general. After lying in bed rubbing my shoulder for another fifteen minutes wracked with fear of what I might feel when I tried to get out of bed, I slid a leg to the edge of the mattress and decided to face the day.

It didn’t hurt as badly as I feared. I spoke to myself in the bathroom mirror and said, “I pulled a small muscle. Get a grip, Chase. You’ll be okay. You’re an adult now.”

I held onto my shoulder and rotated my arm in a circle. Then I pulled both hands back like I was holding a phantom bat and swung. I winced again, but the pain was bearable.

In the shower I let the hot water run over the joint for ten minutes, and when I dressed for the day, the shoulder felt nearly normal. I decided to ignore the minor injury and Aaron’s comments. Instead, I decided to focus on my primary goal for the day. I needed to do some investigative work with Mo.

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