Only for Him by Cristin Harber

Author:Cristin Harber [Harber, Cristin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: new adult, first love, secret baby, friends to lovers, college romance, high school romance, wrong side of the tracks, serial, coming of age, sexy romance, sweet romance, alpha hero, single mom, military romance, women’s fiction
Publisher: Mill Creek Press
Published: 2015-02-24T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Grayson

Only a few lights shine down, and sweat beads down my back. I couldn’t stay home but had nowhere to go except here, the batting cages where the owner lets me have access anytime day or night. The lights are always on and the gate is always open. It’s just me, the ball, and the bat pushing toward midnight.

It’s been hours since Emma left my place and I grabbed the keys to Pops’s truck. If I stop pushing myself, I’ll have to deal with the fallout from tonight. Pops is gonna kill me. He would even if I hadn’t borrowed his truck while he was sawing Zs on the floor. Emma’s never going to see me the same way. And me. If I look in a damn mirror, I’ll be sick. I wanted to leave the second school’s over. Running away from my past is an alright way to go once everyone else heads to college. But now I need a plan.

Clicks pop from down range, and the mechanical arm launches another baseball toward me. I’m past even a decent form. I’m exhausted. My muscles scream. One ball after the next, I can’t stop swinging, sick over the future, knowing that I had the world fooled until tonight.

Finally nailing that tart. Pops’s words reverberate in my head. Another ball flies. Swinging, I embrace the burn in my back, the ache in my arms. A satisfying crack echoes as it flies, another home run that doesn’t go anywhere.

The clicks and pops signal another one inbound.

I need to talk to Ryan. He always trusted me with Emma, would never have a problem with me being with her. There’s no way he’d think I could hurt her. Because I couldn’t. I can’t. But I did. Fuck me, I did.

The Kingsleys are the only family I’ve had, even if they aren’t really mine. I shake my head, grinding my hands on the grip. A ball flies. Crack. Another one heading for the fence. I should text Ryan. If Emma showed up at home in tears with my car, he’s gonna have a problem with me. Their parents will too. My stomach drops. None of that matters, though, not when she’s been the only thing that’s allowed me to survive, and now she’s gone.

All because of Pops. And Mom. Shit, what would my mom do? What would she think? Why couldn’t this have been better for her? For us? My mind churns.

I can picture my mom’s face, her voice. Vividly. Just another one. Even when I was a kid, her perfect make-up and slurred words confused me. She was so pretty. So lost. I want to throw up. God, I can’t shake her eyes on me in my memories. I’m going fuckin’ nuts. Everyone’s in my head: Pops, Ryan, and now Mom. Just another pill, Gray-baby. It’ll be okay. It’ll always be okay with just one more.

Fuck! It’s not okay. It was never okay. Why did she burden me with this? Rage blinds me, and I throw the bat, screaming into the night.

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