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Ronnie doesn’t seem like a bad person. She seems genuine and sweet.
“Sounds good,” I say softly to her, and she flashes me a huge smile. She doesn’t make a big deal that I gave her actual words, but I can tell the excitement in her bounce.
Now, I just need to hope that my memory of how I ended up here in Las Vegas comes back. How I ended up in that house, suffering and beaten.
I hope he never finds me.
That the shadows don’t come alive in the night.
Chapter Eight
DREW
“Stop your fucking bitchin’,”Tristan growls from in front of his locker. God, he’s a miserable fucker sometimes.
“Dude, shut up. It’s bullshit. I was cleared to play by Doc and the trainer. It’s bullshit Coach won’t let me play.” I run a hand through my hair as I let out an exasperated breath. “If I’m fine to suit up, I’m fine to play. I need to be out there with you.”
“Pitch, it’s one game. You weren’t even set to pitch today. And you are out there,” Cameron says as he puts on his cap.
I roll my eyes, but Kayce adds, “Stop being a drama llama. Also, for future reference, maybe don’t go running into burning buildings and saving the damsels in distress. Or at least make sure you’re Superman before doing that.” He smiles at me.
“Look, I did what I thought I had to do. And I’m glad I did. Right place, right time.” I shrug.
“And now you aren’t cleared to play,” Tristan reminds me sourly. Did I mention he’s a miserable bastard?
I huff in annoyance. “Yeah, whatever.” I slam my bag into my locker. I’m stressed to the max. Not being given the go ahead by coach to play and having to be sidelined while we fight to keep our undefeated streak going is internally killing me.
Then add in that no one has been able to find Raelyn. She disappeared into the wind. If it wasn’t for others knowing she existed, I would question my sanity.
Though I don’t even know if anyone cares. It’s obvious she was in trouble, that she had been through more than most people in their lives. Not to mention the condition I found her in was deplorable. So it makes sense that she disappeared.
She is a lost soul. She got scared and ran from people who were legit trying to help her. My heart pulls at the idea that she is out there all alone.
But of course, I don’t know that. She could be with family, friends, anyone really. I know nothing about her. Just her name.
Raelyn.
“Spencer! Get in here!” Coach Bertelli yells from his office, breaking me out of my thoughts, and I wince.
“Oh, someone is gonna get yelled at for pouting.” Kayce frowns and makes sniffling noises at me and then laughs as I throw my glove at him. That only makes him laugh even harder.
“Shut it, Anderson,” Tristan snaps from where he sits in front of his locker.
I shake my head at the guys and walk into Coach’s office. It’s covered in baseball memorabilia, a lot of it from the days when he played. Coach Bertelli was a legend back then and an amazing third baseman. We are all very fortunate that he’s our coach and that we get to learn from the best.
“What’s up, Coach?” I nod as I walk in and sit on the black leather couch that rests against the wall.
He sighs. “I know you’re pissed?—”
“Pissed is an understatement,” I cut him off.
He holds up a hand to stop me. “We are just playing it safe with this game. And you weren’t even on the pitching rotation for today anyway.”
“Coach, you always list me as a backup, and today I’m not. Please put me on the roster,” I beg. “I get it that you’re playing it safe, but I need to be part of the team. It’s been a week since the fire.”
Coach Bertelli hums for a moment as he watches me. “You get why it was stupid to do what you did, right? It was a house onfire. You had no idea who was in there or if you could get out! What if the building collapsed? What if you went in there for nothing? It was stupid. It was a stupid fucking thing to do.”
My jaw clenches. “Look, you and I have different definitions of stupid. Anderson live streaming his drunken escapades dry humping strippers on the Vegas Strip is stupid. Me rescuing a person from a fire? Not stupid. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.” I shrug as I lay down the facts.