17 | Ignored

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	LEILA AND I spent the morning walking through the city before she left for her afternoon shift at the hospital

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LEILA AND I spent the morning walking through the city before she left for her afternoon shift at the hospital. By the time dinner rolled around, I was buzzing with coffee and nestled on the couch.

The rain thumped against the windows overlooking Philadelphia, and I glanced into the kitchen. The conversation I had with Mason replayed in my mind, causing me to check my phone.

No new notifications

I slammed my head into the cushions.

You could fix that notification issue with one message, Sade... But I couldn't.

Morning, afternoon, and night, Elijah found a way into my thoughts. It had almost been ten days since we last spoke, but who was counting? After my epiphany, I thought I would have the confidence to message him, yet when morning broke, I couldn't bring myself to.

I was more stubborn than I thought.

Scrolling through the TV channels, I spotted the live Trumbullen baseball game and my brows drew together. I didn't know they had a game over break. I clicked the channel and Jayce's face filled the screen.

They were losing, and when the camera panned to Elijah, who was up to bat, my skin heated. He was stoic, his eyes narrowed and his hands gripped the bat hard enough that his knuckles poked through his skin.

I sat up.

The pitcher threw, and Elijah struck out. The crowd cheered him on and so did his teammates, but he seemed frustrated. Beads of rain rolled off his helmet and down his muscular arms as he tightened his grip.

"Come on, Eli," I muttered under my breath.

He struck out again, and I tugged at the roots of my hair. What was going on?

The announcer made a snarky comment about his baseball skill today just as he swung and hit the ball with all his might. I sprang to my feet with my hands in the air, watching him dash to first base before the ball made it back to him. I could hear the crowd cheering in the background, but he didn't look happy.

The door opened, and Leila walked in, causing me to fall onto the couch.

She froze. "Are you watching baseball?"

"It was just on," I said, but it sounded like a question.

"Great play from Elijah Preston!" the announcer's voice boomed through the speakers and a sly grin crept onto my sister's face.

"Elijah? Your Elijah?"

"Not my Elijah." I turned down the volume and glanced at the TV every so often. He looked just as annoyed as the first baseball party. He ran his gloved hand over his face and pulled up the fabric covering his thighs so he could squat better.

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