Chapter 4
"Hey hey Chapin!" Eva squeals over the phone. It is to early to be this perky, or even listen to it.
"Please Eva, chill." I tell her. "We can still meet at Starbucks." I hear her giggle then say 'yay'. "But," I continue. "Justin and Isaiah have a game today." She sighs.
"Home or away?"
"Away." I answer. "Which means my parents aren't going."
"Yay?"
"Yes yay." I laugh. "Baseball pants are sexy."
"Yay!" She yells. I pull my iPhone away from my ear. "I'll be over in ten."
I roll out of bed... And land on the floor.
I lay there for a few minutes before finding the strength to pick myself up.
I pull my hair up into a messy bun and walk downstairs, stumbling over every step.
When I get to the bottom stair I freeze.
"Morning Sis!" Justin calld. I step up a step so I'm not as exposed. Whatever he is in a good mood for, I'm not going to be the end of it.
"Actually, I'm going to go get ready. Can Eva and I hitch a ride to your game?" I ask. He shrugs.
"Be ready in thirty." He commands. He gave me a look like he wants to talk to me, so I sit down. "I'm really confused right now." He says.
"You're telling me." I look at him sympathetically. He hands me his phone.
"Why can't I beat this level? I've done everything right." I take his phone and stare at the screen. Game Over is written across it. I roll my eyes.
"I really don't know." I tell him. I never was a gamer. I could care less about the digital world. "I'm going to get ready." I hand his iPhone back to him.
I walk back upstairs and into my room. I open my walk-in closet doors. On the right side are my various assortments of summer tops, organized by sleeve length, thanks to my mother. On the left were my pants/shorts and shoe rack. I pull out the only Miss Me shorts I own and toss them over my arm. They are mainly pink floral, and I loved them since I laid eyes on them.
I continue over to my shirts. There are so many. I pull out a thin, white tank with ruffles on the front. It is perfect with the shorts. I reach into the drawer under the rack. I pull out a light pink cami to put underneath.
For shoes, I grabb my sandals with the white ankle straps. It takes almost five minutes to get them on correctly, I only wore them once.
As I travel to the bathroom, I run into Eva.
"Way to make an entrance." I tell her. She just looks at me. Her face was expressionless. "What's wrong?"
"I didn't sleep last night. Like, at all."
"Were your parents arguing again?" I ask. She nods. Eva knows that I knew exactly what she was going through, my parents split when I was five and Justin was eight. My father, an alcoholic, walked out on my mom one night after having an affair. She knew all about it, but he didn't know that. I always wondered if they never split, if my father would have ever changed. I've seen it happen before, but not often. It could've went either way if my father stayed.
I haven't talked to him in almost a year. Sometimes I miss him, sometimes he doesn't even cross my mind. It was his decision to walk out on my mother, on Justin, on me.
I was seven, two years after he had left, my mother sat down with Justin and I. Justin had all these questions left unanswered. I was too young to care at the time.
"But what if he comes back?" Justin asked. His eyes teared up. He remembered our dad much more than I did.
"Then we'll welcome him with open arms." Her answers were always straight-forward. As a single parent, she learned to get to the point, since there was no one there to back her up and tie up any loose ends.
I looked at my mother: young, beautiful, brilliant, independent, outgoing. All of these that described her had never faded even the slightest. She was still going strong.
"Sometimes we have to forgive and forget." She told us, looking directly at me. "That may not be easy, the forgetting may never happen, but its not fair to let this one thing control your life."
Later she married my step-dad, whom I consider my father now. He isn't the one, but he is the only.
"I need to get ready." I tell Eva. "Grab my outfit, I'll do the rest."
I walk swiftly to the bathroom before I have a run-in with Justin. Normally at this time his nerd buddy, Josh, would be here. Usually he would bring an Xbox game like Tetris for "intense mind-blowing gaming".
I chuckle to myself, after thinking this.
In the mirror is the same girl I see every day. Stressed and tired. I have yesterday's makeup smeared around my eyes from rubbing them sometime during the night. I never understood how your makeup comes off so easily at night but never gets on your pillow.
I decide to take control of my hair first. I pull it out of the messy bun. It falls back, but doesn't loose shape, which meant I will be here a while.
I dig my brush through my hair. Then I comb my fingers through what was left of it.
I haven't showered since the incident, so I decide to jump in.
Somewhere in between singing and soaping up, Eva walks in with my clothes. She stays until I had to get out.
I dry off with my favorite beach towel since mom hasn't done laundry this week.
After slipping on my clothes, I realize I was uncomfortable in just the tank. I run back to my room to grab something to cover up. I grab my black half-sleeved cardigan with a belt. I pull the belt out of its place. It is thinner than it looked. When I check it in the mirror, I realize it doesn't match anything in my outfit. I am better off wearing a jacket.
"Come on Chapin! We're going to be late." Justin yells. He is standing at the bottom of the stairs. I hold up my hand and show all of my fingers, indicating 5 minutes. He groans.
You wouldn't believe what a girl can do in five minutes. I scrunch my wavy hair, which made it kind of curly. Then I do my make up. Mascara, eyeliner, blush, a little eyeshadow.
I grabb my iPhone and Eva and head downstairs. Justin immediately stands up and goes to the garage. I jump in the passenger seat of his red Chevrolet Impala. It was my uncle's car until my brother bought it off him.
I flip down the mirror and stare into it. My dark oak hair always has a red tint to it. I never dyed it before. Everything was natural. I move down to my hazel eyes. They are narrow but wide at times. I have long eyelashes and rounded eyebrows. They are the worst things to manage.
My lips are thin and stretch from cheek to cheek, even when closed. When I smile or laugh, my eyes narrow out and my insane smile lines make me look extremely happy. I can never be taken seriously.
When I look to the backseat, Eva is staring out the window. She is dressed in normal jean shorts, rolled up, and an old basketball tee. She was always the sporty one out of us two. Her long blonde hair and big brown eyes. I am surprised she isn't a model.
Ten minutes later we reach our destination: Lakeview. I'm not sure if anyone liked Lakeview, but their team played hard, and a lot of times not fair.
People are filling the stands. There are games on every field. Most were younger kids and their parents standing up to cheer or yell at the umpire every five minutes.
We approach the field where Justin's team is playing. They are the Champion Wolverines facing the Lakeview Trojans, and we are gonna die.
Eva and I stand at the entrance while Justin goes to the field. I don't want to face Isaiah, Eva knows that. Instead, we walk to a girl's softball game. There are two teams: Blue and Red.
"How American." Eva says.
" 'Murica." I reply. We both laugh. I turn around and look at the high school boys' field. Isaiah is at the mound, practicing. He throws one strike after the other.
I watch, mesmerized. I am impressed. He lifts his hat and scratches his head. I move my eyes to his baseball pants.
"Look at those pants!" Eva exclaims, staring the same way. I didn't even realize that she was looking, also. I began walking towards the dugout that Isaiah enters. Eva grabs my shoulder and pulls me back.
"Wait!" She yells. She adjusts her shirt. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asks. I nod. She follows me until the bleachers and then parts. I stand behind the dugout, and take a deep breath.
I actually have the nerve to go in there.
I walk into the dugout with way to much pride.
"Work it!" Moon yells. I turn around and slap him. Isaiah gave him a death glare. Before I reach Isaiah he stands up, as a gentleman would, and held out his hands. I take them. He plants a kiss on my forehead. Immediately, the butterflies are back.
"Ow ow!" Kyle yells. You would think they have learned.
Just to anger them, Isaiah trails his lips down to my cheek, kissed it, then down to my lips. I reach my hands up and place them on his jawline, then move them behind his neck . He manages to slip his hands into my back pockets. The tension between us is intense.
We want each other more than we could admit.
"No make out sessions in my dugout!" I hear a deep voice yell. We both jump. I turn to see Coach White standing in the entrance to the dugout. He chuckles. "I'm just playing. But really, save it for later, pretty boy. You gotta game to pitch." I snuggle my back against Isaiah and he slips his hand around my waist. I look over and see Justin. He rolls his eyes and looks away. I give Isaiah a quick hug and go over to sit with Justin.
"Good luck." I tell him softly.
"Please, don't embarrass me like that." He says. "Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"Coach upgraded positions. Fourth batter, first basement." His smile made him look proud, I knew he is. As much as I hate to admit it, those days of playing catch and mini games of baseball (dodgeball) paid off. He works extra hard for this position, just to impress Jaime.
"Well, like I said, good luck." I tell him. I get up and leave.
I can't tell who Eva was talking to at first. The girl has cherry-brown hair with blonde highlights. It is shoulder length and straightened to perfection. She turns around and waves at me.
Jaime.
I wave back out of politeness. "Hi." I say. She smiles.
"Hey!" She pats the bleachers, so I go up and sit down where her hand had hit. "Aren't you excited?!" She exclaims. I shrug. She smiles.
She is truly beautiful.
"So, I heard you and Isaiah are a thing." I stop. How did this get out so fast? She is Jaimie, the goddess of Champion High.
How am I supposed to answer that?
"We haven't made it official." I tell her. Her eyes open wide.
"It's just fun for them right now." Eva says. Jaimie giggles. I want to slap them both.
"Where did you hear about it?" I ask Jaimie.
"Uh," she looks at the dugout, "Moon told me something about it. " I roll my eyes. So basically he did all of that for him, and his little buddies. I'm not a prop in his show.
I'm not upset because he told people we were dating, but because if he was running his mouth about that, he was running his mouth about the incident.
I jump off the bleachers and storm into the dugout. All of the guys are in there since we were first to bat. I keep my cool, steady walk when I enter the dugout. I could feel Jaime and Eva staring at me.
"Isaiah, can I see you?" I ask. I attempt to look calm before exploding.
"I have to bat first." He says, spitting out a couple sunflower seeds. I hold my hand out to Kyle, who has a bag on his lap. He dumps some into my palm. I pour them onto the ground to show my anger.
"I don't care." I put my hand on my hip to look frustrated. I don't have to try, I really was.
"Ooo, she's mad." I hear someone mumble. He gets up and came towards me. Moon hits him on the back.
"Take care of business, brother." Isaiah starts laughing until I turn around and make a face at him. I turn back around and walk to the gate.
"How many people have you told?" I ask.
"Told what?" He is playing stupid, there is nothing else he could tell.
"What happened!" I don't know what to call it. He nods, then rubs his chin.
"No one." He shoves his hands in his pockets. He bites his lip, which means he is lying.
"Oh really? Because you're ex just asked me if we were a thing." I tell him. "How am I supposed to answer that? 'No. We just like to play around with each other.'? Do you even realize how bad that sounds?!" He looks over to the dugout.
"I'm sorry Chapin, I have to go." With that, he leaves. I stand there. I nod, unsure. I sit on the ground and pull my knees to my chest. Eva runs up. She wraps her arms around me. I begin sobbing into her shoulder. Jaime jumps off the bleachers and comes over. She strokes my arm. I could hear Coach White yelling motivational things at the guys.
"Chapin, I'm so sorry." She says. "He really is a jerk. Take it from someone who knows." She tries to be soothing, but everything is biting at my open wound. She pulls on my shoulder. I let go of Eva and Jaime pulls me into a hug. She pushes me back and makes a sympathetic face.
Jaime takes her thumb and wipes away my running makeup. "You need someone who will mess up your lipstick, not your mascara."
"Definitely not both." I say. They both chuckle, even though I am being completely serious.
"He's not even worth it." Eva says. Jaime nods in agreement. She hands me a napkin when we pass concessions.
"Hungry?"Jaime asks. I nodd, even though I know I can't down anything more than a popsicle. "Or do you want like, drive-thru?"
"I'll just snag a bag of Hot Fries and we can go. Want anything?" I ask her and Eva. I don't think theres ever a time that I'm not craving Hot Fries.
"Nachos. With Jalapenos. Please?" She hands me a ten dollar bill. "Get Evalynn something, too."
After I get our stuff, we sit at a picnic bench near the field. We scarf down our food as if we haven't ate for years, even Jaime. A group of guys from Lakeview, proudly sporting their blue Trojans shirt, whistle at us. I'm not ready for a new guy just yet. Jaime gets their numbers. As she turns away from the group, she does a happy dance and waves her phone with the numbers inside. I smile at her convincingly. She can see right through it.
"You party pooper. The best way to get over a guy is to get a new one." She says proudly. It must be girl code, at least for her anyways. "Want to come over to my place?" She asks. I just shrug. Eva nods. We both follow her out to her car. It is a purple Ferrari.
"Dang. Wanna share?" I ask. She laughs, then holds out the keys. "I was just kidding, I'm sixteen... no license. I can't drive yet."
"You were actually going to let her drive your car?" Eva asks in amazement. Jaime nods. "I mean, I can't drive legally but..." Jaime laughs.
I sit in the passenger seat and buckle up. I feel like I am in a race car. We drive through Lakeview, Southtown, and then to Champion.
I am the one in amazement when we reach her house. It is huge. How come I had no idea it existed? I can't even imagine the amount of sucking-up the neighbors must do.
The front of the house is covered in grey stone of different shades. The rest of it is sided grey. I find one grey stone that resembles Isaiah's eyes. "You're house is beautiful." I say.
"Thanks!" She replies, as if it is the first time she ever heard it. We get out of her car and she leads us inside.
For the next few hours I completely forget about baseball, and Isaiah.
Period.
We did girly things. We really became close, or as close as we could in two hours. I didn't have a care in the world. Jaime had that effect on people.
Jaime drove us home. She drops Eva off first. Her little chihuahua comes running up, Jaime screams. "He's not as viscous as he looks." Eva tells her. She doesn't care. I laugh hysterically through the whole thing. Whatever phenomenon she has against dogs, it was serious.
Jaime drops me off behind my brothers car.
"Do you want to come in?" I asked.
She could always bring that cute little coach purse too, she just wouldn't leave with it.
"I would, but I have to get home. Thanks, though!" She said. I knew now was the only chance I had to make my move.
"Jaime, what did you and Isaiah do at that party?" I ask her. She looks at me, stunned.
"Well," She begins, "He was drinking, and he wanted to... you know... but I denied him. He got all upset and started talking to Eva. I went off with your brother. All I know is when I came back that wretched whore was all over Isaiah, and he wasn't stopping her." I want to let my jaw drop but I refuse to show emotion.
"Thanks."
I began walking up to the front door. I couldn't see it but she must've stuck her head out the window. "Tell Justin I said hi, will you please?" She asked. I smiled, feeling successful.
Without turning around I replied, "Will do."
When I entered my house, it was dark. It looked as if no one lived in it for years. "Hello?" I called out. I continued into the kitchen. No one.
There was no one in the living room or the downstairs bathroom either.
After discovering that no one was home, I plopped on the couch. I felt so relieved. I was breathing heavier than normal from running around the house.
My phone went off.
I pulled it out of my pocket and unlocked it.
4787.
I pulled down the notification bar and clicked onto the message: from my brother.
"You little bitch."