His 47 Seconds of Silence Cost Him Everything novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: Opening Day

Cory's text came at 7:02 on the morning of Opening Day.

"Per my attorney: you do not have permission to contact my son. Do not approach him at the field. Stacy and I are in agreement on this."

Stacy and I are in agreement.

I'd never seen him write that sentence in five years.

I was sitting on Jen's counter in my Wildcats cardigan, holding a travel mug, ready to leave.

I read it to Jen.

"So don't approach him," she said. "Sit somewhere and let him approach you. He's twelve. He's going to approach you."

"Cory will make a scene."

"Cory makes a scene by standing still," she said. "You'll be fine."

My phone buzzed again.

Mike.

"Heard about the text. Callen showed it to me at the gas station. Stacy screenshotted it to his iPad."

Then: "Scorekeeper quit. Moved to Dayton. League needs a volunteer to keep the book from the dugout. It's an official position. Background check's already on file from when you did the snack bar. Interested?"

I read it twice.

"Is that allowed?"

"League bylaws, section four. Scorekeeper sits in the dugout with the coaching staff. Nobody can move her but the board. Board likes you this week."

I put my mug down.

"Yes."

"Bring a pencil. Two. They break."

The ballpark on Opening Day was full of balloons.

There was a bounce house by the playground and a man selling kettle corn out of a trailer.

The Wildcats were in their real uniforms for the first time, navy jerseys and white pants that wouldn't stay white for an hour.

I walked past the bleachers with the big blue scorebook under my arm.

People looked.

But a few of the moms waved this time.

The third-base coach, the one who'd asked Cory why he didn't laugh, tipped his cap to me.

Cory and Stacy were halfway up the bleachers behind first base.

Not together, exactly. Four feet apart. But on the same bench.

Cory saw me and stood up.

Then he saw me open the dugout gate and sit down on the end of the bench next to the water cooler, and he stopped.

He sat back down slowly.

Callen was in the bullpen strapping on his shin guards.

He looked up and saw me in the dugout and his whole face cracked open.

← Chapter 7 · All chapters · Chapter 9 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend