Hissy Fit (Southern Gentleman 1)

“Riggs,” I called out, pointing at the shortstop. “What would you do if you couldn’t walk anymore?”

Riggs didn’t say a word.

“And you, Boney,” I called, pointing at my relief pitcher. “What would you do if you woke up one day and realized that you couldn’t get yourself to the toilet to take a shit?”

Still nothing.

“Jacks.” I looked at the catcher who standing next to me. “What would you do if you found out that you could never drive that shiny new truck again?”

Slowly but surely, I went through each and every senior on the team.

“What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and realized your entire life was over?” I asked. “That you had to relearn the basics. Figure out how to do things that you had mastered when you were a baby? How to eat. How to sleep. How to get to the bathroom. How to shower. How to do just about everything you’ve always taken for granted.”

“Shit.”

That came from Riggs.

“Y’all know as well as I do that Morgan’s life was baseball,” I continued. “How do you think it makes him feel to know that you don’t support him?”

Every single boy looked at their feet, but I had a feeling that the little shit Mackie only did it because he didn’t want to be out of place amongst the group.

If Mackie wasn’t such a good player, I’d think about kicking him off the team.

He was a selfish prick and I’d honestly never come as close as I did with Mackie to hating a student.

My anger rose once again, and I narrowed my eyes at the entire team.

“Unfortunately for you underclassmen, y’all are going to share in the seniors’ punishment.” I paused to look at my nephew, giving him an annoyed glance. Once my eyes were turned back to the group of seniors, I let them hear the anger in my voice. “I may not be able to physically touch you, but I can still kick your ass. Now run.”

***

Raleigh

I looked up, startled to find fifteen sweaty boys standing in my way.

I swallowed, trying not to relay my fears of having all of them standing there, blocking my way out.

“We came to apologize.” Johnson looked apologetic.

All of them did. All of them but a few. But those few were outnumbered by the rest that did.

One face, in particular, Mackie Tombs, stood out. And not in a good way. I had a feeling that if these other boys weren’t there with him, he might very well be doing the opposite of apologizing.

“Um, thank you?” I replied hesitantly.

Johnson’s lips twitched, and he shook his head, causing his shaggy hair to fall haphazardly over his face.

Bolstering my courage by looking at his face, I turned to the other boys, one by one, and looked each of them in the eyes.

“I realize that y’all think it’s a joke.” I paused. “But this bullying stuff is serious business. You don’t know anything about a person that you’re bullying. You have no idea what’s going on at home. You don’t know whether his father just died, or his entire life had changed due to a parent losing a job. Of course, in Morgan’s case, you do know some of what he’s facing…but you also don’t know the struggle that he’s going through. Y’all should be role models, not bullies.”

Feet shuffled, and I smiled then. “I appreciate y’all coming over to apologize. But I think that Morgan could use the apologies more than I could…and I also think it wouldn’t hurt you to spend a little time with your friend. I’m sure that he misses y’all.”

Morgan didn’t have any friends any longer. It was like he’d isolated himself, doing what he could to put up a shield and keep people that wanted to be his friend out.

Murmurs of agreement filled the air, and all of a sudden, I realized that these boys had no idea that Morgan missed them.

“All right, guys.” I smiled softly at them. “Y’all should probably head home and get showered…don’t y’all have a test in sexual education coming up tomorrow?”

Chuckles filled the air, but again, Mackie only glared.

I swallowed and looked away from his gaze.

Moments after issuing the dismissal, they all left, leaving me staring at their retreating backs.

Biting my lip, I started down the walkway leading to the parking lot about fifteen steps behind them, being sure to keep enough distance in between me and them to be sure I felt safe.

I’d learned my triggers, and since one of them was being too close to a group of boys, I kept my distance.

I’d just rounded the final corner to the parking lot when I realized that Mackie was holding back. He was at least eight to ten paces behind the rest of the team, and Johnson was looking over his shoulder every couple of steps to keep an eye on him.