Misunderstood (Neighbor from Hell (YA) 1)

When she didn’t say anything, he said, “Would it help if I told you that I missed you?”

“No, no, it would not,” Mikey said, deciding that it would be better for everyone concerned if she cleared that up now.

“How about, I’m an idiot and you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” he said, making her sigh, because that all really went without saying.

When she still didn’t say anything, mostly because she was trying to figure out where he was taking her, he said, “I’m sorry, Mikey.”

Feeling her bottom lip tremble, she said, “I’d really like to go back to class now.”

“We could do that…” Sebastian said, letting his words trail off as he leaned over and carefully placed her on her feet so that she could see where he’d taken her, and once he did…

“I don’t think we’re supposed to be here,” Mikey said, swallowing hard as she glanced from the baseball fields to the parking lot, looking for Coach Dilmore’s black SUV and damn near sighing when she didn’t see it parked in its usual spot.

“We really don’t have a choice,” Sebastian said, drawing her attention back to find three large men, all of them wearing white polo shirts with Latin Scribe High School embroidered on the left side of their chests, walking toward them.

“What’s going on?” Mikey asked, unable to help but frown as she glanced back at Sebastian.

“My apology,” he said, gesturing back to the three men headed their way.

“What?” Mikey asked in a daze, trying to make sense out of what was happening.

“You must be Mikey. My name is Coach Jackson,” the larger of the three men said with a warm smile as he offered his hand.

Nodding, Mikey shook his hand as she said, “And I have absolutely no idea what’s going on here.”

Chuckling, Coach Jackson gestured to Sebastian. “Your friend told us that we should come down here and see what you can do.”

“He did?” Mikey asked, frowning as she glanced at Sebastian to find him smiling as he–

Did he just push her? Mikey wondered only to narrow her eyes when what felt suspiciously like the tip of a cane gave her another push.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, Mikey,” Coach Jackson said as one of the men tossed her a baseball glove and she found herself smiling for the first time in weeks when Sebastian pulled a baseball out of his sweatshirt pocket and tossed it to her.

“Go show them what you’ve got, Mikey.”

Chapter 44

“Are you going to tell me what you’re up to?” Sebastian asked as he sat down on the bench next to Mrs. Blaine.

“What makes you think that I’m up to something?” Mrs. Blaine asked as she laid her cane across her lap.

“Because you have the same devious glint in your eye that Aunt Haley gets when she’s screwing with Uncle Jason’s head for her own amusement,” Sebastian pointed out as they watched Mikey step onto the field.

“Well, I may have made a few phone calls,” she said, making his lips twitch.

“And those phone calls led to what exactly?” he asked, settling back against the bench.

“Making sure that Mikey gets a fair chance,” she said with a pleased smile.

“Thank you, Grandma,” Sebastian said, sighing with relief, praying like crazy that this worked.

For the next hour, they watched as Coach Jackson had Mikey run drills, run the bases, and bat. When that was done, he had Mikey step onto the pitcher’s mound. Sebastian watched as a calmness that he hadn’t seen in months took over Mikey. They had Mikey throw over and over again, asking her to change it up from fastball to curveball and everything in between.

They were still working with Mikey when Coach Dilmore pulled into the parking lot an hour later. When he saw them, his expression went from confused to pissed in record time. Sebastian watched as Coach Dilmore shoved his bag back in his car and slammed the door shut before he headed for the field and straight for Mikey.

Sebastian stood up and moved to head to the field only to bite back a sigh when Mrs. Blaine gestured for him to take her with him. Deciding that her cane might come in handy, he pushed Mrs. Blaine onto the field just as Coach Jackson signaled for Mikey to stop.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing on my field?” Coach Dilmore demanded as his attention shifted from Mikey to Coach Jackson.