I shove the phone under my leg and close my eyes. If they need me, they’ll text me. I can’t do anything while I’m on the road anyway. Tommy and Dean’s dads are doctors. Booker’s dad is a lawyer. Even Mick’s old man brings in a ton of coin from his financial investment job. My dad’s a deadbeat who rarely remembers he has a family, and my mom is a drunk who is on her fifth job in as many years. I don’t have time for girls or shoes or Jaeger bombs. My arm is my ticket to lifting my family out of poverty. I’ve got to focus on impressing every damn college scout that sits in the stands, not the pretty things that shake their asses in my direction. If Booker’s father was getting us a crew of scouts for winning, that would make me excited. Strippers? When I’m in the majors, I’ll buy my own. For now, though, the only thing I give a damn about is baseball.
Chapter Two
Georgia
I run my finger up and down my thighs, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric. It’s not coarse or itchy, and it doesn’t cause my skin to turn red. I used to hate my clothes before, but this material is utterly delightful. I’d gotten the dress from my grams on Christmas. It was the first one I’d ever actually celebrated. It was all so surreal.
It has bright yellow flowers all over it. Not only that, but it lands a few inches above my knee, and there is only a thin strap at the top over each shoulder. It was so unlike anything I was used to wearing. It gives me a sense of freedom that I’ve never had before.
The dresses I was given when I lived at Guiding Temple covered every inch of my skin. All of the girls were made to look the same. Clothes were only a necessity, nothing more. It was considered breaking the rules if you dared to try to show any kind of individuality. And there were consequences to breaking the rules.
“You want some more bacon, honey?” Grandpa breaks me from my thoughts, causing me to look up at him. He’s standing next to the stove, cooking as usual.
“No thank you.” I smile at him.
The first few weeks after I was handed off to my grandparents, I’d eaten everything in sight. They had so many new things for me to try. I ended up making myself sick a few times. I was so used to eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning. When I first bit into a piece of bacon I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I’ve gotten better at controlling myself, knowing that my grandpa will feed me until I pop.
“You excited to start school today?” Grams walks into the kitchen and begins making herself a cup of coffee.
She leans up against the counter waiting for me to answer. I love how interested they are in my feelings. For so long I had to just do as I was told and not have a say in anything. It feels nice to be surrounded with people that actually care about my thoughts.
“Kind of,” I admit.
“You’ll be fine. A pretty girl like you.” Grandpa winks at me, making me smile.
They both are always so loving and sweet all the time. It was a true gift the day the FBI came flooding into Guiding Temple. At first I was petrified, not sure what was going on. A few days later Grams and Grandpa showed up. I had vague memories of them as a child. But I hadn’t seen them in a very long time. They’ve engulfed me with nothing but love and kindness since they brought me home with them.
They said they’d been looking for me for years, but my mom dropped off the map after my father passed. They’d not only lost their son but lost me too.
“I think it will be okay. I always got along well with the other girls in school.” Grams’ lips purse at the reminder. I went to school in a giant barn. All the girls on one side and the boys on another. There was a scattering of ages. Everyone learned in the same place.
“You’re going to need to take the phone today.” She sets her cup of coffee down before pulling the cell phone off the charger and bringing it over to me. “Most teenage girls love phones.”
I take it from her hand and slip it into my bright pink backpack. I have an addiction to all things colorful. There are so many colors in the world, and I went so long without knowing them. Now I want to experience them all.
“I’m sure I just need some more time to get used to it.” I don’t understand why a phone needs to do five million things.