10/02/2015

chapter twelve ;

♡

be a better experience if Phillips didn't show up," Ham informed Leah, grudgingly.

Over two weeks had passed, a couple of days into October, and the house fire finally began to subside in our minds. The DeNunez family were coming along quite well, temporarily residing at Mrs. DeNunez's older brother's, a single father, house. Mrs. DeNunez's college students created a fundraiser, and several others in the Valley pitched in; in addition, considering the fact that they had lost everything but the clothes on their backs, many donated clothes for the family.

Now Kenny was perfectly well – well enough to return to the sandlot. After school ended on Friday, the opportunity finally presented itself: Leah was able to stay the weekend at my house. Even under the relentless heat at the sandlot, the joy in her eyes was evident.

"You mean Jordan Phillips?" Leah inquired. "The baseball player?"

Across the lot, Jordan could be seen making his way toward the dugout, where everyone sat and stood. Squints squinted his eyes menacingly, shaking his head. "I didn't think he'd actually stick around this long."

"What's wrong with him?" Leah swept a stray chocolate strand of hair behind her ear and adjusted her glasses. "Did he do something to you?"

"Do something?" Ham cried. "He's our worst enemy! He lives to torture us. He thinks he's better than us."

"Lived," I corrected, brandishing an ice-cold water bottle in the boy's face. "He isn't like he used to be. He apologized, and for a while he's been playing the pushover just so you guys will forgive him."

Now it was Ham's turn to squint his eyes. After glancing to the side to make sure that Benny had remained in his place across the dugout, examining the chipped remains of the wooden bat he had broken minutes before, Ham pointed out, "He's only doing it for you. He wants us to be okay with him so he can be around you. He doesn't care if we forgive him or not."

Before I could reject the statement, Jordan skidded to a stop at the edge of the dugout – the edge closest to me. He flashed me a smile as he removed his backpack from his shoulders.

"Did I miss much?"

Bertram, having taken a liking to the boy, stood to greet Jordan. "Just Benny breaking the bat."

One of Jordan's light brows rose. "Broke it? I have another bat at home, if you guys want me to go get it – "

"No," Benny spoke, his voice loud and clear and sudden, "we don't. We have another one. Don't need your help."

Benny's hostility caused discomfort to rise in my chest. I had still not grown used to this side of him; he was usually so kind.

"All right." Jordan hardly seemed bothered. He simply shrugged and held his brown leather backpack into the air. "Well, I brought popsicles. They'll freeze back up pretty quickly."

"Yes!" Tommy grinned, jumping to his feet. He darted for Jordan and attacked him with a hug; Jordan, with a light smile, wrapped an arm around the younger boy.

Benny practically fumed at the ears.

"Well," Yeah-Yeah said, "let's get back to the game." Along with Benny, he did not seem very happy – Although, there was a slight hint of appreciation in his expression that he failed to mask.

No one had expected it, but Leah was quite interested in watching the boys and me play baseball. She had never been an athletic person, so she was unwilling to join in the game, but boredom never arrived when she acted as an audience.

So the boys – including Jordan Phillips – made their way onto the field, alongside myself. My feet dug into the shallow and familiar mixture of dirt and sand. Already my jeans were coated with dirt from sliding toward the bases.

"Ladies first," Benny said, smiling down at me. He pecked my lips before jogging to guard a base.

The new wooden bat, identical to the last, felt somehow lighter in my hands. While Kenny stretched his arms, I practiced my swing. Even in the lack of playing, the familiarity returned immediately – It seemed as though I had never missed a day at the sandlot, the way someone could return home after a long vacation and feel like they had never left.

And all of the boys – not just Bertram and Kenny and Benny – stood along with me. Rather than only occasionally seeing them, it felt as though, similar to the summer, I had seen them every day. The lack of communication in person did not dent our relationships.

Kenny straightened his posture and adjusted his K.C. cap, a signal that he was prepared to pitch. After rubbing the dirt-sand between my hands, I got into stance, raising the bat.

"Your shoe's untied," Ham said from behind me.

The words bounced harmlessly from my ears. I would not let his voice or his absurd statements distract me. When the baseball zoomed toward me, I swung the bat –

Crack!

The ball was knocked high into the air to fly toward the outfield. I had already dropped the bat, though, and darted for first base, where Jordan stood. Smalls caught the ball up from the ground, and proceeded to throw it. A moment of panic flickered in my chest, because I had only just passed the halfway mark. The boy had definitely improved his game.

Jordan threw his gloved hand in the air to catch the ball, and I sped up – but I could see that it was useless. I slowed my pace, prepared to take someone's place in the field. And then –

He did not catch the ball. The ball that had been a literal inch away from his glove.

The failure stunned me, because I knew that one of Jordan's specialties was always catching the ball. I was only a few steps away when my foot caught on something and I lost my balance. Somehow Jordan was there to catch me, quickly pulling me upright.

"Your shoe's untied!" Ham repeated in a shout, now on his feet.

"Oh, my God," I breathed, managing a shaky laugh, "I thought he was joking."

Jordan smiled, and pointed to base. "You gonna touch it?"

No one had gone to take the ball, which had only landed a few feet away from Jordan. A bit warily, I moved forward and stepped onto the base with one foot. Jordan grinned, went to retrieve the ball, and threw it to Kenny.

The game continued, and I turned to Jordan with slitted eyes. "You did that on purpose."

"Caught you?" Jordan scratched the back of his neck, chuckling. "Yeah, I did. Did you want me to let you fall?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. You missed that ball on purpose. It was right by your hand, and you never miss."

Jordan shrugged. "Give yourself some credit, Makayla."

"You didn't deny it," I pointed out.

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but then the sound of wood against a baseball cracked through the air, and I instinctively took off for second base, abandoning the conversation with Jordan. As I ran, I noticed that the ball passed the wall, landing somewhere in Mr. Myrtle's yard. And then, as I ran for home, I realized that it had been Benny who'd hit the home run.

I awaited Benny at home base, only a bit nervous – What if he had seen me speaking to Jordan and grew hostile toward me? But he reached me with a smile, allowing me to high-five him.

"Good hit," I complimented.

"Thanks, babe." Taking hold of my wrist, he pulled me forward, so that my body crashed into his; he then smashed his lips onto mine.

Beside us Ham could be heard sighing, but after two days short of three months, he and the rest of the boys had grown used to us. We usually saved most of the kissing for our more private moments, but now . . . Benny, I knew, loved to prove a point when Jordan was present.

point of view.

A smile rested on my face, seemingly indestructible. It seemed that I was always happiest when the entire group was together. Now that school had started, my every day life had taken a major change – I saw most of my best friends every day, minus four: Benny, Makayla, DeNunez, and Bertram. And without them, nothing seemed as fun.

But lately, things started to change. Everyone made more time to come to the sandlot, and it was as if we had never left. As if the best summer had never ended. Today would be even better – Since it was Friday, everyone planned to stay at Makayla's house for a while, even Jordan.

Beside me on the dugout sat Bertram; he nudged me with his shoulder, fixing me with a grin. "What?" I laughed.

"I'm so excited," Bertram whispered, eyes flickering toward Leah, who sat beside Makayla with a smile. "She's staying the night – I'm staying the night. What if this is my chance?"

I couldn't help but to laugh. "You're so crazy about her."

"You don't understand, man. She's . . . perfect."

"You know who you remind me of?" I smirked.

Bertram rolled his eyes. "Oh, I already know what you're gonna say. Benny. Yeah, yeah, I know."

"What?" Yeah-Yeah turned from his place beside Bertram, breaking conversation with Squints. Curiosity lit his eyes. "What, Bertram?"

Bertram and I shared one glance before we both burst into laughter. All Yeah-Yeah could do was frown, then turn back toward Squints with a shrug.

"Okay, well, I should go do the dishes now," I said, standing to my feet and brushing the dirt from my khaki shorts. "If I don't do them, Mom won't let me go to Kayla's."

"We'll be right behind you," Benny called from his place beside Makayla.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and I exited the sandlot with my hands tucked into my pockets. The sky overhead was royal blue, smeared with ruby and violet; sunsets never ceased to amaze me.

Finally my house came into view, golden light spilling from the kitchen window. But my eyes wandered briefly, and all thoughts of my house fell away. An unfamiliar black car rested along the sidewalk, in front of Makayla's house.

Some weird feeling in the pit of my stomach pushed me onward, past my own house. And I thought of the threats Makayla had been left with, and the claim that the one behind all of it had burned down the treehouse and DeNunez's house. What if the person had made a return, and I was about to find them?

As I neared the house, I pulled out my brand new phone, prepared to call the police. One press of a button, and they would be on the phone – so when I reached the house, I twisted the doorknob and stepped inside.

The living room was empty and eerily silent. The air was reaching a freezing point, it seemed; a shiver ran down my spine. No one was in the kitchen either, so I continued upstairs. And then I heard a noise . . . someone was moving around in Makayla's bedroom.

Fear closed my airway. Before I could make a sound, I rushed into the nearest bedroom – Luke's. The room had been left untouched, and not necessarily in a positive way; it would have done Luke some good to pick up the dirty clothes on the ground. But that was hardly my concern.

Whoever was in Makayla's room made enough noise that I felt safe to call the police. After whispering the address and informing them of an intruder, I grabbed a silver metal bat from the corner of Luke's room. And then, moved by a mixture of adrenaline and anger, I made my way out into the hallway.

Makayla's bedroom door stood ajar, providing a view of the person inside – a man, brown-haired and thin, not much older than Luke, rummaging through drawers in a frantic manner.

"Where are they?" he growled.

"Where are what?" I was surprised to find that my voice sounded much more sturdy than I had expected, considering the fact that I was trembling on the inside with fear.

The man froze, muscles tensing, before he turned to face me. The look on his face was murderous; I took an involuntary step back.

For several painful moments there was absolute silence. The only movement was my trembling hands; in attempt to keep my lips from quivering I bit down into my tongue and pressed my lips tightly together.

Finally the man spoke, his voice deep, his tongue pouring venom. "You're not very smart, are you?"

My chest ached due to the violent pounding of my heart, but I stood my ground. "I don't think you have any room to talk about smart. In fact, you should feel lucky that it was me who caught you."

"Caught me?" He chuckled, moving toward me like a dangerous animal prepared to strike. "Get out of my way, kid, and maybe you can leave with your life."

Despite my anxiety, my eyes contracted to slits. "You think you scare me?"

The guy now stood mere feet away from me; as much as I wanted to flee, my feet remained planted to the ground. I raised the silver bat high, because he towered over me – and I was ready to defend myself, on account of a new burst of bravery.

"You don't," I said. "And the cops are on their way. I just have one question . . . Why did you do this?"

Glowering, he said, "I don't have to tell you shit. Just know that she messed with the wrong fucking guys." And suddenly he lunged at me –

Playing baseball must have improved much more than my ability to catch. Although he had stood close enough to touch me, before he could do so, I dodged him. He hardly had time to process what I had done and react before I swung the bat. The metal bar slammed into his stomach, and he fell backward – and tumbled down the staircase.

As the guy landed on the ground ahead of the staircase, my heart flew into my throat. The fall had not affected him so badly that he could not move. He pushed himself to his feet, cradling his arm to his chest. He was going to get away.

But then the door swung open, revealing the entire sandlot group. Makayla was at the lead. Her eyes landed on the guy, who had frozen a few feet away from her. Then her gaze found me.

"Who's this?"

"Austin?" Leah stepped forward, incredulous. "What are you . . . ?"

The guy called Austin stood like a deer in headlights, eyes wide with shock. But my attention was focused on Makayla, who seemed to be fitting together pieces of a puzzle.

"I remember you," she finally said, anger creeping into her voice. Stepping over the threshold, she pointed a finger at his face. "You're the creep who said I had a huge ass at Bertram's brother's bonfire. And that age is just a number. And you were there when my brother got jumped. Luke said someone got away . . ."

"Wait," Leah stepped forward, "what? What is she talking about, Austin?"

Makayla glanced at Leah, chest rising and falling at a quicker pace. "You know him?"

Leah adjusted her glasses, which enlarged her emerald eyes full of shock. "Yes. He's my brother."

At that moment the boys began to pour into the house, clearly furious. Because everyone, even Jordan, had figured Austin out. The clues pointed to one thing – the biggest clue being him breaking into Makayla's house.

Austin stood still, fuming, hands clenched tightly into fists. "I should have ran you over in the parking lot."

As I descended the staircase, I saw the pure hatred in Makayla's eyes. To me she looked like a wolf, feral and deadly, prepared to tear out the throat of her enemy with her bare teeth. I was almost afraid for Austin.

"You burned down Kenny's house because you held a grudge against me. You tried to burn a bunch of children alive, all because you're a revolting, diseased piece of dog shit. Because a fourteen-year-old didn't want you, and because you and your pathetic friends couldn't even take on a couple of kids."

Everyone watched in silence, holding their breath. Benny stood nearest Makayla, but he did not follow her as she approached Austin. Leah stood as still as a statue, tears rolling down her cheeks, because even she could not doubt that her brother was capable of such evil in this moment.

Again Makayla reminded me of a wolf. I had reached the ground, and now I could see her much more clearly. Her curly, raven hair framed her face, shining like the coat of a wolf. Her sea-colored eyes darkened to nearly black, ominous, venomous, burning with the fire that Austin had created. Her lips were curled back, a snarl that definitely resembled a wolf's.

Compared to Austin, Makayla was excessively short – and somehow I still almost felt bad for him. Almost. Until, of course, I recalled all of the death threats he had sent, all of the terror he had caused, the two times that he had almost taken the lives of the people I loved.

"I should kill you," Makayla growled. "I should beat you to death with a baseball bat."

"Makayla – " Leah reached out, gasping for breath.

"But I'm above that," Makayla continued, cutting Leah off. "People like you – they deserve to rot in prison before they rot in Hell."

"I bet that's what your dead best friend felt like when he was burned alive."

If there was an invisible mute button, someone must have pushed it. All sound ceased. Everyone stared at Makayla in horror. How Austin knew about Leon, I didn't know, but everyone else did. And we all knew that he had crossed a line that he could never return from.

We all knew what Makayla was capable of. Jordan Phillips, who guarded the door, had been on the receiving end at a time – she had busted his nose. So we all expected the inevitable – Makayla was going to beat Austin to a bloody pulp. And Leah stepped backward until her back hit a wall, clearly abandoning any attempts of rescue.

And then everyone's mind was blown when Benny rushed forward, wooden bat poised, and cracked Austin across the face with it.

Austin crumpled to the ground, the skin of his upper cheekbone split, blood pouring. Contrary to his girlfriend, Benny remained in his place. Makayla would have continued to beat the boy mercilessly; and other minds as well as my own genuinely wondered whether she was capable of murder at this point.

Other than the gasps of the boys, the only noise was the choked cry of Leah. Kenny, who stood next to her, wrapped her in his arms, turning her so that she faced his chest rather than the sight of her unconscious brother.

And Makayla stood in the exact same spot, quaking with some emotion that exceeded fury. If I had not known the reason, I probably would have thought she was having a seizure.

Nobody really moved until the police showed. Austin's injuries were explained as the product of self defense.

point of view.

When the police finally left, all I wanted to do was cry and punch everything in sight. Anger surged through my veins, aimed at myself as well as Austin. He had gotten to me. He had managed to split open a wound, although his words should have only angered me. He had left me with numb skin, and the feeling had still not gone.

Everyone surprisingly stayed at my house – even Leah. The girl assumed a quieter air than ever, but she refused to leave my side.

We all stood outside, now joined by Luke, Lynn, and Elizabeth. No one mentioned Benny's outburst aloud. And, oddly, I could hardly think about it. All I could think was: I should have killed him.

Eventually Leah pulled me away from the others, to the side of my house. The only source of light poured from the windows of my house and neighboring houses, and streetlights. Even still, I could clearly make out the red that rimmed Leah's emerald eyes.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.