I get the text as soon as I wake up. It was sent last night but I must have missed seeing it before going to bed. Marcus' name is across my screen and I quickly open it up.

From: Marcus Reid

10:12 PM
Looks like you're our new catcher

I sit up in my bed, not sure what to do. I'm not surprised that I made the team, but at the same time, I am. I remember for a second when I found out I had made pitcher on the varsity team back home during my freshman year. I called Dad as soon as I found out.

I pull myself out of bed and pull on a pair of shorts before I go find him in his office. He's talking quietly on the phone already. Work never stops for him. It takes him a second to notice that I'm there and he hangs up.

"What are you doing u so early?" His passive tone catches me off guard. I've been angry at my dad for some time now even though it's died down over the past few years. And even though he has work, he tries to show us he supports us still – tries.

"I just got a text from Marcus, the pitcher for the school's baseball team, and he said I got the position." I can't hide the little bit of excitement I have. Finally, there's something here for me to remind me of my old life.

"What position?" Dad asks, raising an eyebrow as he flips through a bunch of papers on his desk.

"Catcher," I remind him. I don't know what other position I'd want to play.

Dad stops what he's doing, obviously annoyed that he can't find what he's looking for. He looks up at me and I can tell that I now have his full attention. He plops down in the chair behind his desk and looks at me. "That's... great, Jo. But we already discussed this."

I step closer to his desk, my phone still clutched in my hand. "What exactly did we discuss?"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough back then. When your sister almost got attacked? You were supposed to be there with her, not at baseball tryouts. We had never discussed you playing baseball here."

I can feel my grogginess slip away quickly and be replaced with anger. "Dad, baseball is the only thing here that I can escape to. It's the only thing I have."

"What about your family, son? You are always leaving the house – without anyone's permission for that matter – and you're never home as it is. I think that for your benefit, you need to get your priorities straight before you do anything else."

Finally, it hits me. All my built-up anger from over the years comes flooding out. "I guess I'm just like you then, Dad. Always putting something else in front of what supposed to really matter. Always skipping out on family events. What about you?"

Dad stands up. I can tell by his facial expression that he's trying to remain calm. "Jonah, I worked my ass off for this job. It has put food on the table, kept clothes on your back, and a roof over your head. That's what a father does."

"It also bought Mom's supply of drugs, right? Those things that you were never there to witness."

He moves so that he's in front of me, only a few feet away. "I did the best that I could for you and Jordan. I tried to be there when I could, and when I was, your mother didn't want anything to do with me. It is not my fault that she decided to make those decisions for herself."

"Just like it isn't my fault that there are idiots in the world like that guy that tried to attack my sister." I step away from him. "I'm just like you, Dad. Which is why I'm playing baseball this year."

In the hallway outside my dad's office, Jordan stands there with her eyes glued to the ground as she stands rigidly.

"Jordan," I say, wondering how of that she heard.

She doesn't look up at me before going straight to her room. I don't get there before she slams the door. I knock on it knowing she isn't going to answer. Fortunately, she didn't lock the door behind her.

I find her sitting on the floor against the other side of her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Jordan, listen to me," I say quietly as I ease down beside her.

"No," she stops me. "You listen to me. I stood back and watched this happen to you and Dad. This stupid wedge that came between you guys. One day you went from best friends to fighting about everything. Just stop! I'm done with it. I'm done with being alone in all of this."

She pushes herself up off the floor and walks out of the room. I want to follower her out but I've learned over the years that when Jordan is mad, it's best to stay away.

I head back to my room and begin getting ready for school while thinking of ways to do everything at once. How do I make my dad happy, Jordan happy, and myself happy all at the same time.

"Jonah?" I hear behind me. Laura comes in a few seconds later as I'm wrestling with the tie around my neck. Laura smiles and reaches for it, grabbing it and fixing it for me. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Why?" I realize I sound a little too straightforward, so I clear my throat and hope she doesn't mind.

"Because of the way you and your dad sounded this morning." She finishes my tie and I look in the mirror behind me to see that it's perfect. Why is this such rocket science to me?

"I guess I'll be fine after I figure out how to make everyone happy." I find my shoes and sit on the edge of my bed to pull them on. "Which, if you haven't noticed, is impossible."

Laura shakes her head. "I think that there's an easy fix, you just have to do some digging for it."

I stand up after I get my shoes on and grab my jacket off the back of my chair. "Thanks, Laura. But you don't get it. You weren't there to see us grow up."

She places a hand on my shoulder as I'm walking out of my room. "I might not have been, but I'm here now. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Just know that, okay?"

I watch her leave and wonder just how long it is going to take me to put a filter on my mouth.

*

My phone rings just as Casey catches up to me in the hallway. I pull it out of my pocket and see that it's a call from somewhere in Arizona. I contemplate answering it for a few minutes before pressing the decline button and shoving it back in my pocket.

There's a tap on my shoulder and Casey walks around me, a sly grin on her face. "What's up, cowboy?"

I roll my eyes but otherwise ignore her nickname for me. "Hey." I look behind her and see that Shane isn't too far behind her, his eyes lingering on her as she walks further away. I stop at my locker and grab a few books, Casey leaning against the other lockers to face me.

"So, what are you doing later?" Her grin is replaced with a look that shows nervousness and confidence all in one.

I don't even have to think about that one. "Baseball practice." As soon as I say it, I remember what Dad said about my priorities. If Jordan will even talk to me, I'll have to figure something out for her. I still feel the guilt every time she refuses to go out by herself.

Casey offers a nod. "Oh, cool. So, you made the team then?"

"Yeah, Marcus texted me last night. Catcher." For some reason, I don't feel like expressing my own excitement or pride in making the team. I can't get to the source of my bad mood – until I catch a glimpse of Layla out of the corner of my eye.

"That's awesome. Anyway, what are you doing after that?" I hear Casey ask me this, but I can't seem to care.

I give her a quick answer while keeping my eyes on Layla while she's still at her locker. "Homework? I don't know."

Casey sighs dramatically loud and grabs my shoulder, turning me around to look at her. "Look, I just want to do something later. With you."

I look around for any kind of way out of this, but even Shane hasn't gotten over here yet to split this up. Casey still hasn't taken her hands off my shoulder as we look at each other. I take this moment to break out my cunning skills with girls.

"Casey..." I trail off, slowly moving her hand off my shoulder and putting it at her side. I offer her an easy smile. "I just got out of a relationship with a girl back home. I'm not really looking for anything right now. Sorry." Just as I see her eyes narrow and her mouth about to open with some kind of BS remark, I see Shane approaching us. "But, hey. I'm sure Shane would love to do something with you. Right Shane?"

He raises an eyebrow. "What are we talking about here?"

Casey flares her nostrils and looks away from me. "Something we've already discussed; something we don't need to discuss again."

Shane's confused look slowly diffuses into a smirk as he catches onto our topic of going out. "Right. Well, I think we need to talk about that more. I could do it again and again and again." Casey's face turns a shade of pink and I get the feeling that they didn't just talk about things.

I take this opportunity to head down the hallway towards Layla. She isn't there anymore, but I weave through the crowd of kids slowly heading to their classes in an attempt to find her.

Everyone is dressed the same which makes it even harder to find her. I look for the ponytail she usually has her brown hair tied up in. Finally, I spot her walking down an empty hallway with her books clutched to her chest.

"Layla!" I shout as I jog towards her. She turns her head the slightest bit towards me and once she sees it's me, she slows down. It takes her a second to finally look at me, though.

"Hey," she says once I reach her. She hooks her thumbs through her backpack straps and lets her arms hang freely, her eyes taking their time to find my own. I can tell that she's still upset.

"Um..." My hand moves to the back of my head instinctively. "Do you happen to still be mad at me?"

It takes her a minute, but she answers a few seconds later. "I'm upset if that's what you're asking. I thought that you understand that that was my place. I don't know why, but I didn't think anything like that was going to happen."

"If it helps any, I really didn't know they'd have any of that stuff," I reason, but she holds her hands up to get me to stop talking.

"It's fine, Jonah. I need to get to class." A small smile spreads across her face as she turns to leave again.

I walk alongside her. "For the record, you said I could come back."

To my surprise, she chuckles. "I think I told you that you could hang out in there the day you first came up."

"Still. I just figured it would be okay with you. You seem chill."

"I'm only chill when my photos and other belongings aren't being destroyed."

We stop right outside what I guess is her classroom.

"All this time and that's what you're upset about? I'll print out your pictures again if you want, and replace whatever else they broke," I tell her. I can't find the reason inside my head as to why I don't want her to be upset with me.

"All this time and I haven't even heard an apology yet," she says lightly as if it's a joke, but I can tell she actually means it. Even with that smile of hers still intact.

She doesn't give me a chance to reply before she heads into the classroom. Those are words that don't come easily to me, so I holler after her with an "I'll see you later" and head to my own class to avoid being written up.

________________

Hey! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know your thoughts!

The song for the chapter is: Ceasefire by for KING & COUNTRY