chapter two / 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

"YOU'RE ALRIGHT. Just keep your eye on the ball." My mom praised, placing a ball on the tee. 

Taking her advice, I swung hard enough to kill someone. We watched the ball travel to my neighbor's yard. As the neon ball hit the luscious overgrown grass, what sounded like a dog yelped disapprovingly. 

"Let's end on that one, EJ." My mom exclaimed, just as shocked as I was. "See what keeping your head down does for you?" When it comes to softball tips, my mom is quite the expert. Seeing as she dragged me onto a softball field at the tender age of six, she loves the game. Thankfully, she was patient with me even during my post-loss temper tantrums. Fast forward about two or three years, and the love she had for softball finally rubbed off on me. I'll be thinking about college and never playing again at the end of next year. 

My papa, however, grew up in a soccer-loving Cuban household. The number of disputes that have transpired regarding sports is so large that it could be a phone number. Much to his dismay, soccer never compared.

Still proud of myself, I collected my prized Louisville Slugger and let the air conditioning melt any traces of sweat off of me. Right off the bat, my mom wouldn't shut up about my great performance. 

"Esa es mi chica!" He grinned, glancing up from the aromatic food he was cooking.

"Thanks, Papi," I pulled my hair out of the messy bun I put it in. "I hope they aren't pissed about it."

"I'm sure they'll understand." Mom reassured me. "Wait. We need to talk." 

"What's going on?" I asked, pulling out a chair from the island. While Papa returned to whatever he was cooking, Mom stood beside me. She put her hands together in excitement. "So...as you know, we have new neighbors."

"I'll be damned. We made the worst impression." I cut her off, referring to the ball laid on their grass. 

Mom shot me a dirty glare. "They have a son who's in your grade, and he's smart. Tomorrow he's coming over for dinner," she went on. "I hope you two get along because he's going to tutor you!"

"You can't be serious." I gasped. Of course, I was open to the idea of having another person to study with. I ended up being a social butterfly like my mom, so I refuse to do anything on my own. Tori and I studied for every assignment together and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

 But a tutor? Do my parents think I'm dumb or whatever? Does my GPA which essentially rounds up to an A mean nothing to them?

Papa read my mind. "I think the extra help will be good for you, and so does Mom," he chimed in. 

I let out a sigh. "If you insist." 

~

According to Tori, studying for exams with a tutor was just what I needed to move on. In one short week, my sophomore year would come to an end. 

"What if he's so hot that you forget all about Hunter?" Tori hypothesized, her soft pink lips twitching as she struggled to keep a straight face. 

I let out a laugh as we stopped at our respective lockers. "I just want to finish the year on a good note."

"Don't we all?" Tori tapped furiously at her phone, her expression souring when she viewed the screen. 

"What is it?" I lean in to have a look, but she puts a hand in front of me. 

"We don't want a repeat of yesterday, so no." Against my better judgment, I snatched her phone. Okay, Hunter's Instagram post wasn't what I needed to see when my heart's already shattered. A blonde girl placed a kiss on his cheek, with the caption Keegan Marie. I knew Keegan Larson from softball. I averted my gaze from Keegan, whose slender figure I envied. My mom gave me her curvy frame and soft stomach. It made sense why Hunter called me unattractive. 

For a split second, I felt my chest tighten as I contemplated getting her kicked off the team. "Oh." I studied the pattern of the tile glumly. With that, I took my phone out of my pocket. I clicked his profile picture, a candid shot from one of his baseball games, followed by the block button. I wasn't going to fail exams and have a miserable summer because of him. 

~

Even though I remember Mom telling me that my tutoring session would be before dinner, the scent of alfredo sauce hit me as I walked in. After exchanging a few words with her, I dashed upstairs to take a hot shower. Before getting into the steamy shower, I placed my phone in a baggie and stabbed the shuffle button. Hunter's words were drowned out by Carrie Underwood's Cowboy Cassanova. I didn't question how a random country song ended up on my playlist, instead, I belted the words. I let out all the anger and despair I bottled up from the last thirty-six hours.  

After all, it's proven that no one can study with a broken heart. 

~

a/n: CHAPTER 2!!!! this was so fun to write! introducing jude next chapter and i'm so so pumped!

comments are appreciated