Full Count

by C. A. Williams

“Yes, everyone’s fine,” she bit out. “Except for maybe you, I think you are seriously fucked up in the head if everything I heard is true. I can’t believe you drove her away like that, she was my best friend too.” She plopped down on the end of my bed, scrubbing at her eyes where the fresh tears were rolling out.

  Yup, it was all coming back to me now. I might have had a lot to drink last night but I still remembered what I had done. Yes, I felt guilty as hell about what happened and Paige’s breakdown had nearly pushed me over the edge, making me want to scoop her up in my arms and never let her go again, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t forget what she had done to me behind my back.

  “What do you mean I drove her away? I was just doing what she did to me with Jake, she just thought she got away with it. Why not rub it in her face? She fucking ripped my heart out Kitty, do you think I deserved that?”

  She shook her head and stood up straight again, glaring down at me and jabbing her finger into my chest. “You have it all wrong, Dylan, I don’t know what you think you saw but Paige stopped him. He came onto her and she pushed him away, telling him how in love she was with you. She told him that she couldn’t be friends with him anymore if that’s how he was going to act because in the end she was always going to choose you.

  “She felt guilty for not telling you and she was going to, and then you started treating her like a piece of shit. Do you know how horrible you made her feel? And then you sink to probably the lowest level, finally giving into that slut, who is supposedly a friend, and practically have sex with her in the hallway, in front of Paige?” She didn’t even give me a chance to respond and I really wasn’t sure how to after hearing everything she had to say. One thing I knew was that I was a complete ass.

  She waved her hands around the room wildly. “And now this? She’s gone and it’s your entire fault. You’re the only one here to blame.” My eyes followed her hands and I quickly realized that the normal mess that seemed to follow Paige around was absent.

  “What do you mean she’s gone?” I jumped out of the bed, whipping open closet doors and dresser drawers, all empty of everything Paige. “What the hell Kitty? Where did she go, is she staying with you? I need to talk to her. I need to explain what I thought happened. I need another chance.”

  “Nope, she’s not with me. I got a text late last night from her telling me that she was with Jake and going home to Florida. I haven’t heard from her since, I’ve tried calling and texting at least a hundred times combined but it’s just going straight to voicemail now. I really think you lost out on your chance. You destroyed her.”

  My heart clenched in my chest, knowing I had intentionally destroyed the one good thing in my life over a stupid misunderstanding. And she had run away from me as far as she could. I didn’t know if I deserved her back in my life, but I was going to at least try with everything I had in me. I had to.

  Chapter 32

  Paige

  Six long months had gone by since I had last seen Dylan Turner and my heart still wasn’t whole again, I wasn’t sure if it ever would be. The night he had ripped out my heart, I left without looking back. Dad had been wary at first about me coming back home, thinking I was just back because I didn’t want to be away from him, which was semi-true.

  But as soon as he saw what a mess I was and Jake had somewhat explained the situation, he had welcomed me back home with open arms. Jake was there for me as much as he could be that first week home, but I pushed him away.

  He needed to have his own life and didn’t need to be stuck taking care of me. He went back to school and contacted me almost every day until he figured out that I wasn’t returning any of his calls or texts. Then I think he just gave up.

  I had run into his mom at the grocery store and according to her, he was dating a nice girl he had met on campus and was very happy. I think she loved to rub that part in my face, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t.

  Dylan was just as persistent with the phone calls, so much so that I finally changed my number so he couldn’t contact me anymore. I had talked to Kitty about a month after I went home and after making her swear that she wouldn’t breathe a word to anyone in her family, including Dylan, that we were talking, we quickly updated each other on everything that had happened in our lives since we had been away from each other.

  Kitty tried sticking up for Dylan, telling me that he had seen Jake kiss me and jumped to wrong conclusions but I hung up on her and wouldn’t talk to her for a week. So what if Dylan had seen it? I guess that explained his cold attitude, but he didn’t even give me a chance to explain. Instead, he went straight to Kylie and was clearly willing when it came to everything he had done with her right in front of my own eyes.

  After that Kitty never mentioned Dylan again but called me regularly to catch up and fill me in on all of the details about everyone else. Maddie and Jared were still going strong, along with Chris and Claire, but Bryce and Marcy had broken up, which meant Bryce was around the house a whole lot more.

  Kitty had left the sorority house after I moved back to Florida and took over the spare bedroom in the house, so she was now living with all three of her brothers. And Dylan. But he was always left out of all of the conversations, thankfully. The one thing that I found hilarious was that Kylie had gotten kicked out of the dorm after being caught sneaking in one too many guys and her parents had come and dragged her evil ass back home.

  I think being home seemed to help my dad. I rarely saw him have a bad day and when he did, he locked himself in his bedroom so I wouldn’t have to see him like that. I got along with MaryAnn who had moved in recently, and she was often trying to teach me how to cook. After a few disasters, I had finally perfected a decent meal and even managed to make my favorite part, dessert.

  MaryAnn was a great lady, quiet and kind, and always so caring when it came to my teddy bear of a dad. I just wished they had more time together. Even though my dad seemed to be doing well, the cancer was still there and it was beyond treatable. The doctors still only gave him a short time left.

  “How you doing today ,Paigey girl? You feeling alright?”

  “Yes Dad, I’m fine,” I muttered out while handing him the remote to get ready for the game that would start any minute. He was constantly asking me that, even though I always told him I should be the one asking that question. “You ready to watch the game, Dad? The Rays are looking pretty good this season.”

  “I know,” he replied, rubbing his hands together. “It would be great if I could see them win a World Series before I go.”

  My chest instantly clenched up when he said it. He talked about his own death, like he was talking about the daily weather, so nonchalant. I tried to control my emotions in front of him, but sometimes it was so hard.

  I stood up quickly, grabbing a tissue out of the bathroom to dab at my wet eyes before he could see. The doorbell rang and I figured it was the perfect distraction. Instead, who stood on the front porch was anything but. “Hey, you done avoiding me yet because I’ve really been missing you.”

  “Look at me, I’m a mess. How could you possibly want to deal with this?” I snorted out a laugh as another tear dribbled down my chin and he reached up to swipe it away. “You’re not a mess, you’re beautiful. Come here.” He held out his muscular arms and I willingly jumped right into them, I was done fighting this. “Mmm baby girl, I missed you so much. You smell so damn good.”

  Chapter 33

  Paige

  “I can’t believe I’m actually around to see this. As long as they keep playing this way, they’re heading to the playoffs, and then off to the World Series. Boy oh boy, it sure is amazing.”

  Amazing was the right word to explain it. Dad had baffled the doctors with how he was still kicking, sure he was a lot frailer in the almost ten months that had passed, but he was still here and that’s all that counted.

  And today I was making his dreams come true, by taking him to a game. He had been regularly purchasing his season tickets, but he hadn’t attended a
game in almost a year, so when he asked if I wanted to take him, I jumped at the chance. I think I surprised him a little bit, since I rarely left the house, but he was happy nonetheless.

  We had brought along a wheelchair and I had wheeled him from the parking garage, all the way to the closest ramps. He had refused purchasing any of the handicap seats and insisted he was going to sit in his front row seats. So with the help of me and one of the ushers, we made our way carefully down the last set of concrete steps.

  I called to check in with MaryAnn as soon as we sat down and then we settled back into our seats to watch batting practice. Dad always loved to get to the stadium early, so he could watch it, I think it was truly his favorite part of the whole experience.

  “How’s Jake doing with the whole knee thing, I haven’t heard you talk about him much.”

  Jake and I talked regularly every day. After he had basically forced his way back into my life, we always kept in constant contact. I could tell he still wanted more with me, but I couldn’t let it happen. I wasn’t about to put my heart out there again.

  And he had been a little distracted lately. He had finally got some playing time during football season but was almost immediately injured and would probably never play the same again. So he dropped off the football team and instead was concentrating solely on the sports medicine program.

  “He’s fine Dad, just super busy. I’m sure he’ll stop by when he can.”

  “That’s good. Paigey, I figured I should tell you something…”

  “Nope Dad, no big dark secrets today. We’re here to watch baseball and that’s what we’re going to do, nothing else. Let’s just enjoy this day together.”

  “But Paige…” he stopped midsentence again, waving his hands out in front of him but they quickly dropped when I narrowed my eyes. I had perfected that look lately and he knew I meant business. “Alright, fine. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Hey Sparky.” It was that unmistakable voice that I had managed to avoid, even though it still haunted every one of my dreams, called out from out on the field. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that I was just imagining things but that hope crumbled to bits when Dad nudged me in the side with his elbow. “Told you so.”

  I reluctantly turned my head and locked eyes with those brown ones that were so familiar, even after so long. I guess letting Kitty never mention Dylan was biting me in the ass right now. I had no clue that he had been drafted to a team, let alone the Tampa Bay Rays.

  He hadn’t changed much since the last time I had seen him. The uniform fit his well- defined body perfectly and I could see that messy brown hair peeking out from underneath his hat, my fingers itched to touch it. A small smile touched his lips and I could just get a hint of those dimples that I had loved so much. Okay Paige, get it together, he destroyed you. He is an asshole, a complete asshole. “Dylan,” I replied stiffly.

  “Wow, I never thought…how have you been? I never got a chance…I just don’t…,” he stumbled over his words, baffling me; he always knew what to say, no matter what the situation.

  “Listen Dylan, I really don’t have anything to say to you, I’m just here to watch the game with my dad so…” I thought I had dismissed him pretty well but he just continued to stand there and stare at me like I was a freaking ghost or something.

  “Mr. Brinton, sir, glad to see you’re doing well. I’m glad you could make it out, maybe I could get you onto the field after the game. I’m still a little new around here, but I’m sure I could pull a few strings.” I glared at him as soon as the words left his mouth, always the freaking charmer. Instead of using it on me, he was using it on my dad. He was one sick bastard.

  I looked over to Dad to see he was beaming like a little boy on Christmas morning at the thought. “Really, son? That would be like a dream come true. I would really appreciate it. That’s so thoughtful of him, isn’t it Paige.”

  “Oh, yes,” I replied through gritted teeth, I’m pretty sure I would lose one before the day was over.

  True to his word, after the Rays pulled off the win that basically clinched them a spot in the playoffs, Dylan came back into the stands and helped to navigate Dad down onto the field and into his wheelchair.

  The two of them ran the bases with Dylan pushing my dad’s wheelchair, all the way to home plate. It brought back memories that I tried to squash down of our dinner that he had cooked especially for me and served it on the field back at campus. Those were the kind of memories that made me think about how truly in love we had been and how I probably wouldn’t ever find anything like it again.

  “Hey Paige, I have a few errands to run in town, Dylan said he could give you a ride back to his place and we could meet up there. I really want to see the place he just bought, said he needed my opinion on a few things. Is that alright?” Dad beamed at me with one of the biggest smiles I had seen on his broad face in a long time. How could I say no to that?

  “Fine Dad, just don’t take too long please. I know what you’re doing and it isn’t going to work,” I sweetly whispered the last part into his ear and his smile faltered just a bit. “So hurry back, I’ll be waiting.”

  I followed behind him and Dylan, who pushed his wheelchair back to the parking garage and tucked it into the trunk for him. The two of them caught up with each other and laughed like they were old friends. I was happy for Dad, but also a little pissed. He knew Dylan had ripped my heart out, causing me to move back to Florida, and he treated him like he was his long lost son or something, it was truly astonishing.

  Dylan stopped in front of a brand new, sleek looking SUV and held the door open for me. “Finally got rid of the beater mobile?”

  “Well not quite, I have it parked in the garage at my house. I just can’t seem to get rid of it.”

  The ride to Dylan’s house was awkward and almost silent. He tried to fill me in on what he had been doing since we had seen each other last, but I didn’t care to hear it, no matter how much I really wanted to. After earning nothing but silence from me, he finally shut up until we turned onto a long driveway that was surrounded by thick groves of trees, stopping at the gate to punch in a code.

  “Wow, all of this for one guy?” I hadn’t been paying much attention to when we left the stadium but I instantly knew we were far away from town by the thick trees and amount of land that surrounded the house without a neighbor in sight. The house itself was a cottage style, completely out of place in Florida, and probably big enough for the whole baseball team and then some to live in.

  “Well yeah, you know all about how I grew up. When I finally got signed, I instantly bought this. Tim and Susanne figured it was a good investment and helped me pick the place out.”

  “I’m glad to hear their still a big part of your life. Kitty said they just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, that’s truly amazing nowadays.”

  His eyebrows shot straight up to his forehead and his brown eyes turned questioningly towards me. “You still keep in contact with Kitty? She’s never mentioned anything. When you changed your number, she said you didn’t give her the new one, I figured you cut her off too.”

  Wow, Kitty was better at keeping her mouth shut than I thought. I guess she took the whole sworn to secrecy thing a lot more seriously than I thought. “Yeah well she didn’t do anything wrong and she’s still my best friend so no reason to stop speaking to her.”

  The interior of the brand new SUV once again grew silent as he placed it into park, slamming the door gently before jogging over to open my door. “Let me give you a tour of the place,” he muttered quietly. I could tell he was just trying to be nice; he probably wanted to leave my ass out on the front porch until my dad showed back up.

  He held open the double set of thick wooden entry doors and I stepped in. My eyes swept through the entryway that opened up to the living room, dining room, and kitchen with an open concept. They managed to keep the rustic feel of the cottage with what looked like refinished hardwood floors and the shiny wood pa
neling on the ceilings, but it all had a modern feel to it.

  He gave me a look as I made my way into the kitchen, which was probably the most impressive thing I had ever seen. It was truly made for a gourmet chef with some appliances that I wasn’t even sure what they were for. The cabinets were a dark cherry wood with marble countertops and sleek chrome fixtures to give it that modern touch. I knew this was completely his domain and he probably spent most of his time here.

  “I’m sure all of the girls love this place.” My hands played over the cool marble and I avoided his eyes, not really wanting to know the answer but apparently, I liked to torture myself.

  “Actually, you are the first girl I’ve ever brought here.” My face must have looked shocked because he held up his hands to defend himself. “I swear.”

  I let out a snort as he led the way down a hallway to continue with our tour. Like I believed that. He gave me a wink that reminded me of the playful side of Dylan, and swung upon a door that revealed a movie theater.

  Like a real movie theater. Huge white screen that stretched across the whole front wall, four rows of actual movie seats but these looked to be even more roomier and comfier, even thick red velvet curtains pulled to the sides by golden cords. A popcorn machine sat in one corner with a wet bar next to it that looked to be loaded down with every kind of candy imaginable.

  “Wow this is amazing! How do you ever manage to leave your house when you have this? I bet you barely ever go to see a movie in the regular theaters.” He gave me a shrug and backed out of the room, flicking off the low lighting on his way out. “Not really. We can watch one later if you want and make out like teenagers in the back.”

  “Yeah, that’s never going to happen. Like ever.” He continued with his tour, ignoring my biting comment, showing me a game room with a pool table, pinball machines, and every game console that ever existed included the original Nintendo that I was very jealous of.

  Three rooms that were set up as guest bedrooms and one that was set up as an office with sports memorabilia everywhere, most of which I had remembered from the old house he had shared with Chris. I had lost count of the bathrooms. I couldn’t imagine why one person would need so much space.