Misunderstood: Inspired by the Neighbor from Hell Series (A Neighbor from Hell YA Book 1)

by R. L. Mathewson

  God, it hurt. She’d never had to throw that hard for that long before without breaks, but maybe that was a good thing, Mikey told herself as she stood there, waiting for the coach to say something. He waited until everyone was off the field before he finally turned his attention to her.

  “Why aren’t you trying out for softball?” he asked, which wasn’t exactly a surprise.

  Every time she tried out for a team, the coaches always took her aside to make sure that she wasn’t making a mistake. They wanted to make sure that she was comfortable playing with the boys, and while she appreciated it, it got kind of annoying after a while, but she didn’t say anything, mostly because she wanted to make sure that he gave her a chance.

  “I love playing baseball and I’m not really a big fan of softball,” she admitted with a shrug.

  “Why?” he asked, looking like he was trying to decide something.

  “I’m not a big fan of the way the ball is thrown and the game goes too slow.”

  Nodding, he glanced back down at his iPad with a heavy sigh. “Look, right now I’m not really sure about you, Mikey. You have a decent fastball, but I’m concerned about you being able to throw under pressure. Your arm got tired quickly. You’re small for your age, which has its advantages at bat, but when you were running drills you had problems keeping up with everyone else. You don’t have enough upper body strength to handle pitching at this level and I’m not really sure that this is a good idea,” he finished with a heavy sigh before reluctantly adding, “If you really want to play, I could probably use you in right field.”

  For a moment, Mikey could only stand there, struggling to wrap her mind around everything he’d said, but the one thing that grabbed her attention had her weakly mumbling, “But I’m a pitcher.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  *-*-*-*

  “Mikey!” Sebastian yelled as he ran after Mikey only to curse when he saw where she was going.

  Damn it!

  He didn’t know what happened to set her off, but he knew that whatever it was, that it was bad. While he normally liked to spend time on his roof to clear his head and get his mind off everything for a while, Mikey only did it when she was upset about something. A few years ago, Uncle Reese built a treehouse for her, hoping that it would help, but it was never enough. When Mikey was upset, she needed space so that she could lose it without anyone seeing, which meant…

  Damn it!

  Sebastian watched helplessly as Mikey climbed onto the pile of old pallets stacked by her garage and pulled herself up onto the roof before disappearing around the back. He moved his ass faster, jumped on the pallets, grabbed onto the edge of the roof and pulled himself up. Once he was on the roof, he moved faster, heading toward the back, climbed onto the flat part of the next roof and–

  Felt his stomach drop when he spotted Mikey sitting beneath her bedroom window, hugging her knees tightly against her chest as she cried. God, she was killing him, Sebastian thought hollowly as he walked over to her and sat down next to her. He reached over and picked her up, placing her between his legs so that her back was against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she continued to cry.

  “Shhh, it’s okay,” Sebastian whispered softly as he pressed a kiss against the top of her head.

  They sat like that for a long time, long past when the sun finally went down and he should have gone home. Nothing else mattered but her. He kept his arms around Mikey, holding her while whispering that everything would be okay. When she was finally done crying, he leaned around her as he reached up and gently wiped away her tears.

  “Feel better?” Sebastian asked softly as he wiped away the last tear.

  With a sniffle and the cutest damn pout that he’d ever seen, Mikey stubbornly shook her head, making him bite back a smile.

  “Do you want to go inside?”

  Another stubborn shake of her head.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  A sniffle, a slight hesitation, and a stubborn shake of her head later, Sebastian murmured, “I see,” before clearing his throat. “Would you like me to shut up and continue holding you while looking at you adoringly?” Sebastian asked dryly only to chuckle when she nodded.

  “Fine,” he sighed, making sure to sound put out as he wrapped his arms back around her.

  When she snuggled back against him, Sebastian found himself watching as the first glimmer of stars appeared in the sky while he tried to figure out what could have set her off. He’d watched her when she ran drills, when she was waiting for her turn to pitch, and then for the next two and half hours the coach had her taking a turn on the pitching mound and at bat, and he hadn’t seen anything on her face that would have led him to believe that something was wrong.

  She’d been in her element, focused, and so damn beautiful, Sebastian thought, wondering if he’d missed something when he was talking to Mrs. Blaine. He didn’t think any of the boys had been stupid enough to say something to piss Mikey off, mostly because she hadn’t decked any of them, but…

  Then again, it depended on what they’d said. If they’d called her a tomboy or made fun of her for playing a boys’ sport, Mikey would have mocked them until they either cried or mumbled an apology and stayed the hell away from her. If they’d said something about someone that she cared about, she’d probably just beat the crap out of them. The only reason that he could see her crying was if–

  “They’re putting me in right field,” Mikey said, making him frown because that couldn’t be right.

  “Why are they doing that?” Sebastian asked, trying to make sense out of what she was telling him.

  Mikey was born to pitch. He’d never seen anyone with an arm like hers, which was why he was having a difficult time picturing her in right field. He’d watched everyone that pitched today and Mikey had easily been the best pitcher out there. She’d put in the most effort and worked her ass off to show them what she had. She’d also been the only one that the coach had worked for hours without a break, something that he’d taken as a good sign, but now…

  “He said a lot of things, but basically he doesn’t think that I can pitch at this level. He doesn’t think that I could keep up,” Mikey mumbled sadly as she tilted her head back against his chest so that she could look up at him.

  Sighing, Sebastian said, “The guy’s an idiot.”

  “That’s not even the worst part,” she admitted with a sniffle.

  “What’s the worst part?” he asked, wrapping his arms more tightly around her when a gust of cold wind swept over them.

  “He’s going to be the coach next year at the high school,” Mikey mumbled, making him bite back a curse. If the coach was already hellbent on keeping Mikey off the pitcher’s mound this year, then he probably wasn’t planning on giving her a chance to pitch next year.

  That would destroy her.

  “It’s over,” Mikey said softly, sounding completely defeated.

  “No, it’s not,” Sebastian promised her, because this was far from over.

  Chapter 21

  “I knew you’d be back,” Jonathan said with a satisfied sigh as he dropped down on Sebastian’s bed next to Mikey and–

  Released a pained groan when Sebastian, who’d been pacing back and forth, reading something on his iPad, reached over and grabbed hold of his brother’s leg and yanked him off the bed before going back to pacing the room.

  “Why can’t you accept our love?” Jonathan asked with a sad shake of his head as he pulled himself back up, and once again found himself knocked back on the floor before Sebastian stepped over him and dropped down on the bed next to Mikey.

  “How sure are you that he’ll be coaching at the high school next year?” Sebastian asked, throwing her a questioning look as he swiped his finger across the screen.

  “A hundred percent sure,” Mikey mumbled as she curled up more tightly into the fetal position, which as everyone knew, was the official position for loathing in self-pity.

&
nbsp; “Okay,” Sebastian said with a firm nod and a determined look on his face that told her that he’d come to a decision about something.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, reaching over to pluck the iPad out of his hand.

  “Coming up with a new plan,” Sebastian said as she turned the iPad around in her hands and…frowned.

  “Latin Scribe High School?” Mikey asked, throwing Sebastian a questioning look to find him nodding as he plucked the iPad back out of her hands.

  “We’re applying,” Sebastian said absently as he went back to doing whatever the heck he was doing.

  “We are?” she asked, blinking up at him.

  “Mmmhmmm,” he murmured absently as she laid there, unable to help but frown because there was no way in hell that she’d ever be able to get into that school.

  “Sebastian?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I think you forgot something,” Mikey said only to purse her lips up as she thought it over before adding, “Make that two things.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, continuing to scroll down the page.

  “Besides the fact that my family doesn’t have fifty thousand dollars a year for tuition?” she asked. “I don’t have the grades to get into that school.”

  “No, but you will,” Sebastian said, making her frown.

  “And how exactly are you planning on pulling off that miracle?” Mikey couldn’t help but wonder.

  “I’m going to tutor you,” he said with a shrug like what he was suggesting was no big deal.

  “And the tuition?” she asked, wondering if he’d even thought this through.

  “We’re going to apply for every scholarship that we can get our hands on,” Sebastian said with a firm nod.

  “And why are we doing this?” Mikey couldn’t help but wonder.

  “Because we really don’t have a choice, not if you want to play baseball and I want to go back to school,” he said, sounding determined.

  “I don’t understand why you both just don’t apply to Radcliffe,” Jonathan said, sighing heavily as he pulled himself off the floor and dropped down on the end of the bed, forcing them to pull their legs up to make room for him. “I bet they’d offer you a scholarship this time.”

  “Radcliffe doesn’t offer athletic scholarships,” Sebastian said, making her worry her bottom lip between her teeth because they both knew the real reason why he wasn’t going to apply to Radcliffe.

  He wouldn’t do anything to risk his brother’s scholarship.

  “Okay, so then why don’t you ask Uncle Jason for help? He’s the head of the History Department at Latin Scribe. I’m sure he’d be willing to help,” Jonathan said only to add, “At the very least, you could probably get a letter of recommendation from him and Aunt Haley,” when Sebastian started to shake his head.

  “What if I don’t get in?” Mikey asked, already knowing that there was no way in hell that she was going to get into a school like Latin Scribe.

  “You will because I’m going to help you study for the entrance exam,” Sebastian said, making her groan.

  “There’s a test just to apply?” Mikey asked, staring up at him in horror.

  “And you’ll do fine,” Sebastian absently murmured as he reached over and gave her one of those patronizing pats on the head that was going to get him killed.

  Grumbling as she lightly slapped his hand away, Mikey said, “Sebastian, let’s face it. I probably won’t get in.”

  “That’s not really an option,” he said, shaking his head as he returned to scrolling.

  “And why’s that?” she couldn’t help but wonder.

  “Because you’re pitching next year,” Sebastian said, shrugging it off like it was a done deal, which of course, it wasn’t.

  It also made her wonder about something…

  “Sebastian, what will you do if I don’t get in, but you do?” Mikey asked, watching him as she waited for an answer that she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like.

  There was a telling pause and then, he sighed, “I’ll keep trying to get the public high school to give me a chance.”

  Nodding, Mikey murmured, “I see,” as she reached for the pillow to either smother him with it or to beat some sense into him, she hadn’t decided which yet.

  Before Sebastian could react, she grabbed the pillow and began a brutal attack that he would never forget! When she was done with him, he’d stop doing stuff that pissed her off and–

  “What are you doing?” came the bored question that had her glaring down at the boy that needed to stop worrying about her and start worrying about himself!

  “Beating some sense into you!” Mikey snapped as she continued her vicious pillow attack.

  “Really?” Sebastian asked, sounding amused as he reached up and plucked the pillow out of her hands.

  “Really!” Mikey bit out as she tried to grab the pillow back so that she could slap some sense into him.

  “So, I have a question,” Jonathan said, just as Mikey gave up trying to steal his pillow back and eyed the one on Jonathan’s bed across the room. “Where did you go with Mrs. Blaine today?”

  “How do you know about that?” Sebastian asked, shooting his brother a questioning look.

  “I know all,” Jonathan said in an ominous voice that had Mikey rolling her eyes as she snatched the pillow from Sebastian and–

  “Why must love hurt?” Jonathan mumbled with a heartfelt sigh as he tossed the pillow that had slammed him in the face only seconds earlier, aside.

  “It will hurt worse if you don’t start talking,” Mikey said, already reaching for the pillow again.

  “Fine,” Jonathan sighed, making sure to sound put out as he grabbed the pillow before she could get her hands on it and shoved it behind his head as he settled in more comfortably. “Joshua saw you pushing Mrs. Blaine toward the baseball fields after school.”

  “She wanted to talk to me about something,” Sebastian said, shrugging it off as Mikey sat there, unable to help but frown.

  “Doesn’t she normally glare at you?” Mikey pointed out.

  Sebastian opened his mouth to answer her only to frown when Jonathan said, “She’s been asking about you again.”

  “Again?” they both asked, zeroing in on that one word.

  Reaching over, Jonathan plucked the iPad out of his brother’s hands with a shrug. “She’s always asking about you.”

  “Since when?” Sebastian asked, unable to help but frown.

  “She’s always asking Mom and Dad how you’re doing, what you’re studying, if you want to go back to school, what your plans are after high school,” Jonathan said before adding with a shrug, “the usual.”

  “Why does she care if he wants to go back to school?” Mikey asked only to notice the way that Sebastian was frowning.

  “What is it?” Mikey asked, shifting to get more comfortable next to him.

  “She asked why I haven’t applied to Latin Scribe,” he admitted on a sigh.

  “Mom and Dad would be pissed if they found out that she was offering to pay for your tuition,” Jonathan said with a snort of disbelief.

  “She didn’t offer to pay for my tuition. She just asked me a question,” Sebastian pointed out.

  “Are you sure?” Jonathan asked, sending his brother a questioning look.

  “Yes!”

  “And if she offered…”

  “She’s not paying for my tuition,” Sebastian bit out, looking understandably pissed and she didn’t need to ask him to know why.

  He would either figure it out on his own or he wouldn’t go.

  It was as simple as that.

  “What else did you talk about?” Mikey asked, hoping to change the subject for Sebastian’s sake. He had enough on his mind without adding this to it.

  With one last glare at his brother, Sebastian looked at her as he said, “Not much. She wants me to come by in the morning.”

  “Why?” she asked as he reached over and plucked his iPad out of his brother’s h
ands.

  “I honestly have no idea,” Sebastian said with a sigh as he went back to figuring out how he was going to fix everything, which was something that she wished she could do for him.

  Chapter 22

  “Damn it,” Sebastian said, sighing heavily as he glanced down at his watch. He was running late, but it couldn’t be helped.

  After he’d walked Mikey, who’d been strangely quiet this morning, to school, he’d ended up helping Aunt Kasey load a catering order into the van. Once he was done, he ran back inside and downloaded an application to Latin Scribe High School only to run into their first obstacle.

  They needed their parents’ permission just to send in the application. He’d been hoping that they could apply and wait to see if they got accepted before they told their parents. He didn’t want their parents stressing out over the tuition. If they couldn’t get scholarships, then there really wasn’t any point in telling them. He’d just have to figure something else out, Sebastian thought as he let himself inside and–

  “You’re late,” Mrs. Blaine said as soon as he opened the front door.

  “Sorry. I had to help Aunt Kasey,” he said only to add, “It won’t happen again,” when her eyes narrowed dangerously on him as she reached for her cane.

  With a sniff, Mrs. Blaine said, “Don’t let it happen again,” as she gestured for Steven only to frown when she looked back at Sebastian. “Where’s your suit?”

  “My suit?” Sebastian said, following her gaze to take in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

  “You’re supposed to be wearing a suit,” she said with an accusatory glare like he’d done this on purpose.

  “Wait. You didn’t mention anything about a suit,” he said, because he definitely would have asked more questions if she’d mentioned a suit.

  Not that she’d actually stuck around after she’d ordered him to come here today so that he could ask questions, Sebastian mused as he watched her eyes narrow dangerously on him.

  Was it wrong to be afraid of a ninety-year-old woman? Probably, Sebastian thought as he watched her gesture toward the living room with her cane. “I’m sure one of Cole’s old suits will fit you,” Mrs. Blaine said, gesturing for him to get on with it.