47. MATTHEWS

MATTHEWS

“ H and,” Cael instructed from beside me with a glove turned toward me. “It should fit, it’s my old one,” he said quietly. So quickly his demeanor changed.

A hundred faces, one for each person in his life.

“How's that?” He asked as his thumb traced a soft line along the inside of my wrist.

”It’s fine,” I snapped.

“Can you close it okay, feels too big…” He mumbled to himself.

“You’re being ridiculous,” I whispered to him as he checked the laces and my finger placements by massaging over the glove. He didn't answer me but his eyes darted over to where Ella talked to Julien with a tense but pleasant smile on her lips.

“Answer the question, I don’t need you breaking your wrist,” he ordered.

I nodded with my lips pressed into a thin line. “Cael.” I turned my eyes up toward him and he met my gaze. “Promise me you’ll behave?” I asked him.

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep, Plum.” He leaned in like he wanted to kiss my forehead but stopped himself when he realized we were being watched. “Keep your eyes up, and ears open.” He grabbed Dean by the shirt as he passed. “Only listen to me or Dean, do you understand? Drown everyone else out.”

“Alright,” I said.

“ Everyone, ” he repeated.

“I heard you, Loverboy,” I grumbled.

But it was easier said than done with Ryan Cody drilling holes into me with those judgmental green eyes and Julien watching my every move. I felt like I was wandering around Harbor with a scarlet A pinned to my heart; punished for a crime that didn’t feel worthy of scrutiny.

I had just fallen in love.

Again.

I looked up at Cael, painfully aware of my thoughts and feelings. He watched me for a second longer and the urge to curl against him was so violent.

But Ryan cleared his throat and Cael took off like an abused dog to the outfield. I was so confused as to why he’d thought it would be a good idea to bring Julien here. What in his right mind made him so brave? After the conversation about the bird, Ryan seemed to pull back from what little progress we had made in our relationship and I couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t a bad person, I’d never once thought that about him. Even after he stole away the one person who saw me, even when no one was looking. I never hated him for that, but now… this felt like an act of hostility. Like we were fighting and I had no clue until the knife was buried deep in my back.

“If they foul out, let me take the flies.” Dean knocked me from my trance. “He’ll get through this today, just let him do it his way.”

“I’m afraid his way will end in bloodshed.” I sighed.

“Most likely but, knowing Cael, it’ll be his blood,” Dean said. He hooked an arm around me and walked us out to the pitch. “When the ball comes to you, throw it straight to me, don't worry about second and third. We’ll cut them off at first base if we work together.”

“Together, hey?” I cracked a smile.

”You heard me, come on.”

The air around the field was instantly tense as Ryan played spare on a team he created. Watching from center as his son gave instructions to everyone in earshot. Arlo was the first to bat and as predicted, he seized up when he finally faced Nicholas on the mound.

“That was Cael’s idea wasn’t it?” He turned a set of dark eyes on me and I nodded. “Little rat,” Arlo huffed and went back to his focus, gripping the bat tightly between his hands.

He crushed it out over Van’s head into the trees with a cocky grin on his face and his shoulders pinned back as he took the base slowly and triumphantly. They went through their order one by one, Nicholas shaking off the cobwebs that encased his pitching arm.

Ella was next, her swing was sturdy and, even with Cael chirping from shortstop, she managed to rip the ball just out of his reach. It rebounded off his fingertips and bounced down between Zoey’s feet as Ella took her spot at second next to Silas.

Julien was last to bat and it was apparent that it annoyed him as he wandered up to the batter’s box.

“Looking cute, Princess.” He winked at me and Cael slapped his mit loudly to interrupt.

“Keep your eye on the ball, Joseph,” he cracked, with a tight look on his handsome face; all business and no play as he figured out how to make a fool of my ex. It had been stupid of me to even think he’d behave today.

“He’s an asshole.” Julien took his eyes off the ball for a fraction of a second and it whipped by him into my glove.

It stung my palm as I pulled it from my glove and chucked it back to Nicholas.

I couldn’t help but notice Cael staring, his nose scrunching up at me with that proud smile back on his face.

“I wasn’t ready,” Julien argued with Nicholas.

“Quit flirting then.” He shrugged and settled down on his feet to pitch again. He fired off another ball, so fast it crashed into the backstop after bouncing wildly off the corner of the mound.

“Ball,” Mrs. Shore called.

“Oh come on,” Nicholas grumbled loudly as I went to find the ball where it had rolled.

“Nicholas King, are you arguing with me?” She used her Mom's voice and Nick clammed up with the shake of his head.

“No Ma’am!” He grumbled and reset.

Julien whistled at me like I was a dog when I bent over to scoop it up. A sound that irritated me worse than nails on a chalkboard and one I hadn’t missed in the last few months. “I swear that ass gets bigger every time I see it. ”

I tensed, pausing long enough to compose myself before turning back and throwing the ball. I tugged my sweater over my hips, not cold but uncomfortable with his comment, and did my best to not look over at Cael.

Julien managed to catch the last ball on the tip of his bat and sent it up into the air over our heads in the infield.

“Pop fly,” Silas yelled.

Ella, hesitated on her base for a beat as I squinted into the sunlight and tried to get my sights on the ball. Everyone was screaming and the moment felt as though it was thirty minutes instead of seconds. I couldn’t concentrate as Julien left the batter’s box in the dust.

“Two steps back.” Cael’s voice broke through the noise and I listened, one…two. Raising my glove into the air blindly and just like that the ball dropped into my outstretched hand.

“Second base!” Dean hollered and, instinctively, I threw the ball as hard as I could, getting Ella out as Silas tapped her across the shoulder in her ill-fated attempt to return to her base.

“That was a nice throw, Mary!” Ella hollered, with a disgruntled look on her face.

A smile formed on my face, my breathing ragged, and my heart beating faster than it ever had. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as my eyes dragged across the field to Cael.

The sun beat down on him, hat gone and tucked into his pocket, his hair was messy in the wind and his smile was infectious.

“That’s my girl,” he mouthed with a proud nod.

My hands shook from the excitement.

“Why the hell did you catch it?” Julien’s voice shattered the illusion. “You could have let it drop and given me first base, Babe. I thought this was supposed to be fun.”

He approached from my side and his voice was low but angry as his hand wrapped around my bicep roughly. I looked up at him, squirming in his grasp, and met his dark eyes with a scowl. His voice low, he growled so only I could hear him. “You did that on purpose to embarrass me in front of your new friends. ”

I opened my mouth to tell him to back up but it wasn’t my voice that came out.

“Get your hand off of her,” Cael demanded.

In the commotion, I hadn't even heard him come up beside me, but his chest pressed against my opposite shoulder, towering over me and Julien at the same time. Warmth filled my chest as I leaned into Cael’s chest, my heart choosing for me before my mind could even catch up.

“This is none of your business.” Julien didn’t look away from me. “Is it, Clementine?” He snapped loudly at me and bared his teeth as his grip tightened.

“Andre Davey,” Cael said, breaking Julien’s vicious stare by confusing him, but, for me, it clicked instantly.

I knew that name and knew what Cael was about to do as I ripped my arm away and took two steps back, leaving the space between them empty. Cael’s knee came up as his hands wrapped around Julien’s face pulling him into what looked like a hug but Julien groaned loudly as Cael’s knee connected with his nuts.

“Andre. Davey,” Cael repeated himself, holding Julien up as he tried to catch his breath from having his genitals shoved up in his stomach. “Middle school winter formal, he pinched Clem in line for the punch. I remember the sad little sound she made but what I remember more is the horrific sound of his ballsack turning into dust when she kneed him for it.”

“Cael,” Mrs. Shore warned him with a soft, authoritative voice but Cael had tunnel vision and ignored her.

“She got a two-week suspension.” Cael laughed and he looked over to me with a proud smile. “She kneed him so hard Andre walked funny after. I warned you to take your hand off her and now that I have your attention.”

“You’re a piece of work,” Julien choked up.

“Yeah, I know. Are you even listening?” Cael’s Cheshire cat grin remained wide as he raised his eyebrows at Julien’s comment like it was something Cael took pride in. “This is an assumption, but you were a hockey guy, weren’t you?”

“What the hell does that have to do with you being a possessive asshole, she’s not even yours, man,” Julien huffed and put his arm out in my direction, suddenly causing me to flinch.

Embarrassed, I shrunk into myself and backed up a step. Worse , Cael noticed. His eyes darkened as he looked me over with concern before stifling down the emotions that sparked and turned back to Julien.

“I’m just trying to get to know you. I want to understand what she saw in you, but I think I figured it out,” Cael quipped. They were polar opposites, in every way. There wasn’t a trace of Cael in Julien.

Cael’s bottom lip jutted out in thought. “You know all the rules of baseball. So you clearly know how outs work?” He asked him, and Julien nodded sluggishly.

No one seemed to want to intervene, Silas and Arlo had moved closer but Ryan had stayed in the outfield and far away from the interaction.

I stared between the two of them as Cael backed off, brushing fake dirt from Julien's shoulders and making sure he could stand. I held my breath as the tension came to a boiling point, and the impression Julien left on my arm stopped stinging.

“Now I let the whistle slide, that was strike one,” Cael explained. “We don’t catcall women at Harbor.”

I wanted to speak up but couldn’t find my voice, so I shamefully enjoyed this version of Cael that had shown up. Possessive and confident, he was radiating in the same way he had the day I realized I loved him—brighter than the sun.

“And the ass comment. I almost flipped a switch because that made her uncomfortable, and if I know anything about Clem, which,” he smiled and tipped his head side to side, “I know everything about her. Making her uncomfortable is a hard task. That was strike two. So you were already in hot water.”

“Do you ever shut up?” Julien groaned and tried to get out of Cael’s hold, but it didn’t work. His grip was too tight, and he wasn’t finished yet.

“You could have walked off the field like a man, taken your out with grace, but instead you decided to act like a coward. Strike three, Jamie.”

“You know my fucking name.” Julien shoved again. His anger was bubbling to the surface and he was ready to lash out, but Cael dug his fingers into his shoulder muscle.

The Cael in front of everyone was someone he kept shoved down deep inside of him, that angry little kid I hadn’t seen in seven years and hadn’t seen until that day, and it seemed he only came out when I really needed him to.

I stood up a little straighter, rolling out the shame and shook off the sticky feeling of Julien’s fingerprints on my skin. I wasn’t that seventeen year old girl anymore, and Cael wasn’t that boy. It was suddenly clear.

“If you ever touch her like that again,” Cael lowered his voice and made sure Julien was listening. “If you even look at her with those dopey shit-brown eyes maliciously… you’ll wish the only thing I did was knock the wind out of you for thirty seconds. Do you understand me?” His tone shifted again broaching sing-song territory as a smile formed on his face.

“Answer me, Jeff,” Cael ordered him with a laugh.

“Yeah, I heard you.” Julien shoved him off and took a few steps back before he looked at me. Disgust, anger, and maliciousness surged from every inch of him.

Cael reached out and slapped his palm against Julien’s face who had finally caught his breath and found his footing. Julien put his hand up but thought better than to retaliate as Cael spoke again.

“See, that’s the look I’m talking about,” he tsked. “Pop flies are impossible to catch in the sun even for experienced players, you should be praising her.” Cael smirked. “Like this.”

“You did amazing, Plum. You did exactly what I told you to do.” He turned to me, lowering his voice into a husky purr that curled my toes in my sneakers. “Such a .”

Julien practically hissed, but Cael shushed him without looking away from me. I turned red under his bright blue eyes and filled my lungs with cold air to satiate the burning in my chest. Julien’s stare had scared me, but Cael’s… it made me feel invincible.

“Cael.” I shook my head. “Everyone is listening.”

“Sorry.” He winked at me. “Alright then, do you see how easy it is to be kind to her?”

I stifled the giggle that rose from me and turned my face away from them .

“Now, let’s get back to the game,” Cael announced, clapping his hand on Julien’s shoulder. “I really wanna see how angry I can make my physical therapists.”

“Fuck your game, I’m going home,” Julien announced. “Are you coming?” He turned to me.

“I—” I didn’t have an answer for him. “I’ll be home soon.”

Julien looked like he wanted to say something more but kept his mouth shut, and it was a damn good thing he had because Cael was just itching for a real fight. There might have been an adorable smile on his face and a lightness to his step but it was written all over the rest of his body. How tight his fingers were curled into his palms and how the muscles in his jaw and neck flexed in restraint.

“Whatever.” Julien shook his head and stormed off the field.

I already knew that this altercation, no matter how one-sided it may have been, would cause a lot of trouble. Julien would raise hell, and I’d have to talk him down. Cael was innocent and valiant in his intentions but… he had successfully forced my hand. I would have to go home to fix the mess that it caused.

It took a moment to sink in, but I trailed my eyes across the field to where Cael sauntered away without another word. Chasing after him, I called out.

“It was only a week,” I said to him, and he turned to walk backward to the dugout.

I could hear everyone finally moving after the initial shock of the confrontation wore off, the familiar heavy footsteps of Dean coming up behind me.

“What?” Cael stopped with his brows furrowed together.

“I was only suspended for a week,” I corrected him and his wide smile returned. It was a silent, secret thank you meant only for the two of us.

“You’re welcome, Plum,” he mouthed and returned his focus to winning the game.

My heart throbbed painfully in my chest as he stared at me. The sun-brushed over his high, chiseled cheekbones and illuminated the bow of his lip as he smiled at me. He was in there, that boy. From the day my heart first leapt at the sight of him, I could see him. I could feel him. My skin was even warm from the sun in the same way it had been but the wind bit at my cheeks and reminded me that we were not those kids. That we weren’t under the Texas sun, running off into the field, abandoning chores in favor of dips in the creek and bonfires so large the sparks danced with the stars.

My head wasn’t straight anymore. I needed to figure out exactly what I wanted, and I needed to do it fast because I didn’t want the adrenaline rush that was Cael Cody to ever end.