Running The Bases
Under A Tree
Chapter 10
We sat underneath a tree in the nearby park, staying in shade. Andrei leaned up against the tree and stared at the baseball diamond that was around the corner.
“So, what’s up?” he asked, focusing his attention on me. I sat in the grass on my knees, hands folded and pressed down onto my thighs.
“N-Nothing.” I said quietly.
“You wanna talk?” Andrei asked. I didn’t respond.
“It was four years ago…” I muttered.
“Hm?” Andrei leaned in a bit to hear me better.
“Four years ago, today’s date, my b-b-b-brother died.” I spat out. My head fell forward into my lap as I tried my best to keep the tears from coming. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I slowly lifted my head to see Andrei’s face next to mine, almost nose to nose…
“Julia.” he whispered, I could feel his breath against my own mouth. I backed away and turned my head.
“It was sixth grade,” I said. “First game of my middle school year and I was the starting pitcher…” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I turned my head back to face Andrei. “I told my brother to be there.” I stated. “I told him to watch me pitch.” I felt a tear began to form in the corner of my eye. “H-he was running late that day, but he promised me he would come to my game. He did…” My mind suddenly went blank. I tilted my head to look down at the grass. I could feel the heat of the sun creep through the trees, and it wasn’t helping me a bit.
“He ran…he ran to get to my game…” I could barely spit out the words. “B-But he didn’t make it!” I gave out a little laugh. Why am I laughing? “After all this time he never did come. He never saw me pitch in the game. He wasn’t there to see me lose, because I was so nervous about my brother…”
“Why didn’t your brother make it to the game?” Andrei asked reaching a hand out towards me and brushing loose strands of hair out of my face.
“H-he died.” I whispered. “He wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around him. He ran into the street without thinking and a car-“
I couldn’t go any farther. My mouth wouldn’t move an inch. I was frozen on the prickly grass that was actually really pissing me off at the moment; actually everything was pissing me off. Andrei slid over from the tree trunk and sat in front of me cross-legged.
“But how does tha-“
“Everyone thought it was my fault.” I moved my mouth. “My own mother blamed me for it. I remember getting a call from her after that game. I had asked her where my brother was and she just screamed at me saying his body was in the middle of the street, about five minutes away from where my game was being held.”
“What was your brother’s name?” Andrei asked.
“Jakob.” I muttered. It was the first time his name escaped my lips since that day. It felt foreign to say that word. Jakob.
“I quit baseball right after that.” I exclaimed. “I didn’t touch a single baseball until that one day where you and I met by the fence.” I lowered my face. “My brother was the one who taught me everything I knew in baseball. He was the ace pitcher for his high school team-“I blinked a few to clear the tears that were coming again. “Jakob learned everything from our father too. The one who died before I was born…”
For a moment I couldn’t feel the grass beneath my legs as time suddenly slowed down. Andrei took his arms and wrapped them around me. My whole body fell forward into his lap. My head collided with his shoulder and stayed there. I quietly sobbed onto his shoulder thinking to myself this was pathetic, but it still…sort of felt…nice.
We sat there for a while, who knows how long, until Andrei spoke.
“You are a great pitcher.” he said.
“Is that something to say at this moment in time?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. I just wanted you to know that.” he shrugged.
“That doesn’t mean anything.” I said.
“It does to me.” he said. He grabbed my shoulders pulling me just a little. He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.
“You shouldn’t let such a talent go to waste.” he whispered. My eyebrows lifted and my eyes grew large. “I don’t know if that sounds mean or anything but, you really shouldn’t.”
“I-I-“I tried to figure out what to say. I felt the blood rise to my cheeks and began to feel even more embarrassed.
“I’m not really sure what to say now.” he laughed.
“You’re stupid.” I smiled.
“I guess.” he shrugged. I snaked my arms around his neck for support. I was at loss for words now, it now just seemed embarrassing and awkward. Andrei opened his eyes and blinked a few times.
“Your really pretty.” he said bluntly.
“H-huh?” I said raising an eyebrow about to back away.
“I uh-don’t know where that came from.” he said. I could feel the heat radiating from my whole face right now. “Hehe, your blushing.” he poked my nose.
“Shutup.” I said, stringing my words together.
“I don’t think I’ve really ever seen you blush.” said Andrei.
“So?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” he repeated for about the third time that day. “I just assume girls always blush at everything.”
“Well, I guess I just don’t have anything to blush about.” I said.
“Except for now.” he said grinning.
“What’s your deal?” I asked turning my head to the side staring at the tree that sat next to us.
“Who knows.” he said. I pulled myself closer.
What is this? What is happening right now? Why do I feel this way? I snuggled closer to Andrei and decided that it felt nice and I needed the comfort.
My stomach felt funny though, I curled my legs to try and stop this feeling. It wouldn’t go away. Actually…I think I’ve had this feeling before…but I just don’t know what it could be…
This was how I felt before a game back then, this was how I felt the day we went up against Geneva. This was how I felt when I ran into Jack, Alex, and Rian.
Yet right now, it was stronger, and with every movement Andrei made my stomach leaped. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours, even though it was probably only one hour.
“I think it’s time to head on somewhere else.” said Andrei beginning to stand up. He pulled me up with him and I straightened myself out. I wiped away all the dead grass blades off of my clothes and stretched. I stood in front of Andrei looking around wondering where to go now. I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. I leaned back on my heels.
Andrei twirled me around so I would be facing him again.
“Where should we go-“
Andrei bent down and touched his lips with mine before I could finish my sentence. Time slowed down, and my stomach felt like it was going to burst. I raised my feet to stand on my tippy toes and return the kiss. I was shocked but went along with it.
I was in a whole other world now. I was somewhere else that I didn’t know existed. It felt nice. Extremely nice. Everything about Andrei that happened today was nice, and comforting. But this…this beats all.
He broke the kiss and stood back a little. He scratched the back of his head and muttered something. I stood there and bit my lip and shoved my hands into my pockets like I did every other day.
“You hungry?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah, I am.” I said.
We sat underneath a tree in the nearby park, staying in shade. Andrei leaned up against the tree and stared at the baseball diamond that was around the corner.
“So, what’s up?” he asked, focusing his attention on me. I sat in the grass on my knees, hands folded and pressed down onto my thighs.
“N-Nothing.” I said quietly.
“You wanna talk?” Andrei asked. I didn’t respond.
“It was four years ago…” I muttered.
“Hm?” Andrei leaned in a bit to hear me better.
“Four years ago, today’s date, my b-b-b-brother died.” I spat out. My head fell forward into my lap as I tried my best to keep the tears from coming. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I slowly lifted my head to see Andrei’s face next to mine, almost nose to nose…
“Julia.” he whispered, I could feel his breath against my own mouth. I backed away and turned my head.
“It was sixth grade,” I said. “First game of my middle school year and I was the starting pitcher…” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I turned my head back to face Andrei. “I told my brother to be there.” I stated. “I told him to watch me pitch.” I felt a tear began to form in the corner of my eye. “H-he was running late that day, but he promised me he would come to my game. He did…” My mind suddenly went blank. I tilted my head to look down at the grass. I could feel the heat of the sun creep through the trees, and it wasn’t helping me a bit.
“He ran…he ran to get to my game…” I could barely spit out the words. “B-But he didn’t make it!” I gave out a little laugh. Why am I laughing? “After all this time he never did come. He never saw me pitch in the game. He wasn’t there to see me lose, because I was so nervous about my brother…”
“Why didn’t your brother make it to the game?” Andrei asked reaching a hand out towards me and brushing loose strands of hair out of my face.
“H-he died.” I whispered. “He wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around him. He ran into the street without thinking and a car-“
I couldn’t go any farther. My mouth wouldn’t move an inch. I was frozen on the prickly grass that was actually really pissing me off at the moment; actually everything was pissing me off. Andrei slid over from the tree trunk and sat in front of me cross-legged.
“But how does tha-“
“Everyone thought it was my fault.” I moved my mouth. “My own mother blamed me for it. I remember getting a call from her after that game. I had asked her where my brother was and she just screamed at me saying his body was in the middle of the street, about five minutes away from where my game was being held.”
“What was your brother’s name?” Andrei asked.
“Jakob.” I muttered. It was the first time his name escaped my lips since that day. It felt foreign to say that word. Jakob.
“I quit baseball right after that.” I exclaimed. “I didn’t touch a single baseball until that one day where you and I met by the fence.” I lowered my face. “My brother was the one who taught me everything I knew in baseball. He was the ace pitcher for his high school team-“I blinked a few to clear the tears that were coming again. “Jakob learned everything from our father too. The one who died before I was born…”
For a moment I couldn’t feel the grass beneath my legs as time suddenly slowed down. Andrei took his arms and wrapped them around me. My whole body fell forward into his lap. My head collided with his shoulder and stayed there. I quietly sobbed onto his shoulder thinking to myself this was pathetic, but it still…sort of felt…nice.
We sat there for a while, who knows how long, until Andrei spoke.
“You are a great pitcher.” he said.
“Is that something to say at this moment in time?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. I just wanted you to know that.” he shrugged.
“That doesn’t mean anything.” I said.
“It does to me.” he said. He grabbed my shoulders pulling me just a little. He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.
“You shouldn’t let such a talent go to waste.” he whispered. My eyebrows lifted and my eyes grew large. “I don’t know if that sounds mean or anything but, you really shouldn’t.”
“I-I-“I tried to figure out what to say. I felt the blood rise to my cheeks and began to feel even more embarrassed.
“I’m not really sure what to say now.” he laughed.
“You’re stupid.” I smiled.
“I guess.” he shrugged. I snaked my arms around his neck for support. I was at loss for words now, it now just seemed embarrassing and awkward. Andrei opened his eyes and blinked a few times.
“Your really pretty.” he said bluntly.
“H-huh?” I said raising an eyebrow about to back away.
“I uh-don’t know where that came from.” he said. I could feel the heat radiating from my whole face right now. “Hehe, your blushing.” he poked my nose.
“Shutup.” I said, stringing my words together.
“I don’t think I’ve really ever seen you blush.” said Andrei.
“So?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” he repeated for about the third time that day. “I just assume girls always blush at everything.”
“Well, I guess I just don’t have anything to blush about.” I said.
“Except for now.” he said grinning.
“What’s your deal?” I asked turning my head to the side staring at the tree that sat next to us.
“Who knows.” he said. I pulled myself closer.
What is this? What is happening right now? Why do I feel this way? I snuggled closer to Andrei and decided that it felt nice and I needed the comfort.
My stomach felt funny though, I curled my legs to try and stop this feeling. It wouldn’t go away. Actually…I think I’ve had this feeling before…but I just don’t know what it could be…
This was how I felt before a game back then, this was how I felt the day we went up against Geneva. This was how I felt when I ran into Jack, Alex, and Rian.
Yet right now, it was stronger, and with every movement Andrei made my stomach leaped. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours, even though it was probably only one hour.
“I think it’s time to head on somewhere else.” said Andrei beginning to stand up. He pulled me up with him and I straightened myself out. I wiped away all the dead grass blades off of my clothes and stretched. I stood in front of Andrei looking around wondering where to go now. I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. I leaned back on my heels.
Andrei twirled me around so I would be facing him again.
“Where should we go-“
Andrei bent down and touched his lips with mine before I could finish my sentence. Time slowed down, and my stomach felt like it was going to burst. I raised my feet to stand on my tippy toes and return the kiss. I was shocked but went along with it.
I was in a whole other world now. I was somewhere else that I didn’t know existed. It felt nice. Extremely nice. Everything about Andrei that happened today was nice, and comforting. But this…this beats all.
He broke the kiss and stood back a little. He scratched the back of his head and muttered something. I stood there and bit my lip and shoved my hands into my pockets like I did every other day.
“You hungry?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah, I am.” I said.