Page 74 of Leave It On The Field (Grand Slam 3)
ChapterTwenty-Three
SOPHIE
Raine and I monitored Twitter all day waiting for the post about Kaitlyn visiting Seb’s room. It never came. I decided to go to the stadium when there still wasn’t anything an hour before the game. A few fans heckled me when I walked to the seats, but nothing about the room visit.
“I thought you weren’t looking at Twitter anymore,” Dad says, nudging my shoulder. “Are you just trying to avoid watching this game? Frankly, I wish I didn’t have to watch it either.”
It’s the top of the ninth. We’re losing 8-1. Seb has played horribly, including making an error for the first time all season. He made a wild throw to second on a steal attempt. I’ve never seen him make even a slightly bad throw. It’s been spot-on perfect every time until tonight.
“Is something wrong between you and Seb?” Dad asks. “He’s been looking down here all night. Either he’s looking at you or he finds his third baseman really interesting for some reason.”
“There’s nothing wrong. Everything’s fine.”
“Nice try,” he says, patting my leg. “You only use the word ‘fine’ when things are definitely not fine.”
* * *
I jump as the tweet posts. I scan it. Nothing about Katie. I turn to Raine to see if she saw it.
“Here,” Raine says, handing her phone to Butch and tapping her finger on the screen. “Over here to where she’s sitting.”
“Let’s go,” Butch says, putting his hand on my shoulder. “We’re leaving.”
“What? The game’s not over. I never leave early—even if we’re losing.”
“You’re leaving early tonight.” He does a quick eye sweep of our section as he stands up.
“Come on, Soph,” Raine says. “This game’s over for all practical purposes. Let’s get back to the hotel.”
Raine hands her phone to Millie. “Will you take care of this?”
Millie scans the phone, and then hands it back to her. “I’m on it. Take Mason with you to help protect Sophie. I’ll use Nash to distract her.”
“Distract who?” I look back and forth between Raine and Millie. “What’s going on?”
They ignore me.
Millie laces her fingers, stretches out her arms, and cracks her knuckles like she’s preparing for a street fight. “Nash, I need you to create a distraction for me.”
“On it,” Nash says, leaping up. He’s standing so straight that I’m half expecting him to salute Millie. “Just tell me where and how big.”
Millie nods toward the concourse. “Bring your beer. I think we can use it as a prop.”
“Prop?” I scrunch up my face as she and Nash take off up the stairs. “What’s happening right now?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Butch says, pulling me out of my seat. “We’re moving.”
Dad stands up. “What’s going on?”
“We want to get Sophie out of here before the game ends,” Raine says, her face melting into a reassuring smile. “Nothing to worry about. You can come with us if you want.”
Dad nods and turns to Mom. “Deb, quit typing on your phone. Let’s go.”
“What?” Mom looks up, her face displaying the confusion that I’m feeling.
“We’re leaving,” Mason says. “Now. Anyone who’s coming with us needs to move.”
“What am I missing in that tweet?” I look over my shoulder at Raine.
