The Hitting Zone Chapter 420 April’s Showers

I started to tear up. I wanted to wipe my eyes, but then Dave would know that I was crying.

"What are you doing to Jake?" Mrs. Atkins asked.

Dave loosened his grip and answered. "Jeremy Patterson isn’t a good person, Mom. Noah found a not so good video of him. He’s showing Dad right now."

Mrs. Atkins didn’t need to question what was said. Just one look at and she could tell that I was hurting. "Oh, honey. It’s...well, let go see what has happened." She nodded towards the dining room. "Why don’t you go eat breakfast with the others?" She jogged up the stairs.

Dave steered to the kitchen and guided to my seat before going to his own. Zeke and Kyle were talking about plans for the day, but quieted down after one look at .

"Don’t ask." Dave told them. "If you really want to know, go upstairs and Noah will show you. Jake doesn’t want to keep hearing about it." He started to load his plate.

Zeke got up first, not hesitating like Kyle. He imdiately left the kitchen, and Kyle quickly followed after a glance my way.

"They have to know." Dave told .

"I know." I slowly reached for a bagel and started to pick at it. It’s not like it’s a big secret. It’s all over the news. Jeremy Patterson doesn’t claim having a brother.

As I slowly ate my bagel, the Atkins started to co down in the order they went up. Mr. Atkins. Mrs. Atkins. The three boys.

"What should we do now?" Kyle asked their dad, looking unsure of what to do.

Mr. Atkins sighed. "There’s nothing for us to do. Everything else is between Jeremy and the state." He looked at . "Let know if you want to visit Dr. Moore at any ti, okay?"

I nodded. "I’m okay. He can live his life and I’ll live mine."

Mr. Atkins shared a frown with Mrs. Atkins, but they didn’t say anything else about the topic. My wave of sadness passed as I thought it through. Jeremy and I don’t have any real connection. I was three the last ti I saw him...a ten-year-old him. That’s it.

Mr. and Mrs. Atkins took a longer ti to go to work, but after making sure that I would be just fine with their sons, they left.

"Let’s go to the cages?" Kyle offered, looking at .

I shrugged, stabbing the cut up fruit on my plate. "I don’t really feel like it."

"Don’t be lying." Noah nudged . "You know it’ll make you feel better. Get your mind off things."

Get my mind off the fact that my brother didn’t even ask about after finding out that our mom almost killed ? I doubt it. I sighed. "Okay, sure."

Noah smiled with relief.

So after breakfast, we packed up and left the house together. We were just at The Arcade last night so the employees were a little surprised that we would co two days in a row.

Zeke bought the tokens for all of us without Noah’s nagging so he must be pitying too. Just a boy that only strangers want. I sighed to myself for the millionth ti this morning.

We seed to stick together as we moved to the cage with a good speed. Or more like, they stuck with . They were probably still worried about exploding or running or just-just being sad. It made feel worse that these acquaintances could care more than my blood relatives. Just stop. Stop thinking about it.

I shook my head trying to clear these thoughts.

The boys let go first, but that was a mistake. I was still muddle-headed and made a few mistakes in the cages. I even swung and missed on such an easy pitch. With another sigh, I left the cage.

"Jake-" Noah started.

Zeke cut him off. "Noah, you go next." He glanced at the twins. "Shouldn’t you two start sowhere else?"

The twins got the hint and left us alone. Noah waited an extra beat, but with Zeke staring him down, he caved. Zeke sat down on the bench between cages. "Co on. Sit down and relax. It’s a nice day for late April. We usually get more rain."

The corner of my lips tugged into a mocking smile. "It’s so cloudy here all the ti. I’ve never seen so many cloudy days in my life."

Zeke chuckled as I sat down. "It’s called the marine layer. Just clouds rolling in from the coast. But you know, there’s a saying that Mom used to tell us when we complained about the rain."

"What..?" Not really understanding where he was going with this. Did he think talking about the weather would get my mind off my family situation?

"’April showers bring May flowers.’" He quoted. Then after a silent pause. "’Every dark cloud has a silver lining.’" He glanced down at . "Are you understanding what I’m trying to say?"

I laughed, feeling a little lighter. "I’m in ninth grade, I know what an idiom is."

"So you know this thing that’s troubling you will pass." He stated. "If you know that, then why are you dwelling so much on it?"

"Well..." I thought about it. "He’s my brother..."

Zeke shrugged. "Your brother? Or a stranger? What do you know about this man that you haven’t read about or seen in the news?"

That’s right. He’s a stranger to . Just like I am to him. He won’t claim , so I don’t have to claim him.

"I know soone who thinks of you as a brother." Zeke told in a soft tone.

Imdiately my eyes looked to Noah, batting. "He thought of as a brother from day one. I didn’t even talk to him and he called his little brother." My eyes stung. "Is sothing wrong with ?"

Zeke patted the top of my head lightly. "No. If there was, we wouldn’t all take a liking to you and let our parents adopt you."

I looked at him.

"Mom and Dad checked with and the twins before starting the adoption process." He smiled. "Rember the night that the twins got their pitching backstop? Mom and Dad asked them separately about their thoughts so you know, all of us like you."

I ward at the thought.

"Honestly, you don’t need to be officially adopted to feel like a part of the family." Zeke told . "You’re already a brother to us. A son to Mom and Dad. You were one of us from day one."

And that was thanks to Noah and Mrs. Atkins. They pulled in and didn’t let go.

"Thanks Zeke." I told him, feeling a sense of relief. "For the record, you’re what I wanted my big brother to be like."

Zeke looked surprised for a second, then laughed.

"Jake! Want to try again?" Noah asked, coming out of the cage.

I lifted my bat. "Yea." I went back in there, put in the token, and then started to swing. Every ball was sent back the way it ca. It was a good feeling. No negativity was hanging around like a heavy fog. Instead, it was sunny. Bright. Warm.