Baseball Saved Us

Los Angeles was supposed to be my home. Instead, it had always felt like a golden cage. The Smith mansion stood tall behind iron gates, glittering with wealth and silence. Servants bowed. Cameras watched every corner. And the man who called himself my uncle smiled sweetly for the world while hiding knives behind his back. I was seventeen when I heard the truth. “He will take care of the girl tonight,” my uncle said over the phone, his voice calm. “Make it look like an accident.” The girl. He meant me. Fear became the only thing that kept my legs moving. I ran from the driver who was meant to take me home, sprinting through unfamiliar streets until the bright city lights disappeared and the world turned darker. Detroit. Wrong place. Wrong time. Engines roared in the distance when I saw him. A man sitting on a black motorcycle like a shadow carved from danger. Tattoos curled up his neck. His eyes were cold enough to freeze the night. Everyone knew men like him were monsters. But monsters were sometimes the only ones who could save you. I jumped onto the back of his motorcycle and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Please,” I whispered. “Help me.” That single moment would destroy his life. And change mine forever. *******

After seven years together, Ruby Longley ghosted me the day before we were supposed to get our marriage license. I freaked. While tearing through the city looking for her, I got into a nightmare crash. That night, she finally texted: [Steven cut his wrist. He's really fragile right now. He can't deal with any drama. He needs me at the hospital.] [Let's push the wedding back three years. Don't contact me until then. Let him heal.] [Handle our parents. And don't upset Steven. Just tell them you're the one who got cold feet.] The ER nurse's eyes were red as she pressed my bloody finger to my phone and typed back for me. [The PATIENT is in critical condition. Please come to the HOSPITAL immediately.] A second later, my phone lit up again. Steven Buffrey. Ruby's childhood friend. The social feed showed a photo of two hands locked together, fingers making a heart. In the middle sat a bandage over one tiny scratch. Caption: [She said my life matters more than anything. Bro, quit faking sick and sulking.] Ruby's friends smashed the like button. They called it true love. Not one person said my name. Like tomorrow's marriage license appointment had nothing to do with me. I laughed, bitter and weightless, floating above the ER as my heart monitor flatlined.

The night before the World Cup, Reid Callister made a post on social media. In the photo, he wore a Portugal jersey and was smiling at the woman beside him. He had written something sweet: [Officially done with Argentina. It's all Ronaldo from here.] Our mutual friends all went quiet. Everyone knew that the night Argentina won the championship four years ago, he had cried in my arms until dawn. That was also the night he slipped a ring onto my finger. He said, "Messi got his fairy tale. Let's go get ours." Someone in the comments section asked what happened to his Messi obsession. He replied, "I was young and stupid back then. Now, I know who's worth rooting for." I stared at the post for a long time. I did not comment. I just set down the divorce papers on the coffee table. Before I left for my flight, I tucked the ring into the pocket of his blue-and-white jersey. This time, I would not be watching the game with him.

My Harvard scholarship was supposed to be guaranteed until the slots filled up and my backup plan became my only plan: win the debate championship or lose everything. There's just one problem: Diego Castellano. Football star. Serial heartbreaker. The boy who stood by while his cheerleader girlfriend made me the school's favorite punching bag. When he joins my debate team thinking it'll be "easy," I'm forced to choose between my future and my feelings for the one person I shouldn't love.

This is the sequel to "TAKE A CHANCE ON ME". Is the love Belle & Shawn found going to survive? And what about Billy? Is his good deed of bringing Belle and Shawn together going to get unnoticed? Let's see what destiny have in store for all of them... and more. Only once in your life, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You open your heart knowing that there's a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that's so real it scares you. Life seems completely different, exciting, and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

At a college reunion, a few drinks turned into a game called the Best Wife Challenge. The rules were simple: each man had to call his wife and ask for $100,000 to buy a car. Whoever got the money first won. As expected, I was the first. "Gideon, we're seriously jealous of you. You've got money, freedom, and the perfect life." The table erupted in laughter, everyone quietly avoiding the memories we all shared. Like how Josephine Strickland and I had been together for eight years but never made it down the aisle. Like how she left for graduate school overseas, and I was the last person to find out. Trying to catch her before her flight took off, I got into a car accident that left me blind for three months. Even during the darkest period of my depression, it was my friend Brady Campbell—not her—who stayed by my side. I smiled and let the jokes continue. Then I noticed Brady gripping his phone so tightly his fingers had gone white. "I'll pass. She's busy with work, so she probably won't answer." The room fell silent. Everyone knew Brady had been secretly married for three years and had a three-year-old son. Yet not a single one of us had ever met his wife. Worried that he was being strung along, I snatched the phone from his hand and dialed the number myself. The call connected instantly. Then a familiar voice came through the speaker. It was Josephine. "Honey, I'm picking up our son from school right now."