The Hitting Zone

"Okay, lets go find my mom." Noah jumped up with the empty plate and led me downstairs. Mary was no longer in the dining room so we checked the kitchen next. Noah put the plate in the sink but she wasn't in there either. "Must be in the office. Mr. Duncan sure didn't stay long."

I swallowed harder than normal. I felt nervous knowing I was left here with quite a few strangers.

Noah was oblivious as he moved throughout the house looking for his mom. He knocked on the office door before opening it slowing. "Mom, you busy? Can I take Jake to the park before we have lunch?"

"Come in boys, let's talk." Her soft voice called out, but I couldn't help flinching. 'Let's talk' was my moms go to phrase before giving a beating. Mary wasn't her though. She was sitting in a black leather chair, behind a desk, with glasses on.

"What's up?" Noah walked in as I stayed just outside. He glanced back at me, but didn't comment.

Mary didn't say anything about my strange behavior either. "I wanted to take Jake to the mall for clothes and school supplies today since I have an open house to show tomorrow. I figured we can head out now for an early lunch, get the shopping done, then maybe a movie before dinner?"

Noah nodded along. "Okay. That's fine. We'll just go to the park tomorrow then. No worries."

Mary smiled and stood up. "Alrighty. Go get in the car and I'll grab my purse."

Noah left the office and dragged me towards the garage door. "What a treat! Free clothes, eating out, and a movie! All for you! I'm starting to think you're the new favorite in this family."

I gave a light smile. Noah was like the definition of easygoing. He patted the black sedan. "This is mom's real baby. She loves her bmw." He pointed at the silver suv type. "The dodge durango is the family car. Zeke uses it to drive us to and from school and practice. Occasionally he'll let the twins practice driving." He shuddered. "Pray every time you see one of them in the drivers seat. It's not a pleasant experience."

"Are you talking badly about your brothers again, Noah?" Mary joined us in the garage.

"No ma'am. Just giving Jake some lifesaving advice." He winked at me.

Mary sighed and shook her head, but didn't say anymore.

We all got into her car and started to go. The mall they took me to was in the city of Marlo, just a couple miles over. It was two stories and took up way more space than I would expect. The first stop was at the burger joint on the second floor.

When we were seated at a table, I made sure that Noah sat across from his mom, and I sat next to him. Keeping a safe distance from her felt like a priority.

"Mom, we have to get him some baseball clothes and stuff!" Noah told her, excited.

The exact opposite of what I was feeling. I shook my head violently, trying to disagree.

Mary laughed. "I don't think you guys are on the same page here."

Noah shot me an incredulous look. "Bro, you have a glove, but no athletic wear. How are we going to play together if you're in jeans?"

I widen my eyes looking at him, then tilted my head towards his mom.

He rolled his eyes. "My mom doesn't mind. Really. We all play baseball and she's very supportive. It's no problem at all."

For obvious reasons, that felt like a stab. My chest started to ache and tears were threatening to fall.

"Mom!?" Noah looked towards Mary while putting a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong with him? Did I say something malicious? What do we do?"

Mary calmly slid the napkin container towards me. "Just let him cry it out. He's going to be okay."