Hector (Season One: The Ninth Inning #3) (19 page)

She sucks in a breath and narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t worry about what your father thinks, and as far as you being happy, I think you have it all wrong. You’re a male and it’s in your nature to think you’re happy with someone who will drop her panties for you. However, it’s not love.”

“Are you calling me a slut?” Zoey asks.

When will this end? I’m ready to pull my hair out and I’m tempted to literally push my mother out the door.

“Are you standing there in a t-shirt, spending the night with my son because of his checkbook? Then yes, I am.”

“How dare you? I’m not a slut and I’m not with Hector because of his checkbook!” Zoey yells.

“So you say.”

“You don’t have to defend yourself to her, Zoey.” I turn to Mom, completely fed up. “You don’t know her, and you don’t get to judge her on what you think she’s like. You’re ruining your relationship with your son, and if you keep attacking her, you won’t have one at all. So, please, go home.”

“If I leave Hector, don’t think for one second I will be coming back until you have seen the errors of
your
ways. Is that what you want?”

I walk over and open the door for them to leave, giving her my answer. Mom seems shocked, but she quickly covers it and walks out the door.

“Sorry, Paulina,” I tell her as she follows her.

Once they are both gone, I shut the door and lay my forehead against it, really wishing I would bang my head against it instead because I’m so frustrated with my mother. The worst part about it all is that I’m honestly not surprised by the stunt she pulled just now. With a sigh, I return to the kitchen.

“Sorry, Zoey. Again.”

“I may have tattoos, but I don’t care about your checkbook, and I’m sure as hell not a slut,” she angrily spews.

“I know that,” I reassure her, gathering her in my arms, needing to feel her touch.

I OFFICIALLY QUIT the bar two days ago, but I miss it now as I’m lying in bed staring at my ceiling. I wish I were there right now and not dealing with the thoughts in my head. Hector is out on the road for the next four days, and I can’t get the conversation with his mother out of my head.

I’m not a slut.

I’m not a gold digger.

I’m a woman who is trying to be the best damn artist I can be and survive.

I roll out of the bed and stand up. My muscles are tight from being lazy all day. I head to the kitchen and turn on the coffee pot. Maybe some caffeine will get me going. As it brews, I walk over to my studio. Another blank canvas sits on the easel staring at me.

There isn’t one piece of creative juice pulsing through me. It’s as if I’m dried up, and I know it’s because there’s only one thing going on in my head.

Hector’s mom.

I can’t think inside my apartment. I need fresh air. I race to my bedroom and throw on the first thing I grab, turn off the coffee pot, and head out.

I let the music blare as I head out of town to Aunt Lanny and Aunt Minnie’s house. I can think there. They will help me understand the erratic mess called my feelings.

“Hi, honey.” Aunt Lanny hugs me as I walk into the kitchen. “This is a lovely surprise.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Oh, no.” She steps back with a look of horror on her face. “What is it? Here,” she pulls out a chair. “I’ll grab us some sweet tea.” She opens the fridge and pulls out a pitcher then grabs a couple glasses. “Okay. Start.”

“I like Hector. I like him a lot. We’ve had an amazing couple of weeks. I can’t even remember being this happy with anyone else.” I stop and tears start to build.

“But…”

I wipe my eyes. “His mother showed up the other night and she brought one of Hector’s ex-girlfriends.”

“No,” Aunt Lanny gasps.

“Yep. It was a massive argument. She called me a slut and a gold digger.”

“Did Hector stand up for you?” she asks carefully.

“Yes, he did. He threw his own mother out of his house and told her not to come back until she could accept our relationship.”

“Good for him. I mean, I don’t condone fighting, but I’m glad he stood up for you.”

I sigh. “I’m not surprised he did.”

“What’s really going on?”

I look down at the brown liquid in my crystal clear glass. I don’t know how to say the words. I can’t express myself, which is something I’ve never had trouble doing before.

“Zoey, you’ve never not been able to talk to me. Please, I’m a little worried right now.” Aunt Lanny takes my hand.

“He threw his mother out of his house.”

“Yes.”

“Would I?”

“What do you mean?”

“If the roles were reversed, could I throw you or Aunt Minnie out of my life?”

“Zoey.” Aunt Lanny shakes her head. “You can’t think this way. The roles aren’t reversed. Hector is a grown man who loves and respects you. It’s his choice on what he does with his mother.”

“She’s his mother,” I whisper. “She’s the woman who gave him life, and he turned his back on her.”

“Wait.” Aunt Lanny sits back a bit. “Are you thinking this way because you think he’ll turn his back on you?”

I shrug.

“Zoey.” Her tone is firm. “Hector’s mother is a small minded woman who wants to control her son as if she’s a puppet master. Standing up for you shows how mature and open minded he is. He has never shown an ounce of disrespect to Minnie or me. Has he?”

I shake my head.

“You’re over thinking this, and I suggest you stop it. You’ve never been this way before. What’s changed?”

I keep my mouth closed and don’t say the words. I want to say them, but Hector needs to hear them first. But will I ever say them?

“What would you do if I came into your home and did the same thing Hector’s mom did? Tell me truthfully.” Aunt Lanny looks me right in the eyes.

“I don’t know.” I wipe the tears away from my cheeks. “I owe Aunt Minnie and you everything, but…”

“But you love Hector as much as he loves you,” she says the words I’m feeling.

“I can’t break up a family. You raised me better.”

“You’re not breaking up anything. Hector’s mother is the one who is ripping her family apart. Not you. Is that what you think?”

I remain quiet and stare at the table. I can’t seem to get a grip on my feelings right now. There’s a million things running through me and none of it makes sense. I do know Hector can’t turn his back on his mother or anyone he loves. It’s not in his nature. He wants to protect them. He needs to be there for his mother.

“I’m going to head home.” I stand, and before she can try to stop me, I’m out the door and into my car.

When I reach my apartment, I head straight for a canvas. The blank canvas is still mocking me and I can’t bring myself to pick up a paintbrush, a piece of charcoal, or even a pencil to sketch.

My phone is buzzing in my pocket and I don’t have to look at the screen to know it’s Hector. It’s like that I already know he’s trying to contact me.

“Hello, Hector.”

“Hey. How’s your day going?”

“It’s going, I guess.”

“That doesn’t sound so good. What’s wrong, Zoey?”

“Have you talked to your mom?”

“What? No, I haven’t. I talked to my dad and my sister earlier, but I haven’t talked to her. Why are you asking?”

“Because I can’t be the reason a family breaks up. I don’t know what it’s like to have a mother who flies up to try and stick her nose into her son’s business. Granted, she did it the
wrong
way, but she has to be doing it out of love, right?”

“You aren’t breaking up a family, Zoey. My mother is just throwing a tantrum. She’ll come around, but it’ll take time because she’s stubborn. The point is you aren’t the reason. This was a long time coming with her.”

Part of me believes him. Actually, all of me does, but this is his mother. Not some friend or teammate,
his mother
.

“It would be easier if I wasn’t around, Hector, right? We’re not serious or anything?” Even though I know it’s serious for me. I feel the love there for him. I just haven’t admitted it.

“No, it wouldn’t be easier. If you weren’t around, my mom would still be pushing me on someone and I would still be fighting her about it. What are you getting at with this, Zoey? We are serious, and you know it. We’re serious enough that I’m not willing to back down from my mother, and if you think your walking away will make me talk to her, that’s not going to happen. The problems with my mom have always been there. It’s just that now I’ve actually found someone to make it worth standing up to her. Even if you walk away, I still won’t talk to her until she comes to her senses. So, don’t go there.”

I pause for a moment letting his words sink in. “We’ve rushed into this. You can’t deny it, Hector. I think a break is good for us. Just to make sure this is what we both want. Family is too important to you and to me, too. I can’t bear thinking I broke you away from your mother. Don’t get me wrong, the things she said were horrible and I’m not sorry for what I said to her, but she’s your mother. I’m replaceable, she’s not.”

“Bullshit! You are not replaceable!” He takes a deep breath and I know he’s trying to calm down. “Are you listening to me? A break isn’t going to fix things with her. I’m still not going to talk to her until she realizes she’s wrong, even if you aren’t standing next to me anymore. A break isn’t going to make me change my mind, not about her, not about you, and not about us.”

“Then if you feel that strongly about it, a break won’t hurt. You’re gone for the next four days. When you get back into town, call me and we’ll see if it’ll help or not. You don’t know until you try. Think of it as if you’re jumping out of the plane again. You tried that, right? So, let’s try this.” My voice is shaking and the tears are about to fall.

“The plane is a bad analogy. I don’t consider that an overall positive experience and this doesn’t sound like one either. Do you want a break for me or for you? I don’t want or need one. However, if you want one because you want to reconsider what you’ve stepped into with me or whatever, then I guess I can’t stop you from wanting that.”

“I’ll talk to you when you get back into town, Hector. I hope you do well on your away games.” I end the call and do the unthinkable. I kick the easel, knocking over the canvas and my supplies. Watching them scatter on the floor, I break down.

THESE ROAD GAMES are the last of our regular season, which is what I should be focusing on. I watch as the ball soars way over my head. Roman catches it after a bounce and throws it to me. The ball hits my glove hard, but it doesn’t matter that I’ve caught it. The hitter is already comfortably on base. I throw it to Felix, so he can pitch again.

At least baseball is making sense. I have my job here on first, my duties as a member of this team when the ball is in play and when I’m up at bat. Not much is going to surprise me here. If the ball goes to center field, as it is now, Tanner is going to be there to get it. He catches the ball easily, and the batter returns to the dugout.

It’s our second out, so we only need one more before we switch places. The batter misses Felix’s first pitch, but gets a crack at the second one. It practically goes straight to Jordan with a few bounces. He secures it in his glove before reaching out to tag the runner coming toward his base.

Out number three.

Baseball is relatively simple.

Zoey? Not so much.

I could understand where she’s coming from a little better if she was the actual problem. She’s not though. Mom is. I’m starting to wonder if there’s something else going on, something I’m missing. That doesn’t sound right either. Zoey didn’t sound as if she really wanted this break. Four days isn’t truly a break anyway. Maybe she just wants a little time to herself.

“Rodriguez!” Coach’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “You’re up.”

After I grab my helmet and bat, I step out. I think the thing that drives me the craziest is how she claimed we weren’t serious. As if we haven’t been seeing each other for as long as we have, plus the two months it took to get her name. I’ve met her family; she’s met mine. What about us isn’t serious?

Blake hits a homerun, bringing in Colby. Both are grinning as they walk past me and into the dugout. I tighten my hands on the bat as I wait for my pitch. The first ball goes high. The second hits me in the thigh. I grimace, but make my way to first base. It’ll leave a nice little bruise, for sure. Maybe I’ll go see Sofia and try to annoy Blake because of it.