The Hitting Zone

Coach made the call and soon, the adults I trusted most started to appear.

Dr. Moore arrived first, he had stayed late on the school campus for meetings with other teens in need. He approached me slowly and knelt down so we could be eye level. "Hey Jake, it's me. I need to know how bad your arm hurts on a scale of 1 to 10."

I looked at him through blurry eyes.

"Jake? I need to know if you're okay." Dr. Moore said with concern.

"Jake?" Noah stood right beside me. "C'mon Jake. It's okay. We're right here. You can talk to us remember?"

Remember? What do I remember?

Memories of my mom flashed in my mind as Jeremy gripped my arm. He was just like her. He was mad at me like she was always mad at me. What did I do wrong? I don't understand.

My vision got blurrier as fresh tears blocked them out. I was in pain. I felt ashamed. Embarrassed.

"Jake! Jake!" I heard a woman's voice drawing near and the sound of hurried footsteps. "Is Jake alright??" Mrs. Atkins has arrived.

"Mom." Noah sounded scared. "Jake isn't talking to us. I think Jeremy scared him. He was mean and he grabbed Jake by the arm, and Jake's been crying. Where's Dad? Dad can usually make Jake feel better?"

"He's coming from across town." She said. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. Same with Mr. Duncan." I could feel her get closer so I looked up. She reached out and used her thumbs to wipe away the tears on my cheeks. "Oh, Jake. Jake. What did he do?"

"He's been holding his injured arm since I've arrived." Dr. Moore told her as I let her wipe my tears away. Dr. Moore handed her a napkin and she started to clean my face and I started to calm down.

She held my face in her hands gingerly like I was a fragile vase. "Jake? Does your arm hurt? You don't have to say anything; just nod or shake your head no."

I didn't do either. Instead I used my good hand to lift my injured arm. I showed them the red fingerprints that covered my stitched up cut.

"What the actual f*ck?" Dave blurted out.

"I didn't realized he grabbed Jake so hard." Kyle mumbled.

"It'll bruise." Dr. Moore told Mrs. Atkins and Coach. "Doesn't look like the stitches were pulled at all though so that'll save you a trip to the hospital." Dr. Moore looked me in the eyes. "He must have used quite some force."

I gave a curt nod.

Dr. Moore got a little closer. "Is that it? He used too much force? Did it-" He frowned. "Did it remind you of your mother?"

I nodded and my eyes watered again. I was practically a water fountain at this point. I hung my head in shame.

"Oh, Jake." Mrs. Atkins arms surrounded me and pulled me close. Into a hug. A hug. With Mrs. Atkins. I didn't know where to put my arms so I continued to hold the injured arm as she hugged me and rubbed my back in a comforting manner.

I thought I was doing okay by not panicking or having an anxiety attack from this close proximity, but another urge to cry took over. Feeling her love and concern just made me feel more awful and hurt. A stranger that I've known for only a few months has shown me more love than any blood relative I have.

"Mary. Jake. Boys." I heard Mr. Atkins sighed in relief.

Mrs. Atkins didn't let him live in a relaxed state for long. She pulled away from me and pointed angrily at my arm. "Wayne. We need to do something."

"What happened exactly?" Mr. Atkins furrowed his brows.

Zeke stepped forward to give everyone present a complete recap of what had happened. The twins and Noah made sure to chime in their thoughts and feelings up until Coach showed up to scare Jeremy away.

"What can we do?" Mr. Atkins turned to Dr. Moore for help. "Do you have a way we can prevent this from happening again?"

Dr. Moore adjusted his glasses. "I suggest getting in contact with your lawyer and to make sure that Doug writes a report. Submit it to the courts and try to get a temporary restraining order until this matter is resolved. I can write a letter and make a professional statement on how this affects Jake."

"I'll make the calls." Mr. Atkins said firmly.

Dr. Moore sighed. "Not much will be accomplished this evening since it's the weekend now. You'll have to wait for Monday morning to get a hearing with a judge again." He looked at me. "Do you want to talk about it Jake? I can come over to the house for a one on one session. Or whatever you want to do."

I don't know what I want.

"He probably doesn't know what he wants right now." Mr. Atkins said, surprising me by putting my thoughts into words. He gave me a light smile seeing that I was shocked. "You're easy to read sometimes, Jake. How about this: we go home, take some warm showers, then sit down for a hot dinner? You can take this time to digest your thoughts and feelings. Tomorrow, Dr. Moore can come over for lunch and we can just have a normal session in the comfort of our own home?"

Mr. Atkins plan didn't sound half bad. I wasn't ready to talk just yet. I nodded.

"Great." Dr. Moore fixed his glasses again. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He looked down at me. "Go home and get some rest. Try not to worry or stress over what happened this evening. It's an isolated event."

"It won't happen again." Mrs. Atkins told me. "Anyone who lays a hand on you like that deserves a good beating. Even if I can't do it physically, I'll make sure Mr. Duncan knows my thoughts on this matter." She checked her watch. "He's still not here." She looked to her husband. "Have him meet us at the house for dinner. I'll call Mr. Pickens. I'm sure he doesn't mind the overtime."

"Thanks for being here Coach." Noah told our coach, who was standing off to the side and giving us space. "We probably would have had a fight with him if you didn't show up in time."

"Don't tell me that or I'll have to suspend you from the team." Coach said with all seriousness, making Noah straighten up. He glanced at me. "I know Dr. Moore here said that you don't need a hospital visit, but if the arm still hurts by Sunday, get it looked at."

"Is Jake going to have to sit out on Monday?" Noah asked, eyes wide.

"Only if he feels the need to do so." Coach stated. He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Atkins. "Keep me in the loop. I don't want to compromise Jake's health or well-being for a game."

"Yea, of course." Mrs. Atkins nodded. "I'll give you an update tomorrow."

"Please do." He nodded and walked back towards the club room with the bat in his hands. "Zeke, make sure to check your email tonight. Don't forget because of all this excitement."

"Yes, sir." Zeke answered.

"Alright, I'll get going too." Dr. Moore backed up. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Wayne, just text me the time, okay?"

"I will. Thanks for meeting us here." Mr. Atkins waved and Dr. Moore left. "Let's go home too."