Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains (Victoria and Elijah) novel Chapter 140

140 /202

Chapter 140

Victoria’s POV

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The kitchen was filled with the savory aroma of roasted garlic, seared steak, and seasoned rice, but my appetite had been completely missing for days.

Two nights left before the opening game of the seasonal finals. Two whole days. And Elijah still wasn’t speaking to me.

I stood over the stove, carefully spooning portion after portion into large glass containers.

Adele had offered to help, and together we were prepping enough food to feed the entire core team: Elijah, Miles, Nate, Jace, and Leo.

I knew how hard they had been pushing themselves during these last brutal practices, and I knew Elijah would probably be too exhausted to cook proper fuel for himself.

Even if he refused to look at me, even if he walked right past me without a word, I needed to know he was eating well.

I leaned over the counter, staring blindly at the rising steam, my mind drifting back to the last time he had held my hand in his car.

A gentle nudging against my shoulder pulled me back to reality.

“Thinking about Carter?” Adele asked quietly, setting down a stack of container lids next to mine.

I forced a tight, small smile and gave a short nod, immediately averting my eyes.

I bit my lower lip hard, trying with everything in me to keep my composure, but a tear managed to slip past my lashes anyway, running warm down my cheek.

“I really miss him, Adele,” I whispered, the words scraping against my raw throat.

Adele stepped in close, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pulling me into a firm hug.

“He’s going to come around, Vic. There’s no way he stays angry with you during one of the biggest moments of his life. He loves you too much.”

I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, taking a deep breath to steady myself.

The upcoming finals were everything. Crowells needed this championship, and Elijah had spent his entire life working toward this exact moment.

He had poured endless hours of sweat, discipline, and determination onto that diamond, aiming for a future in the majors.

More than anything in the world, I wanted to be standing right beside him when he stepped onto that field.

1/5

15:47 Fri, Jul 24

Chapter 140

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I wanted to be the one cheering loudest from the stands, reminding him of how proud I was. I just prayed he would let me back in.

Once the last container was sealed, we packed everything neatly into two heavy insulated bags.

“Let’s go freshen up real quick,” Adele said, wiping down the island. “Miles said they’re wrapping up drills soon, so we can meet them right outside the facility complex.”

“Okay,” I agreed, turning toward the hallway.

I took two steps before a blinding, sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen.

It was so intense it completely stole the air out of my chest. My knees buckled instantly, and I grabbed the edge of the kitchen wall, my fingernails digging into the drywall as I gasped for air.

The floor seemed to shift beneath my feet, the bright kitchen lights blurring into streaks of white.

“Victoria!” Adele’s voice echoed from a distance as she rushed over, catching me under my arms before I hit the floor completely.

“Tori! What’s wrong? What hurts?”

I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even form words. I curled on my side on the cold floor, cold sweat instantly breaking out across my forehead as the agonizing pain ripped through me again.

I couldn’t stand up. I couldn’t even lift my head.

Adele’s hands were shaking as she frantically reached for her phone on the counter, tapping the screen with pale fingers.

“Stay with me, Tori! Stay with me, okay? I’m calling 911 right now!”

Everything started fading around the edges, turning gray and distant. Adele’s panic-stricken voice on the line with the operator sounded like it was coming from under water.

My vision narrowed down to a tiny point of light, the pain taking over every nerve in my body.

Before the darkness pulled me under completely, a single word slipped past my lips in a faint, broken whisper.

“Elijah…”

Elijah’s POV

The practice field was quiet, the harsh stadium lights casting shadows across the dark dirt of the diamond

The rest of the guys were scattered around the dugouts, packing away their gear, but I remained seated on the far end of the wooden bench, staring down at my phone.

On the screen was a photo taken three weeks ago. Victoria was leaning against my chest, laughing at something I’d said, my arm wrapped securely around her waist.

2/5

15:47 Fri, Jul 24

Chapter 140

10 vouchers

Every single instinct in my body was screaming at me to dial her number, to tell her to come over, to pull her into my arms and remind her how deeply I loved her.

But every time I moved my thumb toward her contact, the memory of her red-rimmed eyes, the accusation in her voice, and the fact that she had believed a random internet rumor over my character rushed back, making my chest tighten with that same stubborn hurt.

This was the week we had talked about for months. The opening game of the seasonal finals was only two days away-the series that would pretty much dictate my future in professional baseball.