Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains (Victoria and Elijah) novel Chapter 145

hapter 145

Chapter 145

Elijah’s POV

1895

Today was the elimination game; the culmination of four years of blood, sweat, and relentless conditioning at Crowells.

Draft scouts from every major league organization were packed into the section behind home plate, radar guns drawn and notebook pages flipping in the afternoon breeze.

A win today against State meant taking home the championship trophy and cementing our spot at the top of the draft board.

A loss meant hand-delivering our jerseys back to the equipment manager, walking away empty-handed, and watching our dreams evaporate.

In the locker room, the smell of leather oil, pine tar, and sweat hung heavy in the air.

Coach stood near the dry-erase board, his hands resting on his hips as his eyes swept over all of us in uniform.

“Four years,” Coach began, his voice surprisingly soft, cutting through the silence.

“Some of you have been throwing a baseball in park diamonds since you were six years old. You’ve trained through freezing rain, blistering heat, pulled muscles, and early morning conditioning drills when your bodies wanted to quit. Every single drop of sweat was for this afternoon. Go out there, trust your instincts, and claim what you’ve worked your entire lives for.”

A roar went up through the room. When Coach stepped back, the five of us: me, Miles, Nate, Jace, and Leo- slammed our shoulders together in a tight, heavy huddle in the center of the room.

“This is it, boys,” Miles muttered, slapping my chest pad hard. “Last ride.”

“Let’s go destroy these guys,” Nate grinned, his usual playful expression replaced by a fierce, competitive glint in his eyes.

We clapped each other on the back, the rest of the guys heading through the dugout tunnel toward the top of the steps.

1 lagged behind, pulling my phone out of my locker and instantly hitting the FaceTime icon.

The screen connected on the second ring. Victoria’s face popped up, sitting propped against three pillows in my bed, wearing one of my oversized gray hoodies.

She’d woken up this morning with morning sickness hitting her twice as hard, her skin pale and clammy.

I’d been ready to hire a private private-duty nurse to sit in the condo with her, but she’d laughed me off, insisting it was completely normal for the first trimester.

“Hey, beautiful,” I murmured, leaning against the wooden locker frame.

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Chapter 145

“Hey, pitcher,” she smiled softly, her blue eyes shining through the screen. “How’s the energy in there?”

“Loud,” I said, adjusting the tiny, skin-colored Bluetooth earpiece tucked discreetly into my left ear, hidden right beneath the edge of my baseball cap.

“I’ve got the line open. You sure you can handle listening to nine innings of mitt cracks and stadium noise? Victoria rolled her eyes, a warm flush touching her cheeks.

“If it means hearing you breathe and being there with you, I’ll take the noise. Just don’t let my voice in your ear mess up your fastballs.”

“Not even close,” I drawled, running a hand over the brim of my cap. “Having you in my ear is my lucky charm today. I need it.”

“You don’t need luck, Carter,” she laughed quietly, her gaze softening as she blew a kiss to the camera. “Just go do what you do best.”

“I love you,” I said softly.

“I love you more. Go win your championship.”

The stadium announcer’s voice echoed down the tunnel: “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your Crowell Blizzard.

“Time to go,” I whispered, blowing her a kiss back before ending the call, keeping the audio link active through the tiny earbud.

I shoved my phone into my back pocket and turned toward the tunnel exit.

Standing right by the doorway, leaning his shoulder against the concrete wall with his arms crossed, was Caleb.

He leaned against the doorway, giving me a warm, almost pitying smile as he tilted his head.

“Big day, Carter. I just hope you’re doing okay with everything lately. It’d be a shame if all that personal drama got to your head today-the scouts are expecting your best, not a distracted pitcher.”

I stopped right in front of him, my face entirely blank, staring straight into his eyes without giving him an inch of satisfaction.

“I don’t know what your problem has been lately, Caleb,” I said, my tone low and even, stripped of any emotion. “But you need to check your personal feelings at the door. We have nine innings to win a championship. Keep your head in the game, or stay on the bench.”

I gave him one final, cold glare before pushing past him and stepping out into the blinding afternoon sunlight

of the field.

Victoria’s POV

The apartment was quiet except for the booming, high-definition audio pouring out of the flat-screen TV in

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Chapter 145

the living room.

130

A bowl of popcorn and a half-eaten sleeve of saltine crackers sat on the coffee table in front of me, though my stomach was doing tight flips every time the camera showed the field.

The broadcast was in the bottom of the eighth inning. Crowells was holding onto a razor-thin 3-2 lead, but State had runners on second and third with two outs.

The pressure inside the stadium was practically radiating through the screen.

Up on the pitcher’s mound, Elijah looked focused, but I could see the tiny, almost invisible tightening in his shoulders.

He reset his cap, taking a slow step off the rubber to wipe sweat from his forehead.

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