Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 66

Your Best–friend, Caleb

Caleb’s POV

“If your name isn’t called in the first two rounds of the draft, Caleb, you can consider your share of the estate completely gone. I am not financing a failed hobby.”

My father’s voice came through the speakerphone, cold, transactional, and entirely devoid of any parental warmth.

To him, my life on the baseball diamond was nothing more than an embarrassing phase.

My older brothers had both gone into biomedical engineering and software development, securing their places as the favorite sons before they even turned

twenty–two.

I was just the athlete. The disappointment.

“A hobby?” I snapped, my grip tightening on the edge of the desk until my knuckles turned white.

“I’ve given my entire life to this sport, Dad! I’m an All–American outfielder! I’m projected as a top prospect, and you’re still treating me like some kid playing in the dirt!”

“I am treating you like a businessman treats a bad investment,” he replied smoothly. Get drafted by a major league franchise, or find a new last name to put on your jersey. We are done here.”

The line went dead before I could even draw a breath to respond.

“Damn it!” I screamed at the empty bedroom, throwing the phone onto the mattress.

I stood there, my chest heaving as I stared at the blank screen.

A sudden, bitter burning hit the back of my throat, and before I could stop them, hot tears of absolute frustration spilled over my lashes.

It was a pathetic display, driven by the pure exhaustion of trying to earn the respect of a man who would never give it to me.

The sound of footsteps approaching the bedroom door made me freeze. I quickly wiped my face with the back of my hand, forcing my expression back into a hard, unbothered mask.

It was Lexi.

I knew exactly what would happen if she caught me like this. If she saw even a hint of real vulnerability in me, she wouldn’t comfort me

She’d look at me with disgust, or

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hat was just who she was. Our

relationship didn’t have room for my weakness.

Best friend Caleb

“Hey, babe,” Lexi called out, stepping into the room. “Which one do you think looks better on me? The emerald or the satin black?”

I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, taking a deep, grounding breath before turning around to face her. I forced my brows up in a questioning look.

“What are the outfits for?”

She stopped, staring at me as if I had completely lost my mind. She let out a dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

“Are you serious right now, Caleb? The Sigma Chi mixer is tonight. I’ve been talking about it all week.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a massive headache building right behind my temples.

“Lexi… do we really have to go to another party? Why can’t we just stay in for once? Go on a real date. Just the two of us.”

Lexi stared at me with a completely straight face for three seconds. Then, she burst into a loud, mocking laugh.

My jaw clenched. I didn’t see a single thing funny about what I had just said. When her laughter finally died down, she looked at me, realizing I wasn’t smiling.

“Wait, you’re actually serious?” she asked, tossing the dresses onto the armchair. She shook her head, walking over to the vanity mirror.

“Come on, Cal, I really don’t need the heavy sentiments right now. My mood is already stressed. You know I love you and care about you, otherwise I wouldn’t have apologized and asked to get back together after our break.”

“Why did you want to get back together, Lexi?” The question came out before I could

censor it.

She paused, her hand hovering over her makeup bag.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m looking at us, and I’m trying to figure out what we actually have,” I said, my voice rising as the irritation from my father’s call started bleeding into the room.

“Lately, our entire relationship just feels incredibly mundane. It’s just sex, spending money, going to parties, and showing off in front of people so everyone on campus can see the golden couple. Do you actually know anything about me?”

Lexi’s expression hardened instantly, her cheeks flaring with anger.

“Are you seriously attacking me right now? After everything I do to keep us relevant?”

“I’m not attacking you, I’m stating a fact!” I stepped toward her.

“I am always the one who is there for you. Emotionally, financially, sexually–I fulfill

Tour Best thend Caleb

every single need you have. The second you cry about your family or your friends, ! drop everything to fix it. But I feel completely alone in this relationship, Lexi. It’s entirely one–sided. You have never once asked about my family. You don’t know my dreams, you don’t know my goals, and you don’t even care to know what’s going on in my head.”

“Oh, so now I’m a terrible girlfriend because I want to go to a party?”

Lexi shot back, her voice dripping with manipulation.

“I came here to have a good Saturday with my boyfriend, not to be psychoanalyzed because you’re having a bad day at baseball practice. You’re being completely unfar.”

Hearing her brush it off so easily just drained the argument right out of me. The reality of our relationship stared me right in the face, completely unvarnished.

She didn’t care. She really didn’t care about anything beneath the surface.

And in that exact moment, another devastating realization crowded my mind, making me sick to my stomach.

I was getting exactly what I deserved.

I had been the exact same kind of bad person to Victoria.

For years, every single time my father called to tear me down, every time my brothers made me feel small, or whenever the social pressure became too much to handle,

Victoria was the one I ran to.

Even if it was three in the morning, she would sit up with me on the hood of my car, listening to me vent, validating my anger, and reminding me of my worth.

She knew every single one of my goals. She knew my fears.

And what did I do? I kept her on the sidelines, using her emotional support while treating her like a secondary thought because other girls were the trophy that looked better on my arm.

Now, I was trapped with the trophy, and I was starving for a single drop of the real devotion I had thrown away.

Lexi flagged her hands in the air, cutting off my thoughts as she backed toward the door.

“You know what? I am not doing this with you right now. I am not letting you ruin my mood before tonight. We will sort out whatever this little mid–life crisis is later.”

She walked closer, her expression suddenly shifting into a sultry look.

She leaned in to press a kiss against my cheek, but the artificiality of it made me flinch back instinctively, avoiding her lips.

Her eyes flashed with temporary anger, but she simply scoffed, turned on her heel, and

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