Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 68

Take It

Go On, Take It

Elijah’s POV

I stayed up there until the night grew completely still.

Eventually, the hunger won, so I took a quick shower, threw on a clean pair of

sweatpants, and headed downstairs.

When I reached the living room, I found her still on the couch, completely engrossed in

the television screen. I walked closer, squinting at the bright display.

“A cartoon?” I asked, my voice laced with pure amusement.

She grinned up at me, entirely unbothered. “It’s a classic. Come join me.”

I just shook my head, walking past the sofa and into the kitchen.

I found the plate she’d wrapped up for me, heated it up, and grabbed a fork before returning to the living room to slide onto the opposite end of the couch.

“What’s it called again?” I asked, nodding toward the animated characters bouncing across the screen.

She told me the name, but to be honest, I didn’t absorb a single word of her explanation. I wasn’t paying attention to the television at all.

Instead, my gaze kept drifting sideways, locked onto the profile of her face, watching the shifting light from the screen illuminate her features.

The silence between us started to feel too heavy, too pregnant with the things I was

hiding.

Unable to bear it anymore, I broke it with the one question that had been burning a hole in my mind for weeks.

“Why did you ever love Caleb?”

Victoria visibly froze. The animation kept playing, but her entire body went rigid.

Slowly, she turned her head to look at me, her eyes wide.

“Huh?”

I let out a soft, dry laugh, instantly regretting the sudden burst of impulsivity.

“Sorry. Forget it. I shouldn’t have asked that.”

I shook my head, looking down at my plate. But Victoria didn’t let it drop.

She shifted on the cushions, pulling her legs up underneath her as she turned to face me completely.

“It started when we were seven,” she whispered, her gaze dropping to her lap as her fingers traced a loose thread on the blanket.

He had these bright green eyes, a stupidly charming smile, and that messy blonde hair. I had the biggest, most embarrassing crush on him.”

She let out a soft, dry laugh, but it didn’t sound bitter. It just sounded distant.

“Then middle school hit, and everyone else decided I was the weird, quiet girl no one wanted to associate with. The bullying got pretty bad for a while. But Caleb… Caleb was there with me. He was the one who stood up to them, threw himself into the middle of it, and made me feel like I was worth something when the rest of the school made me feel completely invisible. He made me feel cute when I felt like ugly.”

She finally looked up, her hazel eyes locking directly onto mine.

“After that, it just became familiarity. A habit. Fifteen years of history where I mistakenly poured every single drop of my hopes into a boy who only really knew how to take what I was offering. I convinced myself that if I just kept giving, kept supporting, and kept waiting in the shadows, he’d eventually look at me the way I looked at him.”

She paused, drawing in a slow, steady breath that lifted her chest. When she looked up. the sadness in her eyes had hardened into something entirely different.

“But you can’t make someone value you. And I’m tired of waiting for a boy who only notices me when his own world is falling apart. I’m done, Elijah. I’m finally ready to move on.”

A tiny, undeniable sliver of hope flared up behind my ribs.

“Do you really think fifteen years of love can just fade away like that?”

She looked away, a small, slightly sad smile touching her lips.

“I don’t expect it to vanish overnight, Elijah. But I know it will eventually… if I just follow your advice about exploring new things and finally getting out of his orbit.”

Our eyes locked again. The television screen was the only source of light left in the dark room, casting soft blue shadows over her face.

“You’re truly going to do that?” I asked, leaning in just a fraction closer.

She let out a soft laugh, her teeth catching her bottom lip, a nervous habit of hers that made my chest tighten.

“Of course. You’re my friend now, and as much as I hate to admit it out loud, you actually give pretty good advice.”

I winked at her, letting my usual cocky mask the sudden rush of heat in my throat.

“I give excellent advice, Zhen. You’re lucky to have an expert managing your personal growth.”

She let out a loud, beautiful laugh, rolling her eyes dramatically as she grabbed a throw

pillow and shoved it toward my shoulder.

When the banter finally settled down, the mood in the room shifted into something much more serious. I looked at her, the smile fading from my face.

“Do you think you can actually love someone else the way you loved him?”

Victoria went quiet, her gaze dropping to her lap as she pondered the question. She let out a long, heavy sigh.

“My heart is still pretty bruised from a massive phase of unrequited love, Elijah. I honestly don’t know how possible–or how soon–I could ever love someone again.

I nodded slowly, absorbing her words. Then, letting the familiar comfort of flirting take over, I leaned across the gap between us, a lazy smile touching my lips.

“Not even if it’s me?”

The sudden shift completely threw her off balance. Her eyes widened, and within seconds, a deep, unmistakable blush flooded her cheeks.

I watched her struggle to find a snappy comeback, completely winning the round as her heart rate practically visible in the quick rise and fall of her chest.

As the laughter died down and a quiet, domestic stillness settled over the room, I reached out and gently grabbed her hand.

My thumb moved in a slow, soothing circle against the soft skin of her knuckles.

“I’ll never hurt you, Zhen,” I murmured, the words slipping out from a place of absolute sincerity. “Not intentionally, anyway.”

She looked deeply into my eyes, her expression suddenly vulnerable.

“Do you mean that, Elijah?”

Her voice was tight, laced with a faint trace of past sadness that made my entire chest lock up with a massive surge of guilt.

I looked at her, the weight of the lie becoming completely unbearable. I needed to tell her. Right now.

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