720 V2 ch192 (1/2)

A junior, Jared, took over on the mound and got warmed up.

”Drew's here.” Noah spotted a golf cart parking near the field.

The familiar athletic trainer got off and came through the gate. He went to our dugout and revealed a giant smile. ”Jake! I missed you!”

I laughed, feeling a little uneasy. ”I'm okay. Just a bag of ice will do.”

He grinned, getting closer. ”I'll give you ice for now. You'll have to be responsible and not overdo it for the rest of the day. Wear shorts tomorrow so I can examine it a little better.” He motioned for me to get up. ”If you can stand, it'll be easier to wrap the ice to your leg.”

With Noah's help, I got up, putting most of my weight on the non-hit leg. Drew held a bag of ice against my hamstring and then used plastic wrap to keep it attached to my leg. After a few go-arounds, he ripped the plastic wrap and let me sit down again.

I hissed from the coldness.

”In pain?” He asked.

”Just super cold.” I answered.

”Guess you won't be having that showdown with Garret later.” Noah told me.

”Definitely postpone that.” Drew instructed.

I sighed. ”Okay.”

Drew left me with some more instructions, telling me to meet him in his office before the camp starts in the morning. If it was just a small bruise then he would let me play; if it wasn't that simple than we would do some other exercises.

”I really think it's just a bruise.” I reassured him.

”Probably. You do have a lot of fat, muscle, and tissue that can cushion the hit for you.” He nodded. ”Doesn't hurt you double check.”

”Fat is not something I would use to describe Jake.” Noah laughed.

I rolled my eyes.

Drew pat me on the leg. ”Jake is looking good. Much better than six months ago. Wouldn't hurt to add a few more calories to your meals though. Good calories. Healthy snacks.” He glanced at Noah. ”Do I want to know how unhealthy you've been eating this summer? You look like you've put on weight.”

”It's all muscle!” Noah argued. He untucked his shirt to show off his abs. ”Feel! I'm in shape!”

”Zeke doesn't let us snack very much.” I added.

Drew shook his head with a small smile on his face. ”I can only imagine how bad you'll start eating when Zeke heads off to college. Hey, tell him to stop by one of these days before he goes.”

”Sure.” Noah said.

Andre came up next, swinging (and missing) at anything close. He went down after three pitches. Two outs.

Luke, the only other senior on our team, was able to hit a single in the corner of right field. Garret easily scored, while Alex had to sprint and then dive under the catcher's tag. Luke considered going to second but with two outs, he decided to stay where he was. The score was now 6-2 so an extra base didn't mean too much.

Max, our pitcher should have been up next, but Mr. Miller went with a pinch hitter. Another freshman, Ryan. Jared didn't show an ounce of struggle as he struck him out to end the inning.