757 V2 ch229 (1/2)

Wayne reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. ”You do what you need to do. What you want to do.”

”I don't know.” I closed my eyes tight, trying to get that woman out of my head.

”How about you come home with us then?” He offered. ”We can make it home in time for lunch with Mary and the rest of the boys.”

I shook my head. ”I don't think I can look at Jake right now.”

”You can't let what she said, get to you.” Wayne kept me steady with his hand. ”Why would you give her words any value?”

”Was she wrong?!” I jumped up, feeling anxious. ”My whole life...my time with my uncle's family, I thought I was one of them. Instead they just used me as a cash cow. All of my rookie contract is gone. I have nothing but the cash in my account. I've treated Jake like air and abandoned him to live this lie.”

”Jeremy. Jeremy. Calm down.” Wayne pulled me into a side hug, stopping me from jumping around and pacing. ”Just because you've made some bad decisions doesn't mean you're a bad person. There's still time to fix things. Look how you and Jake were in the beginning. Now you're just like any two brothers. Things can get better if you just try.”

”But, Jake-”

”Jake's waiting for you to come over for lunch.” Zeke cut me off, having come out from their car. ”I heard Dad say we can make it in time for lunch so I let him know. He's expecting you. If you don't want to let him down, just show up.”

My eyes stung and my nose felt funny. ”Okay. Yea, I can do lunch.”

”Zeke, you just follow us.” Wayne instructed. He guided me to the front passenger seat and got me to settle down.

After getting on the main highway, Wayne cleared his throat. ”I know you're under a lot of pressure right now, but I think it's time to start planning your next step.”

”My next step...” I echoed.

He glanced at me before putting his eyes back on the road. ”Calling your agent? Calling your lawyer? I know you don't want to think so far ahead right now. It's stressful, I get it. But you have to know...the repercussions this has on your public image. Plus, I don't know how much access he has to your money. You have to protect yourself, Jeremy. Get that financial planner and start putting your money away for retirement. You never know how long a career in baseball will last.”

Wayne went on, talking about dividing up my money into savings accounts, stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts. But my mind was on what he said before that. 'You have to protect yourself.' He was right. I had to. I've made so many bad decisions, putting my trust in the wrong places...why am I so muddle-headed?

Wayne became silent as the phone started to ring.

”Jeremy!” My agent answered. ”Thank goodness! I was getting worried that you were going to pull another disappearing act.”

I cleared my throat. ”No. I'm here. Heading to see my brother now.”

”Good, I'm glad. Does that mean you'll be at the game tonight?”

I hesitated.