A Trip in the Fall Pt. 06

He scoffed, "Bull, it's not my fault we are going to eat good this weekend, nor that you said screw softball and came to help for us."

My rolled her eyes, "I wasn't getting the playing time I deserved."

"I know, I know, and I am glad to have you."

"You ever get my pictured signed?"

He smirked to himself then frowned to her, "Yeah, it is back home, I'll remember it when we get back."

She shook her head and for a moment, Brandon felt normal, but then almost as quickly remembered that he had to try and call Jess once the players had settled down. When he texted the number he had for her, it came back as undeliverable due to disconnection, so he had reached out to Sally, a friend of theirs that hadn't picked sides, and after he explained that he needed to talk to her about the article, she had given him Jess's new number.

After getting back to the house and having a short team meeting about the practice that night, and everything going on the next day, he gave the boys the chance to figure out a movie to watch while some headed to the pool, he went to his room, changed into a pair of sweats and t-shirt before heading towards the beach. After walking past the pool, he found Matt at the end of the board walk on the phone also. He pulled the phone down, "Everything okay?"

"We will see, I'm going to call Jess. You good?"

"Yeah, talking to Kate before she heads to bed."

Brandon nodded and made his way past before walking onto the beach and sitting down on the sand away from the walkway and dialing the number Sally had given him. It rang 3 times before he heard her voice, "Hello."

"Hi Jess."

"Brandon? What do you want?"

He laughed aloud, "Cut the crap Jess. We both know why I'm calling. Why'd you do it?"

The line was silent for a minute before she finally responded, "I don't want to talk about it."

Getting irritated, he replied, "No Jess, you don't get to do that. You don't get to try to screw up my relationship or my girlfriend's career and then say you don't want to talk about it. So, why'd you do it?"

There was silence before she finally responded, "I gotta go Brandon." She hung up, leaving him saying her name into the phone.

When he pulled the phone away, he saw that she had in fact hung up, causing him to redial, but this time the phone just rang and rang until it went to voicemail. After the tone he said, "Jess, this is complete bullshit and we both know it. You started it with Sarah and yeah, she shouldn't have punched you, but you did kind of deserve it. I dunno how much you got paid for it, but it's a pretty shitty thing to do. Now I'm not going to contact you again, but I would suggest you find a way to get the rest of the story out. I'm sure Sarah's people will make sure she and them are protected, and they are smart, with a lot of money. Goodbye for good Jess."

With the message left, he sat on the sand for another half hour, contemplating everything going on in his personal life, and trying to focus on the next few days, his players, and the trip in general. He looked down at his watch, seeing that it was nearing 10:30 and he shot Sarah a text, "I hope your meeting went okay. I tried to talk to Jess, but she hung up on me. I left a voicemail telling her to tell the whole story. I'm exhausted, I hope we can talk tomorrow. I love you."

Sarah found herself in bed, dosing off when she heard her phone vibrate. She had wanted to text Brandon before bed but had decided against it because she didn't want to bother him, plus she didn't know what to say. When she picked her phone up, she couldn't help but smile a bit after reading his text. She typed back, "I love you too, meeting was fine. We WILL talk tomorrow."

Knowing he wouldn't respond, she placed her phone back on the nightstand and rolled over, hugging a teddy bear that Brandon had sent her with roses as they kicked off the tour practices and eventually did drift off to sleep with the help of melatonin.

****

"I can't believe that bitch went to the tabloids." Amanda groaned as she climbed into bed beside Josh.

"Yeah, about that, are you sure Sarah actually, did it?"

"OH YEAH," she said with a laugh, "For sure. She called Sarah a whore and insulted Brandon, so Sarah decked her."

Josh thought for a moment, "Then I have a confession to make."

Giving him side eye, Amanda said, "What'd you do?"

"When you texted me and I read the article, I reached out to some people that I know who tend to be up on all of the gossip and it appears that Jake may have something to do with it."

"Jake, as in Morgan's ex?"

"Yeah...it sounds like he heard the rumor and then pursued it."

"That dick!"

Josh put his hand on her thigh, "Calm down. I'm going to do a little bit more digging; nothing is confirmed."

"Why would he do it?"

"Probably because he is still pissed at Morgan for choosing Brandon over him. We both know he is the epitome of a spoiled ass."

"I'm going to kill him if it's true."

Josh couldn't help but laugh, "No you won't, you start killing someone after Sarah punches someone, we are in for a world of hurt. Let me look into it a bit more, then we will go from there."

"Grrrr, fine! But you better work fast."

"I'll see what I can do. G'night babe." She kissed him, responded the same and then leaned back to read a bit before going to sleep herself.

Chapter 3-Thursday

At seven, Brandon's alarm went off and he groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. Getting up to use the bathroom, then opening the curtains, he looked out at the beach. The tide was just about reaching its low point, so he changed clothes and grabbed his running shoes before heading out to the main living area. He found Mike sitting there reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee, he looked up and said, "Morning coach, coffee is on, and we will have breakfast at 8:30 like we talked."

"Thanks. I'm going to grab a banana then go on a quick run. Any of the guys up?"

"You're the first person I've seen other than Lisa, she went for a walk. I think a lot of them were up late."

"Yeah, excitement and all." Mike nodded as Brandon ate his banana and tied his shoes before saying, "I'll be back in about a half hour. We need to head to the fields by 9:30. Our BP slot is 11."

"Sounds good."

As Brandon headed towards the steps he turned to Mike and grinned, "One more thing, go drag Matt's ass out of bed around 7:30."

Mike laughed, "Gladly."

Brandon got to the beach, did a light stretch, then took off at a slow jog. It was a warmer morning with temperatures in the 60's and the typical breeze of the beach, making his run very pleasant. Just as he reached the condo complex that he had set for his turn around, he felt his watch vibrate. Knowing that it was about 7:30, he figured it was Matt complaining that Mike had woken him up, but when he looked at his watch, he saw Sarah's name instead.

He stopped, took a deep breath, and answered, "Hey good lookin."

Sarah chuckled, happy to hear him being a bit more cheerful, "Hey baby, I didn't wake you, did I?"

He chuckled, "Actually no. To both of our surprise, I'm actually out on a run."

"Whoa, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I feel fine. Just a beautiful morning and it seemed like a good idea."

Silence fell over the line as they both paused, unsure of how to proceed, finally Sarah spoke, "I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday."

Brandon gave a half smile on his end, "Thanks, I'm sorry for hanging up on you and not talking last night."

"So, what did she say?"

"Basically, she tried to deny it first, but then she said she didn't want to talk about it, and that is when she hung up. I left a voicemail like I said and told her that while you shouldn't have hit her, she was drunk and started the whole mess, and that she needed to tell the whole story, not just the part that makes you look bad."

Sarah scoffed, "Yeah, I did a pretty good job of that myself."

"Shit happens when emotions run high."

"I still shouldn't have punched her."

"You're right, but it happens, I just know I don't ever want to piss you off."

"Shut up!"

They both let out small laughs, breaking the tension a bit more before Brandon asked, "So what is the take of this whole mess on your end?"

"Funny you mention that, I got a text from Amanda this morning."

"How's that any different than usual?"

"Shut up and listen. When the story broke, obviously everyone in the entertainment industry was talking about it, cause let's face it, I have got a clean image."

"They don't know you very well."

"Shut up Brandon. Anyway, a couple people reached out to Josh, and apparently, Morgan's ex Jake is behind all of this."

"What?!"

"People who know Josh and who work in the promotion end of things said that somehow Jake found out about it and tracked her down."

"So that would explain all of the people that my dad saw around town with her, and suddenly her being able to buy the house she did."

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed, "So I didn't tell you, but when we were in Vegas, Dad called and told me about her being seen around town with guys in suits and how she was short when he'd see her around town. Plus, when I was home to fish, I ran into her, and she said some weird shit about, "What's done is done." which now all makes perfect sense."

"Why didn't you tell me all that?"

"I didn't want to bother you with her stupid and immature bullshit."

"You wouldn't have bothered me. Please tell me that kinda stuff from now on."

"Hopefully we don't have to deal with it anymore. So, what are we going to do with Jake?"

"We aren't going to do anything. I'm sure you've seen the statement and my video apology, so as far as we are concerned, it is done."

"We can't let him get away with this though."

"I know, but you and I aren't going to do anything about it. Josh is going to handle it."

"I don't need someone to fight my battles for me Sarah."

"I know you don't, but Josh knows people and can handle this very subtly. We don't want anything to come back to bite me, the record company, or you."

"I dunno..."

"Trust me please. Reach out to Josh, I'm sure he can fill you in a bit more."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I do say so. Now onto more important things, how's the trip so far?"

"It's going good. House is nice, practice went well last night. We have a BP slot at 11, and then our seeding game is tonight at 5:30."

"Nice! What's the competition look like?"

"Team from Arkansas, pitching is alright, but they have a couple sluggers."

"You'll figure it out."

Nearing the house, silence fell over the line again before Brandon finally spoke, "Are you still coming tomorrow?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"I just thought with everything going on that you may decide to stay home."

"Like hell I'm staying home, I'm already packed, I can't wait to see you, and I need to get out of here for a few days. Which brings me to the next thing, my flight has changed."

"What happened?"

"Well with everything going on and the press, flying commercial probably isn't a good idea. Josh's dad's other company has a private plane, and they have some execs going to do business in Charleston and play golf somewhere down there, so they changed flight plans to drop me off in Myrtle Beach then they will make a short hop down to Charleston."

"OH! Well that's nice."

"Yeah, so we are leaving here at 8:15, with an ETA of 9:30 tomorrow. Is that a problem?"

Feeling himself get a bit more excited, he tamped down his emotion and replied, "Not at all. Tomorrow morning is free, beach time in the morning and we play at 5:30."

"Sound perfect then. Are you sure that me being there won't be an issue?"

"It'll be fine, as long as you don't wear a normal bikini, the guys will only stare a little bit. Our booster president and his wife are staying at the house, and they know you're coming, obviously Matt does too. There's one person that doesn't know you're coming though."

"First, that is gross about your players, they are kids." Brandon laughed as she continued, "Second, no bikinis are packed, I did buy two one pieces that are flattering though." Brandon laughed again, "And third, who doesn't know I'm coming?"

"You remember Mya from when you visited?"

"Yeah, softball player and your student assistant. I signed a picture and sent her a note."

"Well, she quit softball because the new coach plays daddy ball and she wasn't playing much. So, I brought her on as our bookkeeper. I also didn't give her the picture and note yet, I figured you could give it to her in person. She's going to flip her shit."

Sarah laughed, "I can only imagine."

Brandon kicked his shoes on the steps, getting as much sand off them as he could, he heard Lisa yell from the deck, "Okay boys let's go, breakfast is ready."

She waved at him as he started up the board walk and he said, "Okay babe, I'm back to the house and breakfast is ready. I'll talk to you later tonight."

"Alright, I can't wait to see you. I love you."

"Love you too."

****

After breakfast, the team piled into the vans and made their way 30 minutes through Myrtle beach to the practice facility. They spent the next 2 hours working through batting practice and some fielding drills. Brandon felt almost normal after getting to talk to Sarah, and getting things settled with her. The team seemed to be locked in, he and Matt's preaching of this being fun, but ultimately a "business trip" had seemingly worked.

With practice done, the team loaded up again, heading back to the house where the parents had set up cold cuts for the players for lunch. After everyone had eaten, Brandon got their attention and announced, "Okay, it is 1:30; we need to leave here at 3:30 for our game. I don't want you in the pool or in the ocean, if you're on the beach, you better just be laying there."

One of the players said, "What if we are looking at scenery?"

Before Brandon could laugh and tell him to knock it off, he heard Mya exclaim, "Knock it off perv. None of them want you."

"What she said, just take it easy, we really need to win today, so our game times are better, and you can get a little bit of relaxing while we are here. If I were you, I'd take a nap so you're rested and ready to go."

There were nods all around the room as they began clearing the table and filtering out, some heading towards their rooms, others heading towards outside. As Matt dumped his plate he said, "Think we need to supervise?"

"Probably, I was going to sit on the deck and read some before looking over game notes."

"Sounds good, I'm going to grab a power nap and will be out about 2:30 to look over stuff."

Brandon nodded and moved back towards his room, grabbing his Kindle and clipboard before reaching for his phone that he had plugged in when they got back from practice. The screen lit up showing he had a missed call and a voicemail from a number he didn't recognize at first, then realizing it was the number he had called Jess at.

He hit the voicemail and listened; he was first confronted with sobs and a clearly upset Jess, but then she managed to squeak out, "Brandon, it's Jess, please call me when you get this, I'm sorry."

Taken aback by her message he quickly typed out a text to Sarah, "Jess left me a voicemail, apologizing and asking me to call her..."

Almost immediately she texted back, "Really? Have you called her back?"

"Not yet, should I?"

A couple of bubbles popped up before disappearing and then reappearing, before she finally responded, "I think so, try to stay calm and hear her out."

"Okay, I'll let you know what she says."

He grabbed his things and made his way out to the deck, seeing a few guys down on the beach and a few others sitting around the pool. He made his way over to a chair in the corner, sat down, took a deep breath and dialed Jess's number. She picked up after two rings, softly saying, "Brandon?"

"Hi Jess."

"Brandon I am so sorry! The press found my number and they won't quit calling and leaving messages. People in town are avoiding me and I don't know what to do."

Brandon sighed, "Why'd you do it Jess?"

He could hear her sniffling and just as he was going to speak again, she began to speak, "I was just so mad, then that guy called me saying he knew about what happened and he wanted to know if it was true."

"What guy?"

"He said his name was Jake and that he worked for a company that promoted their tour." Brandon shook his head, feeling his anger rise as she continued, "He said that he didn't want his company hurt because of her actions, so he wanted to find out what really happened."

Keeping his anger under control, he replied, "Jake is my friend Morgan's ex-boyfriend, he doesn't have anything to do with Sarah's tour. They broke up and he was mad that she chose her friends over him."

"So he...he lied to me?"

"Yep. That's why he released the information to the press, not to the record company."

"Oh no."

Calming down after realizing that she had been duped, he said, "So how much did they pay you?"

He heard her sniffle, again, "Five thousand."

He sighed, "Well that explains the new house."

"Yeah...Brandon what am I going to do? They keep blowing up my phone, other people won't to talk to me and I'm afraid no one is going to be my friend."

Resisting the urge to be an asshole and tell her that she brought this on herself, he paused and replied, "Jess, I know this is tough, but you're going to have to tell the truth."

"What do you mean, I never lied."

"You're going to have to tell reporters that want to talk to you that you were angry, got drunk and started it, and Sarah reacted."

"But..."

Sternly, he replied, "Jess, there is no but about it, you need to tell the truth, only then will they leave you alone. When they realize that you provoked her, then they will leave you and us alone."

He could hear her starting to cry again, so he sat quietly until she said, "Okay, but who do I talk to?"

"That I dunno. I'll see if Morgan knows anyone that she trusts that will just tell the whole story."

"Okay."

"I'll talk to Morgan then put someone in contact with you."

"Brandon, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks Jess. I'll be in touch."

He hung up and leaned back in the chair. He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Lisa sitting in a chair on the other side of the deck, she looked over at him and smiled, "Everything okay?"

He scoffed, "I think so, or at least it's getting there."

She nodded as he turned his focus back to his phone scrolling to Morgan's number and pressing call. She picked up after one ring, "Hey."

"Hey, how's it going."

"Dumpster fire, how about you?"

"Not quite a dumpster fire, but still shitty."

"Have you talked to Sarah?"

"Yeah, this morning."

"Have you seen the statement?"

"Yes. Which is why I am calling."

"I can't have her retract it."

"I don't want her to retract it, I need your help."

"I don't know if I have time."

"Listen to me Morgan. I just got off the phone with Jess."

He heard Morgan mutter "Shit."

He continued talking over her, "Jake and his people lied to her about the reason they wanted her side, they told her they were looking out for their company that works for the tour."

"THAT'S BULLSHIT! They've never had anything to do with us. I'm going to kill him."

"That's what I figured. I told Jess she needs to talk to someone that would tell the entire story, the part about her being drunk and all."

"Well yeah, that's for sure!"

"So, do you know anyone that will be honest and not berate her, just tell the rest of the story."

The line went silent for a few moments, then she replied, "Yeah, I know someone who writes for CMT's website."

"Can we put them in contact with her?"

"I don't see why not. I'll talk to her and then send you her contact info."