What a Shortstop Does Ch. 20-24

"Mom, Shay and Becky were literally making out at lunch yesterday, you didn't say anything to them!"

"That's different," Mrs. Daly sputtered.

"Why? Because they're straight?!"

"Don't shout at your mother, Roisin." Mr. Daly was standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Sarah noticed that from her vantage point, she could hear through the open sliding door, but they couldn't see her.

"She's being ridiculous, Dad!"

"Enough. Shay and Becky are adults, they can do what they like. You're under our roof and I will not have you embarrassing our family by parading your antics around our friends." Mrs. Daly's eyes glimmered dangerously.

"My antics?! You mean my being gay. Just say it, Mom! You can't stand it! You hate that I'm a lesbian."

"I thought you worked through this confusion. Apparently, I was mistaken."

"I'm not confused, I'm fucking GAY!"

"Roisin Maria! You will not talk to your mother that way. As long as you are in our house, you will follow our rules or you will not be allowed back. That's enough of this!" Mr. Daly stepped fully into the dining room now.

Ro's shoulders slumped, Sarah could see her eyes shining with tears.

"You're right, Dad. That is enough. Sarah and I are leaving. I won't be back. Clear out my room if you want, I don't need anything from you. Not anymore."

Sarah felt a hand on her shoulder as she watched Ro leave the dining room and head to the stairs. Killian was pulling her away from the doors. "Come on, Sarah. Let's go around front."

He guided her around the house through the side yard, leaving the football in the bushes. They quietly passed in and through the entryway. Luckily, the stairs could not be seen from the dining table, so Sarah didn't have to face Ro's parents. Killian followed her up and to Ro's room.

"Ro?" Sarah pushed open the door and saw Ro crying and throwing things into her duffle. Killian squeezed her bicep and left, pulling the door closed behind him. "Ro, are you...are you okay?"

"You heard that?"

Sarah just nodded.

"Right, well, we should go. I'm going to pack what I can-" Sarah didn't let her finish, she pulled Ro into her and let her girlfriend sob onto her shoulder.

At some point, Killian and Connor came to help them move things to Ro's car. She was bringing almost all of her clothes, several framed pictures, a high school scrapbook, her jewelry box, and a box of dance gear from her closet. They crammed it all into the trunk along with Sarah's softball bag. The backseat was filled with their school bags and the duffles they'd brought for the week.

Mr. and Mrs. Daly did not come out to say goodbye to their daughter, but Sarah saw Ro's dad looking through the living room window as they packed the last box.

"Don't worry about them, Ro," Connor cooed as he pulled his sister into a hug, "They'll come around eventually."

"And we'll give them shit until they do," Killian added with a kiss to her cheek.

Ro just nodded, "Thanks for helping guys, tell Shay I said bye. I'll text him later this week."

With her brothers waving from the driveway, Ro pulled away from her childhood home. They made it about fifteen minutes away before Ro had to pull over. They stopped in a Denny's parking lot and cried. Sarah held her as close as the center console would allow. Once Ro's sobbing subsided. Sarah got out and went around to the driver's side.

"Let me drive," she said as she calmly undid Ro's seatbelt. Ro complied and soon they were back on the highway.

Halfway back, Sarah remembered they didn't have any food back at Ro's apartment and it was almost three. She pulled off and found a grocery store. She coaxed Ro in and managed to get her to pick out some things to eat. They barely spoke. Sarah kept all her touches platonic, she told herself it was because Ro was emotionally overwhelmed already.

The rest of the drive was quiet as Ro drifted in and out of sleep.

When they got back to campus, Sarah was surprised to see a text from Killian.

K: How is she?

S: She's tired, she slept a lot of the way.

K: Sarah, I gotta tell you...this isn't the first fight they've had about this.

S: I know. She's told me

K: Did she tell you all of it?

S: ??

K: She should be the one telling you, but I need to know someone's looking out for her. When she came out in high school and mom did her thing, Ro developed an eating disorder. It was bad, Sarah. She was hospitalized for a while. Please, just make sure she takes care of herself?

S: I will.

K: Thanks.

She didn't tell Ro about the text with Killian. Sarah wasn't sure if it would help or hurt that her brother was worried about her mental health. Instead, she helped unload Ro's car and put things away in the apartment. She got a load of laundry going for her girlfriend and told her to find a movie or something. They curled up on the couch for a few hours, just watching movies and holding each other. Sarah missed this physical contact. No one was around to interrupt them. They could be themselves.

The rest of the week, Sarah stayed with Ro, only leaving for workouts or to get food. She kept Killian in the loop and she knew Ro had talked to Shay at least once since leaving. Ro's parents didn't reach out. Sarah suspected they were either getting their news from Killian or were still too angry to care if their daughter was okay.

Spring break ended with a quieter weekend. Ro was bouncing back to herself faster than Sarah expected. She continued to eat at Sarah's prompting and seemed unaware that she was being watched a little more carefully than usual at mealtimes. They had the apartment to themselves through Sunday afternoon and took full advantage on Saturday, only putting on clothes to answer the door for their take-out delivery.

"Fuck, Ro!" Sarah was on her hands and knees on the bed as Ro pounded her from behind with their strap-on. "Right there! Oh fuck, yes, yes I'm gonna come!" Ro sped up her thrusting and pinched the soft flesh of Sarah's hips as she pushed in. Sarah came with a loud cry and a shiver ran up her spine.

Ro steadied and slowed her movements as Sarah came down from her orgasm. She leaned over and planted a kiss between Sarah's shoulder blades, sending another tingle up her spine. "You're so beautiful."

Sarah pulled the strap-on out of herself and rolled over. Ro was kneeling above her on the bed, sweating but smiling. "You're getting really good with that thing, baby. Come here though." She tugged at Ro's thigh and encouraged her up the side of the bed to kneel by Sarah's head. Sarah pushed the harness off Ro's hips and Ro did the rest, removing it quickly, before coming back to rest over Sarah's head.

Ro gasped quietly as Sarah's hands found her ass.

"Sit on my face, baby," Sarah growled. Ro lowered herself obediently.

Using her tongue to reach for her girlfriend's clit, Sarah began the long, slow licks she knew Ro liked. Starting at her clit, she ran her tongue backwards down to her wet folds, then back up. Over and over. Ro moaned above her and they made eye contact past the swell of Ro's breasts.

"Yes, Sar," Ro moaned again.

Sarah's tongue started to move faster, dragging back and forth, lapping up the wetness that leaked out over her face. Her hands massaged Ro's ass, pinching the smooth skin. She could do this forever. Ro had strong legs and held herself at the perfect angle without squishing Sarah. The taste of her, the smell, the look as she threw her head back and arched into Sarah's mouth was everything. Sarah couldn't believe she had lived without this for years.

She pulled her face away to look up at Ro again, "Come for me baby. Come on my face. Let me fuck you."

Ro moaned and shuddered as Sarah dove back in, adding hurried pressure to her clit. She felt her girlfriend getting close even as a new wave of wetness gathered in her own pussy. Hands found her dirty blonde hair, fingers tangling in it and yanking her mouth closer. Then Ro came, spasming around Sarah's tongue and her ass tightening under Sarah's hands.

"That was great," Ro gasped as she lifted off Sarah's face. She dropped backwards onto the bed and curled up next to Sarah. They'd been going at it non-stop since lunch when Ro had dripped mustard onto her shirt and took it off to clean it. Sarah hadn't been able to keep her hands to herself.

It was dark outside now. "What time is it?" Sarah asked as she caressed Ro's shoulder with the backs of her fingers.

"Um, seven thirty?" Ro blinked at the light on her phone.

"Holy shit."

Ro started giggling uncontrollably, "You, you should see your face!" she gasped through her laughter.

"I mean," Sarah grinned, "Gotta be impressed with our stamina. But no wonder I'm starving! Let's make pancakes."

"Pancakes?" Ro laughed some more, holding her sides, "Okay, weirdo."

After finding some clean clothes and cleaning themselves up a bit, they made pancakes together. Sarah watched to make sure Ro ate a normal amount. When they finished, they played cards and cuddled on the couch.

"How are you?" Sarah asked as Ro lay in her lap with Sarah stroking her hair.

"Mm, okay."

"Really?" she looked down at Ro's eyes. Her lashes were gorgeous and long even without mascara. Those eyes blinked tiredly.

"I guess I'm just over it with my parents, you know? I'm tired of pretending for their sakes and...and," she hesitated, "and I wish we didn't have to pretend for yours either." Ro sat upright and looked away.

Sarah saw this was part of a conversation Ro must have been thinking about for a while. She sat straighter on the couch and faced Ro. "For my sake?"

Ro took a deep breath, paused to deliberate, then launched into it. "I'm really happy you came out at your party, really. Telling everyone I'm your girlfriend meant a lot to me. But then, we get away from here, at the festival and you clam up again. Campus isn't the real world. We aren't going to be here forever. We need to figure out how to be together outside of here."

Sarah didn't know where this was going. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I want to stop acting straight in public when we're not on campus. I want you to be happy when I introduce you as my girlfriend, not tense."

"We don't 'act straight' in public," Sarah protested.

"Yes, we do and especially when your family is around. When I come to your games, you won't touch me. You still haven't told your parents about me. I met them as a part of your friend group, not anything special. I want to get to know your family! I want to be known as your girlfriend."

"I'm not- I don't-" Sarah stuttered.

"It's not fair, Sar!" Ro was getting worked up, "David goes to eat with Carly and her family after every game. Tara and Kate practically make out behind the dugout when you guys win. And what do I get? A wave, maybe, if I'm lucky. Then I disappear back to my apartment until your parents leave and you come over. I don't want this!"

"Don't want what?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

"Don't want to keep sneaking around. We're not going to be in college forever, Sar. I'm almost done! Hell, I might not be able to finish if my parents are done with me. But I know that I want to be able to be with you outside of here."

Sarah's face was hot. She knew in her gut Ro was right, it wasn't fair to her to keep pretending like they weren't together. Hearing Ro talk about life after college, about wanting to be with her, their future, made her heart leap. But Sarah was afraid, fresh off what happened with Ro's parents, what if her's reacted the same way? She dreaded that conversation with her parents, couldn't Ro see that?

"I know. I'm sorry. But I'm not ready," Sarah murmured.

"Well, any idea when you'll be ready?" Ro snapped. Then she took a breath, "Sorry, that wasn't, I shouldn't have said it like that."

Sarah took a shaky breath, "I'm sorry, Ro. I'm trying, it's just different with my parents. We don't talk about that stuff. I don't know how to get it out there."

"It's not- you're sure it's not because you're ashamed? Ashamed of me or of being a lesbian?" Ro whispered so quietly Sarah had to strain to hear her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"No! Ro, it's not that! I promise, it's not that," Sarah watched tears spill onto her cheeks. She realized how much this was affecting Ro, how much it hurt to be sidelined in her life. She took a deep breath, "I'll fix it, I promise. I'll tell them." She wrapped her arms around Ro whose tears were falling fast.

"My parents hate me, Sarah," she sobbed into her shoulder.

"They don't hate you. They are...struggling." Sarah tried to comfort her, but she didn't know what else to say. They held each other for a while, tears mingling and being brushed away. Somehow that gave Sarah clarity, seeing Ro reduced to tears. She knew it was time to be out. Ready or not.

Chapter 23: Six Months

The following weeks leading into April were hectic. Sarah had games every week as well as daily practice. Ro was in two more productions. One she was doing backstage work and the other she was dancing in the chorus. They made time to see each other when they could, but often that was Sarah coming over for dinner to slyly make sure Ro ate then collapsing into Ro's bed after finally finishing her assignments at two in the morning. Or it was Ro stopping by Sarah and Carly's room to sit and watch them get ready for class or practice and just talk for a few minutes.

Ro still had not heard from her parents, though her brothers said they asked about her occasionally. Sarah had a hard time reading Ro's reaction to this. She definitely seemed sad when the topic of parents or families came up anywhere, but she didn't show any anger or any other real sign than a slight brow furrow. She wondered if her girlfriend was just shoving it down, attempting to bury the feelings. Sarah knew it would blow up eventually, but she was still learning about Ro and wasn't sure how to help her decompress the pressure cooker of her feelings without Ro blowing up at her.

As far as coming out to her parents, Sarah hadn't made any progress yet. On game days, she was focused and it didn't seem like something she should say over the phone. As they'd had no home games in April, there wasn't an opportunity to have Ro and Sarah's parents in the same place. And Ro hadn't brought it up again anyway.

The end of the month brought exams. Ro was stressed about keeping her scholarships and Sarah was trying to keep her GPA up for graduate school applications. The softball team was also up in the conference tournament the first two weeks of May, so that pressure added to Sarah's stress.

The team won in the first round and was set to head to the next on a rival campus about four hours away. Ro's performances were over and she was planning to watch the live updates of the game with Kate while the team was away. Sarah's parents would be at this game since it was over a period where their shifts off coincided. She wondered if she could find a way to tell them after the game. But realistically, she pushed it out of her head until later. She needed to focus.

When they lost, it was expected, but still disappointing. Sarah had opted to ride the bus back to campus, so she really only had time for a quick hello to her parents before hopping on the charter. Carly knew what was up and about the promise she'd made to Ro.

"Don't give me that, Carly," Sarah hissed as Carly gave her a loaded look when they plopped into their bus seats. "It's not something I want to drop on them then run."

"You've got to just take the bandage off, Sar. This is going to eat you up inside. Not to mention Ro!"

"I know, I know. Well, now that our season's effectively over with that loss, I can find a time." Carly gave her a doubtful look, "What? I will!"

But tomorrow was the start of the third week of May and with the team's loss, the women had to be out of their dorm. Sarah was going to go home for the summer to work her local softball camps and help with her mom's charity. Carly had her usual landscaping job she was headed back to. So when they got back from the tournament, Carly and Sarah started packing up their dorm.

Sarah had shot Ro a text saying they were back, but hadn't heard from her. She also hadn't heard back from her "we lost" texts nor her "driving home" phone calls. Odd.

Finally, around ten o'clock. Sarah called Kate. They were supposed to be hanging out all day so maybe she knew why Ro wasn't answering her phone.

"Hey Sarah, what's up?" Kate picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, is Ro still there with you? She's not answering her phone."

There was a pregnant pause as Kate took a deep breath, "No, she left here a couple hours ago. I brought her to her apartment."

Sarah heard something unsaid in Kate's voice. Kate brought her home, Ro had been unable to drive.

"Okay, thanks Kate. Did she say anything? Was it because of her parents?"

"I think that was part of it. She got a call earlier. It might have been from her dad." Kate had no reason to deny it if Sarah could guess the state Ro had been in when she took the woman home. "If you go over there, will you text me? Now I'm worried about her too if she's not answering you."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Kate."

Now the worry was real, Sarah wasted no time in grabbing her keys. Carly gave her an inquisitive look while on the phone with David, but Sarah just mouthed "Ro's" and closed the door behind her.

When she got to Ro's apartment, she noticed her car wasn't there. That confirmed what Kate had said about driving her home. Her car must still be at Kate's. She knocked on the door several times before June finally answered. She had found the handle locked when she tried it.

June gave her a look of annoyance and worry, then wordlessly pointed to Ro's room.

Luckily, Ro's door was not locked. The first thing she noticed when she entered was the mess. It looked like all of Ro's closet and her dresser had exploded over the room. The bed was buried under a myriad of tutus and sweaters. Jeans leaned in uneven piles on the floor, and shirts, socks, underwear were everywhere else. A loud crash sounded in Ro's bathroom and a curse.

"Ro?!" Sarah darted into the room. Ro was sitting on the edge of the sink, picking up pieces of a compact that had fallen and broke over the counter leaving tan powder in little cakes. The smell of alcohol hit her like a slap in the face. "Whoa, Ro, are you okay?"

"Baaaaaaabe!" Ro threw her arms around Sarah's shoulders and tipped off the counter into her.

"Uh, what are you doing? Why does it look like a bomb went off in your room?" The alcohol on Ro's breath made Sarah's eyes cross. It was so strong. She started to worry about alcohol poisoning.

"I'm packing! I got a job." Ro said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Right, uh. That's...good? But you're packing because...?"

"Because the job is far away," Ro was surprisingly articulate, but she still slurred the words a bit.

Sarah pulled Ro up firmer in her grasp and carried her to the edge of the bed. "Ro, how much have you had to drink?"

Ro waved Sarah off clumsily, "I'm fine! I had some wine at Kate's, then vodka sodas here."

"Where's the bottle of vodka? Was it new when you started drinking it?"

Ro groaned and fell backward onto the bed on top of a pile, knocking most of it to the floor. "S'in the kitchen."

Sarah jogged back out the door, but June was waiting for her. She must have heard part of their conversation because she held up the bottle and indicated with her fingers where she thought the bottle had been when Ro started drinking. To Sarah's relief, it wasn't an alarming amount. It was still more than she should be drinking in an evening on top of wine, but not enough to make Sarah consider taking her to the ER.