Chapter 64

Chapter 64
Damon

The night after talking to Sabrina stretched out longer than it should have. I barely slept.

Every time my eyes closed, I saw that moment again...the game, the heat of the stadium lights, the sting in my chest before everything went black. And then waking up with Alicia crying over me, her hands shaking as if she was the one hit instead of me.

I kept seeing her face. Her fear. Her hope. Her stubborn insistence that I stay still, stay safe, stay alive but staying alive felt like a negotiation these days.

Morning came gray and heavy. I woke up on the couch instead of the bed, my neck screaming at me for it. I stretched slowly, testing the bruised ribs, the healing chest. The doctors said I was cleared, but I knew my body well enough to know it was still holding secrets. Still, practice was in two hours. I needed to show up, even if only to remind everyone I was still breathing.

I dragged myself to the kitchen, poured water, and leaned against the counter. My phone buzzed on the granite. I glanced down, ready for a message from Alicia, but it wasn’t her. It was Sabrina.

Are you awake? We need to talk before practice.

I exhaled slowly. Sabrina never used punctuation like that unless she was stressed. And Sabrina didn’t get stressed. At least, not visibly.

I called her immediately. She picked up on the first ring. “Damon, good. I wasn’t sure you’d be up.”

“I barely slept,” I admitted, rubbing my eyes. “What’s going on?”

A pause filled the line. Not a normal pause. A strategic one.

“Something you need to hear,” she said softly. “Something you won’t want to hear.”

My shoulders tensed. “Sabrina.”

“I’ve been digging,” she continued. “You asked me to check why Nathan switched teams so suddenly. I told you I’d look into it.”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” she breathed out, “I did. And it’s not good.”

I braced my hand on the counter. “How bad?”

“Bad enough that your accident on the field might not have been the only thing he planned.”

My jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. “Tell me.”

“I spoke to a contact inside the Comets’ management. Nathan didn’t just join them. He negotiated specific clauses...clauses that give him personal leverage over how games are officiated, how travel is assigned, where security is stationed. Things players don’t usually care about.”

I frowned. “Why would he want that?”

“Because he’s not playing baseball,” she said. “He’s playing you.”

A cold weight settled in my stomach. “He wants the next game.”

“He wants you at the next game,” she corrected. “And he wants you vulnerable.”

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t because every instinct in me already knew she was right.

Sabrina inhaled sharply, as if deciding whether to keep going. “There’s more.”

Of course there was.

“I reviewed older footage,” she said. “Not sports footage. Stadium footage. Security recordings from the night you collapsed. Someone tampered with the oxygen tanks in the dugout. Two hours before the match.”

My skin prickled.

“Sabrina,” I said quietly, “you’re telling me someone deliberately...”

“Yes,” she cut in. “And Nathan was in that stadium. He wasn’t supposed to be. He was listed as sick, but he was there.”

My hand tightened around the phone. “Why wasn’t this reported?”

“Because the footage got erased after,” she said. “Partially wiped. Barely recoverable. Someone wanted it gone.”

I swallowed hard. “So it wasn’t an accident.”

“No,” she said. “It wasn’t.”

The apartment felt like it tilted. I pressed a hand to the counter, grounding myself.

For a long moment, neither of us said anything.

Then Sabrina spoke softly, the tone she used only when something mattered too much.

“Damon, you can’t play the next match.”

“I have to.”

“No,” she said sharply. “You don’t. Not like this. Not with him watching you like prey.”

A humorless laugh escaped me. “Sabrina, the league already announced I’m starting. The fans expect it. The team needs it.”

“And what about Alicia?” she asked quietly. “What does she need?”

My chest tightened.

I hated how one name could make everything else I thought I understood shift under me.

Before I could answer, she continued.

“She already almost lost you once. Don’t make her go through that again. I know you feel like you can handle anything, but this isn’t a rivalry. It’s obsession. Nathan isn’t just trying to win. He’s trying to dismantle your entire life piece by piece.”

I closed my eyes.

“Sabrina… avoiding him won’t stop him.”

“No,” she agreed, “but walking willingly into whatever he’s planning won’t stop him either.”

I didn’t answer.

She sighed. “Look. Just meet me later. After practice. I’ll show you the footage myself.”

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Alright.”

“And Damon?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t tell anyone yet. Not even Alicia. Not until we’re sure.”

A muscle jumped in my jaw. “She deserves to know.”

“She deserves the truth,” Sabrina said, “not panic.”

I didn’t like it, but I understood. “Fine.”

We hung up. I stayed frozen in the kitchen for a long moment, staring at the silent phone.

My head was a mess. My pulse was too fast. My thoughts too loud.

I grabbed my jacket and headed out.

The drive to the stadium was short, but it felt like every red light held onto me longer than usual. When I parked and stepped out, the familiar smell of turf hit me. Normally, it grounded me. Today, it felt off.

Inside, the guys were already warming up. Conversations, laughter, music echoing through the locker room. I walked in, and everything shifted. Some looked relieved. Some tense. Some careful.

They all saw me collapse. They all thought I was invincible.

And seeing me human scared them.

Coach Lopez approached me immediately. “Damon. Good to have you back.”

His eyes searched mine like he knew something was wrong.

“You ready to ease in?” he asked.

“Ease in,” I repeated with a small smirk. “Never been my style.”

He chuckled. “Don’t make me bench you on your first day.”

I forced a shrug. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

He nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “Take it slow.”

I promised nothing and walked toward the batting cages.

Every swing felt heavier than it should’ve. My body was fine. My breathing steady. But my mind… it was somewhere else. On Sabrina’s words. On the footage. On Nathan. On Alicia’s voice telling me she couldn’t lose me.

The bat cracked against the ball, sending it into the net. I took a breath and reset.

Again. Crack, Again.

Crack. Again...

“Damon.”

I turned to see Ryan, our shortstop, leaning against the frame. He looked uncomfortable.

“You good?” he asked. “I mean… really good?”

“Why is everyone asking me that?” I muttered.

Ryan shrugged. “Because we care, man. And because the league is crawling with rumors about what happened.”

I stiffened. “What rumors?”

“That it wasn’t an accident.”

My grip tightened around the bat.

He lowered his voice. “If something’s going on… we’ve got your back. All of us.”

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Support wasn’t something I asked for. Or expected.

“Thanks,” I said quietly.

He nodded and walked away.

I exhaled slowly.

Practice continued, but I moved through it like I was underwater. Every sound felt distant. Every movement is deliberate. My mind kept circling back to Alicia...her voice, her worry, her warmth when she hugged me like she didn’t care who was watching. The thought of her made something inside me tighten.

I couldn’t let Nathan get anywhere near her, or near the team, or near me.

Not again. When practice finally ended, I stayed behind alone, sitting in the quiet locker room long after everyone left. My body was tired, but my mind wouldn’t shut off.

My phone buzzed again. A message from Sabrina.

I found something else. Meet me in my office. Alone.

I stared at the screen, my heartbeat picking up. Whatever she found… it wasn’t nothing.

I stood. Pulled on my jacket and headed toward the one conversation that might change everything.

The stadium hallway felt colder than usual. Too quiet.

And with every step I took, I had the sinking feeling that this wasn’t just the beginning of another chapter.

It was the beginning of something darker.

Something Nathan had been planning for a long, long time.