I showered after him and got dressed in some comfortable sweatpants and a t-shirt. By the time I got downstairs, most of the boys had gathered in the living room. In front of the couch, a folding table was propped up and was completely covered with food. The only one missing was Dave.
Noah patted the end of the couch, where he had left an empty seat. "Here! I didn't think you would want to sit in the middle."
"Thanks." I went and sat down. "Where's Dave?"
"He's still showering." Kyle told me as he filled his plate with some fruits. "He had to go last. Since he doesn't have to go to the second practice."
Okay, sure. I started to fill up a plate of my own. "Is your mom and dad not going to join us?"
"Dad's working in the office. Mom said she's not hungry yet and will just let us be." Noah said between bites of his sandwich. "She doesn't always let us watch tv while eating, ya know."
I nodded. I kind of got that. His parents were really big on family meal times. They always ate together without the distraction of cellphones and other electronics. It was almost out of a sitcom, except it was real. The bickering, the jokes, the sincerity. I never had that before. With my mom, I was on my own for food. There was a place that would pass out some cans of soup, then I'd go home and have to warm it up on the stovetop. I never ate with my mom. Not that I can remember. It was just me, fighting off my hunger even though I had a parent that was supposed to provide. The absentee parent wasn't any better. Can't get food from someone you never see.
I filled up my plate with the assortment of food that Mrs. Atkins had prepared and started to chow down. I halfheartedly listened to Noah as he talked about the opening outlook of all the MLB teams. He wasn't just knowledgeable on his favorite teams, but on every team.
I started to doze off when his attention shifted to the game that was on. The Oakland A's were playing in Boston so he was focusing on whether the team could start the season off with a win.
"Hey, if you want to nap, go to your bed." Zeke patted my shoulder, causing me to jump in my sleepy state. "You'll get a stiff neck if you sleep on the couch. Rest properly."
I nodded weakly as I forced myself up on my feet. I looked at the messy table and frowned, wondering if I should help clean.
"Don't worry about it." Noah waved me away. "You look beat. Just go lie down and we'll wake you before practice."
I smiled with relief and started to drag myself up the stairs.
"Where ya going?" Dave asked at the top of the stairs with freshly wet hair.
"Bed." I told him.
"Ah, you need a nap? Was this morning too hard on you?" Dave asked.
I shrugged. "Not too bad. Just normal tired." I sent a glance down the stairs. "I don't know how Noah isn't tired." He ran a longer distance at a faster pace. He looked more like a cross-country runner than a baseball player.
Dave laughed. "Don't worry about Noah. He has endless energy. I'm sure he's even bouncing with excitement that there's a second practice today."
"Dave! Let's get moving!" I heard Mrs. Atkins called from downstairs.
"Well, that's my cue. Hopefully I'll be back in time for practice. If not, I'll try and get Mom to drop me off there afterwards." He made a move to go down the stairs that I had just come up. "Laters." He lifted the injured hand to wave.
"I hope it's not too bad." I told him.
Dave stopped and turned back to look at me. His smile was nice and big like he was going for ice cream and not to the doctors office. "It won't be. It's just a nail. I won't be out for too long." He smirked. "Can't let Kyle have all the limelight."
"Don't you mean Garret?" Wasn't he the best pitcher.
Dave just laughed as he turned away and ran down the stairs. "Rivalry between teammates is way different than between brothers. I'm okay to admit that Garret is better than me, but not Kyle. We have the same genes after all." He waved one last time before heading to the front door, where I'm sure that Mrs. Atkins was waiting.
I went to the room I shared with Noah, and laid on my bed. I wonder what Dave meant by the rivalry comment. Does he mean that his rivalry with Kyle is more important than the one with Garret just because they're related? Like because they have the same genes, no one has more of an innate advantage over the older? Is it because they're twins? But Noah and Zeke are also competitive too.
It's not like they had to compete for more love from their parents. From what I can tell, they loved all their kids equally and one wasn't favored over the others. Even Zeke would get in trouble with his parents regardless of his skill in baseball.
This line of thinking led me to another: why did my dad take my brother but not me? Was it because I was too young? Was it because my brother was old enough to make the decision to leave my mom too? I had a lot of unanswered questions regarding why I was left behind.
This would be the only reason why I would want to find my father. My brother. To ask why. Why they left? Why they didn't take me too? Why they never kept in touch or even came back?
Will I be okay if I never get these answers? Maybe. As long as I didn't come across them. I could just bury these thoughts along with the thoughts of why my mom wasn't a normal mom.
Between the morning sprints and my after lunch thoughts, my eyes started to close and my breathing became more even.