And So It Begins... Part VI An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

And So It Begins…

Part VI

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“One hundred dollars,” came the quietly mumbled words that had Mikey frowning as she dropped another piece of fried chicken on her plate.

“Two hundred,” came the follow-up before she got a chance to look over her shoulder to find Uncle Jared standing behind her.

“For…” Mikey prompted since she’d learned her lesson in agreeing to anything before finding out the details to avoid situations like this one.

“Sit with me,” Uncle Jared said as he shifted a glare past her that had her glancing over her shoulder to find Uncle Jason glaring at his father.

“But I came with Uncle Jason,” Mikey mumbled only to bite back a sigh when Uncle Jason shifted his attention to her and mouthed, “We had a deal.”

That was followed by Sebastian mouthing, “I know where you live.”

Maybe it was time for her to make a run for it, Mikey debated when her Grandpa joined them and said, “Five hundred,” making it really difficult to remember what they were talking about as her mind focused on all the baseballs that she could buy with that kind of money.

She could even get a new glove…

When she opened her mouth to inquire about his kind offer, her father was there, leaning down to kiss her cheek and-

“It sure would be a shame if your mother found out that you were the one that broke the kitchen window last week when you were playing catch with Cole instead of taking the trash out,” Reese whispered in her ear as she found herself nodding, because that would definitely be a shame.

Clearing her throat, Mikey found herself forcing a smile as she added one more piece of fried chicken to the plate and-

“Another one,” Reese said when she went to put the tongs down.

With a murmured, “Right,” Mikey added another piece of chicken to her plate, tried not to wince when she felt every Bradford glare at her and headed to her father’s table on the other side of the restaurant. She placed the plate overflowing with food on the table and watched as her father, sighing with satisfaction and smiling hugely, joined her.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you, Mikey?” Reese asked as he dug in.

“It would probably help if you kept saying that,” Mikey found herself mumbling as she caught the murderous glare that her best friend was sending her.

She wasn’t going to make it out of here alive, Mikey realized as she swallowed hard as she reached inside her sweatshirt for her ball and-

“Oh, god…no,” Mikey found herself mumbling when she realized that she didn’t have her ball.

Trying not to panic, she quickly scanned the floor for her ball only to find herself looking across the restaurant to find Sebastian holding it. With a smile that she found somewhat disturbing, he made a show of placing her ball between his hands and began rolling it as her hands twitched, desperate to mimic the comforting move.

It was in that moment that she realized something very important.

Her best friend was going to make her pay for this.