Baggage

"...and I swear to God it landed like directly in the gopher hole," Laura said, laughing.

Trevor listened and laughed along while he scrolled through the available teams, trying to decide who to play as. After dinner he and Laura had moved into the bedroom to play a baseball video game from the collection Violet had provided. They sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed, in front of the TV.

"Not a little either," Laura continued, gesticulating wildly with her controller. "We're talking in there. Like four or five inches deep. So she's there in the outfield and she throws her glove off and falls to her knees. The batters just going for it, rounding all the bases. The outfielder meanwhile is physically digging for the ball. By the time she gets it the runners already scored, but she's out there holding it up over her head like she's found buried treasure."

"That's insane," Trevor said. "What are the odds?"

He finally settled on a team, and Laura began the process for herself.

"On that field?" she replied. "Better than you'd think. There were gopher holes everywhere. Worst field I've ever played on. I mean really awful."

"I'm surprised nobody broke an ankle," he said.

"Oh, a girl did. That's the only reason the field got fixed up."

Laura made her choice for team and the conversation died down as the game started in earnest. Trevor was the home team, so Laura was batting first.

"So what are you majoring in?" Trevor asked as his pitcher lobbed a fastball.

Laura hit a screaming line drive out to left field, getting a runner on base.

"Sports medicine," she replied.

"You're going to be a trainer then?" he asked as he struck out Laura's second hitter.

She shook her head. "It'd be fun. No money in it though. Not that I need to be like super rich or anything. But you know. Affording rent is nice."

Trevor laughed. "Tell me about it. Aaliyah never accepted syllogisms for payment."

Laura hit a grounder to third, advancing her runner to second.

"I'm thinking physical therapist," Laura told him. "It'd be nice to help people."

"You're almost out of school aren't you?" he asked.

"Almost. I was supposed to be graduating at the end of the semester."

"Supposed to be?"

Laura looked away from the game to stare at him. "Yeah. Until I was kidnapped. That threw a bit of a wrench in the gears."

"Oh. Right." He felt like an idiot.

Laura laughed it off. "You can take your foot out of your mouth now. It's fine. Actually, it's a little weird to say, but so far it's been kind of a nice vacation. They haven't really done anything to me yet. Meanwhile, I haven't had to go to practice or turn in homework for a week."

Trevor got his second out, Laura swinging and missing on a slider.

"We should send Violet a gift basket as thanks," he said darkly.

"Violet's a total bitch, but all I'm saying is that hanging out in a resort has some perks over an eighteen credit semester."

"Eighteen credits?" Trevor asked incredulously. "How the hell do you pull that off while you're captaining the softball team?"

She shrugged. "Sleep is for the weak."

"You're in-"

"Oh! Hell yes! Suck it!"

Laura's hands shot into the air victoriously as she nailed a pitch straight out of the park. Trevor groaned as all three runners rounded the bases to score. He was down three to zero in the first inning.

"Want to just give up now?" she asked him, smiling sweetly.

"Don't get cocky," he grumbled. "There's still a lot of game left to be played."

"I'm just saying, maybe we should work out a mercy rule."

"You may be div one in real life, but I've played this game for years."

Laura perked up. "You believed that? What I said in the contest?"

"It's true, isn't it? I've seen you play. You could've been division one easily."

Trevor managed to catch a pop fly for his third out, finally giving him a chance to be at bat and even up the score a little.

"Well, I mean, there's no way to know if I really would have made it," she said, a little embarrassed.

"Nah, you'd have killed it," he insisted as he hit a grounder to second, giving Laura an easy out. "I honestly have no idea why they wouldn't offer you a scholarship."

"They did," she said sadly. "It just wasn't enough. I needed a full ride."

"You couldn't attend without a full ride?"

She shook her head. "My my parents aren't helping out."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's fine." Laura grew solemn. "I haven't talked to them in years. It's all in the past now."

Trevor spoke softly. "Nat and I aren't on speaking terms with our parents either. Well, parent. Our mom isn't in the picture."

Laura was quiet for a moment. "We used to get along great," she explained. "I had a good childhood. But...well, they don't approve of my lifestyle."

"Parents aren't supposed to love you conditionally," Trevor commiserated. "But you're about to get a degree all on your own. That's amazing. Not everyone could land on their feet like that."

Laura squirmed. "Yeah. Well. I wasn't just going to give up on my dreams because my parents were Catholic." She laughed bitterly. "They might actually have gotten along with the show pretty well. No birth control? Make babies? Sounds a little familiar to me. I can practically hear them muttering that 'God works in mysterious ways'."

Trevor cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, I just want you to know that I'd never, um, you know. I want you to feel safe with me."

She waved him off. "Don't worry about that. I know." Laura set down her controller. "What happened with you and your dad?"

Trevor sighed.

***

"Who bought them for you!" Arthur roared.

Nat stared up at him with wide eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Answer me!"

Trevor stood at the foot of the stairs, watching their father carefully. He didn't know what was happening yet. He'd heard the yelling and only just came down.

His dad threw the box he was holding against the wall. "Not in my house," he spat. "Do you understand me?"

Natalie nodded mutely, her small frame beginning to crumple in on itself.

"If you want to be a whore when you turn eighteen then that's your business. But until then I am your father and you will listen to me."

Arthur stalked closer to Nat, looming ominously over her. Trevor balled his fists. His heart was beating a million miles per hour. He wasn't big, even Natalie was taller than him, but he was ready to hurl himself at his dad if he tried anything. His hands shook.

One day he'd be bigger. He was almost a teenager. That's when boys grew taller. He'd learned it at school. Soon he'd be big enough to make him stop. But not yet.

"Your bitch of a mother left you here, and I raise you all on my own. What thanks do I get? Nothing. You're just like her. Ungrateful. The whore apple doesn't fall far from the whore tree."

"I'm sorry," Natalie whispered.

"Good. You should be. I -"

Trevor's father was cut off by the doorbell. He looked over his shoulder glaring angrily at whoever had dared to interrupt him.

"Stay here," he ordered. "We're not done yet."

Natalie nodded.

As soon as their dad left the room Trevor bolted over to Nat and grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, pulling her away.

Natalie looked over her shoulder at where their dad had gone, worrying, but she let Trevor lead her away in a hurry.

He took them through the house and into the garage. It was a mess, years of random possessions and debris poured into boxes and piled up into mounds of useless junk.

Trevor stepped carefully through the room to the back corner, Natalie following in his footsteps, until he came to what appeared to be a solid wall of boxes. Carefully, Trevor moved a few aside to reveal a hollow on the other side. Natalie and him squeezed into the small crawlspace and Trevor moved the boxes back into place to cover the entrance.

A worn blanket covered the garage's concrete floor and Trevor did his best to find a way to settle onto it comfortably.

"When did you make this?" Nat asked.

"The other day. I've got some food in here, so we should be able to stay for a while." Trevor reached behind him and pulled out a few bags of chips. "What happened?" he asked.

Natalie stared down at her lap. "It's a little embarrassing."

In the distance they heard their father yell. Natalie winced.

"The other girls were making fun of me for wearing pads. So Erica brought a box of tampons to school for me. I should have just left them in my locker, but I brought them home."

"Dad found them?"

She nodded.

"You can keep them in my room from now on. He doesn't search my stuff."

Natalie and him grew quiet as their father's stomping drew near the garage. She leaned into him, scared. The door to the garage burst open and they heard their dad stalk in. They huddled together behind the boxes, silent as mice.

The sound of footsteps retreated. They heard him call out for Natalie again, screaming for her to come out from wherever she was hiding, then the door shut. The siblings let out a twin breath of relief.

Trevor stayed there with his sister for the rest of the night. They slept under the ratty blanket, huddled together for warmth on the cold concrete floor.

***

"He did a lot of yelling and drinking," Trevor said. "Said a lot of things a dad shouldn't say. Natalie got the worst of it."

"I'm sorry."

Trevor shrugged. "Like you said, it's in the past. Nat and I got out of there a long time ago, and we're doing pretty well for ourselves."

"I like Natalie. Definitely feel like I won the roommate lottery. I'm even going to get a garden out of the deal."

Trevor laughed, his spirits lifting a little. "Yeah, she's pretty great. You going to throw the next pitch or what?"

Laura picked up her controller and the two finished up their game. Trevor put up a good fight, but in the end Laura won 6-5. Something she was very keen on making sure he remembered.

Laura's company was a welcome reprieve from the stress of the rest of his visits. He fell asleep that night content, for the first time in a long time.