Page 27 of Off Pitch

You may need to come help Harlow

She’s pretty distraught because she made the mistake of looking at the comments on the articles about you two, and they’re not very pretty…

“Guys, do we know what the media and fans are saying? Lucia just messaged me saying Harlow is upset after reading some comments.”

“Shit,” Cole says, grabbing his phone. “What are they saying?”

The three of us scroll through our phones, looking through articles and comments to discover what’s happening. And the comment sections are all the same. Some commentary says we make a cute couple, and they like seeing Fort Knox smile.

But then there are others. Others that ask why I would go for a girl like her and call her a bat bunny.

“Fuck, this is bad,” I say, scrubbing my hand over my face. “I need to go check on her.”

I stand up, grab my room key, and head out the door after asking Lucia which room I’m going to while Cole shouts something I don’t hear as I walk away.

“Thanks for coming over, Knox,” Lucia says as she answers the door. “She’s all torn up right now.”

“The guys and I looked up the comments after you messaged me. I hadn’t thought about the nasty things people might say.”

Rory pops into the little hall leading into the room with Sage on her hip. “Neither of you predicted this. It’ll get better, but it’s bad right now. She just needs comfort.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” I say as I pinch my brow. “I’m the reason she’s in this mess in the first place.”

“Rory and I are going to grab coffee. We’ll let you two be.”

Rory and Lucia exit the room, and I make my way inside. Harlow is currently lying on her bed in the fetal position with a vacant stare on her face. I take a deep breath and sit on the side. “You okay, Harlow?”

“No. People are awful,” she says as she wipes tears from her eyes.

“Yeah,” I say, letting out a sigh. “You gotta make sure you don’t let their words get to you.”

Harlow sits up now, sliding in right next to me. “They’re calling me a bat bunny, Knox. They think we’re together because I wanted to get with a baseball player.”

“They must be the ones who don’t realize you’re a rabid baseball fan then.”

She lets out a deep breath. “I think it’s because of the blog that they’re thinking it. That I love baseball so much that I’d do anything to bed one of the players.”

“They don’t know you,” I say as I put an arm around her shoulder. “Starred and Fastexists because you want to help more people understand the sport and the team you root for, not because you want to fuck a baseball player.”

She’s silent for a moment. Then she turns to face me and says, “You read my blog, Knox?”

“Oh, uh… yeah,” I reply awkwardly. “I read through it after the game on Wednesday. Figured I should know about the blog I’m helping drive traffic to.”

She gives me a soft smile. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Harlow,” I state honestly. “The blog is good. You put so much good information there and broke it down in a way that’s easier to understand for people unfamiliar with the sport. I think it’s awesome.”

Her eyes are still glassy, but her smile is brighter now. “You know, I’m really starting to think you might be a good guy, Spencer.”

“Ah, you’re upset, so your judgment is off, Pierce. You can’t trust your mind right now.”

She laughs earnestly, and I find myself enjoying the melodic sound. Her happiness is almost contagious. I have a hard time not smiling around her.

“Tell you what,” I say. “Why don’t you order us some room service, and you tell me more about yourself. We can forget all about what the shitty people online are saying.”

Harlow’s smile is gentle. “I’d like that.”

twelve

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