The Distance to Home Read Online Free PDF

he’ll surprise you. Everyone is nervous or scared sometimes. Even Brandon.”
    “It’s probably been a minute. I don’t want to get you in trouble before you even get to play.”
    Hector nods. “Will you come back to the game now? For Brandon?” He waits. “For me?”
    “Okay,” I say, standing up. My legs get a little shaky when I think about seeing Zack. What if he’s one of the people who walk and up down the aisles during the game, selling stuff? “Good luck.”
    “I’ll need luck later this week. Today is easy. No pitching for me today.” Hector has to duck to get through the door. Before closing it, he sticks his head back through again. “Good luck to you.”
    As I start walking back to the bleachers along the first-base line, I begin formulating my plan. If Zack thinks he can come here and sell pizza, so what? I don’t need to visit the concession stands. I can bring my own snacks or ask Casey to get my food for me.
    When I get to our seats, Casey is waiting with two hot dogs. Actually, what used to be two hot dogs. Two hot dog holders and some dirty napkins rest in my seat.
    “Sorry.” Casey moves them out of the way. “They were getting cold, and I didn’t know what to do.”
    I take off my Bandits cap and turn toward the field for the national anthem.
    “Are you okay? With Zack and everything? Do you want me to go get you another hot dog? Or a lemon ice?”
    I know Casey’s trying, but he doesn’t get it. A new hot dog won’t fix anything. “Don’t worry about the hot dogs. I’m not that hungry.”

I was helping Mom set the kitchen table for dinner. Dad was picking Haley up from the camp and they’d be home any minute. I had just put down all the silverware when the door connecting the kitchen to the garage opened.
    “Hey, Mom? Is it all right if we have one more for dinner?” Haley asked, popping her head in.
    Mom was too busy stirring spaghetti sauce on the stove to turn around. “Is Larissa coming over?” During the school year, Haley’s friend Larissa joined us for dinner when she and Haley worked on homework together. I think she liked my mom’s cooking more than she liked her own mom’s.
    But that night it wasn’t Larissa. Haley stepped into the kitchen with a boy. No, not a boy. A…guy? He was tall—taller than my sister but not baseball-pitcher tall. His dark brown hair was spiky, and he had an eyebrow ring. And was there something sticking out of his mouth—a lip ring? Were they having a sale when he went to get his eyebrow pierced?
    “Zack’s grandma is out of town, so Dad and I invited him over for dinner. Is that okay?”
    It looked like Zack hadn’t even washed his hands after camp, unless he’d painted his pinky nail on purpose.
    “Sure,” Mom said. “There’s plenty of food to go around. Quinnen, can you set a place for Zack, please?”
    At least Mom remembered about me. Haley didn’t introduce me to Zack. I’d never even heard of him before, and I knew all of Haley’s friends.
    Our kitchen table wasn’t very big. If I’d known we were going to have five people, not the usual four, I would have set the dining room table. That’s what we always did when Larissa stayed for dinner. I grabbed a fifth plate and silverware and squeezed in a spot at the kitchen table for Zack.
    “I’m going to change real quick before dinner,” Haley said. “Quinnen, you can keep Zack entertained, right?” She scooted out of the kitchen before I had a chance to reply.
    Zack gave me a little wave. The nail paint had to be on purpose because it was on both of his pinkies. “Hey,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve officially met yet.”
    “Hi.” I couldn’t stop myself from staring at his lip ring and wondering how it felt. Did it get in the way when he was eating? Or brushing his teeth? Did it ever get stuck on his clothes when he was getting dressed in the morning?
    “So you’re Haley’s little sister.”
    “I’m Haley’s
only
sister.”
    “Right.”