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I spun the chair around and sat on it backward. “I was inside the lobby when I heard Eliza screaming for help.”

Memories from that evening flashed in front of me, like someone was clicking too fast through one of those old slideshow reels.

The smoke.

The heat.

Her voice. The way it made my heart beat so wildly, I thought I’d have a stroke before my adrenaline kicked into overdrive.

“After we ran out of there, she told me she saw you inside too.” I ran my thumb over the palm of my hand and wished I had a baseball to hold. Something to channel all the emotions running through my head. “So I went back.”

I poured him another cup of water, and he drank it. Slower this time.

An announcement for the pharmacy sounded in the hallway.

“I can’t believe you went back into a burning building for me.” Ben’s voice had turned quiet.

“Yeah, well, that’s what friends do.”

He took another sip. “Even when they’re not speaking to each other?”

I twisted my hat in my hands. “Even then.”

“I wish…” He let his head fall back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I wish I could finish this season. Play one final game with you.”

“One final game”? “We’ll have spring ball back home, Ben.”

“I’m not going back home after this summer.”

“Wha—”

The door flew open. Officer Ferguson tapped his watch. “Three minutes, Fulton.”

“Got it.” I waved him off before scooting closer to Ben’s side. “What do you mean you’re not going back home?”

Ben finally looked at me. His face was pained. “Mom got a new job. She’s already found an apartment outside of Charlotte. We move after this season ends.”

“What?” Cold filled my core as my heart raced. “But that’s…that’s—”

“I found out a couple weeks ago. Right after I left your grandparents. Wanted to tell you but”—he ran his bandaged hands over his blanket—“wasn’t sure you’d care.”

Seriously?

“You’ve been my best friend for years.” I sat up straighter. “Give me a little more credit than that.”

He sighed and stared past me for a moment. “I don’t want to start over, but maybe it’s for the best.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve burned so many bridges back home. Some literally.” He chuckled. “Might be good to have a fresh start where no one knows me. Get away from the memories…”

I knew he meant his dad. And Erin. But I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What this meant. Ben, the guy who had caught for me in every major game I had ever played, who helped me out of some of the darkest pits I had ever experienced, was leaving me.

First Dad.

Then Eliza.

Now Ben.