𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 » bryce harper [✓]

the pact | four.

Bryce

I called Cass after she got off work, and it rolled to voicemail. After leaving a message for her to call me back, I went home and tried to occupy the time while I waited. With the NLDS right around the corner, there was a lot to be done—batting practice, packing for when we traveled, and whatever else you could think of. But all I could seem to focus on was the women in my life. 

What had Jayson said? Tell Cass before I made a commitment to Bella, right? So maybe the solution now was to talk to Bella, end things, and then redirect my attention to Cassandra.

Before I could talk myself out of it I was dialing Bella's number. She picked up on the third ring. "Hey, babe! I was just thinking about you. What's up?"

Thank God she couldn't see me cringe. I walked to the kitchen to grab a snack before answering. "Nothing much, Bel, what about you?"

"I've got a couple things going on right now, but I've always got time for you."

What did I ever see in this girl? She sounded like one of those antagonistic popular chicks in a poorly produced Disney movie. "I appreciate it, Bel, but I don't think I'm going to have any down time today. Preparing for the playoffs, and all. You know how it is."

She sighed. "Right, of course. Any particular reason why you called or are we just going to do small talk?"

I eased myself onto a kitchen stool and sighed, running my fingers through my hair. Better to rip the band-aid off as soon as possible. "It's about us. Or where our relationship is headed, I guess."

"Do you really wanna do this over the phone, Bryce? I mean, we could maybe see each other tomorrow something—"

"No, I'd rather do it now, Bella." I interrupted. "Listen, you're an amazing girl and there's a lot of things I like about you. But I don't feel like us dating is a good idea. I just don't think you're the right one for me."

Silence reigned on the other end of the line for so long that I thought she'd hung up on me. Which I wouldn't blame her for. "You're joking, right?"

I shook my head, though she couldn't see me. "Nah, Bel, I'm serious. I don't want to string you along. You deserve a guy who's going to be 100% committed to you, and that guy just isn't me. I'm sorry."

"Wow," Bella breathed, her voice cracking. "I thought...um, I just thought we were heading somewhere good, you know? Guess I was wrong."

I sighed, trying not to let her being emotional get to me. This was the best thing for both of us. "Yeah, I know. Again, I wish it could've been different."

Bella sniffles. "So, are you into someone else?"

"Yeah. In pretty deep." The mere thought of having a future with Cass ticked my pulse up a notch. "She's had my heart for a while, actually. It took me a while to get enough balls to do something about it."

"I see. Do I know her?"

"No." I replied, and I intended to keep it that way. There was no way I was going to let a woman I'd recently dumped know the identity of the person I dumped her for. Cass didn't deserve to be the brunt of someone else's anger. "Look, it doesn't even matter, you know? You'll be fine, I promise."