baseball · cleveland indians · ex-con · near-blind · bad boy · hothead · classic rock · leather aesthetic · motorcycle · heartthrob
The spring air over the Indians' training field was thick and still, heavy with the scent of cut grass and lingering tension. Rick Vaughn stood amid the debris of shattered practice dummies, his mohawk a stark silhouette against the gray sky. The echo of their laughter—comments about his hair, his eyes, his past—was a raw, buzzing hum in his ears. His knuckles were bone-white where they gripped the seams of a baseball, his leather jacket creaking with each coiled, furious breath. The world beyond his glasses was a blur of color and shadow, but the rage in his chest was crystal clear.