ʜᴏᴍᴇ ʀᴜɴ ( ᴀᴀʀᴏɴ ᴊᴜᴅɢᴇ. )

four. aftermath

"ALINA, YOU HAD YET ANOTHER FIVE PERFECT INNINGS, BUT THIS TIME AGAINST THE NEW YORK YANKEES. How do you feel after taking the win and having your forth grand slam of the season?" the reporter asks, making me chuckle.

"Well, Taylor started off our defense amazingly, only giving up one hit and one home run. I just came in and made sure we took the win. We all played a good game, the guys had some good hits. I'm just lucky the pitch I got was right in my area and I got the right swing on it," I answer, nodding my head.

"Do you know how fast that hit went?" Is hake my head. "So, the pitch was a ninth-eight mike per hour fastball, and the exit velocity of your hit was one hundred three miles per hour."

"Dang. That's going in the books," I chuckle, the reporter laughing.

"One more question. As of twenty minutes ago, you have been officially traded to the Yankees." My heart sinks and I nod my head, licking my lips with a sigh. "How do you feel about that?"

"I mean, this team is my family so it's a little heartbreaking, but I'm excited to see what the future holds with my new team. I met a few of the guys at the All Star Game like Gleyber and Gary and Aroldis, so I'm friends with them. I'm always excited to meet new people but I'm definitely going to miss this team. These guys are the best and they'll always be my first team."

"Thank you so much, Alina," the reporter says, shaking my hand as the cameraman turns the camera off. "Good luck with the Yankees. Everyone knows you're going to continue doing great things."

"Thank you," I smile. It hurts to smile right now, it hurts to act like I'm happy when my whole world is changing. I have to move to New York in a matter of days, I have to learn about a whole new city, I have to find restaurants I enjoy, I have to find places I can go to calm down, I have to restart.

Cursing under my breath, I grab my bag and hurry out of the clubhouse. Knowing the stadium is empty by now, I hurry up the stairs to hide in a corner. I throw my bag against the wall, sinking to the ground as I start to cry like a child.

"Fuck!" I yell, slapping my hand against the ground. I grab my bag, pulling my Diamondback sweatshirt out to pull it on over my head and pull the hood up.

Grabbing my bag, I throw it over my shoulder and run out in front of the stadium. With a sigh, I pull my phone out to look up something nearby, a bar, a restaurant, something. Thankfully, there's a restaurant five blocks away, and I start the walk towards it.

The walk is filled with me thinking and planning ahead for the next few weeks. I'll need to sell my place in Arizona and find somewhere new here. Hopefully Alek won't mind me moving in for a little bit, and I know she's going to need someone with her when Carson leaves. Alek hates being alone and I don't quite know how she's survived this long in New York living on her own.

Finding the restaurant, I walk in to be greeted by a hostess. "Holy shit, you're Alina Court," she breathes out with wide eyes.

"Yup," I laugh, nodding my head. "And you're. . ." I squint, looking at her name tag, "Melissa."

"Yeah," she snickers, glancing down at her name tag. "Oh, um, do you want a table?"

"Yeah, if you guys are still open," I say, Melissa nodding quickly.

"I don't think my manager will mind serving the only female MLB player a little later," she chuckles, grabbing a menu from under the podium. "Do you want a table or a booth?"