ʜᴏᴍᴇ ʀᴜɴ ( ᴀᴀʀᴏɴ ᴊᴜᴅɢᴇ. )

six. oh it changes

THE GROUP CHAT IS GONE. The Diamondback group chat is gone from my phone. Someone kicked me out of it last night and I'm angry and sad and hurt. But I'm not one of them anymore, so there was no point in my staying in it.

"Bitch, don't be sad. Carson made a new group chat for the guys that still like you," Alek smiles in a lame attempt to make me happy as I get ready for the game.

"All four of them," I sigh, tossing my phone into my bag. "Thanks for trying, Alek, but this is a mess you can't clean up. Now can you drive me to the stadium? I'm going to the Yankees clubhouse."

"Oh shit! Petty move that will lead to happiness because your future husband is there. Hell yes," she nods, linking my arm with hers before we walk out of her apartment and down to the lot beside the building where her car is parked.

The car ride is silent because I don't have the energy to put music on or enjoy myself. It's supposed to rain today and I hope it does. My dad said whenever it rained on one of my bad days, that was him telling me that my problem is going to be over soon and he's there to help me. I really need him right now.

Alek gets as close as she can to the stadium before parking alongside the sidewalk. "Hey," she says, grabbing my hand before I can get out of the car. "You're amazing, Alina Sumitry Court, don't let any assholes tell you otherwise. This is good for you, and if the guys can't see that they aren't worth your time. I love you, Al."

"I love you, too, Alek," I smile, leaning over to hug her tightly. She hugs me back immediately, rubbing my back. "Thank you for being the best cousin ever."

"No, I think that's you," she grins, making me chuckle. "I can't wait for you to live here in New York with me. I've missed you so much."

"Believe me, this is turning out to be a bigger blessing than I thought," I smile widely, feeling it reach my eyes. "We got each other-forever and always," I say, putting my pinky finger up.

Alek grins, wrapping her pinky finger with mine. "Forever and always," she repeats, three simple words we promised to bind us together as something deeper than a blood bond. We lost everyone but each other after the war we call our lives, and we saved each other in more ways that one. "Now go find your husband."

"Fuck off," I laugh, grabbing my bag from the backseat. "Pray I don't embarrass myself."

"You'll still look hot even if you do," she smirks, making me grin cockily. "Now go be amazing, Killer!" she cheers loudly, honking her horn as I start to walk away. "I love you!"

"I love you, too!" I yell back with a wave. With a final smile, Alek drives away to leave me walk towards the stadium gates by myself.

As I reach the front, someone calls out my name from behind me. Turning around, I see Aaron jogging towards me with a smile. "Well hello, Judge," I smile happily.

"Hello, Court," he smiles cheekily. "And what would you be doing here before your team arrives?"

"Well, I'm standing next to one of my teammates, so I'm not exactly early," I hum before cracking a wide smile. He grins, putting his arm over my shoulders as we walk into the stadium together. "Better yet, I have invited myself to your clubhouse to meet the team earlier than expected. The Diamondbacks now hate me, so, yay."

"Wait, really? What happened?" he asks, sounding concerned and confused.

"Wish I knew," I chuckle, leaning into his side. "They kicked me out of the group chat and apparently Carson told Alek on their date this morning that half the guys are talking shit about me and only four people care. Four people being Carson, Taylor, Tim, and Jake. It just sucks, but at least I have you guys."

"For sure," he nods with a smile, lifting his hand to pat my forehead which makes me snicker quietly. "The guys are very excited to meet you, especially Voit who claims to be your biggest fan."

"The lumberjack is my biggest fan? Wow, I'm very honored," I joke, Aaron chuckling at the mention of Luke's nickname. "It's upsetting, I thought the Judge would be the Courts biggest fan. Kind of hurts after he was my fake boyfriend."

"Oh, believe me, I take the title but I'll let Luke think otherwise. He kind of scares me when he's mad." I laugh loudly at that, Aaron pushing me away with a pout. "Rude."

"That's hilarious," I gasp out, putting a hand on my stomach. "I can imagine you two just having a fight and him taking one step and you dropping to the ground in a ball to protect yourself."

"Guess I'll go fuck myself," he huffs, crossing his arms.

"Okay, maybe you'd tried to fight back a little bit," I sigh dramatically, Aaron immediately grinning. "Oh, by the way, I saw that article where you talked about your parents. I think that's pretty amazing how you think about that."

He smiles, stopping at the doorway to face me. "They're my parents. My mom has a girl crush type of thing on you, so maybe you'll meet them when they come to a game," he smiles.

"Not only one, but two Judges have a crush on me," I grin, Aaron's cheeks turning pink. "But I would definitely like to meet them. They sound like amazing people."

"They are. Maybe I can meet your parents one day," he says with a hopeful smile. My heart sinks at the thought of my parents: my dead father and my drug addict mother.

"Maybe," I nod, forcing myself to lie through my teeth to the one man that may care as much as my father once did.