Third Strike Rule

Route for the Home Team

Viv was exhausted from the post game celebrations. World Series wins were always big, but when the Dodgers won is was even bigger. The reining World Series Champs celebrated with an excessive amount of blue and white confetti and just the right amount of cheering and jumping. Somehow Viv had been drug into pictures with her dad and brother and even more surprising, a photo of her hugging Cy Bellinger...

She had waited long enough for her dad to come out of the locker so she could take him home. It was well past midnight in Los Angeles and she had a party to get to. Of course the party would also have Lena and Nolan, but Viv knew better than to get that upset about Lena. She knew it wasn't ever serious and Lena was most likely just using the poor dude. Lena had been out on dates with Cy, MJ, CJ and even Kreshaw's son a few times. The hoe was really just climbing the social ladder to the top.

Weirdly with that track record Lena was a lot like Viv's mom, Kat, who had officially dated two NBA players, a MLB player and had rumored a lot more athletes before she had graduated from college. Of course, Kat met Christian Yelich and that brought her social climb to a quick stop. All Viv could hope for was some athlete (preferable not Nolan) would do the same to Lena.

Viv stood from the chairs outside the media room and stretched her back. She froze as several of the Yankees players walked out from the visitor's media room across the breezeway. Her heart started again once she saw none of them were MJ and she was clear to head out of the stadium.

The walk out of the stadium was one Viv had done at least a thousand times and she always did it alone. No matter how long she waited her dad could never escape the press in time to go home with her. Before she could drive her mom would have Zana drive her and CJ home with a promise that they would see their dad in the morning. It was never the morning, her parents usually slept in till midday. Once they were up if there wasn't anything pressing they would almost always take Ajax and the other dogs to the beach.

There were good memories from her childhood... Christian just usually wasn't in them. Zana and her mom had taken her to everything. Every game, practice, lift, meeting, school, speech contest, geography bee and every other extra curricular activity she had ever done was with the memory of her mom and siblings being there, but hardly ever her dad. Christian had shown up from time to time when he could, but he was always late and very rarely stayed till the end. But Viv could always count on him to critique what she did and inform her on how she could improve.

Viv looks down at her ringing phone and declines CJ's FaceTime and makes a mental note to stop in Crenshaw on her way home. It was night, but her guy was always there.

"Viviana," a chauvinistic voice calls from behind her.

Viv doesn't turn, but instead continues to walk down the hall. She slightly increases her pace when she hears footsteps behind her.

Again, "Viviana," the voice calls.

She scrunches her eyes shut and sends up a prayer and a large hand violently grips her forearm and flips her around to face MJ Trout.

Viv flinches back and tries to pry his hand open. She sees him take a deep breath and watches his chest broaden. She shies away when she notices his angry face.

"I told you we were going to talk and now you don't have your bodyguards to save you," MJ sneers and jerks her into a small alcove.

"MJ, please just let me go," Viv says in a small, terrified voice.

MJ pushes her back into the wall, "You don't tell me what to do."

He was madder than usual. Viv had seen this side of him two times too many, "MJ you need to take a deep breath, you're hurting me..." Viv attempts to use the lines she had read about.