Through Thick and Thin (Anthony Rizzo)

Fight For You

Jazmyn

The calendar continues to change and finally the leash we were on gets loosened. I swear we had just as many commands about being safe here as I did fighting over seas. But it was for our own protection and since we did stay inside for about a month and a half now we can now get out of the house for a little while longer. You still can't get your hair cut or go to the gym or anything like that. But Chicago was getting more like how I imagined it to be. A little more bustle and hustle and more life to it.

Today Anthony promised to take me sight seeing and not just around the block. So I put on the outfit he picked up for me for my birthday and grab the Polaroid camera. We take to the street and I become filled with wonder.

"This is nothing like Kentucky" I admit as Anthony starts to laugh.

"Yeah, it's nothing like Florida either" he admits.

"But it's still like home to you" I wonder.

He just smiles a little as he looks up. "It is now. This quarantine has opened my eyes. Chicago was work for the longest time. But if you're locked up for months at a time in a place with nothing but the city you live in then you see it for what it is. I haven't been here without baseball so I never got to see the city outside of from the apartment to Wrigley.

But now I see how truly beautiful this city is. When no one is out here and the buildings are standing tall. People are coming together to try and make a better place for everyone around them. I see just how special this city is, how we won't be able to get anywhere unless we work together.

Parkland is home, but Chicago is too now. I wasn't born or raised here but I grew up a lot here. I learned more than I can ever imagine from the people in this city. That's more than you can ask for from a home" he explains.

"I can't believe you lived here all this time and couldn't see it for what it was" I admit.

"There's adventure around every corner. The history is in the streets and the walls of the buildings. I have a feeling a place like this is where you're meant to be" he claims. 

I look around as I let out a sigh. "I do too. And I had dreamed about coming here. Not to stay but to come and experience the bright lights in a big city. Be around people who's agenda isn't so messed up. Where there's fun but there's business too.

Honestly didn't want to stay when I first arrived. This is a big change from what I was used to and I was afraid I would get scared off. I didn't know you or anyone at this point, for the first time in a long time I felt out of place. Then you showed me that there's nothing to be afraid of, that this city can be loud and demanding but it's so worth it. There's so many things to love about a place like this, the culture and style and vibe this city gives off. I'm happy that I stayed long enough to see this city for what it is and not what I was afraid it was going to be" I admit.

"That's what makes places like this feel like home. That unexplainable pull to a place where you just feel like you belong" he explains.

"Can I tell you something and you not freak out" I ask him.

"I'm a pretty cool dude" he defends.

"I..." I start as he stops walking. He looks down at me and I feel all the strength I had built up come crumbling down. "I really like you. Like... a lot. And I'm so used to being the one people rely on I don't really know how to rely on others. Trust is hard when you've been leading for so long. When you've been lied to and told that it was for your own good. It's hard to tell what's real and what's fake.

But you're real and that scares me. Because I can't lose someone real again, I don't know what I'll do. I also can't imagine my life without you.

I just... I wanted you to know. I'm still working on myself and I'm still a long ways from being everything you want me to be. But I want to stay and I want to fight for you" I explain.

He has the biggest smile on his face as he steps closer to me. He quickly wraps his arms around me and I melt in his embrace. His cologne fills my senses and I felt home in his arms.

I close my eyes tight as my fingers get tangled up in his shirt. The sound of his heart beating fast against my ear making my heart just melt. "Why are you telling me this" he asks cautiously.

"Because you have my heart, you at least deserve to know what I'm feeling. I know it's not what you want to hear but I do want you" I insist.

"I'll be by your side forever. Through thick and thin, remember" he asks me.

"I remember" I smile.

We finally end up in Grant Park which technically was still shut down. But there was a few people out there taking pictures or sitting on the park bench to take a break. Everyone had on masks so it made me feel a bit safer, but I make sure to keep my distance from everyone but Anthony.

I take a bunch of cool pictures on my Polaroid and I couldn't wait to put them up when I got back. I ordered a large cork board and cute little push pins to hang up all the pictures. It was honestly my favorite thing to do right now and these pictures were going to pull it all together.

"It's even better than I thought it up to be. I was so worried that this place wouldn't be everything I imagined it would be. I mean I was stuck inside with only my imagination of what awaited me out there. Too afraid this will never meet up to my dreams. But this... this is amazing" I smile.

"I figured you would like it" he insists.

"I love-" I start before I stop when my eyes meet his. "I love it" I finish quickly. He looks at me weird for a second before he smiles back at me.

"I love it too" he winks.

This man is going to be the death of me. I know it.