Rivals (Sequel To Pitcher)

This Is It

4 Days Later (Game 5)

Heart racing, legs weak, mind swirling.

This is it.

This.

Is.

It.

Holy shit!

This is it!

This is the last game of the last series!

This is the World Series.

In light of the return of my friendship with Aaron Nola, comes the end of my relationship with his brother. Just like how the season ends at the beginning of the World Series and now it all comes to an end. Everything comes to an end after all, but not Aaron and I. We won't end and we can't. We will last forever and always.

The same does not apply to the World Series, the world series is final. It is the deafening cheers of the crowd suddenly muted by the end of the game. The silence that follows the eye of the storm. I was ready for that moment for the moment it all came to an end, Austin, the season, all of it. This World Series would signify the end of my first year in the majors, the end of the beginning of a new era in baseball. An era that included women.

I stepped off the field for the last time that season with my heart still racing and lay head hung high. I was not ashamed, I had pitched 7 solid innings in this game, I had no reason to be ashamed. My arm felt like a noodle and my lungs didn't feel like they had enough air in them to help me breathe. The crowd cheered me on as I glanced up at them one last time. I gave them all a big smile, my big huge family that had loved me through and through and it was in that moment that I decided that I too would love them through it all no matter what trials may arise.

A girl can have two homes and two families. I have my real family and my baseball family, I also have New Orleans and Philadelphia. Both have become my most favorite things in the world, next to baseball that is. Both have welcomed me into this magical world of baseball, a world in which all that matters is what team scores more points than the other.

Standing beside my teammates in the dugout when I barely had the strength to stand so Aaron was holding me up by wrapping his arm around my shoulder. We watched as Seranthony Dominguez pitched the rest of the eighth inning, he always knew how to keep us on our toes. Sometimes he'd work the count super deep on some batters and others he'd get them quickly 1-2-3, eventually he ended the inning. Then came our offense to the plate which was extremely exciting given that meant that the whole team would be in the dugout together. We were all so silent as each of our hitters stepped into the box. Some of the guys began silently praying to god for victory but to be honest we all knew that in this game we would be completely and totally on our own. Even Aaron who never seems to have a pulse looked nervous about this game, that's how we knew this was a big deal.

Although we still had a one run lead at 5-4 in the top of the ninth it was still a bit aggravating that our offense seemed incapable of hitting anything remotely out of the park or at least bolstering in any runs. We silently took the field, well most of the team did. Seranthony Dominguez walked the first batter on four pitches, I could feel my heart breaking we were about to lose the World Series all because of lost morale because in the World Series every pitch is like a fatal bullet, if you don't properly defend yourself you're dead. After that at bat I decided it would be best if I dug my face into Aaron's chest, not wanting to watch. He didn't even respond, just kept watching the game in a daze like state. Then he abruptly gave out a loud cheer, I looked up confusion in my eyes. Seranthony had just struck out the next batter on three pitches. The batter after that one swung on the first pitch and got a single my heart sunk but I was engaged, unafraid of what was next to come.

With one out in the top of the ninth inning runners on first and second I could practically hear the racing heartbeat of 43,085 people as we all held our breathes for that last inning. We all watched like eagles as Seranthony wound up and released the 100 mile per hour fastball. A loud crack echoed through the now silent Citizens Bank Park as the bat made contact with the ball, wood hitting leather. We were so busy bitting our nails as we saw the batter hit the ball we barely noticed Cesar Hernandez approach the slow grounder rapidly approaching him. I could basically see the sweat dripping down his face as he focused on remaining calm so that he would be able to properly field the ball and toss it to second. The Freddy who was standing at second through the ball to Rhys Hoskins at first. Both umpires called both runners out and we all sat in silence.

It was Aaron who spoke first quietly "Did we just...?" And that was all it took for us to suddenly jump up and cheer and the stadium erupted into cheers and Seranthony tossed his glove in the air. The team began sprinting unto the mound piling on top of each other Aaron and I joined into that dog pile. The stadium was filled with cheers as we all relished in the excitement of a World Series victory. Players and fans alike were crying and cheering, hugging and kissing, it was a celebration shared by an entire city. When we finally escaped the dog pile, I pulled Aaron close and shouted at him. "Hell yeah we just won the mother fucking World Series Nola!!"

Then I did something even crazier than winning the World Series. I pulled Aaron by the shirt and wrapped my arms around his neck kissing him like there was no tomorrow. He responded with the equal amount of passion and I could feel tears of pure joy rolling down both of our faces as we kissed because we had done it. We had won the mother fucking World Series and why not celebrate with the person you love most.

"I love you." I whispered in his ear when our lips parted.

"I love you too." He whispered back.