"the dominoes cascaded in a line."
terribly sorry for the varying chapters that use proper grammar and capitalization and the others that are in all lowercase LMAO
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"they've got my past, frozen behind glass but i've got me."
Fernando smiled brightly as he caught Serena's eyes inside of Spill the Beans, his all time favorite coffee shop downtown.
He managed to convince the girl to meet him here. He'd been working hard every day in right field, and then right after going upstairs to talk with Serena.
What he didn't ever notice about Serena was that she was alone in this city too.
Fernando never really knew who Serena was. He didn't even know they had a sports psychologist. He'd seen her around the dugout before games though, and Ha-Seong Kim — who had just flown back from Korea for a few days before he had to head to Peoria – told him she was pretty close with Wil.
He also mentioned something about MacK Gore as well, but other than that Serena had no one around, just like him.
The blonde was sat up on the barstools, looking a little nervous as she scrolled through her phone.
Even though Fernando was dressed "incognito" in a black hoodie and sunglasses, she still noticed him when she looked up.
"Hey." he smiled at her, "What are you going to order?"
"Decaf iced coffee and a bagel." Serena smiled, putting her phone into her pocket.
Before she could ask Fernando what he was getting, he smiled and said "Okay," getting in line to order.
Fernando looked up at the menu. Since Serena took the time out of her day to meet him, he figured he'd pay for her too.
But, as soon as he knew the girl was already by his side with her eyes jokingly narrowed at him. "You aren't paying, Fernando."
"Nah it's fine, it's only three bucks. Might as well use all that contract money for something." he laughed back, as a young child came into view in front of them.
"Excuse me?" the kid asked softly, his father behind him. He was young, and seemed a little nervous. He had Fernando's attention, but opted to look at his father instead of talking.
"Can we get a photo?" the dad asked.
"Of course!" Fernando smiled.
Fernando stood next to the pair and smiled, while Serena snapped the photo of them.
Afterward, the father thanked both of them before the tiny boy gave Fernando a hug, given how tall Fernando was though the boy barely went up to his thigh.
"I don't think they're mad at me anymore." Fernando grinned, referencing all the rightful hate he got after the motorcycle accident and then the PEDs.
"I don't think anyone here is mad at you anymore, but just wait until you play in the away games..." Serena joked.
The two eventually ordered, with Fernando managing to pay for him and Serena's order despite her stubbornness.
They sat back down after. It was weird for Serena feeling so many eyes on her. It was always pretty quiet around downtown, but Fernando was a 6'3 skinny giant with very distinct features. If you walked by the coffee shop, you'd be able to notice it was him inside.
Serena and Fernando talked for a little bit, with Fernando having to pose for selfies here and there, but their conversation was overall pretty nice.
Fernando found Serena very likable. Holding a conversation with her didn't feel awkward or strange like how it was with most of the staff when they weren't talking about baseball. He genuinely found the girl interesting.
However, as the end of the hour came around, Serena broke, "I hate to leave you like this, but I have an appointment with Kimmy before he flies to Arizona tonight. This is for you though." the girl said, her eyes were bright as she pulled a little envelope out of her purse. "I'll cya later."
S had an unhideable grin on her face just about now as she picked her drink up and left with a small wave.
Fernando looked down at the envelope on the marble table, slowly picking it up to open it. It was simply just a white envelope with his name written on it in Serena's nice handwriting.
He wasted no time after that to rip it open, his mouth dropping and eyes beginning to glimmer as he saw what was inside.
His ID/keycard that got him into the Peoria stadium, and a plane ticket to Phoenix.
Fernando was so happy he could cry. As quickly as possible, he snapped a photo and forwarded it to his parents, then texted in the groupchat with Bob, Peter, Serena, and AJ to thank them for the opportunity they were giving him.
This was the best day of his life.
❁
Fernando spent even longer thinking about that same photo from his nightstand.
But, every morning when he woke up to run he thought less and less about his father's dismayed expression, and more about the people in the background, but in a different way this time.
Something he never quite understood was slowing down. He liked living fast. He liked the constant going.
But as he stood on the edge of La Jolla cove that overlooked the ocean, he saw something more than just water.
He saw surfers and sea lions. He saw small waves and little waves. Rapid tides and slow calm ones. He saw a couple paddle boarding, bubbles in the water, and different shades of orange, blue, pink, yellow, and purple as each wave rose and fell in the rising sunlight.
The sun painted the sky a deep orange, with streaks of blue begging to break through as it got higher in it.
He closed his eyes, taking in nothing but the smell of salty ocean air and the sound of waves hitting the shore.
If he was on a cliff above the ocean in the DR, he would've probably taken his shirt off and dove into the water a few minutes ago.
But here he was, in San Diego, hours away from flying to Phoenix, looking down. He felt a funny feeling. It was a silly sense. It wasn't the adrenaline rush he usually got when he was antsy to plunge into the ocean off a high cliff.
It was a calm sense. It was quietness, maybe even a sprinkle of happiness.
As Fernando slowly opened his eyes, he felt peace.
