Burning It Down, All the Way to Bat Country

Matt’s POV

“Ok, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” I hung up my phone and quickly got dressed, five minutes later and I was on my way to a very important meeting. I pulled up in front of the modest looking house and got out of my car, walking up to the front door. It opened a scant five seconds after I rang the bell to reveal Blaike’s mother. She smiled and ushered me in, leading me to the living room.
“Please sit Matt, can I get you anything?” She asked, I shook my head and smiled,
“No thank you.” She sat down next to her husband and waited for me to explain why I was here.

“I know that you guys are moving, and I also know that the kids don’t want their group of friends to be fractured, so I have a proposition for you. What if Blaike lives with during the week for school, stays with you on weekends, and stays here for a month during the summer. She won’t have to change schools or lose contact with her friends, and you would be able to keep your job and see your daughter. I know it sounds like a lot, but the kids are really torn up about this, and I know you don’t want Blaike angry about the move. I know it’s a lot to take in, so I’ll leave and let you guys think about it, call me when you have an answer.” I stated and got up, walking out the door to my car. I pulled my phone out and dialed Brian’s number, waiting for him to pick up,

“Dude, you would BELIEVE what Jimmy just did.” Shit, that is NEVER good…
“If he needs bail money, it’s Jonny’s turn.”
“No, that’s not it, that’s good information to have though.”
“So what did he do?”
“He got a tattoo.”
“So? He has a lot of tattoos.”
“Ask me what the tattoo is Matt.” This isn’t going to end well,
“Jesus Christ, what did he get?”
“The stupid fucker got Minnie Mouse on his neck.” I busted out laughing, almost swerving off the road.
“You have GOT to be joking.”
“I’m serious. He’s such an idiot.”
“What a moron, I gotta go dude, see you at the house?”
“You know it, see ya soon.” I smiled as I ended the call, only Jimmy would get Minnie Mouse tattooed on his neck. I arrived at home about ten minutes later and walked in the door, heading to the kitchen for something to drink. I spotted Jimmy leaning into the fridge and grinned, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck and squeezing a bit,

“Ow, Matt, fuck that hurts let go dude!” I laughed and let him go, grinning innocently when he glared and rubbed his neck.
“So, why the hell did you get a cartoon mouse inked on your neck?” He smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders,
“Lost a bet with Kat.”
“What was the bet?”

“I bet her that she wouldn’t be able to sit through getting her rib tattoo done in one sitting, but she did, so now I have Minnie on my neck and a clover on my ass, along with my original piece, which was Jasey’s portrait on my side, and my right nipple pierced. Remind me to never bet that evil woman ANYTHING ever again. Her pain threshold is WAY too high.” I just looked at him before I smacked him upside the head,

“Don’t you remember when she was ten and fell out of that tree and broke her arm? She didn’t cry at all? She’s always had a crazy pain tolerance dumbass.” I shook my head as I walked out of the kitchen to find my girlfriend, twenty minutes later and I found her outside playing with Bella. She turned and gave me a soft kiss when I came outside,
“So how did it go?” I shrugged my shoulders, I didn’t really know.
“I think it went ok, all we have to do now is wait for their decision.” She nodded and leaned back against my chest, throwing Bella’s toy across the yard. The dog just looked at her and huffed before flopping down in the shade and falling asleep. I smiled as I held Steph in my arms, life was good.

Time Elapse: Saturday June 19th
Trinity’s POV

I was rummaging through my closet, trying to find something to wear for my job interview. I had no idea what I was supposed to be wearing for an interview at freaking Nordstrom. I heard a knock on my door and bounced over to open it, revealing my dad standing on the other side; he walked in and sat on my bed, raising his eyebrows at the growing pile of clothing.

“Where are you going?” I bit my lip, I hadn’t told him about the interview.
“I have a job interview today.”
“Wait, what? Since when are you looking for a job? Where is the interview?”
“I started looking for a job two weeks ago; it’s at the Nordstrom in the mall. I managed to get an interview scheduled for 3:45. I have no freaking idea what to wear though!” I whined, falling face first onto my bed. He laughed and patted my back; I looked up at him and pouted.
“Quit laughing at me, I have to ace this interview!”

“Who’s taking you to this thing anyway?”
“Kat said she would take me when she got home. I have to figure out what the hell I’m going to wear!” I stated, then jumped up when I remembered the outfit I had gotten three weeks ago with Lynnie and Jasey. I pulled the black skinny jeans, pink ruffled cami, and black silk blazer out of the closet, going to my bathroom to change. I put on makeup as I waited for my flat iron to heat, and quickly straightened my riotous waves into submission, walking out of the bathroom after unplugging the flat iron. I looked at the clock, it was only 2:30, with Kat’s driving, it would take maybe ten minutes to get to the mall. I left my dad in my room and walked over to Corra’s, she had the shoes that I wanted to wear with my current outfit. I knocked her door and smiled at Zacky,

“Hey, is your girlfriend around?” He nodded and opened the door, revealing Corra sitting on the bed. She looked up at me and smiled, waving me over. I skipped over to the bed and kissed her cheek, she had been taking it really easy, the pregnancy was turning out to be a difficult one and she was doing what she could to avoid being put on bed rest.

“How ya feeling today momma?” She smiled weakly and patted her stomach,
“I’m ok today, the morning sickness is getting a little better, but this baby is determined to give me a hard time.” I grinned at her and pointed to Zack,
“Well, look at her father; she’s a baby Baker for god’s sake.” Corra laughed and nodded,
“You might have something there. So what can I do for ya sweetheart?”
“Can I borrow your black heels with the rhinestone detail on the toe?”
“Sure sweetie, they’re in the closet, top shelf on the right. Are you excited about your interview?” She asked I walked into the closet and grabbed the shoes,
“Yeah, I think having a job will be fun, and a good experience if nothing else.” I put the shoes on and twirled in front of her, silently asking for an outfit check. She grinned and gave me a thumbs up,
“You look great sweetheart, you’re gonna kill this interview. And when you get the job, I’m soooo going to abuse your discount.” I laughed and nodded, swiftly kissing her cheek before grabbing the black Fendi bag that she had taken from Jasey off the floor so I could put all my shit in it.
“Be careful with that!” She called as I made my way out the door; I waved at her behind my head and walked back into my room. My dad was still sitting on my bed, and he quirked an eyebrow at my outfit, I put my hands on my hips and waited for the objection.

“Trin, are you sure about this, you don’t need a job sweetheart.”
“Dad, I’m interviewing at Nordstrom, not the night shift at the gas station. I’ll be fine. And before you make a crack about what I’m wearing, I remind you, I am interviewing at Nordstrom, land of high fashion, ok?” He sighed and nodded, getting up and wrapping me in his arms. He kissed the top of my head and rocked us back and forth,
“Why do you feel like you need this job baby?”
“Because I can’t be mooching off you for the rest of my life daddy, I need work experience, and it’s totally normal for a sixteen year old to get a job.”
“Mooching for the rest of your life? Hunny, you’re sixteen; you have a while before its mooching. But if this is what you want to do, I’m not going to stop you. I just hope you know that you will be adding fuel to your aunt’s shopping addiction. You know they have a problem.” I giggled and nodded before pulling away and dumping my regular purse out so I could transfer the contents over to the Fendi bag I had set on my bed. I kissed daddy on the cheek as I walked out the door and downstairs to find Kat, locating her in the living room. She grinned when she saw me, giving me a thumbs up.

“You look great, you ready to go?”
“Yep, let’s blow this joint.” She laughed and nodded, we were walking to the car when my dad came jogging out,
“We need to talk when you get home!” I waved in acknowledgement as I slid into Kat sleek black Mercedes Benz.
“So are you excited?” Kat asked once we were on the road, I grinned and nodded as I pushed my oversized black sunglasses over my eyes,
“Yeah, I think it would be incredible to work at Nordstrom. I need to save for a car anyway. I was talking to dad and he said he would pay for drivers ed, but I needed to come up with the money to buy my own car and I have to pay half of the insurance on said car.”

“Well that’s a pretty reasonable way to do it; it’s good for you to have a job. Why Nordstrom though? It doesn’t really seem like your thing.”
“I know, I think that’s why I want to do it. I love the rock scene and everything, but I want to try different things out.” She nodded in understanding, while all the girls stayed true to their rock roots, all of them had very sophisticated clothing. We pulled up in front of Nordstrom and I grabbed my bag from the backseat, taking a deep breath and getting out of the car.
“You’re gonna do great kid, go kill it.” Kat said, I gave her a quick smile and watched her drive away. I squared my shoulders and walked inside, heading to the Human Resources department. I walked up to the pretty blonde sitting at the desk, she looked up and gave me a sweet smile,

“Hi there, how can I help you?”
“I have an appointment with Angela Turner?”
“Name?”
“Trinity Sanders.” She nodded and clicked something into her computer before picking up the phone and dialing something.
“Mrs. Turner, your 3:45 appointment is here. Yes ma’am.” She hung up the phone and stood up, motioning for me to follow her. She lead me down a small hallway and opened a door, revealing a woman in her mid forties, sitting at a desk. She looked up and smiled, motioning for me to sit down.

“Alright Trinity, it says here on your application that you are hoping for this to be your first job, tell me why that is.”
“I’ve recently become very interested in fashion, and retail experience wouldn’t hurt. I want to open up a small boutique when I’m older so the experience I gain here would be invaluable.” She looked pleased with the answer and wrote something down on her clipboard.
“Are you still in school? Your application states that you’re sixteen.”
“I’m currently in school; I’ll be starting my junior year at Huntington Beach High in September. This school year ends on Monday.”
“So you’re looking for a summer job more than anything.”
“A summer job, then some part time after school work during the year.”
“Alright, well it looks like we’ve got a position open in the shoe department, it’s Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3 to closing, and we’d start you off at 9.50 an hour. How does that sound?” I grinned at her and nodded,
“That would be amazing.”
“Alright then, we’ll see you on Tuesday, come in at about 2 so we can get all your paperwork finished and get you your key card and everything.” She stood up and held out her hand, I shook it firmly and smiled at her,
“Thank you for coming on Trinity, we’ll see you on Tuesday.”
“Yes ma’am, thank you so much.” I walked out of her office and dug through my purse for my phone, hitting Kat’s speed dial and holding the small device to my ear,

“I’m at the food court by Taco Bell.”
“Ok, I’ll meet you over there.” Ten minutes later and I spotted Kat at a table munching on a taco. I grinned and shook my head, she was freaking obsessed with those things. No seriously, she eats soft tacos from Taco Bell like six times a week. I went and sat down across from her, she quirked an eyebrow at me, silently asking if I had gotten the job. I grinned, nodded, and stole one of her tacos.
“Kid, if anyone else had done that I would’ve detached their hand, but since it’s you, I think I’ll let it slide.” She griped, obviously upset that I had taken one of her precious tacos. I grinned and finished it off before getting up and pulling her out of the crappy plastic chair,
“I need to get home, dad needed to talk to me remember?” She nodded and sighed, grabbing the last taco and eating it as we walked to the car. Twenty minutes, one speeding ticket, and three almost accidents later and we were pulling into the driveway. I looked at her and blinked,
“You are a very bad driver, you know that?” She nodded is satisfaction,
“Yes, I’m aware of that fact.” I laughed and got out of the car, skipping into the house to find my dad. Ten minutes of searching this way too damn big house later, and I found him sitting in the living room with Blaike and her parents. I slowed down and sat next to my friend on the couch, looking at my dad in confusion.

“Trin, you know how Blaike is moving to Phoenix in a few days?” I nodded, we had been spending every minute together with our friends, Forgotten Memories had even been dismantled until we turned 18.
“Well I’ve been talking to Blaike’s parents, and we’ve come up with a solution. Blaike will live with us Monday through Friday during the school year, and spend three weeks here during the summer.” Blaike and I looked at each other in complete shock before squealing and jumping on my dad,

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” We each planted a kiss on his cheek before hugging Blaike’s parents and running upstairs to call everyone. Twenty minutes, various ear piercing screams, and a promise to meet up later and Blaike’s parents came upstairs to collect their daughter, apparently she had to finish packing. I smiled as I sat on my bed, my life was good. I got a job, Blaike was kind of staying, and my boyfriend was amazing. Little did I know that someone was going to come along to ruin everything.