The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #9 -- “Baggage”

I can feel it now. The mixed reactions of my being number one contender. There will be those that fully support me, love me and believe in me, but everyone else... well...

There will be those that tell me that I have already been here. Several times. Faced off against Fenris, twice and lost. Twice I was in a ring with my opponent this week, and once again, lost. They will tell me how nothing has changed. That just because I beat a man that let social media bother him to the point of distraction does not mean I am ready to carry the mantle of champion.

Others will say that I will be distracted myself since Senor Vinnie is now my uncle by marriage. That I will be too focused on making a good impression or not upsetting my aunt.

And the last are just the people who have never liked me regardless and take pleasure in my series of missteps. People that only pay attention to the things that suit their arguments without actual proof to back them up. But I digress.

It is not my responsibility to prove my doubters wrong. That was why I failed. I put this responsibility on my own shoulders and eventually I broke down with the weight of it. It's happened twice and the second time I let it drag me down the same way as the first. But this time, this third time, I am not carrying anybody's baggage. Not even my own.

Luggage is meant to be stored and only brought out on trips, not something you carry around constantly. So, I unpacked my luggage. Yeah there was some items that were broken beyond repair. That's going to happen but most of it, I found a place for. Not forgotten by any means but definitely not shoved in a pack, putting weight on my back. Everyone saw what I did out there, despite my own personal turmoil. I still went out there and did what I needed to do. I proved every word I said about Jake Raab was true and I really hope that instead of being bitter and putting it all in his luggage, he unpacks it and uses it to move forward. Just like I hope Austin is not coming into this match with his loss to Vinnie in his.

I am in no way demeaning Austin's accomplishments. My god, this is the man who took out Fenris. A man that until he faced Austin, had zero losses. I know I've already said this before but it's worth noting again. This man has also held the Heavyweight title for 154 days.

Thanks Mercedes! *Wink, wink*

That is roughly five months. Five months! That is nothing to scoff at. It deserves respect and I humbly offer that. I have no reason to come at him like I did Jake. Austin has always been completely honest. He respects me as a competitor, but I am a competitor and if he didn't feel like he had what it took to take me down again he would have no business being here. Just like despite all the praise I give, I fully believe that this is my match to win. Not because Austin isn't qualified. Or that he's distracted or emotional. Nothing to do with him losing to Vinnie either. It has less to do with him and more to do with where I am right now.

See despite all the confidence I have put on the screen in the past when going up against a champion, deep down I was afraid. Afraid of what another loss was going to do to me. How it might just be the one that breaks my back, figuratively speaking. I know I am not someone that has been trained to do this since I was young. I started three years ago. My agent at the time got this bright idea to turn my childhood love of wrestling and my martial arts background into something profitable. In his mind it was just another acting job. He wasn't concerned about what I wanted, only what wasn't going to make him money.

It was part of that baggage I unpacked not too long ago. So when my contract with his agency officially expired last month, we both agreed it was mutually beneficial to go our separate ways. The freedom to not have anyone making my decisions anymore was liberating.  It was like I woke up and knew what it was like to breathe real air and see the real sunlight.

Dramatic... I know...

But you get the point right? I had this part of me that had been locked away, just... released. I am in charge now and I am making decisions that I want. And I want to win against every man I have faced and lost too. I want to cross them off this list and know for certain that I was holding myself back in every single one of those matches because of the heavy baggage I carried. And that, is why Austin should be worried.

He beat the version of myself that let things hinder his ability, and if that version was only narrowly beaten, then how is he going to fair against Ty Unleashed? A Ty West that has absolutely everything to live for now. That has been constantly slipping off that final rung of the ladder, only to have to start again at the bottom. I am not falling again. I am not being weighed down and dragged back to the bottom any longer. I am ready to keep climbing until I am the man on top. Where I should have been against Fenris. Where I should have been against Vinnie. Where I should have been against Austin. I know that this match is for essentially bragging rights only, but to me it has so much more meaning.

Austin, you know for the last little while I have been so envious of you. Not jealous. Envious. You had it all. The title. A good group of supporters and a family. I wanted all of that for myself too. I thought that some of those things just couldn't happen for me. I let my envy start turning into a deep seeded hatred, but not for you buddy, but for myself. It was then I knew it was time to stop shoving it all deep down and pretending it wasn't eating away at me. Courage is not bravery. We often get that confused. Courage is the ability to be vulnerable and to stand up even when the world is crumbling around you. I stood up Austin. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and you know what? I learned that being brave isn't about not showing everyone what's going on, it's about taking ownership of the things that could hurt you and continuing on with them. It's not about demolition, it's about incorporating them into the existing structures and buildings around them.

I have risen from the destruction and started to rebuild. I am using my rubble to build something else. Not new per say, it's still the same buildings just put back together differently. These buildings will stand taller, be stronger.

I am the building that fell in the rain but now I am the structure that will withstand any storm.

***

Ty West only had a few days at home before he had to fly to Aruba. This time however it would be without his niece. While the family was on board the Sun Princess, word had arrived from the Canadian Children's Aid Service (Americans know it as Child Protection Services) that Ty had officially been given full custody of Evan Lee Caron. It was the first step to formal adoption which, from what his lawyer had said, could take up to eighteen months to be finalized. For now though, Ty was happy just to legally be her caregiver. So of course this meant that he was responsible for making sure she was fully set up in school.

Twin Lakes Elementary was a newer school. Red brick with a blue roof. Ty put a hand gently on Evan's back to guide her towards the door but she stiffened.

"What's wrong? Are you nervous about not having friends?"

Evan smirks and rolls her eyes. "Uncle Ty, I didn't have any friends at my old school. I was the weird hyper kid who wore wigs."

Ty feels a pang of something. Sympathy maybe? He wasn't sure. Evan had felt isolated her whole life because of her differences.

"Then what's the issue?"

She looks up at him. "What if the American school system isn't as advanced as the Canadian one and not only will I be the weird hyper kid that wears wigs but also the kid who knows it all too. People definitely do not want to be friends with the brainer kid."

Ty turns her and crouches down so that they are eye to eye.

"I really don't know. You know I was homeschooled. I never went to a public school. What I know, I have learned from other people. But what I do know is that anyone that can't accept you for everything you are, doesn't deserve to be your friend at all anyway."

Evan looks at him a minute before laughing. Ty couldn't help thinking that she really was like Jan.

"Oh Uncle Ty... you really are a boy scout." She smiles. "But I know what you mean. And that's good to say but that doesn't mean the other kids care too much."

"I wish I had all the answers..."

Ty suddenly feels that same pressure from before. That maybe he wasn't good enough to be her parent. Then she puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to have the answers. You just gotta be there. And you are."

She then takes a step back and adjusts the pretty blue wig she had decided to wear today. Ty stands and they head to the office. Of course there were a lot of questions from the principal about her parents and what level she was at in her education and when her ADHD came up the good natured smile faded away.

"Is she medicated? You know that there are special schools that are better equipped for children with her..."

Ty sighs heavily, shaking his head. "Disability? We don't look at it like that. It's not a disability, it's just a difference. She just learns things differently but that doesn't mean she is in any way not as smart as other ten year olds."

He looks out the glass window of the man's office to where he could see Evan. She had put on her noise cancelling headphones and pulled out a notebook. She liked to doodle and some of them were actually quite good.

"She is on medication but even if she wasn't it in no way means she should be treated like she's got an incurable disease. Evan gets A's and B's."

The principal looks skeptical. "In Canada maybe but here in the United States..."

Ty cuts him off. "From the research I did quickly on my phone while waiting for you, it says that Canada's Elementary education is actually ranked 3rd, just under the United States, so don't try to tell me that we are superior. In fact Canada placed 3rd on the world scale for best country, compared to us at number eight. So, don't use that card on me, please. What I was trying to get at was, Evan is smart, and all she needs are the tools to help her."

The Principal doesn't know how to respond so simply nods his head in agreement.

"Good.  For the next few weeks, Evan's caregiver Analise will be caring for her while I travel for work. It's all in the paperwork you had me fill out. I hope that if there are any issues you can call me directly to deal with them."

"Of course Mr. West. I'm sure Evan will fit in well here."

"I hope so, Principal Radbury. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Ty offers his hand to the man who is obviously very intimidated by him. Mr. Radbury then hands Ty a paper with all of Evan's class information and uses an intercom to call down another student to bring Evan to class.

Ty exits, sitting next to his niece.

"So, did he try to tell you I should be locked up like a crazy person?"

She doesn't stop doodling or look up at him when she speaks.

"More or less..." Ty says honestly.

Evan nods her head. "I'm not surprised. A lot of people assume I must be dumb. They way Gran explained it was that my brain just moves faster than everyone else so I don't know how to stop and work out all the little details. The pills help me work on those little details."

Ty nods. He was often blown away by the level of intelligence that Evan had. She struggled with literacy but yet was so intuitive about the world around her. It almost felt contradictory.

A young girl, Evan's age, enters the office and walks toward them.

"Are you Evan?"

The girl seemed bubbly and friendly to Ty but it could have been a clever disguise. Children were good at deceiving adults yet were monsters to each other.

Evan looks up at the blonde girl and nods

"My name is Paige Knightley. I'm in your class. I'm going to show you around today."

Evan stands, grabbing her backpack and starting to walk away.

"Hey, kid..." Ty yells,after her. Evan looks over her shoulder. "You got this..."

Evan gives him a smile. "So do you... Dad..."

She winks and walks next to the girl who has started chatting Evan's ear off. Ty fights back a tear in his eye. After he had talked to Jan on the ship, he had decided to move forward with the formal adoption, and then every once in awhile since, Evan had thrown in a 'Dad' during conversations. He had so much pride seeing her. He may not ever have biological children, but Evan was everything he ever needed.

Once she's gone, he leaves barely making it to Lora's car before he tears up.

 The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #6 -- “Is this a Storm front?”

The camera opens up to a grey sky, it looks foreboding as if a storm is going to be rolling in. It’s not clear where this is as the sky is the only thing that can be seen in the camera, that is until the face of the SCW Boyscout himself appears.

“Nasty storm coming in...”

He looks behind his shoulder and then back to the camera.

“In the past, I have underestimated Caleb Storms and I would apologize for that, but you see, for all the good work he did or has done lately, he’s let it all go to absolute dog shit because of his big mouth and lack of any sort of tact. Regardless of if you agree with someone being worthy of your respect, you don’t say shit that’s going to get you in a lion’s den match or an MMA match against someone that is an MMA master. Just as an example. And I know that Caleb is going to talk about our 4 way battle for the Heavyweight title and how I didn’t win. How I ended up out due to a kick to the head from my sweetie. I don’t deny that. Fen has a wicked kick. It’s his signature move. There’s a reason why it has taken out a lot of the roster. But here’s the ‘kicker’

He smirks as he uses quote fingers.

“At least I didn’t get pinned in that match. And at least I wasn’t stupid enough to say “Thank god” on twitter when the person who lost is very volatile and especially aggressive. People who do proper research would know this, but I get it. A guy like Caleb STorms doesn’t need to research because once upon a time he used to hold the Roulette championship. And even though he is easily distracted and only had that championship as a result of a distraction and has failed to regain that championship since then.  I don’t have to resort to below the belt insults. The proof is in tapes up in the offices of SCW. Feel free to review them at any time.”

He sighs heavily.

“I want to give Caleb the benefit of the doubt that he’s going to come at me with something new. Some real hard-hitting commentary about this match but based on what I have seen, even in the year and a bit I’ve been here... that might be expecting too much. I know he’ll try and give it all he has and I can appreciate that, but in the end, Caleb Storms has never been able to pin my shoulders to the matt for a three count and he probably never will. That may sound arrogant, but it’s the truth and sometimes the truth hurts.”

He offers a shrug.

“He should keep aiming for the Roulette title. Instead, he issued an open challenge and the only stipulation was “Anyone not named Fenris...” Well, he should have been a little more selective but those are just fighting words. I know that Fen doesn’t need me or anyone else to defend him (although he does like it when I do it...)

He winks.

“But when you issue an open challenge you have to expect that anyone that has any sort of issue is going to step up. It’s almost an insult though too. I mean, you seem to think that Fen is the only one worthy of beating you. I’m going to do it once again, just to make sure you add me to that list of people you don’t want to face. Consider it a debt paid.”

“And you know what Caleb, a bit of honesty here, for a long time I was adamant about not facing you again. So I can understand why you feel that way about facing Fenris. You have been across a ring from him a lot lately. That was just like being publicly flogged for your little twitter faux pas. Also if you think Fen is done holding a grudge you’d be wrong. He doesn't let anything go so you’re not off the hook just because you’re facing me this week and not Fen again.”

He chuckles.

“But back to the subject at hand. You and I facing this week. See when you get in front of a camera to do a promo what you think other people see is this...”

He points to the dark clouds behind him.

“But I’m not scared by a little drizzle. I’m not underestimating you at all Caleb. All of us here in SCW have seen what you’re about, so in fact, it’s exactimating what you can do. I know your moves. I know what you do when you are in panic mode. I know what you say when you are angry when you are being cocky when you’re scared. That’s how many times I have had to get in front of this camera and talk about you. How many times I have come down that ramp and seen you waiting for me. But I figured why not give you one more chance. One more match to prove that you are as good as you claim to be. That you are worthy of being a champion again. I do not doubt that if you can put me away on Sunday, you’ll be a damn good Roulette candidate. Honestly, it’s not up to me when or if you get a shot, but if you pin me, Caleb, I’ll put in a good word for you. So let that be the motivation you need to be just that much better. We’ll see if it works.”

He nods his head with a smile as a streak of lightning lights up the sky and the corresponding boom of thunder leads to the screen going black.

***
Off Camera

Ty West is breathing heavy, his brow is damp with sweat and red. He lets out a breath of air. He huffs a little and keeps doing whatever it is.

“Come on. I”m going to beat you...”

The camera pans to the left to see the equally red and sweaty brow of his Aunt, Nurse Valora West (Soon to be Rodriquez)

“I don’t think so...”

It’s still not seen what the aunt and nephew are up to until a younger female voice interrupts.

“When can I get a chance to play the Wii?”

As the camera pans out, it can now be seen that two of them have challenged each other in Wii Dance. Wiimotes in hand, they are both frantically trying to keep up with the dancers on the screen while a bored-looking Evan Caron rolls her eyes from the sofa.

“After this sweetie, I just gotta beat Auntie...”

Based on the scores on the screen, Valora was leading by several hundred points. She was, after all, an accomplished dancer.

“Ah, my sweet senorita is a very good dancer, it is no wonder she will beat you, Senor Ty.”

From the kitchen of the West household appears the fiance of Valora, Senor Vinnie (a.k.a. Vinnie Rodriquez) He is carrying two bowls, one of homemade pico de gallo and another of chips, also homemade.

“Sweet Senorita, you copied my Mama’s recipes exactly. I feel like a young boy again back in Tijuana!”

He takes a long inhale of the salsa, closing his eyes. Evan’s eyes light up and she takes the bowls from Vinnie and immediately starts to dig in. Although Evan had texture issues when it came to food, she had accepted everything Valora had made since she arrived two weeks ago.  On the table, was a notice. It said that Ty had been granted temporary custody of Evan until a decision was officially made regarding adoption. Ty was still thinking about it.

Vinnie, being nosey as he was, saw the paper and pulled it up off the table, just barely saving it from a glob of salsa that dripped off Evan’s too full chip.

“Only Temporary custody, senor? Valora said you were going to adopt the niña?”

This stops Ty immediately from playing with Valora and he turns, a scowl on his fact to look at the man he had not just a bit of contempt for.

“It’s not any of your business Vinnie. Stay out of it.”

Vinnie shrugs, sitting down beside Evan but not letting the subject go.

“But I still wonder why you do not just formally adopt her...”

Ty sighs agitated already by the fact that Vinnie was here in his home. He still did not trust the man and was even more wary of him after the very public proposal that his aunt accepted without question. Even more, the shock had befuddled him when they announced they were getting married at SummerExxtreme in only a few short weeks.

“Because Fen doesn’t want kids...” He blurted it out but then his face softened and showed sadness at the thought. Ty had always envisioned himself with kids but if he wanted kids, he couldn’t have that future with Fen and a future without Fen seemed to be worse than no kids. But his niece needed someone. Uncle Jesse wasn’t capable of really wanting to take over that responsibility. It was his responsibility. He couldn’t send her back to Jesse when his solution was to hire her a companion. With Evan’s ADHD she needed to have someone with her. She wasn’t as mature as other twelve-year-olds. She also needed role models. A normal life. Something she hadn’t gotten. His grandparents had done their best, but they were older. NOt able to give her the things she needed, especially with a learning disability and now that they were moving on to a long term care facility there were no other options.

Valora puts the remove down and Evan jumps up, immediately grabbing it and scanning through the song list. Valora puts a hand on Ty’s shoulder as he sinks into a chair.  

“Vin... I don’t think it’s your place...”

Vinnie shakes his head with insistence.

“We are family now. I know that you still do not trust me Senor, but I want to prove it to you. When it comes to your aunt I will do whatever it takes to make sure she is taken care off. I have never married, never found my one true love. I think it’s because I was destined to wait for your dear sweet auntie.”

Valora blushes and Vinnie winks at her.
“Then what do you propose I do Vinnie?” His words are angry though, almost spiteful.

Vinnie doesn’t even stop to think and just blurts it out.

“Valora and I will adopt Nina.”

Ty and Valora look at him slowly, as if he had lost his mind entirely.

“Vinnie...” Valora looks confused.

“It’s not like either of us can have children now in our older ages. Your body is no longer able and I... let’s just say that it would not be possible for me as well. Besides I do not think I could deal with a baby and diapers...”

Valora nods her head. She wasn’t keen on the idea of having a baby at forty-two years old.

“But we could give Evan everything she needs. A home, two parents. A family. Support for her disability. And she knows us.”

Ty looks at Evan, seemingly oblivious to the conversation as she moves with the flexibility of youth to the moves on the screen. He then looks back to his aunt and future ‘uncle’.

“You’re serious about this? You know that it’s a huge responsibility. You can’t just lie to her when you want something. You can’t lie your way out of things, she deserves better than that...”

Vinnie’s face is completely serious. “This I know. I have not lied to either of you since our incident. I would not lie to the child.”

Valora, finally adds her bit to it.

“I love Evan. And I know that this situation is not easy for you Ty... But you can’t lose Fen. He’s your everything and in all honesty, what kind of Dad could you be to her? You’re barely an adult yourself...”

Ty stares at her with surprise.

“I love you. You know I do. But with how your life is, how much you love Kristjan, do you want to let that go so that you can take care of her? I know you feel responsible but look at what it did for your mom? For me? Your aunt in Japan... We all sacrificed for you. Now none of us regret that, but you are not like us that way. You have always aspired to be more.”

She sits in the seat formally occupied by Evan and pats Ty’s arm.

“How about this, I will petition to adopt Evan and Vinnie can earn your trust before we agree to let him also adopt her. Is that acceptable? I mean it’s not like you are going to lose her. She’ll be here until Vinnie and I find a home together. She’s going to be in Vegas. You can still see her and spend time with her. Isn’t that a better solution?”

He was still slightly insulted that his Aunt didn’t think he was mature enough to be a father but on the other hand, he knew she was right. The way he did things, how he looked at life, his profession... all those things made it possible that he would be away for long periods. He could get injured, sick just from what he did. And Valora was right, it wasn’t like he was going to lose her in his life.

“Can I think about it?”

Both Vinnie and Lora nodded. Ty saw a spark of something in Vinnie. Something he hadn’t seen before and he saw it when he looked at Lora. He genuinely loved his aunt. He grabs Valora’s hand, bringing it up to his mouth to brush his lips along her knuckles. Maybe he had changed? Ty was still uncertain, not just about Vinnie but about everything. He still felt like it was his obligation to take care of Evan. Evan was still playing the game and when it was over she turned, looked at the three adults and smiled.

“I beat you both. So there. Oh and, it doesn’t matter to me if you or auntie Valora adopts me, I just want to stay here with all of you.”

She then turns back to the TV to do another song and Ty was once again amazed at the way that Evan could pick up on things and act more mature than anyone else in the room. Even if it was rare for her to show that. It was like with Autism and how high functioning individuals seemed to be more advanced in some areas but social interactions were where they struggled. Evan lacked Tact. He found it eerily similar to his opponent on Sunday. Maybe Caleb STorms had some mild social interaction disability that he hadn’t been formally diagnosed with. Either way, he meant what he said. He truly hoped that Caleb pushed a little harder this week.

 Off Camera:

“This is a bad idea...”

Jack slides into the driver's seat of his Tesla S6 with reluctance. Getting into the passenger seat is Emmie Ward, his new partner in the SCW tag division. She’s dressed to the nines including a short black dress with a very long, revealing neckline. As beautiful as she was, Jack had zero interest in the girl romantically. Whether it was due to the fact that he was still firmly attached to Calia, his ex-girlfriend, who left him while he was at a match, or that he saw her as something nonsexual based on their partnership, he didn’t feel even a twinge of anything for her. Not even real friendship at this point because deep down he was still holding a grudge over her interfering with a match he had been guaranteed to win.

“No, it’s not. What’s the worst that could happen?”

He brings the car to life and starts to back out of the driveway.

“I could be completely humiliated.”

Emmie nods her head in agreement. “Yes.. you could... but what is life if not full of humiliation right? It’s just things we can learn from.”

She had picked out his outfit tonight. A black dress shirt with a pair of dark denim jeans. He never wore jeans. In fact, she had bought them on his behalf and when he had been presented with the clothing she had given him no choice but to wear them.  He wanted to stay on a good wavelength with his future co-champion. She was the answer to ending the humiliation he had recently suffered in SCW.

“Sure. If that’s what you say. I learned from Calia leaving me that I should never trust females....”

He raises an eyebrow at her as they head toward the gate that exits his community in Kyle Canyon Nevada. Not that far outside the city core of Las Vegas.

“But yet here you are, trusting me...” she smiles smugly and he sighs deeply.

“No one said I trusted you.”

She only laughs. She laughed a lot at what he said and it unnerved him. No matter what he did or said to her, she had not given up on her quest to have him be her tag partner, despite everyone telling her she was nuts. Maybe it was because she was British. Maybe it was just a personality flaw. Either way, he found himself in a position where he really had no other options. He had been told that if he didn’t at least try this opportunity that he may not have a contract to resign when he was finished and that was not something he wanted to gamble with. So here he was, reluctant but yet it seemed to not be as bad as he imagined it would be, not that he was going to let Emmie know that he had accepted his fate, nor that it was exactly as horrible as he pretended it was.

When they arrive at the club that Emmie had suggested, he feels more uncomfortable and out of place than he ever had in his adult life. On top of that, he had worries. Emmie was still underage despite her growing up in a culture where age was basically irrelevant. Yet, her fake ID got her into everywhere she went without any issues. Tonight was no different. Her low neckline was her golden ticket and the way she clung to his arm had the bouncer believing that he was her boyfriend, allowing them both entry ahead of the long line of clubgoers who groaned at the acceptance. Once inside though, Emmie immediately lets go of his arm and beelines it for the bar to order.

Jack was not a fan of club life. Emmie had tried to say it was because he was too stuffy but to be honest, he had met Calia basically right out of high school. Even though there was an age difference and there were a few years before they were official, he still only ever had eyes for her. And his friends were all people that were in the same social circles as his parents. His friends would have called something like this “slumming it” and then laughed about how it was fun to pretend to be poor.

Emmie returns to where he is standing with an odd look on her face.

“Why are you just standing around looking like a wanker. Get a table.”

Feeling completely dumb he looks until he finds a two-seater and sits, and then wipes his hand on his pants when the grease from its surface makes his hands feel slippery.

“Disgusting...”

Emmie is back with his beer and she had something that was blue, with a paper umbrella.

“Are you sure you should be...”

She shushes him. “Don’t you dare say a word. It’s not like I’m in a club every night or anything but I do not want to be on any radars, you get me? Besides, we’re here for you, not me. I don’t have this need to not be single.”

“I like being single too thank you very much.”

“Really? Are we being serious because the last few weeks every other word has been Calia this and Calia that? Calia is a brat. Calia can’t handle real life and so she never would have actually committed to you. You know that right? She did more for that bloody dog than she did you. The Dog made her bio on Twitter, not you. Let it go, she’s not worth it. And she definitely doesn’t deserve you. You treated her like a queen and that wasn’t good enough to even break up with you in person. Find someone else. Even if it’s just some fling. Get her out of your system and move on. I really think that this is affecting how you are in a ring because ever since Calia skipped out, you have been shitty. You get me?”

It was blunt but she wasn’t wrong either. It was the same thing that Bobbie Dahl had been saying too. A woman that he thought of as more of a wart on his ass then a friend but he couldn’t get rid of it right away so he had to do slow treatments until it was gone.

“Yeah.”

He was not intending to take anyone home tonight. He wasn’t even going to act remotely interested. He was here just to appease his tag partner. Emmie thought that most women liked to try and steal a guy from a girl that was prettier than they were, so if they were seen together than women would be all over him because they would think he was taken.

Jack didn’t believe that theory, and none of the women in this club were looking his way at all.

“That one... the redhead... what do you think?”

Jack looks up and from the bar, a decent looking woman with red hair obviously from a box winks at him. She was also old enough to be his mother, a detail that Emmie didn’t see apparently.

“Not into Cougars.”

Emmie pouts as Jack looks away, much to the disappointment of the woman sipping a martini.

“What about that girl?” Emmie nods toward a bookish looking brunette who looked nervous to be there until her friend, done up in an outfit much like Emmie’s appeared and the bookworm’s eyes lit up.

“She’s clearly in love with her best friend who brought her here.” Jack retorts. Emmie seems surprised. For a man that seemed very uninterested in others, he took in details that she wouldn’t have seen. She supposed it was the lawyer in him. Her mother was the same way.

They are there at least another twenty minutes before a guy comes to the table to ask Emmie to dance. She asks if Jack minds but he shrugs. She leaves. When Jack had asked her about her comment to Griff weeks ago she had responded that she had no idea which way she swung only that she knew she was not into Jack and the easiest way to get people off that scent of them being together was to say she was into women exclusively. Jack chalked it up to being young and wanting to explore all her options, not that there was anything wrong with that.

The fact that he and Calia had never slept together in the two years they were officially together shocked people. They shared a bed. She slept over. He was going to ask her to marry him, yet they had never had sex. Not once. Not even anything extra. It had been nothing but kissing. And he realized now that anyone else would have thought him a fool. Two years with her outright refusal to sleep with him but yet she willingly accepted his gifts, his trips to Mexico and Bali. He had paid for her spa weekends and pedicures. Hair appointments...

A light bulb went off in his head and his anger caused him to slam his fist down on the table. He finally realized that this whole time, Calia had been using him for his money. She had never loved him, but he had been so blinded by his love for her that he hadn’t even thought twice.

He stands and walks to the bar where he drops a large tip in the bartender's jar and then scans the dancefloor for his friend. She’s dancing in a crowd of men all looking thirsty for her looks. Staring at her cleavage and her ass in the tight dress. He still didn’t feel anything remotely sexual towards his partner, she was like a Ken doll to him, but what he wouldn’t tolerate was a bunch of strange men putting their greasy hands on her like she was just some object to fondle.

He didn’t think that she wasn't able to defend herself. He had just grown up thinking that it was a man’s duty to take care of a woman, so when the man in front of her reaches over to grasp her ass he reacted. He pulls the man away with a determined look.

“Hey... That’s impolite...” Jack responds. The man laughs.

“What are you? Her keeper?”

Jack shrugs. “No, but no man should act like a woman is an object.”

The groper is clenching his fists.

“Jack, it’s alright. We’ll just go.” Emmie puts a hand on his wrist.

He wants to respect her but he’s in this mood now and to him, Emmie was worth more than just another cheap women in this club. She was better. She was going to be a champion with him and that deserved respect. By letting this slimeball get away with it, it demeaned her.

“I think that this guy owes you an apology.”

The man laughs. He is a typical greasy slimeball. His hair gelled back, wearing clothes not all that dissimilar to his own. And in all honesty, he had the same sort of arrogance that screamed that he came from a family where he was allowed to look down on women as if they were objects.

“She shouldn’t come in here looking like that if she wants to be treated with respect.”

It was enough for Jack. He saw red and next thing he knew, he was laying punch after punch into the man while the guy covered his head with his forearms. He was trying to get away but Jack was holding tight. It took Emmie pulling him away for him to come back to reality. The bouncers were coming over and Emmie rushed forward to explain and then was pulling a bewildered-looking Jack toward the parking lot.

In his state, not even drunk, he couldn’t drive so Emmie ordered an uber and they waited on the curb.

“I’ll get your car home tomorrow. I can get my poppy to drop me off,” she says but Jack isn’t even listening. All he can think about was that he was quick to defend Emmie’s honor, not realizing that he probably embarrassed her and himself.

“I'm sorry.”

They were words that Emmie had not ever expected to hear from Jack Asher’s mouth.

“I should have let you defend yourself. It’s not like you are incapable of doing so...”

She smiles and pats his shoulder. “It’s fine Jack. You know, sometimes it’s nice to have someone willing to step up. It’s been a while since I felt important to someone other than my family.”

He knew that Emmie was not holding onto a V card like he was but it had been a bit of time since she had been dating anyone.

“I still...”

She shushes him. “It’s fine. Really. I'm not mad. Actually, after seeing how listless you have become, it was kinda nice to see some fire in your eyes again. That’s the Jack that I wanted to be my tag partner and I saw him tonight. I don't know what lit it, but you gotta keep that up if you wanna beat the fire dragons next Sunday.”

He wasn’t one to talk about his feelings. In his house, they had grown up keeping everything close to the chest but he felt comfortable with Emmie in a way he couldn’t explain.

“I was thinking about Calia.”

She rolls her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

“No. I mean that I finally get it. She never loved me. I hate to quantify love based on sex but in the two years, we dated she always found excuses not to go through with it. But she had no issues having me pay for things. No issues with me spoiling her. I know that those things shouldn’t be paid for with sex but still... After two years...”

She doesn’t remove her hand from his shoulder, only now she squeezes it.

“I honestly am not all the concerned with sex considering that I have nothing to compare it too but... I dunno. It sounds so terribly contrite...”

Emmie shakes her head. “No. It doesn’t. I get what you mean. After two years, there should have been some want for her to be intimate with you. You bent over backward for her and she didn’t do anything in return. And the way she left... It’s just so... she’s a cunt, Jack.”

“Woah...”

Emmie sighs. “Cunt is not as harsh a word where I’m from as it is here but you get it right? She was a boob... a fool... a spoiled brat. Even you deserve better than that...”

“Gee thanks...”

“There is going to be someone out there that gets you and is okay with the way you are. Bloody hell, if there are people willing to love some of the biggest arseholes on the planet than I am sure there is someone out there for you too. We just gotta find her. But you can’t find her by sitting in that lounger all day fixing up fictional houses..”

House flipper had become his new obsession and she wasn’t wrong. He was introverted by nature but the last few weeks had been pretty bad.

“Maybe clubs just aren’t the right place to find her.”

Jack tipped the uber driver heavily after he dropped him off, but not before he had insisted that he drop Emmie off first at her grandparents. His house was quiet and lonely and it now sunk in how he actually hated being alone in it.

He kept trying to convince himself that he saw nothing sexual in Emmie but after tonight he started to wonder if maybe that was just his safety barrier. Not to get too close in case she left him just like Calia did, but Emmie had made it pretty damn clear that she was not going to mess up their partnership by pursuing a romantic relationship with him and he had to respect that.

Bobbie had sent him a screenshot of a dating app that she highly recommended so with a sigh, he sighed himself up. He didn’t like any of the suggestions and after an hour, he closed his phone and headed to bed. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t need anyone, but deep down, he knew that was a lie. He did need someone but maybe it wasn't someone like Calia.

***
Promo:

Promos posted by Jack Asher were never anything spectacular. They were always direct and to the point. Much like Jack. He didn't like to mince words. It was both an asset and a weakness. Regardless, Jack had taken his regular spot, facing the camera with an unrecognizable white background.

"I’m not going to be nice like my partner and talk about how much I respect you guys or that you deserve this based on your work in SCU. I don’t care about what you did in SCU and in fact, you two don’t even deserve this opportunity because you are only signed to the SCW roster for this opportunity. That is my opinion and nothing either of you says will change that. I will say that about anyone that comes in from SCU thinking they have what it takes to be here. Because honestly, if you were good enough to come to play with us, you would have been given contracts here to begin with, Not because SCW needs more tag teams."

He seems unimpressed.

"It was so nice of Mark and Christian to give them this little bone, little good it will do them though."

He leans into the camera more, his arrogant smile plastered across his face.

"I know what you're thinking though. That somehow because you have been a team longer (and not by much longer mind you) that it somehow gives you an advantage. Or that maybe because my last couple times in a ring has led to my defeat that it once again will make this easy for you. The difference is that in our last match with Amy and Vinnie, I wasn’t in the right place. I was giving up because I had no faith in my partner, that’s different now. I have had the chance to connect with Emmie. We have worked together so that we are a well-oiled machine."

"Culture shock. A clever little name if you think about it."

He places his chin on his hand, giving a mocking smile. Still very much full of the arrogance he was proud of.

"Considering that we both come from different worlds, different cultures. She grew up low to middle class in London, England. Her parents could barely rub two coins together but yet I grew up never wanting for anything. Never knowing what it was like to have to struggle. I have never denied my easy upbringing, but I will tell you, having money doesn't make everything easier."

He stops, as if a memory suddenly surfaced and then just as quickly as it had arrived, it was gone and he continued.

"Both lifestyles are so contrasted and a shock to each other. Hence the name. I think it’s ingenious. Far more clever than Fire Dragons. Neither of you look like dragons. And if the fire is meant to be about your determination and ‘fire’ to be champions I'm afraid it falls a little short."

He sighs heavily, obviously annoyed at Mark's comments on twitter.

"Oh, I know... My partner is only 5’2 but at least she doesn’t look like she’s twelve in mom's heels... height doesn't make you better, just gives you a false sense of security because you're not able to see the ground. By the way, she needs to eat more, she's way too thin."

He shrugs.

"Valentina is a former champion. Congrats..."

He adds an eye roll to show once again how unimpressed he is.

"...even if I am the only one that actually remembers that she did hold a championship at one point. A championship that she has yet to regain by the way, despite all the times she has attempted it.  Your heart's in the right place but you just aren’t good enough right?"

He says the last bit in an obviously put on 'sweet voice'

"Kinda like Ty West who probably should be in SCU with you guys. He could probably sweep you all, since he’s unable to do it here. Just sad really... such potential and he throws it all away and threatens to leave every time he loses a big match, not to mention that he always seems to take a ‘vacation’ when times are rough. But you guys aren’t like that guy right?"

The arrogant smirk returns, showing that the last part is sarcastic.

"I mean Mark here quit after losing a superbowl. Guess we should all be thankful he hasn't left this to be a pilates coach... you know, for 'exercise'. Wrestling has never been just some side job for me. I didn't fail at some other career choice and take up wrestling as a hobby. I have always been one hundred percent about this. Hence, why I am dragging with finishing my law degree. Now that's just a hobby."

He offers a wink.

"Despite that... I'm afraid you guys just don’t have the right stuff to be tag champions in SCW. You’re not tag champions in SCU either so what makes you think you can cut it out here? I’m not confident about that.  You guys are like a whetstone. A team we can sharpen our teeth on to prepare for teams that will actually give us some real competition.  Oh.... and Team Eggplant too because I hear they’re going to come back after failing to make an impact in Singles. At least I own up the fact that Lachlan beat me. I shouldn’t have been distracted by anyone on the other side, he couldn’t win without me being distracted either and when push came to shove, he lost against Griffin. So not exactly shaking in my boots when it comes to that guy."

He offers a chuckle.

"There is nothing wrong with having confidence if you can admit when you have failed. I don’t see anyone else doing that. There is always excuses. Emmie was the reason I got distracted but it was still my fault I got distracted. I let my personal life get in the way of something I wanted and that is something I needed to work on but that doesn’t change the fact that I know how good in a ring I am. Losing doesn’t mean you’re not good enough because everyone loses sometimes."

He taps his chin.

"However... when you can’t at least provide some concrete evidence you can hang... how exactly am I supposed to take your words seriously? Stuff from before SCU? I care about as little about that as everyone else in this company cares about what I did to get here. I put my hand in the fire for a chance at a title I didn’t even want because that’s how seriously I take this job.No one seems to remember that. Can either of you say the same? Would you walk through fire to be the best? I mean you call yourselves the FIRE dragons. What fire do you have? What fire are you willing to live through. What is even the reason you chose that name? Because grown-up Dora the explorer has red hair created by loreal? Seems like a dumb reason to call yourselves that. Maybe you should have been the wind dragons. Or the Water dragons... I mean you do rain on the parade when people see that they are booked against you. I’m sure that Tad will give you both a big gold participation star when you come back to SCU after you lose. There there... You did your best. Don’t think for a minute that because we are newer that we will be easy.”

The arrogance hasn’t dissipated from his face or his smile.

“But I know how this will go. The girl will try to come at me on twitter and when she fails to say anything that matters she’d throw up her gif of some obnoxious hand gesture or a hair flip and Mark will just do some dumb comment about agreeing with her, just like a puppy on a leash. And guess what? I’ll just continue to sip my tea and then come in and beat you like I knew I would.  Emmie will be nice. She’ll tell you that she wishes you luck or that she has nothing personal against either you and that’s sweet of her to say, even though you know she’s just blowing smoke up your ass. She’s just too polite to say what I am saying. I don't care what anyone thinks of me and I’ll tell you exactly how I see it too.”

He leans into the camera again.

“You wanted to get personal, so here we go. Mark Cross returned to wrestling, yes, great. Probably anticipated by his dozen or so fan clubs but he returned on the developmental show. Where he met Valentina, the jolly red giant in need of some cake. If he was as good as he claims, why not step right up to SCW? Lord knows they need viable talent but he didn't. He took a backseat. To me that shows that he's not in the same shape he was before. And I'm not talking about the year on his birth certificate. I have seen older guys beat the living piss out of a young guy. No, I am talking about confidence in a ring. He started out on a show with rookies and people that needed to step up. Why should I be intimidated? Plus he even admits in his bio on twitter that he's only 'part-time'. Much like his NFL career... part time... Will it expire when he fails to win this match? If he can't commit to a full time schedule he is not worthy to hold a title in SCW.”

“I may not be in the place I set out to be when I signed my contract, but I have not given up. I am still here and I am making the most of what I have. Emmie might not be some veteran that calls herself a Dragon, but she's a Ward and she was trained by the absolute best this industry has to offer. People want to use her new status or her stature as proof she's not good enough, be my guest. Will be your funeral.”

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head.

“As for me? Despite rumors, I am in the best physical shape I have ever been in. I have trained hard. I have experience, even if it is with a more traditional form of our beloved sport. And I... “

He stops and then smiles genuinely but also quite creepily.

“...WE are about to extinguish the fire these Dragons are about to try to light.”

 ~ As I said in Jack's RP, sorry for the very short RP. Creativity is just hard to come by this week. Thank you to my opponents~

Emmie Ward, now known to the SCW universe as one half of the newest Tag Team, Culture Shock, is dressed in a Ballet Leotard as she practices at a Barre. The camera is watching her from behind, seeing her facial reactions in the mirror.  

“Hello! I am Emmie Ward and this is my first promo for my debut match here in Sin City Wrestling. I am very excited to have my first match and against two very worthy and well-known opponents. I know that it is going to be a challenge. I like challenges though.  Amy Marshall is something of a legend. I am truly honored to be able to face her and even if Jack and I are not successful, I am going to use it as a very important learning exercise. I promised Jack that we were going to save the tag division and it is going to take some practice to be able to work as a unit, even when it is co-ed wrestling where it will be more about trust. I can’t get in the ring with Vinnie and Jack can’t get in the ring with Amy so we have to trust each other to do what we need to do. I know Jack doesn’t trust me yet but I am going to prove that he can.”

She smiles widely.

“I am truly happy to be here in SCW. I have watched my Cousin, Mark do this for a very long time and he has been my idol. I looked up to him and now I can do what I have dreamed of doing for so very long. So I would like to say Thank you, to both Amy and Vinnie, because win or lose, you are going to be instrumental in my learning to be better. And a bigger thank you to Jack, for trusting me and giving me a shot.”

She waves.

“I don’t really know what else to say right now, so I will leave it on this note. I look forward to the upcoming match.”

 Ty was nervous. His newly found niece was visiting him from Montreal for a week. She had texted to tell him how excited she was, as she had never been to The United States before. He was nervous about a lot of things, but mostly about how his boyfriend was going to react. Jan was not very good at using tact. The last thing he wanted was for Ethan to feel like she wasn't accepted.

He had already told everybody that she was transgender. His uncle Jesse hadn't told him much about her history, only that Ethan felt like a girl, so they let her be a girl. The hair though had been a wig. Ethan had been growing out her normally dark locks and liked to experiment.

He also didn't know much about the process. He barely understood his own bisexuality. Regardless, she was his family and no matter what, he believed in her.

Waiting at the airport he rocks back and forth on his heels as the people begin to come through the gate. When he sees his niece, he smiles. She practically runs toward him to throw her arms around him. He can't help reciprocating.

"Was your flight okay?"

She nods, looking up at him with complete admiration.

"The flight attendants were really nice. They kept checking on me. I mostly watched a movie though so it went by quickly."

They walk to the carousel where the bags are circulating. Ty can't help noticing that a few people were staring at them. In his honest opinion, Ethan didn't look like anything other than a normal twelve year old girl, but there were some bigoted people that could spot even the slightest detail. For Ethan, it was her build. She was broad chested, her face was more sculpted like the males of the Charon line and the start of puberty had her developing an Adam's apple.

Ty ignored it all, and focused on how happy he was to have his niece her. He was more focused on her meeting his "pack" as he had called them.

Not wanting to frighten Ethan, Ty had borrowed Lora's car instead of his motorcycle.

"So how is school?" Ty asked as they pulled out onto the road.

Ethan shrugs. "It's alright. I find it boring mostly."

"Boring?"

"You know, like I catch on to things really quickly so while the teacher is explaining things, I have already figured it out. So I get bored. Gramps already tried to get them to skip me ahead but schools aren't allowed to do that anymore. There is this stupid thing where they think I am not mature enough to be with older kids. It's dumb."

Ty hated hearing that they were holding Ethan back. She was obviously smarter than the average kid but once again society was to blame. They were more worried about mundane things then actually allowing kids to blossom.

"What about Private school?"

"We can't afford it and the money uncle Jesse makes disqualifies us for assistance."

Ty wished he made more money. He would send some to get Ethan the education she deserved. He also felt a pang of regret. For not knowing this incredible kid her whole life. Not that it was his fault. He did find himself angry with his father. All that time and he couldn't mention that he actually had another family?

"Uncle Ty?"

Ty breaks from his memories to see that he has pulled into his parking spot. The two story condo building that him and Lora lived in was well maintained. With only eight total units, it made it something of a community. But he had been on autopilot the whole time and hated that it could have potentially led to an accident.

"Right. We're here."

He smiles at the young girl and gets out of the car. He takes her suitcase from the trunk and she follows him.

"This is a nice building..." she says as she climbs the stairs behind him.

"You were expecting a dump?" He smirks and Ethan giggled.

"No..." she blushes and in that moment he sees his Dad. How funny it was that certain genetic traits get passed down through generations.

"Come on silly."

When they open the door, everyone's heads looked up to see the pair enter. The small dinette table was filled with snacks with Valora at the helm of it. Aron immediately stood from his place on the sofa. His best friend Effie smiled, nodding in approval but the person he was most worried about was the man with a mound of food atop a paper plate. He doesn't even look up from his plate.

"Everyone, this is Ethan Caron, my niece."

Valora is the first to cross the distance.

"I am happy to meet you dear."

Ethan's face lights up. She then hugs the older woman which surprises her completely.

"Uncle Ty told me so much about you. Thank you so much for letting me stay here."

Valora shrugs it off with a trademark blush before she made the rounds and then stops, sitting down on the couch opposite Fenris’ chair. He looks up at the girl only briefly to ask, “What?” with an bit of food still in his gobbler.

“K...” Aron says in a harsh whisper.  “Talk to her...”

“Why?” He goes back to eating. The young girl doesn’t seem phased at all by his lack of interest.

“Obviously she wants to know that guy her uncle is shagging....” Effie pipes in and once again Fenris is giving her cut eye over his plate of food.

Ethan, however, was a smart girl. “Did you maybe have any questions for me? Like if this is uncomfortable...”

Fenris shrugs. “No. No questions. Because I don’t care.”

“Jan...?” Ty starts but Fenris shakes his head.

“What? I don’t care. And she shouldn’t care whether or not I or anyone else does!”

He points in Ethan’s direction. His voice is starting to raise an octave and Aron takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the onslaught of a speech.

“It’s HER life so let her fucking live it how she wants. Fuck how anyone else feels!”

He then finally looks at Ethan, catching her eyes. His voice actually softens now though.

“Don’t let anyone give you the impression that their opinion of you means more than your opinion of yourself.”

The room is stone cold silent. Recognizing that silence was never a good thing, Fen goes back to his plate but not before patting the girl on the head.
“I do have one question though... Go grab me another bottle from the fridge.”  He shakes his nearly empty bottle at her. She smiles wide and runs off toward the kitchen. Ty immediately takes the seat where she was just sitting and leans into him.

“Someone is so getting laid tonight...” He whispers it, very low so that no one else in the room could hear.

Immediately Fen starts choking on the piece of fried chicken in his mouth and Lora is rushing in concerned.

“Is it too spicy? IT’s too spicy, isn’t it... I shouldn’t have added that chili pepper...”

“No... Spicy...” Kristjan spits out before Ethan is handing him the bottle. Kristjan pops the top and downs the entire neck before his eyes stop bulging out.

“Chicken is good,” he says.

The room laughs.

After some reluctance from both men, Kristjan had decided to return home with Aron. Ty took a moment to kiss his lovers forehead. “Love you...”

Kristjan nods with a smile. Ty didn’t expect K to say it all the time in return but he had no doubt how he felt. One could even say that the large personality of Bobbie Dahl really had helped. Once they had all left, including Effie who was heading right back to the airport, Ty and Lora started in on cleaning up the plates when they are surprised to see Ethan helping to clear them in her pink and purple puppy Pyjamas.

“You don’t have to do that dear... you are a guest...” Lora tries to protest. But Ethan smiles and continues to help anyway.

“My grandparents told me that it’s respectful to at least offer to help, but there is a big mess and I think you both look kinda tired. So if I help, we’ll be done quicker and we can watch a movie.. Maybe?” she gives them both a dashing smile and Lora gasps.

“She’s just like you were at this age Ty. Are you sure it’s not your kid?” she laughs and Ty can only puff out his chest in pride. He wished he could have a child as fantastic as Ethan. He had accepted the fact that it was either Kristjan or kids and he wasn’t willing to give up K. Not for anything. So, he was perfectly content with his baby sister and Niece to spoil relentlessly.


***

The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #4 -- “The Journey”

“Well here we are Austin. Finally, we are facing each other one on one.  This is how it should have been all along. No interruptions and no distractions but there is something that has been on my mind since last show. The way that Alex Jones was trying to push his agenda on you and Alicia. I get it. I even talked about the kind of fighter that Alex is last time we all faced each other, but do you really want to change how you do things? Things that have made you successful until this point?”

He shrugs his shoulders in question

“You have been a good champion so far. You seem to represent the same sort of values that I do. That gives me hope that not all the people in this business are about finding a weakness and exploiting them. That they are not about playing some psychological game of warfare. Yes, this is a type of war but it doesn’t have to be bloody.”

“As of right now, I have not seen your promo. So I have no idea if you are intending to take Alex’s advice. You don’t have to be enemies with everyone that happens to stand across the ring from you. There is nothing wrong with having respect for each other and their accomplishments.  I know that you respect my journey as I respect yours. And I hope you don’t take it personally when I say that I am not stopping until I have what should have been mine a long time ago.”

He takes a long deep breath.

“I have been accused of ‘not wanting it enough’ or not showing that drive. And to that, I say, bullshit. It’s all Bullshit. I have been getting robbed since the moment I stepped foot in this company. Before the ink was even really dry, I was sabotaged by Jon Dough when he got into that Roulette title match. I have been mostly sabotaged by myself though. I let my inexperience and my losses plague me into believing that maybe this is not what I am meant to be and that was like I said a few seconds ago... bullshit.”

“I have been standing around thinking that I have to prove myself everything I don’t succeed but I don’t have to prove anything. I prove my worth every single time I get into a ring. Win, loss or Draw. It’s not about how many wins or losses you have, it’s about your strength as a person. Your ability to be the face of a company and carry it. It is about showing everyone that you do not have to be HE-MAN to be a champion. I am not a prince. I am not the best there is, but I do think I am worthy of being the next SCW Heavyweight Champion.”

It is at this point that the audience will realize that Ty is sitting on a deck chair outside. He spins the camera around momentarily to show his niece in the pool belonging to his condo building. She waves at the camera and then Ty Flips it back to himself.

“With that said Austin, I am going to have to take it from you. Whether that means I have to pin you or make you tap out, I am done putting myself down. I am done comparing myself to others when there is no comparrison at all. We are two different men with different backgrounds who are both talented but not talented equally. Because no two men are identical. That’s why contests like this even exist. “

“Not to mention that my niece is going to be in the audience. A girl that I missed out on knowing for twelve years. I have no intention of letting her down. I want her to be proud of her uncle. To witness the first time he holds the championship. I am doing this for her and every girl or boy like her that struggles with thinking that the impression that the world has is the only one that matters. It doesn’t matter what anyone in this company thinks of me, thinks of my family or thinks of my relationship because it is mine. And there is nothing that anyone can do to change my feelings or how something is. So even if I don’t succeed today, I am still going to have my family and I am still going to have my relationship and best of all, I will still have my own self-respect because a title doesn’t make me who I am, I make the title what it is. And I want to make it great. I want to stand tall and know I have finally gotten to the top. “

“Honestly Austin, I don’t know your whole history. Everyone has struggled in their life and their own life is always going to seem worse than anyone else because you had to live through it. My life, with the exception of a few hiccups, has been pretty good. I can’t complain. And now, I have created a unique group of people that I call my pack, my family because it takes more than blood to make a family as you well know.  This title... “

He pauses to gather his thoughts

“To be honest, before I had everything I do now, I really thought that the title was the greatest achievement. But that was a lie. My greatest achievement is the love I have amazed.”

“So I hope everyone, not just you Austin, see that in the end, winning this match will be the highlight of my career in the six-sided SCW ring, but in terms of my whole life, I still have years to create more and more accomplishments that I can be proud of. It is but one of many I will have. SCW has been instrumental in helping me come to this realization because without it, without me listening to my agent and signing, I would have never realized that this is what I should have always been doing. I would have never met my best friend. I would never have my wonderful partner and his brother... his whole family rather than have adopted me into their clan without a second thought. That... that is a real championship.”

“Winning this is going to be awesome and even more awesome to have my family surrounding me but I’m not just winning it for me. I’m winning it for everyone. This is what I have worked so hard for. What I want. It’s not to prove anything to any haters. It’s to show myself that this is what happens when you stay focused on your goals and put your heart into it. “

He seems completely relaxed. Not at all stressed or anxious about the upcoming battle.

“And now, I finally have the chance to have no doubts about my abilities. I know you will be a tough one on one. I would never dream of underestimating you. I want there to be no doubts when I win. I want to finally give all the fans that have supported me from day one, what they have been calling for this past year. A year Austin. That’s how long this journey has been. It’s about time that I stop dragging my ass, don’t you think? I hope that regardless of what Alex might have said to you, that you still think of me as competition. I want nothing more than to be able to shake your hand at the end. I am not like other people here. I won’t downplay what you have done. You were the first to beat the Great Fenris. That in itself is something grand. As much as you want this title and as much as you earned it, It’s my time to shine. You just happen to be who is standing between me and finishing my journey.  Here’s to a good match Austin and Thank you in advance.”

There is a laugh in the background.

“Come on Uncle Ty... NO more work stuff!”

With that Ty smirks at the camera and, it goes to black.

 The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #3 -- “What the fuck!”

"I am not a man who swears a lot. But seriously, what the fuck."

"To answer Alex's question, yes. I am angry but not at Fen. Fen was doing what he was supposed to do in that ring and frankly, how it is affecting our relationship is none of your damn business. I know what you're doing. You are thinking you are playing a mind game to get an advantage. I have no respect for wrestlers that use these tactics to try and gain a psychological advantage. I get it though. It is all you have known and for the most part, it has worked. It won't work on me or Fen. Regardless of what is going on with us, it doesn't translate to our abilities in the ring and you should know that if you really did your research instead of getting all your knowledge from twitter.

"Don't get me wrong, I am not demeaning your abilities as an athlete. You and Devona are runners up for the Blast from the past. That alone shows that you are in the right place, but the thing that holds you back is your ego. You could really learn a thing or two from your partner on this one. Guys that constantly brag about being the best are always the hardest to fall. While I appreciate your respect, when you add a 'but' to anything like that, It negates the compliment. Like I did just a second ago. I'm good in a ring but..."

He offers a half hearted shrug.

"I am well aware that I am struggling here. I could easily bitch and moan about what I deserve but what would that get me? Absolutely nothing. As much as people say they respect others in this business, the only thing any of them are really after is that title. Just some people are willing to cheat to get it. I suppose that's why I am still trying to get it."

"And Austin, I'm not really sure what else I can say that I haven't already. It has been a month of talking about you. To be honest, I was hoping for someone different to face, but here we are. I accepted the fatal four way as a way to drum up interest, I even kept my true feelings inside for the sake of having a good match."

He adjusts himself and takes a second to collect his thoughts.

"Do I feel cheated? Yes. Absolutely. I challenged you to a match and then got put in a match with two other people added. Mind you, Fen deserves his rematch. I am not saying that he doesn't but that match should have been just you and me. I am done being a pushover. I work my ass off twice as hard as everyone else, then people like you and Alex come into this company and it's like everything I have done for the last year is forgotten because the hotshots from Honor are here. I am not a 'bad' guy. I am not ego driven but I am not humble enough to let other people walk all over me either. I am not Caleb Storms complaining about being punished by management either. I accept that I am not actually in control of how my matches are booked, but ever since I arrived here, Fate has been kicking me in the groin. I'm tired of it."

The frustration is evident on his handsome face.

"I don't want to be like Alex or J2H or any number of Assholes that have rose to the top and let's face it Alex... you are an asshole. I don't even think you would deny that. But you are also blunt and honest. Often those things go hand in hand. It has obviously helped your career."

"It really isn't fair to say honor has 'taken over'. Honor was acquired by Sin City Wrestling. Honor no longer exists. It's gone, caput. The victories you have both gotten have been on behalf of SCW. You are signed SCW talent. Honor hasn't taken over anything, SCW took over Honor."

"And while Alex tries to direct attention on my personal relationship, he forgets that he has one himself. Austin, while still his 'brother' holds something that Alex wants very much. So don't try to spin this around. Fen and I are professionals. Yes we are dating, we are friends and we are human. Humans fight, humans have disagreements best of all, humans can forgive each other and make amends. No relationship whether it be friendships or lovers is perfect. You will never hear me claim to be perfect either but I know what I deserve."

"If you want to make this about which company, 'wears it better' we can totally do that. Title belts always run on borrowed time. I promised everyone I wasn't going to give up should I lose at London Brawling, and I don't break promises. This may not be for a title this time, but I intend to show you both what would have happened if I hadn't gotten kicked in the head. You got lucky two weeks ago Austin. You beat Caleb Storms in London, not me. You haven't pinned me. And you won't on Sunday either."

His mouth is the sullen straight line of a man determined to prove himself.

"Don't let beating Fen get to your head. Our one on one match is coming."

***

Despite everything, despite the mix of rage, disappointment and sadness swirling around in his head like a hurricane, that all disappeared the moment a baby wrapped in a pink blanket was deposited into his arms.

She felt so delicate and in his massive arms. Baby Taryn. Middle names of  Belinda and Madonna. His mother was carrying on the tradition. His own middle name was George Michael, for George Michael but also Michael Jackson. Obviously his sister had the same thing afforded to her.

She looked like his mother, at least in his opinion. He hoped that the rest of the world saw it too. Despite her very distinct facial features, those that accompanied other babies with Down's Syndrome. It was common in children of older mothers. Gina was even asked if she wanted to terminate when the testing came back with the genetic marker for it. But both her and Cal were insistent that they loved their daughter no matter what. And they had decided not to reveal it to anybody until after her birth.

His mother looked exhausted in the bed, almost pale too but the doctors and nurses had been paying extra special attention given her age. They did advise her that another pregnancy would more than likely cause her extensive health problems so she was planning on going on birth control until the last of a woman's reproductive stages came to pass.

Ty was in love. In his mind no other baby was as beautiful as her and he vowed then to protect her. He kissed her forehead and touched her little fingers.

There was no thoughts of matches or titles or even Kristjan. Until suddenly there was a thought. A thought about how since he had been medically cleared and returned to Las Vegas, Jan hadn't so much as tweeted at him. Nothing. In his mind, Aron's tweet bothered him. Why should he be the one to call Jan? He hadn't kicked Jan in the head. He hadn't given him a concussion. It was his understanding that he should care enough to at least call. Bad enough that their whole time in London had felt like a giant booty call. Jan had been invited to stay with Daniel and he had nothing against Daniel's need for privacy and his skittish nature when it came to new people, but Jan only seemed to come by for sex or dinner.

The concussion was only part of it. He knew Jan was kinda obtuse when it came to relationships but this felt like common sense to him. Jan's lack of care did make him feel used now more than ever. A big dumb piece of meat that was just there when ever either of Jan's appetites needed to be wetted.

He feared by contacting his White Wolf first, he was only proving that point. That he would look desperate for him to love him.

Love. Pfft.  He only expressed it in his sleep. He wondered if it was even real and there was no way he was going to say it first. Especially not now. He was having doubts. About everything.

There is a commotion outside the room. Raised voices that cause every member of the West-Hurston family, including Cal, his son Gus and Gus' adopted son Topher to look at each other in confusion and surprise.

Then there is a knock on the door and a frightened little nurse sticks her head in.

Nurse:
"Are any of you Tyler West?"

Ty has no idea what's going on but given that someone had threatened his Mentor, Kahlan Fischer's son over a match, the hairs on his neck stand on end.

Ty:
"That's me? What's happening?"

The nurse looks back over her shoulder and is about to speak when she is pushed a little to the side, causing the door to open wider and she grasps the handle to keep her own balance. The perpetrator of this is none other than Kristjan Baltasarsson, the man that had dominated his thoughts for the last several minutes.

Fen
"Let me see him, is this his room?"

He then stops dead seeing five sets of eyes watching him, all in various reactions of astonishment. Ty stands.

Ty
"Jan what are you doing here?"

Ty walks the distance, baby Taryn still sleeping peacefully, nestled into the crook of his large arm. Fen looks at the baby and then back at Ty.

Fen
"You're okay?"

Ty knows he's using English for the benefit of the others in the room.

Ty
"Of course I'm okay. I told Aron and Valora I was going to the hospital to be here for Taryn's birth... don't know why..."

He stops himself part way and suddenly realizes that his aunt and Fen's brother had set them up. Valora was on her way, she had been helping Vinnie's sick mother in Tijuana.

Fen
"A told me you were going to a hospital... I thought..."

His face starts turning red. He slams his fist against the door, startling the poor Nurse again.

Ty
"We've been set up. Come have a seat. Relax."

Ty directs him to his own vacated chair. And glances at thr nurse and gives her a sympathetic smile. It does little to wipe then startled look from her eyes though, all the while holding his baby sister securely in his arms. The Icelandic man sits next to the equally amazed teen adopted by Ty's step brother.

Fen finally looks at the pink bundle with an unreadable expression. He clears his throat and looks at Gina.

Fen
"Congratulations..."

Gina nods. She didn't really know much about what was going on between the two men. Ty hadn't wanted to add the extra burden of it with the baby's arrival.

Gina
"Thank you Kristjan. Ty, let me have her back now. She'll probably need to eat soon."

Gus then stands, while Ty places the little girl in his mother's arms.

Gus
"Toff. Let's go get some food while Nan feeds your Auntie."

The two leave quickly and it isn't until Gina starts pulling down her hospital gown that Fen jumps up from his seat and beelines it for the door. Ty kisses his mother's forehead before following Fen out side.  Fen is leaning against the wall and when Ty walks by. He reaches for his arm to get his attention.

Ty stops, pulling his arm from Fen's fingers.

Ty
"I think we need to talk, Jan."

Fen nods his head although his bewildered look hasn't faded much. The sight of a woman's breast was not what he was expecting today at all.

Continued in Fenris' Promo

 Ty can instantly feel Kristjan go rigid beside him as they entered the chapel. Ty makes his steps quicker so that they get to their front row bench quickly.  Ty knew that Fen was not exactly excited about having to come to Arizona for his mother’s wedding. Ty sat beside him and watched him with amusement. Fen looked particularly dashing, at least to Ty, in his suit with the crisp white, tie-less, shirt underneath. He had even made an effort to tame his long blonde tresses at the nape of his neck.

Kristjan
“What?!”

If there was one thing that Fen didn’t like it was to be stared at, at least the way that Ty was now. It was a look of curious wonder mixed with a touch of concern. Ever since Fen had lost he had been a little more agitated than normal. Ty got it. It was understandable. However, all week his mood had been a particular shade of sour having learned that not only were they on opposite teams on Sunday but that they would be yet again going against each other at the Super Card. It was true that Fen had been the one to encourage Ty to make his intentions to try again for the title, but he seemed to have an issue with being also in contention again.

Ty
“Are you sure you’ll be alright while I walk my mom down the aisle?”

Fen instantly looks around.

Kristjan
“Svo lengi sem Lora er við hliðina á mér ... hvar er hún?

The wedding wasn’t particularly big. In fact, the chapel they were currently in, only held about fifty people when full and his Mother had only invited half of that. Technically, Lora was Maid of Honor but they had opted out of doing a big parade of everything. So Lora would get up to sign the documentation as the witness but she wasn’t required to wear a big poofy dress. However, both men looked up when they heard the woman they both loved dearly speaking loudly at the back of the chapel.

Lora
“She told me that I wouldn’t have to wear anything poofy!”

Fen’s lips curled into an amused smile as Ty took a deep breath. It wasn’t very often that Lora was upset about anything. Then both Ty and Fen’s smiles faded as they heard the familiar voice of a certain Latin gentleman.

Senor Vinne
“Senorita, you look beautiful! How can you not agree?”

He’s turned to one of Ty’s, many times removed, cousins to which the man just nodded, mouth aghast. He, like many people, did not know how to take the Brash Mexican man.

Kristjan
“Hvað er hann að gera hér?”

His voice is laced with disdain AND venom. There was no denying that Fen didn’t like Vinnie and currently, Ty was not on good terms with his ‘friend’. Although, he knew that Lora had been meeting him casually to talk things through. The men watch as Vinnie starts up the aisle, Lora kissing his cheek in her pink monstrosity to seek out her sister. He finally sees the two men at the front and waves emphatically.

Vinnie
“Senors! How nice of you to save me a seat.”

Kristjan
“We didn’t...”

But the words are ignored by Vinnie who takes a seat next to Ty. He puts a friendly hand on Ty’s shoulder.

Vinnie
“Wedding is a special occasion, are they not? A chance to put aside past aggressions!”

Ty removes his hand, none too friendly and stands. Fen instantly stands beside him.

Ty
“We are not on friendly terms Vinnie. I haven’t forgotten anything.”

Vinnie doesn’t let his face falter at all. Ty often wondered if it was an act or if he really was that deluded that he couldn’t comprehend people being upset with him.

Vinnie
“Perfectly understandable Amigo. We still have our plans to complete our triathlon once London Brawling is finished. I still plan on showing you that I can be an honorable man.”

This whole time, Fen had remained silent, his mouth a strict straight line.

Vinnie looks at him earnestly.

Vinnie
“I was disappointed that you lost, amigo. But maybe you will come out the victor at the SuperCard and we will get our rematch? Yes?”
Fen seems to bite his tongue. He then grabs Ty’s hand and pulls him back up the aisle, muttering Icelandic obscenities under his breath as they make it to the doors. He pushes through them and with more force than Ty was expecting, pushes him up against the Stonewall.

Kristjan
“I am not sitting with him.”

Ty only smiles at his boyfriend. He was used to the way Fen expressed his frustration. In all honesty, if Fen wanted to hurt him he could but this wasn’t meant to actually hurt him.

Ty
“Jan, I don’t expect you too. You can sit in the pew on the other side. I didn’t know that Lora was even bringing him.”

Fen seems to relax a little, but not enough to let Ty go.

Kristjan
“Are they back together?”

Ty shrugs.

Ty
“I really don’t know. She hadn’t mentioned it, maybe this is a trial thing? To be honest, with everything that I have been doing lately, I haven’t really spent a lot of time with Lora.”

Fen gives him a glare. He was very protective of the motherly woman.

Kristjan
“Why do you need to know this... family... Lora is your family... Gina is your family. Your sister is your family...”

Ty hadn’t really talked much to Fen about learning that he had a whole other family living in Montreal, Quebec. He didn’t want to tell a lot of people until he knew more himself. Ty knew that Fen didn’t completely get it and that was okay. He wasn’t mad about that.

Ty
“And you. Aron. Dani. You are all my family too. This isn’t me going out to replace anybody. I just want to know. Maybe they won’t even accept me... us... and you know that I would never choose some unknown family over you. You’re my everything... I...”

Ty stops himself.

He suddenly remembers the night before. He had gotten used to Fen moving in his sleep, even talking a bit in Icelandic as he was living through his dreams. Ty couldn’t even imagine what they could be.  But last night had been a little different. Fen had called out his name. And not just his nickname of “Ty” but actually “Tyler”. He had rarely if ever, called him Tyler. Then came the words that had shocked him. ég elska þig

He had froze. Waiting to see if he had actually been awake but when Ty had looked over, his eyes were still tightly shut. He had even settled himself, a slight pleasant smile on his face. Another thing that was unusual. Ty didn’t want to take it to heart, It had been a dream after all. H had no idea what the dream had been about or if Fen even remembered it.

Looking now at the man, he cut his own words off before he himself said them. He knew it, in his heart that the words were true for him but he didn’t want to be the one to say it first.  Fen let go of him, seeming now to look uncomfortable with the words that Ty had spoken.  Ty was kicking himself internally for saying them. This was why he didn’t even try to tell him how he really felt. Not yet. It was enough that Fen was still with him after these months. How protective and jealous he got. He almost didn’t need him to actually say the words because based on what Aron had told him, Fen wasn’t like that with other guys he had seen. He hadn’t even been more than one and done with them.

Ty leans in, kissing his cheek. The action causes a slight blush to come to the smaller man’s cheeks.

Ty
“Sit wherever you feel comfortable, Jan.”

He sighs heavily. He knew how important this was to Ty.

Kristjan
“I will grit my teeth but you owe me.”

He points a finger at Ty.

Kristjan
“The things that I do for you.”

He shakes his head and walks back through the wooden doors separating the annex and the chapel. Ty chuckles softly to himself. Even though it didn’t happen often, he was still able to get to the white wolf at times.

***

The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 3, Entry #15 -- “The Future is Bright”

The background noise is the real focus when Ty’s face appears on the screen. He is dressed in a white shirt with a blue silk tie. Behind him are people eating and laughing including a very pregnant older woman who you knew was Ty’s mother. Beside her, her new husband. AS he walked, you could make out Fenris, gently teasing Ty’s Aunt Lora. Finally, Ty makes it to outside the restaurant where the only noise is that of passing cars on the street behind him.

“You know what’s hilarious... That Caleb Storms is still the type to underestimate me. He seems to be more worried about what Fen is going to do to him, his own partner in this match, then the fact that his facing the current Heavyweight champion and me.  Oh I know, he’s not scared because I lost the Roulette title. Please, if we’re going to go on that route than no one should be intimidated by Caleb... The man has fewer wins and worse luck in SCW in general, not just with titles. But all in all, he’s still talking like he’s just some victim in all of this. In the year since I joined SCW, Caleb has been the only one here that has not changed even the slightest. I mean it might mean that he has strong values and sticks to his guns but most of us think that he is just incapable of growth.  Yes, you were stupid to tweet, but you’re generally stupid most of the time so really, it was only a matter of time before you ended up in this situation regardless.”

Ty shrugs.

“I know this sounds harsh, especially coming from me, but the one thing I hate the most about anyone is when they automatically brush me off like I”m worthless. Especially coming from someone that has been around longer in this business and still has not managed to impress anyone. Instead of throwing pity party after pity party Caleb, get off your ass and find some courage man. Stop playing the damsel in distress. You have no problem telling me that me and AJM that we better watch it cuz you’re bringing it yet in the same breath talking about how scared you are of Fen kicking your head off your shoulder.  HOnestly, no one is more scared of Fen then me. And I”m the man’s partner! It’s also an advantage. I know how he operates, but on the same hand, he knows how I operate as well. But, we anticipated this would happen eventually. We have not faced each other in a match since we started dating. But we are pretty good at separating Church and State if you know what I mean. In that ring, we are not partners, we are ooponents.  So maybe instead of looking over your shoulder you just trust him to have your back because although Fen may hate the fact that he’s partnered with you and that he has to face me, He’s still not someone to sabotage a win for himself. And honestly, it's you that is going to lose this for you both.  You are going to let yourself be distracted the whole match and it’s going to be me or AJM pinning you to the matt. Or maybe I’ll get lucky and finally get a pin over Fen. I’d never live it down of course but there are some sacrifices worth making.  He has me two to one at this point. I got some catching up to do.”

“And Fen... well this was not what you were expecting but here we are. Hey, and you know what, this could be fun. I mean you are always threatening to beat me up... here’s your chance without it being considered abuse.”

Ty rolls his eyes and chuckles.

“But in all seriousness, Jan, You are one of the people I respect so much. As a competitor. I always have, even before we became an ‘us’. You know how far I have come and you know, you’ve come a long way too, it’s just a different path. You didn’t have to learn from loss after loss, that’s true. And having only lost once, well that is very intimidating for sure, but you of all people know that I am not easily intimidated by anyone. We have done this dance twice before. And you always promised me a re-match. Let’s just give them a show. Let’s make this the main event that all those people in Manchester are going to be on the edge of their seats to see.”

He seems to get distracted, biting his lower lip in thought before he’s shaken from his thoughts and he smiles back at the camera.

“AJM. Well, I suppose you didn’t foresee this either after me issuing you a challenge. I wasn’t expecting them to put us all together but you gotta admit, this is going to be one hell of a go home show and it will be one hell of a match at London Brawling too. I have let myself believe I wasn’t good enough for far too long and it affected my ability. An ability that many people have seen and accused me of holding back on. I genuinely look forward to facing you but until then, we are partners. I am not concerned with the repercussions should we win against Fenris and Caleb. I think that you and I are a solid team with so many advantages. A win for us would be beyond the hype. Especially since we are ‘rivals’ so to speak. I’m not the type to go looking for some advantage. I’m not the type to have resentment when you haven’t done anything for me to have any against you. Yes, you beat Fenris. That is no easy feat. I respect the hell out of that. And you can guarantee that I will have your back in this match. That is just how I roll. I believe in honor and when that honor is broken, it takes a lot to earn my trust back. At this point, I have zero faith in Caleb who can’t even admit that his loss of the Roulette championship was because he was distracted, by my shenanigans. Usually I’d regret that, but honestly, it was kinda funny considering that Caleb has zero respect for anyone in SCW. I fully admit that my own distractions caused me to lose to St. John. He proved himself to be worthy. Unfortunately, his own distractions caused him to lose to Travis as well. It is just the way it goes. We all do have lives outside this ring, but it comes down to that thing again... being able to separate it all from our lives in that ring.”

“I am excited about all of this. I know that my future looks bright. Win-lose-draw.”

He offers a nod as the camera cuts out.

***

“Jesse Caron.”

Ty sucks in a breath. WAs it just him or did Jesse sound exactly like his Dad. It was like he was hearing a ghost.

Ty
“Hi. Mr. Caron. My name is Tyler West... I believe you might be my uncle...”

The man on the other end muffles the mouthpiece as if he is talking to someone else before he comes back.

Jesse Caron
“Tyler! Yes. Thank you for calling. We were hoping you would after we asked Tom to find you.”

Ty is sitting in the hotel room, the wedding was over. There was no reception, just dinner and then he and Fen had gone back to the room to relax before their early flight to Manchester. Currently, Fen was out looking for a bottle of wine, rather looking to steal a bottle of wine from the kitchen. Ty had taken the opportunity to call Jesse before he loses his nerve.

Ty
“How did you even find out about me? Tom Bowden said my father didn’t even tell any of you about me, my mom or...”

Ty trails off.

Jesse
“We heard rumors. When Tom came to tell us that Mickey had passed... he confirmed that he was in Las Vegas because that’s where his son was, you. We haven’t seen Mickey in almost twenty-five years.”

Ty felt a little bit of guilt. He had been the reason that his father had shied away from being FBI. He was doing it so that no one would ever target him or his mother. And he’d also abandoned them both to further protect them. At least, that was the story. If it was true and not just another of his father’s lies then he supposed it was a redeemable quality.

Ty
“I really don’t know how to take any of it. My Mother only has two sisters. Neither of them had any children or married. I really was all on my own, I mean having people my age around that is. My mom and my Aunts were always perfect. I’m just... still in shock.”

Jesse murmured his agreement.

Jesse
“I can see how that would be shocking. We would like to meet you. Both my parents are still alive, and you have a nephew. Your Dad had a baby when he was a teenager with his high school sweetheart. Rebecca. She was sweet as pie that girl. She struggled so hard to have a baby and then a year after Ethan was born, she got hit by a drunk. Thankfully, Ethan wasn’t harmed in that accident at all but Rebecca was killed instantly. At least she didn’t suffer.”

It was Heartbreaking. He had an older sister that he would never meet

Jesse
“Ethan is ten now. We told him that there was a possibility that he may have an uncle and he was quite excited. I’m not a young man anymore and neither is my dad. Ethan needs a younger man to be someone to look up too. I hear that you are an honorable man. Just like your Dad.”

IT was the one time he had heard a comparison to his father that he was actually proud of. He still had doubts though and he needed to get more info about his supposed other family.


“I’d like to visit. I am in Manchester this weekend but when I come back, I’d like to make arrangements to come out. IF that’s okay?”

Jesse
“Yes. Absolutely. I look forward to it. Good luck in England, we’ll be watching now that we know that you are a wrestler.”

They say their goodbyes before hanging up. Seconds later the door opens and in walks Fen. In his hands are two beers, not the promised bottle of wine. He hands one to Ty and pops off his cap.

Fen Holds up his bottle and Ty copies him.

Kristjan
“Margir blessanir fyrir foreldra þína

Ty nods. Although Fen rarely was nice about things, he respected his mother whom he had gotten along with pretty well at the Gender reveal party.  They both take a drink and Ty watches him over the bottle. He couldn’t help but wonder what Fen was thinking. He wondered if the earlier encounter at the church was on his mind. The fact that Ty has almost told him how he really felt.

 The phone call was unexpected.

Ty looks at his phone, the caller ID coming up as unknown. Normally, he would send it straight to voice mail but something about it, a feeling inside told him to answer.

Ty
“Hello?”

Unknown
“Is this Tyler West?”

He knew it had to be either a telemarketer or something important. The last time someone had used his whole given name had been when they called him to tell him his Dad was found murdered in some alleyway.

Ty
“Yes.”

Ty hoped it wasn’t a call saying someone else was hurt or dead. He knew Effie had been in a weird place since she’d come back from Mexico. She’d even admitted that it had been hard for her to control her anger, hence adding the LFL to her activities. Violent physical activities helped her give it an outlet, but he didn’t think she was bad enough that she would be getting into trouble publically. Besides, he wasn’t even sure if he was still listed as her emergency contact now that her and Sin were married.

Unknown
“My name is Tom Bowden. I wondered if you might want to meet up. I would like to talk to you about your father.”

This makes alarm bells go off in his head. His father had supposedly been murdered by one of the loan sharks he had owed an exuberant amount of money too. Presumably, the one that had cut off his finger. He didn’t want to be involved in that.

Ty
“I am not responsible for my father’s debts. If you are threatening me, I will go to the police.”

The man on the other line is quick to answer.

Bowden
“No... no. I’m not calling about that. Actually, I used to work with your Dad, a long time ago. I have a feeling that you were never told the truth and I think you deserve to hear it. I’m sorry about his death, I only just heard about it recently.”

Ty is intrigued. A Former co-worker? He couldn’t even recall where his father had worked in the past. He had seen him so infrequently growing up that it had never come up in their time together. Until of course he got older, got into the gambling issues and was always calling Ty to bail him out.

Bowden
“I know it seems sketchy. I would be suspicious too if someone just randomly called me like this, but I promise, it’s a sincere ask. Could you meet for Coffee? Say around two today?”

The only plans Ty had was going to the gym to continue to prepare for his match on Sunday against Todd Williams, and that wasn’t a set time.

Ty
“Okay, but I am going to bring my Aunt with me. You understand right?”

Bowden
“Of course. I understand and it’s no problem. Nothing I say is confidential, at least not anymore. I’ll see you there.”

Bowden had given him the address of a shop along the strip. Hanging up, Ty was feeling a little anxious. How much more bad information could he learn about his father. He was almost ready to move on with his life, to forget about it all and just be happy and then this pops up. Even in death, the man had this grip on him.


***

Valora West was just as nervous as her nephew as they sat waiting at the small cafe table. She wrung her hands and Ty immediately puts his hand on top of hers.

Ty
“It’s okay Auntie.”

She nods, trying to offer a smile but Ty can see through it. Valora was like a second mother to him and she worried about him almost as much, if not more than his own mother did. Valora had never been in any real serious relationships besides Vinnie. She missed the boat on having children so Ty was in all intents and purposes, her son just as much as he was Gina’s.

Valora
“I know... I just worry that this could be more bad news. A new problem that you have to deal with. You were almost over all this garbage.”

Ty nods sympathetically. She always had a way of knowing exactly how he was feeling inside. It was her gift. He notes that she would have made a great mother.

Within minutes, an older man with a salt and pepper beard spots them and makes his way over to the table.

Man
“Tyler?”

Ty stands, offering his hand.

Man
“Tom Bowden, we spoke on the phone.”

The men shook, Tom then offers it to Valora.

Bowden
“You must be Valora West. You and Virginia look a lot alike.”

Valora instantly blushes. She always felt insecure next to her two older sisters. She had always been full figured, in her mind not as pretty or interesting so the attention of this man was nice, even if it was just pleasantries.

Ty
“Not to be rude Mr.Bowden, but I’d like to cut to the chase. It has been a hard year for me.”

Bowden
“No doubt. Teddy Ricci was not an easy man to like. Which is why you should know that his name wasn’t Teddy Ricci. It was Micheal Caron.”

Ty’s whole demeanor deflates. He had been lied to his entire life. He supposed it was good that he never took his father’s last name because now it would be wrong. But really, he wasn’t entirely surprised that his father had lied about his identity. Lying seemed to be what he was really good at, too bad he couldn’t have made a career out of it.

Bowden
“He was an undercover FBI, sent to protect your mother. Obviously, things got messed up. Even your mother didn’t know he was undercover. When she revealed she was pregnant, he had to bail, for both of your protection. It just got to him that he had to abandon you both. He quit, started getting involved with the people he was supposed to be investigating. He was a good man Tyler, I’m sorry that you never got to see that.”

Ty thought it seemed too simple. Like there were missing pieces in this story.

Ty
“Why did my mother need protecting?”

Bowden
“I don’t know the whole story but your mother witnessed something bad. She was being watched. She was skittish, known to be a flight risk so, Mike was moved in next door to keep an eye on her. He wasn’t supposed to be anything more than just a friendly neighbour. But Mike got too deep. Got to know her too well. And you know the rest...”

Ty still can’t believe it. He didn’t think that Tom was lying but his father had been such a skilled liar. He had never let any of this slip in the entire time Ty had known him.

Ty
“Why come now? After he’s died.”

Bowden nods.

Bowden
“I normally would leave it alone because that’s what Mike wanted, but you have another family Tyler. Grandparents, an uncle, and a nephew.”

Ty’s eyes go wide.

Ty
“I had a sibling?”

Bowden sighs.

Bowden
“Had. Yes. Older than you. Drunk driver. Your nephew was only a baby. After she died, she had no one else so your grandparents took him. I know this sounds a lot like a daytime soap opera. I wish it could just be cut and dry but they know about you Ty. They actually asked me to get in contact with you. They want to meet you.”

Bowden pushes a card toward Ty across the table. Jesse Caron, Carpenter.  The address was in Montreal, Canada. Canada?  Ty had so many unanswered questions. And now, he was just as confused as before Bowden had called him.

Bowden
“That’s your uncle. He’s waiting for your call.”

Tom stands, wanting to make a quick exit from this awkward meeting.
Bowden
“I wasn’t privy to any of the information in the case so if you want that, I suppose you’ll have to talk to your mom. I just know that before that happened, Mike was a decent guy. Something broke him. I don’t want to see you go down the same path. And you have a right to know you have family out there. Oh and... this meeting never happened okay? If they found out I told you anything it could get me fired.”

Bowden nods and then turns, leaving quickly. Valora who had remained quiet the whole time puts her hand on her nephew’s shoulder in comfort.

Valora
“What are you going to do?”

Ty stares down at the business card.  He had an uncle. Grandparents. A nephew.  It was a lot to absorb. Not to mention that his own father seemingly was forced to lie to protect his mother from something.  His first instinct was to call his mother but with her so heavily pregnant and already under stress from being a geriatric new mom, he didn’t want to add stress right now. He supposed he would contact his uncle first. Maybe get to know them. For all he knew, maybe they would reject him. What if they weren’t comfortable with the fact that he was dating a man. So many questions.

Ty
“I’m not sure. I think I’m going to talk to Jan and Aron though. They deserve to know too. I’m going to wait to talk to mom. I don’t want to stress her out so close to when the baby is due.”

Valora agrees, then without asking she moves in to hug her big nephew, rubbing his back in big wide circles.

Valora
“I can’t imagine what you are going through right now, but we love you. We are always going to be here for you no matter what. I promise. And you know Jan isn’t going to let anyone hurt you either.”

Ty nods. Kristjan, Jan being the nickname that he and his Aunt had given him, was very protective of his beau. Some probably thought their relationship was odd, given that Jan was so much more dominant over Ty. In fact, there had been comments regarding how submissive Ty was to him and how it might affect his ability to be a good athlete. For a while, it had bothered the large man but after a while, he realized that his own happiness and abilities were not determined by the thoughts and assumptions of someone who could only talk behind a screen or someone that was unable to beat him in the ring itself.

Ty knew that this was a shock but he had to remain strong, neutral. He couldn’t assume how his new found family would be until he actually spoke with them.  The part that hurt was that he had a sister that he never got to meet because a drunk driver had stolen her life. He would have liked to meet her. As an only child, he often had wondered what it would be like to have brothers and sisters. Like maybe he wouldn’t have been so lonely growing up, even if he hardly saw them, at least he would have known he wasn’t alone.  Parents are great but they can’t replace the feeling of having someone your own age. Someone that can really understand you, or at least feel like they understand you. Sure, adults had been there, at that exact stage of life but once they become adults, they sometimes forget how hard it is to be a kid, especially one that is alone. He loved his mom, he loved his aunts. But he had missed a lot. It had made him naive and trusting but it had also made him exactly the type of guy that Kristjan needed too. And despite how hard it had been growing up, how lonely it had been, it was all worth it for what he had right now.



The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 3, Entry #14 -- “Who Am I?”

Ty West has a thoughtful look about his as he faces the camera.  There was something about it that would intrigue a regular watcher of his serial blogs.

“The one question everyone asks at one point or another in their life is, ‘Who Am I?’. Not because of amnesia or in some sort of power struggle but legitimately assessing who you are as a person. What are you goals? Your values? What are you doing here? This is me saying I am having an existential crisis of sorts. A moment at which an individual, questions if their life has meaning, purpose, or value. This issue of the meaning and purpose of human existence. Why do I exist? Now it’s easy to see that yes, I have value, I have a purpose but who am I? Really? Am I the boy scout they all claim me to be? Am I really a guy that can’t be mean enough to be a wrestler? Should I just go back to being the pretty boy actor and model and let the big boys have the shots.”

He shakes his head.

“No. I own the Boy Scout Moniker. I even own the pretty boy one too. Because yes. I am a boy scout. I genuinely care about people. I will go out of my way to help others who need it because that is how I was taught. To be a good person. Maybe that’s a rarity in this industry but that in no way means I am not capable of getting in that ring and doing exactly what I need to do in order to earn my way to a shot at the SCW heavyweight title. A title that now lays upon the waist of Austin James Mercer and I don’t like it. “

“Who am I? That’s a really good question. I am the man who won the Roulette title in a 6 man match. I beat a lot of people including the great Ben Jordan. I defended the title twice and won. Yes, I lost to St.John Cross, twice, but I am not ashamed of that. He earned it. It’s just a shame that he is going through his own existential crisis right now that doesn’t put his mind in the right place to be a champion. I hope that Levitt can hold onto it longer than either of us did. I had hoped to at least tie the record set for longest reign but unfortunately, that just wasn’t in my cards. Casey Williams said something to me recently that struck home. That he thought I was main event material. The main event to me means that I should be challenging for the Main title. Maybe in the back of my mind, I wanted to lose to Sin. I wanted to have a reason to move on. I can’t know for sure really. I didn’t set out to purposely lose.”

“The mistake I kept making before was to allow other’s opinions to dictate how I do things. I didn’t want to be seen as weak or not worthy but now I realize, their opinions don’t really have much weight. How can someone that is not an integral part of my relationship with Kristjan, comment on how our relationship is? Based on some playful often comical, tweets between the two of us? Like that’s a proper representation of how it is behind closed doors? To assume that because I openly state to being ‘his beta’ that automatically makes me subservient to him is foolish. It just means that I acknowledge that he is the more dominant in our relationship, it doesn’t mean I let him walk all over me. In a wolf pack, every member has a position. I have no problem not being the one to be its leader. I know it might seem like a silly way to define ourselves but I have learned so much. So much about him, so much about his family, his culture. So much in fact that I would set up my permanent residence in Iceland in a hot second. It doesn’t make me weak. It makes me happy.”

He nods, a smile tipping the corners of his lips.

“And being happy makes me focused and ready. I am ready to take on Todd Williams and show him exactly why I am going to be the victor in the match. I don't want to dash his dreams of gold, but like I have been saying all week, where has he been? He only really shows up when he thinks there might be some kind of opportunity or to leach off his ex-wife, his child or friends. Todd has not made any sort of significant advances for him to deserve to be in the same place as me. I’m not trying to be mean, I am trying to be honest.  I’m not saying that the man doesn’t have talent, obviously, he would not be on the SCW roster if he didn’t. Mark and Christian are the not the types to hold on to invaluable people but maybe he is not quite the type of guy they want in the running for a title that holds so much stake.  Obviously, they have no control over who wins it, but they have control over who challenges for it to some degree. Fenris held that title for a very long time, beating everyone up until  Austin James Mercer. Fen even beat me, twice. And I like to think that I am not just a pushover around here. My name has become synonymous with SCW as one of its top talents.  And no, I didn’t get that because I am dating the former world champion. I mean look, I’m still here, even though he is no longer champion. Plus we are still happily dating. Sorry to disappoint anyone that was counting on some big break up.”

He gives the screen a big smirk.

“Todd is unstable. He’s unreliable. He’s untrustworthy. SCW needs me to be a beacon. To represent a title that hasn’t had a good guy standing behind it for a very long time. Not to say Fen isn’t a good guy, he’s just not exactly getting any merit badges for helping old ladies cross the street if you know what I mean.  And where has Mercer been? Has he been promoting the title either? Except to say, look I beat Fenris and then just sit back like it’s a vacation? That isn’t me. I win this title and I’m going to be a champion that fights, that represents SCW, the promotes the company that took me in when I was just some actor that had a childhood love of wrestling. They have been behind me the entire time, even in my dark days when I felt like I wasn’t good enough to be here. That deserves to have its return. It’s time for me to repay what was given to me and it starts with Todd. It starts now. No more doubts, no more anger. Just determination to succeed and do whatever I need to do, the honest way. That is what a real champion is made of. I know I have what it takes. I’m not stopping. Even when I get there, I will continue to fight.”

He puts two fingers to his forehead and salutes.

“Scouts honor.”

 The setting sun blinking through the small spaces between the rocks make everything take on a sparkling orange glow, including the happy faces of the couple in the picture in Effie's hand.  A professionally framed picture that Effie had ordered back in February when they had returned from her birthday trip to Cancun.  What was even more interesting was that these people were looking at each other, hands clasped. Sin was in a tropical shirt and Khakis while Effie was in an airy looking dress of white. Even to the untrained eye, it was easy to see that this was a wedding photo.

Which was why a very pissed off Ty West was now standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his massive chest.

“Tell me that's not what I think it is...”

He tries to egg her on but in his anger he forgets that Effie is not a woman that can be easily intimidated.

“Ok.” she coughs, residual from her just recovering from pneumonia. “It's not what you...”

“Stop. Why didn't you tell us you were going to Mexico to elope?!”

He interrupts her and she knew that eventually she was going to have to tell him. She didn't expect that Ty would have been at her house the day it was delivered by the frame guy.

“If it's any consolation, I was supposed to be home alone when he came by. You really gotta stop coming unannounced.”

Once again, this nonchalance was not helping her case. It was bad enough that Ty was in one of his ‘I gotta earn my shit again’ funks after losing again to Sin, but to learn about her getting married... a month ago, was probably not helping matters.

“Why wouldn't you just tell me when you came home?”

She sets the frame down, leaning it against the wall and makes eye contact with her friend.

“It was a crazy split second decision. We thought it might be a way for Sin to protect me because his crazy god cult can't unjustly hurt it's members and by getting married I was an honorary member. Besides I did say I had something to tell you... didn't I?”

Ty raises an eyebrow.

“So it's not even for love?”

Effie sighs. “Well... I wouldn't say that exactly. I don't regret it and I'm not divorcing him. We're just... struggling right now. Sin is different. He saw me...”

She remembers the pain of not being able to breath as water was poured over her mouth and face.

“Saw you what Eff? Why won't you tell me what happened to both of you? You come back hacking like a 90 year old chain smoker and Sin looks like he's been living in a third world country without clean water and food...”

Effie nods. “You aren't far off... look, Ty, I get it. You wanna play protective big brother but this...”

Bits and pieces float into her mind. Once the rage had taken over, she doesn't remember much but seeing the archpriest slumbed in a corner with his arm broken at the elbow. The bone was jutting from his skin in a bad horror movie kinda way. And the man breathing shallowly on the interrogation table had a lot of defensive wounds on his arms.

“I don't want to get you involved in this too. I almost died, Ty. Sin almost died. But we got out. And we're here and no one is coming for us anymore.”

She feels a dry, hard lump in her throat. Yes they had escaped but a piece of each of their souls had died in the compound that night. She had no idea if either her or Sin would ever be remotely close to the same.

Ty pulls Effie into his arms and for the first time, Effie feels comfortable enough with the big blonde hero to cry into his shirt. It was so incredibly tough to be well... tough. Showing vulnerability to anyone was weakness to her, but now she realizes that she had been so close to never seeing him again and it hurt way more than she expected it to.

“It just feels so surreal...” he muses. “Like straight out of a movie script.”

Effie would normally take offense, especially if it were anybody else but Ty was her best friend and he also didn't understand the magnitude of her and Sin's ordeals. She wanted to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted was to defile her friend's good natured spirit with the thoughts that she had actually been tortured and because of Sin. She didn't want him to think differently of either of them.

This whole experience had actually softened her yet also hardened her at the same time. She now cherished those close to her more than ever but there was so much unexplored darkness inside her that she was scared of it. What she did to those men when she lost control... it was...

Sin had tried to justify her actions with the situation but as much as she carried herself as a badass, actually murdering people was not something she expected to ever have to do and she would never be able to unsee what it looked like to see the light of life leave the eyes of a man as he took his last breath.

“I wish it was all just a movie Ty. I really do. And I'm sorry. We should have told you about getting married.”

“I get it but please, don't keep me in the dark thinking you are protecting me. You mean the world to me and I was scared half to death when you stopped tweeting cryptic emoji.”

She can't help chuckling as she pulls back from his arms.

“I didn't have a whole lot of choices, they don't exactly make emoji for saying you are going undercover as a nun to rescue your husband from a band of religious zealots than mean to purge the world of non believers...”

She stops. “Hmm... I gotta remember to modify that if I ever go on a rant about scientology and how it's the ultimate pyramid scheme...”

Ty seems relieved that Effie hadn't lost herself completely but there was a certain haunted look in her eyes that he couldn't comprehend.

“Once you and Sin are up for it, we should celebrate somehow. My treat of course.”

Although Effie is unsure of if there will be anything to celebrate if Sin continued to avoid her most of the time but she smiles and agrees. Ty leaves shortly afterwards, leaving Effie to get ready for her flight to Edmonton.

She couldn't help worrying though, had this just opened the door for something dark inside her to escape?

***
***
“So it's been a while, fuckers.”

Effie Bingham cackles in front of the camera. She's perched on the bottom steps of a curved staircase. They look to be in need of repair.

“I'm going to give it to you straight, because that's what I do. I hate the partner I was given. I mean I don't hate him on a personal level, I mean who has time for that shit. I mean, I hate that out of everyone that signed up for this God Damn Tournament I get saddled with the one guy likely to choke. I would have rathered do this shit alone, then a guy that has more losses then I have money in my bank account. And trust me. There's a lot of money in there.”

“Usually I could care fucking less about winning. As I have explained in the past, I wrestle for something else, however, one does not enter a tournament such as this without designs. You see the last time I graced the main show of SCW, I not only lost, but the women treated me like garbage and that is not something I will sit back idly and allow so I have been waiting for my opportunity. I promised them all I would find a way to make them regret it, and now I had my chance to swoop in and take the most precious thing to all those sniffling brats, the women's championship. And the best part is that I don't even want it like they do. I just want an opportunity to gloat.”

“But that is now a pipe dream since I'm pretty sure that Joshie-poo is going to be face down on the matt as they count to three. I can't even beat the shit out of him because of the segregation of the divisions. So somehow, I gotta keep him from getting in the ring at all and carry this team. I rarely have goals. So I intend to see this one through.”

“But enough about my bad luck. Let's talk about the bad luck of team “Cabbage Head“ at having to start with me. I am not some typical rich girl without a brain. *cough* Angel Kash *cough* sorry, dry throat.”

“In fact, my parents treated me worse then they treated the staff. At least they got acknowledged by my parents that they existed. I was the extra surprise kid that was unlucky to be born with all my dangly bits inside my body. Dear Dad only wanted boys because in his mind girls were only good for one thing...”

“Well look at me now, huh? I can count on one hand the amount of times I have lost a match. You may not like what I have to say, or the actions I take but you can't bloody well deny that I know what I'm doing in that ring. It doesn't matter that I'm not well known. Doesn't matter that Christian offered up my contract on a platter to Tad the moment he could. Those are inconsequential tidbits. Oh and I know everyone that comes up against me is going to talk shit about how I'm nobody and write me off, a more recent example is how current champ Alicia went out of her way to say I'm not a challenge. Huh... funny that, If I wasn't worth her thinking about, why bother responding to it?  She thinks that she's intimidating because she talks shit on twitter. That’s because she holds the title she thinks she's invincible. She's not made of titanium and has already lost that title twice. Once, technically when her and Dani fought to unify honor & SCW  and then again to Selena. And I guarantee that whomever wins this tournament is going to bust her face... I mean their ass...”

She smirks

“To beat her. Plus, she was so confident she was winning this title match but yet she still entered BFTP. I dunno about you, but if I was as confident as she plays up to be, I wouldn't be thinking I had to go into a sixteen team tournament to get another opportunity. Just sayin.”

“And who do I get to open up with but beauty and the beast. There is no doubt that Kale is a beautiful man and Brittany Williams, the whiny beast of a girl that is lucky to have him as a partner, because if this was one-on-one her ass would be grass. Yeah I know she was a champion once upon a time, but that was a LONG time ago. Since then she has whined about what she deserved and won on the backs of others.  Not to mention milking an injury to try and get sympathy. Let's not also forget that she flip-flops with her allegiances. She's untrustworthy when her designs are so selfish, but then again, aren't we all?”

“I fully admit that I would turn on Joshua in a heartbeat. One win doesn't prove anything. And being a tag champion in the past, as I explained a second ago, does not prove anything to me. I look at recent actions. And recently, only Kale and myself have been impressive. Good thing he seems strong enough to carry that nitwit, which will probably be what happens. Kale will get the best of Joshua and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.”

“But, on the bright side, I will enjoy kicking Brittany's ass. That skinny little dipshit is owed a beat down and I do it on behalf of everyone that would like nothing better than to snap her in half. If we lose because Josh gets pinned, that is not on me and although technically a loss, I will not be the one that lost it for us. If Grampa Josh taps out, the only regret I'll have is not being able to stop it.”

“I am no stranger to getting a fucking shitty hand, I mean I had to go to Mexico to rescue my monk from death and well, shit went down, I got sick but I still got in that fucking ring and won. I may not want a title, but I am the fucking boss queen of this shit. I am also not saying stupid crap on the tweet machine like ‘do you know who I am?’ like having SCW's current joke as a mother is something to be proud of. I know what it's like to have a cunt for a parent, but the difference is, I didn't become the mirror image of mine. I would not be proud to be the daughter of someone that would take down their own partner for a fucking title. That's just really pathetic.”

“I find it hard to say anything mean about Kale. At least wrestling wise. He's strong, fast and capable. Unfortunately he seems to be... naive... yeah... let's say that. Although half the time I dunno if he's serious, seemingly the SCW's version of Hodor, the lovable nitwit or if he is trolling us all for his own amusement. Either way, sizing him up to my own unfortunate last pick, it's looking like it's actually going to be beauty before age.  I really hope that Joshua surprises me. Prove me wrong, nothing right now would make me happier than to see Joshua to actually come out guns blazing. I sincerely hope my criticism lights a fire under his ass, but not light him on fire, cuz one: Burns on your ass hurt like hell and two: we all know how frail and paperlike the skin of the elderly is, I don't hate the guy, don't want to see him go up like a California forrest.”

“But anywhoo, I've talked long enough and frankly I'm getting bored. Caio!”

***

“There was a time when I thought I would never have friends. There was a time I thought I'd never find love. There was a time when I felt unworthy of love. That all changed so suddenly that I would fight for it. It was worth far more than any amount of money. It was worth dying for.”

***

“No. Soul’s Demise is too good for him. Especially after what he did to you...”

Effie bites her bottom lip. Once again her mind floats back to how it felt not being able to breathe. She had no idea that drowning was so painful, like her lungs were going to burst from her chest. And even though the Archpriest hadn't poured that bucket of water over her head himself, he had ordered his men to do it for him. Sin believed that he might as well have been the one doing it. But she had the chance to kill him. With that anger circulating through her she could have easily snapped his neck or plunged his own dagger through his eye but then, everyone would think him a hero, instead of a sadistic and cruel leader who used the order as his own personal stash of little black army men. Like a child playing at war in his own backyard.

He never got his own hands dirty and maybe that was the worst part about it all.

“I'm fine...”

The flight had been a quiet one. She found herself drifting off but like every night since their narrow escape, she replayed the events of that night. And just like all the other nights she awoke to Sin hugging her close to his body, breathing heavy and knowing exactly what her thrashing and whimpering was the result of. It was a horror she wouldn't soon forget and one that surpassed all the other horrible events she had experienced until that point. But she wasn't ready to talk about it. Not with anyone. No one deserved to experience those events, not even herself and especially not Sin. He hadn't talked much about having to watch the soldiers waterboard her but she knew if the roles had been reversed her guilt and anger would probably be on par with Sin's and justify his current mood.  But she worried, what if killing the archpriest only made it worse? What if it killed that human part of the man she had fallen ridiculously head over heels for. She suddenly felt guilty for her compassion. Not killing that dirty bastard might now be the worst decision she ever made if it meant that she would never again have the Sin she fell for back in her arms, but instead the shell of that man.

She had decided long ago that if she ever found love, which she had believed until meeting Sin, was a fairy tale made up by hallmark and perpetuated by Harlequin Romance novelists, she would never let it go. That she would fight for it. And that was what she was going to do. Even if it meant finding a way to kill the archpriest herself.

 ***After last week’s Climax Control***

“Effie... talk to me...”

Ty West is catching up to his best friend backstage, the Roulette title draped over her shoulder. To Ty, she looks like she is in the middle of one of her blackout phases. She doesn’t react to anything like normal making him think that she is shut off any ability to feel.

Effie always described it as akin to sleepwalking. You have no control, no awareness. Your body relies on some basic sense to complete some task. This scared Ty considering that he knew her mind would be on trying to get Sin back. She looks up at Ty and he can see the recognition in her eyes. He sighs in relief.

“They took him...” she says, barely a whisper.

He immediately pulls her into a hug.

“It’s okay Eff, we’ll get him back. Somehow. Just tell me what I can do?”

She shakes her head, her eyes are glassy.

“Don’t get involved Ty. Seriously, I really, really appreciate you wanting to help but I couldn’t bear it if you got mixed up in this and then I lost you too. I can’t lose both of you.”

It was the most emotion he had ever seen her show. From a woman as stone cold as Effie, it was a compliment that he meant that much to her. The feeling was mutual obviously. Effie was like a sister to him.

“Are you sure...”

She cuts him off. “Yes. Just, prepare for next week like you would any other match. I’ll keep you updated, okay?”

He nods and Effie steps back from his embrace. “I gotta go home. Don’t worry, okay? I’ve had worse happen. I’ll fix this.”

She walks away and Ty shakes his head, “That’s what I”m afraid of.”


***

Ty looks down at the piece of paper in his hand and double checks the address. It was the correct place for sure but the condition of the apartment building he was entering had him feeling itchy. Not because he was a prima donna and couldn’t handle seeing a poor neighborhood, but itching because he wanted to help. He wanted to do more than just volunteer his time. The elevator was broken so he had to climb the stairs to the third floor. Once he finds the right apartment number, he knocks. Inside he hears a baby crying and then a dog barking. It takes at least a minute before the door opens a crack, the door chain visible.

“What?” A woman’s voice says.

Ty clears his throat.

“I’m not interested in whatever you’re selling...” she attempts to close the door but Ty grabs the handle.

“No, no. Excuse me. I’m Tyler West. I’m from Big Brothers. I’m here to see Mason.”

The woman rolls a brown eye through the crack and closes the door, only to unlock the chain. She opens the door wide. Ty can see that she is heavily pregnant with another baby sitting on her hip.

“Mason... That guy is here...”

She walks past him and places the baby into a playpen that seems to be on the verge of falling apart. The baby stands and Ty knows that he must be at least a year old. The little girl smiles at Ty through dried tears and then sucks on her fist.

“Yo. You Ty?”

Ty turns to see the young man that the agency had assigned for him to mentor. From the records he was given, Mason was thirteen. Struggling in school, not many friends and had been in and out of foster care for the last two years, this was his fifth foster home.

“Yup. Mason?”

He nods. “Come on, let’s get out of here, the old lady’s on a warpath.”

Mason grabs Ty’s arm and pulls him toward the door.

“Mason remember, be back by Nine or I lock you out again.”

The door closes on her words. Ty looks back before running after the youth.

“Does she really lock you out?”

The boy shrugs. “Sometimes. But it’s the best home I’ve had since being in the system, so I don’t make any trouble. It’s just until my Dad gets out of jail then he said we’re going to move to Utah. Start fresh.”

They come out of the building and Mason’s eyes go wide seeing Ty’s bike.

“Wow, that’s yours?”

Mason starts to inspect the vehicle.

“Wanna go for a ride?”

The boy smiles wide while nodding. Ty hands him his helmet and tells him to get on behind him. They drive around a bit until Ty pulls into a diner down the street from the building.

“You hungry? Let’s get some food and we can get to know each other.”


It seems like Mason hasn’t eaten in weeks, judging by home much food he orders and actually finishes including a massive ice cream sundae. He burbs and then laughs.

“Sorry... and thanks... usually the old lady don’t make nothing edible. She doesn’t hit me like the other places so I’ll deal, you know?”

“What did your dad go to jail for?”

Mason uses his spoon to try and get the last drops of melted ice cream from the bottom of the glass.

“Fraud. He scammed a bunch of guys. Accounting stuff.  So it’s not like he murdered nobody or like hurt me or anything. But that’s why we’re going to Utah once he’s out. New start. He even said we could change our names. I was thinking of something smart sounding.”

He lets the spoon clink the glass as he looks up at Ty.

“It’s still a crime...”

Mason shrugs. “Oh, I know. He was just trying to save money for us to move and have a good life. It’s been pretty wack since my mom died.”

“I”m sorry.”

Mason bites his bottom lip. “I miss her a lot. She used to be a good mom, you know? She never let Dad get away with anything. Then she got hit by a car and died.”

“I just lost my dad.” Ty says, “I am still getting over it even though he wasn’t a good dad.”

He hopes that maybe it was a way to help relate to the youngster. IT was as much of a benefit to him as it was to this young man.

“What did he do?”

Ty nods. “He didn’t work. He ran scams too but more of placing large bets on things like sports and horse races. It got him killed.”

“Whoa. Heavy. “

The kid was pretty mature, but Ty stocked that up to him being introduced to a lot of grown-up stuff so early in his life. Ty is amazed that Mason seemed like a decent kid.

“I’m sure your dad misses you a lot.”

He nods. “I visit him sometimes. I know I’m not supposed too but I’ll skip school and take the bus. He’s up at Clark County. He’s got two more years on his sentence.”

“I know that you want to see your Dad, but maybe don’t skip school. Alright? If you wanna go on a weekend, I’ll drive you. OKay?”

Mason smiles wide. “Really? On your bike?”

Ty nods. “Yup. I’ll even let you use my boyfriend’s helmet.”

Mason stops. He stares at Ty.

“Boyfriend? Like for real? I would have never thought you were gay...”

Ty is amused. “And why is that?”

The boy shrugs. “I dunno. Sometimes gay people have a certain way they act and stuff. I know they all don’t and I”m not against it or anything.”

“Not that it matters but, I want you to be able to trust me Mason, but I’m Bi-sexual.”

He feels a bit uncomfortable. He hopes that it doesn’t get back to the coordinator at Big Brother. They may think it was inappropriate to discuss his sexuality with Mason.
“OH. Well... I know you aren’t allowed to talk about that stuff. But sure. That’ll be sick.”

Ty knew it meant he approved. After a bit more small talk, Ty takes Mason back to his building.

“Thanks... I mean I’ve never had a mentor that was cool like that. All they did was chastize me for not focusing only on school. I”m not really interested in what they teach. It’s boring.”

Ty understood. “I get it, but even if you could just get passing marks, that would be good. Your worker is worried about you. She doesn’t want to see you living on the streets.”

Mason rolls his eyes. “I won’t be. I got my Dad. But thanks. I guess I’ll see you next week?”

“You can count on it.”

Mason nods and then runs to the door, trying to make sure he gets to the door before his curfew.

Ty liked him. He knew deep down that he probably wasn’t going to have children of his own but if he could help boys like this, it would be just as rewarding. He wanted to give back.

***
The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 3, Entry #11 -- “Missing Persons”

“Today, I’m not here with my regular spiel about how I plan to beat St.John and get my Roulette title back. No. I’m actually here to ask that if anyone has info or has seen St.John that they please call this number.”

A bright yellow number appears on the bottom of the screen.

“This is an answering service. You can leave anonymous tips. St. John may be my opponent and rival professionally but personally, he is like a brother. Even in as short a time as I have known him. I would forfeit every chance at a title if it would bring him home safely. I promised Effie that I would get involved with actually going out and finding him but she never said anything about service announcements seeking information. I doubt that even if Sin comes home before the weekend that he will be in a state of mind to get in a ring and duke it out.”

He sighs deeply.

“Whatever this organization he used to be a part of, it better realize that Sin is not one of them anymore. He’s part of the SCW family. Let him come home.”

Ty looks visible stressed over the situation.
“But that’s all I gotta say right now. Please... call, even if it’s not much. Every little bit could lead to his being found. Thank you.”

The camera shuts off abruptly.