It Was Like You Wanted This
November 12th, 2022
Sunday’s inside the Madison household on off weeks were spent occasionally with Bella and Mal joining them.
Most of the time, it was spent with Laura and Bella laughing as Mal and Nick got into a heated discussion about American Football versus what the rest of the world called Football as they watched the Steelers, which was a staple during this time of year.
It had been a rather interesting week. Bella was coming fresh off her loss to Kayla and then as if she just couldn’t help herself. A couple nights ago, Laura checked in with the crew over at SCW as she had done on a regular basis, especially since Bella’s return and her ears perked.
”But, Bella Madison put it all on the line and did her family name and lineage proud. I’m sure her father and mother were watching from above, smiling at their little girl…”
”What do you mean Nick Madison and Laura Phoenix aren’t dead?....oh, wait, it’s just their careers that kicked the bucket…my bad.”
And this was POST Kayla’s victory over her daughter. It was like Kayla couldn’t help but scream out into the void, looking for a fight.
But she was retired.
That was no secret. There was nothing left for Laura Phoenix to prove and Laura Madison was content on being a mom to Aaron and Bella (when she needed her, which now-a-days it was more hand holding through her journey with her and Mal trying to conceive) and her actual position of General Manager.
So why in the hell did it eat at her like it was?
So when the weekend hit and she watched Kayla once again dominate, Laura watched. Closely. So much so, she didn’t even hear Bella enter into the room and watch over her shoulder.
“One thing I will always give Kayla credit for, no matter how much success she has, she will always have that chip on her shoulder until someone knocks it off along with her head.”
Laura practically jumped out of her seat, like she had been busted watching something she shouldn’t have, “Jesus, you scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry, I thought you heard me call for you.” Bella said as she smirked at her mom, leaning over the back of the couch, “Didn’t know you were so interested in things going on in SCW.”
“Oh, I’m always watching out for new talent.” Laura said, turning the TV down. “So you were calling for me?”
“Yeah, the burgers are done and I think dad and Mal are about to go another round about the usual and I could really use a buffer before I beat them both senseless.” Bella laughed as she rubbed her forehead, “Aaron can only do so much in his cute department until they both get heated at one another and then even he feels annoyed by them.”
Laura just rolls her eyes, “Those two will without a doubt disagree on a numerous amount of things and yet they choose the same damn topic almost every single week.”
“At least they talk now. Which honestly after 3 years and dad being unsure about Mal at first, I’ll take it.”
Just then they hear the back french doors open and a little voice pop in, “Mooooooooooom, they do it again!”
The frustration in little Aaron’s voice carried through to the living room as he stomped down the hall, “We’re in the den, bud!” Bella would call out for him. When he finally got there he would stomp over to the couch, crawl up and crossed his little arms over his body, “Daddy and Mal tickin’ you off, little bro?”
“They stupid!” Aaron says, throwing his hands up, “So stupid.”
“Well you know that they are really at it if they’ve accomplished making him mad.” Laura laughed, sweeping around and picking up Aaron, “I’m sorry bud, mommy got her attention pulled somewhere else and left you in the line of fire. It won’t happen again.”
Laura tickles her son to get him to giggle and cheer him up. After a bit, she stops and Aaron gives her a sweet kiss on the cheek, “It’s otay, mommy. I forgive.”
“Oh, I’m so glad,” Laura says with a bright smile on her face, returning the kiss on his cheek.
“What you watchin’?” Aaron said as he saw the TV on in the background, “Wrestling?”
“Uhh, yeah...a little bit.” Laura’s eyes grew big because while Nick had popped up now and again after Aaron had been born, she never gave thought to sliding back into the ring since she found out he was pregnant. She stood up, keeping Aaron in her arms and looked back at the TV with something different in her eyes that her son picked up on.
Aaron tilted his head, “Are you goin’ back?”
“Umm, not sure, baby. Daddy and I have our hands full enough as it is.” Laura says as she turns and peaks over her shoulder at the TV, “But if I was going to, would you be okay with that?”
“HELL YEA!” Aaron let out as loud as can be, which caused Bella to absolutely lose it laughing. This confused the littlest Madison, “What? What I say?”
Laura is trying to keep a straight face herself before she gives a quick glare to her oldest, “Nothing baby, just gotta have a little chat with daddy and Mal about a certain word that you shouldn’t use...yet.”
Aaron looks confused for a moment before we hear the door swing open with almost a crash and Nick looking around in a panic, “AARON?!?!”
Laura turns on her heels and decides to calm the situation immediately, “He’s in here!”
“Oh thank God!” Nick said, clutching his chest, walking into the den. He catches his breath as he looks at his son in his wife’s arms, “Bud, you shouldn’t walk away like that on me.”
“You gave us a hell of a scare, kid!” Mal said following behind him.
“Well he got sick and tired of hearing you two cluck away about the football argument for the millionth time this season.” Bella jested at them, as she tucked herself by her husband’s side, “So he came in here to get away from it. Can’t say I blame him!”
Laura smiles at the two who look super confused by it, “Yeah, guys...we love you to death but can you please find something else to discuss?”
“I will when he does.” Mal grumbled out.
Nick scoffed at this and turned and if looks could kill, “You called it an insult!”
Mal pulls away and squares up with Nick and waves his arms wildly, “It is when only 2 whole players on a team of 11 actually only make contact with the ball with their foot.”
Bella and Laura just sigh in defeat, and Aaron pushes his way down from her arms and stomps over to them and standing between his dad and his brother-in-law screams at the top of his little lungs, “SHUT THE HELL UP!!! BOTH YA!!!”
The two men’s eyes got big as they stared straight down at Aaron who threw his best hazel eye’d glare he could manage while Laura and Bella both lost their absolute shit with laughter, leaning against one another. After a bit Mal and Nick just look at one another and begin to laugh themselves, at the entire situation.
“I- I can’t even be mad at him for that.” Nick said as he picked his boy up, “Someone has been listening to mommy a little too closely.”
“Oh don’t even try to pawn that off on me,” Laura said, pulling herself together with her hands on her hips giving her husband a playful glare, “He’s got your temper.”
“Oh we’re all completely fu-” Bella slaps Mal’s shoulder as he catches himself, “In trouble then. Come on ladies, dinner is all set and getting cold.”
“You all go on. I’m gonna turn off the TV real quick.” Laura says as she heads towards the couch that she was sitting on and reaching down to grab the remote. She looks over her shoulder for a brief moment before a scene unfolds in front of her and it causes her to smirk, “Well, who knows...maybe someday I’ll find a way back.”
Temptation is a hell of a drug.
It Was Meant To Be
Somewhere Over the Atlantic
April 24th
Things from Romania to Ireland were a bit on the tense side.
One thing Laura had always credited herself on, was being a support system for her family. Even with Mal’s disposition towards never ever wanting to be coddled, she would still try and be more than just his mother-in-law, she saw a chance to mentor him.
She could see it on his face, his recent losses ate away at him, feeling like he was letting his growing family down. Meanwhile, all Bella could do is tell him how much she loved him, being his support system. She was great at that.
But Laura had seen this once before with Nick. A support system can only go so far sometimes when you feel like your path is so rocky that it could break you, and you will snap and destroy what you can. She could only hope and pray that the two of them believed in each other enough, because she could feel it coming.
But as she looked up at the two of them, side by side as Bella checked in on the carrier that carried the new member of their crew, an adorable little void that she insisted on calling Salem, he watched as Mal carefully pulled her back, giving her a kiss on the forehead and she would simply lay her head on his shoulder.
All this could do was bring a smile to her face as she watched her daughter drift off to sleep with Mal moving her hair out of her face and reaching down to give her ever growing bump a quick touch.
He didn’t see it but Laura would shift her phone just enough to snap a picture of that shared moment. Hopefully something that they can look back on, with their journey with them and her granddaughter to be.
In the back of Laura’s mind, it never really dawned on her that she was really about to be a grandmother. Mind you, she had Bella at such a young age, that the two of them were more friends than mother and daughter.
Despite what some may think, she had only turned 40 last year, and all the cracks made by some about her age were like water off her back by this point.
“Mrs. Madison?”
Laura looked up from her seat at the flight attendant, “Hey, sorry...kinda in my own little world.”
“That’s quite alright. If you don't want to disturb your daughter and son-in-law, the back area is open if you want to get work done or whatever.”
“Oh thank you Mallory, I think I’ll take you up on that.” Laura said as she shifted her bag, “Could I perhaps get some water here in about 10 or so minutes?”
“I just put some in our little cooler when we took off, should be cold by then.”
“Thanks.”
Laura would take one last glance at the couple before she picked up and moved to a different part of the plane and placed it quietly on the desk. She would sit in the office chair and happily slip off her shoes and throw her legs up and just stretch out for a moment before settling back down in the chair and just looking around.
“You know, once upon a time, I too had a chip the size of the Grand Canyon on my shoulder. BOTH shoulders to be exact, I felt like the world was out to get me and I was hell bent, every moment of every day to make a whole lot of people absolutely miserable.”
“It had garnered me a fair amount of success back then. I had a couple of titles despite the amount of naysayers that constantly nipped at my heels, and I loved every single time they attempted to wipe my name off the map. Mind you, they came close several times. Beaten within an inch of my life, almost burnt alive but that chip led me to even bigger and brighter things. But it also led to a lot of heartbreak.”
She looks back and grabs a picture of Nick, Bella and Aaron.
“I gotta admit, there were a lot of times that I even was at the right moment at the right time but my track record stands and no one, not even the great “Dreamkiller” herself, can deny that. So in the grand scheme of things, why in the hell after 5 years did I decide to dust off my boots, throw on the always revealing spandex and put myself back into the line of fire? Simple, because I wanted to.”
She shrugs, putting the picture down in front of her on the desk.
“Yeah, I could have resigned my position in PWS and returned to the roster there but I felt the challenge was in SCW. That Blast From the Past opened up an avenue that put me on the fast track right to you. The very same woman that has been doing just about everything to get my attention since about September during your first reign with that Internet Championship. Now here we are and as if the fates adore me, I was victorious in Romania and we are going to slide into London for Into The Void with the longest game perhaps I have ever played.”
Laura leans back in the chair and looks up in a contemplative thought.
“The way I see it, all these cracks made about my age is just projection on your part. I’ve gone all this time and it looks like I never left. I left the game but the game never left me and honestly, I’m just at this point where I can kick back and let you run your mouth like we all know you are so capable of doing but you know damn well that my level is something that you aren’t quite capable of reaching. So beating me at Into the Void gets you what? A notch on the resume that you defeated a two-time Hall of Famer and retention of that Internet Title. But at the end of the day you will remain that same bitter bitch that is so damn insecure that she would project that whole madness onto someone who wants for nothing but still will do what it takes to knock that chip right the hell off that shoulder.”
“I have been going back and forth, time and time again about how I wanted to approach this whole damn thing and that sticks out to me the most. You are like me 10 years ago. You fucking hate the world and will do just about whatever to takes to let everyone know and drag them to hell with you. Well, babe, this ‘old lady’ has been around the block enough to know that all the horse shit attitude will only get you so far before someone....like me...comes around and shows you that you have only begun to learn. But I don’t intend on you learn the way I had to, like getting beaten to a pulp or burned alive...instead I’m going to bruise the fuck out of that ego and I’m going to take the SCW Internet Title home to my 4 year old to play with just to show you that sometimes Kayla, you have to grow the hell up and let go of that anger if you truly want the finer things in life.”
She motions around but brings up a finger like she caught something in mid thought.
“And yeah we may not even want the same thing but I had a choice. My path is my own and well finally getting that moment that you have been waiting for...is finally here. And I guess retirement that turned into semi-retirement turns into ride the fucking bitch until the break fall off because win, lose...or whatever...I’m not going to go away for as long as possible.”
“And don’t worry Kayla, I’m sure you can show this old bitch some new tricks, but there are times that even the classics are so much better than the remakes. Dreamkiller, meet your Nightmare, who is going to take that SCW Internet Title with a smile on her face.”
She gives a saucy little wink with her left hazel eye before her phone goes off, she picks it up and looks at it and smiles as she runs her finger across the screen, answering the call.
“Well if it’s not my two favorite boys in the whole wide world!”
“Mommy? When will you be home?”
“Soon baby, and when I get there we will have a big night of pizza and movies.” she smiles, “Daddy has the time and everything and then we will spend a whole amazing week before we go to London, okay?”
“We will pick you guys up from the airport soon.” we hear Nick say, “We love you!”
“Love you too, can’t wait to be home with you guys.”
And with that the call ends and she looks softly at her phone.
“It really is the finest thing in life.”
