Session five: The Escape.
“It was the same night? The night of the party”
“Yes.”
Silence then the sound of a pencil scribbling across the paper. The pencil being placed against the pad and it moving to Dr. Whitlows' lap. She leaned forward, her thin wire-framed glasses slid down her nose. “Tell me what happened.”
Alicia took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. She knew how painful this was about to be. She knew how she was about to feel. But sometimes to heal, we need to feel pain first.
She could smell beer. The cheap kind that had no weight to it. The kind that had been watered down at the brewery. It was on Ronnies breath, as he snored the smell hit Alicia in the face, it made her feel sick to her stomach, even now Ronnies arm was over her like he owned her even in her sleep. Her eyes moved across to the small digital clock on his side of the bed. The red lights ticked over, she wanted out, she needed out. She carefully moved her leg off the bed, sliding her lower body away.
She was able to slip down to the hardwood floor.
It creaked, a shot of fear went up to her spine, to her heart, and down again. Ronnie groaned and rolled over in the opposite direction. A snore escaped him and Alicia felt relief. For the first time, she was happy and relieved he had been drinking. It meant a quick moment of sadness then he’d be out for the night.
Her hand moved to the small handle grasping it hard, it made her realize she was shaking. Her hand and arm vibrated as she pulled down and back, sliding through the door and down the hall into the bathroom where she had hidden clothes. She slipped on the jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt, and a hoodie.
She looked in the mirror taking a long deep breath trying to calm herself down. Her heart was going insane, her hands were shaking. She didn’t like this. But for what she had to do next, she needed a clear head and needed to be calm for this. Alicia swallowed deep and face a small nod to herself whispering as she looked down at the sink. “Come on, grow some balls Violet.” Seg spat the words like venom to herself before clearing her throat and standing up straight. It was time.
She turned and moved back out to the hallway toward the stairs. She stopped at the landing, she couldn’t move. Her boys. Their room was right there. She had told herself not to look. It would be too hard and would break her heart, and stop her from leaving. Jennifer had warned her too. But she wanted to see them one last time. To see their faces. To hear them breathing. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She took a long, deep, breath. She held it in for what seemed like an eternity before pushing it out and turning on her heels to move towards the door.
Alicia stepped in, being careful not to wake them and move the door too fast. She moved to the half bed and the crib. The emotions came straight up from her stomach as she burst into tears. Looking at both of her sons laying there asleep, realizing what she was giving up. Realizing what she was forcing them to give up. She could feel herself doubting it all. Was this the right decision? Could she stay and power through it and survive?
She was deep in thought, she failed to hear the door open. But she felt a hand on her arm and froze before spinning and coming face-to-face with Jennifer. “Vi, what are you doing? We have to go. Now!”
She snapped out of it, nodding slowly and following Jennifer out of the boys' bedroom and down the stairs towards the kitchen and the side door. Jennifer stopped at the base of the stairs pushing Alicia back against the wall. She swallowed hard and shook her head looking around. “It’s my dad….shit” She shook her head and looked down. “Stay here. I’ll get him out of the way.”
Alicia gave an understanding nod. She watched as Jennifer moved around the corner faking a yawn. “Fuck…” Alicia whispered under her breath and hugged the wall hard.
“Hey daddy” Jennifer used her best daddy’s little girl voice. She moved around pulling her father's attention from the door. Alicia moved around and behind the kitchen bench to the door, she reached up sliding out and down the stairs hiding in the bushes. She was outside, she was free. The door opened. Jennifer stepped out and looked around. “Vi?”
“I’m here” She stood up Jennifer moved down the stairs grabbing Alicia’s wrist, she opened her hand shoving a large rolled-up wad of cash inside. “What’s th-“
“Go...get away from this fucked up family. Come back when you can fight for them…” Her voice was breaking, she was upset, Alicia smiled and gave her a nod as a few tears started to form in her eyes.
She turned and moved towards the road, but stopped suddenly. She turned and threw her arms around Jennifer's neck hugging her. “Thank you, thank you so much” She pulled back and sighed heavily. “Take care of them...please” Jennifer smiled and gave a nod, Alicia moved back and turned, this time there would be no looking back. She looked down at the cash, all hundreds. She had enough to start a life, to start the fight back.
“Where did you go?”
Alicia snapped out of it, back to Whitlow's office, tears still fresh on her cheeks. “What?”
“After you left, where did you go?” Alicia swallowed and sat up with a groan and a shake of her head. She looked around the office and clasped her hands together.
A small smile, a sigh, and her bright blue eyes staring ahead. “Jennifer gave me over thirty thousand dollars. You know, when you think about that much, you’d like it looks like alot. But, really it was deceptive.” She trailed off and shook her head. “It was stupid. I thought about my dad, What my mom told me, where he went and what he did…”
Whitlow tilted her head, showing patience as Alicia skirted around the question. “And, what did you find out?”
“I found my home away from home….” Alicia's face lit up, she laughed to herself and smiled wide. “I went to Japan…”
Queen…
”Hail to the queen”
Alicia’s southern accent burns through the screen, her bright blue eyes sparkle as she smirks with an arrogant turn of her ruby red lips.
”I’d hate to say I told you so, but, I told you so. Seems to be something I do alot in my career isn’t it? I came to SCW, I told you all I would become the SCW Bombshells champion, everyone talked shit. They said I couldn’t go on the same run of dominance I did in WWH and Honor wrestling. But then, I won it, I won that championship and held it in both hands and I was able to say those sweet words. I.TOLD.You.So. I lost the title to Sereana after her wife interfered and handed it to her, I promise I would have it back within a month. ANd again, I succeeded after everyone said I wouldn’t.”
“I got injured, said I’d come back and get revenge on Bibbie Dahl, she and everyone else told me I wouldn’t, that I was done. I came back, I beat her and I got to say...I told you so.”
“This is a running theme, time and time again I have had people underestimate me and tell me that I can’t or won’t do something and time and time again I prove them wrong and get to say those words. And the same thing happened with the Queen for a day match. Char Kwan, Mercedes Vargas, a bunch of yahoos who weren’t even in the match. They said I wouldn’t or couldn’t do it. And I’ll admit, the vocal minority who keep telling me what I can’t do is getting to become a smaller group, but they are still there. But when that match ended I held the briefcase and all the power.”
“And at that moment I was presented with a choice. What championship do I set my sights on?”
She smiles and shakes her head, at this point, we notice Alicia is wearing a red crown, a red cape, and a red shirt with her name in cursive writing and a picture of her with a crown. The limited-edition Alicia “Strong style Queen” T-shirt available from SCWShop.com.
”See, the easy answer would just be, the SCW Bombshells title. It’s the biggest, the best, the earmark of this professional wrestling world and the measuring stick for womens wrestling. But, I have held it before. It’s a path I’ve travelled. So, I could have gone for the mixed tag team titles but, well, I figured Autin might want a run there and I didn’t feel like teaming with him. But, what about the roulette? I could go into a random match with Krystal Wolfe, beat the crap out of her and snatch up that title….easily…”
“But, I never wanted easy. I have never wanted to take things or win them without a challenge. So that left two championships, and this decision was actually alot harder than most realise.”
“On the one hand, as I said, is the world title. On the other is the Internet championship. Myra Rivers has made that a prize worth chasing and wanting. And not only is the Internet title a prize, it’s something I have never held and it is held by someone I don’t particularly like. I don’t like her face, her attitude or who she is as a person. So, the desire was strong. But then, why didn’t I go for that title? Why didn’t I pull the trigger and step out of my comfort zone? Well, the answer is simple and it was the tipping point.”
“Amber Ryan”
She nods and raises her eyebrows with a shrug stepping back and taking the cape and crown off ruffling her long blonde hair flipping it all over one side as she folds her arms back over her chest and snarls.
”This is a match I wanted, regardless of it being for a championship. It just seems to be some kind of happenstance that you and I are in the positions we are right now. From the moment you stepped into SCW I wanted a match with you. But it seems like we have been two ships passing in the night. I was the champion when you came in, I then lost the title and got injured as you started to rise up the card in SCW at a fantastic rate. I watched as you and Roxi beat the hell out of each other for a few months and had an amazing rivalry that made me excited about pro wrestling again.”
“You were still occupied with Roxi and also took some time off when I returned, I was focused on Bibbie and then the Bombshells title again, and when I lost it and stepped back, well, that’s when you made your run. And now here you are, the incumbent champion, a woman who has been a star not only in this company but others too. It’s almost like looking into a red headed mirror.”
“Winning the queen for a day match gave me the means and opportunity to have a match with you. The match so many people wanted. A match you and I both wanted.”
“We’re like two pitbulls, staring at each other through a chainlink fence for the longest time, now free to go. And go we will. See, I told you before I didn’t want to take an easy match. I liked challenges. And that is something that no one can say I do. No one can sit there and say I run from challenges or that nI’m a coward. When I was the champion I called out everyone, the best of the best and I beat them. Shit the truth is Amber...you’re here because of me…”
She sneers again and laughs to herself.
”See, I was the reason Roxi came back to SCW. She was happy living her life with Keira and their kid, she was happy making sporadic appearances and kicking trash cans around in that bullshit Lucha company. It was my challenge, my temptation that brought her back. And it was Roxi, that brought you in. So the entire reason why you came here, why you’re holding that championship right now. Is me. So how fitting is it that you and I are about to go one on one for that championship in the main event?”
“My only regret is that it isn’t happening at a supercard. But, I suppose the first Climax Control of a new era will do.”
“And I want everyone, not just you Amber, to feel the weight of this match. The heavy gravity of it. See, you have been one of the most dominant forces in wrestling and now, SCW. People respect you or fear you. Or, in some cases. Both. Make no mistake Amber, I do respect you, but I don’t fear you. I look at you in the ring and I smile, because I see a kindred spirit. Someone who is willing to put everything on the line, never step back from a fucking challenge and never back down. I see someone who will leave little pieces of themselves on that canvas. Who will sweat and bleed for their craft and for all the titles and accolades that come with it.”
Her eyes burn, her body seems to become more pumped up and excited as she paces back and forth.
”You and I will step in that ring and we will give the fans and management a fight they will never forget, we will scrap, we will claw and we will do it all not just for a title or a championship but because we both want to beat the other. I love SCW, I love wrestling, I love that title that you hold and I would love to become a four time SCW Bombshells champion. But what I want even more, what will be put up high as a trophy mounted on my fucking wall...and I mean this, with all due respect.”
“Is your fucking head.”
