Mistakes, I’ve made mine.
6 Years Ago
”What the fuck were you thinking Austin?”
Christian Mercer, the father of Austin and Amy stood with his back to his son. His hands behind his back as he had perfect posture, staring out across the New York skyline. Austin sat slumped in his chair, his long hair flowing down his leather jacket as one foot stayed planted on the floor and the other up on the dark oak coffee table in front of him, magazines like Time and Newsweek sitting across it, Austin scoffed and shook his head as he let the silence lingers. It had been three days since Austin brought his sister Amy “home”, three days since Christian had tried calling his son and then sent a strongly worded text message.
Austin had stayed silent, he hadn’t sent a message back, he hadn’t even called his father. That infuriated Christian even more to the point where he sent men to gather his son. Amy had hidden in her room, three days wasn’t enough to erase the fears and anxiety. That had pissed Austin off, how dare he? He thought to himself. Christian finally broke the silence turning to see his son. His short dark brown hair perfectly styled, his beard trimmed and a tailored black suit and powder blue tie rounded out the look.
Austin scoffed again, rolling his eyes. Christian ground his teeth together. He stood six foot four, only slightly shorter than Austin and despite giving up his wrestling career fifteen years earlier was still in amazing shape. ”Do you think this is a joke boy?”Boy, Austin hated that. He was in his early twenties, he had graduated college, had his own apartment and was training to be in the family business. The real family business. A love and ideal that Christian had lost long ago and had now become a corporate sell out. A talking head wrapped in an expensive suit and tie.
Christian tilted his head and moved around his large desk to the space between the coffee table and his visitors chairs, the ones Christian had “offered” for Austin to sit on before he instead flopped down on the leather couch. ”You don’t know what you’ve done. Amy is sick. She nee-”
That was it. ”How the fuck would you know what any of your chrildren need?” The outburst, while not totally unexpected came as a small surprise to Christian, he had known his son had a hard head and a temper, but until recently Christian had kept Austin under his boot, on a short leash. But that time seems to have ended, in the worst way possible. ”You hid my sister-”
“”Half sister” Austin shook his head and stood up with such force the couch slid back across the hardwood floor. He moved around to stand face to face with his father.
”You hid her from me. Family Dad. You know what that is right? The Mercer family crest.” Christian put his hand up and looked away from Austin dismissing him, this only infuriated the younger Mercer more as he grabbed his father's arm forcing him to look at him, forcing him to absorb and listen to his feelings. ”You never allowed her to have the name but she’s still blood. She’s still one of us and you let her rot away in that place and never, NEVER, told me of her existence. How can you live with yourself?”
He pushed away and turned to leave. Christian stood for a moment as it all sunk in, as Austin reached for the door Christians voice rang out. ”You don’t even know why she was in there do you?” Austin stopped, his hand on the silver door handle. Christian was right. Details had been left out of the file.
Austin slowly turned his head but not his body, his father had moved, he had walked around to his desk and unlocked a drawer. He pulled out an iron box, the size of a briefcase. As it opened Christian sighed heavily. His heart obviously at odds with his head as he then shut the box, holding in his hand a manilla envelope. He looked up at Austin who had now turned around. ”Well? Do you want to know?” He stepped forward, closer to the desk, his father pushed the envelope over and kept his hand on it. ”This doesn’t go further than this office.” Austin gave a nod and Christian moved his hand. He pulled the envelope up undoing the string around the small metal hook pulling out the papers, his eyes scanning over the information as he swallowed hard.
No, I don’t believe it
Sometime later
Austin sat in the living room of the small two bedroom apartment he shared with his sister. His eyes trailed across the floor and down the hallway to the big white door at the end. His sister inside her bedroom, she had started coming out more and more, she seemed like she was getting better. But coming out more oft6en was still once or twice a day, she would come out, get food and water, talk to Austin for a few moments and then go back into her room. When he would go out and come home for any length of time things would be different.
The kitchen was cleaned, the bathroom was cleaned. Washing done and tidy. Things Austin would forget but not ask his sister to do. All he wanted was for Amy to be happy. It has been a week since Austin had gone to see his father. A week since he had handed the file from the hospital Austin hadn’t seen the first time. And now it sat on the table in front of him. A half drunk beer next to it, his hands reached out toward it then came back. The trepidation ran through his mind as he took a deep breath in and out again. His eyes trailed back up to the door, he grabbed the file and moved down the hallway coming to a stop at her door.
His hand raised ready to knock but he stopped, his heartbeat fast and he shook his head. He turned to walk away when he heard the doorknob turn and the door squeak open slightly, he felt Amy's eyes on his back and he stood in front of his own bedroom door. He heard her breathing before the door opened a little more and her voice rings out. ”Aus?”
He stopped, his hand halfway to his own door. He swallowed hard and slowly turned around with a half smile as Amy slowly walked out and closed the door behind her. Her long hair tied back, her face so much different than it was when he first went to see her in the hospital. It was full and happy.Her cheeks were no longer gaunt and haunted with the cars of her past. Her hair was now shiny and full of color. This was the Amy from the pictures, the vibrant young girl that he had expected to meet when he found out about her.
”I… went to see Dad, Amy he, I need to know. I need to know what happened.” She turned pale and looked down seeing the file in his hand, her head shakes and she mouths the word “no” over and over as she steps back. Austin swallowed hard and reached out taking his sisters hand. ”What happened that night Amy?” He asked again, her eyes shifted and closed and her fists balled up, her could hear her breathing quickens and she tried to keep the tears in.
A few started to slide down her cheeks as she looked up. ”I can’t. Please I can’t. I don’t...I want to forget Aus.”
His heart sank to the pit of his stomach, this is what he didn’t want. What she doesn’t need. The guilt rose up as she moved forward. His arms wrapped around her tight He didn’t want her to become what she was. For the life that she had reclaimed to be taken again and for her to become that shell he saw in the hospital. That person without ba soul. Without anything in her eyes. Just emptiness. Austin sighed and stood back slowly pulling the file from his side up between them. Her eyes slowly moved down to it, her shaking hands wrapping around it.
”Open it.”He couldn’t stop himself before he said it. His voice barely a whisper but still loud enough for Amy to hear. She took one, long, deep breath and slowly opened it, her eyes going over the words as she exhaled. She turned the page and inhaled sharply. ”No. No no no no. This, this is wrong. Her hands shook violently, she flipped through the pages breathing heavy and fast before dropping them and the pictures on the floor. Her words becoming a squeak and a stutter, Austin stepped forward and pulled her into another hug.
”I didn’t, I couldn’t.” The words repeated over and over again, her hands grabbed Austins shirt as she seemed to slowly calm down. Austin shook his head and helped her back into her room, Amy laid down and breathed deep as Austin tucked her in before walking out closing the door. He sighed deeply and looked down picking up the papers stuffing them back in the file.
”What the hell do I believe?”
Family Lineage
”Well, this is random…”
Austin James Mercer, all six foot six of him, sits at the end of a weight bench, his long hair tied back away from his face.
”After losing that world title match I really had no idea where I was going. I still don’t. See, the one thing I hate in wrestling are those times when you have a lack of direction, of purpose. Of drive. It all spirals into one another. If you have a clear path on where your goals are and a way to get there, you’re motivated to be ready and to go as hard as you can. But, if those goals are moved, if those pathways are blocked then the motivation fades and you are aimless…”
“Aimless in my career…and life.”
“I hate the feeling, I hate the directionless nature of the downtime in this business. The fact that if you try and fail you go back to square one. It’s even worse when you have an opportunity fall in your lap that you never understood or needed. And that’s what happened to me. See, I never asked for the opportunity against Mac in that fourway. But I got it, and I could have become the SCW world champion for the second time. In the end though, I failed. I was unprepared and it was different. I have no place in Sin city wrestling now.”
“I’m not the star, I’m not the big name, I’m not the face of the company, I’m not even the face of the gym. Yet somehow I find myself in these opportunities. Mixed tag team title shots, world title shots, matches against the best of the best. These opportunities are presented to me because of what I have done and what I'm capable of. And while I appreciate the faith SCW management have in me and while I appreciate the opportunities, I need to face facts. Until I can look in the mirror and see the man I was…”
“Then I don’t deserve shit…”
He laughs to himself and shakes his head rolling his eyes.
”The landscape of this company has changed. Sin city wrestling was in a bad way four years ago. They’ll admit it. They will. This company had troubles when it came to talent retention and fanfare. So the melding of SCW and Honor came at a great time. This company rose like a phoenix to become what it once was and in many ways surpass it. But the last six months has brought more changes. New faces and names, people offering their own brand of dominance. But me, and the rest of us. Wolfslair in general has become a lesser part of SCW…”
“And hey, that’s fine, this isn’t sour grapes. No one can stay on top for ever. And we haven’t been on top for a while. Alex became the world champion, he was able to rise up, but Johanna has struggled, Alicia has struggled, I have struggled.”
“Struggle breeds dedication. And I have tried to overcome everything.”
“But now where am I? What am I doing and what am I capable of? What is my place in SCW now? Well I suppose I have some form of answer in that. Apparently I’m a hit man and I am being focused at Braydon Hilton…”
He shrugs and pushes to his feet with a sigh.
”This kid, much like myself, comes from a family of wrestlers. This kid though, has an ego to rival his mom. Which is scary. See, the family Braydon comes from is one of the most arrogant in this business. And soime would say it has been earned arrogance. Multiple titles, multiple moments and some whispers of a hall of fame. This is the family he comes from. But does that translate into star making power? Does this mean young Master Bryadon is going to be the next big star? That he can rise up to become the SCW World champion?”
“Maybe.”
“I can’t say he won’t. Stranger things have happened in this business. However. WHat I can say is that potential doesn’t always translate. He’s young, he has the talent, he has the potential but the drive? No, I don’t see it. It seems to me that Braydon thinks most of his problems will be solved with his last name and his family connections. I can speak from experience and my own mistakes. And I honestly hop the kid is listening. That isn’t what happens.”
“See, I can tell him where I went wrong and maybe he’ll learn”
“A decade ago I was in Braydens shoes. I thought the world was laid at my feet. Not because of hard work and talent but because of my last name and potential. It was a mistake and I had to grow. So maybe that is my place right now. To teach…..to show…to prove a point. And that Bryaden is what I’m going to do for you…prove a point and teach you.”
