August 2
Following the Ultimate X match
Sitting in a deserted hallway in the ship’s interior, Lachlan Kane pressed his face into his hands, letting out a defeated sigh. Another title opportunity...another failure for the young Irishman. He just didn’t know how much more he could take of this. A deep ache welled up inside his chest, threatening to overtake his emotions as he sat and took deep breaths, attempting to keep himself in control…
Something soft and warm draped over his head, and he looked up to see his wife Sierra crouched in front of him. She smiled softly at him, gently rubbing the towel across his soaking wet hair. “Heya.”
He gave her a sad half-smile, but it quickly fell from his face as his blue eyes turned down to the floor. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Si,” he admitted quietly. “I keep trying, and trying, and it just feels like I’m sinking in quicksand. I’m stalled out. I just...” He let out another deep sigh, his head hanging low. “How much more disappointment can I handle?”
She tucked her hand under his chin to bring his face up to hers and shushed him with a gentle kiss to his lips. “Let’s not talk about that right now,” she said, pressing her forehead against his. “Let’s just get you cleaned up and changed, head back to Vegas, and get some sleep. We can talk about it later on, alright?”
He gave her another smile, this one genuine, and kissed her forehead. “Alright.”
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The next morning
Las Vegas, Nevada
He and Sierra had arrived back in Las Vegas late last night, creeping quietly into their room so as not to wake their sleeping daughters. Jack and Alanah had been watching them while they had been on the ship, and when they arrived at the room they saw the two of them asleep on the couch surrounded by their three dogs. Rather than wake them, Sierra and Lachlan opted to let them sleep and headed off to their bedroom to do the same.
The early morning light shone directly into Lachlan’s face, and he groaned as he rolled over to the other side, stretching his arm out. But the other side of the bed was empty, and he opened his eyes groggily as he yawned. He heard movement out in the main area of their suite, and he swung his legs over the side of the bed and climbed out.
He ambled out into the living room, still dressed in his sleep pants and running a hand through his tousled hair. But the scene he saw before him made him pause. Sitting at the coffee table which was strewn with construction paper, crayons, markers, and other crafting items, his sister Alanah had his youngest daughter Olivia sitting in her lap and was helping the toddler draw a picture on a piece of pink paper, while his older daughter Jade was concentrating on her own drawing on yellow paper. When they heard his approaching footsteps, all three of them turned to look at him.
“DADDY NO!” Jade yelled, flinging herself over her drawing. “You have to go! It’s a surprise!”
Lach blinked his blue eyes in shock for a moment. “Uh, OK then.”
Alanah shrugged her shoulders at him. “You heard the little lady. Scram!”
“Alright, alright, I’m going!” he laughed a bit as he started to head out of the room, but not before leaning down to give Jade and Olivia a kiss on their heads. He made his way into the kitchen area, where Sierra was busy brewing coffee and Jack was sitting at the breakfast bar.
“Morning sunshine,” Jack said. “Rough night?”
Lach just gave him a withering stare and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Listen, ya little punk…”
Jack swatted Lach’s hand away. “OI! No messing with the ‘do!”
Sierra set a steaming mug of black coffee down in front of Lach, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Morning.”
Lachlan smiled gratefully at her, taking a long drink as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “So, what’s with the Art Attack in the living room?”
“Well, the girls were pretty bummed when they watched your match,” Jack said. “They wanted you to win so badly. And they knew that you would be pretty upset too…”
“So they decided to try and cheer you up,” Alanah finished the sentence as she walked into the kitchen, flanked by Jade and Olivia. Jade immediately ran to Lach, waving her paper.
“We made you cards!” she declared happily as she climbed up onto the stool next to where Lach was standing. Olivia toddled over to him and held her arms up, and Lach picked her up and rested her on his hip.
“You did?” he said.
Jade nodded. “Yeah! We didn’t want you to be sad cause you lost again…” Her big doe eyes looked like they were about to fill with tears.
“Hey, hey, no tears,” Lachlan said gently, cupping her chin in his hand and smiling at her. “Let’s see your masterpieces.”
The smile returned to Jade’s face as she held up her paper. She had written WE LUV U DADY in bold pink letters across the top of the page, and underneath it drew what appeared to be him in the middle of a wrestling ring, standing up and holding a title belt above his head. “This is you winning the title, like you should have last night.” She pointed to the side, where she had drawn a group of people outside of the ring. “And this is me, and Livvie, and Mommy, and Auntie Lanah, and Uncle Jack. We’re all cheering cause we’re happy that you got to win the belt.”
He felt his eyes well up with tears, and he bent down to kiss Jade on the forehead. “It’s beautiful, stóirín. Thank you so much.”
She beamed her gap-toothed smile at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’ll win the title soon, Daddy. But even if you don’t, we still love you lots.”
He felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest as he cuddled both of the girls close to him. Sierra, Alanah and Jack all looked on with warm smiles on their faces.
It was then that he realized, no matter his failures in the ring, no matter how hard he was on himself...he would always have the love and support of those who meant the most to him. And that was worth more than a hundred title reigns.
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Present Day
Las Vegas, Nevada
The night was calm and peaceful...which was shocking, considering it was Las Vegas. But it suited Lachlan Kane just fine as he sat out on the balcony of his hotel suite, gazing out at the expanse of stars strewn across the inky black sky. Letting out a long exhale, he turned his blue-eyed gaze to the camera set up in front of him, appearing relaxed and at ease after his short break from in-ring competition.
“Well, back at it for another week. I know people are probably wondering just what my comments are regarding Summer XXXTreme. But in all honesty, there’s not much to say. You all saw what happened at the show, so I don’t think a refresher is needed. What I am going to do is look ahead. Now, what my future holds in SCW is anyone’s guess, really. I’ve gone for every singles title that’s available...and every time I’ve walked away empty-handed. That would be more than enough for anyone to call it quits...but I’m not just anyone.”
He leveled a determined gaze at the camera lens, his blue eyes flaring. “I’m the god-damn Irish Scrapper. And no matter how many times I get kicked to the ground, I will always get back up for more. This Sunday, El Dark gets to find that out first hand. I’ve got a lot of unresolved tension built up in me left over from the supercard, and unfortunately for him, he’s the one that got placed in my path for this week. Believe me when I say that it’s nothing personal, mate. Just a matter of business.”
He leaned back in his chair, turning his gaze back to the sky as the camera faded out to black on his silhouetted profile.
