The Bleeding Heart Theory
Sometimes people say things that come off wrong. Their hearts might be in the right place, and they might be doing it for the right reasons, but often, the meaning can be lost in translation. Peoples actions and words can be misconstrued and used against them in different ways, all because the target of The lesson doesn’t understand or can’t comprehend what they are being taught.
Life lessons, especially the ones that are meaningful are never easy to learn. Experience alone can’t be your only guide. This is something that Austin James Mercer knows quite well. All of the harsh life lessons that he has gone through over the last few years has taught him that, in the end, all you can rely on is yourself. You will still have other people in your life, friends, family, acquaintances. They will all try and help you along the way, but in the end, any windows or doors that they open are still up to yourself to walk through.
Self reliance is the only real lesson. The only real skill that everyone needs to learn.
Austin was 1,000,000 miles away. Sitting in the main workout area of the gym, his eyes drifted from everyone working out and doing their thing. From everyone in the practice rings and The weight rooms, all the way down to his phone. His eyes glancing across it as he flipped through different messages. People who Austin had talked to months ago were now messaging him. Telling him about his detective who was coming and talking to them about Lisa.
Asking about their relationship.
Asking about Austin and his family. Asking if Austin‘s father had any ties to organise crime.
Austin shook his head, knowing that they weren’t going to find anything. The truth is that, for most of his life Austin had been squeaky clean. And his father? While Christian Mercer had a shady dealings in the past, his record was clean. They were never going to find anything that would point to the Mercers being in organised crime. But that didn’t mean that Austin wasn’t annoyed by the entire situation.
Paloma near the truth. He had asked Austin directly. He knew what happened, and he understood so why all of this subterfuge and bullshit?
His mind clearly wasn’t into working out or getting prepared for anything right now. He didn’t even feel Alex moving over to him from the side. ”Austin…”
He slowly turned, raising an eyebrow and looking up at Alex. It seems to have been an eternity since the two men had a conversation. Austin had been in his own world. With Alicia and the boys and his own kids as well as spending time with his sister. Austin had his own separate life away from the gym. Alex had been hard at work, trying to expand the brand of wolfslair while also getting ready for a potential in ring come back. The two had not had a heart-to-heart conversation in so long that maybe it had been too late, and they both felt strange about this.
Alex had his hair tied back, his arms folded over his chest. He was in full-blown boss mode. Or, as Austin often called it to the younger students, “angry wannabe Dad mode”.”Did I catch you at a bad time?” Austin knew that tone. It didn’t matter if this was a good time, a bad time, or an indifferent time. Alex was going to ask his questions and try and get his point across no matter what Austin did or said.
”Not at all…boss”
Alex rolled his eyes. He hated when people called him that or tried to make. It seem like he was above them. In Alex‘s mind, he was still just one of the boys. A member of the gym who also just happened to run it. But everyone really knew the truth. Alex had become a businessman. Managing the careers of young up-and-coming professional wrestler as well, also helping The achieve the goals. It was a noble pursuit, but one that also came the drawback of people looking at him as a superior. As some kind of boss. ”So you and Miles…” and there was. Alex had finally taken notice of the issue between the two of them.
Austin raised an eyebrow, tilting his head and folding his arms over his chest before answering. Trying to sound as normal as possible, yet, also deepening the tone of his voice. Whether subconsciously or not. ”What about it?”
Alex shook his head, flaring his nostrils before puffing his chest out and keeping his back straight. Trying to make himself look bigger than he was. ”Don’t you think this issue has gone on long enough?” Austin stayed silent, staring up at his longtime friend And. One time mentor. He looked past Alex for a moment to see a lot of the members of the gym looking over at them. Clearly, picking up on the fact that this was a serious conversation. Austin pushed his way to his feet towering over Alex and making all of his efforts to look bigger mean nothing.”It’s been a year Aus….time to let it go..”
”Let it go…” Austin repeated the words and shook his head. He turned away from the growing crowd of people, watching, and encouraged Alex to do the same. They turned their backs on the crowd and spoke in lower tones. ”I get what you’re trying to do. But no. I won’t “let it go”. Miles needs to learn..”
”Learn what?” Alex spat the words like venom, but kept his voice low, so no one could hear the indignation and anger ”What lessons are you trying to teach him? Don’t fuck with Austin James Mercer? That he is beneath you? That you are the top dog alpha of Wolfslair? What is it?” Alex didn’t get it, he didn’t understand. Austin let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as Alex continued. ”You have to help me out here man, cause this is not helping anyone”
”He is better than this…” Alex looked confused tilting his head with silence, letting Austin talk. ”Everything I said is true. All I have ever done is try and make Miles reach his potential. The potential you saw, the potential I saw. Potential that he wastes and squanders.”
”That’s not-”
Austin put his hand up stopping Alex from interrupting him. ”He should be a world champion by now, he should be main eventing supercards and should be the top guy in SCW or any other company that he would want to go to. He should have companies throwing high money contracts at his fucking feet….and instead….he just coasts through life…and I’m sick of it…”
Austin growled, he clenched his fist, and Alex shook his head before throwing his hands in the air. Alex swallowed and turned back away from the crowd, realising that maybe they were catching more than he should let on. ”But…he’s happy..”
”What?”
Alex shook his head again. ”The kid is happy Aus. In his life. He’s doing something he loves, he has friends who he loves, he has Carter, whom he loves. The kid has a life and career he’s proud of…”
”He’s capable of so much more…”
Alex interrupts, firmly this time, leaning in closer to illustrate his point. ”But that….is not your decision….” Austin looked down at Alex, who had the look now of a concerned father, bnot form Miles or what Austin would do to him. But FOR Austin. After a few moments he gave a small nod, Alex turned and backed up moving away from him. Leaving Austin with his thoughts.
The Finale
”This is it, the end
Austin can’t help but laugh to himself, folding his large tattooed arms over his chest wearing a shirt that seems a little too tight. By design perhaps? Mind games to show just how much bigger than Miles he is?
”The clock is ticking. Time is counting down. But before I have a look and see where I’m going, I need to look at where I’ve been. Recently, I got into the ring with Eddie Lyons. And I warned Eddie that any lessons I gave him, he should definitely remember and take to heart. After I beat him something amazing happened. I didn’t hear any complaining, I didn’t see any whining or tantrums being thrown. I saw in Eddie’s eyes that he was contemplating what happened. Looking over the loss and trying to make sense of it. Trying to realize where he went wrong and was already making plans to come back better.”
“And maybe he will.”
“Maybe Eddie will succeed. We’re so so many others have gone wrong. I have faced a lot of young hungry contenders in this company. Men who walk in and talk about how they want to become champion and how they want to change the game and all these other grand statements. and so many of them have failed. So many of them have never been able to grab hold of that future in their hands and succeed. All because when they are slapped back down into place, they don’t have the heart to fight their way back up.”
“That is what this has always been about. When I first broke into this business, I wasn’t treated special because of my last name. In fact, everyone went harder on me for it. I had so much to live up to, my entire family had been in this business at one point or another. and when my father turned his back on professional wrestling, to become a leader of business and industry, so many held grudge. They thought that he turned his back on the family business, and where he needed to be, and where he needed to go. So when I came waltzing back in? The doors weren’t exactly kicked open for me because of that name.”
he gave a shrug of contemplation. Running a hand through his wavy brown hair. His piercing blue eyes staring ahead as he selects his next words carefully.
” don’t get me wrong, this is not sour grapes, and not Me complaining. That kind of trial by fire hardened me. It made me realise just how harsh this business can be, and for every single beating, and every single moment where people stood against me due to the past, that was out of my control. I became stronger and thank them all for it. But those lessons that I have tried to impart on the next group coming up, have done absolutely nothing to steal anyone’s resolve. In fact, all I see are a bunch of marshmallows, soft children who want to be coddled and want to be held and want to be told that they are special little snowflakes and unique.”
“None of you are born special. Everyone has to work harder and everyone has to realise their dreams of the sweat of their own back. If you get there through any other means, then it doesn’t mean shit. And that is something that I’ve tried to teach so many. So many that didn’t deserve it because they’re potential was outweighed by the arrogance. But there was one, there was one person who I saw coming into my sphere of influence that I really thought I could make a difference with. And that was Miles Kasey.”
“I feel like a broken record with you Miles..”
“We have had the same old song and dance for almost a year. I attacked Carter to get your attention. I tried to show you where you went wrong. Because I saw you flushing your career down the toilet. And I still do. And I get it, your personality is someone who enjoys life. You like to have fun and you like to just be happy. And I’m glad that you are happy. I am glad that you have friends around you who love you and you have someone in your life who treats you so well and you want to spend your life with. truly I am happy that you and Kat found each other. But the fact remains that you should be so much more than you are.”
“You should be a world champion by now.”
he shakes his head, thinking back to all the times he’s seen. Miles rise up and do something special only to very quickly shut up and break like the most fragile of glass.
”instead you are happy to hold that Internet championship high and think that is the be all and end all. And yes, that championship is important, in fact, I hold it near And dear to my heart, because when that championship was returned to this company. I was the first person to hold it, and the first one to hold it above my head proudly. I set the tone for every single Internet champion that came after me. So that title is something that I enjoy and something I will always treasure. But having held that one and the world championship, I can honestly tell you which one is more prestigious.”
“And since you are a little dense, it’s the world championship Miles.”
“A championship with a great lineage. Some of the best in this business have held that championship proudly. Myself and Alex included. Two men who you apparently look up to. Finn Whelan held it too, and you also looked up to him. Hell, you even lived with him for a time. that’s just three names. Three names, in an entire list of people who have changed the game.”
“ And in the years that you have been here. How close have you got to it? A small sniff here and there? A few fleeting moments where you could have become something?”
“This is for your own good miles. For the last year, I have tried to get it through your skull that you can be better and all I’ve had is pushback. Hell, the entire reason this matches happening is because you went out there on television and threw your little tantrum about how people see potentially knew, and you’re done with it. like a whiny child.”
Austin starts to get angry, his eyes burn and change, from someone intense but measured at a low growl in his voice and anger in his heart.
” however, it was refreshing to see you actually have some kind of fire aside from the usual, happy-go-lucky grin that you have on your face. This match, December to dismember, it is going to be the final time. Not the final time that you and I get in the ring together because God knows that while we are both here we will end up facing each other once in a while, we can’t avoid each other when we work for the same company. but this will be the final time that I sit here and give you a chance to realize that potential that we keep on telling you you have.”
“Potential, that word seems to be a sticking point for you doesn’t it. For years, I had people telling me I needed to live up to mine. Dangling this unattainable goal in front of me, like I was some kind of robot. But, I realized mine. I’m a multi time world champion in many different companies, and I have beaten the best of the best. I’m not in the Hall of Fame right now, but you damn sure better believe I will be. That is living up to my potential, that is being the best I can be.”
“You though? You have one last chance. One last shot to show me what you are made of.”
“And I’m going to warn you. Do not waste this. Win or lose. I need to see that in you. I need to see that fire at that passion. I need to see you fighting every single moment and scraping and chlorine and doing everything that you possibly can to walk out of this match with that championship still over your shoulder or rental waste. I need you to give 100% against me. If you don’t? I will know. And as I said Miles win or lose, you need to show me that you have at least learned something. I want to look in your eyes and see some sort of acknowledgement that you have grown as a human being and grown as a professional wrestler. Because if you haven’t?”
“Then you are, and forever will be what so many have said you are. A lost cause.”