Chapter 51: In a sisters shadow.
So many things have been happening in my and Finn‘s household. The last week also had been a whirlwind of action and moments. From Dickie and Aiden coming over and speaking to Finn, to my efforts trying to keep everything together with both of my sisters and Amber trying to connect with her young son Luca who was still living in the large apartment With Finn and me. Not to mention my complex feelings toward my nephew whom Finn had been able to rescue. My heart aches for him knowing that all he ever wanted was to be loved and cherished by his family and the feeling of rejection that he must’ve had when Amber struggled to connect with him.
But today was different. Amber had walked in bringing both Nova and Luna her twin daughters with her introducing them to Luca before taking him by the hand and taking him down the street to get something to eat and bond with him. She left her twin daughters with me and Finn allowing us to babysit the 2 6 year-old girls. Nova, who had always been headstrong and confident ran around and helped Finn with the different things he was doing around the house.
I on the other hand sat with Luna, she had always been the one who seemed to fade into the background standing in her more charismatic sister's shadow. I sat back slowly flipping through a magazine and showing it to Luna, we started talking about different dresses and clothes, allowing me to get an idea of what Luna wanted for Christmas.
I smiled at my niece. The truth is Nova and Luna reminded me of myself and Amber. While Amber and I were not twins and we had different views on life, we were only separated by three years. We had very similar personalities to each other, whereas Nova and Luna were completely different but I still had a soft spot for Luna. The young girl had always struggled and I wanted nothing more than to make sure my niece was going to be successful in life.
”Auntie Kayla…” I raised an eyebrow looking down at my niece. I acknowledged her voice before sitting back waiting to see what she wanted. ”Nova and I just started first grade. And it’s really weird. She has more friends than me. I don’t think people like me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Shaking my head I gave her a pat on the head ”It's ok no one likes me either”
Luna raised an eyebrow I know she wanted me to elaborate. I could hear Finn moving around close to the door. Stopping as he listened to the exchange. ”What do you mean Auntie Kayla?”
I sighed shaking my head ”When I was a little girl and I went to school your mother was one of the popular ones all through high school she had a lot of friends and had fun….I wasn’t as popular….I felt like I was in her shadow…” I took in a deep breath, shaking my head as I looked down at her. Luna studied me trying to figure out if I was telling the truth or if I was lying to her. She was so perceptive, as she always had been.
”And what did you do?”
”Nothing.” I smiled as Luna looked at me confused unsure of what to make of my statement. I cleared my throat deciding to elaborate. To let her know my secret the reason why I never cared if anyone disliked me. ”You will always find people, people who accept you for who you are. The most important thing is never changing. I could have, I could’ve changed and been more like your aunt Tasmin or been more like your mother, but I didn’t.”
She gave me a small nod understanding what I was trying to say. ”But didn’t you get lonely?”
I took in a deep breath smiling weekly before deciding on an answer ”A little bit. But eventually, you find people who want to spend time with you and like you for you. That’s what I got…. besides, I like you.” I smiled, Luna laughed and leaned over giving me a hug. I gave her a small paddle on the head kissing her forehead before she jumped down and ran to go find her sister.
Finn stepped around the corner moving up to me and folding his arms over his chest before leaning on the kitchen counter ”You are really good with kids”
I laughed and shook my head ”You seem shocked…”
Finn took a deep breath and stared ahead, he was choosing his words carefully. Smart man. ”Maybe. It just goes against what most people think of you. I know you have a side of you that you keep hidden, so it’s not shocking to me, but I just thought you should hear it. You do an amazing job with all of your family.” I simply smiled. It was a good feeling knowing that my efforts had always been noticed. Finn cleared his throat with a small smile coming across his lips starting in the corners it twisted upward ”Was that true? What you told Luna about how you felt? Being in Amber‘s shadow?”
”Oh god no I’ve always been fabulous…”
Finn stared at her, looking deep into Kayla's eyes with a small smirk ”Right, that’s what I thought…” he laughed moving around me and putting his hand on my shoulder. I reached up and squeezed it. As he released, he walked away spending some time with my nieces as I got to my feet and decided it was time to make a coffee. Being the favorite aunt is exhausting work and I needed energy.
”Auntie Kayla….come play hide and seek with us…Uncle Finn is gonna look for us…” Luna grabbed me by the hand, pulling me sideways as Nova came up as well giggling like a lunatic. I moved over looking across the room at Finn.
”Uncle Finn?” He shrugged that adorable boy screen plastered back on his face. He knew how to make my heart flutter. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that’s the kind of effect he had on me. I heard him start to count Nova Luna and I separated going and hiding. I sat in my hiding spot my arms folded over my chest looking out to see if I could see Finn coming. It hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was having fun. It was all about family…
Apex Predators.
The silence is broken by the sound of chuckling. Just a small one, a sharp inhale of breath as Kayla Richards comes interview. Her long black hair was tied back in a bun showing off her slender neck and strong jawline. She takes a deep breath tilting her head sideways with her tattooed arms folded over her chest.
”Well I wonder if anyone in the peanut gallery is still laughing at my expense? I told the world that this isn’t easy, I told the world that I was the best to do this and people still for some stupid reason doubt me. Tempest doubted me, so she decided to open her mouth and cast a shadow on my world bomb shield championship rain and make it sound like I wasn’t a worthy champion. Tell me Tempest, how did that go for you? How did all those stupid little comments about my actions as the champion of this division turn out for you? Because last time I checked, I’m still standing here as a double champion and you’re still standing there unable to break through the glass ceiling above you despite your enormous head and ridiculous height.”
Kayla lets out a small scoff noise shaking her head and throwing her hands in the air before placing The back around her chest, folding them over.
”It’s amazing to me how people seem to downplay what myself and Finn have been able to accomplish. What we’ve been able to do in the last year and a half. See, everyone keeps on pointing to other times throughout history in this company where people have held two championships concurrently. They talk about Roxi Amber and Mikah, and how they all held championships at the same time. But, what he and I have been able to accomplish our completely different. I’m not taking anything away from those women and the fact they were able to win a championship while still holding a championship.”
“But this is not the same. Both Finn and I have been able to defend the mixed tag team and world championships at the same time. We didn’t have to drop one of them within a month of holding it. We have been the mixed tag team champions for over a year and are well on our way to making sure that our names are forever etched in the histories of the biggest championships this company has. Nobody, and I mean nobody has done what he and I have been able to accomplish yet. There are still some people out there who want to run their mouths and discount both myself and him like nothing. Like we’re just pretenders to some imaginary throne that they’ve cooked up in their stupid little heads because they think they know better.”
“Finn just beat that overrated hack, Kris Ryans”
“It seems like his wrestling ability has aged about as well as his taste in women. I just beat Tempest. A woman who many thought was going to be the biggest test of my career because she was being locked inside a steel cage with Me. But he’s the problem, I wasn’t locked in that cage with her. She was locked in there with me and she was locked in there with the best fucking bombshell on this roster. So I walked out with that championship held high and now Finn and I are going to defend our mixed tag team championships against the Lyons family”
She steps forward, wearing a white crop top that shows off her midsection and the tattoos across there as well as her rather ample chest she leans forward. Her emerald green eyes piercing straight through the screen as if she’s looking right into the audience's soul.
”This match comes at a really horrible time for both of you. See, I would always be up to defend those championships against anyone let alone two people who have had a fair amount of success in this company and have shown themselves to be talented. But, coming out of my match against Tempest I was in a good mood but by the end of that super card not so much. You see I had to watch a stupid British ingrate turn around and stab a knife in my boyfriend‘s back in front of the entire goddamn world. That cowardly little douchebag who didn’t have the common decency to go up to Finn and say to his face that he wanted a championship match, so I’m not in the best of mood right now and because of that I’m getting into that ring and I’m looking to hurt someone”
“And that someone is going to be Victoria Lyons.”
“Under normal circumstances, I will just be looking at going in there and humiliating you because I don’t like you. Think you are quite literally one of the worst people on the planet and coming from Me someone who is universally disliked by 90% of the people in this company should tell you something. Victoria you are a skidmark on underwear that is found on a park bench frequented by old people, perverts, and homeless men. You are the type of person who would walk into a McDonald’s and then you would complain about the quality of the food. You are the type of person who thinks that Taco Bell shits are a right of passage.”
“You are the type of person who walks around in the summertime asking people about the heat.”
“Now, i’m not gonna sit here and say that you and your cousin aren’t great professional wrestlers because the truth is that you are. Hell, I even admire the way that you put Bella Madison against Me Victoria. I pointed it right out to Bella that I knew what you were doing because it was a brilliant move. You were putting Bella against me because you know I destroy her both mentally and physically making your job easier at violent conduct. And it worked, you came out the other side still holding your championship. You left Bella lying in the ring, as a nothing a nobody, and a broken shell. But, your choices helped you with that therefore I should be given an assist. So I guess I will say one small thing to you about that match.”
“You’re welcome…”
Kayla laughed to herself, shaking her head and looking down before looking back up with a small spark in her eye, it’s a spark of anger and frustration and a need to break someone.
”Now, well I can fully admit that you and Eddie are both talented, and I can even go as far as The say that you might be a threat to our championship rain and you could put up a good fight if you came after my bombshells world championship and Eddie might give Finn a small run for his money when it comes to the world championship this is not the week to be facing us. Your last name is not some kind of accident.”
“A lion is viewed as king of the jungle. An apex predator in a land of dangerous predators. And while Eddie takes the road of being honorable and trying to do the right thing in the right way you Victoria are more of a woman like me. A woman of my own heart as it were. You will do whatever you can to get an advantage because you know that that’s what this business is all about. But the problem is that you actually think of yourselves as apex predators in this business and this company.”
“But you’re not.”
“Finn and I are at the top of the food chain. We’ve proved time and time again through winning championships and defending them. He and I both took this company by storm and went right to the top. We’ve done things that nobody has ever done before and we have started taking off other records. He and I are both undefeated this year. He’s 14 and nothing and I’m 15 and nothing. Neither of us has felt defeat and neither of us has known what it’s like to walk out a loser. We are the best of the best. You and Eddie can do everything you can to take these championships from us and I’m sure you will do everything that you can even though you can’t stand each other.”
“But in the end, you’re both going to fall and fail the same way everyone else has. Because you simply are not on our level.”
