“Sweet fucking Christ!!!”
University of Illinois Hospital
Emergency Room
Chicago, IL
Shortly after Midnight
October 6th, 2021
The echoes of Malachi’s voice rang through the hallway of the University of Illinois Emergency Room as the attending physician did a physical once over of the arm that was brutally attacked following his match with Bella’s dad, Nick Madison.
His father-in-law didn’t do the damage. Instead, after what was a hellacious match between the two men, Nick was helped to the back and left Malachi an open target. Without warning, suddenly he was attacked by Angel and her freaks. Pinning him down, wrapping his left arm in a chair, and Angel with as much force as her 140 pound frame could muster, jump on the chair.
And Bella watched it all unfold right in front of her. She was the first to his side, before the medics got there and now she’s by his side and this doctor poked at his arm. She almost punched the MD in the mouth, when he said “Well looks like we’re gonna need x-rays.” instead she bit her tongue, rolled her eyes behind the docs back. He took his leave quickly cause if Mal could have reached a bedpan to throw it at the dude, she wouldn’t have stopped him and he wouldn’t have missed.
“I can’t believe this.” Bella said slumping down in a chair across the room from him. She just curled up in a ball and hid her head trying to will herself not to completely lose it.
Mal willed himself up out of the bed, cradling his broken arm close to him, “Bells, don’t.”
“Don’t what? Blame myself? No, I know it’s not.” she sniffs and unravels herself, looking up at him with her bright blue eyes meeting his own. He is doing everything to not show the pain he is obviously in, which causes her to stand up and attempt to lead him back to the bed, “Stop trying to be brave right now, will ya? I know you have got to be in a ton of pain.”
Instead, he wraps her up with his good arm and in a hug, “Not in too much pain to make sure you are ok. I know this was one of the concerns you had...too bad we never saw it coming.”
“No, we didn’t.” she says sadly.
He pulls from the hug and leans down to her head that bows, “I will heal, and we will get our hands on that bitch.”
“Or die trying.” she smirks.
Mal chuckles, “Always with the dramatics.”
He goes to give her a kiss as a knock comes to the door with the nurse, the labtech AND the radiology tech all enter the room at the same time making the tiny room feel even tinier. The nurse speaks up, “Well we have pain meds, but looks like we’re all ready for you at the same time here.”
“I’ll give you guys room and go update everyone. Maybe I can find something to drink and snack on in the process.” Bella said, pulling from Mal but not before he kissed her hand.
“It’ll be about 30 minutes or so.” the nurse says as she helps the tech prepare everything.
“Alright, I’ll be right back.” she says looking back to Mal as he gives her a knowing nod before she exits the room and sliding her mask back on.
She thought she would have to fight tooth and nail to be back with him but at least the nurses have been accommodating to her sticking close with her husband. She passed by the desk in the front and letting the girls in admitting know she’d be back in just a moment before making a rush through the doors.
Bringing out her phone, she sent out a mass text to the family, updating them that his arm was indeed broken. She’d give them a detailed story later. She just made sure it was sent and as soon as the text started flying in, she just turned her phone off and did everything she could think of to resist throwing her phone into oncoming traffic.
This wasn’t supposed to happen again. She left the bullshit of Miles’ ex and the boogie man that has haunted her for the last decade of her life, back in May. She comes back and now the nightmare picks up right where she left it.
In numbness of it all, she just walked into the parking deck of the hospital, climbed the stairs and found herself on the roof. Dead center on the top and all she did was look up and scream “FUCK YOU!” at the top of her lungs. “I don’t know what the hell I have done but this has me just seriously questioning what I have done in a previous life. I can’t keep doing this victim game. I am seriously just fucking over it at this point.”
Bella angrily sweeps tears from the corner of her eyes, “I have battled, I have bled and been bruised. I have busted my ass and for what? To still remain being haunted by that fucking bitch? I am standing right here and right now and saying NO MORE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?! NO MORE! No more being a victim, no more being fucking passed up. My family is not a target, my life is NO ONES TO JUDGE! I am in control of this narrative.”
Taking a deep breath, she steps back looking up one more time, “People wanted to see what happens when I’ve had enough? Be careful what you fucking wish for.”
Wrapping up
O’Connell’s Home
New York, NY
A Week Later
“Will you hold still?” Bella says, as she shifts Mal’s casted up arm. Wrapping plastic wrap around it.
Glaring, a shirtless Malachi settles back down in the kitchen chair, watching his wife contorting herself to make sure every part of his cast is covered, “What is this supposed to do?”
“Keep the cast dry so you can take a shower. I love you, but you need a shower.” Luka barked at him when he went to argue. Bella shrugs in her dog’s direction, “And she agrees.”
“Silence from the peanut gallery, mutt.” Luka gruffs at him and hides her face with her paws tucking her nose, never taking her eyes off of him, “OKAY I get it! I know I need a shower. There’s only so much wipes can do. But this???”
Bella finishes up and tapes it up a little bit, “Trust me, will ya? Ok there we go. It should remain dry.”
Mal holds it up looking at about the 7 layers of the wrap around it, “This is ridiculous.”
She smiles sweetly at him, “But effective. Take it from someone who had to wrap up Jack’s stupidity during his idiot years.”
“Yeah well he better straight that shit out now that he’s raising my niece and nephew.” Mal states almost growling.
“Well he hasn’t broken anything for a while...and now he has your sister to do that.” she quips as he grumbles, “Go on Oscar. Hit the showers, I’ll check on ya in just a few.”
He sighs getting up and grumbles the whole way but as she hears the bathroom door click close she grabs her phone and throws out a quick text. She received a message earlier in the day in regards to a possibility of a title shot in Sin City. They had heard everything and wanted to make sure she was in the right mindframe for it. Determination was the name of the game as always and she told them as much.
No matter what, she was there to work. She was there to prove a point and the determination to make sure she was front and center at High Stakes at Madison Square Garden was on her dream board long enough. It was time to make it a reality.
It hadn’t been much time that passed when she received her response that brought a smile to her face. She was going to get a shot and she didn’t care what the hell she had to do to get it.
“GOD DAMMIT!!!! BELLS! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!”
Bella looked up from her seat, “It’s not that hard, take off clothes, step in shower.”
Mal walks out from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist and you can tell he did that as he was wet with a little bit of soap on his chest but he holds up the casted arm, “I get that but doing this one handed is absolutely impossible.”
She stares at him for a moment, blinks a few times and shakes her head, “You are absolutely hopeless sometimes, you know that?” she looks back to her phone for a moment and after getting one last response, she sighs in defeat, “Ok, I’m coming to help.”
And The Dead Horse You Rode In On
Seattle, WA
Earlier this week
She was on a mission.
She was on the hunt.
She wanted that bitch’s head on a pike.
And she missed her by a split second.
Malachi and her flew out to the west coast to watch Lachlan wrestle and well...she wasn’t going to lie, she had ulterior motives. Top it off she was getting really irritated with the entire world at the moment and the fact that when the match was announced of Krystal defending that Roulette Championship in a Graveyard Match against Johanna, Selena, Bea and herself. She was at first excited.
And she even felt bad that Krystal had to do this before High Stakes knowing that Krystal focus was solely on Char Kwan.
She stated as much on twitter.
But oh hey, Char was her focus so fuck the rest of them. Right? Right.
She wasn’t one to get mad easily, but holy shit, what was going on currently made it really hard to not be pissed off.
She sat back in a chair in a local bar that the brothers took her to for dinner. As she sipped on a beer watching over the two men laughing it up, currently goofing on one another over a game of pool, she couldn’t help herself. She was irritated but at least they could have fun. But Bella, right now...“You know what really gets to me?”
She sits back, holding her bottle in her left hand, her wedding band and engagement ring combo glimmering in what little lighting there was in the dark bar, “When I get, “Well Bella, you are good but you just aren’t...on my level.”. I’ve been hearing that quite a bit lately. So many times I have found myself with opportunities ONLY to come up just short and I don’t know about you guys, but I am pretty over it anymore. Not enough for me to just say ‘fuck it’, walk away for a bit but just enough to say ‘I have had enough of this shit and you’re about to find out how big of a bitch I can really be.’.”
She slides out of her chair and slinks over to the jukebox that has been silent for a moment. Throwing a couple of quarters in, she picks AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” as it plays in the background, “I have never in my life been so teetering on this edge of wanting to just fuck everyone up. After everything I have been through in PWS and SCW...you’d think that eventually somewhere respect would be given. And I get a lot of “Well you’re good ...BUT.” Well fuck your but. I am a legitimate THREAT to ANY championship in SCW and PWS and that isn’t me stating what I feel, that’s a shoot. But I can’t seem to get past that glass ceiling of this Roulette Division. That ends when I bury ALL doubt in that Graveyard Match.”
She glances back to the boys who are still enjoying their game so she decides to walk around and casual glance at the pictures along the wall. When she reaches a hall from out of their sight, she leans against it and drains the rest of her drink, before continuing on, “Johanna knows what I’m talking about when it comes to ceilings. She has hit it so many times, she’s starting to get a concussion from it all. She’s been there, done it and took me to school so many times that I owe her tuition. I know she’s been hungry for another chance too and that alone should scare anyone in this match. She’s dangerous. And I welcome it.”
She swipes her hair from around the back of her head and brings it to her side, just mindlessly playing with it, “Selena has had those moments where she has shined so bright that some use her as a guide to what is Neverland. I haven’t personally fallen into that but there is no doubt that she wouldn’t have done what she has and not be spectacular. The thing is, is slumming it in the Roulette Division where she really wants to be? I’d wager no, but sometimes stepping back to the start of it helps catapult you to where you really want to be.”
Raising her eyebrow, “As for Bea, we all know exactly what kind of person you are. You, like your husband, will step on anyone to get something you know you really don’t deserve. I watched you do it on several occasions and it’s about time someone called you out on it. I mean, I’m sure I’m not the first to tell you this but honestly, you haven’t really seemed to have mattered much until you ride Bill’s coattails. Someone somewhere felt bad for you because in all honesty I scratch my head as to why you are here.”
And then her eyes squint for a moment, closing them and taking a deep breath, because she needs to get these things off her chest, “Then there is Krystal. Are we just destined to do this forever? I KNOW your focus is on Char Kwan and what she’s done but fact remains that you have 4 women that are actually, despite all my trash talk, very hungry. Starving almost. And looking to make a huge statement as we all head to New York City. Boston has found itself in this situation where they could possibly watch as High Stakes gets completely turned upside down as we all look to bury one another. But I think what really gets me is despite what I have gone through, you still don’t look at me like I am a legitimate threat. You don’t look at any of us like that. You seem to think that you are completely untouchable when in fact out of all of us, you have the most to lose. Now are any of us going to deny that you deserve to get revenge on Char? Absolutely not. But you have to worry about the here and NOW. To you that Roulette Championship is just an incentive to get to Char. But you don’t NEED it to get to Char.”
She hears her name being called by Malachi, and comes out from her hiding spot. Flashing her husband a grin, she raises her bottle as if to say ‘Grab me another.’ before sitting back down in her spot at their table, “I can sit here and tell you all exactly why I believe that this is my match. I can repeat myself over and over and honestly, sometimes I feel like I am. I WANT New York. I WANT to walk into my hometown and know that I have actually accomplished something huge before that. My work speaks for itself. And it’s about time that the payoff speaks VOLUMES for the work that I have done. I’m going to bury any and all doubt of that in that Graveyard Match.”
The O’Connell brother come back over to the table with their next round of beers with 3 shotglasses that are filled to the brim with whiskey and take their seats next to her. They know she’s been talking about this the whole time and they nod for her to finish it. So with a smirk, she reaches out and grabs her glass as the boys do the same, she raises it and says “And if any of you even doubt that...well...Fuck you...and that dead horse that you beat to ride in on.”
All three take the shot, bang the glass on the table twice and it all goes black.
