1.The Beginning.
What have you done?
This is my story. Not either of my sisters. Not my brothers, not my ex boyfriends. But mine. There is one person on this earth that can know the complex emotions of what I have gone through but she chose to go a different way than I. So while Amber knows the path I’ve walked since she technically stepped before me, the roads forked and changed as we both did with age. Now I firmly believe that to trace the path of a person you need to go back to the beginning. The central point to which someone’s personality began to form in this narrative. This also helps establish the villains and heroes…..
Well, if I’m being honest there are no heroes in my story. You see the world is not a happy shiny place filled with smiles and laughter that makes children grow into functioning members of society. At least, not in my world. Not in my story. You see I, Kayla LeAnn Richards am 25 years old. And as of right now I am a successful professional wrestler having comeback from a year absence to put the fear of fucking god in an entire company. Only for that company to close, or go on a “hiatus”. My sister, my biggest rival, has become a domesticated house plant and my younger sister is pregnant with her geeky, moronic fiance while my brother is..well.. missing.
This is what I am faced with. My life has turned that corner and I am now what most would consider “happy”. Of course. That would be if I could feel it. But digress from my point and from the journey I am preparing to take you on. You see in the past I have focused on the positives, when really, to explain who and what I am I should focus on the entire picture. The trials and tribulations I have gone through since I turned 18. But even that, the story of degradation and pain, the betrayals and constant use of my body and heart for others' sick pleasures are just a happy fairytale compared to what I will share.
As I mentioned before, the one person I know who could share the pain and understand how my mind works splintered and went as whole other way than me. And maybe one day she will share her story. But for me it started, I mean REALLY started when I was 6 years old, with seeing something I shouldn’t and the start of the idea that daddy dearest was not perfect. And that the pain I was going to feel would change me forever…..
Norwich England
17 Years Ago.
“He didn’t really mean it…”
It was a usual cold winter for us. The snow had begun to fall. But only as a thin layer that would soon mix with the dirt outside and become a brown frozen slurry. That’s how it was here. We were denied the “fun” part of snow. Fluffy white promises a lie and a brown thick mess a reality. Our house was small, only three bedrooms. One for our parents and a crib for my brand new baby sister Tasmin Marie. One for myself and Amber, my sister two years older. And a bedroom for the oldest, our brother Jackson. He sat doing his homework along with Amber. I simply sat in the corner playing as our mother stood in the kitchen preparing a meal.
It’s funny but the memory is so vivid I can close my eyes and smell it. The vegetables were stewed with the stock and pearl barley. A rich symphony drifted through all the rooms. I didn’t know it at the time or feel it but all of my siblings were on edge except Tasmin. Jackson moved and winced as a shock wave of pain seemed to go through his ribs. Amber was quiet and seemed lost. The look in her eyes screaming for help but from something that at the time was so foreign to me, I was a different person. I looked at our mother, she stared quietly, unmoving. Unfeeling. A sadness about her.
Then everything changed and shifted. The door opened and our father walked in. I was happy to see him. Jackson and Amber both had a reaction of pure fear. Our mother hid hers well. He stepped in through the house shutting the door hard behind him, the slamming sound causing Amber to shoot in the air as Jackson closed his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh as it surprised me. I heard whispers, I heard the talking. Our father turned to me with a smile that made me feel uneasy as it always did, I smiled back and waved. Amber shaking her head stepping in front of me to get his attention. A move that I didn’t understand at the time, the foolish jealousy I felt then a reminder of how naive I really was.
The meal went through as normal. A silent ritual. The after dinner movements the same. Done in silence as our father, the king of his castle sat and watched the football on TV. Jackson sat on the floor, avoiding any movement that might offend my father’s senses. Tasmin had been taken to bed, my mother putting her in her crib and going through the usual bedtime. Amber grabbed me quickly taking me into out bedroom to do the same. Her job as the older sister. She read me a story, my eyes were heavy and then I drifted off to sleep….
My eyes opened. For some reason I didn’t stay asleep. The blurry light coming from my small night light allowing me to see just enough. A figure in our room. Moving close to Amber’s bed. I stayed silent and refused to move as it became clearer. I wondered why Amber wasn’t waking up, the figures hands moved under her blankets, touching, grabbing, moving. How could she not be awake?. My mouth opened and I went to call out until something caught my eye. Amber’s hand….
It clutched her blanket tight and then I realized. She was awake, she was pretending, keeping her eyes shut as her lip trembled. A second figure entered, I heard whispers, I heard them grow loud to the point I could almost make out a word. They left the room, I slid from my bed and dropped to my knees feeling the cold hard wood floors beneath them, our bedroom door cracked open enough that I looked through into the light.
Our parents argued. Hushed aggressive words spat between them, my father’s hand slipped sideways connecting with my mothers cheek, she fell sideways. Jackson’s door opened, he turned and the sound of skin and bone hitting the same echoed as I saw my brother hit the ground. My mother whimpered and cried. I heard him laugh, I heard him mutter words as he grabbed her by the hair. Jackson slid into his room and I heard his door shut……..Amber grabbed our door shutting it, I turned looking up at her, tears quickly drying in her eyes as she shook.
I went back to bed, but I didn’t sleep. Neither did Amber. And that was the beginning. That was the first memory I have of the world becoming just that little bit darker…..
Like A Villain
”Well now, is this a surprise to most of you? To see a Richards on SCW programming?”
Kayla Richards, middle sister, vicious bitch, all the usual descriptive words and phrases. A smile across her lips as her emerald eyes open, framed and outlined by a veil of long black hair and black eyeliner.
”See, I come from a family of in ring performers. And that in and of itself isn’t very rare now is it? You have Alex Jones and his sister, you have Alicia Lukas and her siblings, this business is full of wrestling families. But there is usually one sibling, one name that rises above the rest and becomes the flag bearer for their clan. And in SCW’s case, they have that sibling. They have the best of the best from a very talented family. My older brother Jaxon, talented but has no drive, my sister Amber, again talented and a multi time world champion, but also not driven, instead enjoying the retired life with her family. And my baby sister Tasmin…so gifted athletically but content with now being pregnant, sitting at home….”
“But me? I am the most dedicated to the craft of professional wrestling. I am the one who spends hours in the gym, who has travelled the world and I am the one who for the last few years has carried my family name into the spotlight. However, I haven’t done it for my families legacy, or for pride in what they have accomplished. No, I have done it for one person, and one person alone…”
“Myself.”
“I am the one who matters, I am the one who wants to challenge myself week in and week out. But, challenging myself is the best I can do, because I look around the landscape of wrestling and, to be honest I don’t see many real challenges left. I don’t see a group of individual who can get into the ring with me and really challenge me and beat me. I don’t see a mountain that I will struggle to climb. SCW is no different. SCW is not the challenge that many believe it is. And some of you might find that arrogant of me to say and, well, it is, but you all need to understand where I am coming from and what I believe.”
She points to herself and shakes her head with a smile looking down before her eyes flash back up again.
”This business is about belief and faith. This business is about wanting to be the best and if you can’t then you shouldn’t be here. And I don’t want you to get it wrong or twisted here, I don’t want any of you to think that I don’t see the names on this roster and that I can’t appreciate the talent they have and the things they have accomplished. Because I do. And I have seen it all. I get that you all want to get on your knees and worship women like Amber Ryan and Roxi Johnson who tore the house down for that Bombshells title. I get that you all want to think Myra Rivers and Andrea Hernandez are goddesses of the ring and I understand the nostalgia you all have for Micah and Alicia Lukas.”
“But misguided hero worship and appeasement with a rose tointed look at the past will only get you so far in this business, it will only allow you to have your name up in lights for a small amount of time.”
“To really become something special you need to be prepared to do whatever it takes. And I am nothing if not honest about this. I will do whatever it takes to win and become the best, I will do whatever it takes to get my hands on and keep championships. I will lie, cheat and manipulate. I will use every single tool and idea at my disposal to gain and advantage over my opponents and I will not adhere to any false ideals of honour or respect.”
“I can and will appreciate those who came before. But as far as respect? As far as shaking hands and acknowledging people for their gifts?”
“You can all fuck right off…”
She chuckles to herself, her British accent making everything sound more profound that it really is.
”Roxi Johnson and Keira Fisher? Hacks, old hacks. Amber Ryan? Myra Rivers? Overrated. Crystal Hilton?. Well, she and I are old friends but seeing her be so successful here makes me question the amount of effort I really need to exert. And as I’m saying all this, I’m sure so many of you are sitting behind your computer screens, tears streaming down your face with a t-shirt adoring your favorite bombshells prominently displayed on the back of a chair with so many questionable stains, and you’re screaming, that I am nothing and have done nothing in SCW…yet”
“And, as much and I hate it. You’’re right. I haven’t done anything in SCW yet, except for run my mouth in a short promo on the show, tweet out a few things and challenge my first opponent. And so many of you SCW diehards will completely disregard careers outside this company like there aren’t a thousand other companies out there. So now the question is, out of everyone I could have chosen to get in the ring with, everyone I could have thrown the gauntlet down and challenged…why Bea Barnhart?”
“Simple. I wanted an easy night.”
She flashes another smile, full of arrogance. A complete bitch.
”If I wanted a challenge I would have challenged someone of note. I would have gone after Mikah, Alicia, Myra, Andrea. I would have gone for a former champion, I would have tried to get a match with someone who isn’t stupid enough to let Bill Barnhart stick his dick in her. But, I went for you Bea. And really you have your husband to thank. See, you and he are cut from the same cloth. Two people who believe that they are the be all end all in SCW despite being stuck in the same position for the last few years. Fluking your way into a win here anfd there, sometimes even getting small amounts of success like a roulette title or a mixed tag team title. But in the end you’re both just here to exist.”
“Names on a page. Names that so many people just laugh at over and over again behind your backs yet you seem to believe you’re respected in some circles.”
“Oh honey no…”
“You aren’t respected, admired, feared or even on anyone's radar most of the time and the only reason I am giving you any type of relevancy is because Bill ran down Finn Whelan and made the same type of outlandish indefensible statements that you fo. And as I watched Finn win the Roulette title and take it from your idiot husband I had an ephiany…oh…sorry that is a profound idea. I have to learn not to use words you won’t understand Bea…my apologies, but I had an idea. See, Finn beat your husband and he humiliated him, took his title that he had held hostage for six months due to no one giving a fuck about the roulette title and you were left out.”
“I felt bad..”
Kayla nods and throws her hands in the air in an over dramatic fashion.
”See, you deserve to be humiliated in the same way as Bill. You deserve to be dragged out and slapped around and beaten just like he did. And then you can both resume your careers as being the gatekeepers for SCW. The no name no future losers that people like me get to beat and destroy in our first matches. That is your position, that is your job and your lot in life. And the sad fact is Bea that it’s where you deserve to be. Promo after promo fo false promises and over exaggerations about your talent and drive. Match after match of you failing and then ignoring it, never trying to make yourself into anything more than a sad joke.”
“You are nothing Bea, nothing in this business. And in my debut, on the first climax control where I will grace you all with my in ring skill, I’m going to beat you, destroy you and then laugh at you…”
“Dream…killed.”
