Chapter 31: Gypsy Blues
There are certain notes in my past that I struck a line through. Notes and stories that, quite simply put, did not belong in my vocabulary of things I wanted to talk about, think about or relive whatsoever. But with every year that goes by, I can’t help but think of where I have been in relation to where I’m going. And where am I now? Well, home. Alone. As the new year rings in, gone was the happiness, real or fake, of Christmas. Now it was all about renewal. It was all about the same lie everyone always talks about.
New year….
New me…
That mantra ran through my head as I stood in my lounge room, staring out my large bay window and out into the city lights and to the ground. I couldn’t help but wonder to myself, how many of those people thought that? How many people looked into the mirror and lied to themselves? Fully believing that, as the new year dawned, they were somehow going to magically change everything about themselves and become a new person? I was willing to bet that it was well over half of them. But unfortunately, for everyone else in my life – whether that is my coworkers or my friends – it isn’t New Year, New Me. It’s New Year, but same old Kayla fucking Richards.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, cracking my neck as I tried to get my head back in the game. I had so much to plan, so much to work toward, and it all was going to start this week. In the morning I had to organize my flight to Colorado. I had to pack my gear, extra clothes, book an Uber to the airport. All the usual things I needed to do every single time I went to work.
I was ready, mentally and physically. While so many others gorged themselves on fattening food and became lazy, I went to the gym. I worked my ass off all in preparation to come back in even better shape than when I left.
I prepared to go to bed with just a few things left to do when there was a knock at the door. I raised an eyebrow, moving toward it while I looked at the small screen that connected to the camera above the door. My heart dropped and then suddenly raced. ”Jace?” I couldn’t believe my eyes or my own voice as his name escaped my lips. He knocked again and I jumped.
What did he want? Should I let him in? After everything?
I leaned my head against the wall next to the door and shook my head, realizing he wasn’t going to leave. And, against my better judgment, I opened the door. There he stood. 6’7, 280 pounds, still in amazing shape. His long blond hair tied back in a bun, his beard neatly trimmed and dressed in a black suit with a white shirt left open at the top. A very different look from what I remember. ”Kayla…..Se Poate?” He was testing me, trying to see if I still remembered Romani.
I turned to the side, letting him in, and as he walked past me my mind flashed. Right back to the last time I saw him.
5 Years Ago.
Blood dropped from my bottom lip, my body ached as I took a deep breath in, the bruises on my ribs making every breath a chore. A painful one. I winced again as I looked down at my knuckles, bloody and beaten. But this was my life after moving in with the gypsies. The compound they had bought and built in upstate New York. My sister Amber had married Renee, their heir apparent and prince, and at the same time I had been given to…him.
Jace Pleasant. The younger brother of Renee. Just as big, just as strong, just as impressive. But while Renee was held to the traditions of a Romani prince, that being honor through strength and domination, Jace was kinder. His actions spoke louder than words as he cared for me, and despite the fact I didn’t love him, I accepted my fate with him as long as I could.
Becoming a Femeie Soldat.
Every fight I had to prove my worth was a step toward respect. But, there was something in the air tonight. Something that felt wrong and different. I heard loud talking. I made out a few words in both English and Romani – something big had happened. There were footsteps, heavy ones, and they drew closer. Before I knew it, the door swung open. Jace slid down to one knee. ”Kay, we need to go….now.” He held out his hand, I raised my eyebrow and shook my head. I was sure that this was some kind of trick or test to make sure I was still loyal to the clan.
He groaned and reached down, pulling me up by force and taking my hand, leading me out the door and down the hallway. ”Where are going?...” He didn’t answer me, his head darting side to side as we watched others run toward the back of the compound. ”What happened?” Still nothing as we reached the gate. I ground my teeth together, sick of being kept in the dark, and planted my feet before yanking my arm from his grasp. [color]violet]“JACE!....what happened?”[/color]
He swallowed and shook his head before looking back at me. His eyes were different. Still very much him, but a deep sadness behind them; he looked down at me and shook his head. ”Renee he…he’s dead.” A shiver went through my body. The patriarch of the clan. Dead. ”Someone got to him, I don’t know who, but he’s gone Kayla.” A few moments passed, he seemed distracted by it all before snapping himself back to reality, in a smooth movement he turned and kicked the side door open.
”What are you doing?”
”Go…” I was confused, lost; I had no idea what to do. Jace looked down and for a moment questioned his own choices before again snapping back to reality. ”Go Kay…you don’t belong here, your sister has already gotten out. Go…please….” I took a deep breath and moved through the door before stopping and turning, kissing Jace on the cheek before backing up and running as fast as my legs could take me….
Present Day
”What are you doing here, Jace?”
He moved across the floor, moving down to the large white leather lounge sitting in front of my large crystal glass coffee table. Moving to the far left, sitting down and making himself at home, much to my disgust. ”An old friend can’t come to visit?”
I took in a sharp breath, my nostrils flaring as my arms folded over my chest. ”Let me rephrase…” I moved closer. ”What the fuck are you doing here?”
His cocky shit of a smile faded. He realized I wasn’t in the mood for bullshit. So now it seemed like he was ready to get down to business. He sat forward, but for now stayed seated. ”You really don’t know why I’m here?”
”I don’t even know how you found me…”
I had kept off most public directories, keeping myself somewhat under the radar in my personal life. Jace chuckled and shook his head. ”You think I had to find you?” He scoffed and shook his head, raising his eyebrows. ”We never lost you…We’ve always known where you are, Kayla. You’re a loose end. You know our inner workings, our hierarchy. You know a shit ton that could hurt us…so…we kept tabs on you…a job I took personally…”
I narrowed my eyes and shook my head, clicking my tongue before shrugging. ”So what? You’re just checking I haven’t been squealing on you? News flash, once I left I wanted nothing to do with that life. Same as Amber, we got out, we want to stay out…”
”Really?” He pushed his hands off his knees standing up and towering over me. Even as he stayed on the floor below the three steps leading up to my kitchen and doorway area. ”Then can you explain why your friend, fuckbuddy, tag partner, whatever he is, has ties to the Yakuza?”
There was awkward silence.
I fluttered my hand and rolled my eyes. ”The fuck are you on about? This is seriously what you’re going with?” Jace stepped back, now it was his turn to be confused. I threw my hands in the air and laughed to myself. ”I see what is going on here. You heard I was single, and have been for a while and you missed me. But the thing is, I want nothing to do with you….ever…end of story…so take your little stories…and leave.”
”You really don’t know do you?” He chuckled, confusion ran through me as he went from chuckling to flat out laughing at me. ”Seems like you don’t know Finn as well as you seem to believe. But, on a personal note. I have been monitoring your socials. And I know you’re single. But…I prefer my conquests to be a little…less used…” I ground my teeth together and he reached out, placing his right hand on my cheek, his pinky, ring finger, middle finger and pointer all stretching all the way around to the back of my neck and head while his thumb came to rest on my bottom lip.
”But, I still know what kind of man you want…” He smiled, my heart raced, his eyes then changed, his hand moved and grabbed my head and neck, hard. Pulling me closer as his voice lowered. ”I also remember what kind of man you need…and Finn ain’t it. But then again…you know me…” He released his grip stepping back with a coy smile before moving past me toward the door. ”Seems like you don’t know Finnegan….maybe you should ask him about his little Yakuza friend…and how he knows him…cause honestly…Finn and I aren’t that much different…”
He adjusted his suit, opening the door and disappearing. As the door closed, I let out the breath I had been holding, my chest heaving as I started to shake, moving fast I deadbolted the door and turned leaning my back against it, sliding down to the floor I felt tears well up from deep below. I was scared.
I don’t do scared….
Future
”I never get tired of saying “I told you so” and honestly. Why should I?”
Kayla sights heavily, sitting down on a large red rock in the middle of the famous Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, her hands clasped together as she takes in a deep breath of fresh, cold air. Snow on the ground nearby, but far from the blizzard downpour down the mountains.
”I have made a career out of defying what people say about me or think about me. I have made a career at being able to laugh in the faces of people who think they know me but really know nothing. Do you all think that this company is my first foreign into being told this stupid crap? When I was younger, it was all about being in my sister’s shadow. Everyone knew Amber Richards. Everyone knew what she was capable of and everybody knew that she was a former champion. And who was I exactly? I was just her stupid little younger sister, trying to make a living.”
“Thing is, it’s always something new. It went from my sister to any of my friends that I happen to be hanging out with at the time. See, some people know this and some people don’t, but I’m actually very good friends with Crystal Hilton. I know she goes by many other names, and she has become the butt of so many jokes in this company, but the truth is that for the longest time I was accused of riding her coattails because of who she is and what she’s accomplished.”
“I know. Weird, right?”
“But now, well, now it’s all about Finn. Apparently, he is just carrying me towards championships and towards titles. Even though before he and I decided to team together, I was already winning championships and proving that I wasn’t the weakling of anything. People seem to forget that I’m a three time Internet Champion, and that I have beaten some of the best of the best in this company. And before I talk about the match that I have coming up just down the road at the Denver Coliseum, let me give you a few New Year’s resolutions for 2024. That seems to be what we all want to do. You’d like that right? To know what I have planned for the New Year? Because I can assure you, while being part of the greatest tag team that this company has ever seen is definitely on the top of that list, it is not the be all, end all of what I want to accomplish this year.”
Kayla gets to her feet, her black and white converse runners letting out a crunching noise as she stops on the rocky path below, turning and looking up at the impressive formations made from hundreds of thousands of years of water and wind erosion. She turns back toward the invisible fourth wall and sighs heavily.
”Keeping the Mixed Tag Team Championships out of the hands of teams that are undeserving is certainly something that both Finn and I want to do. That includes the former champions, one half of which I am being forced to face this coming week. But aside from that, aside from keeping these championships in highest esteem and high regard, making them a prize to be wanted and looked at as a true pinnacle in this business, I also want to expand my horizons when it comes to what I’ve done and what I’ve been able to do. Everyone knows the other disdain I have for the Roulette Championship so please for the love of God, Mark Ward, Christian Underwood, please do not put me in any matches for that piece of shit championship.”
“But what of the Internet championship? Do I want to become a record setting four time champion? Do I want to hold that championship again and break all previous records including defenses and days held? Maybe. But I also hate repeating myself. No, this year, Kayla Richards is shooting right to the top. I am going to go for that World Bombshells Championship. In between my duties as the Mixed Tag Team Champion along with Finn, I fully intend on doing everything I can to get my hands on that World Bombshell Championship. That means any opportunity I have in a singles match, well, I have to just knock it out of the park. But wait, I’m a tag team specialist now right?”
“How can I be expected to win the biggest singles championship in this company when the only way I can do anything is by being dragged along by Finnegan? At least that’s what my opponent this week would have you believe since that’s what Eiley seems to think. About everybody. She has one of those diseases where she believes herself to be far superior to everyone. And talks a lot of bullshit to make people convinced of it.”
Kayla laughs to herself, shaking her head and walking down the rocky path by herself.
”I get it though. I’ve known girls like you my entire life, Eiley. You’ve been told by people over and over again, just how good you are, and how good you are going to be. They’ve built your ego up. Your mentors, your partner in crime, all of your friends. They have all built you up to make your ego as big as it possibly can be. You’ve even had some success to actually show that they might not be wrong. Before you and Ollie became the Mixed Tag Team Champions, you did have some single success. You got in the ring with people, like Samantha Marlowe and Mercedes, Vargas, and had some success. You beat two Hall of Famers who were both world champions.”
“Then again…who hasn’t?”
She can’t help but shrug, waiting for laughter to her punchline that due to the sheer isolation won’t ever come.
”You and I are looked at as the future of this division. You have to be blind if you can’t see that. We are both looked at as the ones who are going to carry this division through the next five years as some of the older, more established stars either leave or end up getting burnt out. That’s what they’re banking on. That’s why this match has been billed the way it has.”
“Eiley versus Kayla Richards.”
“The heat and hatred we have.”
“If there is heat between us, then it is definitely one-sided. You see, Ei, I don’t care about you enough to hate you. But there seems to be some form of belief that there is hatred there. If you hate me, then that’s on you. I greatly dislike your attitude, and I think you have a massive problem. And I get that seems rich coming from someone like me. I’m arrogant, I’m brash, I’m insulting, I’m a bitch – I get it. But that arrogance and ego I have earned years of blood, sweat, and tears, and through being able to beat everyone who they put in the ring with me at one point or another. If I’m beaten by someone, I get my win back – that is just who I am and what I do and what I’m about..”
She stops turning and shrugging.
”You’re too arrogant and self righteous to ever admit you’re wrong. And the worst part, Eiley, is that it’s all there, plain as day for the world to see why you and Oliver lost to us. And it has nothing. NOTHING to do with any perceived carrying on Finn’s part. No, I can show you with proof, Eiley, why you and your boy toy failed TWICE against us.”
“Look at what hapopned when this match was announced. You and I performing on the first Climax Control of the new year. I got excited despite the fact I had to face you…again. Your partner celebrated not being booked and being able to take a “longer” vacation while you had to “go to work”. Finn on the other hand? He got annoyed he wasn’t booked, he booked tickets to come to the show JUST IN CASE. Because he’s a professional...unlike you and Oliver…”
“It goes back further than that, Eiley. It goes back to when you and Oliver lost to us the first time. Instead of acknowledging it, seeing where you went wrong, you both threw tantrums and fell into deep depressive bullshit and lost over and over again. Time and time again, you two just ignored the elephant in the room. And no, I don’t mean Kris Ryans and Mikah’s egos. I mean the loss. You were so unbelievably shocked that we beat you that you just ignored it.”
“Like a child afraid of the monster under the bed, you shut your eyes tight and hoped and prayed it would go away.”
Kayla closes her eyes tight, mimicking the action as she balls her fists together before opening her eyes with an arrogant sneer.
”Only we didn’t go away. We defended those titles and showed the world we were the best while you two fumblefucked your way through match after match and lost time and time again before beating the Barnharts and taking your rematch. One you never really earned. Only to lose again. So, we circle back around to why the marketing for this match is all wrong. See, SCW wants all the people at home to believe this is going to be some sort of fiery, epic clash between two women who hate each other and want to settle a score.”
“But the score is settled. It’s the final and we won. And now you have to drag your ass to the ring one on one after all the shit you talked and try and claw back some form of dignity as you push a narrative that makes no sense. Eiley, you seem to think I have to beat you one on one to prove you wrong or validate my existence when in reality, that’s on you.”
“I already mentioned the fact I’m a three time internet Champion.”
“The women you beat, I beat too.”
“And you look at my history in this company and I have lost four times. FOUR. I am undefeated on Climax Control. I have already proved myself cause honey, because out of those four losses, none of them, NONE of them have been to you. But how many of your losses have been to me? And you think out of some misguided fake confidence that you are going to beat me because this match is one on one? Bring that confidence, Eiley. Bring all of it. Bring Mikah and Kris and Olly and that little yapping puppy you got, bring all of Jet City. I don’t care. All that confidence, all that bravado is just a mask because the one thing you could do to beat me you just won’t ever do because you ego is not capable…”
“Acceptance.”
“Accept the fact your mentors failed you, accept the fact you have lost and need to realize you are not as good as you believe yourself to be. Accept the fact that blow by blow I am better than you. Then maybe. Just maybe, you’ll rise above and be the challenge you seem to think you are…”
