Sunday May 12th
Post Climax Control
Climax Control has been over for some time and everyone is packing up and leaving the venue after a successful show. Well, successful to some, because Bobbie and Peter had failed to advance in the Blast From The Past Tournament. But to add insult to injury, it was Bobbie who suffered the loss and ended up losing her Bombshell Roulette Championship to Alexandra Calaway.
Times like these, Artie would normally be supportive and find ways to reassure her that things would be fine. He wouldn’t let her disappointment feed her silence further make her feel worse. But tonight was different. Because lately he was different. He was just as quiet as she was as they finished gathering up their things so they could head back to their hotel for the night before heading off to Turkey for the next show-and Artie’s next match. He seemed almost despondent as he placed the last of his things in his duffel bag and Bobbie just stands behind him, staring at him.
After zipping up his bag and thinking Bobbie was still gathering her things, he turns around. “Ready whenever you….are.” His voice trails off as he looks at his wife, already with her bag over her shoulder. “Oh. You’re ready.”
Bobbie nods. “Yes.” She says, not moving an inch. “I’ve been ready. You on the other hand.” She folds her arms across her chest as she stares at him.
He raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. “Me on the other hand, what?” He asks, clearly having no sense of how quiet or emotionally empty he had appeared.
“It took you a long time to finish packing your stuff up.” She responds. She drops her duffel bag and takes a step towards him. “And I would have thought you would offer some words of encouragement or something after I lost out there, but the silence coming from you is deafening. It’s…maddening.”
Artie shrugs, genuinely not knowing what to say. “I don’t know what to tell you, Bobbie.” He says slowly, eliciting a disappointed look from Bobbie. “I’m sorry you lost out there, but I’ve just got other stuff on my mind. We both know you’ll get another shot at some point.”
Bobbie’s jaw drops a little. “Who are you?! And what have you done to my sweet, loving, Artie?!” She throws her hands up in the air, trying to figure out in her mind what has been going on with him lately. After a few more moments of silence, she gets an idea. She grabs her cell phone and starts dialing a number.
“W-what are you doing?” Artie asks, panicking. “Who are you calling?”
“Your MOTHER!” Bobbie bites back.
Before she can hit the send button, Artie quickly reaches forward and snatches her phone out of her hands. Bobbie stands there, frozen in shock, and completely speechless. “No!” Artie shouts, shoving her phone in his own pocket. “Do NOT call my mother. There’s no need to call her.” Artie knew he was probably being a little unfair to Bobbie and too harsh on her, but he couldn’t help himself these last couple of weeks. He was trying so hard to keep his promise to his father, but Bobbie is his wife so it was not right.
“Well…it is still Mother’s Day.” Bobbie replies, trying her best to not yell back. “I am assuming you already called her?” Artie shakes his head and Bobbie looks even more surprised. “You didn’t call her? On Mother’s Day?!”
Artie didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t give away why he couldn’t, and wouldn’t call his mother. He closes his eyes and rubs his temples, feeling a stress headache building. Bobbie steps closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders and being as gentle as possible. “Alright. This has gone on far too long.” She says and he opens his eyes. “You need to tell me what is going on, because there has to be a good reason to not call your own Mother on Mother’s Day.”
Artie takes in a deep breath and looks his wife in her eyes. He had to tell her. He couldn’t keep this from her any longer. He turns around and makes sure the door is closed and no one is around before he tells her what he had been keeping from her. “Ok, I will tell you. But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone else.”
Bobbie steps back. “Who else would I tell?” When Artie gives her a look that says it all, she just chuckles. “Oh. Right. I won’t tell my parents. I promise.”
Artie sighs. He waits a moment before he finally spills the beans. “My mother is cheating on my Dad.” Bobbie can almost feel the heartache in Artie’s tone as he breaks the news.
Her jaw drops and she shakes her head, in shock. “No.” It is all she can say at first. She had known the Millers her entire life. Next to her own parents, their marriage was the next that she and Artie had looked up to. “There’s no way. She wouldn’t do that to your father. She couldn’t.”
Artie nods sadly, fighting back tears. “That’s what I said when Dad told me, too, but it’s true. It’s why he has been in such a foul mood lately.” Just the thought of his mother ruining her marriage to his father is enough to make him sick to his stomach again. He looks around for the closest chair before sinking down into it and Bobbie pulls up a chair next to him.
“Well…how does he know? She wasn’t acting any different when they visited us. Just your father.” Bobbie had so many questions, but Artie had so few answers.
Artie shakes his head and shrugs. “I…I don’t know. He didn’t give me any specifics.” His voice breaks, and Bobbie places a hand on his knee. “He wouldn’t have told me if he wasn’t absolutely sure. But…my mom doesn’t know that he knows about the affair. That’s why she was acting normal when they visited.” He lowers his head, and the emotions start to hit him like a runaway train.
“Now it all makes sense.” Bobbie replies, her hand still on his knee.
Artie’s sadness quickly starts to fade, and a whole new emotion begins to build. One that he hadn’t expressed very often, if ever, and one Bobbie was not used to seeing in him…rage. He clenches his fists and turns his gaze back to Bobbie. “How? How could she do this, Bobbie?” He says through gritted teeth. Because he couldn’t understand. Bobbie couldn’t, and neither could his father. “They’ve always been so…happy. Or so I thought. And she just…throws it all away.”
Bobbie shakes her head. “I wish I knew, sweetie.”
Artie leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. His knuckles are going white from clenching them so tight. “I’m not used to feeling so angry all of the time. I’d rather be sad, but the longer I think about it, I can’t be sad. I’m just…GRRRAAAHHH!” In that instant, all of the pent up anger finally boils over and he lets out a furious howl. Bobbie jumps up and back, and Artie jumps up from his own chair. He spins around before either of them knows it, he punches the wall.
“Artie!” Bobbie shouts.
But it’s too late. His hand connects with the wall and then he lets out a pained howl, gripping his right hand. “OWWW!” He sinks back into the chair, shaking his head. “Stupid, Artie. STUPID!”
Bobbie kneels down to check on him, and his hand. “Can…can you move it?”
Worried that he may have broken his hand, Bobbie watches as he slowly unclenches and re-clenches his fits, but wincing as he does so. “Great. Just what I need before my match next weekend. Justin Smith will take full advantage of that.”
Bobbie shakes her head. “Well it doesn’t appear to be broken. But we better get ice on it fast.”
A long silence falls between them as they stand up and grab their bags again. Before they walk out, Artie grabs Bobbie with his good hand and just stares at her. “What am I going to do, Bobbie?” He was at a complete loss, and despite how difficult he had been over the last couple of weeks, he hoped she had some sort of answer for him. But he knew it was a long shot.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know, sweetie.” She gently squeezes his hand. “But…we’ll figure it out together.”
He pulls her in close and hugs her as tight as he can, and he knew her last statement was true. They would face this together. He wouldn’t keep secrets from her anymore. He needed her support just as much as she needed his. But it was at that moment that a strange fear hit him. If his own mother was capable of cheating on his father and throwing their love away so easily…
What if Bobbie ever did the same?
Later in the week Artie and Bobbie are in Turkey as he prepares for his and Kallie Reznik’s second round match against Cordelia Clark and Justin Smith. As disappointing as last week had been following Bobbie and Peter getting eliminated and Bobbie losing the Bombshell Roulette Championship, both were slightly relieved that they would not have to worry about their teams facing each other later in the tournament. Artie’s right hand was now bandaged after punching the wall following Climax Control, x-rays had confirmed it was not broken…thankfully.
But he was still walking into Climax Control in Turkey at yet another disadvantage…with a visible injury. As if the size difference again was not enough, he had to give Justin Smith something else to work with and put himself at risk of truly breaking his hand and being the one to cost his team the match.
The two are just finishing up in the fitness room of their hotel, at least getting some cardio in to prepare for his match on Sunday. They grab their towels and water bottles and are heading for the door. “How is your hand feeling?” Bobbie asks him as she opens the door.
He looks down at his bandaged hand and just shrugs. “It’s still sore, but…better than it was earlier this week.” They walk out of the fitness center and slowly make their way down the hall towards the elevators.
“Good. Try to be careful and avoid throwing any punches against Justin on Sunday.” Bobbie says with a laugh.
Artie stops in his tracks and stares at her. “Why? Just because of my hand?”
Bobbie stops when she notices Artie had stopped before her. “Well, yeah. That and the fact he’s just a lot bigger than you. We all saw Konrad holding you back in your last match.” She chuckles, once again amused at what had happened. Artie, however, does not look as amused.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He asks, growing angry again. “Do you think I’m going to embarrass myself out there?”
Bobbie sighs and shakes her head. “What? Of course not. Are you really going to get upset again?”
Artie shrugs. “You tell me. Should I be upset? Are you being supportive of my involvement in the tournament because you believe in me and want me to win? Or are you just trying to protect me?” His question is serious and he waits for an honest answer and not just one that Bobbie thinks he wants to hear.
Bobbie is left temporarily speechless, surprised that he would suddenly say something like this after they had just gotten back to normal-ish when he told her of his mother’s affair. She stumbles as she works to respond. “Of course I support you in this tournament, Artie.”
“You support me, but you don’t think I can actually win with Kallie? Is that it?” That had to be it. It was obvious, and the reality of it hurt Artie deeply. Perhaps more than Bobbie could realize.
“It’s not that I don’t think you can win. It’s just that you’ve only been working at this for like two months.” She reaches for his hand but he pulls away. “I’d love nothing more than to see you win, but it’s just…it’s not easy.”
Artie sighs and shakes his head as he backs away. “It wasn’t easy for you either when you first started, but I supported you and believed in you through all of it. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though. Makes me feel so much better.”
Artie then walks away without another word, showing just how disappointed and hurt he truly was. Bobbie stood there for a moment, jaw dropped and at a loss for words. This was all just part of the emotions he was experiencing after hearing of his mother’s betrayal. And only time would tell how long this rollercoaster would go on for.
When I first learned that there was no way to get me out of this tournament, I was really nervous. I didn’t know what to do, because I’m not a fighter. I never have been, and it’s always been a bit difficult for me to build any sort of muscle or anything. I’ve just been the awkward geeky guy and been fine with it. At least until now.
Training has been hard work. I’m not gonna lie. But, in a weird way, it’s also fun. Exhilarating almost and a darn good way to get rid of a lot of tension that builds up, ya know. You never really realize until you do something how therapeutic it could be. And sure, maybe I’m not as good as everyone else, or not as experienced…yet. But I could be!
I don’t expect a lot of people to believe in me. I’m probably in the same shoes that Bobbie was when she first stepped into the wrestling business. Seen as a joke or incapable of being a part of this business. Only here as filler or what some people would call the “pee break” matches. But I also don’t need everyone to believe in me. There are only a handful of people who I do, but the most important is that I believe in myself.
So…why not prove everyone wrong? Why not step into that ring every week, or whenever I am booked I should say, and show them that I CAN be a fighter. That I can beat all the odds and come out on top. I can be the reliable partner that Kallie needs me to be. Experience comes with time so the more I keep at it, the better I will get! I’ve never really done anything noteworthy or that gets everyone talking, but this is it. This is MY time to shine and you know what?
I want that World Heavyweight Championship.
I know Justin Smith will hear that and sit back and laugh his head off. And that’s fine. Let him. He may be bigger than me. He may be stronger than me. But I have heart and soul and that’s all I need to make it through this! Besides, from what I’ve seen of him, aside from his size, there’s not much to be intimidated by anyway. He’s just your typical brainless ogre thinking he’s big and bad when he’s not! See? I can throw out insults too! That makes me awesome and totally capable of doing this!
Justin seems like the kind of guy who just says a few dumb sentences…the same ones…over and over again and thinks that he will back it up in the ring. So far…that hasn’t really worked. I mean, the only reason they are even in the 2nd round is because his tag team partner is better than him and got the job done. Although I guess some people would say the same about me, but I intend to change that.
You are, I already know what Justin is going to say about me. Just look at his past promos and it’s all a broken record just against different people! Even I know you gotta do more than that if you want to be taken seriously in this business. I’m learning more and more every day and I sure will do everything in my power to make sure a guy like Justin Smith doesn’t advance in this tournament. That’s a promise!
As for Cordelia Clark? I guess she was a big name back when SCU was a thing, but I think Kallie can handle her. She did pretty awesome in our first round match so I’m pretty excited to see us move forward in this tournament. And I’m super excited to be the one to help Kallie get a much deserved shot at the World Bombshell Championship!
We might be underdogs, but I’m glad we are because when we win it all and get our World Championship shots…we make a bigger impact! We make names for ourselves and cement them in SCW history forever. And I think that sounds pretty awesome! Underdogs for the win!!
Bet on it now, people. Artie Miller and Kallie Reznik your 2024 Blast From The Past Winners and future World Champions!
If you don’t, you just might regret it!
