Chapter 48: Family.
I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe what Finn had been able to pull off. Not just what he was able to pull off, but what he was willing to. A few hours ago Amber and I had come home simply looking forward to some food and a relaxing night, at home well my Home. But as we stepped in, as we looked over at Finn and then at the small boy who was with him, my heart sank and I looked at my sister. Amber looked like she had seen a ghost. And before any of you judge her, you need to understand why
I sat at the kitchen bench on one of our high stalls a coffee in front of me as I kept on moving my attention from Luca back to Finn and back to my nephew again. I was conflicted. Not as conflicted as Amber I knew that but I was still conflicted. Ash shook my head putting my coffee mug down and speaking low. Try not to let Luca hear what I had to say.
”I don’t understand what you were thinking.” Finn stayed silent. I think he was waiting to hear what else I had to say. The truth was I didn’t know. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to get my feelings properly across. I had never been good at anything like this the intricacies of family and feelings. You might say it was my only failure. ”Do you understand what this is going to start? Do you really understand it? Because I don’t think you do Finn.”
Finn took a deep breath finally responding and it was simple. It was something I already knew but hearing him say the words hearing the desperation in his voice and seeing the soul that he had deep down in his eyes helped. ”I couldn’t just leave him there Kayla”
I took a deep breath closing my eyes. I felt my walls come down, and landing close putting my head on his shoulder, my arm reaching around the back and rubbing across the top of his shoulders and down his spine. Yes, I can be affectionate sometimes fuck off ”I know I get it. You’ll have a certain thing for broken things and helpless children….”
Fed your clenched his hands moving around his coffee cup and squeezing it. His eyes focused forward as I mentioned his affinity for broken things. He took a deep breath trying to keep his composure. ”You don’t understand what it was like. For Dickie or Me. Not having anyone or watching the more out of your life. It’s not something I’d wish on my worst enemy Kayla. That boy needs his mother. Or at least someone who will give a shit about him.”
My nostrils flared. I felt some anger welling up inside me, not because of anything that Finn said in particular just because of my own scars and my own past. ”Yeah, but sometimes even having those people in your life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows are what you think it should be. Do you want to compare traumatic childhood and mental scars, Finn? You know what my life was like. You know what Amber and I went through at the hands of our father.”
Finn‘s eyes softened. He looked at me and went to squeeze my hand. ”Hey, you know I didn’t mean to-“
”I know….” I interrupted putting my hands up. I shook my head as my eyes looked him up and down. We silently apologize to each other. I took a deep breath and leaned in kissing his cheek. ”I understand why you did it. I understand why you care for people who don’t have anyone to care for them. I understand why you keep everyone at arm's length. I know what’s in your heart. It’s one of the many reasons why I love you.” I stood up looking over at Luca. I swallowed hard and went over to talk to him.
I moved over and sat down looking at the young boy before class with my hands together. He looked at me like he had seen me before his mind flashing back to the photo he’d seen of me when I was younger. Back when I was part of the Romani. ”Are you… my aunt?”
I smiled letting out my deep breath and simply nodding at the boy. He knew. He was smart. He’d seen the photos. ”I know you were talking to Finn. He asked you some questions and you answered some of his questions but now I think it’s only fair that you get some of your questions answered.”
I knew what it was like, to be kept in the dark about things. I wasn’t going to do that to this child. He deserves to know everything. His lineage, why his mother and I left, and what was going on now. ”Did you…know my da?” his little voice was so desperate. He knew that I had answers and he was hungry for them.
Okay noted slowly but I knew he’d want some elaboration on my answer ”Yeah Luca….I knew him…” My voice was low, it became more of a whisper. I hope I’d never have to murder this son of a bitches name again. ”His name was Renée. He was the leader of the compound. He was a king. A leader. And your mother she, she was with him. But he wasn’t a good man Luca.” My voice trailed off. Luca seemed to understand that talking about him was bringing me pain so in a moment of what I can only describe as mercy he moved on.
”Are you going to try and send me back?” he grew upset. I could see it in his eyes. The second he finished the sentence tears started blowing up with them and he closed his hands into fists. Before I could answer, he kept going pleading his case. ”Even if my mother doesn’t want me back please don’t send me back there please.”
These tears rolled down his cheeks. He was just a kid. I swallowed hard my hand instinctively going up. I wanted to comfort him but I didn’t know if I should my hand hovering just over his shoulder shook my head a tear rolling down my own cheek as I wrapped my arm around Luca and pulled him into a hug slowly running my hand through his hair, giving him a light kiss on the forehead something took over me Some form of love for part of my family, for this poor innocent kid who has been dragged into something that he never asked for ”No Luca….you don’t have to go back…ever.”
I looked behind the couch where Finn was sitting. He stared at us both and slowly smiled. I could read his thoughts. I knew what he was thinking. This was one of the reasons why he fell in love with me. There seems to be a common myth that I’m a cold heartless bitch but one of the reasons why Finn and I work one of the reasons why he loves me is that why I can be a heartless bitch to the people who matter to me. I mean really matter. I love with everything I am. And now this child, someone who was a part of my blood was on that list.
A crying shame
Kayla takes a deep breath. Taking in her surroundings as she stands on the balcony of her hotel room in Monaco. A city that is full of prestige and class. A gorgeous place where anything can happen. She looks down upon the street and watches as high-class Bentleys and Porsches move around like it is an everyday occurrence. Kayla smiles and turns around ready to start cutting a promo on a woman that she respects but also knows that she needs to give some tough Love to.
”Another week and another victory. This is a running theme. And if you’re looking for consistency, you don’t need to look any further than what I’ve been able to do over the last few years. I’ve worked my way up through the lower divisions, I’ve beaten everyone that they’ve put in front of me and I’ve remained undefeated for over a year. The last time I lost a match was in August last year. That was the last time I was pinned. Beaten by Aleesha Jones for the Internet championship.”
“That is the last time that I left the ring with someone else’s hand being raised high. And even I’m impressed with that. Look you all know that I have a very high opinion of myself but I’ve earned it. And even I can’t believe what I’ve been able to accomplish and I’m sick and tired of people not giving me my fucking flowers. I am not your bombshell. I am not your average champion. I am someone better and greater. I should be put on an entirely new level.”
“I’m not the first woman who has been able to accomplish something like this. Throughout the years in this company, you have had a rotating roster of women who have been able to be dominant.”
“Alicia Lukas, Roxy Johnson, Amber Ryan. These are the names that come to mind. I’m sure there’s another one who had a really good run in the early days of ECW but we’re not going to include her for two reasons one. She did it when there weren’t any legitimate challenges. Two she’s too much of a coward to come back into the ring and prove me wrong. So she doesn’t deserve to have her name mentioned to get the attention She clearly deserves and is lacking now that her husband is back in the spotlight where he belongs where she never did.”
Kayla rolls her eyes and throws her hands in the air before reaching to the side and grabbing a small flute full of champagne taking a sip before looking back out at the lovely countryside. The countryside in the background of the amazing bustling city in front of her
” Now, I was very vocal about how disappointed I was at who I was defending my championship against. I didn’t want to face her. Because let’s face it. Seleana Zdunich was never going to be a challenge. And I’ve said time and time again that I don’t like going to matches that I know I can win against people who don’t deserve to be there and she did not deserve to be in that situation. She did not deserve to be across the ring from someone like Me fighting for a championship like that. But I understand. SCW needed me to face someone like that.”
“And I did what I always do. I put on a show and I put that bitch in the ground. So now I’m faced with a bit of a conundrum because I didn’t have any idea who I was going to face on the upcoming supercard. Luckily this company has decided to finally pull their thumb out of their arse and try and find me a number one contender having a fatal four-way match on the same show that I have a match on to decide my challenger. Tempest, Bobbie, Harper, song. Two of those women would pose an interesting challenge to Me based on their size and experience. The other two? Song has just come back and Harper is fucking useless.”
“But while those four women will be battling it out to earn the right to face Me for the world bombshell championship, I will be doing something completely different.”
“You see I am being used as a hitwoman of sorts. In the war that is going on between Victoria Lyons and Bella Madison, I have been enlisted by Victoria in a pick-your-poison stipulation to face little Miss Bella. So, you remember what I said about how I don’t like to face people who I know I can beat? Well, this is one of those situations because as much as I like Bella in a small way I know I can beat her.”
“Cause I've done it before”
Kayla steps into the hotel room moving around it before putting the champagne flute back down and crossing her arms over her chest. She is wearing a beautiful white dress with a high slit going up the left side to show one of her heavily tattooed legs poking out of it. Her makeup is exceptionally done and her hair is flowing over to one side. She almost looks like she has been prepared for some sort of date. And knowing the fact she’s there with Finn who knows?
”And there is the problem for you, Bella. Your opponent Victoria knows that you can’t beat me. She selected me not just because I’m the world champion because I am someone who is just simply better than you. My wrestling style, my promos, the fact I can get into your head and verbally break you down as well as physically destroy you. This leads me to the one simple conclusion that she wants you beaten bloody broken and mentally destroyed before you and her even get in the ring. And I’m going to give you a little bit of positive reinforcement and advice. You can use that.”
“You see Victoria chose me to face you because she wants all of that because she knows that you being in the ring with her as a focused determined individual ready to beat her is a danger to her.”
“A danger to her own dominance”
“A danger to all of her title aspirations.”
“She knows that a prepared and focused Bella Madison is a threat to her. So she has enlisted me to take that threat away by destroying you. Now, I don’t have any love lost for Victoria. While I admire her ruthless and cutthroat nature the truth is that I honestly look at her as a bargain basement wish or temu version of me. She wants so hard to be Me that she’s sitting there running around calling herself a queen just because she won the queen for a day. Someone needs to get this bitch a calendar more than they need to get her any type of power…”
Kayla chuckles to herself with a shake of her head. She understands the position that she’s in but also understands the position Bella is in but it really doesn’t mean anything in the long run.
”I don’t dislike you, Bella. And I certainly don’t hate you. But that really doesn’t mean anything. You see you know what type of person I am. I’m not gonna go easy on you. Even if I like you as a friend, as I do with say, Kallie, it wouldn’t matter. I am never the type of person to go easy on anyone in a professional wrestling match or a fight. And you need to win. So I know that you are gonna throw everything you can at Me to try and get that W.”
“I know that I’m going to respect the effort. But as I said it won’t come to anything. Bella someone like you can’t beat me. I am on a completely other level. And this might sound arrogant. This might be something that people hate me for but the truth is I’ve done nothing but prove it. I have a handful of losses in this company. You can count them on one hand. have evolved and gotten better over time but you? Look at where you are.”
“I fought my way up from basically being a forgotten signing in this company to ruling the Internet division three times becoming the longest reigning mixed tag team champion of all time with the most defenses to being the world champion and the first person to hold and simultaneously defend two different championships at one time along with Finn. And what have you done?”
“Where have you been? You went off to have your kid and your career has just stalled time and time again. You are beloved by every single fan and most of the people backstage because of your amazing can-do attitude and plucky nature and people respect that and are drawn to it. Shit Bella, even I watch your matches against people who I know that you are overmatched against and I will sit there and cheer for you because you have that effect on people you have that underdog fight. That fight where you just put everything on the line and you just won’t stop. You’re also one of those people who fail constantly.”
Kayla takes a deep breath a strange look of half sadness and half determination in her eyes almost like she is staring at a sick puppy that she needs to put down.
”That is perhaps the saddest part of all this. I am a consistent winner and a consistent champion. Whereas you? You are a consistent failure. And that’s all you’ll ever be Bella.”
