There was a smell of roasted vegetables and garlic bread, leftovers from dinner lingering through the home of Eddie Lyons. He sat relaxed in the living in thought thinking about his career, his future with Sabrina, and his upcoming child which they had just learned was going to be a girl.
He'd be lying to himself if he said the loss at Blaze of Glory didn't bother him. It did, he wanted to win that match but at the end of the day he was not the best man. That honor belonged to Helluva Bottom Carter and as disappointed as he was it wasn't him having his hand raised, he fully supported Carter because he knew how hard he had fought for it as well and knew that HBC truly did deserve it.
One path to the world championship had closed for Eddie Lyons, but another one had opened in the form of Blast from the Past.
And who should stand in his way? Another expecting father in Artie.
He heard the soft footsteps of his fiance Sabrina from down the hall has she appeared carrying two mugs, offering him one has she curled up beside him.
“Chamomile.” she smiled.
“You know me well.” Eddie smiled back.
“Well we do live together now.” she said “And you've been in your head all day.”
“Yeah…” he said “Just sorting things out I guess.”
“Chamber?” she asked
“Yeah but not in the way it used to..” he said “It sucks, I won't lie to you babe, I wanted that shot. But Carter, he earned it and I'm not going to sit here and sulk like the world owes me anything.”
He took a sip of the tea and the warmth did well to ease his mind.
”I just need to focus on what's next and that's Blast for the past and Artie.” Eddie continued
“That's Bobbie Dahl’s husband right?” Sabrina asked “Aren't they expecting as well?”
“Yeah I believe so.” he said “Bobbie has been talking about it on Twitter or X or whatever we're supposed to call it now.”
“Is that going to change how you approach the match?” Sabrina asked.
“Not at all.” Eddie said “Once we get in that ring, it's business. I know everyone sees Artie as an underdog but he's a scrappy son of a gun and he's got more to fight for now I need to take him as seriously as I took the six other men in that chamber”.
“And you have something more to fight for as well.” Sabrina reminded him.
“Yeah..” Eddie nodded “A daughter it's been racing through my mind ever since your doctor told us the other day.”
He took another sip of his tea.
“I'm still not sure I fully wrapped my head around it.” he admitted “But it does change things it's like I don't care about being the guy, anymore not the way I used to I just care about being hers."
“And you will be.” Sabrina said “Win or lose.”
“Oh I'm going to win Sabz.” Eddie said “And I'm going to meet whoever the champion is at the end.”
“Yeah it looks like you won't be getting a chance at Finn after all.” said Sabrina.
“Yeah.” said Eddie “It bothered me for a bit, but you know what I realized it was Finn that clouded my judgment. I cared too much about beating Finn to become a champion and now that that ship has sailed I can just focus on Blast from the Past and just become world champion no matter who I have to take it from.”
“You never give up.” said Sabrina “And that's what I love about you.”
They sat together for a while and there was no more wrestling talk no more tournament planning just the two of them some warm tea and the quiet feeling of their life moving forward.
__________
It's a quiet evening as the cameras open on Eddie Lyons standing outside on the back porch of his home with a hoodie, after a soft exhale he begins to speak.
“It's funny how your mind clears up when something you wanted slips away.” said Eddie “I spent months telling myself I needed to face Finn again. That if I could get one more match with him, that one shot at redemption, I could set things right. Close the door on what's been hanging over me for too long, but I didn't when the chamber and I won't be getting that match."
He laughs slightly to himself.
“The real kicker is even if I had one the chamber I still wouldn't get that match.” said Eddie “Alex Jones walked away as the world champion so if I had won, I'd be standing across the ring from him for the world championship. Instead that honor now belongs to Helluva Bottom Carter. Make no mistake about it, Carter earned it and Carter is the real deal. He just might make Alex Jones's reign a very short one. You don't win a match like the elimination chamber unless you've got heart, and Carter's proved time and time again he's got it in spades and I'll be honest I hope to see him at the end of Blast from the Past."
Eddie gives a respectful nod to the camera.
“Blast from the Past…” Eddie continued “This is the route I must take now if I want that world championship match and it looks like I get to kick things off with another expecting father in Artie.”
He takes another short pause reflecting on his words.
“I hear they say about you Artie.” said Eddie “That you're an underdog, that perhaps you're not built for this or that you're some sort of warm-up round for the next guy, but I'm not going to sit here and buy into any of that.”
He pauses again his tone turning a bit more serious.
“I'm not going to walk into this match thinking I've already won just because I've held gold before or because my name might be louder.” said Eddie “I'm walking in ready because I know what’s on the line and I know what it means, and Artie he's not just fighting for himself anymore and I know exactly how that feels."
He exhales sharply as he continues.
“I should say congratulations to you and Bobbie.” said Eddie “I know people look at your relationship has a strange one, but if you ask me love Is love. You and Bobbie love each other, just as Carter and Casey love each other, just as has Alexandra and LJ love each other, or as I love my fiancee Sabrina. But you have to understand already this isn't about who has the most loving relationship.”
He lets his word linger in the air for a bit.
“However Artie, I know what's feeding you now.” said Eddie “Because I have that same fuel inside me, I don't know how far along you and Bobbie are but I just found out I'm having a little girl and the news hit me like a wave. You start thinking differently and seeing things differently and you start fighting differently.”
He takes another short moment to pause and catch his breath.
“So you understand Artie.” said Eddie “I don't see you as an underdog, I see you as my opponent and I see you as someone I have to beat to achieve my goals. Which means I'm going to throw everything I got at you. That means you're going to really have to find it in you, and you're really going to have to dig down deep and find something that perhaps you didn't even know you had in you."
Eddie takes a few steps back and looks up into the night sky.
“Finn may not be the champion anymore..” Eddie said “But it's done well to clear my mind now. I don't have to worry about him I can just worry about becoming champion. Whatever happens when that bell rings Artie, it's just business."
With a nod and a confident gaze to the camera everything slowly fades to black
__________
Most of his bags were packed sitting by the door like they didn't want to go either one of them half zipped with some wrestling gear poking out. Eddie paste around the room and his socks trying to come terms with what he had agreed to.
Sabrina said on the couch watching him, not judging, just letting him wind down.
“I don't like this…” he said “Going over there without you.”
“You don't have to like it.” Sabrina said gently “But it's for the best.”
“I know I know…” Eddie's said sitting next to her resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor, “I just I don't feel good about it.”
They scooted closer together and he put his arm around her.
“Like what if something happens…” he said “What if you need me and I'm all the way across the ocean stuck in a hotel somewhere?”
“I’ll be okay Eddie.” Sabrina replied “My doctor keeps saying everything looks great, and we're already about halfway there. Besides Cleo said she's just a text away and and you know your dad likes to check in like three times a day and I have my parents., I'm not going to be alone Eddie.”
“But I’M not going to be here.” said Eddie. “This isn't just a tour in Chicago or something where I can catch a quick red eye and be here in a few hours. I'm going to be halfway across the damn world in some place whose name I can't even pronounce.”
“I know it's not easy.” said Sabrina “But this is your career you worked your ass off for this and you put your body through hell you can't second guess every tour just because of me.”
“It's not just you anymore..” Eddie replied.
“I know." said Sabrina with a nod, running her fingers across her stomach.
“I just keep thinking about how fast everything's moving.” Eddie said “One day we're just us, then we're planning cribs, trying to figure out if Lillian is too old fashioned or if she's going to end up in kindergarten with three other kids named Skyler."
“I still like Lillian.” said Sabrina.
“I know you do.” said Eddie.
There was another short pause between the two.
“I just hate the idea of missing something. A kick, an appointment, you call and I don't answer because I'm stuck in baggage claim in Denmark or something.” Eddie said
“Then I leave a message and you call back.” said Sabrina “Facetime every night you promised.”
“Every night.” nodded Eddie.
"You're not abandoning us Eddie." Sabrina said "You're making a sacrifice to take care of us, and your daughter is going to understand and know that you're doing this because of how much you love her, so go that Viking tour and when that tournament."
"I'm going to freeze." said Eddie with a smile.
They laugh together for a moment lightning the mood to worry hasn't left Eddie but it's settled into a quiet corner of his mind with a low but constant buzz he looks at Sabrina memorizing the curve of her smile and how she looks way more peaceful than he feels.
“What if I'm making the wrong call?” he said
“We figure it out together like we always do.” Sabrina replied.
“I miss you already babe.” he said.
“I miss you too.” she replied.
And then they just spent the next few hours together going over names and playing with their puppy Koda before Eddie went off to catch his flight to Iceland.
__________
The clouds hung low in the Reykjavik sky a moody watercolor of slate and soft grey, the mist clung to the pier as it drifted lazily over the water, the air smelled of salt and seaweed and had an occasional gust of wind that carried the reminder that winter hadn't completely let go of this place.
The cameras pan across the harbor as they settle on Eddie Lyons standing alone near the waters edge in a dark coat, he didn't look directly at the camera right away staring over the sea with his hands in his pockets a silence that lasted long enough that someone else might have said something to break it.
“It's a strange thing you know….” Eddie said finally breaking the silence “Being far away from home and everything's changing.”
He kept a low steady voice that was quiet but thoughtful.
“I've been on oversea tours before.” said Eddie “Flown to a lot of places with this company, but this is the first time I've left behind something more than just a home. I left my whole heart behind in that living room in Las Vegas.”
A heavy exhale escaped his lips.
“Sabrina, my fiancee is staying home.” he said “We made the call together, and I know it's the right thing to do with her pregnancy and all but the truth is I think I'm still adjusting to what that means. Not waking up next to her, and not being there for every kick or weird craving, every moment where she just needs someone to hold her hand and say it's going to be okay we've got this.”
He looked down at the wet cobblestones keeping his voice calm but there was still something heavy beneath it an ache that couldn't be shaken.
“I know she believes in me, my fiancee.” said Eddie “She told me to go do what I do best and how she believes in me and how she knows I'm going to be the father our little girl is going to need.”
He looked up setting his eyes on the camera.
“So here I am in Rakavak, Reckya...here I am in Iceland..” said Eddie “As I prepare for the first round of Blast from the Past. I'll be honest it took me a bit to get my head back on straight after the chamber.”
He took a short pause.
“Not because I lost, I've lost before, that’s part of the game.”[/color] he said “But it's cause I had that idea in my head that would lead me back to Finn, that somehow I was going to rewrite everything by beating him and standing tall with the world title in my hands.”
He shook his head gently as a wry smile appeared on his face.
“But life doesn't follow scripts.” said Eddie “And now Finn isn't even the champion, Alex Jones is, and the path I thought I was chasing is not the one in front of me anymore.
He took a few steps closer to the edge of the harbor before continuing.
“All the fire and moment I built trying to get to Finn and it didn't matter.”[/color] Eddie said ”I was so focused on that goal that I forgot why I wanted it in the first place.”
He leaned slightly against a nearby railing.
“But standing here now..” Eddie said “With the distance between me and everything I love and fight for I see it clearly. I don't need revenge I don't need to settle the score I need to win for the sake of winning for the sake of climbing that ladder to the world championship no matter who's at top.”
Another short pause.
“Blast from the Past is no consolation prize.” said Eddie “It's a path forward, the key to everything and I'm not walking the road half-hearted. Not when I've got a daughter on the way who needs to know that her dad never stopped fighting.”
He exiled again slower this time.
“And that brings me to Artie…” Eddie said “The one they call the underdog, perhaps comic relief, the one that's lucky to even be in this thing. But the thing is I've seen guys like Artie before. People will write them off until they surprise you and then you stop laughing. Because you know it wasn't because they got lucky it's because you weren't smart enough to take them seriously."
He let his words linger in the air before continuing.
“I'm not going to make that mistake for one second.” said Eddie “You see Artie, I don't care how people view you, how you dress, or what your dynamic with Bobbie looks like. I said it before you guys love each other and as far as I'm concerned that puts you in rare company. Love like yours is about heart and choosing each other every day even if it doesn't make sense to anybody else.”
He nodded to the camera before continuing.
“I see that love and you and Bobbie” said Eddie “Just has I see it in Carter and Kasey just as I feel when I see Sabrina.”
He pauses again.
“But when that bell rings all that fades away.” he said “Because I'm not coming to validate your love story, I'm coming to win. I left home with a mission and made a promise to the family I'm building that I'll come back with purpose, that I won't waste his opportunity and then I'll take everything I've learned everything I've earned and fight for more.”
He kept his gaze locked under the camera determined and steady.
“Artie, I hope you bring everything you've got.” said Eddie “I hope you surprise the hell out of everyone, but you also need to understand that I didn't cross an ocean to lose in round one. I came to carve a path straight to the top and remind everyone who I am, without anger or revenge, but with clarity.”
His tone was filled with fire but there was no venom in his voice.
“You're going to need more than just a lot of heart.” said Eddie “You're going to have to bring everything you have, because I'm not going to slow down for you or anybody. I've got too much waiting for me back home to leave anything in the tank. I'm taking this tournament step by step match by match until I'm standing in that ring with my hand raised and my future wide open.”
He paused keeping his eyes on the camera for a bit longer this time.
“I'm going to do this for Sabrina, for my unborn daughter, and every moment with them that I'm missing. I'm going to make it count.” said Eddie. “I'm going to kick off the tour with the win and advance to the next round as we continue on the Viking tour. You all better be ready for Eddie the Unbreakable.”
And then he turned from the camera and walked down along the waters edge his figure getting smaller has everything faded to black.
__________
The hotel room was quiet has Eddie entered, the occasional crack of wind brushed pass to the window he as sat his bags aside. Eddie sat on the edge of the bed with his phone and hand thumb hovering over Sabrina's name.
He hated the distance already.
He hit the button and it only rang once before Sabrina's face appeared framed by the golden light of their living room.
“Hey babe!” she said with a smile.
“Hey babe, I just got to the hotel.” Eddie replied.
“How was the flight?” Sabrina asked.
“It was long but I made it.” said Eddie.
He watched as she shoved something strange into her mouth.
“Are you eating pickles and marshmallows?” he asked.
“Yep.” she replied.
“That's certainly a craving.” said Eddie
“Blame your daughter.” said Sabrina “She's got the cravings, I'm just a vessel. But I've got a feeling she's going to like sweet things a bunch."
“Just like her mother.” Eddie smiled.
There is a bark and suddenly Koda appeared on camera hopping right into Sabrina's lap.
“Koda misses you too.” said Sabrina.
“Hey boy! How you doing?” Eddie said “You being a good boy for Mom?”
Koda happily barks in response as if he understood before pressing his nose against the screen as if trying to get to Eddie.
“Okay buddy go play.....let mom and dad talk” said Sabrina setting Koda back down.
“He's been following me all day.” said Sabrina “It's like he knows you're not here and he's looking after me.”
“I hate being this far..” Eddie said
“Have you eaten anything?” Sabrina asked.
“Yeah I grabbed a quick sandwich at the airport.” said Eddie “It's rather late here.”
“You look tired.” she said.
“I am tired.” he admitted “But I didn't want to go to sleep without seeing you.”
“Well don't forget you need your rest.” said Sabrina “You've got a tournament to win.”
“I know it..” said Eddie “But I made a promise every night remember.”
“You always keep your word.” Sabrina said softly.
“I'm going to Facetime you every night no matter where I am no matter how late.” said Eddie
“Even if I'm neck deep in marshmallow pickles?” asked Sabrina.
“Especially if your neck deep in marshmallow pickles.” Eddie grinned.
That made her giggle and Eddie smiled, he really missed her giggles.
“You been okay?” he asked her.
“Yeah I'm all right.” she said “But it is weird not having you here I keep expecting you to walk out of the kitchen with that stupid coffee mug of yours and no shirt.”
“I packed the mug.” he said “Figured it would make things feel a little less foreign.”
“You're ridiculous.” she said.
“You love it.” Eddie smirked
“Unfortunately.” she replied with a smirk of her own.
“I just wish I didn't have to be gone so long.” Eddie said “I still keep thinking what if something happens you know what if you need me.”
“Eddie, we talked about this.” Sabrina reminded him “I'm okay and we're okay. You're doing your job, besides Cleo said she's going to come by this weekend with Zayvion.”
“I know… I know…” said Eddie “It’s just now that I'm actually here, it's different it's just not easy you know.”
“I know it.” said Sabrina “It's not easy for me either, but I believe in you and I believe in us. We will be okay. I want you to achieve everything that you've been fighting for."
“I'll do my best.” said Eddie “I want to win this tournament but there's a lot of competition, Artie is only the beginning.”
[color=lavender“Then how about you get some rest.”[/color] said Sabrina “I appreciate you checking in but I'll be okay I love you.”
“I love you too babe.” Eddie nodded “Try not to eat too much weird stuff.”
Sabrina laughed.
“Come to think of it some peanut butter might go good with this.” she said.
“You've got to be kidding me…” said Eddie.
“Nope!” she smiled “And I'm going to eat it straight out the jar too. Sleep well Eddie Lyons I'll see you tomorrow night.”
She blew a kiss to the screen and he made the motion that he caught it and smiled they stared at each other for a few more seconds before her face finally clicked away after she hung up.
As he looked out the window outside the Icelandic air was still chilly but at this moment his heart was warm.
[/i]
