[Frankie Holliday]

Oh hi.

I bet you forgot about me, didn't you?

All this time away and I've been sitting here, wondering what is next. Especially after Christian Underwood tried to dangle a Bombshell's title match in front of me like we were negotiating the price of a fucking Ford Mustang. I must say I loved the idea of trying to take a championship match they say I earned, away from me because... I say the painful truth on twitter.

I told you it was going to be a re-run. I told you that it would fail and Crystal would repeat the same cycle. But no, just scold me and threaten to take a championship match away from me. And then jump the captain back in front again just to spite me.

I don't care.

I will bide my time. I enjoyed this little timeout session you gave me, Boss.

I told you once, and I will say it again.

I am inevitable.

Now... let us continue the story, shall we?

Once again, I was on the move. It was a short 5 hour drive to get from L.A. to Phoenix. There was a lot of thinking done. The first was just how I hadn’t ever had a true place to call my own. I was a fucking nomad at this point. I very rarely was able to shower outside of a few stays at a hotel while Levi and I were moving from place to place. Staying at a motel for only a couple days at a time. I thought about Heather and her boyfriend a little bit. I wonder what she was thinking. I left, and I know they figured I was in L.A. I got the job and I was working for Glen. But then, maybe they saw it on the news that Glen was dead. But I couldn’t contact them anyway. I had a new phone and I had forgotten her number since I didn’t really call or text her that much.

I didn’t think much about my parents.

Neither of them ever checked on me anyway. I don’t know if they even noticed I was gone. My school probably asked them once or twice if I was coming back to school. I can only imagine. Now, if he wanted, Charlie could probably again have what he wanted: My mother, all to himself and no one to take care of. Though taking care of her was a full time job anyway.

I didn’t know how to really feel about them at this point.

On one hand, they are my birth parents. They raised me as best they could, I suppose. Well no, it could have been better, easier, more loving, more attention. But that’s not what I got. In the back of my head I began to wonder how I would react to one of them actually dying or something like that. It was bound to happen. Charlie and Sarah were both on drugs, they were just addicts but using legally. Part of me wanted to help. But I needed to be here, on my own.

The drive was rather peaceful. A long moment for all the commotion to die down. We were on the lamb, but nobody knew but us. We passed mountain, flat terrain, mostly on a two-lane highway. Finally as we reached more populated areas, we drove over the Colorado river and before too long, we found ourselves in Arizona and passing Maricopa county, and heading into Phoenix shortly thereafter.

But we kept going, and then finally we were off the highway, and onto the main roads, and then off of them, into a rural area. I wasn’t aware Arizona would have a fucking sticks section, but it did. We saw the sign for Tonopah and a few more miles until we pulled down a dirt path. The sun was finally setting.

A singular house, isolated from everything.

We pulled up and parked. There was a truck pulled up to the house itself.

“This is my uncle Mal’s place. If he’s still here.”

“If he’s still here? You don’t know?”

Levi sighed.

“He’s … he’s sick. So he needs care.”

“What ki-”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence before a disheveled man rushed out of the house, waving a double barrel shotgun in out direction. He was in a bathrobe and sandals. His hair was long and greasy.

“GET OFF MY PROPERTY!” He shouted, aiming the shotgun.

Levi stepped out of the car, hands in the air.

“Uncle Mal! It’s me, Levi! Your nephew!

“GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! I DON’T KNOW YOU!”

“Levi, maybe we should go!” I said frantically

Then another man burst out of the house grabbing Mal and the gun and they struggled for it for a few seconds before the other man finally took the gun.

“Stop this Mr. Boardman! Stop it!  He shouted at Mal, who was still agitated.

“Sorry about that folks. Look, Mr. Boardman isn’t well and he needs -”

“I know. I’m his nephew. Levi!” Levi said, slowly lowering his arms, trying to keep the situation calm.

“Oh. I’m Issac. I take care of Mr. Boardman. Can I help you?”

“Yeah, uh… We just… we need a place to stay for a few days. Just a few. Then we’ll be gone.”

“DON’T YOU LET THEM STAY HERE ISSAC!’ Mal shouted. “I DON’T KNOW THEM!”

“Calm down, Mr. Boardman. Just calm down.” He turned to Levi. “You say you’re kin to Mr. Boardman?”

“Yes, I’m his nephew. His brother Thad’s son. He knows me.”

“Just give me a minute.” He turned back to Mal and touched his shoulder, to ease him. “Come on, Mr. Boardman, I will check on what this boy says, and if it doesn’t check out, we’ll send them on their way. Come on, let’s get you inside.”

It took a minute before Mal complied. And then he walked inside with Issac.

“Levi, I don’t know about this.”

“It’s okay.”

Issac came out about 3 minutes later.

“Sorry about all that. Mr. Boardman still has some family photos and you do look like the boy. Do you have any I.D.?”

Levi reached into his pockets and had a wallet with an old school ID and a few photos of his parents. Issac studied them.

“Okay, look, let me get Mr. Boardman to bed, and we’ll settle this in the morning. For now, just wait. There’s a room on the second floor. You can use that. Just let me get this all taken care of.”

“You got it.”

Issac walked back into the house and then we were alone.

“Levi, this was a mistake. That guy isn’t going to let us stay here. You know that! He’s crazy!”

“He’s not crazy. He’s sick. I know it’s not looking great, but just trust me on this. It’ll be fine.”

It took a long time. It was now dark and we were still sitting in the driveway. Issac finally came back out.

“Mr. Boardman is asleep. Please, just be careful and quiet. The second door on the right on the second floor. Once you go in, please lock it.”

“Got it.”

We quietly crept into the house. By this point, we were experts at sneaking into a house. We crept up the stairs and into the bedroom. It was small, but it was a bed. Most of the time, we were sleeping in the car. So the bed was just amazing. It was a long drive, we were exhausted. The adrenaline of almost being shot was dying down. Finally, we got to rest.

Or, so we thought.

It was 3AM when the door knob was jiggled. The turns were subtle at first, but then more direct. The turning was fast.

*THUD.*

Someone was shouldering the door trying to open it. Then the banging followed.

“WHY IS THIS DOOR LOCKED!”

It was Mal. Issac was right in advising us to lock the door. Issac came from another room and began yelling and arguing with Mal. Finally, he calmed him down and he was back in bed. The rest of the night passed without incident, but we didn’t sleep much.

The next morning, Levi and I took showers for the first time in a while. We took some of those mini bottles you get from motels and used them. We put on different clothes and came down the stairs slowly, not knowing what to expect.

But there he was. Mal and Issac were sitting at the kitchen table, laughing, joking and having a grand old time. Mal noticed us and turned with a big smile.

“LEVI!”

Mal got up and walked over and hugged Levi tightly.

“Boy it’s been years. How have you been?”

“Good, uncle Mal. Good. This is Franchesca. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you!” He said sticking out his hand for a handshake. I shook it and nodded.

“Hello.”

“When did you get in?” Mal asked.

“Last night.”

“Oh, well hell, you should have told me. I’d of prepared the place for you. We got a room upstairs, nice and cozy.”

“That’s great.”

“How long you staying?”

“Oh, just a few days really. We just needed a place to rest up.”

“Oh, to hell with that. You stay here. No sense in you trying to stay at some fancy hotel and wasting your money. We got everything you need and it’s a short drive away from town if you need anything.”

“Thanks uncle Mal.”

“Well, sit down, have some breakfast! Ike makes some damn good hash browns and gravy!”

It was so crazy. He was like a different person. He just acted like we just got here and that whole thing with the shotgun didn’t happen. He didn’t even acknowledge it.

We ate breakfast and it was surprisingly good. Mal excused himself and went towards the rest room.

“So… what is his deal?” I asked, probably too bluntly, but I was curious.

“Mr. Boardman has… what they call “Sundowning” He becomes increasingly agitated and confused at night. Hence the situation last night. But during the day, he’s mostly okay. He remembers things, talks about things, and is generally pleasant.”

“Uncle Mal has dementia, it’s a byproduct of it.”

“Oh.”

Mal came back, and I learned more about Levi and his family. Turns out Mal was short for Malachai and I just thought that was a cool name. A couple of days went by, and there was another episode where Mal got angry and confused and yelled. Levi and I stayed in the bedroom at night. Away from him so he wasn’t agitated any further. But each day, it was like he reset and was perfectly fine.

It was so strange, I ended up doing a ton of research on this whole thing, but with his round the clock care from Issac, it was pretty much a done deal. This is what he was. He loved to play chess and watch TV. He had a bunch of history and some… less than ethical books. He had the Anarchists Cookbook in his collection. Lots of books on war, politics and sports.

We spent a few days and then I was thinking that maybe I should get a job. But places would be looking into my school records to see if I graduated and whatnot. And… I hadn’t. I hadn’t had a job since I left Burger King back home.

But, through sheer luck, it turned out that you didn’t need to be a resident of Arizona to get a GED there. So that became the new goal.

Mal seemed to be getting used to us and the flare ups were less frequent, but they still happened.

If this was home… It felt pretty familiar. I had to go ahead and embrace the chaos once again.



It’s pretty obvious they had no idea what to do.

I beat their golden child. I beat the new shiny toy and they had no choice but to scramble and try to silence me. I know how the game is played. Then after they looked like idiots a second time after giving Seleana a Bombshell’s title match for no good reason, and it blowing up in their faces and we got the re-run I called from the fucking jump… Here we are.

I told you that this is how it was going to go.

And now, they actually put me on the show. And they give me… Harper Mason.

I feel like you should understand this more than anyone Harper.

You have been here a long time. You’ve raised your voice and tried to stand out. Doesn’t it bother you that for everything you have done, you have been stifled? Doesn’t it bother you that people who you know you can beat, who you have beaten, just get treated differently, and you’re stuck begging for scraps? I mean, you were trained by Team Hero. They got a lot of great treatment and you can’t get any of that.

I mean, maybe you just suck shit and that’s the main reason, but you have to see this, right?

I was very close to implementing a brand new order. I tried to change things for the better around here and they sent the old timers who cheated to beat me, and they are trying to remove all the progress I made. You understand this feeling Harper. I know you do. How many world title opportunities have you had? How many times were you given a chance? Not that many, right? One? Two? Do you honestly want to keep it that way?

Don’t you want to make Team Hero proud of you? Don’t you want to achieve the heights they did, on a proper even playing field? Don’t you think you could thrive in that environment? That is what I’m offering when I get the Bombshell’s title back. I’m out to make this place better. I’m out to give you the chance to earn it, rather than wait around and force you to raise your voice. I don’t need you to scream and holler. I listen. I hear you. I hear you loud and clear. I might be the only one who does.

You see what happens when you speak up? Nothing. You get yelled at and people act like they know better and put you in this spot they see fit for you.

I was going to do that, but then it dawned on me that what I need to do is shape the field itself, and then people will fit everywhere. People will get chances. People will earn opportunities. That’s the Sin City Wrestling we need!

And I could use a superhero person to help show them the way.

But, I feel like you’re going to stick to that honor and discipline nonsense that put you where you are right now. You’ve had your chance to stand out, but you fall in line. That is why you’re not making any progress. In fact, I have to ask this question even after all this time.

“Who are you?”

Who is Harper Mason?

What is it you do that makes you stand out? All I ever see from you is vlogging about bullshit and giving an effort that your trainers should be ashamed of. And more importantly, YOU should be ashamed of it. Do you think they taught you to be middle of the road? No, Harper, They taught you better than that. They fucking had to. And thus far, you have shown and proven to be nothing more than a woman trying to ride their coattails instead of standing out. You’re happy with what you know.

You’ve become complacent.

And that is why you are going to lose to me, Harper.

And you won’t care. You won’t do anything about it. You won’t show me or anyone else your true passion or fire. You will just continue to wallow in mediocrity. I should be slowly getting where you are now, and you should be where I am already. Challenging for the top spot. But unlike you, I didn’t rest on my laurels and my trainers' reputation. I did what needed to be done. You have won a title and acted like you made some kind of history, and then pissed it all away and you’ve been struggling to do anything ever since.

It would be funny isn’t wasn’t so sad.

Maybe this will be a lesson for you to finally wake up. I shudder to think about how many others have tried to get you to do the same thing and failed. Because no one can make you great, Harper. No one can make you stand out, but you. And you have been failing at doing it this entire time.

I’m going to beat you, and leave you in the dust yet again.

I really hope that you are paying attention and listening, but I know you’re not. You’ll do what you always do and then wonder why you are where you are. It’s what you do. It’s what you’re good at. Go, film another vlog after I beat you about how tough it was and how you’re one or two wins away from really making an impact. I don’t know how you can look into the camera with a straight face and say that type of shit, Harper.

Team Hero deserves better than you.

And you know it.

But, because I can be a benevolent force, once I am in charge again, I will again offer the same opportunity, and you will still be able to take those opportunities. I just expect a thank you for making one last attempt to open your eyes and stop wallowing in complacency.

This beatdown you’re going to get is for your own good.

Trust me.