Flashback ~ Nearly two years ago...
The crowd applauds in unison as both Electra and Metallica are lying on their backs on the mat. Electra gets to her feet first followed closely by Metallica. Both women are at opposite sides of the ring using the ropes to hold themselves up. They give each other an intense look then both sprint to each other and when they meet both hit each other with a clothesline taking the other out. Both women hit the mat and flip onto their side. Both women are out of energy as the ref starts his mandatory standing ten count……..1…………2………….3…………….4………..5…….6……..Electra stirs…………..7…….Metallica moves……………..8………..9………..Metallica gets to her feet first and the ref stops her 10 count. Electra is struggling to get to her feet and Metallica walks over to her. Electra stumbles back from the second rope falling against Metallica’s legs. Metallica looks out at the crowd and slicks her hair back then looks down at Electra. She signals for another The Hanging Judge and bends down to grab Electra. Out of nowhere Electra quickly rolls Metallica into a small package. The ref counts. ONE……….TWO………..THREE!!!!!!! ELECTRA STEVENS IS THE NEW NYCCW ALL ACTION CHAMPION!!!
I shake from the memory as I stares at the woman across the street. I knows it's her. You couldn't not miss a woman like Metallica Evans, only she seems a little... I'm trying to search for the word... matured maybe.... Her hair is longer, her face showing obvious signs of stress. Gone are the punk style clothes replaced with a simple T-Shirt and jeans, although I was pretty sure the boots were the same.
I'd forgiven her a long time ago for what she'd done to me and Drake while we'd been in NYCCW. And I was damn sure that it had all been because I'd won the title from her who at that time I had considered of my closest friends.
I have to stop myself from crossing the street because I know, I know that Metallica probably hadn't changed and she probably hadn't forgiven me either. I replace the pair of sunglasses on my face and continue to walk away from the apartment building where Kahlan and Jax lived, making sure to keep an eye on the dark woman across the street. Part of me feared that she'd see me but the other part of me really missed the friendship we'd had before she'd started to associate with William Turner and turned her back on me I couldn't help but wonder what Drake would think if I told him.
I was happy that we seemed to be on very good terms lately, something I never thought we'd get given his current unstable mental condition. I was concerned however for his insipid obsession with the woman I considered another sister... but Kahlan would kill me if I interfered again with her life. She got enough meddling from her brothers and that was a straight up fact. I really did have no doubt that Kah could take care of herself.
Then my mind wondered and I couldn't help but think back to what had happened after that match with Metallica. How everything had gone down hill. I had already started to doubt if I could be the one to fill that void in Drake's life at that point, in fact that night I had to search everywhere for Drake, finding him on the roof of the hospital...
Flashback ~ Later, night after the match
Jake was a middle aged security guard with lines around his eyes and mouth. He gave me a kind smile.
“Follow me miss.”
“Thanks.” I say to the nurse and I jog to catch up with Jake. He swipes a security card on a set of doors and we enter. There’s a set of stairs up ahead.
“What’s going on?” I ask him...hoping he has more answers then the nurse did.
“Mr. Hunter was brought in a few hours ago to be treated…you’re a wrestler too aren’t you?”
I nod.
“Well he starts freaking out, talking nonsense. The doctors were going to try and give him a sedative but he knocked them all out of the way and then he ran up here. I’ve been guarding the door to make sure no one goes up there.” He points up the stairs for emphasis, “A few people tried to reason with him but all he kept saying was the only person he would talk to was Lexi.”
I felt my heart break. He’d given in…to the demons. I was all too familiar with those kinds of demons. I’d helped Justin deal with his for 13 years. I’d tried to help Rage with his but he refused to let me in. I’d seen it though. A couple days ago something had changed in Drake and I knew this was coming I just didn’t expect it to be this bad. Having to deal with my sister and then Justin’s BS and then this match with Hacker just sent him right over the deep edge…
I followed Jake up the set of stairs to a steel door with a big red emergency sign on it. He put a key in and pushed it open. I looked out onto a gravel covered roof. The sky had started to show the orange, purple and red hues of sunrise. Had it really been all night? Then I saw him. He was sitting, facing the NYC skyline, not moving. He was still in his gear from tonight.
“There you go miss. Good luck and just knock on the door when you’re done and I’ll let you out.”
“Thanks…for everything.” I smile sadly at him. He nods and shuts the door and the tears start down my cheeks. They’re slow at first as I try to hold back the sobs. I finally turn and start toward him. Petrified of the height we’re at. God help me, I hope he didn’t try to jump.
I finally reached him and sat down. “Beautiful sunrise isn’t it?” I say. He doesn’t move. He’s still staring blankly ahead. Like I’d seen him on the TV set in my locker room…right before he’d pummelled Justin.
“I’d hoped that the first one we shared would be a little happier.” I wipe some tears off my cheek with the back of my hand, and they were absorbed into the dirty tape. Why wasn’t he speaking? Or moving? Something….
“I’d really hoped too that when I told you I loved you the first time it wouldn’t be over a internet social program either but hey…we’re unique right?” I tried to laugh a little but all it did was make me sob…and then the waterworks come more freely. Why did it feel like I was losing him?
I put my face in my hands and I start to ball my eyes out. The first time in years that I’ve cried this way. The first time I’ve been so hurt that I didn’t know what else to do. Justin hadn’t been this bad. Sure he gave in to the rage demons but he didn’t go comatose. Rage…he was a whole other kettle of fish. Drake was something entirely different but I wasn’t giving up on him.
I don’t know how long we sat there, him staring blankly ahead, me crying like a baby before I felt something warm on my back and then it started to move up and down, comforting. I look up and when I turn, he’s smiling at me a little. Not the smile I loved, but it was a little piece of him returning. He looks hollow and shaken and confused a little but he knows why I’m here, he knows who I am. He uses his other hand to wipe tears away from my cheeks.
“Don’t cry for me Lexi. I’m not worth it.” He says, his voice is dry and harsh. It only makes me cry harder and he pulls me into his chest and holds me, rocking. Shouldn’t I be the one comforting him? I pull back to look into his face.
“You should have told me sooner Drake. I could have prevented this. I could have helped you.”
“It needed to happen. I needed to let it take control so I could be stronger.”
“This isn’t where your strength comes from honey. Those demons are not your strength. Your strength comes from here.” I put my hand on his chest right above where his heart would be. “Your strength comes from here…” I put his hand over my heart. I know at the moment that he’s not my Drake yet. My Drake would have made a comment about being so close to my breast; instead he’s looking at me with a look of vulnerability in his eyes. I put a hand on either side of his face and force him to look at me.
“We’re in this together now Drake and your not going to get rid of me. No man in a paintball suit, no man with a sledgehammer and no man with a big mouth is going to keep me away from you. I love you Drake Hunter and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”
He doesn’t smile or smirk, he simply pulls me forward to kiss me. One of the best kisses we’ve ever shared but it breaks apart too soon. He shakes his head and backs away.
“I love you more than anything Lexi; it’s why you have to leave me alone. You have to let me handle this on my own. I don’t want you to get hurt …I might hurt you…..”
“Shut up.” The force of my voice causes him to startle a little and he looks up at me. “Enough. I’m not going anywhere. I told you that and I bloody well mean it. There is nothing you can do to get me to leave. I am not some coward that is going to run away at the first sign of trouble. I’m not scared of anything. I’m not scared of you…”
“You should be.” He says it barely above a whisper.
I had been kidding myself to not have seen the beginning of the end. That all it was going to take was one push and he was going to be gone over the deep end. I constantly blamed myself for him finally giving in to those voices. If I hadn't of used my sister as an excuse to break up with him. He'd come to Toronto the next week, begging me to tell him what had gone wrong, why I'd left... why I had so easily walked away from what he thought was love... what I had thought was love too.
Maybe it was that he wasn't ready to take on my son. He was nice to him, sure but the awkwardness he got around him just showed me that he just wasn't at the stage of his life where he wanted kids, if ever. Me having a son at the time complicated things. Then there was his instability. How he fluctuated between sane and insane. I hadn't been able to help him stay completely sane but me leaving had given him no desire to say on this side of the spectrum.
I look up and realize I've lost Metallica. She must have slipped into one of the stores along the strip and I have a sinking feeling that it will probably be the last time I ever see the Irish woman. Who knew why she was in Vegas but I didn't think it was to wrestle. Not like me.
My destination is the HQ where I would officially sign my name on the contract that gave the details for my last run in this business. I almost felt too old to be doing this and for an instant I doubt myself and my intentions. I was a mother of two. I was a wife to a man who needed a lot of personal attention, what was I doing here?
Flashback ~ Two weeks ago
I lay awake in bed after speaking to Ryan. It's actually only about an hour before I hear him come up the stairs, making the same trips to both our children's rooms that I had before coming in. He walks in, taking off his shirt before coming around to his side of the bed, slipping under the sheets and putting an arm around my waist.
"I know you're still awake Lex. I said it was fine you know. I know I tease but I'm serious. If you need another shot at this then I will support you. I know I'm done now. For good. The idea that my actions might have risked your lives...well... I just couldn't take that again. If I lost you again Lexi my life would just...."
He trails off because I know that it's not often that he is sentimental about stuff and I know that the whole time that me and the kids had been in the clasps of Outcast he felt responsible. Because he was supposed to be retired. He was supposed to be at home and he wasn't.
"It's not just Outcast. It doesn't' matter how strong he was he got me with chloroform. You just have to be clever with that stuff."
I turn in his embrace and look into his eyes in the dark bedroom. The only light is coming from the window, its slotted from the window blind, cutting beams of light against his skin, showing his stubble. I'm still getting used to his short hair and the age lines in his face.
"I just feel like this whole time, I've let myself get sidetracked by relationships and pregnancy and god Ryan... I know I'm good at this but I haven't really gotten the chance to show it. 10 years ago I left to have a family, 2 years ago I left for the same reason. I'm done having kids now. The partial Hysterectomy pretty much guarantees that there will be no more surprise babies. And I'm not going to be going there thinking about other men because I have the only man I need right here at home. I'll have my mind in the game finally. Completely."
He brushes a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear and gives me a brief tight-lipped smile before answering me, "You don't need to explain that feeling to me babe. Why do you think I've come out of retirement so many times. That feeling of excitement that comes from entering a ring is ingrained in my bones. I will never stop loving this sport, the game, the whole thing but I know what's important. And don't think I'm trying to make you feel guilty. You're younger than me, you didn't return nearly as many times as I did and I understand why you want to give it another shot. Come home as often as you can and I will manage fine with the kids. Besides, gives me more time to bond with Matthew, just us."
I smile. My bonding with Matthew after he learned I was his mother hadn't taken all that long because I'd been constant in his life, even if he had thought I was his aunt...I think deep down he knew I was more than just his 'mother's' sister.
I give him a hug and then a kiss and slowly that kiss had deepened.
I smile to myself. Things had never been better with Ryan. Our second marriage was just.. different than the first. There was an actual friendship this time and not just the lust that comes with young love. He trusted me and I trusted him and I don't think we had that before.
I get to the main building for Sin City Wrestling, entering I walk straight to the elevators. Time to make this official.
***
"Seeing as how I'm new to this company I really don't have a lot of knowledge about the two opponents I'm facing who are 'regulars' to SCW. That's fine. I fully expect either of these women to use my history, my past, my age even to get to me. That's fine. You can say whatever you want, read off your information from a sheet like some monotone computer and try to insult someone you don't even know yet."
{Electra Styles smiles into the video cam}
"I did do research and all of my opponents are skilled competitors. I have never been one to shy away from giving credit where credit is due. Some might say that's my fatal flaw but I'll tell you, it hasn't really lead me to far astray in my entire 12 year career, even if it isn't 12 years straight. I started out as a ring girl, holding up signs and getting groped by drunk fans all while trying to advertise the round the boxing match was in. I worked my way up from that to Valet, to star all on my own. I made some bad choices, but who hasn't? But I will say this, the one choice I made that I thought I regretted ended up giving me one of the best gifts in my entire life."
{She smiles}
"Everyone that will be on another corner facing me in that ring will have been surely thinking about their own bad choices. The things that should have been different. Cindy is a registered Nurse... whatever it was that made her decide to give up on the medical work for a life inside the squared circle must have been a significant one. I don't know if it was a 'bad choice' that's not up to me to decide, the only one she will have to answer to is herself and her 'God'. "
{She takes a deep sigh before looking back up at the camera with her clear brown eyes}
"Cindy I have nothing but respect for nurses and well frankly anybody in the medical profession. I have seen many of my family and friends on the verge of death be brought back by people like you and there is nothing I could ever do to repay that, but if you think for a second that respect will make me not do everything in my power to win this match then you have another thing coming. I have a feeling that even though we are rivals in this match, we really aren't that much different in the grand scheme of things. We both care deeply for those closest to us and I do hope that at the end, win or lose that if or when i extend my hand to you, that you'll take it with that same respect for a match well fought. Two women redebuting their careers in a tough field for women."
{She clears her throat before continuing}
"Veronica Taylor. I wished very hard that I could find something redeeming about you but unfortunately the best I could find were some really impressive photo shoots...but that's about where it ends. Sure you might have some wins but I also see some loses and the best thing on your resume is that you can actually speak...but my stock in the quality of the words that exit your mouth once again had me doubting. It's probably a good thing that you have your back up career in modelling because it doesn't really take much intelligence or skill to do that. Stand there and look pretty while someone with a camera tells you how to pose. Good for you. I've dabbled in modelling. It's a fun hobby but I know I could never do it on a full time basis because frankly I might end up like you and losing brain cells by the minute with the sheer boredom of it, but if you like that once again... good for you!"
{Electra gives a mocking fist to the air with a half smile}
"When it comes to me and you in that ring Veronica, well I can't say I'm all that intimidated. I may be new to SCW but I am not new to this business and I have to say that I have seen girls like you come and go... mostly go. You have to have a little something extra to succeed. It's a hard vicious world."
{Electra turns her face to the camera so that the long barely seen white scar is seen on her face, going from her jaw up to her cheekbone. Based on her earlier promo it's a huge improvement but it's evidence will probably never completely disappear no matter how much plastic surgery or laser treatments she got}
"Tell me Veronica... are you prepared to have scars like this one. Sure it looks okay now because I took the time and money to have it reduced from what it was but there was never a guarantee that it would look this good when they were done. I could have very well been left with a very noticeable mar on my complexion. That was as a result of being in this world. A risk that even though I wasn't an active wrestler I still had to endure. Would you be willing to risk that Veronica? With your perfect face an perfect looks? Somehow I doubt that but i guess you will either prove me wrong or prove me right in Morocco won't you? I look forward to you trying to prove me wrong though. I do enjoy a challenge"
{She gives a smile to the camera and then suddenly pulls her hair back into a long pony tail before looking back at the screen}
"That's better, now you won't be looking at Cousin It."
{She gives a chuckle before getting serious again}
"My final opponent, Ragdoll. Well I for sure have a ton of respect for a woman that doesn't give a shit about what anyone says about her, about what she does or the fact that she'll do whatever necessary to get the job done, which of course is winning. It is because of this that I really think that this match is really me and you babe. The eternal good girl versus the hardcore princess. It's a match that should be a main event eventually. not that I want to feud you. I never want that with anybody. maybe it's because I am such a soft touch or maybe it's because I'm a mom. Either way... if what I hear is true about you holding grudges about those that beat you...well I really hope that if i am the one to come out of this match with my hand held high that you can look past your MO to actually respect me for doing what I had to do and not play dirty. I am nothing but if not stable and reliable...for the most part. I'm not the type that will stoop to any means to win a match, I like fair play and I'm not afraid to congratulate someone when they win fairly either. Becky...if I may call you Becky, I really think that if given the right amount of time, we could come to a mutual understanding if not a friendship...but that takes time...I get that... and the ball as they say, would be in your court. However, that being said, just as I told Cindy a few minutes ago, all that... all that will not stop me from using every move I have in my arsenal to get this win. Winning your debut match is monumental, especially when you're trying to re-establish yourself. So although I'm not like some of those people who say I will do whatever it takes to win...' That doesn't mean that I won't use a 'fair' advantage if it's presented to me to take."
{She takes a breath}
"Becky I know you've been here a lot longer than I have and your tenure already gives you an advantage. You know the setting better than probably anybody else in this match, you're probably not even a bit nervous about coming out and taking on two 'newbs' and a supermodel Barbie...that's great. I admire that confidence but I'm not as nervous as someone in my position probably should be. In fact you might think that I'm a little over confident because I have faith in myself for the first time in my career. I want this sooo bad that I can taste it. I am here to give it my absolute all and I'm sorry that it has to be you and those other ladies that have to take the fall for it but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do right? Just when you're lying there on the mat... defeated, angry at me for winning, angry at the other girls for the moves they made on you, if any, just remember that there are no hard feelings from me, just as if by chance it's me in that position, I'll still offer you my hand out of respect, that's just the way I roll."
{She laughs at her bad slang which seems foreign from someone as vanilla as her}
"On a final note, I have no hard feelings against any of you ladies if you should by chance get the win over me because the type of person I am, I am an optimist and I'm also someone that doesn't hold grudges. I move on, and do what's required of me. Right now my goal is to work my way up to the top, to the bombshell championship. it's going to take some time and whole lot of hard work. Something I am not a stranger too. Something that I was never able to get before in my years in this business and I'm not leaving again until I can at least say I've gotten it at least once. It starts that night in Morocco. it starts when I impress the big wigs with a win over three other women. I will make something of myself here and i won't let anything any of you say change that. In fact I look forward to what you all have to say. Best of luck ladies, because in my opinion you will need it... a lot of it."
{She gives the camera a wave before she reaches forward and the screen goes black}
