The Siberian husky waged his tail and walked over to Anthony who laid back in a recliner with a half empty beer bottle in his hand. The husky jumped up on Anthony’s lap almost spilling his drink, he curled himself into a slight ball and stared at the television. Any other time, Anthony would have flung the dog to Jupiter for nearly spilling his drink, but he didn’t care because he was finally relieved. His “warrior marks” showed as he still had a bandage on his head.
“Would you take the damn dog with you when you go home?”
Mark barked out from the kitchen as he popped the top off of his beer bottle and headed to the living room. He plopped down on the sofa next to the recliner as they watched TV.
“What are you trying to say about D? Are you trying to call my favorite little pooch a trouble maker?”
Mark stares at him in annoyance as D looks towards Mark with the moistest shiny eyes possible in an attempt to look angelic. Mark looks at the dog and back at Anthony.
“Hell. Yes.”
The dog begins to grumble and put his head back down as Anthony can do nothing but attempt to hold in his laugh as his grins and shakes his head. They watched a couple of television shows as they relaxed in the air conditioned room. Mark yawned and laid out on the sofa as D was sound asleep snoring in Anthony’s lap.
“Bro…”
“What?”
“Give Holly back her dog.”
“No.”
“What? Why? Give her, her freaking dog back. He’s shitting all over the place and moping around here when he misses her. Sounds like you.”
“Fuck off, shitting all over the place?”
“Okay minus shitting all over the place, other than that he acts like you when you miss Holly.”
“I think and question, not mope. Those days are over, I already told you. Whenever she gets her head back on her shoulders she can take care of D. I’m not leaving anyone’s life in her hands – her? The drug addict who so called “cleaned up” and screwed up again? Bah, I rather give the damn dog to Valentine’s creepy ass than her.”
“You still have a thing for her, man.”
“I don’t know…I just…eh…bro, there’s nothing going to happen between us. Too many things were screwed up. As much as I blame her, I have to take some of that blame. I acted like a child, so did she, and children can’t have a properly working adult relationship. It’s too much ‘me, me, me’ and not enough of ‘us.’ It was a bad situation from the start and neither of us wanted to cut it off until it got to a point where we had to. I couldn’t handle her drug addiction, she couldn’t handle my need to put her on a pedestal and another man stepped into the picture by the time she left rehab. Any and every bad situation that could happen in our relationship did. What can I say bro? Some things weren’t mean to be.”
“The end of the year.”
“What?”
“I’m giving you guys until the end of the year, you two are going to hook up before the end of the year. You heard it here first.”
“All right, Oprah, settle down. We’ve both matured and I don’t see it happening. Good friends, maybe? But I’m sure we’d up being enemies before we ever get back together. It’s too much man.”
“Too much for what? You are a pretty boy, she’s a pretty girl. What’s the issue? Get together, have pretty babies and call it a day.”
“Pretty boy?”
“Hey, that’s what she sees you as.”
It became silent again as Anthony grunted and went back to watching television, a little upset at the idea that he was looked on as a “pretty boy” instead of a legitimate wrestler and good boyfriend.
“Listen, I’m not trying to make you feel bad but look at her. She’s originally a Southern girl – all those girls want is a pretty city boy to show them a good time. You did that but drugs showed her a much better time. She dropped you for it and picked up some Bostonian snot nosed punk. Move on dude, make up with Ashley and live your life. Don’t get caught up out there with the rest of those wrestlers who try to date divas. It usually never works. Where are Calvin and Lenne? What happened with the other wrestlers who dated female wrestlers? Are there any sustaining relationships currently? Alex Jr. and Foxx are what? Are they even a relationship? I mean, seriously…”
“There’s Syren and Lucas…”
“….”
“Fine, he’s British, he doesn’t count. Happy?”
“Thank you. Look at the women they have in Britain. I’d try my damn hardest, too, to make things work with an American girl. Think about all the great things your kids won’t have. Messed up teeth and an accent that butchers the very language you created. Sounds great to me.”
“True.”
“When are you going over to Ashley’s?”
“Tomorrow. I want to stay here for the night and wind down.”
“All right, but man I have to head to bed. I am exhausted.”
“Same here.”
Mark turns off the television and turns on a table lamp. Anthony picked up a sleeping D and headed upstairs right behind his brother. Mark went into the master bedroom and Anthony walked a bit further down with the snoring dog into his room. He laid D right next to the bed and turned on the lamp on the dresser. He looked into the mirror of the dresser – his hair looked brown from the lack of light. He stared into the mirror as his brother’s words crept back into his head.
“That’s what she sees you as.”
A pretty boy? He knew he was blessed with looks but he could never believe Holly would go through all of that just for…looks. He rubbed his clean shaven face…even rubbing his hair which also got a new hair cut. He just stared into the mirror, realizing an unfortunate truth that he was a pretty boy. Most of his career has been spent with Shorty as playboys who got all the girls. He didn’t take a lot of his career seriously until later on. Now he has to take on Xander Valentine while questioning whether his relationship was based on love or lust. He sighed and took off his shirt, throwing it on the other side of the queen-sized bed. He could only lay in bed, staring up in the sky, and wondering just what in the hell is he doing.
He had done what he said he would do – he made Davis bled. Davis got his girlfriend and went home. Where does the story end for Glacier? What is next? He’s still signed to SCW, he’s still wrestling. Where does that place him on the spectrum? He stared at his options, he had enough heat to go for the SCW Championship as far as he was concerned. Yet he needed that final boost – that feud that would cement his title shot – no questions asked. Now a person may ask “what’s a guy like Glacier…more suited for the Underground division than anywhere at this moment…doing chasing after the SCW Championship?”
For the same reason he got his revenge on Davis. People looked down on him, looked at him as Shorty Junior’s former sidekick and a clown. No one took him seriously, as far as he was concerned. Anthony took out his biggest detractor, Davis. It was time for all the other naysayers to get theirs too. He saw the eyes that slid to the side towards him as he walked past the hallway corridors. He saw the hatred that they had for him as he carried Amber with him down to the ring. He liked it; he enjoyed how they looked at them. That SHOULD be how they look at him anytime he enters the arena. He didn’t want friends, he didn’t want allies. He wanted everyone to know who he was and what he did.
Anthony Thomas. Ass-kicker.
That was it. Any more information than that then you were buying him a drink at the bar. He knew there was only one way to get to the top – to take out former top dogs. That’s why it peaked his interest when he heard he was put up against Xander Valentine. One of the biggest dogs if not the biggest dog in the SCW yard. He knew what everyone was already thinking, “Hey you could take on Davis but Xander is a different story.” Why? Is he the boogey-man? For what? Because he beat Chad Evans, it’s been done before. Let’s guess because he held the SCW Championship the longest with one of the most amazing “undefeated” streaks to ever been seen? Screw off. Anthony wasn’t afraid of ghosts and old wise men’s tales that SCW backstage wrestlers had to offer. Backstage before Valentine verses Evans, he heard all the stories yet people forget – this so called “monster” was taken down by Hudson – Anthony’s former tag team partner.
He wanted to start some shit. Yeah. He was going to ruffle up Xander’s feathers and get under his skin. Anthony wanted to see how “bad ass” Mr. Boogeyman here is. They said Davis was tough and the next SCW Champion – I’m sure Rise to Greatness showed he could be broken down like the next person. No one in SCW is insurmountable and Anthony was more than willing to teach that hard lesson before he ascended to the top and takes his rightful place as SCW Champion.
Anthony began to doze off.
Dream Sequence
“HEY ASSHOLE!”
Anthony quickly looks over to hear Robert’s voice. His squints over with his eyebrows furrowed ready to kill Robert. Robert gets up and walks over to Anthony. They begin to push each other back and forth before Holly steps in, grabbing Anthony by the collar and dragging him over to a corner.
“It’s over, Tony. It’s over! Stop coming around!”
“Wha…what?”
“It’s OVER! CAN’T YOU HEAR?”
He stumbles back in disbelief as he looks on.
“Over? You leave me for some non-Italian guido. Look at the orange bum with the retarded tats. That’s who you’re going to pick over me?”
“Anthony, you were a good ‘holder’, a nice temporary placement. You are really a pretty boy but I have to move on with my life – and that life doesn’t include ‘place holding pretty boys’ either.”
The scene darkened out with visuals of being blasted in the skull with a hammer by Davis. He relieved the end of his match again as he stared down that ramp walking Davis walk off with his girlfriend and leaving him in a bloody heap. Visuals of busting Amber in the nose and fighting with Junior. More visuals from the past show up until early in the morning where he is woken up to the smell of eggs and bacon.
“Food smells good, what’s the occasion?”
“Besides the fact that you are leaving my house?”
“Ha-ha, asshole.”
“Man, I came in the room to check on D. You were shifting and turning, I was wondering whether to take pictures or call in an exorcism team. What the hell happened?”
“Just…some fucked up dreams. Things about my match with Davis and…some other stuff. Don’t worry about it, it was just a dream.”
“All right, if you say your okay…”
Mark handed him a plate as he began to eat. He had thought about it, the reoccurring words of “you’re just a pretty boy”. The nightmare had plagued him and it would eat him alive if he didn’t maintain some control. How do you control your nightmares? How can you control your dreams?
He felt like he was in “Miracles” by ICP video. Like how the fuck does a toaster work?
You can’t control your thoughts and passion. You were fighting who you were and you would inevitably die trying. He put his head down and ate his breakfast taking momentarily times to look up and stare out the glass door that leads to the backyard wishing he could escape this house and not have to go home. To explain his wife and kids what he did the night of Rise to Greatness and the weeks before would be painstaking…maybe impossible. Anthony grab down his glass of orange juice when Mark turned around.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me! Did you hear about this Twitter craze?”
“Uh…heard a couple of SCW kids were in it, other than that no.”
“Yeah, Holly is on there.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, she seems to be socializing well with the girls.”
“Said anything about me?”
“Nothing positive.”
“Not surprised.”
“Maybe you should get on there.”
“I’m not an attention starved imbecile who needs to inform everyone at every part of the day what I’m doing.”
“Barack Obama is doing it.”
“………….wait. What is that even have to do in correlation with what I said? When do I start joining social networking sites because the President is doing it?”
“You start…now. Let’s get you started.”
“No.”
“Yes. You lazy bastard. Why the hell did you buy that laptop in your office for?”
“To look at free porn and download music illegally, what else?”
“You’re pathetic.”
“All right calm down, I’ll check out that Twitter thing later on. Jeez. You’d swear Nancy Grace is on it.”
“She is too!”
“…fuck it.”
Anthony got up and put his dish and glass in the sink.
“We have more important things than Twitter to worry about…like how my wife will decimate me when I get home and how I owe Shorty over 500 dollars because I had to borrow money from him to get home.”
“You’re lucky he stopped dealing, he would have already knocked down the door looking for you.”
“Thanks for reminding me of his previous occupation, asshole. Now help me get my bags into the car and let’s see if I can find a way to escape Ashley’s impending rage.”
Anthony slung his gym bag over his left arm and grabs one of his pieces of luggage with his right hand. As he walks towards the door, Mark begins to cough so horribly that Anthony stops and turns around to stare him down. He points to D who stood behind Anthony wagging his tail.
“So…what about fido?”
“What about D?”
“He’s going with you?”
“No.”
“What the…?”
“Ok, I think you don’t get it. So let me run this through your head.”
Anthony put down the piece of luggage he had in his hand.
“You want me to go home to my wife who I’m sure is furious that I kidnapped and held hostage a pregnant woman in an attempt to get back at a fellow wrestler. On top of that, you want me to bring my ex-girlfriend’s dog. Would you also like me to bring a list of girls I slept with throughout high school too?”
“Fine. Don’t take the dog; just take the dog shit with you.”
“Ha-ha, Jesus this dog shit business is getting to you.”
“The odor is so atrocious man, stinks up the damn place especially on those hot days!”
“Ha-ha – don’t worry Mark; I’ll get him out soon.”
“I hope so.”
Anthony grabs the luggage he put down while Mark grabs another bag as they head to the car. They stuff all the things in the trunk. Mark locks the door as D looks on anxiously. He realizes that Anthony is leaving and begins to making whining noises, sort of like Greg Cherry when he doesn’t get what he wants. Mark reverses the car out the drive way and drives off. Anthony wondered if she would even be there. For all he knew, she could have packed up with the kids and left. He couldn’t imagine she had much patience left in the tank especially after this incident. There were many times she could shrug off or disregard his actions because men would be men but to put hands on a woman was another story. It wasn’t even a woman who was designated to wrestle – a fellow wrestler’s girlfriend after being so protective of his own family. He knew she looked at him like a dog…less than a dog even. It wasn’t much of a new feeling – he already felt that look at Rise to Greatness when he bumped into Holly at Rise to Greatness. He deserved it but if he didn’t stop worrying about hurting feelings, he would never get anywhere himself. Feelings had to be hurt, dreams had to be crushed, and the cruelest things had to be done on his path to the SCW Championship – to the path of immortality. He came in with the plan for the revenge which he succeeded but now he had to stay with the intention of success – something he wasn’t that familiar with. He was more than familiar with the particular with the swan song of relationships as he stared down his house – wishing he had never came back to New Jersey.
To be continued.
Xander Valentine, the fearless leader of the now disbanded NBR.
Xander Valentine, the longest reigning SCW Champion.
Xander Valentine, the most feared man to ever step two feet into a ring.
Xander Valentine, the man who held the longest undefeated streak in SCW history.
Xander Valentine, my next…victim.
I believe everything I previously mentioned is correct.
This week reminds me of one of those days were everything goes according to plan. Here I was thinking I’d be stuck in a jerk off competition with the likes of Rupp or Lawler but I’ve been given an opportunity that I just can’t pass up. I have been given the ability to prove that you are just the shell of the man who used to wreak havoc – which wasn’t much of a man to begin with. You were a pathetic coward who got lucky on several occasions as far as I’m concerned.
You can stop lying to the public about wrestlers not talking in the back about you. Every other day is a new boogie story about “Xander Valentine”. At one point someone said you ate souls for breakfast, at that moment I knew they were either high out of their mind and wasn’t sharing the good stuff or you have a hell of a public relations team. I love how you are attempting to clean up your act nowadays, pretending as though your past won’t come back to haunt you.
You can play patty cake all night with Evans if you like, that’s fine by me. I enjoy when two has-beens roll around with each other on the mat and pretend like they are putting on a show. They are putting on a show, all right – but the wrong crowd…might want to head a couple of streets down to Christopher St. if you catch my drift. Those are the only people who would even be slightly entertained by you and Chad. Even that’s not saying much because they are entertained by people who dress in leather so you’re fighting Daddy the ExeCUTEtioner for a time slot.
Oh yeah, that’s right – wasn’t that your nickname? “The Executioner” Xander Valentine. Oh boy, they say you were a force to be reckoned with back in the day. I wonder if you can run with the likes of me, you’d think all those years would slow you down especially since your last match before Evans was back in 2008. Funny how the both of us had our issues that year, very nasty year wouldn’t you agree? People leaving or stabbed in the back by their friends. This year looks like the year for revenge, always do enjoy those years where everyone is practically on the same page.
Let me get down to the point for you. You provide something I need – legacy. Now while I’m not proud to admit it, I haven’t created myself such a stellar career since my arrival to SCW. I’m going to need to jump off the backs of your kind, old non-functioning wrestlers, in an attempt to prove that I am the man who is meant to lead SCW. With your past achievements, I know beating you alone shoots me up in the top spot without question. Look at it, I take out a person who has contested for three title shots – now to go for a man who has won the championship itself and held it for the longest, heh, I think you know where I’m going.
You’re job is to be my stepping stone.
I know you’re stubborn, though. You won’t let me just win like that – that’s fine – I like a fight from time to time. Just know that I find nothing too low or underhanded. Evans has some kind of morals or standings, he considers himself God-like with that certain things he won’t do so as to maintain his aura. Me? I’m dirty as they come; I have no intention to let you leave that ring with a win under your buckle. I’m not some two cent no name moron who just signed up! I am a man with the ability to turn people’s lives into living hell. I don’t have to hide behind a stable or a brand; there is no disguise with me. What you see is what you get. If you get what you don’t like, suck it up and stop being a pussy.
Xander, make no mistake – I’m not Chad Evans. I don’t disappoint when it’s time to bring my all.
Now the question here is, can you handle it?
Of course you can’t, you’ll be squirming on the floor wishing you had never returned. You’ve signed your death warrant and there is no returning. There is no equivalent exchange, there is no credit back. It’s just you and I staring each other down prepared to bring the house down.
You can play start your mind games now, you can run the little highlight clips of your career…do what you need to, do what you have to because there isn’t a damn scary story in the back anyone can tell me when I’m scraping your face out from under my boot.
What’s it going to be, Mr. Boogie man? You’re going to tell me another scary story about that one time you committed an exorcism on Emily Rose? Huh? Or are you going to come out a reformed changed man, tell me those years are behind you.
You’re a sick fuck, just like me. I don’t care if it’s been years – you’re like Speed. You’re like Damian Angel. All of you are a bunch of sick bastards who now walk around attempting to be normal but the damage is done. There is nothing you can do or say now that will ever change your past. I’m not preparing for the Xander Valentine of today, I am preparing for the sick one that didn’t care if life or limb was lost – the one buried inside of you waiting and itching to get out.
Pretend that I’m insane; tell people that you aren’t what you were. Hudson did that after Junior hunted him down for revenge. He told Junior he wasn’t that kind of guy but let the record show I was betrayed by him. Tell your pretty white lies to someone who wants to hear it. You can lie all you want but you can never distort the memories of those traumatized by your actions – that’s why I know I’ve truly won against Davis because for as long as he lies he will always remember the man who took him down at Rise to Greatness. Let’s hope your brain isn’t too fried so you, too, can remember the day I take you down.
