I find myself alone and listening to the sound of silence, typical for me when I’m on the road for a show. But this time, the silence is a little different. Instead of taking in the cold and remorseless steel of the inner cities, I’m basking in the sun dripped shores of the balcony attached to my suite at The Ritz-Carlton Waikiki Beach, just about a mile away from where I’ll make my in ring return to the XWF on Thursday Night Anarchy. But this is a redemption tour for me, where I will have to slay my demons both on the inside AND on the outside, so of course my second match back will be in Hollywood - a city that had become a second home to me for a little while when I was romantically involved with Lexi Gold.
As I’ve said before, I dealt with the end of that relationship in the only way I’ve ever known how to - bury it deep inside and just push ahead. Ironically enough, she will also be in attendance that evening for a match of her own against my former War Games team captain Jenny Myst, which I believe will mark the first time all three of us have been sharing the same backstage area since Lexi and I went our separate ways.
And now here I am, chilling with my balcony door wide open and the main door of my suite propped open, as I’m anticipating company any minute while I’m sipping on a Malibu and Pineapple with a splash of cranberry. I continue to take in the fresh Honolulu air with a white tank top and black swim trunks on, when I hear my suite door open and close back onto the latch propping the door from closing all the way. I turn around in my chair, finding Chris Page, Kat Jones and Holden Ross walking towards me.
EM: Feel free to grab a drink if you want, bunch of stuff on the counter and there’s fresh ice in the bucket!
Page helps himself to a glass of Jameson 80 years aged on the rocks and Holden makes a screw hound, while Kat pours some Jameson of her own. Page and Ross head towards me on the balcony, while Kat grabs the remote and turns on the TV as she gets comfortable sitting on the edge of a bed. I rise to my feet to dap up Chris and Holden, before we all take seats, with me in between the pair of visitors.
EM: Everybody good with the balcony door staying open so I can keep the fresh air circulating through the suite?
HR: Yeah brother, good by me - how about you, boss?
CCP: Don’t matter to me, Kat isn’t gonna hear us talk about anything she’s not already been given information about.
EM: Okay, so what brings you fine gentlemen here before heading to France for Madness on Monday?
CCP: As much as I love controlling and carrying the conversation, I’m actually going to allow our friend Holden to open the conversation.
EM: (turn to face Holden) Well let’s hear it, dude - talk to me.
HR: Ever since we got together with CCP Enterprises, I feel like you, me and Bam Miller have gotten to be on the same page for the most part, like a little brotherhood of our own. And over the course of time, it’s extremely rare any of us have felt the need to call out each other or raise concerns about how any of us are handling anything, both in and out of the wrestling ring.
EM: (with a nervous smile) And here comes the but…
HR: Yeah, here’s the but… me and Bam have been taking notice over the last few months. You were pretty distant for a few weeks there leading up to War Games when you teamed with those three weirdos Myst and Kido and Angie Vaughn… what really got to us though was how you went persona non grata from basically the moment you left that show until this very moment.
EM: (looking around for something) Okay, so uh… what’s your point?
HR: (takes sip of drink) Well brother, the three of us here today and Bam have expressed concerns with each other regarding where your head is at. It hasn’t normally been like you to be short on your answers to our texts or letting our calls ring to voicemail like you don’t recognize our numbers. None of us know what is going on because you haven’t said anything, so we can only make assumptions about what has been going on. But we came here to visit and give you an opportunity to clear the air with us, provide some kind of insight about what you’ve been up to.
EM: Hell yeah dude, I’d love to tell you guys. The big thing was buying my new place in Commack, which I still need to get dates from you guys that would be good for a housewarming party, so make sure you give me a few before you leave today! What else… oh, I’ve been thinking about getting back into creative writing during the down time I have, both on the road for shows and at home. It’s actually gonna be pretty cool, the main theme…
CCP: (interrupting) The main theme is you need to cut the shit, Elijah.
EM: (looking at Page with puzzled look) What do you mean, boss?
CCP: You’re not fooling either of us, you’re not fooling Kat, you ain’t outsmarting Bam… and you sure as fuck ain’t tricking your original mentor.
All of us are completely silent as I’ve stopped mid sip on my drink and swallowed what I already have.
EM: What the fuck did you just say?!
HR: Yeah, you heard Page right… he called both of us before we flew out here yesterday. He said he’s concerned and isn’t sure he would be able to get through to you. He was the final motivation for us to come visit before we took off for France.
All three of us sit in complete silence on the balcony, while Kat continues enjoying the TV and seems completely oblivious to the turn this conversation has taken.
EM: Okay… I uh… I don’t know why he would have done that.
CCP: Oh really? You wanna think about that for a minute before you confirm that stance?!
I’m clearly flustered, angry, feeling a little betrayed… just unsure of how to regain control of the conversation.
EM: So after all the history you had with him Chris, you just… took him for his word?
CCP: First of all, we haven’t spoken badly about each other since like 2015, because we buried everything before he started his final run. And secondly, since we have been on good terms for so long, we have been in regular contact ever since you joined the XWF at the end of last summer.
Now all of my feelings from about a minute ago have turned into confusion and bewilderment.
EM: Wow guys, I uh… I don’t know what else to say at this point. Umm… can I at least know WHY this information was kept from me for over a year?
CCP: All of us know you like running alone most of the time, but did you REALLY think nobody was keeping an eye on you the entire time to make sure you didn’t fuck up and do something stupid?
EM: You knew this too, Holden?
HR: Not until a couple weeks ago, I didn’t see it as my business until Page requested my assistance with this mini intervention right now.
EM: Intervention, huh? I’m not a fall down drunk and the hardest drug I’ve ever used is some bomb ass weed, so I don’t know what the fuck you two feel like you are intervening for.
Holden and Chris glance at each other while shaking their heads at the same time, as if to say “he just doesn’t get it.”
HR: Well man, if you really don’t get it or just wanna keep avoiding the conversation, we ain’t gonna force it out of you.
We all place our drinks down and head inside towards the door. I give Kat a good tight hug as she walks out, followed by a quick bro hug for both Holden and Page. The trio walks away as I shut the door onto the manual lock, keeping it propped open. After taking a few deep breaths, I go around and grab the glasses from the others, walking them into the bathroom to empty and rinse them out. As I finish rinsing, I hear the room door open and shut onto the lock again…
EM: Chris man, seriously, it’s all good!
I walk out of the bathroom while drying the last glass with my head down, before looking up and being stunned to the point of dropping the glass on the floor (thank God for carpet).
Unknown Visitor: It’s been a while, Elijah…
TO BE CONTINUED
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