Opening my eyes, I see them.

Maggie, Joe, Kyra…

Gabriel, Eden, Jet…

But their backs, they’re turned to me. I try to move towards them, but quickly I realize that I’m unable to move. Panic fills my body. I try to scream out, desperate to get their attention.

“Help me!”

I yell, but they act as if they hadn’t heard a thing. I pull hard against my restraints, feeling the joints of my shoulders pulling apart – but I don’t care. I can’t be here again. I can’t be in this situation. I try kicking my legs, but to no avail – as they’re chained down to the floor.

“HELP!”

The corners of my eyes prickle with tears, but suddenly one of the six turns around a smirk on his face as his associates turn around as well.

“My, my… Someone looks a bit… Stuck, wouldn’t you say?

Gabriel says as he takes a few steps in my direction, flanked by Eden and Jet. Eden nods her head, her blue eyes staring directly into my own.

“She’s always stuck, Gabriel. Didn’t you know that she’s a complete fucking mess?”

“It really is a shame that her daddy didn’t put her out of our misery when he had the chance.”

Jet chimes in as the three come to stand directly in front of me. I shake my head.

“Fuck you.”

Gabriel reaches out, placing his hand softly on the side of my face. A jolt of pain shoots through my face and I pull away from him, realizing how badly it’s throbbing… realizing how badly everything hurts right now. He simply laughs and traces his fingertip along my jawline, amused at the look of agony on my face.

“Let’s face it, he may not have finished the job but he certainly gave it a college try.”

“She’s disgusting.”

Jet and Gabriel nod at Eden’s statement. I have no idea what I look like, but I can only imagine judging by the disgusted looks on The Court’s faces.

“She’s too ugly to live. Definitely too ugly to be the world champ.”

“Just leave me alone then… Go the fuck away.”

I say softly, looking down at the floor – feeling absolutely helpless.

“Oh, we intend to Dear Lucy. We just wanted to make sure you knew how little you meant to any of us before we vacate this… interesting venue.”

I glance up and around the room, not having really taken note of it before. It’s my former home. Everything, just as it was when I was a child. I look to my sides, pulling against my restraints to see that I’m chained up in front of the fireplace that saw mine and Kyra’s bodies thrown up against it many times.

My heart starts beating harder, and the harder it beats, the more pain I feel. The more pain I feel, the harder it is to keep the tears from flowing out of my eyes.

“Is she crying?”

Eden asks, leaning into my face – wiping a tear off my cheek and laughing when I reel back in pain.

“She really is useless. We’d of all been better off if she would have never came back.”

The words sting like a swarm of bees on a hot day.

“Just.. Just leave me alone.”

I look down, defeated but when I look back up a few seconds later – The Court is nowhere to be found, instead I find Maggie, Joe and Kyra all staring at me with that same disgusted look on their faces.

“What did I ever see in you.. Honestly.”

Maggie rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

“I was wondering the same exact thing, Mags.”

Joe says, sneering in my direction before turning his attention to Maggie. They both smirk and nod their heads.

“Like, I know I said that she was my idol and all.. But this? Is this who Lucy Wylde really is? It’s pathetic.”

“She duped me too, Maggie. I thought she was stronger than this… But she’s worthless.”

I can’t believe the two most important people in my life are just standing here in front of me, aware of how much pain I’m in.. Both mentally and physically.. And they don’t care. My eyes close and I feel more tears dropping from my eyelashes as I listen to them.

“All she does is hold me back. Seriously.”

“Well you wanted to date her.”

“Well you are her supposed ‘best friend’.”

Joe scoffs.

“Don’t remind me.”

Holding my eyes shut, I try to tune out their hate filled words but it’s like my brain doesn’t want to let me.

“You ever wish she’d of been dead when we found her?”

That question makes me look up when Maggie asks it, my eyes staring directly at Joe as he turns his eyes, looking right into my own.

“All the time.”

I can feel my heart break in my chest and all the air being let out of my lungs as he stares stoically into my eyes. There’s nothing there. Nothing within his chest that makes me feel like he has ever given a shit about me at all.

My lip quivers as I try to speak.

“So.. W-Why help me th–”

“Pity. But look at you, you’re right back where we found you. Always the victim, right Lucy?”

I shake my head.

“I-I don’t know how–”

“She doesn’t know how she got here… Typical.”

Maggie chimes in, reaching a manicured nail out and letting it slide down my face. I cry out as I feel it lacerating my skin, feeling a trickle of blood falling down my cheek, mixing with my tears as they fall.

“You never know how you get into these situations. You never understand that maybe, just maybe no one wants you around anymore, Lucy. I know that’s how we feel. I know we all regret that we’re not out there, living our lives free of your burden.”

“Well that’s not going to be the case much longer.”

Kyra’s voice takes over as she steps in front of me, her golden eyes piercing into my soul. In an instant, I could tell that she wasn’t lying.

“Good.”

“The sooner, the better.”

Maggie and Joe laugh, walking away. I watch them for a few moments until I see another person step in beside Kyra. My breath catches in my throat when I turn to see my father standing, his arm around Kyra.

“Lucille.. Are you ready?”

“Please, Daddy..”

He smiles and kisses her lightly on the forehead.

“Don’t worry baby. We’re going to take care of her right now.”

Both of their gazes narrow on me as my father pulls a knife out of his pocket.

“And this time, there will be no error.”

“Please… Please n–UNF!”

Before I can finish he rushes forward and plunges that knife into my stomach. The pain is worse than anything I could have ever imagined…

“AHHHHH–”

 

Date June 5th 2018 / Time 2:30PM / Status Not Recording
Location University Hospital – Cleveland, Ohio

“AHHHHHH!!!”

I fly forward in the bed only to feel a pair of arms trying to hold me down.

“Luce! Luce stop!”

I grab at the hands, trying to rip them off of me until I feel the horrible pain in the right side of my face. That alone is enough to stop me in my tracks as I’ve nearly gotten myself halfway off of the bed.

Bed?!

I open my eyes to see Maggie’s half scared, half angry face and I can’t help but to wonder if she’s here to tell me how worthless I am. It takes a few seconds before I truly realize that the Maggie before and the Maggie now are two different people. Maybe it’s the look in her eyes, yeah.. It’s the look in her eyes.

“Maggie… Jesus Christ. What’s going on?”

She lets me go as I slide back into the bed and take a chance to look around the room – realizing that it’s a hospital room and the pain in my face is making it hard to keep my eye open on that side. I reach up to touch the right side of my face.

“No, don’t touch it Luce.”

“It fucking hurts.”

“They had to do another surgery.”

I lay my head back and sigh, letting my arms drop to my side – trying desperately not to cry.

“Another one?”

She finally sits down beside the bed, nodding her head.

“You don’t remember asking me to take you to the hospital after your match?”

As much as I try to, I don’t remember. I don’t remember much after hitting Gabriel with that last Wylde Liberation. It honestly hurts to think right now so I just shake my head, gently.

“You were pretty messed up when I came out to help you to the back.”

I roll my eyes, instantly regretting it when the pain in my cheek goes from an eleven to a fifteen.

“Obviously.”

She stops for a moment, I see her eyebrows raise and lower into a furrow as she leans back in the chair and crosses her arms over her chest. I’m not really in the mood to give a shit about how she feels right now. Deep down inside I know that makes me a bitch, but I don’t care.

I’m sure she’ll just end up finding me as worthless as the other her did.

Maybe she already does and she was hoping that I wouldn’t make it out of the surgery. Wouldn’t really blame her at this point. Since before I got taken – It’s like all I’ve been is a fucking burden to her. Why is she even here at this point?

“Can’t I get some fucking pain medicine? Jesus Christ, I’m beginning to think they want me to fucking die too.”

I practically yell, wanting everyone to know how much fucking pain I’m in right now. Maggie sighs softly and shakes her head as she brings herself to her feet.

“Luce, stop. Let me go–”

“FUCK… IT HURTS!”

“I know, I know. I–”

“You have no fucking idea Maggie.”

 

Date June 11th 2018 / Time Unknown / Status Not Recording
Location The Carnage Arena – Baltimore, Maryland

Sitting backstage in the arena, I can’t help but stare at the array of strangers walking around – recovering from their own matches tonight, or whatever in the hell else the people around here do. Maggie won her tournament match earlier tonight, and Joe teamed up with the world champion to take on one of our old friends Will Prydor and someone else that I wasn’t entirely familiar with.

I look up and I see Maggie and Joe talking to one another, but all I can truly see is the two people who see me as a hassle. Two people who shouldn’t even want me around at all.

Part of me knows it’s the dreams.

They’re taking a toll on me.

Between them, the pain and the medicine… I just can’t get my head right.

I haven’t been fun to be around lately. I’m just a burden. I’m just a piece of garbage holding up shop within the body of the woman that these two used to know. I lay down at night and I see my father. I see the look in his eyes when he wrapped his hands around my throat, when he covered my mouth with his hands – trying to suffocate me. I see my mother stabbing him as he lay prone on the floor, his blood pouring out and over the hardwood floor…

Replaying night after night… Agonizing moment after agonizing moment.

I hear his voice, telling me how no one wants me, how no one needs me… that I’m worthless and that I’m just a waste of space and air for everyone around me.

”I was right, wasn’t I?”

“What?”

I say, looking around – wondering who said that. Joe and Maggie turn their attention down at me.

“What Luce?”

“You okay?”

I don’t know.

But now I’m wondering if they’re really even concerned.

”They’re not.”

I shake my head. But aren’t they? They’re here. They came for me when I needed them. That’s gotta count for something, doesn’t it?

“Yeah, I’m fine.. You guys did good out there tonight.”

I glance up at their confused expressions and shrug my shoulders.

“We weren’t even talking about that, Luce.”

I sigh and instantly I can feel the anger bubbling up.

“Well I’m fucking sorry. Thought I could congratulate both of you without the third fucking degree.”

“Jeeze, Luce. It’s okay. Calm down.”

Neither of them get how much any of this hurts. Sure I kept my title. Sure I beat Gabriel after everything he fucking did to me, but here I am.. Left with this pain and a fucking cheekbone that won’t heal for another God knows how long. My hands, they shake uncontrollably and I can barely hold a drink without dropping it on the ground.

Maggie’s had to wait on me hand and foot since we got home.

I couldn’t even sign the papers for my parents house when we went to handle all of that legal bullshit.

I’m fucking tired of constantly feeling the consequences of what happened a few weeks ago. I’m tired of being the baggage that Maggie drags along with her. I’m sick of being helpless. It reminds me too damn much of being tied up in that warehouse. Makes me remember every single moment of every single day that I was there… Wishing I wasn’t.

”Maybe you should just finish the job…”

Finish the job?

”Do what I couldn’t.. Lucille.”

I hear the voice again and I look around. Where in the fuck is that coming from? Joe and Maggie don’t seem to hear it. They’re still looking down at me as if I’m crazy or something. I don’t know, maybe the fuck I am. Or maybe they need to quit telling me to calm the hell down.

They don’t fucking know.

But.. they do know. They know better than anyone else. They found me… They obviously care. Right?

Right?

Or do they just pity me like everyone else?

I don’t know.. Maybe I should just finish my fathers work. Maybe it would make everyone’s life better if I weren’t here… holding them back from everything they need to or want to do.

“Luce?”

I look up as his voice pulls me from my thoughts.

“What?”

“You okay?”

Maggie says, reaching out to touch my shoulder, but I pull away.

“I-I’m fine. Tired. That’s all.”

Yeah. That’s it.

 

I’m sure you all wanna know what the world champ is thinking about heading into Synergy this week.  How she’s feeling, and more importantly what she’s got in store for her Wrestlestock opponent at the coming festival.  

Yeah.

There’s a lot of shit I could say right now.  

But you see, we’ve got a match this week.  Maggie, Kem and I.  We get to go head to head with the Court.  

Deja Vu much?

You know, except the whole.. Kem part. 

But I digress.  I digress because how many times have I stood on the opposite side of Gabriel, Jet and Eden?  How many God damned times have I proven myself against them in the past year ALONE?  

You all wanna know what I’ve got to say to all of you and my opponents this week?

Here goes…

 

OOC – Maggie & JC used with permission.