Post by Admin on Aug 15, 2016 19:02:27 GMT -5
Purity, Louisiana || Thursday, August 11, 2016 (OFF CAMERA)
There was a blob of rust on the shower curtain rod and the more she stared at it, the more she became convinced that that vaguely reddish tint to it meant that it was actually blood and the more she thought about blood the more she thought about the end of her FFW career, that night that Hunter had proposed while she was still picking glass out of her hair and contemplating a move to the Ultra-Violent Division. The more she fixated on that one blemish, the more she felt uneasy even though the water beating down on her was hot enough to melt her into a puddle. The training facilities were deserted at this time of night and she wondered, idly, if Ak had any idea that she'd copied his key to the place and had been sneaking over here after hours to use the facilities. She had a membership to the generic knockoff of Planet Fitness but the place was weird, full of fad diet hipsters who were more interested in Snapchatting and Instagramming themselves in the mirrors on the walls than actually putting any work in. This place felt more like home, especially in that faint odor of sweat and desperation that never quite came out of the canvas.
Tonight she'd been running the ropes, working on the speed for her springboards and trying to get her kicks to snap harder. Her legs felt like wet noodles, throbbing and tingling as she shuffled her feet, almost losing her balance when she turned around. Bowing her head, she stopped dwelling on that bloody rust spot, knowing the annoyance she felt about that blemish was just transference. Maybe the way she'd punished herself tonight was too but she couldn't quite let go of the anger she'd felt at seeing Wolfe still going at Ak – it had taken everything she had in her not to jump in. She pretended she didn't see it, wishing they could just let the old demons die so they could be laid to rest with the ashes of BFW. The more distance she got from the place, the more she wished she wasn't going to always end up lumped in with that group. Beating Hunter Storms was a start. Finding out she'd somehow managed to net a match on the Bad Moon Rising event was even better – on her birthday, no less. If she could beat this girl named Spencer, maybe, just maybe, she could make something of this messy false start her return to the ring had become.
Despite the exhaustion, her confidence was growing. She'd meant to ask Ak what he'd thought of her match but time had completely gotten away from them both. She felt a sense of pride at the progress, even though nobody was here to document or measure it – she hadn't wiped out once. She still wasn't confident in scaling to the top rope, but if she made the rest of the arsenal tight enough, that extra couple feet of height wouldn't really matter. Gathering up her hair, she started smoothing the apple-scented conditioner through the strands, letting her eyes close with a sigh.
THUD.
Her eyes flew open, a little squeak coming from between her lips.
"Uh..." she cocked her head, straining to hear something past the white noise of the shower, "h-hello? Is there someone out there?" Making a face at the way her voice shook, she ran her hands through her hair, making sure it was actually clean before turning off the water. The silence was abrupt and absolute, leaving her hearing the sound of loud breathing before she realized it was her own. "Oh for fuck's sake!" She whisked aside the opaque curtain, staring through the steam into the locker room – of course it was deserted. She reached for her towels, wrapping one around her head like a turban before putting the other around herself, shivering even though it was warm.
She couldn't shake that feeling of unease even as she padded across the floor, careful not to slip with her bare feet on the tiles. Her locker was partly open – had she left it like that? The certainty that she hadn't was driven home when she pulled it open to find it empty other than a single pink and blue striped sock. Her soiled workout gear was gone. So were her street clothes, including the hoodie that had her wallet and cell phone in the pocket.
"Really?" Instead of fear, now she felt anger, "really? You think that's funny? Give me back my shit, you asshole! Wolfe, I swear to God, if you just swiped my clothes.... I'm gonna kill you! You think he's a monster? You do not wanna fuck with me!"
Her voice echoed in the deserted space. No laughter echoing back. No 'gotcha' prankster moment. Kasey turned around, stalking towards the trash can and then the toilets to see if her things had been thrown in there – shades of freshman gym class all over again. The disappointment she felt was short-lived as she half-turned, catching sight of movement in the mirror beside her.
"Hey–"
She saw stars and then everything went dark.
Purity, Louisiana || Friday, August 12, 2016 (OFF CAMERA)
"Oh no, God no. Please tell me you didn't call him," Kasey's voice came out ashamed, fearful dismay written all over her face. "I'm okay, I swear. I just slipped in some water and hit my head. I mean, holy shit, I do worse things to myself voluntarily on like a weekly basis!" The lie came out smoothly enough, but the doctor glowering at her from the foot of the bed wasn't having any of it. She tried harder. "This one time – no lie – Annie Zellor smashed me over the head with a gazillion light tubes and I seriously just walked it off. So this is, like, a scraped knee. You could just call him and tell him not to bother, right? I mean, you could, right?"
"Miss Summers, I take my job very seriously, as I'm sure you do yours. I can't release you unless I have someone to watch over you–"
"I'm not concussed! Honest!" She felt nauseous, wasn't really sure if it was from the knock on the back of her head, or the certainty that Akragth was on his way. "I know what a concussion feels like. I don't have blurred vision," she adjusted her glasses with a brittle laugh, "at least when I have these on – no more than usual, anyhow. I mean, it hurts, but, that's kinda more like a normal Friday morning thing so..."
From behind, Kasey heard a disapproving grunt. She closed her eyes and the argument with the doctor faded from her mind. Turning, her mind already racing to find the words, she was gobsmacked to see Ak standing with a small bunch of flowers. Her cheeks reddened immediately, and her train of thought was thoroughly derailed.
Flowers? Really?
"I heard you had an... accident," Ak said, holding the flowers out to her. Kasey looked dumbfounded, and Ak thrust them into her hands.
"I... I... uhm..." she stammered, eyes downcast, the scent of the summery bouquet overpowering the antiseptic hospital smell. She tried again, eyes suddenly prickling with tears that hadn't fallen through the entire ordeal. "I fell."
"Uh huh, 'fell'." The air-quotes were implied in his tone – it was obvious he didn't believe her but, for whatever reason, he had decided not to press her on it. "So what does the doc say?"
"He said I can go home if... well that's why they called you. If I have someone to sign me out because..." her voice dropped to a whisper, "they're worried I might have a concussion. Or something. I dunno." She glanced towards the doorway, realizing the doctor had actually left them alone. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking back down at the flowers in her hands, "you were probably sleeping and I woke you up for something so unbelievably dumb and someone stole my clothes so I don't even know where my phone is or I woulda called or texted or whatever and told you not to–" oh God, you're rambling like a total goon. Stop rambling! "To... uhm... worry about it?"
Ak shook his head. "It's okay. Main thing is that you're alright. Let's just...get you home and resting, and worry about the rest of all that later, yea?" He paused, stuck on her slightly confused expression. "What? Nothing more we can do here. Whoever took your stuff will pay, but not tonight." He smiled. "So, uh, where do I go to get you released? I hate hospitals..."
The look of gratitude was there for a second before she looked away, pointing towards the doorway. "The nurse's desk, I think. The doctor...he had," she squinted, trying to remember what he looked like because the last thing she wanted was to set him loose on the poor hospital staff. "I think he had curly blond hair. He was in here for a second when you came in. I think... unless I was talking to myself for a bit there."
At least they'd been nice enough to give her a pair of scrub pants to wear with the over-sized sweatshirt she was pretty sure belonged to the janitor who'd found her on the floor. She wouldn't have to walk the halls in one of those backless gowns. She shook her head, trying to stay focused. "Thanks," she said softly, "for the flowers. And...uhm...for coming to bail me out."
"Yea, I saw him," Ak said with a nod. "Okay, let me handle that. You stay here and...just don't try to walk off without me, yea? If you are concussed the last thing I need is you getting dizzy or anything."
Before she could respond, Ak had already made a U-turn and was on his way out of the room. Kasey watched him go, wondering just how much they'd told him on the phone. Did he know that she'd been found in the ladies locker room at the training facility? And if so, had he put the pieces together of how she managed to get in there after hours?
She sighed, feeling like an idiot. She'd told everyone here the same story – she'd slipped on water and hit the back of her head on something. She hadn't mentioned that blur she'd seen in the mirror. Hadn't told anyone that she'd been hit before she went down. The last thing she wanted to do was put more stress on Ak's plate, but she didn't think she could lie to him. Anyone else, maybe. Never him.
Setting the flowers aside, she swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed, moving slow just in case. The last thing she needed right now was to splatter her brains all over the floor and end up on the sidelines again. "Never," the word came out between gritted teeth and she waited out the thrumming in her head before looking towards the door. Patience had never been her strong suit but waiting so she could lean on him sounded almost like heaven.
Ak turned back, visibly unimpressed at Kasey's disobedience. He rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Moving closer, he held a hand out. "Ready to get out of here?"
She missed that annoyed look, only lifting her head again at the sound of his voice. "Ready, yup!" She tried for a bright smile but it was more a pained grimace, "just hate hospitals so much. They remind me...." she didn't bother to complete that thought because they both knew the dark turn her mind had taken. This bed was too much like that other one she'd spent weeks in when her neck had been broken.
She took his hand, hopping down off the bed. She almost stumbled, grateful when his arm wrapped around her, pulling her close and she barely had time to snatch the bouquet of flowers before he was steering her out of the room. "I just wanna go home. Pretend this didn't happen. Tomorrow I'm gonna have to get a new phone. And replace my car keys and your hoodie got stolen, that black one so I guess I owe you a new one." Her mouth kept going, prattling on about nothing as he walked them towards the bank of elevators at the end of the hall. She rested her head on his shoulder, looking up at him, the stream of words drying up instantly. She wasn't dense enough to miss the tension in him and it had her fumbling to make an awkward and hasty apology instead. "Ak, I'm sorry. I-it was dumb."
"Any idea who took the stuff?" His nose contorted as he scowled at the thought. "Not that we can't replace it, but maybe they need a lesson in manners." With a shake of his head, he loosened his scowl slightly. "And even more so given that it got you hurt." He looked up, offering a fairly fake looking smile. At least he was trying, though.
Wolfe, she wanted to say, but the word never came out. That was a can of worms she didn't want to open. Not right now. Especially not in public. "No idea," she wanted to vehemently shake her head, to tell him it was nothing but that strained smile of him made her bite her lip. He was trying so hard, "maybe... okay, maybe it was just a joke? Maybe they just moved my things and I overreacted... and it's not like I'm hurt bad. I'll still be able to wrestle... uhm," she tried like hell to remember her opponent's name, unable to recall it past the headache that was building, "the girl with the boy's name – Skylar? Shelbi? Well, either way, you know who I mean." She was going to say more, to try and fill the silence with the word-vomit rolling around in her head but the elevator chose that moment to arrive.
From the corner of her eye, Kasey caught Akragth's frown. "Yea...I know who you mean." He stretched an arm out toward the open doors of the elevator. "After you..."
Dutifully, she shuffled inside, watching him follow and stab the button for the ground floor, the silence bordering on ominous. The elevator lurched, of course it was the slowest thing in the universe and she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes against another wave of nausea. Maybe her luck would hold. Maybe he was going to let what had happened slide. Maybe she'd win her birthday match. Maybe she'd wake up in the morning and this would all be a bad dream. Maybe...
