Post by Cade on Jan 19, 2021 13:09:59 GMT -6
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes. ~ Rob Siltanen
The round pegs in the square holes. ~ Rob Siltanen
The shutters of the window into Michael Cade’s life have been closed for eighteen years and now the bright lights once again are openly welcomed. It’s an unexpected revolt within the Cade abode as he stands before family grasping for the precise words.
“What do you mean… unresolved?” His wife physically upset as her lip quivers and tears are visually being held back.
His intentions were to subtly break the topic he knew would end in a whirlwind of argument. “I don’t know what else I can say. It’s done.”
She turns away from his gaze as the tears begin to freely flow. “It’s a woman. You’re going to fight a woman.”
“Onyx, she goes by Onyx.”
“You think I care what she calls herself?”
“No… But it matters to me… It has to matter to me…”
She turns towards him with a look of confusion. “What do you mean it has to matter to you? What does that mean?” She catches her breath in that brief moment of silence.
“I don’t mean like that…” He looks towards the ground before turning his attention to the wall. “Those mementos of a forgotten life between those ropes…” His words are sharply cut off.
“This again…”
“YES!” The tone wasn’t exactly what he had intended. “Yes.”
“Dad…”
His attention is taken away from the moment as he turns towards his daughter.
“I understand… The business has changed and men and women in this business opening fight between those ropes regularly. This girl though… There’s just something about her that doesn’t make sense. She’s just not in her right mind.”
He steps towards his daughter and places his arm over her shoulder. He gentle places a kiss on her forward head before stepping away as he faces them both.
“I understand both of your concerns. I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t want something that inside of me to hurt either of you. I never wanted that but I have to look into that mirror every single day of my life. I have to face that man in the mirror and I just can’t do it anymore. I can’t live with how I walked away from the business. That monster of competition is still living within my chest and it’s…”
He mentally grasps for the right words but they escape him in a moment of an emotional overwhelming. His eyes lower away from his family as his daughter again speaks.
“We love you. No matter what we’ll always going to love you.”
His wife reaches up towards his chest with her hand. It’s a glancing physical moment as she turns away and leaves the room.
“I don’t know what to expect from this girl. I don’t understand her mentally even with all of the horrible things I’ve done in my career. I don’t understand a girl like this and I’m not sure what demons this match will bring out of me. That’s what I’m afraid of most. I don’t want to be that guy again. This isn’t what this is about.”
His attention turns towards the wall of accomplishments again. He stands motionless as he looks over the photos and souvenirs of a past life.
“I walked away before Rock Startling made his mark in PRIME and we were in place to dominate like never before. We were T.R.U.E. in name and blood. He was like a brother to me… Now… I don’t know what ever happened to him… I left everyone… Rock… Devane… Hix… Keeton…
I walked out on myself… I’m nothing…”
His daughter unable to hold back her emotions clears her throat before speaking.
“You’re not nothing. You’re the best man I know…”
His gaze fixed upon her face and he smiles a winks at her.
“I’m not just saying that. I know you’ll beat this Onyx girl. Whatever it takes… Even if you have to become… that guy again. You’ll steps through those ropes at the end of the night and you’ll be victorious. You’re not going back into this business after eighteen years to lose. I know that.”
“I’m going to try kiddo.”
He turns and looks back towards the wall as he reaches and pulls an old photo from the corner of an old frame. It’s a physical reaction of memory as he brings it closer to his chest. Looking down towards the photo between his fingers; he laughs slightly.
“I’ll never forget this day. It’s the day I met your mother and Startling was set to dominate the XwC. It was only a few weeks before all of that attention was mine. I ripped it away from his grasp by beating the World Champion Brad Daddy in a non-title match. It was that day that everyone started talking about me instead of him. I was destined for greatness and then I met her, backstage. My life changed that night and I knew that everything wouldn’t be the same anymore.
That’s how I know I’m gonna beat Onyx in Las Vegas on the twentieth. It’s just in my gut and my skin crawls with anticipation. It’s the family blood… Competition.”
“Have you called him?”
His stare seems to fade into the distance of lost memory. It’s several moments before she realizes that he had heard her question.
“Your brother?” That wasn’t meant as a question regardless of how it came out. “He hasn’t answered the phone or returned calls.”
“He’ll come around…” She let her words fade slightly before changing the subject. “We’re a family. We’ve always been a wrestling family. This match with Onyx is just the beginning for you.”
“It’s the beginning of an end for me. I can’t lie to myself or anyone around me. I’m not the same guy that walked away eighteen years ago. I’ve still got it. I know that I do. It’s not a lack of ability or even a lack of confidence. I just don’t want to be the guy that takes short cuts. That uses those same manipulative and deceptive tactics that I built my early career on.”
She looks at him with a half smirk and half concern.
“What if this match with Onyx is more than you expect and those tactics are needed?”
“I’m going to win… no matter…. What…”
He turns away as the sounds of voices fade into silence. Michael Cade looks upon the wall of achievements and his daughter leans her head against his shoulder and looks with him.
Professional wrestling is an intense and at times regretful business. It may take days or even years but those pings of pain with past mistakes sit in the back of your mind. How do you forget those moments? How do you not realize in the moment?