Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2020 19:40:55 GMT -5
IV½
Adrienne didn’t mind being alone. She had this nice hotel room all to herself and well, that was good. The last few overnights in Baltimore were at what she could afford. As she lounged in the very large bathtub, up to her neck in lavender scented bubbles, she knew that she could not afford this. However, Adrienne wasn’t about to beat herself up over it. The hot water soothed her aching body. Her arms and legs felt like jelly before dipping in. The training regimen in that humid warehouse was fierce and it was aimed at addressing her shortcomings in the ring.
She wasn’t sure if she was any better. Matt Knox didn’t say much in that sense. He called out her mistakes. Was blunt in his assessments. And never lingered on praise because it was expected that she should do it right anyway.
And while Adrienne wouldn’t tell him this - she absolutely loved it.
After training, she’d do her best to catch up.
In the last few days, she had seen Steve Matthews say a lot of words. Maybe even for the sake of saying them. Steve seemed very smart. She told him as much. Whether those words really meant anything, that was up for debate.
She skipped Lab Rat King’s entry emphatically.
Some part of her anticipated Winter’s input. Call it morbid fascination. But she didn’t get Alex Winter.
Instead, she got a strange message from Jon Willis. The daredevil from Redemption that had handed her the second loss of her career.
In the midst of her train of thought, her personal cell rang. The shrill ringtone cutting through whatever lame yet relaxing spa music she had chosen. Water splashed over the rim of the tub as she blindly grasped for the phone in the dim light. Nearly knocking over her glass of rosé, she finally brought up the phone. The call wouldn’t connect, her fingers were still wet. She cursed under her breath.
“Damn it.”
Shaking her digits dry, she finally accepted. After all, it was her mother.
“Adrienne, it’s your mother.”
Clearly on speaker phone, Angie Straussler was shouting almost. Adrienne maintained being soft spoken as she did the best to keep the cell out of the drink.
“Your name pops up when you call, mom.”
“Don’t get smart with me.”
However, her mother chuckled.
“I catch you at a bad time?”
Adrienne cast a cursory glance at the glass of wine and then maybe thought about the itinerary a relaxing bath could bring and fibbed.
“Just settling in for the night.”
“I’ll keep it brief. I’m not here to argue with you. You’re there. You’re safe. I believe you.”
“Ok, then what?”
“Been through a lot, you and I. This past year has been a journey to say the least. But here we are again. This business. And Danny.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Danny.”
Adrienne felt a sense of dread as this conversation continued. Her mother’s tone was a bit stern as she interjected.
“Yeah. That’s because Danny’s gone.”
She wanted to drop the phone after all. Just an accident, she’d claim. Instead, she chose to correct her mother - once again.
“Danny’s overseas, Mom.”
There was a very long pause at the other end. Followed by a click, and then Angie rejoined her, this time off speaker.
“Okay, Adrienne. He’s in Japan. But here’s a truth I want to share with you. Danny’s got a lot of different names and you’re working with some of them now. I couldn’t make heads or tails of this a few days ago. On one hand, I’m proud of you. You gave needle dick a piece of your mind. However, he issues some half-ass apology and you call me up sobbing…”
“Mom.”
“Hear me out, Adrienne. You call me blubbering that maybe you went too far. This little boy is only sorry because he’s been called out. He showed everyone his ass. That’s not on you.”
“I know ...it isn’t.”
“Don’t you go and accept his apology. He is a piece of garbage and nobody should ever absolve him of it. Folks will line up to piss on his tombstone no matter what phoney justification he has for being a misogynist dipshit.”
“Mommy…”
Her voice was a whisper, her shoulders slumping into the water. She used her forearm to wipe away tears.
“Don’t. You’re a grown woman. And … I love you so if you’re going to do this - I’m going to be your biggest fan. But, you can’t pull the rug out from those who do believe in you. Otherwise, you might as well just come back home.”
She didn’t cry afterwards. Adrienne was filled with determination. Because her mother was right. The beast had many faces. It wasn’t particularly brave to stare down the obvious terrors. Not in this context. Alex Winter wouldn’t change from anything she said. It was clear that he had no respect for her. Adrienne didn’t need his respect. She just needed three seconds of his time. However, if she wanted to uphold that promise to be better, she would need to be relentless in her efforts to be seen as equal.
So there Adrienne was in the living room of her hotel room, dressed in her own t-shirt(failing to get the memo to not be a mark and wear your own merch), jeans, and sneakers. However, in the camera shot, she was filmed from the shoulder up.
“Jon Willis. I wanted to take a moment to address your gospel. I want to ask you: why? Let’s back up a little. I’ve spent the last week or so admonishing Alex Winter. We all saw how that went. I’d be remiss if I didn’t address you.”
She battled the pathetic little part of her that wanted to just shut up, turn the recording off, and go to bed.
“Should I feel honored that I was amongst those that you chose to heap praise upon?”
And she won.
“Because I don’t.”
Her dark eyes steeled as she carried on.
“I think I understand what you were going for. And I could see that your intentions weren’t malicious. Hate is a really strong emotion to have for someone that I haven’t shared a direct conversation with. Can’t even say that I hate Alex. That would be giving him too much credit. So I get it, you’re a man, so you couldn’t help yourself. Except that you could. You were very careful in how you spoke about two other women. They’re champions after all. And I’m…”
She wasn’t angry. She was deliberate and calm as she paraphrased Willis.
“...a piece of ass for you to admire. I heard everything else. Thanks, I guess. But I know that I’m still learning. And Jon, I know my body more than you ever will. That contest was a frenzy. I was intimidated by your pedigree. By your natural athletic ability. By the fact that despite losing everything through your own vices, you truly are as advertised. So what you said about me? I know that when I tried out for track and field in high school, I tripped over my own feet in the 100 meter dash and broke my good pair of glasses. I know that five years ago, I fell out of my seat at a Lightning game and dumped nacho cheese all over my favorite sweater. And I know that at Redemption, that my lack of grace and precision helped determine the outcome.”
Adrienne paused.
“But I’m going to get better. And one day, if you symbolize what I aspire to be - I’m going to take it all. You’ll have to set aside all of those niceties and call me champion.”
The feed clicked off.