Post by The Madness Menagerie on Sept 20, 2020 17:32:58 GMT -5
Belle had no idea what she was doing as she made her way through the hospital, a couple cups of coffee in her hands and a bag of condiments under her arm. If there was one thing she knew was a universal sign of putting a person at ease, it’s a coffee prepared the way you want it. Granted, hospitals aren’t known for their coffee, which is why Belle was grateful for the numerous coffee shops within walking distance. If she was going to bring a peace offering, it wasn’t going to be hospital coffee. She stops outside the door she’s looking for, still unsure how this conversation would go, however, it was something that HAD to be done. There was no way around it.
“Hey Matt! Hope you like coffee, figured I’d…” Belle stops short as she enters the room, having seen Matt Knox for the first time up close since his run in with King. She takes a shuddering breath, not doing well with the collection of injuries Knox was currently recouping from.
Matthew, for his part, pays her a smile and waves her over. His head wound remains bandaged, but the rest of his bandages are under blanket and gown. His knuckles are a deep purple, as are various other spots on his body making him look almost like a snow leopard. “Yeah. Coffee is fine as long as it’s not that pumpkin shit. Come on in, Belle. Pull up a chair. Food sucks though, so don’t order anything” his tone is cheery, but pained.
Belle pulls up a chair and sets the coffees down on Matt’s side table, dumping out the condiments. “Pumpkin spice is over done and apple spice is the fall flavor in my house.” She winks at him and then hesitates, a hesitant smile playing over her lips. “And… This is where Zephyr has been since… You know. She’s in an upstairs room if you’re ever interested…” She looks at him, the only exchange between Zephyr and Matt Knox playing again in her head. Snapping out of her reverie she smiles again at Knox and grabs her coffee. Motioning toward the second she says, “It’s black, didn’t know how you take it. Help yourself,” before taking her own and enjoying the first sip of coffee in the day; a truly magical experience. She sits back in her chair, crossing her legs and looking carefully at the man in the bed. “So I have a sneaking suspicion about why you asked me here…”
Knox takes a sip of the coffee, exhaling through his nose. He smacks his lips once, before placing the cup aside and nodding, “Yeah. That bullshit with our boss,” he remarks, adjusting and sitting up in bed to look at her better. He reaches up to idly scratch the bandage on his forehead, “I’m not the apologizing type, even when I fucked up. It’s like pulling teeth. But I also can’t sit idly by and let you be put in a match with Alex Winter, especially an Alex Winter who’s become as cocky as he has, living in Christopher’s breast pocket.”
He considers her a moment, shaking his head “I tell you, I’d rather just go drop the son of a bitch on his head, and go take Alex out before One Hundred so you don’t gotta worry on either one of them. And don’t let the bandages, and the bruises, and the three broken ribs, and the mild bruising of the spine confuse you,” he jabs a confident thumb at himself, “I can still fight.”
Belle smiles, savoring the taste of her coffee. She’d be lying if this topic hadn’t plagued her mind since it was first announced. Sure, she has some basic self defense training under her belt, but she was no fighter. She sighs, preferring to take another drink and taking several deep breaths afterward. Looking Matt right in the eye, her voice faltering only slightly she says, “I never expected you to apologize.” She registers the surprise on his face but barrels on. “I know and it isn’t because I think that you’re the type that DOESN’T apologize, I just don’t believe that you owe anyone an apology. Personally at least.” She shrugs her shoulders, watching Knox as she takes another drink of her coffee. “Zephyr is beside herself, insisting she’s ready to return, even with her jaw wired shut. The doctors refuse and as her significant other, I refuse to sign her release work. I don’t need her injured permanently. Just like YOU don't need to be injured anymore than you already are.” She sighs, her shoulders slumping as the pressure from the last several weeks catch up to her. “It’s an impossible situation but I honestly don’t expect you to have to fight my battles for me. I’m…” She stops, finally meeting Knox’s gaze, tears in her eyes, “I’m tough.”
“Of course you are. You need to be, in this business,” He shifts his gaze, unsure for a moment. He remains silent as he stares at the wall, before nodding once, “Alright. So we’re fighting. What leverage do we have? Contract shit? Or do you want me to just beat Alex onto the injured list and make C$J wet himself?” he chuckles at the thought, returning his gaze to her hoping the joke was mutually uplifting.
She smiles slightly, the tears still coming. Forever resolute though, Belle sits back and nods. “My lawyer says that there is an exception in my non compete clause in my contract. If the punishment is ‘just and reasonable’ C$J has everything he needs to put me in a match against whomever he chooses.” She shudders as she gives Knox a once over and thanks her lucky stars the match wasn’t against Lab Rat King. “So legally speaking, I have nothing.” A glint in Belle’s eyes tells Knox that there was an ace up the reporter’s sleeve. “I… I don’t know whether to trust it or not and it’s a longshot. But I got this the other day from Zeph’s sister…”
Belle hands Knox her phone, a text message from a number only saved as “Mia” reads, “So… We have things to discuss, BUT I wanted to make sure that you don’t worry about C$J. I have my own bag of tricks and at 99, you’ll see exactly what I mean
” Knox reads it and hands the phone back to Belle.
“Whatever helps, I suppose. I got no issues with Mia, don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced,” He trails off, “Get as much help as you can, I’ll do my part to keep you safe from this horseshit. It isn’t right, but what is around here anymore? With Jack coming back how he did, Amber being relegated to a guest star..” he trails off, and chuckles “Sorry, Morphine has that effect on me...the rambling.” He motions to the universe with his hand.
“But know this, there is no way you’re going to end up having a full match with Alex Winter. I’m sure Chris will make some stipulation about interference during the match, but if that’s the case I’ll just make sure Alex doesn’t make it to the ring, or the arena that night.” He looks away, disgusted “All the wrong going on, all the shit I done...figure, at least this buys me some good karma for the end.”
Belle smiles, forever appreciative. “Thank you. I don’t have the words to describe how helpful everyone has been. You, Amber, Mac… They’ve all reached out to help and I’ve actually been training as much as possible. With any luck, everything will work out all right.” She smiles and reaches out, gently squeezing his hand in gratitude. “Is there anything I can get for you? I know the pain killers are… I can only imagine, but I can go and grab you something light to eat if you are in the mood for anything?”
“I’m fine, Belle. You just worry about keeping yourself safe. I’ll be at 99, whether I compete or not I’ll be there to handle business with Chris.” he squeezes her hand back, enveloping it in his own “But you, you go be with Zephyr and keep your head on right. I’m here for you.” Belle nods, no words coming to her as she gets her coffee to leave. She gives Matt one last smile and a wave before exiting out into the hallway. Making her way to the elevator bank, she pushes the button to go back up to Zephyr’s room. If Belle wasn’t here, she was training. She was sore, worried, but, she felt ready to face whatever might come her way. The ding of the elevator tells her it’s time to step on, her gaze refocusing and finding a person that causes her to jump and drop her coffee in surprise.
Mia Rayne stands in front of her, a cheshire grin on her face. “Going up?”
“Hey Matt! Hope you like coffee, figured I’d…” Belle stops short as she enters the room, having seen Matt Knox for the first time up close since his run in with King. She takes a shuddering breath, not doing well with the collection of injuries Knox was currently recouping from.
Matthew, for his part, pays her a smile and waves her over. His head wound remains bandaged, but the rest of his bandages are under blanket and gown. His knuckles are a deep purple, as are various other spots on his body making him look almost like a snow leopard. “Yeah. Coffee is fine as long as it’s not that pumpkin shit. Come on in, Belle. Pull up a chair. Food sucks though, so don’t order anything” his tone is cheery, but pained.
Belle pulls up a chair and sets the coffees down on Matt’s side table, dumping out the condiments. “Pumpkin spice is over done and apple spice is the fall flavor in my house.” She winks at him and then hesitates, a hesitant smile playing over her lips. “And… This is where Zephyr has been since… You know. She’s in an upstairs room if you’re ever interested…” She looks at him, the only exchange between Zephyr and Matt Knox playing again in her head. Snapping out of her reverie she smiles again at Knox and grabs her coffee. Motioning toward the second she says, “It’s black, didn’t know how you take it. Help yourself,” before taking her own and enjoying the first sip of coffee in the day; a truly magical experience. She sits back in her chair, crossing her legs and looking carefully at the man in the bed. “So I have a sneaking suspicion about why you asked me here…”
Knox takes a sip of the coffee, exhaling through his nose. He smacks his lips once, before placing the cup aside and nodding, “Yeah. That bullshit with our boss,” he remarks, adjusting and sitting up in bed to look at her better. He reaches up to idly scratch the bandage on his forehead, “I’m not the apologizing type, even when I fucked up. It’s like pulling teeth. But I also can’t sit idly by and let you be put in a match with Alex Winter, especially an Alex Winter who’s become as cocky as he has, living in Christopher’s breast pocket.”
He considers her a moment, shaking his head “I tell you, I’d rather just go drop the son of a bitch on his head, and go take Alex out before One Hundred so you don’t gotta worry on either one of them. And don’t let the bandages, and the bruises, and the three broken ribs, and the mild bruising of the spine confuse you,” he jabs a confident thumb at himself, “I can still fight.”
Belle smiles, savoring the taste of her coffee. She’d be lying if this topic hadn’t plagued her mind since it was first announced. Sure, she has some basic self defense training under her belt, but she was no fighter. She sighs, preferring to take another drink and taking several deep breaths afterward. Looking Matt right in the eye, her voice faltering only slightly she says, “I never expected you to apologize.” She registers the surprise on his face but barrels on. “I know and it isn’t because I think that you’re the type that DOESN’T apologize, I just don’t believe that you owe anyone an apology. Personally at least.” She shrugs her shoulders, watching Knox as she takes another drink of her coffee. “Zephyr is beside herself, insisting she’s ready to return, even with her jaw wired shut. The doctors refuse and as her significant other, I refuse to sign her release work. I don’t need her injured permanently. Just like YOU don't need to be injured anymore than you already are.” She sighs, her shoulders slumping as the pressure from the last several weeks catch up to her. “It’s an impossible situation but I honestly don’t expect you to have to fight my battles for me. I’m…” She stops, finally meeting Knox’s gaze, tears in her eyes, “I’m tough.”
“Of course you are. You need to be, in this business,” He shifts his gaze, unsure for a moment. He remains silent as he stares at the wall, before nodding once, “Alright. So we’re fighting. What leverage do we have? Contract shit? Or do you want me to just beat Alex onto the injured list and make C$J wet himself?” he chuckles at the thought, returning his gaze to her hoping the joke was mutually uplifting.
She smiles slightly, the tears still coming. Forever resolute though, Belle sits back and nods. “My lawyer says that there is an exception in my non compete clause in my contract. If the punishment is ‘just and reasonable’ C$J has everything he needs to put me in a match against whomever he chooses.” She shudders as she gives Knox a once over and thanks her lucky stars the match wasn’t against Lab Rat King. “So legally speaking, I have nothing.” A glint in Belle’s eyes tells Knox that there was an ace up the reporter’s sleeve. “I… I don’t know whether to trust it or not and it’s a longshot. But I got this the other day from Zeph’s sister…”
Belle hands Knox her phone, a text message from a number only saved as “Mia” reads, “So… We have things to discuss, BUT I wanted to make sure that you don’t worry about C$J. I have my own bag of tricks and at 99, you’ll see exactly what I mean
” Knox reads it and hands the phone back to Belle. “Whatever helps, I suppose. I got no issues with Mia, don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced,” He trails off, “Get as much help as you can, I’ll do my part to keep you safe from this horseshit. It isn’t right, but what is around here anymore? With Jack coming back how he did, Amber being relegated to a guest star..” he trails off, and chuckles “Sorry, Morphine has that effect on me...the rambling.” He motions to the universe with his hand.
“But know this, there is no way you’re going to end up having a full match with Alex Winter. I’m sure Chris will make some stipulation about interference during the match, but if that’s the case I’ll just make sure Alex doesn’t make it to the ring, or the arena that night.” He looks away, disgusted “All the wrong going on, all the shit I done...figure, at least this buys me some good karma for the end.”
Belle smiles, forever appreciative. “Thank you. I don’t have the words to describe how helpful everyone has been. You, Amber, Mac… They’ve all reached out to help and I’ve actually been training as much as possible. With any luck, everything will work out all right.” She smiles and reaches out, gently squeezing his hand in gratitude. “Is there anything I can get for you? I know the pain killers are… I can only imagine, but I can go and grab you something light to eat if you are in the mood for anything?”
“I’m fine, Belle. You just worry about keeping yourself safe. I’ll be at 99, whether I compete or not I’ll be there to handle business with Chris.” he squeezes her hand back, enveloping it in his own “But you, you go be with Zephyr and keep your head on right. I’m here for you.” Belle nods, no words coming to her as she gets her coffee to leave. She gives Matt one last smile and a wave before exiting out into the hallway. Making her way to the elevator bank, she pushes the button to go back up to Zephyr’s room. If Belle wasn’t here, she was training. She was sore, worried, but, she felt ready to face whatever might come her way. The ding of the elevator tells her it’s time to step on, her gaze refocusing and finding a person that causes her to jump and drop her coffee in surprise.
Mia Rayne stands in front of her, a cheshire grin on her face. “Going up?”