Being given a dressing down by Michelle’s parents wasn’t on his list of expected things either.
He was amazed, despite his insistence, that Michelle had agreed to stay at his apartment after what happened but he felt reassured nonetheless. He hadn’t slept properly since the incident involving Fallen and he would have happily slept on the floor to allow Michelle as much comfort as possible but she too was equally insistent on him joining her. She liked to snuggle into him; it had given her a sense of comfort knowing he was nearby. So when Michelle had told him of her intent on going back to her own apartment, he wasn’t sure about it all.
She had finally managed to get some semblance of sleep without waking up through the night, screaming and he was sure the minute she was on her own, the nightmares would start again. But she was persistent and told him she had made her choice. Not one to poke the bear, he reluctantly agreed and helped her back to her own apartment. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as he thought. She wasn’t recoiling at him touching her unexpectedly, whether it was an arm around her shoulder or stroking her hand and they had shared a sweet goodbye kiss when he left her place to go back home. One thing Michelle had also been insistent on was Sean getting his head back in the game. He replayed the conversation in his head.
(Sean): Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay longer? Please, Shell, at least another week?
Michelle smiled. He wasn’t sure if it was genuine or a front but he liked it all the same, seeing the corners of her mouth pulling up like that.
(Michelle): I’ve imposed on you long enough, Sean. Besides, I’m not on my own, I have my roommate remember? I’ll be ok, honestly.
He inclined his head, looking at her as if he were peering over a pair of glasses framing his face, subtly raising an eyebrow.
(Michelle): And don’t give me that look, Mr Parker, your nostrils are flaring, you can’t fool me.
Sean couldn’t help but smile and his demeanour relaxed somewhat. He let his hand drift down and gently took Michelle’s in it. Lifting it up, he delicately kissed the top of it.
(Sean): Remember, I’m only twenty minutes away. If you need me, call me, ok?
(Michelle): Ok, ok, just promise me one thing?
(Sean): Anything.
(Michelle): First, please have a shower! I know you’ve been watching me like a hawk, but you need to start looking after yourself. Have a shower, get some sleep and start training again! I don’t want you squandering career opportunities. You have a rematch against Stu-E at Havoc and you need to focus! You can still support me and concentrate on the ring too.
(Sean): But I-
(Michelle): -No “buts”, Sean. Please.
(Sean): Fine, only for you though.
(Michelle): And one more thing. Please don’t do anything silly about Fallen. It’s in God’s hands now, please let him be the judge or better yet, let an actual judge take care of it if it comes to that.
(Sean): I wasn’t planning on-
(Michelle): Please don’t lie to me, Sean. I saw his address on that bit of paper on your kitchen counter. Promise me you’ll leave it.
Sean looked away from Michelle, chewing on his bottom lip furtively. Michelle reached up with her hand and gently but firmly turned Sean’s face to look at her.
(Michelle): Promise me, Sean….please. If we take an eye for an eye, the world goes blind. I know you care about me and you want to put things right but I don’t want you to do anything illegal, please promise me.
Sean remembered looking at Michelle for a long moment before he answered.
(Sean): Fine…I promise.
(Michelle): Thank you. Now please, go home and take a shower!
(Sean): Will you at least be at ringside for my match. That way I can know you’re ok? Even keep Laney company?
Michelle looked a little unsure.
(Michelle): Oh, Sean, I don’t know…
(Sean): Please, Shell. I don’t trust backstage security after…you know…at least you’ll be in public.
Michelle still looked like a little hesitant but eventually conceded.
(Michelle): Ok, Sean.
Sean smiled lightly and leaned in, giving Michelle a delicate kiss on the cheek.
Off-camera, Sean snaps back to reality. He’s standing in front of a cyan-coloured rented Sedan in Papillion, Nebraska. He looks at a worn piece of paper in his hand which has the last recorded address details for Steven Angel scribbled on it. He looks across at a building across the street, a cold look in his eyes. In his left hand he has a baseball gripped tightly, so much so his knuckles are white. As he takes a step toward, he hears Michelle’s soft, beautiful voice in his head. He recalls the conversation again they had.
(Michelle): Promise me, Sean….please. If we take an eye for an eye, the world goes blind.
Sean stops in his tracks, his left hand still holding a vice-like grip on the baseball bat. What was he doing? He knew if he followed through with this, Michelle would probably find it in her heart to forgive him eventually but he promised her he wouldn’t do anything. He imagined the look on her face, the pain, the betrayal knowing he had broken a promise to her. She had been so grateful for his protection, his devotion and care for her these past few weeks and the thought of throwing it all away made his chest hurt.
(Sean): F*ck! I can’t do it…
Sean about-turns, going back to the rented car and throws the baseball away. He sits in the driver’s seat for what feels like an eternity until a message notification on his phone snaps him out of his daydream. There’s a message from Matt. Sean reads the message out loud as his eyes scan over it.
(Sean): Check out…the app…listen to what Legion….has to say…
He immediately scrawls his thumb across the screen of his iPhone and brings up the HWA App, navigating his way to the recent uploads and watches the press conference unfold chaired by Legion Snr or Reverend Mike as he went by these days. His eyes widened slightly at the revelation that Fallen’s position as CEO of the organisation his family ran had been ousted.
(Sean): Fair play….
He continues watching as Legion Jr takes to the podium and speaks. Sean listens to him say his piece, about how he only intended to scare Michelle and Laney, that he had no idea what Fallen had planned when they entered Stu-E’s dressing room. He hears the apologies Legion makes to him personally and to Michelle and he feels his blood boiling. He brings his phone up into selfie mode and begins to record
(Sean): Legion, I swore after I beat you I wouldn’t utter your name or give you a second thought. But you forced my hand. Personally, I don’t care how sorry you are! You can make all the excuses you want about how you didn’t know what he was gonna do, that you followed him like any good partner would. The fact of the matter is Legion, you’re guilty by association. You still entered a locker room with the intent of putting the fear of god into an innocent woman protecting a little girl; an innocent woman whose only crime was being involved with me! Michelle, bless her, may have found it in your heart to forgive you and let the man upstairs be your true judge but you’ll find no so remorse from me. It’ll take much more than a poorly-rehearsed, store-bought apology to bring me onside. If Butch and Wisdom decide your statement is worthy of your contract being reinstated, believe me, I will be the first one banging on your dressing room door, ready to make your life a living heel. I showed you in the ring what I’m capable of when the bell rings; you don’t want to find out what I can do outside those ropes. The only reason you and your cancerous uncle aren’t lying in pools of our own blood is because I have a promise to keep.
Sean’s expression changes from anger to one of apology.
(Sean): Whilst I’m live, I might as well address other things. All my friends who’ve tried to get in touch and haven’t had any responses, I apologise sincerely. To Stu-E, don’t think I haven’t forgotten about our match at Havoc, I know I’ve had other things on my mind but you can rest assured, come Havoc, I’ll make sure we have the match we should’ve had weeks ago. I’ll see you all in Arkansas next week.
Now off-camera again, Sean ends his recording and sees that Michelle has recorded a video too. His face changes to an expression of pleasant surprise. She must be feeling a little bit more confident in herself if she’d taken the time to record a public message. It wasn’t something she was comfortable doing at the best of times before what happened. He hovered the top of his forefinger over the thumbnail where Michelle’s face showed on the HWA App. He watches with pride as Michelle bravely speaks her mind on how she’s been feeling. He notices the nervous tick she has scratching the back of her hand hadn’t gone away though and he made a mental note to delicately broach the subtly bring it up when he seen her next. He then heard his own name and his ears involuntarily perked up.
(Michelle): Sean, I’ve already told you this privately, but it should be said publicly. You’re an amazing man. I am so grateful God has put you in my life, and that he has graced us with this new direction in our relationship. You have wrapped your wings around me and have been my shelter and my protector. I have no words big enough to give credit and appreciation for what you have done and what it means to me. I just wanted everyone to know that.
Tears form in Sean’s eyes at Michelle’s words for him. They had never said the “L” word but Sean was sure they were slowly heading in that direction, the horrific events that had unfolded at the last Havoc inadvertently acting as the catalyst that had brought them closer together,
As Michelle begins finishing up her vlog, Sean starts to begin to move away to his WhatsApp to message her when he’s surprised to see the clip still playing after she’s blown a kiss goodbye to the camera. He watches helplessly as she bursts into tears, burying her face in her knees. He instinctively touches his phone screen in vain, as if he could reach inside to comfort her. He wants to stop watching and phone her to let her know her vlog didn’t stop recording when she thought but he’s transfixed, unable to take his eyes off her, tears streaming down his own cheeks. He watches as Michelle speaks to her dad, the conversation now public knowledge to the roster and god knows who else. His heart sinks when Michelle’s dad almost pulls rank and threatens to bring her home. He has a slight flutter of hope when Michelle bravely pushes back, telling her dad how much he’d been there for her. He feels his blood boil when Michelle’s dad infers all he is interested in is sleeping with her. He yells at his phone in vain, despite knowing he can’t hear him.
(Sean): THAT’S NOT TRUE, YOU F*CKING ARSEHOLE! I LOVE HER! I LOVE HER!
The tears continue to stream down his face, dripping onto his phone screen, blurring the video, like a watercolour painting. Then he hears it and his heart feels like it’s just been cloven in two.
(Michelle): I promise I’ll think about it…. That would be really nice….
Sean roars at his phone as the vlog finally comes to an end. He desperately thumbs his way across his phone trying to find his contacts and he calls Michelle straightaway, wiping the tears away hurriedly. It rings.
(Sean): Come on, Shell, pick up, please!
Welcome to the AT&T voicemail service, the person you’ve called is not available at the moment, please leave a message after the tone….BEEP…
(Sean): Shell! It’s Sean, if you’re there, please pick up! You need to hear this! Your recording you did? It recorded everything! I heard everything! The conversation with your dad, the whole thing! Please, don’t leave me! I know you’re hurting but please don’t leave! I’ll do anything! If you really want to, I’ll move with you! I don’t care if your dad hates me, I’ll prove him wrong, I’ll leave HWA! As long as I’m with you, I don’t care because I lo-
-Voicemail capacity reached.
(Sean): love you…I love you….
The scene fades to black.
Message Thread
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