Matt was back in California. Home again. He enjoyed the traveling he did with HWA, giving him the chance to see a lot of the cities and states he hadn’t been to or revisit the ones he had been to before. But there was nothing like the feel of his own bed. He lay there, the thin covers stopping at his midriff. Even though it was September, California was still warm and he was still more than happy to have the thinner bedsheets on. The sun was just about up as it peeked through the cracks in the blinds on his bedroom window. He glanced at his phone on the bedside table.
06:33
There were several messages and notifications as well. His raspberry protein powder had been dispatched from Amazon Prime and would be here between 4:30 and 5:30pm. Brilliant!. Sean had told him about this new raspberry whey he had been using and had highly recommended it. I can’t wait to try it! . His new ring walk jacket had also been completed and would be available in time for the next time he’d be in the ring. That’s great, so it is! Hopefully I have a match!
And then there was a message from Jeremy. He involuntarily smiled.
[b/]Morning, mister! Hope you had a good sleep! Can’t wait to see you again! Check the app, we’ve both got matches at Havoc! Mwah! xxx
Matt smiled and drafted a response before sending it. I can’t believe this is happening. I’m in a relationship with someone incredible? Wait…is it a relationship? We didn’t technically agree on anything! Is this one of those unwritten things that no one says and they just go along with?
He got out of bed, swinging his legs around. As he stood up, he went up onto his tip toes and fell forward straight into a series of push-ups, doing about 20 in rapid succession before spinning around onto his back, doing an equal amount of sit-ups. Finally, he hopped to his feet and spread his legs around a meter apart and proceeded to do 20 squats, going so far down that the bottom of his butt almost touched the floor. As he came back up from the last one, he did some stretching of his arms and legs, swiveling his hips in a circular motion. It had been a few days since he got the all-clear from the doctor and he hadn’t done any exercising of any sort, let alone stretches. It felt good to be able to move his body without instantly worrying about stitches coming loose or wounds pulling apart. He instinctively ran his fingers across the many scars he had contouring around his midriff, his back, shoulders, arms.
Satisfied, carrying his phone in one of his hands, he made his way out of his room to the living room and adjoining kitchen. Going into the fridge, he fixed himself a glass of fresh pineapple juice and turned on his kitchen TV, syncing it to his phone. A moment later and the HWA app appeared showing the homepage with the new card and, just like Jeremy said, he saw his name. Fallen…he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. After everything that had transpired with Sean and Michelle, he was hoping he wouldn’t have to even look at him again but he wasn’t going to question Butch or Wisdom’s booking.
As he sipped on his OJ, he caught up on some of the recent activity. Sean and Stu-E was going to be an enjoyable one. Matt rolled his eyes at Stu-E’s obvious attempts to troll Sean and fish for a reaction.
(Matt): Don’t bite, fella.
He then listened to Maniac’s latest airings and back-and-forth with Hans. He sighed deeply out of his nostrils.
(Matt): #### it.
He quickly sets up his nearby laptop to record a response.
(Matt): What’s happenin’ HWA? Been a while since ye’ve seen or heard from your’s truly. Thankfully, the only scars are that still healing are the psychological ones, so they are. I’m man enough to admit that I’m a changed man after that Asylum Match, so I am. Truth be told I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after what Maniac and I went through. These scars here…
Matt looks down at his bare upper body.
(Matt): … these are superficial now but the ones up here…
Matt taps his temple.
(Matt): …that’s another matter altogether, so it is. Now, Maniac, I haven’t actually addressed ye personally since what happened in Florida. My feelings remain exactly the same, so they do. And no, I have no desire to be at your side. After everything that’s transpired between the two of us these past eight months, culminating in what we put each other through at Art of War…I don’t even want to be in the same room as you let alone stand beside you…. That being said…
Matt sighs again, looking down at the floor for a moment, his arms stretched down, his palms facing down on the kitchen counter. He looks up again after a long moment.
(Matt): … it’s clear to the both of us, isn’t it, that this thing isn’t finished. Ye beat me all those months ago at Havoc, the very first Havoc of this new era… ye were so sure ye were going to take me to hell and leave me there at Art of War but, lo and behold, I’m still standing here. Whilst it’s obvious Butch made the right call in putting an end to our match when he did, something still seems unfinished, doesn’t it? Now, I know Butch said he wants to put this whole extreme version of HWA behind but I’m asking for one last opportunity… one last chance to prove I am the face of this company…because I’m not satisfied with a draw. I know I’m capable of beating ye, Maniac. So whaddya say? You and me…Helloween Harvest… Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch!
Matt takes a moment for his challenge to set in before continuing.
(Matt): And don’t think I’m overlooking ye, Fallen. After that shite ya pulled with Draconis last week and everything that went on with Michelle and Sean, yer only here because of some bullshit legal technicality. At least Legion looks like he’s trying to atone for what happened. Yer just a poisonous, vile boil of a human being, Angel. No doubt, ye’ll be wanting to get back to winning ways after what Sean did to ye at Art of War but don’t think ye’ll find that way in me. I’ll make sure whatever semblance of a career you planned on resurrecting here is as short-lived as this little fan club ye’ve had going. See ye in Portland!
Matt uploaded his recording and closed his laptop. He went back to his phone and brought up his message chain with Jeremy.
Fancy coming around? Or I can come round to yours? I miss you! xxx
Matt hit send and put his phone away as the scene faded to black.
Message Thread
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