Monday, October 26

It was late. Nearing 2 AM. Nick and I were racing across the grounds, towards the gate to the city of Salvation. We were going to get dad, to sneak him into the city, and later, into the God’s Playground match.

I don’t know how I came up with it. Nick wanted to do it himself. Sneak into the match himself, to ensure Brenton’s victory. That’s when I dropped my dad’s name. Nick loved it. What better way to rebuild the bridge between the two than to have one help the other retain the belt that meant the most to him? Of course, I wasn’t exactly sure Dad would agree to the plan. But Nick seemed confident. I trusted that he knew what he was doing.

The city was asleep, but there were guards still on duty. Nick and I were moving as fast as we could while still keeping quiet.

“Do you honestly think Daddy is going to go along with the plan?”

“No, but that’s why I’m ready to kidnap him if I need to.”

“Kidnap him?”

“Sure why not? I was kidnapped by Salvation, and look at how I turned out.”

I didn’t bother pointing out that the way Nick turned out was precisely why dad hated us together in the first place. It wasn’t worth the long discussion. We approached the gates. Nick tried it. Locked. Nick looked around. He picked up a large rock, closing his fingers tight around it as he stared at the window to the city entrance building.

“Nick! What are you doing?”

I don’t think he heard me. He chucked the rock right through the window, with a crash that could wake the dead. Nick climbed up into the window, and reached out to me, helping me up through it. He kissed me and we started moving again.

“Ok Ashley, I’m going to go upstairs to the watchtower and grab the keys to the gate, wait here for me, and if you see someone hide.”

Nick crept up the stairs to the watchtower, leaving me aloe in the dark. I stood there, perfectly still, my back against the wall. What was taking Nick so long? I couldn’t hear anything from the tower. It was completely silent. Dark.

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?!”

I almost had a heart attack as I heard the guard from above. I looked around frantically. Nick got caught. What do I do? Where can I hide? I heard someone creeping down the stairs. Nick. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Did you get them?”

Nick jangled the keys in front of him. We head to the gate together. He looked at the massive jumble of keys. He tried one. First try, it worked. Amazing. Just like that, we were out in the woods, heading to the parking garage. It was cold. I guess Nick could tell, because he wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me close as we walked. It wasn’t long before we were getting in the car, ready to go talk to my dad.

“I hope this works.”

“I do too.”

I’m not sure when I fell asleep. I had been up all night, anticipating the event’s of the evening. Now, the adrenaline had worn off, and I was beat. I felt Nick brush my hair out of my eyes as I drifted off to sleep. It was a fair distance to Sacramento, yet it only seemed like a few minutes before I felt Nick gently shaking me, waking me up.

“We’re here.”

“Are you ready?”

“Not really. Hey, let me go first, give me a few minutes before heading up there.”

“Why?”

Nick paused for a moment.

“Just, give me a few minutes to talk to him.”

I knew he was hiding something from me. But still, there were things I hid from him at times. I couldn’t expect him to tell me everything. I trusted that he had his reasons. But still…it would be nice to know.

“Fine.”

“Ok, I’ll see you up there soon.”

And that was it. I was alone again. I slouched in my seat, staring at the hotel. One minute passed. Two minutes. I wondered what they were talking about. I racked my brain, trying to think of what Nick could possibly be telling my dad that he didn’t want me to hear. Was Nick confiding in my dad? Was Nick cheating, and needed to ask my dad what to do? No. Never. Why would I ever think that? What was my dad best at? Well, that was obvious. His life was wrestling. But Nick was a great wrestler. He didn’t need help with…Wait. Sex? Was that it? Was Nick asking my dad, the Sex Icon, for advice? I laughed at the thought of it. I could only imagine how awkward the conversation must be. There was no way. Nick and I were in control. He didn’t want sex, and I respected that. But still…I wouldn’t object if he came back asking me to…Forget it.

I decided Nick was in there long enough. I made my way up to dad’s room, and knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it.”

I heard Nick’s voice from the other side. The door had hardly opened, and I felt Nick pulling me close.

“Are you two getting along?”

“Yeah, we had a really great conversation. I haven’t told him our plan yet though.”

“That’s ok.”

I looked over at my dad, who was sitting on the bed, looking deep in thought. I sat next to him and hugged him tight. Despite all the things that had happened between us…he was still the closest thing I had to a father. And I still adored him, almost as much as I did Nick.

“Ok, so the…”

Nick’s phone started ringing.

“I’m going to step out and take this, give you two some alone time. I love you Ashley.”

Nick left the room, leaving me there, sitting next to dad. It was silent. A bit awkward, for reasons unknown to me.

“Ashley…”

It was almost a whisper. Dad looked at me, right into my eyes.

“Do you love Nick?”

I looked at him long and hard. What did he mean by that? Was this a trick question? No. I think he was being serious.

“Yes.”

“Just yes?”

“With all my heart. With every fiber in my body.”

Dad nodded his head slowly.

“Why?”

What kind of question was that?

“I don’t know.”

“There has to be something. Why do you care so much? What has he done?”

I thought about it. Why did I love him so much? What made him so special? What was it about Nick that almost tore me away from my own father?

“He was there.”

Dad raised an eyebrow.

“He was there when I had nothing. He didn’t love me because of my last name, or because I was famous or rich. He took me for who I was. He took me for what I had been through. He could listen to me, and tell me what to do, and I could trust that he would never leave me. He’s my best friend.”

Dad was staring in my direction, but I knew he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were watering a bit. He was biting his tongue. Finally, he slowly nodded is head.

“I understand.”

We sat and waited for Nick to come back. From there, we told Dad the plan. Reluctantly, he agreed. Then it was back to the city, back to the hotel. We were going to do it. Dad and Brenton were going to be friends again.

Tuesday, October 27

It’s been a while since I’ve stepped between the ropes to fight. Yet, there I was, backstage at Sacrifice Wrestling, preparing for my debut against Bobbe Kirby. I was in the locker room, tying my shoes for the third time. It was only the beginning of the night, but I was already in my wrestling gear. I heard a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and dad walked in, a smile on his face.

“Ready for the big night?”

I ran up and hugged him.

“Thanks so much, daddy.”

Dad smiled again. He took a seat on the locker room bench. I sat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“You did great last night.”

“Yeah…Didn’t work, though.”

“It isn’t your fault.”

Dad let out a deep breath.

“I need to show you something.”

He stood up, and dug into his pocket, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. He handed it to me. I was a bit confused, but I unfolded the paper, and took a look. My adoption papers.

“Why…?”

“Read it.”

I scanned my eyes over it. Birth name, Ashley Clair Borden. Adopting father, Charles Brian Matthews. Adopting mother, unspecified. Then I saw what he meant.

“Godparents…Brenton Thomas Cyrus and Lauren Katherine Taylor.”

I looked at dad.

“He’s my godfather?”

“I don’t think I ever told him.”

“Why haven’t I ever met Lauren Taylor?”

Dad stopped for a moment.

“She isn’t the same girl I knew.”

Neither of us spoke for a few minutes, the only sound in the room being the muffled noise from the show, coming from off in the main area. Chuck stared off Into space, out the open door. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet.

“Do you still need me here?”

I looked at him.

“No, I’ll be alright. Why?”

“Something just came up. Good luck. Kick some ass.”

He kissed my forehead and ran from the room. I smiled. Someday, maybe I would learn what went through that man’s head…

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I’ve said it before. New Salvation is disgusting. And yet, it’s that disgusting nature that makes me love this week so much. I get to see the three best wrestlers take on the three best leeches. My father, his best friend, and the love of my life annihilating three men who have done nothing but con and weasel their way to the top.

Mexican Samurai, we’ve already lit you on fire before, and left you for dead. Only someone as dumb as you would try and come back. I know what you did. You sat back, and you watched as Nick and I were put out with injuries. And as soon as your biggest threats were gone, you jumped right back into NLWF. You waited until the giant boot of Ashley Matthews and Nick Ridicule was gone, unable to stomp on the insect that is Mexican Samurai. I bet you didn’t count on us coming back, did you? You make me sick, Samurai. I’ll enjoy watching Nick end your career.

Shadow Demon. We converted you to Salvation. It was the smartest move you ever made. Now, here you are, fighting the originals. Don’t get me wrong, Shadow. You’re talented. And you know what’s best for you. Which is why you’re going to lose. You can’t fight guys like Nick Ridicule or Brenton Cyrus. And my father? He’s not going to lose to you twice. You just don’t have the ability.

That leaves Corey Casey. I don’t care what Nick has to say about you. You haven’t convinced me yet. Why? Because I saw just how eager you were to ditch your friend Ryan Apollos for Salvation. And while that shows that you’re smart about your career, it makes me wonder. Did you turn on Apollos because you are truly a believer in Salvation? Or because Salvation is all-powerful? What’s to say that if Salvation starts losing power, you won’t turn on Brenton Cyrus for someone else? You claim you won’t fight Brenton Cyrus. I guess I’ll have to see it to believe it.