Breakdown 9-14-23 #1
{{ Thursday, August 17
Gretna, LA
BlackOut Academy }}
A few weeks have passed since Rise to Greatness. I did exactly what I told Dom I was going to do, almost nothing, for two of them. No gym, no watching film, nothing to do with work at all. I did run on the levee, but that's all as far as anything remotely resembling working out. We did a lot of swimming, when it wasn't too hot. Yes, it is possible to be too hot to swim. We had a record-breaking heat wave and some days the pool water was almost like bath water. Gross.
Anyway, Amy went away for two weeks, longer than the first time she went to rehab. I guess they figured one week didn't stick so longer would be better? I don't know how that works. What I do know, is more than I ever wanted to know about the way things work between Wyatt and Amy. I had accepted the way they practice their relationship a long time ago, I just didn't want to hear details. Except in order to explain to me what sent Amy over the edge again, Wyatt had to tell me things. About Simon and Nadine, and the trainer from GCW, Travis - I had known about him though. Part of me was shocked at Simon, not so much that there was a thing, but that he acted that way. I hate knowing things I never wanted to know about, but it does help to understand why Amy was in such a bad place that she went so far down again. Also, my brother clearly needed to talk to someone about it, and who else was there? I asked if Simon would be leaving the Academy, and Wyatt didn't have an answer for that. He felt it wasn't up to him, no matter how angry he was at him. My brother is a better person than me, because I would have made it a condition, like the rehab. But, that's not my business either.
What is my business, is what I'm doing today. It's a few days before the Academy reopens for classes, and I am going to the gym to help Amy get things ready. We're both a few days removed from the VWA show, Crisis of Faith. We both lost, and we're both sore. Amy more than I am, that little brat Faith Lockheart damn near killed Amy to beat her for their World Championship. Amy was trying to pretend it didn't bother her much, but I know better. Anyway, she has a few cuts that are healing, and a very sore and slightly swollen knee. Did I mention that Faith is a bitch? She targeted that knee the whole match and I'm surprised there isn't any permanent damage. Just the swelling and internal bruising against the metal replacement. Due to that, Amy won't be cleared to return to SCW til a week or two after they start back up. It's also the reason I am going to help today. There are some things Amy can't do by herself while things heal.
I am in workout clothes, and when I walk through the door from the stairwell, I see that Amy is too, complete with her knee brace over her tights. She's on the ring steps, adjusting it.
"Good morning!"
"Hey Bree. You're early."
"Am I? I thought you said eight."
"I said I'd be here for eight. You didn't have to be."
I shrug. "Might as well. What else am I gonna do?"
Amy laughs. "I don't know, sleep in with your husband?"
"Psht. That man was out of the house by six. He went to the gym by us. He's irritated about not working and taking it out on the weights."
"Where's Heath?"
"Downstairs in the day care." Amy nods, as if she should have thought of that. A year or so ago, Wyatt had noticed a need for the gym patrons; child care. Single parents, parents who's spouse worked and couldn't keep their kids, whatever reason. So he turned the largest of the personal training rooms into a day care facility. It's a free service for gym members, Academy students, and anyone who works in the building.
Amy finishes messing with her brace, then stands up. "So, you ready to start?" I nod. "Okay. First, we need to put all the floor mats down around the rings." The large space had two rings, different sizes.
"That sounds like a lot of not fun."
Amy laughs. "It wasn't fun picking them up to get the floor cleaned, I'll tell you that."
We get started pulling the mats away from the wall where they lean. They aren't very heavy, just awkward, since they kinda flop over. Even though Amy and I had gone to Toronto together for the VWA show, we hadn't really talked much; she had been quiet, kept to herself. I didn't blame her - she had only been out of rehab for a few days, and she had a championship match to focus on. That was behind us now, and she was still more reserved than I can ever remember seeing her. With no one else here but us, I decide maybe its a good time to see if she will talk to me.
“So... can I ask you something?”
Amy looks at me over the top of a folded mat. “Sure. Oh by the way, I have something to ask you, too. But go ahead.”
“Okay... I was just wondering how things are going. With you.”
“Oh.” Amy grins and starts moving the mat again. “Well, first of all the counselors said it might be a good idea to not speak too in depth about things too much for a little while. I probably should have explained that, so I'm sorry if I seemed standoffish.”
“You don't have to apologize for that, I understand. I was just a little concerned because I've never seen you so... reserved.”
“It's just a lot, you know? I feel okay. But, I do have a meeting with my counselor this afternoon. So we'll see what he thinks. Ask me tomorrow.” Amy grins.
“That's great, I'm glad you feel good. But, well... I was kinda asking about at home. With Wyatt.”
Amy drops the mat she had in her hands, and it lands on the cement floor with a thud.
“What do you mean?”
“You were away for two weeks, babe, my brother and I had a few conversations.”
“What do you know?”
“Assume everything.”
Amy lowers her head, and speaks under her breath. “Fucking fantastic...”
“Don't be mad at him, okay? Who else was he gonna talk to?” Amy nods, not looking up at me. “If you think I'm judging you, I'm not.”
“I wasn't thinking that.” Looking back up, Amy shrugs. “It just seems like things around here will be more complicated if more people know things.”
“Well I'm not telling anyone. It's not my business to tell. My concern is you and my brother. Not to mention I was told that Loki was super concerned about you.” Jaina told me that Loki had been stressing out, scared that they were going to split up. I admit I had my concerns too.
“He was. But Wyatt had a talk with him, and he seems to have relaxed a bit.”
“He couldn't have known everything... right?”
“No. Absolutely not. But... it's hard to explain.” Amy shakes her head, and grabs another mat. I can tell she wanted to say something else, but stopped herself.
“Does he have a reason to be so concerned?”
“Maybe.” Amy flings the mat down hard. This conversation is agitating her now, and that's the last thing I want to do. “You'd have to ask your brother, because I honestly don't know where things stand at the moment.”
She looks so upset, and now I feel like an ass. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just-”
“Concerned. I know. It's not you. It's... everything. I'll never be upset with you for checking in with me. I just don't have many answers right now.”
“Okay. I won't ask any more, and you can just come to me when and if you want to talk.”
“I absolutely will. Thank you.” Amy steps forward and we hug. This conversation does nothing to ease my concerns about the state of their marriage. I want them to be happy. They're like... the foundation of our family. It can't crumble. Can it?
Amy pulls away, and smiles. “Now. I have a question for you, and it may seem out of left field.”
“That's not worrying at all.” I shake my head, emphasizing my sarcasm. She smirks but otherwise ignores my comment.
“Remember I told you that I decided the Academy needed another trainer?”
“Yes.” I almost asked if it was because Simon was leaving, but I just said I wasn't going to ask anything else so I stifle it.
“Well, I don't know if you saw Twitter, but I posted an ad.”
“Of course I saw it, I reposted the one where you said I'd be here more.”
“Right, you did. Okay. Did you happen to see any of the replies?”
“No. I haven't been on since.”
“Okay. I guess if you had, you'd have said something...”
“Amy.” I give her a raised eyebrow.
“Right, the point. Well, I got exactly one bite. I spoke to him last night, and while I was very surprised at his interest, so far it sounds like we can make it work.”
“Was there a question for me in this somewhere?”
“Yes. Before he would commit, he asked me to make sure it wouldn't be a problem with you. So-”
I step back, horrified. “Oh my Gods. Don't tell me it's Blake!”
“What? No! First of all, I wouldn't do that to you. And besides that, I wouldn't consider him anyway, he has far too little patience to be working with students.”
I nod. “I trained with him. A lot. He really doesn't.” We both laugh a little. “Okay, so who?”
“Josh.” I stare blankly, she can't possibly mean what I think she means. “Hudson.” She does. Holy shit.
“Wow. Really?” Amy nods. “I thought had his own school in New York?”
“He did. But he closed it down a few months ago. He didn't say why and I didn't ask. He just said he was looking for a change of scenery, and my post was timely.”
“Imagine that.” I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this.
“But... he saw that you'd be a regular here too, and he wanted to make sure you didn't have any issues with him coming on board.”
“No. Not at all. Why would I?”
“Well, I know you two had that thing a few years ago...”
I groan. “For gods' sake, Amy. Everyone knows that, since he made it public in a fucking promo. But that was a long time ago, and we cleared the air... it has to be a few years ago now.” As shocked as I am that Josh wants to work for Amy, I am even more shocked that he cares what I think about it. I can't remember the last time I spoke to him.
“So, no problems then?”
“Not on my end. As far as I'm concerned, there's no heat. I think he'd actually be a great fit. No one else here has the submissions knowledge he does.”
Amy smiles. “That's exactly what I was thinking. You'd be okay working with him?”
“Sure. No reason not to be.”
“Okay, great. I'll call him back later and speak more about it. If we can agree to terms, he says he can be here by Monday when we open class.”
“He must really be looking to escape New York.”
“Can't say I blame him,. It's not my favorite place.” Amy has a lot of history there, mostly involving Loki's biological father.
“Mine either, to be honest. Well, I'll be here Monday morning too, so... I guess just let me know?”
“I'll do that.”
We finish putting the mats down, then organize the kick and punch pads by size, and set a few battered ones aside to be trashed. As we work, I can't stop turning this over in my head. Josh closed his school, and decided to work for someone else... requiring him to move across the country. It just doesn't make sense. I am amused that he wanted Amy to make sure it was okay with me. He could have asked me himself, I haven't changed my phone number since the last time we were in contact, and even if he had lost it, Twitter DM's exist. Then again, if he thought I would have a problem, he wouldn't have contacted me at all. Doesn't matter really, because I don't have any problems with it, and even if I did, I wouldn't say so to Amy.
We had lunch together, then Amy left for her counselor meeting. I grabbed Heath the day care and headed home. During the drive, it occurred to me that I should probably give my husband a heads up about this. I had no issues... but I had no idea what Dom would think.
{{ Monday, August 21
Gretna, LA
BlackOut Academy }}
I had worried about Dom's reaction to me potentially working with Josh for nothing. I told him about it, and all he said was, “Oh yeah? That would be good for the Academy.” So either he doesn't care at all, or is very good at hiding it. It's true that he does pretend for a living, but he wouldn't do that to me. So... nothing to worry about at all.
I got up early this morning, because I wanted to get to the Academy early. Amy still hadn't told me if Josh was coming or not, and I had a feeling either she didn't know yet, or she wanted to tell me in person. Dom and I left the house at the same time. I had Heath with me, because Dom was going to the gym he liked again. The actor's strike was keeping him from working, but he was determined to stay in 'camera shape' to be ready to go as soon as the strike was over. I have a feeling though it won't be for a long time.
After dropping Heath off at the day care room, I go upstairs to the Academy. The first thing I notice is that no one else is up there. Or no one I can see anyway.
“Hello?”
Nothing. Weird. As I walk in further, I see Amy's bag near her office door. So she's in the building, just not up here. It doesn't look like anyone else is here yet. Oh well. I go into the locker room to put my bag away and put my hair up so I'm ready once everyone is here. After, I go back out and sit on the floor next to the larger ring, to do my stretches. I am halfway through my routine when I hear the unmistakable sound of a baby crying.
“What the hell?” I stop what I'm doing, and sit perfectly still, to listen. There, I heard it again. It sounds like it's coming from Amy's office. I stare at the closed door, confused as shit. The crying gets louder, and more frantic. Well, I can't sit here and let a baby cry.
I get up and slowly open the office door. On the floor in the corner, laying on a fluffy blanket, is the source of the crying. The blanket, clothes, and hair on the child's head make it clear this baby is is a girl, who appears to be around Heath's age. Her face is scrunched up as she wails. I open the door more and step in. She stops for a moment to look up at me, then when she doesn't know who I am, she wails again. My heart! I go to her and pick her up.
“Oh no... what's wrong, baby girl? Are you scared?” I bounce her up and down a bit as I talk to her in what I hope is a soothing tone. “I would be scared too if I woke up in a room I didn't know and saw a lady I've never seen before. But it's okay. I won't hurt you, baby girl. You're okay.” She starts to calm down, the crying devolving to sniffles and little hiccup like sobs. “There you go sweetie. You're okay.” She looks up at me finally, and stares at me with the brightest brown eyes I think I've ever seen. “There you are. You're so pretty, sweet girl. Who do you belong to, huh? How did you get in here?” I look around, for a bag or carrier or anything that might tell me who she is, who her parents are. I see a diaper bag on Amy's desk. I dig through it with my free hand, but I don't see anything with a name on it. The baby starts fussing again, and put my arm back where it was, supporting her with both arms. “Hey, hey... shhhh. It's okay. I won't drop you. Where's your mommy, sweetie?” I turn around to leave the office and go start asking questions... then stop mid-step. Josh is standing in the doorway. Well, that answers that question. But...
“Her mother isn't here. Just Dad.” He then waves at the baby, and she leans towards him, wiggling.
“Is she yours?”
“Last time I checked. Which was about an hour ago when I put her in here asleep.” Josh walks in and reaches towards the girl, she leans over more, and he takes her from me. The girl leans into him, her head on his shoulder. I am completely flabbergasted.
“I... didn't know you had a baby.”
“We didn't really make any announcements.” He shrugs with the baby-free shoulder. I can't tell if that's a shot at me for my announcement about Heath or not. “Thank you for coming in and calming her down. Hi, by the way.”
“Hi.” I grin. “She is gorgeous.” I wave to her, and she finally gives me a smile. I guess all is good now that she sees her dad knows me.
“I'd say thank you, but she gets all of that from her mother.”
I vaguely remember meeting the woman I assume must be the girls mother, Erica-something. She was in SCW for three minutes, then.... I guess she didn't come back because she was pregnant.
“Erica, right?” Josh nods. “Is she here with you? I'd like to say hi.”
Josh looks down at his daughter, a blank gaze for a moment. “No. Her mother won't be joining us.” He looks up at me, the blankness gone, but still cold. “She is no longer with me.”
“Oh.... that's unfortunate.” I want to ask a dozen questions. Where is she? How could any woman leave her child behind even if she left the father? But I know from experience that Josh is a very private person, and none of those things were my business. Instead, I ask something else. “So, what is this pretty girl's name?”
“This is Jalyn.” He looks at her and points at me. “Can you say hi to Bree?” She eyes me cautiously, then waves.
“Hi Jalyn! What a beautiful name, I've never heard it before.”
“It was my sister's. She passed a few years ago.”
“I'm sorry.” Josh named his daughter after his sister, just like I named my son after my brother. He shrugs.
“It happened.”
I nod, there was nothing else to say to that. “So, why is she in here?”
“I was getting the grand tour of the building and I didn't know where else to put her. She was asleep, so...” He shrugs again.
“Did your tour guide not tell you about the day care?”
“Amy did, yes. But it wasn't open yet when I got here. Is it now?”
“Yeah, my son is there. I can take you two down and make some introductions.”
“Sure.” He looks at Jalyn again. “Hey you. Wanna go make a new friend?” She smiles. Josh turns back to me. “She approves.”
I smile. “Follow me.”
We leave Amy's office, and Amy walks in from the stairs. She smiles when she sees us.
“Oh, good, you know.”
“I do. We're taking Jalyn down to meet Heath.”
“Okay. Students should start arriving soon so don't be too long.”
We head downstairs to the day care. This was already interesting and classes haven't even started yet.