Childhood Friendships
Lifelong Connections
by Mistress Anna

Still embarrassed at herself for breaking down in front of the boys, she was quiet as they got in the car for the next stop on today’s agenda. She flipped open her portable for the number and name to contact at the store, started dialing and then put the car in drive. She didn’t usually obey that law, but thought she probably should, all things considered with her today. David was also quiet, next to her. He didn’t look like he was in physical pain, she could spot that easily. It was more like he might have liked to join her in her crying fit. It wouldn’t be the first time for them. She had discovered many years ago that this behemoth of a man was actually very gentle and sensitive, probably why Kris loved him so much.

Repeating back to the voice on the other end, the instructions of where to meet security and when, she permitted David to know the timeline too. It was just easier that way. They needed to find somewhere where he could change into more casual attire. One of the little things they had discovered about fans was that if he was dressed in his suit and tie, fans were much less likely to approach him or feel at ease. That was great for airports, but not for a fan signing.

“Keep your eyes open for a likely place or hotel. I don’t know Tucson very well.”

He just nodded, which she caught out of the corner of her vision. They were fast approaching the place to meet security and they hadn’t found a likely place. Christ, was he gonna have to change amongst the cactus? They had to do that a few times before too, not cactus, but bushes. He must have been reading her mind because he was already loosening his tie. Ah, the glamorous life of a wrestling superstar, being naked amongst the cactus, she almost giggled out loud at that thought. She turned onto a side street that dead ended. No houses or business around. Tucson was growing so rapidly that there were a lot of those roads “to nowhere” as she thought of them. They seemed to put in a road one week, plop houses on the next. It’s why she didn’t know the city very well, even though she had been there several times previously.

“This do for you”, she questioned as she slid the car behind a pile of rubble.

“Yeah, it’ll do,” he mumbled barely above a whisper. He was quiet, but knew he’d turn it on when he was with fans. It amazed her how any of the guys were able to do that.

They had this routine down also. He pulled out his case, got out what he needed, while she folded up his jacket, shirt and tie that he had just pulled off. Mr. World Champion was standing at the back of the car in his suit pants, Armani shoes and coordinating “wife beater”. What a picture, she thought. He had his casual slacks laid out on the back seat with his selected shirt and shoes. First off came the shoes, hoping not to step on anything disgusting. Then the suit pants came off and he handed them to her wordlessly. She silently took them from him, taking stuff out of his pockets and folding them on top of his shirt. He was putting on his other pants as she noticed that he looked thinner. Yup, his slacks were a little loose. She wasn’t one to talk. His wife was constantly badgering her about her weight too. He had slipped on his other shoes and was pulling on his shirt, almost ready to go. She tucked the discarded clothes away in the trunk carefully, so they wouldn’t wrinkle. He had tucked in his shirt and was just finishing tying his shoes while she had finished with the stuff in the trunk. They’d have to repeat this after the signing, before heading to the arena for tonight’s show. But they did have one more stop that was not on anyone’s official agenda but hers and David’s.

She pulled the rental into the back lot as she had been instructed and called security to let them know they had arrived. Several minutes later 5 or so security guards show up. She grinned to herself thinking how incongruous they looked, supposedly protecting a man that was much larger than any of them. She bet most of them had to fight to get this special assignment, wrestling fans were everywhere. She left David in their capable hands, armed with many sharpies. The photos and posters had been shipped ahead, so that was one less thing to worry about. She was free to go to the store and get another damn cell phone. Hmm, do they make a glow in the dark one, she thought.

After her successful phone purchase, she was getting back in to the car and laughing to herself at the thought on David’s face when she presented him the new phone. She hoped he’d take it like she thought he would. It did have glow in the dark numbers and a few other nifty features that let the store justify charging an exorbitant amount. She didn’t know that the clerk was also a wrestling fan and had an idea who she might have just bought the phone for. It was obvious to her from her customer’s voice and clothing that she wasn’t a local. The clerk was on the phone to her best friend as soon as Carrie was out the door, squealing about who she just sold a phone to. They were both going to enjoy going to tonight’s event so much more knowing that she had almost met a wrestler or a wrestler’s wife or girlfriend or something.

Carrie called the security office that was the contact for the signing to find out if there was a place for David to change. There were a few places that were suitable, she was assured. Why the hell didn’t they tell me that yesterday, she wondered. Good to know they wouldn’t have to find another place amongst the cacti. She pulled the rental into the back lot again and parked. She got out and followed the noise to the fan signing. She passed families, little kids, and adults all walking away with expression that clearly said they had a good time, all loaded with pictures, shirts, hats and who knew what else clutched tightly as treasured items.

Wow, it was a huge turnout, she could see. Most of the lines were moving very quickly. People seemed to be polite and behaving, no mob scene thankfully, she was pleased to note. The other superstar that was booked to sign with David was Christy. She gritted her teeth, knowing that her feelings toward that particular female were not professional or rational. After taking a few moments to compose herself for public view, she stepped up from behind the banner to let David know she was there and to ask if he needed anything. She didn’t ask Christy, since she didn’t work with her, among others things. David didn’t break eye contact with the little boy he was signing a poster for as he said, ”I’m cool, thanks.”

Christy looked over to her, “I could use some water.”

Um yeah, I bet you could, Carrie thought. Bitch, bitch, bitch she thought to herself. If there was one superstar who’s on air persona didn’t fit her, it was this bitch. Fans thought she was great, sweet and innocent. No fucking way did she buy that. She had seen her behind the scenes to know what kind of female she really was and how she won the diva search. Bitch. But this was all private. Publicly, she smiled sweetly to her and handed her a cold water from the cooler behind the banner. Bitch!

David knew how Lil’ Sis felt about her, so he was surprised when she gave Christy water, as she had asked. He did notice the set of her shoulders as she passed the water to the redhead. Oh boy, he thought. She’s gonna blow soon. That crying thing was just a small trickle. He thought all of this as he was talking with the fans and signing autographs. He knew that many folks didn’t think he was very smart, since he was big and quiet. People seemed to assume that the larger you were, the size of your brain shrunk exponentially. He had run into that particular bias since high school. Christy was one that assumed he fit that mold. Some of the condescending things she said and did were unbelievable. She assumed he didn’t know or catch on to any of it, since he didn’t react to any of it. But he did notice it. He went to school with girls like her, he had to work in the clubs with girls like her and now he was doing his dream job with girls like her. At least the people in his life that were important to him, including Evolution, knew he wasn’t stupid. Yes, Evolution in front of the camera was one thing, but that was just for show, not real. They knew the difference and it worked for them. Christy hadn’t learned there was a difference and he wasn’t too sure she cared.

Carrie leaned in and let him know they were wrapping it up. He nodded his thanks to her and smiled at the two teenage girls in front of him. They giggled at him while he signed their posters. The MC of the event, thanked everyone for coming, thanked the superstars for their time, which received applause from the folks that were still hanging around taking their own pictures. They left the stage area and went behind the banner, following security back to the original staging area. Carrie was able to let David know that he could change here; she just needed to grab his things from the car. Once in the back lot, she left him talking to the security guards, signing things for them, while she went back to the car for his clothes. Unfortunately, Christy was also part of the mess. She followed them back, since her rental was in the same area. She was being polite, but not overly so to the security guys. They might not have noticed, but Carrie could see and hear it even from the car. What a royal bitch, she reflected again.

She walked back with David’s clothes all tucked up in a discreet bundle. The blonde security guard who she thought might be the manager (or whatever they were called) looked at her and remembered her request for a lockable private place to change.

“Ms. Martin, please allow me to show you where Mr. Batista can change,” the blonde man said, motioning her to follow him. David followed too since he knew their timeline and had one more stop to make. Christy also fell in to step with them. They were shown through a series of doors and hallways that ended up in what looked like a break room or a lounge for employees. Off of the main room, there was a men’s and women’s restroom, both had doors and both had locks, Carrie was pleased to note. It gave David a chance for some privacy, get redressed in his suit and ensure that all was in order before he went back into public again.

“Thank you, this will be fine,” she said to the blonde security guard.

Christy looked at the youngest security guy and put on her best little girl lost voice and asked, “if he would be a dear and bring her suitcase so she could freshen up?”

Once he stopped stammering, he gratefully took her keys from her and took off at a run. He didn’t want to keep the diva waiting. She just smiled her Cheshire cat grin at him. She caught Carrie’s appraising look at her, “What? A girl’s gotta change too, ya know?”

“Yes, yes you do”, she said quietly, knowing it was lost on her, if she even bothered to hear it.

David took his clothes from her and went in to the restroom. She heard the lock click and smiled to herself. David didn’t trust Christy either. She wondered if the bimbo knew how he felt about her, probably not, too egocentric. The rest of the guards had stepped outside to give the superstars some privacy. The young security guard was back in just a few minutes, since he appeared to have run all the way to her car and all the way back, judging by his appearance. Christy smiled at him, thanked him for his efforts, gave him a look filled with promise and disappeared in to the ladies room. She didn’t bother to lock it, Carrie noted.

Christy was back out of the restroom in just a few minutes, it appeared all she wanted to do was freshen up her makeup. Carrie wasn’t sure how you did that when it appeared painted on, but whatever. Christy immediately went to the men’s room door and knocked. Carrie had been seated on the only couch, but she got up and walked toward the diva, intent on stopping the harassment.

Christy saw her, rolled her eyes and said,” David, let me in. I have something important I need to talk to you about.” And she knocked again. Carrie knew David wouldn’t bother to answer her, why would he?

“Can’t it wait until he’s finished, Christy?”

“No, no it can’t. It’s very important”, she pleaded with fake sincerity.

Carrie knew she wouldn’t shut up or leave David in peace so…”Why don’t you tell me and I’ll make sure he gets the message”, knowing damn well she didn’t have any message.

“No, it’s private. We never get a chance to speak privately. It just too personal,” she pleaded.

Did she honestly expect her to believe that shit? Just to make sure there was no mistake, Carrie positioned herself between the door and Christy, folding her arms across her chest, sending her unspoken message loud and clear. Christy was several inches taller than her normally, but in her current shoes she towered over the smaller women. Christy put her hand on hips, looked down at the smaller woman and sneered, “What are you afraid of? Think I might be able to give Batista something that you can’t?”

“Yes, a disease,” she said quietly, baiting the red headed bitch.

“You Bitch!” Christy snarled and slapped her hard across the face.

Carrie didn’t even budge, she barely blinked. She knew her early training had helped, since she really would have joyfully beat the shit out of the hateful bitch in front of her.

“That’s the free one, now get out,” she said evenly and quietly, looking straight in to the diva’s surprised eyes.

Christy was so taken back at her lack of response that she felt unsure of herself for the first time. She looked from Carrie to the door, back to Carrie. She grabbed her bag and flounced out with a confused glance back to Carrie still standing at the door. Carrie had counted to ten several times silently and was concentrating on her breathing so she didn’t notice the door had opened behind her until David touched her shoulder lightly. His look said he heard every word and appreciated what she had restrained herself from doing.

“Lil’ Sis, you don’t have to fight my battles for me, you know. I’m a big boy, I can handle it.”

“Maybe”, she said. “That one is after all of you guys and won’t stop until she gets what she wants. You’d think Randy would have been enough, but I think he was just the appetizer to her.”

He was surprised. He didn’t know she knew about that particular indiscretion of Randy’s. He had to remind himself that she didn’t miss much, even when she wasn’t on the road with them. He didn’t know how she knew things, but she always did.

David had his clothes tucked under his arm and was ready to go back to the car, until he caught sight of her face. He missed it the first time because it was on the other side. Now he could see a hell of a hand shaped welt covering the entire left side of her face.

“Mother fu” he said from between his teeth. He stopped himself before he said too much more. He felt his temper spike. Carrie’s head came back up. She looked into his eyes, surprised at his outburst.

“That bitch hit you hard! Why didn’t you say something or hit her back?” He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was turning a deep angry red right in front of his eyes. He knew it must hurt like hell.

“I did. She got one warning. There won’t be one next time. I don’t give a shit who she’s related to. Hell, she could be a McMahon for all I care. She knows that now.”

Yes, her face was throbbing like hell and she could tell it was gonna be ugly. She might even end up with an attractive black eye. Kris will just love that, she though to herself sarcastically. She knew this day was going to be “one of those” days from the beginning and so far it was turning out just like that.

Walking back to the car, she was lost in thought. She was ignoring the throbbing and putting all of her energies into other positive things, with the exception of how she was going to beat the living shit out of that redhead next time she got the chance. Deep breathing wasn’t helping right now, she could feel herself starting to shake from the adrenaline after effects.

David walked quietly beside her, fuming. No one, absolutely no one harmed his family like that. He felt even angrier with himself for putting her in the position that it happened. They got to the car and she hesitated.

“You want me to drive,” he asked from underneath his scowl. He didn’t know it, but he looked like his old Leviathan character.

“That would be helpful if you could, I am just not up to it yet.”

He understood what she meant. He had to let himself come down after every match otherwise he’d be completely out of control behind the wheel. He unlocked the passenger door for her, opened the trunk, put his stuff back in the bag and opened the driver’s side.

He only managed to put part of his right leg in before he said, “Who the fuck was driving this? Tinker Bell? No normal sized person, that’s for sure.”

He reached down to release the seat to the full extension and was able to finally get in. He had to spend a few minutes switching the mirrors around so he could actually see something, instead of the sky. The entire time he was adjusting the car, he was commenting on the fact that Tinker Bell was sadistic or something. He was teasing her, with a family name that was never used in public. He couldn’t remember when he had first called her that, but it was something that only he called her and only when they were at home with family. JM Barrie’s story used to be one of his daughter’s favorite’s. Now he wasn’t sure what she liked, probably something ghoulish. Finally, all was set to his satisfaction and they pulled out to get back on the highway. Since he was driving, he knew the way and didn’t need her notes to remind him.

“We have to make an additional stop”, he told her while sneaking a quick glance at the side of her. Damn that is going to be ugly, he thought.

“No, we don’t have time. You know how tight things are today.” She didn’t look his way, didn’t want to see how angry he was, she already knew.

“Sorry, Tink. We have to. Do you want to explain that to Hunter? I checked my gear and I only have wraps and hot packs. He usually caries the cold packs. Looks like I’ll need to start doing that with you traveling with me, eh?” He was trying hard to take the anger out of his voice, it wasn’t working very well but he was trying.

“Shit, I didn’t think of that. He’s gonna fuckin’ blow a fuse, isn’t he,” she asked him, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah. Do you blame him? You know how he is.”

She did know how he was. Highly volatile was a polite way to describe him. Then you add Nan to the mix, who was supposed to be there tonight, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. She has seen both of them so angry they could breathe fire. But she had also seen another side of them when they were together. They could close everyone else out and still set the room on fire with their own heat without touching or saying a word to one another. She remembered a few times where she felt she needed to take a shower when she was around them. Damn it, she was starting to get a headache on top of everything else.

He pulled into a convenience store to grab some ice. How he was gonna get something to put it in, he didn’t know. A cup wouldn’t work. The clerk behind the counter watched the big man pull up and get out of the car. His eyes widened in surprise when he recognized one of his favorite wrestlers. He saw him go to the coolers and start looking for something, obviously not finding it.

“Can I help you, Mr. Batista?”

“What? Oh yeah, please. I’m looking for some ice, I need to make an ice pack and I don’t know what to put it in,” he gestured vaguely with his big hands.

“We have those gel cold packs, the chemical ones if that’ll do?” the clerk said, trying to be helpful.

“Great! That’s even better. Where?”

“Here, let me get one for you?”

“Can you give me four of them? What do I owe ya,” the big man asked as he was reaching for his wallet.

“They’re two bucks a piece. Hey, can you do me a favor? No one will ever believe that you came here today,” he said as he grabbed a hat from one of the displays.

“Sure, what do you want me to sign?” Wrestling fans were awesome, they came in all shapes and sizes, and they were everywhere. This was one of the instances where he didn’t mind losing his anonymity.

Getting back in to the car, “I got you four, since they only last so long,” he said, giving her one to get her started.

“Thanks, looks like you have a fan in there. He’s still smiling at you and watching,” she noted as she snapped the pack to activate it and get the swelling under control.

“Yeah, he was cool. He helped me out and all he asked for was an autograph.”

“I bet he’s gonna make copies for himself of the closed circuit. Probably sell it on eBay or something,” she commented. Yeah, she did have a headache and it was getting worse.

“Damn,” he said in amazement. “I never thought of that. Fuck it, he was cool,“ He shrugged. “Make sure you keep that on there, it’s starting to swell and get ugly.”

“Thanks for the remarks on my beauty, Brute.” She used one of the family’s names for him too, since he called her Tink outside of home.

He raised his eyebrows at her choice of name. “You know what I mean.”

“Whatever, lets get this show on the road and go make a little girl smile.”

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