The Hartbreak Associates

Maple Boy

The night started as any other, the usual promo, the first match of the night. Aiken was thrilled to be starting this storyline with his dad and his uncle Christian. The two were close, even from the time he was adopted. While excitement grew from within, there was a feeling Aiken couldn't get out from inside of him. It felt like something... special was missing. He wasn't used to the feeling of Freddy being gone. Sure, WCW was different, but at least Freddy was in the crowd with his mother. Now, Bret was hurt, Shawn was still on the shelf, and Freddy was nowhere to be found. As Edge's music played, he looked to Aiken.

"You ready?" he asked gently, squeezing his son's hand. Aiken nodded as they went out. The applause was almost deafening. Looking around at the crowd always reminded him why he did this. He did it for them and only them. Edge and Aiken stopped and pointed towards the titantron as Christian's theme began to play, prompting a big reaction from the crowd. As Christian came out, the three walked to the ring. Aiken was fully aware of the game he had to play. The custody storyline was the first of its kind. In a way, he was helping become a part of history.

Edge and Christian began to cut a promo about The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz. Aiken knew his role too well: just nod along. It was a little harder to nod about the Dudleys because his friend was on their side. The Hardys were just fine, considering he knew no one there. Suddenly, there was a bit of tension coming from the duo. Everyone was confused, while Aiken put on a confused act as well. The two began to bicker while Aiken got in front of them, reminding him of his time with Shawn and Freddy, having to separate fights between Bret and Shawn.

"Cmon, you guys," I called out on the mic. "Back up! What's going on here?" Christian took Aiken by the shoulder.

"Aiken," Christian started. "Do you know why I invited you to come out here with us?" Aiken shook his head, thinking it was just for the hell of the promo. Christian pat his back.

"Kiddo, Edge isn't your father, I am." Aiken slowly turned to Edge in shock. Edge's eyes were just as widened with shock as Aiken's. The audience lost their minds as Edge stood speechless for a minute or two. In that moment, the three of them knew that once they got personal, there was no going back.

"It was you," Aiken mumbled before looking over at his uncle. "It was you that knocked up that crack whore and gave me up! You never wanted me, did you, Uncle Christian?" Edge gently grabbed Aiken's shoulder to try to calm him. Christian didn't know that Aiken would go that personal, which made him stutter over his words.

"It's not that we didn't want you-" Christian went to speak but Edge interrupted him, playing along with everything.

"Christian," he said sternly. "Just tell him the truth. He deserves to know." Aiken looked between the two. He looked flabbergasted. Has he been lied to his whole life? Christian began to tell the story.

"I got your mother pregnant when we were teens. We were joking around and I guess the condom broke. Your mother was kicked out of the house and she got into drugs. She didn't want you, so she tried to kill you herself. However, I made sure you were safe, so when you were born, I gave you to your father to keep you safe." Aiken looked over to Edge, who nodded in confirmation that the story was true. Before Aiken could even process, there was a shout from the crowd.

"YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T SAY ANYTHING!" It was Aiken's mother. She began to climb the barricade. Edge and Christian took Aiken's hands and ran out of the ring. Aiken couldn't help but look behind him to see his mother glaring daggers into the back of his uncle's head and running at them.

"What is- King! That woman's chasing Edge, Christian, and Aiken!" Jim Ross exclaimed.

"She sure is!" Jerry 'The King' Lawler looked over at Jim Ross. "Someone better call security!" By then, the titantron had shown Christian and Edge finding their way into Vince's office and making a phone call with Aiken hiding under the desk.