NaNoWriMo Story Snippets

75. Excerpt from FLAMES

This might be the last scene for FLAMES for a bit, since Becky's WWE status is in limbo. (I'm still hoping for a SummerSlam return, but... maybe Survivor Series since it's in LA?)

"Does this mean no more book club?" Liv was pouting and she slumped to the locker room bench so heavily she almost fell off. Once she righted herself, she watched Becky lace up her boots. "Becks?"

Becky didn't answer right away. Technically her contract expired on June 1, but this would be her last official match. Her contract status was somewhat common knowledge online now, so many fans were speculating that if she didn't win, it was a clear sign that she was gone. Others insisted that it was all part of the story line; after all, Seth had just recently re-signed, so why would she leave the company her husband had just committed to? "We can still do book club," she replied. "Bianca would be mad if I left after she just joined. I can always chime in on the group chat or something."

"Group chat?" Liv scooted closer, resting her head on Becky's shoulder. "It's not going to be the same without you here."

"You just mean you'll miss goofing around with Roux," Becky replied with a chuckle. Ever since Seth was out recovering from surgery and rehabbing his injury, Roux had mostly been staying at home with him. It was a good way to give her a taste of stable home life, expect it would also give her the expectation of a parent being there too. She and Seth had discussed an on-off schedule—one of them wrestling for a few months while the other was home with their daughter, then switching—but that would put a lot of strain on their relationship. "Don't worry. She misses you too. She loves the bracelets you made her, by the way. Doesn't want to take them off at bath time. We had to fib slightly," Becky admitted, "and say that water would make the magic fade faster."

Liv nodded morosely. "I think that's a fair lie. But... Becky?" She turned to face Becky fully and grabbed her hands, holding her gaze. "You're not mad, are you? At me or...."

Becky shook her head. "No. No, Liv, you're fine." She leaned forward to hug her friend. Whatever reservations or frustrations she had, Liv played no part in them. "And the story—I mean, I get it. I know where they're going with it." She didn't particularly like it, but that was hardly Liv's fault. "I'm just tired and... I don't know. I guess with Roux being so close to school age now, I'm wondering if this isn't a sign to just start making changes now, you know? Seth and I have to talk about it more." They talked about it nearly every day and Seth almost always said the same thing—that it was ultimately her decision to make and he would support her no matter what—but Becky was still wracked with uncertainty.

"Noooo." Liv wrapped her arms around Becky and squeezed until Becky groaned. "You have to come back. You need your own revenge tour. I need a match where you teach me a lesson and get your belt back. There's still so much I can do."

"I know you and Rhea have some play-fighting thing going on," Becky teased, "but I can't do that high stack like she does. If I get to beat you, it's probably going to be a roll-up or an arm bar."

"I can work with that!" To Becky's surprise, Liv was crying. "I just don't want you to go! You've done so much for me—for all the girls here. If you hadn't spoken up for me and made sure I had that first title match against you, who knows where I'd be?"

You would have found a way, Becky thought, just like I did. But she took a deep breath and ruffled Liv's hair. "You don't give yourself enough credit. The fans were already behind you. You would have found a path. Maybe it would have taken longer. Maybe it would have looked different. But you would have got here." Then she laughed. "I have to say, though, if I was trying to seduce a member of The Judgment Day, Dominik would be the last one I'd pick."

That made Liv laugh a bit, at least. "Well, Finn wouldn't count—been there, done that. Or at least I hope you did that. And JD must be like a brother to you...."

"Stop right there. I'm not seducing anyone in The Judgment Day. I'm not seducing anyone. Except maybe my husband tomorrow," Becky allowed, "since it's his birthday."

"Lucky boy." Liv sat up and sighed. "I'm just going to miss you. It's not going to feel right without you in the locker room. You know I'm holding you to that book club promise, right?"

Becky reached into her bag and pulled out that month's book selection. "I'm already half done. I'm going to read the rest on the plane." Flying without Roux would feel odd, since she would actually be able to sleep, but she was so used to staying awake now that she might as well accomplish something.

"Okay." Liv reached over and squeezed her hand. "The cage match tonight—it's clean, right? No injury angles or anything? I haven't been to Creative yet."

"There's a bunch of... kerfuffle at the end. Dom and Strowman and me getting hit in the head with the door...." After she finished lacing her boots, she stood. "I'm sure I missed something. I'll go with you and get a refresher. Can't hurt."

Liv stood and tucked Becky's bag away for her. "Shit. I was really hoping for a clean match. The women hardly ever get cage matches, and we could have so much fun...."

"Another time," Becky promised. Once upon a time, she would have said Next time, but she wasn't so sure. She and WWE hadn't been able to come to terms yet, so she had no idea if they even really wanted her back. She thought she was a valuable asset—multi-time champion, known outside wrestling circles, now a best-selling author—but she also knew she was older and, whether they wanted to admit it was an issue or not, a mother. She probably wouldn't be wrestling in five years, not even part time, so she could understand the company wanting to invest in younger, less restricted talent.

"You're not going to Impact, are you? TNA, I mean." Liv asked suddenly as they walked to Creative. "I know you mentioned in your book that you had wanted to work there, and they have so many great women now."

Becky shook her head. Despite her frustrations with WWE, she didn't really bear a grudge; she had no plans of appearing in another company the very second she was legally able to do so. She just felt like she still had to prove a point—for the other women, for herself—not to settle for a contract below what the men were getting. I'm a draw, Becky thought without any sense of ego. Liv's a draw. Rhea, Bayley, Naomi, Bianca, Jade—we're all stars. And there's so many that COULD be if only they would get the screen time. "No, that's not the plan. For now, I'm going to help Seth with his rehab and enjoy just... being at home for a while." Aside from her maternity leave, she had pretty much been on the road for years.

"Not AEW?" Liv seemed less sure this time. "Mercedes would love to have you there, I'm sure, and I remember you being disappointed that you never got to fight Toni while she was here...."

"That's not the plan," Becky repeated. She honestly wasn't sure what her plan was, aside from catching up on rest and maybe working on some projects that didn't lend themselves to road life. "WWE's not sure what they see ahead for me and I'm not sure what I fully want to do, so think of this more as a... hiatus, I guess."