Help

INTRODUCTION

"& then I met you,
& slowly
but all at once
my world began to change."
~r.m. broderick

Salem

I was late. Extremely late.

Not only was my match in twenty minutes, but I had yet to locate the locker room to get dressed, on top of doing hair and makeup. For being the main event match in Ring of Honor without ever signing a contract, I was not giving off a good first impression.

I had my reasons for being late, but it's not like I'd share them with people that didn't even know me. Sure, they were giving me a decent paycheck, and for a girl who wasn't even known on the Indies, I was not exactly main-event worthy. I continually wondered why I would be here at ROH because it just didn't make sense—until I saw the card.

The answer to all of my questions was Adam fucking Cole.

You see, professional wrestling is like a hierarchy. You have the stars, the mid-card, and then the straight jobbers. In this case, and every other case so far, I was the ultimate jobber.

No crowd ever knew my name, or even applauded me for a good move, because I was young and a woman and was always with someone better known. And that bothered me.

Here I was, working my ass of in the Indies, literally living out of my car, and now I'm in the main-event of Ring of Honor with Adam Cole and I'm late. Well, I'm late to a match with a man that will quite literally beat my ass.

Oh, how my life was full of irony.

There was no hesitation on my idea, I knew it would be Adam's last match in the company. Most likely he was moving on to WWE, because frankly, he had no where else to conquer. He was a legend in every other damn wrestling company there was. So, ROH would send him off with a bittersweet victory, with the crowd in attendance cheering him out of the building like some sappy action movie.

The thought made me sick.

My frantic hands opened the door to the women's locker room, where I quickly readied myself in the matter of minutes. Though I usually put more time into my appearance by applying some dark eye makeup and a red lip, with some loose curls in my hair, time was not exactly on my side. My pale face and straight hair would have to do.

Without even checking to make sure I looked stage-ready, I sprinted to the gorilla as eyes watched me from every angle. It felt like I practically had "Loser" written in red on my forehead like I was back in middle school with the eyes I had seen. The confident part of me wanted to boast in front of the entire locker room and say "lose the attitude because I'm your fucking main event" to all of the subpar talent around me just so they stopped staring.

But, this was not my place, or my people.

Instead, I accepted the idea of finding the gorilla because I was really pushing the time limit I had. Men all around in suits and ties visibly let out breaths of relief at the mere sight of me.

I almost laughed because men usually turn away when I enter a room. However, these nerds live behind screens, so I guess I could understand why.

"Salem! I don't know what the hell took you so long, but Adam is already making his entrance," one man told me. He had a normal face, with dark hair and a scruffy beard. He could be attractive enough in some people's eyes, but not mine. He was too skinny.