Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 11:48:50 GMT -5
Christmas morning used to be a great event in my house when Emma and I were growing up. The whole house would be strung up in lights and decorations. The tree, a ten footer, would stand in the formal living room. It would take hours to decorate but my mother loved it all. She lived for this holiday. And then, when she passed away, my father couldn’t even be bothered to get a tree anymore.
So for the last five years, Christmas has not been something the Daughterty family got excited about.
Until this year.
Emma and I were actually excited to see the look on Brooklyn Miles face as she opened her presents. It was the first real Christmas she had got to experience. For her short three years of life, she had been locked in a basement apartment. Hardly any sunshine, a dirty mattress to sleep on and toys that her mother had created out of old things in the storage area. Taylor had been kept a captive in her ex-boyfriend’s parents house until she had finally got up the strength to get away.
That is real strength, real courage.
This year, Brooklyn had got to learn all about Santa Claus and the magic of a real christmas. And thankfully, she was too young to even remember all the bad stuff that happened before.
Watching the little family around the tree, watching Brooke’s face light up with every new gift sparked something inside. That spark that one day, I wanted to be where Avery was sitting. Watching my children open their gifts and have that spark of magic.
I had given Avery and Taylor a spa weekend in Palm Springs for Christmas but as part of their wedding gift, I had included it to be all inclusive. Taylor was pregnant with Triplets. All boys from what I had heard and they would need the alone time before they were buried in mountains of dirty diapers, bottles and sleepless nights. I did not envy them but on the same hand I did. Not the idea of having three in one shot, but just having that family.
Emma returns from the kitchen, carrying two mugs with snowman etched into them. She hands one to me and I thank her with a smile. Warm Cider. It was nice at Christmas and it added to the new memories and helped alleviate the ones of missing my mother.
This holiday hit Emma the hardest. She had spent years being this ‘mean girl’ and treating our parents badly and when our mother died, I had laid the guilt on her heavily. It had pushed her away but I was making up for those sins now.
“Did you ever get a text back from her?”
She says, and then takes a sip of her drink.
“Yes. Just a generic message to say, ‘You too and thank you. Mom is doing well.”
I shake my head. “I was foolish to think that she would still have feelings for me.”
Emma puts hand on her shoulder. “Did you tell Avery or Tay that you were contacting her?”
I shake my head.
“I didn’t want to get their hopes up. It’s official, there is nothing left for me in Lisbeth’s heart.”
In fact, after I returned to the states, I had received a package to Avery’s house containing the jewellery that I had bought her. I had immediately sold it back to a jewers. I couldn’t give that to another woman, I considered it bad luck.
“It’s for the best, love. It just wasn’t meant to be. You did move rather quickly.”
“A promise ring Emmalline. That’s all it was.”
I give her a stern look she laughs.
“Might as well have been an engagement ring. Don’t get me wrong LJ. I think it probably would have been a perfect little marriage when a doting little wife and you would have the perfect life our father has drilled into you since birth but realistically, how long do you think you and her could have carried out that facade of happiness? Because she was very young and you are much older. She would have gotten bored with you eventually and then you would have had another situation like Jennifer.”
Jennifer. My ex-fiance who had basically proposed to herself and then left when I refused to set a date. Who had only been with me because of my family’s money. Yeah. Jennifer. Good riddance.
“But I have something for Em.”
I change the subject quickly and then pull a small box from my pocket. It has a red bow on it. She looks at it and shakes her head.
“I thought we agreed no gifts? Levi you shouldn't have...”
She smiles though as she pulls off the bow and lid. She looks inside and then looks like she is about to cry. She pulls out a gold necklace with a letter D. She flips it over and reads the inscription outloud.
“To the best sister I could have ever dreamed into life.”
This time she does cry and she grabs me so suddenly into a hug that I let out a surprised yelp. Avery and Taylor both look up from the floor. Taylor laughs.
When Em releases me, I move my hands around her neck and unclasp the spotlight title necklace she still wore.
“What are you doing....?”
Her hands go to her now naked neck.
“Helping you to let go. There is no reason to cling to this anymore.”
I take the chain from her fingers and replace it around her neck. i drop the other one into the box.
“It’s time to let go Em.”
She nods. She puts the lid on the box and then excuses herself as she climbs the stairs to her room. Taylor has made her way over.
“Is she okay?”
I nod. “Yes. I think wearing that necklace was the last thing holding her back. We can finally start seeing the old Emma back.”
***
:::ON CAMERA:::
December 30th, 2016
Location unknown
Osaka, Japan
“I dislike long flights. But I dislike fighting with my family more. For all intents and purposes Avery is my brother and I think it's pretty cruel to consistently keep having us toe to toe in battle.... Don't you think, Devlin?”
It's hard to tell where exactly the filming is happening but it's obvious by the Japanese Kanji on the signs that Levi Daughterty has arrived in Japan. He's walking down a street with houses, his head covered by the infamous grey hoodie he had used in his redemption debut. It's dusk and now the audience has come to realize that this is being filmed by a gopro camera as LJ does his evening run. An obvious chest attachment has made it possible to see the man’s face and a bit of the landscape. LJ’s words are a bit laboured but this is nothing for the leviathan.
“Maybe you constantly putting me against Avery is simply a consequence of being in the same division. Perhaps it was luck of the draw or it could be that for some reason, you have a sadistic pleasure of seeing how far you can push the boundaries of our brotherhood. Whatever the case may be, it is not going to destroy the bond we have.”
His face cracks to show a small smile.
“You just don't understand it. You care about your ratings and the numbers. And that's fine. I knew this about you when you approached me to return. And I don't even think you're a terrible bloke. But you are not the actual reason for this video. The reason for this video is that Avery and I stand at the precipice of something great. A tournament to crown someone a winner. Sixteen men and women fighting for the same recognition.”
His face returns to the same stoney glare.
“Avery is my first stop. And as much as Avery means to me, we leave our personal feelings at the door. This is and never will be personal. Not with him. I respect him as a skilled competitor and for either of us to treat the other as less than that is disrespectful.”
He shakes his head.
“I am not going to deny that Jenson getting taken out doesn't bring a bit of satisfaction because it does. Karma always catches up with those who deserve it. But there are new challenges coming forward.”
He stops now.
“I won't say anything bad about Avery. But I will say that I have every intention of winning the match as he does winning against me. I see myself winning the whole tournament and so I will go through everyone in front of me to get there but the right way. I don't want there to be any murmurs that I took too many advantages.”
A devilish smirk crosses his lips now.
“And I hope it's Shields that makes it to the end. I have something extraordinary to show him.”
He starts jogging slowly now.
“Everyone should feel it though. The dark skies. The rolling clouds. The crashing waves. A storm is coming and that's when monsters come out to play.”
His face stays stoney as the video ends.
So for the last five years, Christmas has not been something the Daughterty family got excited about.
Until this year.
Emma and I were actually excited to see the look on Brooklyn Miles face as she opened her presents. It was the first real Christmas she had got to experience. For her short three years of life, she had been locked in a basement apartment. Hardly any sunshine, a dirty mattress to sleep on and toys that her mother had created out of old things in the storage area. Taylor had been kept a captive in her ex-boyfriend’s parents house until she had finally got up the strength to get away.
That is real strength, real courage.
This year, Brooklyn had got to learn all about Santa Claus and the magic of a real christmas. And thankfully, she was too young to even remember all the bad stuff that happened before.
Watching the little family around the tree, watching Brooke’s face light up with every new gift sparked something inside. That spark that one day, I wanted to be where Avery was sitting. Watching my children open their gifts and have that spark of magic.
I had given Avery and Taylor a spa weekend in Palm Springs for Christmas but as part of their wedding gift, I had included it to be all inclusive. Taylor was pregnant with Triplets. All boys from what I had heard and they would need the alone time before they were buried in mountains of dirty diapers, bottles and sleepless nights. I did not envy them but on the same hand I did. Not the idea of having three in one shot, but just having that family.
Emma returns from the kitchen, carrying two mugs with snowman etched into them. She hands one to me and I thank her with a smile. Warm Cider. It was nice at Christmas and it added to the new memories and helped alleviate the ones of missing my mother.
This holiday hit Emma the hardest. She had spent years being this ‘mean girl’ and treating our parents badly and when our mother died, I had laid the guilt on her heavily. It had pushed her away but I was making up for those sins now.
“Did you ever get a text back from her?”
She says, and then takes a sip of her drink.
“Yes. Just a generic message to say, ‘You too and thank you. Mom is doing well.”
I shake my head. “I was foolish to think that she would still have feelings for me.”
Emma puts hand on her shoulder. “Did you tell Avery or Tay that you were contacting her?”
I shake my head.
“I didn’t want to get their hopes up. It’s official, there is nothing left for me in Lisbeth’s heart.”
In fact, after I returned to the states, I had received a package to Avery’s house containing the jewellery that I had bought her. I had immediately sold it back to a jewers. I couldn’t give that to another woman, I considered it bad luck.
“It’s for the best, love. It just wasn’t meant to be. You did move rather quickly.”
“A promise ring Emmalline. That’s all it was.”
I give her a stern look she laughs.
“Might as well have been an engagement ring. Don’t get me wrong LJ. I think it probably would have been a perfect little marriage when a doting little wife and you would have the perfect life our father has drilled into you since birth but realistically, how long do you think you and her could have carried out that facade of happiness? Because she was very young and you are much older. She would have gotten bored with you eventually and then you would have had another situation like Jennifer.”
Jennifer. My ex-fiance who had basically proposed to herself and then left when I refused to set a date. Who had only been with me because of my family’s money. Yeah. Jennifer. Good riddance.
“But I have something for Em.”
I change the subject quickly and then pull a small box from my pocket. It has a red bow on it. She looks at it and shakes her head.
“I thought we agreed no gifts? Levi you shouldn't have...”
She smiles though as she pulls off the bow and lid. She looks inside and then looks like she is about to cry. She pulls out a gold necklace with a letter D. She flips it over and reads the inscription outloud.
“To the best sister I could have ever dreamed into life.”
This time she does cry and she grabs me so suddenly into a hug that I let out a surprised yelp. Avery and Taylor both look up from the floor. Taylor laughs.
When Em releases me, I move my hands around her neck and unclasp the spotlight title necklace she still wore.
“What are you doing....?”
Her hands go to her now naked neck.
“Helping you to let go. There is no reason to cling to this anymore.”
I take the chain from her fingers and replace it around her neck. i drop the other one into the box.
“It’s time to let go Em.”
She nods. She puts the lid on the box and then excuses herself as she climbs the stairs to her room. Taylor has made her way over.
“Is she okay?”
I nod. “Yes. I think wearing that necklace was the last thing holding her back. We can finally start seeing the old Emma back.”
***
:::ON CAMERA:::
December 30th, 2016
Location unknown
Osaka, Japan
“I dislike long flights. But I dislike fighting with my family more. For all intents and purposes Avery is my brother and I think it's pretty cruel to consistently keep having us toe to toe in battle.... Don't you think, Devlin?”
It's hard to tell where exactly the filming is happening but it's obvious by the Japanese Kanji on the signs that Levi Daughterty has arrived in Japan. He's walking down a street with houses, his head covered by the infamous grey hoodie he had used in his redemption debut. It's dusk and now the audience has come to realize that this is being filmed by a gopro camera as LJ does his evening run. An obvious chest attachment has made it possible to see the man’s face and a bit of the landscape. LJ’s words are a bit laboured but this is nothing for the leviathan.
“Maybe you constantly putting me against Avery is simply a consequence of being in the same division. Perhaps it was luck of the draw or it could be that for some reason, you have a sadistic pleasure of seeing how far you can push the boundaries of our brotherhood. Whatever the case may be, it is not going to destroy the bond we have.”
His face cracks to show a small smile.
“You just don't understand it. You care about your ratings and the numbers. And that's fine. I knew this about you when you approached me to return. And I don't even think you're a terrible bloke. But you are not the actual reason for this video. The reason for this video is that Avery and I stand at the precipice of something great. A tournament to crown someone a winner. Sixteen men and women fighting for the same recognition.”
His face returns to the same stoney glare.
“Avery is my first stop. And as much as Avery means to me, we leave our personal feelings at the door. This is and never will be personal. Not with him. I respect him as a skilled competitor and for either of us to treat the other as less than that is disrespectful.”
He shakes his head.
“I am not going to deny that Jenson getting taken out doesn't bring a bit of satisfaction because it does. Karma always catches up with those who deserve it. But there are new challenges coming forward.”
He stops now.
“I won't say anything bad about Avery. But I will say that I have every intention of winning the match as he does winning against me. I see myself winning the whole tournament and so I will go through everyone in front of me to get there but the right way. I don't want there to be any murmurs that I took too many advantages.”
A devilish smirk crosses his lips now.
“And I hope it's Shields that makes it to the end. I have something extraordinary to show him.”
He starts jogging slowly now.
“Everyone should feel it though. The dark skies. The rolling clouds. The crashing waves. A storm is coming and that's when monsters come out to play.”
His face stays stoney as the video ends.
