Post by Storm on May 10, 2017 18:47:33 GMT -5
Location: New York, Manhattan.
It was so silent you could hear the imaginary crickets chirping inside the mind of Mark Storm as he stood with his arms crossing over each other as he tucked them into himself, standing beside him was Ezekiel James, a man that Mark had met up with a few times now and had, in some sense, become somewhat of a mentor to Mark. But there was something about Ezekiel that reminded Mark about his time away from the wrestling industry but he still couldn't quite put his finger on it. He still, was left wondering who this man really was.
This was his name home, his new apartment. His house back in St Louis Missouri? He'd given it to Gretchen upon their separation. Or whatever it is they'd call it, as they were never really together. And now, he was back in the city he loved. Secretly, he was pretty happy with the ways things worked out. Although not being on the best of terms with Gretchen, he'd get to see his baby girls three times a week and despite his house back in Missouri being somewhat of a fortress, his new pad was still rather impressive. The interior design, the epitome of modernization, designed by those who clearly had an infatuation with glass furniture and black and grey scale colors.
That had always been his favorite colors. The two men hadn't muttered a word to one another for quite some time now, and had been stood still, lost in the world and themselves, in what looks like, deep thought. Mark was dressed in a dark Grey shirt, black trousers and some white Stan Smith sneakers whilst Ezekiel was dressed in a white dressed, black pants and some smart shoes. Both men had the sleeves of their shirts rolled up. Despite being inside with the air conditioning on, it was still extraordinarily hot.
"You nervous?" Ezekiel broke the silence by posing a question, turning his head over to Mark.
Storm replied; "Should I be?", turning back to him with a genuine questioning look in his eyes, which made Ezekiel chuckle and therefore, breaking the tension. Ezekiel moved from one side of the room to the other, clasping his hands together.
"I'd be lying to you if I said she wasn't a handful." He admitted, turning back to Mark. "But she's like you. In more ways than you could imagine. And I'd very much like it if you two got to know each other."
His hands were becoming clammy and you could see the sweat slivering down his forehead as he began to pace the rumor, using his clammy hands to wipe the sweat away from his forehead.
"What did you say her name was again?"
"Alice Flanagan." Ezekiel responded, and Mark nodded his head.
The door bell rang and both men stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.
Storm exhaled heavily and walked away from the door, signaling to Ezekiel that it was best that he'd do it. Ezekiel nodded his head and walked passed Storm, patting him on the shoulder before getting to the door and opening.
"Hello, Alice - I'm glad you could make it."
The heart of Mark Storm was beating out of his chest. He was never good with new people, social anxiety prevented him from being any good at all.
"Not like I had much of a choice.." and from her voice, Storm paused and thought - and it wasn't how he was expecting her to sound. In fact, as she walked through the doors, she wasn't how he expected her to look either.
One strap of a backpack over one shoulder, her hair all over the place, and muddy Doc Martens already making quite the impression on Storm. But that's not what stood out. Storm was expecting a women of about the same of as him to walk through those doors but no, she was just a girl, approaching adulthood. Maybe in her late teens? 16, 17, 18. That sort of age. The kind of age where you're still preparing for prom as that's the biggest thing you've got going for you in lie at that age. He was bewildered but did well hiding this fact and smiled.
"I gotta use the bathroom." She said bluntly, staring at Storm who stared back. She then looked at Ezekiel as she was getting no response from Mark, who had zoned out, or something.
"Just down the hall to the left."
She was on her way and for a brief moment she paused by Mark, and the two just glared at each other, before she made her way to the bathroom.
"Mark?" Snapping his fingers.
"What the hell Zeke, she's a kid? Failed to tell me that, didn't you?!"
"And what, you think that changes things?"
"Well.. yes?! She's just a kid."
Zeke laughed, placing his hands in his pockets and walking over to Mark. "I think you'll find that you have a lot of things in common, with this, kid. Look Mark, it would've been easy for me to pair you with some guy or girl around your age, but Alice.. she's so much like you, and believe it or not. I think you two could really help each other."
Storm chuckled, though he wasn't amused. "Oh yeah sure, I can help her pack her lunch box or maybe read her a fairytale story! Heck, maybe I'll help her land a date with her high school crush!"
"Jesus Mark, she's a teenager not a child.. and with the shit she's been through, you can pretty much double her age."
"What do you mean, shit she's been through?" There's a momentary pause.
"Didn't I tell you?" Zeke asked, and Storm shook his head sideways.
Ezekiel sighed and quickly checked the hall to see if she was coming, before pulling Storm closer to him.
"She lost her mom when she was three years old.."
"Everyone loses people Zeke.."
"Her mom was beaten to death by her Father.. not stabbed, or shot, beaten, with his bare hands right in front of her. That's her earliest memory of life, can you even imagine that? Two hours laters, the cops show up outside their flat and it's a showdown.. neighbors reported crying and shouting.. and next thing you know, this guy blows his own brains out before the cops can even get to him.. and again, right in front of her."
Storm placed the palm of his hand over his face in shock. "Oh Jesus."
"Orphan by the age of three, foster home to foster home but parents, they can't contain her. She's seen too much.. and if you think that's all? No man, there's so much more."
A flush from the bathroom echoed and the two men separate from one another as she came out.
"So guys, I'm gonna leave you to it. I'll be back in an hours time to pick you up Alice, that okay?"
"I can make my own way home.. I'm not, just - a kid."
She turns to Mark and he knows, that she knows, what he said. And there's an aura of awkwardness as Ezekiel watched uneasily, clasping his hands together before reminding her that he'll be back in an hours time without fail. He left and now it was just the two of them. Mark Storm and Alice Flanagan.
There was something beautiful about her. Maybe it was her innocence, but there was something about her - a relentless avoidance of conformity, as she donned her Doc Martens with pride and stood tall, throwing her rucksack onto the couch. Long black hair, a white tee shirt, black skinny jeans.. but she wasn't your typical high school bitch, she wasn't your typical high school chick either. She was something else, that was evident. And Storm's impression of her had changed after he heard a glimpse of her story, not all of it but enough to change his perception. He had to approach this subtly. He knew that she knew that they'd been talking about her. He knew that she knew that he expected something else, someone else, and something better. But he also knew that he needed a friend of some sort, someone to relate too and in the grander scheme of things, so did she.
"Did you want anything to drink? Or eat?"
He walked over to the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water.
She didn't reply and that left him a little nervous. Turning back around, she'd moved positioning and was now analyzing a cabinet filled with pictures, and accomplishments. He stood far behind, not wanting to get too close to weird her out, and took a sip out of his glass, he felt fresh.
"You watch wrestling?" He asked.
But still, no reply.
From the cabinet she went along and stood by a framed picture that hung on the wall. A picture of Mark Storm being heralded the EWC World Heavyweight Champion; a career defining moment, and he smiled as for a brief second he reminisced taking another sip out of his glass as he watched her glare at the picture.
"That's from when I won the EWC World Heavyweight Championship two years ago but God, it seems like yesterday. You ever heard of that promotion? Extreme Wrestling Corporation?"
Of course she had, the biggest wrestler promotion in the world - but that wasn't going to make her break her silence. She remained silent, and turned away from the picture, walking to the other side of the room and this time, investing her time on some family portraits. She picked up a picture of Mark Storm, Gretchen Lockheart and Hope, and Storm took another sip out of his glass.
"That's my daughter, Hope - and uh.. Gretchen, her mother.
He missed them dearly, although he got to see Hope more frequently now, Gretchen had become a ghost.
She then picked up a photo of Mark Storm, Shelley Silver, Jay Reynolds Olivia Saint and Gabreal Martin.
A photo you would've thought he'd taken down by now, but he hadn't. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Though they weren't an alliance anymore, though they were a tight nit group - he still considered him time with them to be memorable. Jay and Gabe, they were his boys. And Shelley and Olivia, they were his girls. Nothing could ever come between them, that is, until now.
"Just some old friends."
Putting the photo down she turned to Mark and there was eye contact.
"Can I ask.. how old are you?"
"You wanna know if I'm legal to fuck or not?"
Silence exasperated the room. He was taken back by that response, way back. Believe it or not, that wasn't even on his mind for a second, he was just curious - curious as to how long she'd been without her parents, curious as to how long she'd been suffering.
Just curious.
"Um.. no?"
"I'm kidding."
She took a seat on the couch, laying back whilst Storm watched, rather mortified.
She looked at him.
Analyzed him.
Revised his movements.
Had he passed the test?
Was he allowed to delve into her mind?
"I'm seventeen." she answered
to, be, continued.