Amaranthine

~Sequel to Reverie~

Chapter 1

They say everything happens for a reason.

They say if you love something, you should set it free.

They say if it's true love, people find their way back to each other.

Guess they missed the memo on how to deal with a broken heart from the person who walked away.

True love doesn't exist.

Never has.

Never will.

Rereading her blog post for the day, she leaned back in her chair while twirling a pen between her fingers and contemplated posting it for the world to see. Keyla heaved a sigh, narrowing amber eyes at the screen and finally pressed the post button before closing the lid of her laptop, slamming down a shot of Tequila. Something to take the edge off. She wasn't a heavy drinker, not with all the traveling she'd done over the past year and a half. Being rich had its perks because Keyla never had to worry about paying bills or rent again in her life. However, it was also lonely out on the road with nowhere to go and no end in sight. Philadelphia would always be her home, no doubt about that. Even though she hadn't been home much since receiving her inheritance from her parents' untimely death, Keyla did stop by every once in a while to see her best friend and partner in crime. Lennox begged her to stay put for more than a week every time Keyla came back home, but it was too painful. Sure, she tried sleeping in her bed at her house, but every time Keyla closed her eyes…He was there.

On the road, Keyla did dream of her lost love, but not nearly as often as when she was home in Philadelphia. So traveling became second nature to her. Her other best friend, Sami Callihan, offered her a job to travel with him throughout the country at all the wrestling promotions he worked for just like she had with…Him. Keyla couldn't bring herself to think his name because then his face would enter her mind, her subconscious and dreams of him would ensue. As much as it pained Keyla to be near a wrestling arena, a ring and backstage with Sami, she also found it oddly comforting. Her passion for wrestling hadn't dwindled, only ignited into a raging inferno and she loved watching Sami in the ring. They became best friends over time, all the wounds of the past healed and put behind them. Zero sexuality between them, though there were rumors throughout the organizations Sami wrestled for because Keyla was with him a lot. If they only knew Sami was happily engaged to a beautiful woman named Gina and already planning their happily ever after. People would think what they wanted though, so there was no point arguing or fighting the rumor mill. Sami and Keyla knew the truth of their situation, how strong their friendship was and that was all that mattered.

Standing from the bed, Keyla poured herself another shot of Tequila and admired the sun rising over the horizon from her hotel window. Madrid, Spain was beautiful this time of year and, surprisingly, being an American in the strange country was very fulfilling. Everyone she'd conversed with was nice and polite. She even took an online course to learn how to speak Spanish just so she could talk with the locals. It'd been 2 weeks since she came here and Keyla didn't plan on leaving anytime soon, having all the money in the world to do whatever she wanted in life. Being rich didn't make her happy though. Money didn't mean anything to her when her heart was permanently shattered. Maybe another decade or so and she'd be over the heartbreak ready to love again.

Keyla highly doubted it.

Sliding open the glass balcony door, Keyla stepped out and leaned over the iron railing to look out at the town, lighting up a cigarette. She didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night and stayed up throughout the night, sleeping during the day. For some reason, she didn't have nearly as many dreams about Him when she slept during the day as opposed to night. Maybe because he was also a night owl. Keyla shook her head, taking a long drag from the cigarette and closed her eyes, letting the nicotine work through every cell of her body. It would help relax her along with the Tequila and hopefully make her drowsy enough to sleep for a couple hours. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't. However, watching the gorgeous sunrise wasn't a bad way to start her day full of endless possibilities. Just as she finished her cigarette and headed back inside, closing the dark curtains to shield the bright sunlight from entering the room, a vibration came from the nightstand. Who the hell was calling her this early in the morning? It was still night in Philadelphia and only two people knew her number. Picking up the cell phone, Keyla read the name on the caller ID and reluctantly answered, not in the mood to talk to anyone.

"This better be important since it's late where you are."

A deep chuckle filtered through her ear in response. "Would I be calling you if it wasn't?"

"I'm not in the mood for riddles, Callihan." Keyla grumbled, pulling back the comforter on the bed and slid into it, the room currently pitch black. "Out with it."

"Fine – fine, party pooper." Sami joked, hearing the tension in Keyla's voice and knew she was thinking about Jon again. "I need you to come with me for an audition – a tryout…"

Keyla rolled over on her side, holding the phone against her ear. "Uh huh sure, no problem…" She wasn't really paying attention and had her eyes closed, fighting back a yawn.

"I'm serious, Kayleigh." Sami would never stop calling her Kayleigh, no matter if it wasn't her actual name anymore. "I need you to come with me. Will you?" Gina had to work and was unable to do it or else Sami would take his soon-to-be wife.

Since when did 'The New Horror' Sami Callihan need a tryout? "When and where?"

"Tomorrow, which is technically today for you, but if you hopped on a plane, you could make it to Florida in time and meet up with me." Sami already had it planned out in his head, ignoring her 'where' question to see if she asked it again. "Please?"

Even through her slight buzz, Keyla heard the state clear as day out of Sami's mouth and she slowly sat up in bed, giving him her undivided attention. "Why Florida? And where at specifically in Florida?" Her heart began racing and thumping madly in her chest, beating fiercely. "Samuel…"

"If I tell you now, you won't come and I need you, Kayleigh. Please. I'm begging you to show up for me. This is a HUGE opportunity for me…a once in a lifetime shot and Gina can't make it…" Sami was desperate, not wanting to spill the beans on where exactly he was trying out at, but Keyla wasn't stupid either.

Huge opportunity – once in a lifetime shot…Those were the words Keyla caught and she felt her stomach twisting violently, hoping it wasn't the organization she was thinking of. "Say it. Tell me where or I'm not getting on a plane." It was an order.

"WWE." Sami murmured quietly, lowering his eyes to the kitchen floor and leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Jon won't be there, Kay. He's already on the main roster and…"

"Don't." Keyla didn't want to know any details regarding Jon Moxley's WWE tenure and felt her mouth go dry at the mention of his name. "So you're telling me you got a call and WWE wants you to try out for them. And you can guarantee he won't be there?"

If he was, Sami would be shocked considering Jon had been on the WWE's main roster under the wrestling name Dean Ambrose for over a year now. It was currently late October in 2013 and he had debuted in a group known as the Shield in November 2012. Sami kept up to date on Jon because they were still good friends, though not much contact happened because of how busy Jon was. He watched Raw and Smackdown! every Monday and Friday night with Gina, cheering his friend on and eating popcorn. The amount of joy he saw in Jon's face every time the man stepped out in front of the arena full of thousands made Sami happy everything was going great for his friend. However, he wanted that same exhilaration and feeling Jon experienced, so when WWE called him earlier that day, Sami immediately hopped on the first flight he could get to Tampa, Florida for his tryout. It was only mere hours away, not days or weeks or months…and he was nervous to put it mildly.

"I promise he won't be there." Sami vowed, deciding against contacting Jon to let him know about the tryout. "Please Kayleigh, I need you here. I'm a nervous fucking wreck and if I blow this, I'm gonna need your shoulder, sweetheart."

Dropping her head forward, Keyla knew this was a decision she would probably regret, but Sami's pleading didn't fall on deaf ears. "Alright fine, I'm on my way, Sami."

~!~

Tampa, Florida.

Was Keyla really here? In the same city Jon Moxley left her for over 2 years ago to pursue his wrestling dream? To say she was tense and nervous was the understatement of the century. She wanted to hop back on the plane and fly anywhere else, to get as far away from Tampa, Florida as possible. Sami needed her though. She couldn't let him down after all the long nights he stayed with her in her house crying over Jon. No, she had to do this for him and this truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If she missed it, Keyla would never forgive herself and, despite the fact it was the wrestling organization Jon worked for, it was also a dream come true for one of her best friends.

"Kayleigh!" A voice shouted from several 100 feet away and her head snapped in the direction, amber eyes landing on Sami for the first time in a month. "I'm so glad you're here!" He lifted her from the floor and twirled her around in a circle before setting Keyla back on her feet, the biggest grin on his face. "Thanks for coming."

"You made me leave beautiful Madrid, Spain for this hell hole. You owe me several drinks after this." Keyla muttered in his ear, though she couldn't stop the smile from stretching her lips either and tapped Sami's nose. "How's Gina?"

Sami's green eyes lit up at the mention of his beautiful fiancée. "Sad she couldn't make it. Work is really killing her lately with all these long hours. But she said it'll be worth it when we have our dream wedding. I really could care less, I just wanna marry her and knock her up as soon as possible."

"Wow, I sincerely hope you don't say that to her because then you'll have to have her foot surgically removed from your ass."

Sami chuckled, nodding and draped an arm around Keyla's shoulders while they made their way to the luggage area to grab her bags. "Don't I know it. So how was the flight and Spain? I've been there a few times with CZW and its kick ass."

"Like I said, you made me leave beautiful Spain for this hell hole. You owe me big." Keyla reminded him vehemently, grabbing her bag and headed out of the airport with Sami. "So, what time is your tryout anyway?"

"It's a dark before Raw tonight against a guy named Johnny Curtis. Triple H is gonna be there to watch. He's the main cheese of WWE and runs the developmental show called NXT." WWE had really expanded over the past several years ever since Vince McMahon gave up some control to his daughter, Stephanie McMahon and son-in-law Hunter Hearst Helmsley AKA Triple H. "We got time before we have to be there. Wanna grab some grub or something?"

"No." Keyla wanted nothing to do with this city, though she grudgingly admitted it was nicer than Philadelphia. "Let's just go back to the hotel and relax. You look like you need some R&R before tonight comes."

"You know me too well."

Raw was being held in Tampa that night. Raw as in the main roster…Keyla's eyes suddenly shot open and she yanked the steering wheel, forcing Sami to pull over on the side of the road forcefully. She ignored Sami's ranting and raving, jumping out of the vehicle, beginning to pace back and forth. If she ran into Jon tonight…Keyla shook her head, not able to do this and went to grab her bag out of the backseat when Sami stopped her, having gotten out to check on her.

"Y-You lied to me…" Keyla stammered, tears filling her eyes and tried not to let them fall, but it was no use. "Raw Sami? RAW as in the main fucking roster! You told me that's where he was now and you're trying out RIGHT BEFORE THE SHOW HE'S ON!" Why hadn't she put the pieces together sooner before hopping on a plane to come here? "I can't do it. If I see him…"

Sami could see the turmoil swirling through Keyla's watery amber eyes and felt horrible for asking her to come with him to do this. "Come here…" He pulled her into his arms, letting her cry on his chest and stroked her dark blue hair, which was a lot longer than it had been when they reunited several years ago. "I'm sorry, Kay. I'm really sorry…" Could he be more of a selfish dick?

"Y-You promised h-he wouldn't b-be there…" Keyla stuttered through uncontrollable sobs, her whole body trembling from head to toe against him. "If I see him…"

"You won't." Sami pulled back to stare down into her eyes, cupping her face tenderly in his strong hands. "You're gonna be sitting a few rows back and you can wear a hat or something to make you blend in with the rest of the crowd there. I promise, he won't see you and you won't see him." He hoped and prayed that didn't happen because Keyla would likely have a nervous breakdown.

Pulling back, Keyla wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at the blue sky, feeling her heart breaking all over again. "I'm sorry. I know I should be over him by now, but I'm not. I miss him so much it hurts to even hear his name and I don't know what to do to fix it. I don't know how to move on and forget him. I don't think I ever will."

Sami knew firsthand how much Keyla loved Jon and he should've been livid at the man for destroying her. However, Keyla didn't tell Jon how she truly felt and let him walk out of her life in order to let him pursue his dream. She should've been selfish back then and told him how she felt so they could at least keep in contact to try to be together. Sami was torn between being on Jon's side and hers because he understood both. He just hoped Keyla healed from the heartache and pain before it completely devoured her whole. Guiding her back inside the vehicle, Sami started on the road again heading toward the hotel and hoped they didn't run into Jon Moxley for Keyla's sake and sanity.