I didn't tell anyone I was returning. I wanted it to be a surprise. I moved into a two bedroom apartment in Chicago where I spent a few days getting the apartment set up and preparing myself to see everyone. I waited until everyone was in the ring working out to enter. I walked in with my purple gear bag over my shoulder, in yoga pants and a purple half shirt. Everyone stopped as I entered the room. Phil beamed at me then rolled out of the ring. I set my gear bag down and met him as he rushed towards me, throwing my arms around his neck. He put his arms around my waist, hugging me and swinging me around.
"Welcome home!" he greeted me.
"You're not mad at me?" I asked him, pulling away slightly.
"Mad at you?" he scoffed. "I'm so happy you're here."
We were pulled apart by Ace and a bevy of other wrestlers, waiting in turn to welcome me back. "I missed you guys too." I told them.
"So you're back? Not just a visit? You're back?" Colt asked me after training.
"Yep. Are we okay?" I asked him, touching his arm.
"Of course! Kris, I love you and am so glad you're home." He told me, giving me a hug.
"Hey, I finally moved into the city like you've been begging me. Got an apartment up on Spring St." I told him, releasing the hug.
Colt let out a whistle. "Fancy you." He teased, tossing me my towel from my gear bag.
I wiped the sweat off my brow and threw the towel around my neck. I walked over to Phil as he started to throw his gear in his bag.
"Hey, I'm sorry about everything." I began. Phil cut me off.
"There's no need to apologize. I'm just happy you're back." Then his face changed.
"I've got something to tell you." He started.
"You're seeing someone," I finished. He looked a little surprised.
"How…" he began but I cut him off.
"I didn't know. But when a sentence begins with I've got something to tell you, I figured it would be something along those lines."
"I'm sorry." He said kindly. This time it was my turn to cut him off.
"It's okay. It's not like I asked you to wait till I was all whole and healed. It's okay. We'll just be friends." I said, extending my hand out. Phil smiled and shook my hand. "Friends."
"Remember when I asked you what it was about Punk?" she asked me the day after she officially met all the wrestlers.
"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.
"I totally get what you mean now." she informed me.
"You're not helping." I glared at her. She laughed at me.
Tamma really took well to being outside of South Carolina. It wasn't long before she was volunteering at an animal shelter and talking about going back to school. I had a feeling the talk of going back to school was more of Colt's prodding than an actual desire but it made her happy.
It didn't surprise me or Phil that our two best friends began dating about a month after we got settled. Tamma and I have been best friends since high school and in the whole time I knew her, I had never seen her as happy as Colt made her. It also made me happy when she became friends with Phil which wasn't always easy.
"You're sarcastic. You think you're being funny when you're not. And you seriously need to learn how to dye your hair if you are going to try to pull that look off." She told Phil one time, much to my amusement.
"What do you mean, try?" he responded, shaking his hair at her.
Tamma and I were on the couch eating ice cream out of the container when Colt and Phil came over.
"You guys do own bowls." Phil pointed out.
"What's your point?" I asked him.
Colt had a surprise for us. He had gotten an offer to travel to England to train for two weeks. He surprised Tamma with two plane tickets.
"I figured, if you wanted to..." he barely got the words out when Tamma threw her arms around his neck.
"Did you know that our Jewish friend would be so smooth?" I asked Phil.
Phil looked just as amused as I was. "About time a little of me rubbed off on him." Phil teased. I elbowed him in the ribs.
I had been to several Ring of Honor shows with Phil and Colt but hadn't worked on one of the shows yet. I had gotten to know many of the wrestlers from working the IWA-Mid South shows. I warned Tamma though the first time she came with us to a Ring of Honor show to stay close to Colt. She looked at me funny and I told her that she will see what I meant.
There was a brother tag team, the Briscoes, in Ring of Honor. Mark and Jay were country boys from Delaware and I knew that Jay would try to hit on her. Jay reminded me the brother of Tamma's high school boyfriend. Jay had a good body, tattoos, and a very outspoken mind.
Phil and I walked in with our bags over our shoulder before Colt and Tamma. I wasn't sure if Tamma didn't heed my warning but I looked over and she was standing by herself momentarily. Sure enough, Jay makes a bee line over to her. I elbowed Phil, watching. Colt was by her side in an instant he noticed.
"Oh sorry, brother. Is she with you?" Jay asked.
"This is my girlfriend, Tamma." Colt introduced.
"Oh my bad. You got to be careful around here, brother man." Jay said before hopping back in the ring.
Tamma looked over at me with big eyes. Phil and I just laughed.
"Oh, them boys." Phil said.
"I warned you." I told her.
Being just Phil's friend was hard but I was able to manage. Phil's girlfriend was named Shannon and she was also a wrestler that went by the name Daffney. I was always able to get along with Shannon but it didn't make it any easier. I hit the road traveling to wrestling shows with Colt, Ace, and Phil. I started wrestling and refereeing as Kristina Kincaid, which was much easier to pronounce than Gause. It felt so good to be back amongst the wrestlers again. It felt like home. I had gotten the records of my attack sealed. I didn't want to be haunted by that memory anymore. I instead used it to push me harder, to train harder.
Phil and I started working out together which really didn't make Shannon happy but I didn't care. I loved our stolen time together, even if it just exercising. We would go on five mile runs several times a week. We made time every day to ride our bikes. Sometimes Colt and Tamma came with us. I still felt the connection between us just as strong as it was before I left. I couldn't ask him if he felt it too. I was trying to be his friend and stay respectful of his relationship with Shannon. I was really making the attempt to get to know her so I invited her and Phil over for dinner. Tamma and Colt joined in. Tamma would make faces behind Shannon's back that would make me try not to laugh as I was trying to have a conversation with Shannon.
I don't think there is any way to find someone who looks almost the complete opposite of me if you tried than Shannon. She was tall, super skinny, with dyed jet black hair, black eyeliner, makeup that purposely made her face look whiter, and ugly tattoos that covered random spots on her body. She also couldn't make up her mind if she wanted you to call her by her real name or her wrestling name. She was a nice girl but slightly crazy.
She also didn't like me traveling with the boys but her disapproval didn't seem to phase anyone else. She started to get jealous, much like Kevin had, of Phil's and my friendship.
"Look here, Krissy…" she began one conversation. I immediately cut her off.
"Only P can call me Krissy."
"His name isn't P. It's Punk."
"Actually, Daff, his name is Phil. But I can call him P."
She scoffed. "He doesn't even like that nickname!"
"Actually" he interjected. "I don't like when anyone else but her calls me P." he corrected. She stood looking at us, mouth agape.
"You should really close your mouth. You wouldn't want to swallow a fly." I said sarcastically.
She turned on her heels and walked away. "You really shouldn't do that, Krissy." Phil said to me.
"Yeah, P. I know. But it's kind of fun." I said with a smirk.
