Chapter 8: The Aftermath

One. Two. Three times the phone rang on the bedside table. Natalya had absolutely no motivation to get out of bed, let alone pick up her phone. Beep after beep signaled for another voicemail, but she just continued to lay there. Then the knocking started along with another phone call.

"I can hear your phone ringing so I know that you are in there. Come on Nattie, answer the damn door." Beth called in between the knocks.

Finally, with a loud sigh, she clambered out of the bed and opened the door.

"Finally, why haven't you been answering your phone? Wow! You look like shit!" she said when she look up from her phone.

Natalya's normally perfect hair was a tangled mess, her makeup still on and smeared, and her eyes were bright red and puffy.

"Thanks, good to see you too."

"What happened? I figured that you would be glowing from a night with Justin."

"It's a long story." Natalya said as she walked away from the door and sat on the bed cross-legged.

Beth closed the door and followed her over to the bed.

"Nattie, tell me what happened." She said sitting down next to Natalya, ready to listen.

"Tyson came by my room before I was to meet Justin last night."

"What did that douchebag want now?"

"He wanted to know why you attacked him after the match. He then proceeded to apologize and then tried to kiss me. The second time he tried, he succeeded and Justin was standing in the doorway."

Beth gasped.

"I went after him and tried to explain, but he wouldn't listen. When I went back to my room, Tyson was still there and tried to kiss me again. I was ready this time, so I punched him."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. Have you tried calling Justin?"

"After Tyson left, it rang twice and then went straight to voicemail."

"Wow! What are you going to do?"

"Stay in bed all day." Natalya answered as she lay back down on the bed.

"Oh no you're not! I'm not going to let you mope around. I want you to get dressed; we are going to the gym."

"I don't feel like training today Beth."

"We're not. I have a plan. Meet me in the lobby in fifteen minutes."

"But…" Natalya started to object.

"No buts about it. Get your blonde and pink haired butt ready and I'll see you in a bit." Beth said firmly as she left the room.

With another sigh, she stood and headed towards the bathroom. Brushing her hair vigorously, she remembered how things went down the night before. Instead of being torn up about it still, she suddenly found herself angry. She put her hairbrush down and found that her hands were shaking uncontrollably. Grabbing a hold of the sink to steady herself, she decided that she needed to be strong. Throwing her hair up into a tight ponytail, she decided that she could not let some person ruin how she went about her day. She then walked back into the bedroom area and rummaged through her suitcase. Finding a pair of black short shorts, and a bright pink spandex tank top, she laced up her pink and black Nike Shox and was ready to go.

"So what are we going to do if we aren't training?" Natalya asked as they walked into a local gym.

"We are doing some kickboxing. I figured that you have a lot of pent up anger towards Tyson and another superstar that I'm not going to name."

"You are a genius!"

"You're just now figuring this out? Let's go get our sweat on."

Left. Right. Cross. High knees.

The sweat was pouring after half an hour. Both blonde women were gasping for air. They had never done anything continuous in quite a while. By the time they were done, their abdomens were aching, arms sore, but to Natalya, it was well worth it. She beat the punching bag as if it was Tyson.

"So how are you feeling?" Beth asked sipping from her water bottle and taking a seat on the bench in the gym locker room.

"A little sore, but I feel much more Zen than I did this morning and last night. Thank you Beth."

"You're welcome, I'm just glad that my best friend is back!"

"Yes I am, and I'm not going anywhere."

They continued to chat and got ready to head over to the arena for that night's house show.

"Traded? What do you mean I've been traded?" Natalya hollered at Teddy Long, the General Manager of SmackDown.

"It means that you are no longer apart of the SmackDown roster Nattie."

"Yeah, I figured that much out on my own thanks. But why am I being traded?"

"I've gotten a few complaints about your behavior over the last couple of days from our male superstars. So, I set up a trade. I traded you to Raw for Kelly."

"What? I'm being replaced on SmackDown with Kelly? Are you serious?"

"Can't say that I am playa." Teddy grinned.

"Who complained about my behavior?"

"I can't tell you that."

"I just want to know who to thank for my change of scenery."

"I still can't tell you. I'm sorry Nattie. Tonight is your last house show under the blue brand. Tomorrow you head out to join the Raw tour."

"You don't even have to say whom. I bet I know exactly who they were." Natalya spat as she turned on her heel and stormed back to the Diva's locker room.

As she entered, she slammed the door in anger and shook the mirrors that hung on the wall.

"Whoa! What's up with you? I thought we got rid of all your anger at the gym today." Beth said as she looked up from the boots she was lacing.

"Nothing will help me get rid of this anger until I talk to those assholes." She said as she paced back and forth.

"Why? What happened now?"

"I just had a meeting with our loving general manager. He informs me I have been traded to Raw."

"WHAT?" Beth yelled, her head instantly snapping up.

"Yup. And guess who is coming in when I leave."

"Who?"

"The oh so wonderful Kelly."

"You have got to be shitting me right now. Did he say why you were traded?"

Beth crossed the room in three strides and grabbed her friend up in a rib crushing hug.

"He said that he had a couple of complaints about me from the male superstars."

"Who complained about you?"

"He wouldn't say, but I have my suspicious on who they are." Natalya said.

"Who?"

"The two people that really have to hate me right now, Justin and Tyson. Anyway, he said that tonight is my last house show for SmackDown. Tomorrow, I join the Raw tour."

"I can't believe this. Are you going to try and talk to Tyson and Justin?"

"I wasn't planning on talking to Tyson, but I was going to try and talk to Justin."

"What am I going to do without you?" Beth asked with tears threatening to streak down her face.

"I don't know. I don't even know what I'm going to do over on Raw without you."

"All I can say now is let's go out there, kick some Diva ass in this battle royal, and send these fans home wondering and fuming about you being traded. It will be me and you as the last two in the ring."

"I say, bring it on. Once we reign supreme over these other pathetic Diva's, I am going to march straight up to Justin and give him a huge piece of my mind."

"Now that is the Natalya Neidhart that I know and love!" Beth said as she grabbed her up in one last hug.