CHAPTER ELEVEN

PHIL

It was the second day of House of Hardcore. In a rare move, Tommy had booked the entire weekend at the old ECW Arena. Phil was standing outside of the parking lot trying to clear his mind when he heard, "Hey! We gotta talk, Phil!"

He wanted to ignore his father, but he knew that wouldn't work. Phil reluctantly turned around to face him. "Quit stalking me," he said. He hoped Felicia wouldn't come outside while their dad was around. He needed to get rid of him and fast.

"It's not stalking. You're my kid."

"I don't want you here, Dad."

His father frowned at him. "Your sister's got you brainwashed."

"No, Dad. She hasn't even really talked about it. But I saw what you did, and I'm pissed off."

"You're coming home with me."

"No I'm not."

"It's not up to you." His father grabbed his arm.

Phil pulled away violently, but his father just grabbed him again. "Let go!" Phil shouted.

His father actually tried to drag him away, but suddenly, someone pulled Phil away from him and got between them. "He said to back off," Turner said firmly.

"Stay out of this! He's my son," his father insisted.

"He's an adult and he doesn't want to go with you. Leave him alone."

His father threw a punch at Turner, but Turner's reflexes were quicker and he dodged the attack. He punched Phil's father instead. This quickly resulted in a full-on fight in the middle of the street. Phil tried to throw himself between them, but his father tossed him into a parked car hard. Phil hit his head and felt a little blood on his skin.

Fuck, he thought. He realized his father wasn't going to stop. He couldn't just let him kick his buddy's ass. He ran back into the parking lot and rushed into the Arena.

"Where's Tommy?" He asked Briana breathlessly.

"Phil, you're bleeding!" Briana said in shock.

"I know that, Briana. Where's your dad?"

"What's going on?"

"Stop answering my questions with questions! I need Tommy. Right now."

"He was with Rob the last time I saw him. Let me check your head."

"There's no time for that. My dad's out back beating the crap out of my friend."

"What?!" She automatically reached for her kendo stick.

Phil dragged her with him before she could run out there and join the fight. "Tommy, I need help," Phil said.

"What happened to your head?" Tommy asked.

"My dad's here and he's beating up my friend who just saved my ass."

Tommy immediately followed Phil toward the back entrance. Briana came with them and neither of them wasted time arguing with her about it. Once she made up her mind to do something, it was done.

"We have a security issue," Tommy told his security guards.

"What's up?" One asked.

"Sabu's here." That was all Tommy had to say.

"Let's go," the other guard said.

"Briana," Tommy said at the door. "Leave the kendo stick."

"But-" Briana protested.

"Drop it."

Briana obeyed and they hurried outside. Turner was holding his own very well. Phil's father was bleeding from the mouth.

"Terry! What the fuck are you doing?" Tommy demanded. He pulled Phil's father off of Turner.

"He fucking hit me!" He yelled in anger.

"You threw the first punch," Turner replied. "I was just trying to stop you from taking Phil."

"He's my son. This ain't your business!"

"He's my friend, and he told you to let him go."

"Fuck off!" His father tried to hit Turner again, but Tommy caught his hand.

"Terry, get the fuck out of here," Tommy said firmly. "You're not welcome at House of Hardcore, and I'm going to make damn sure your kids get a restraining order against you. If I see you again, I'm calling the fucking cops. Do you understand?"

"Phil, you tell him you're coming with me!" His father insisted.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Phil replied.

"You really gonna abandon your mom like that? I don't need two ungrateful kids, but she wants you home."

Phil tensed. He could sense the warning in his father's words. No one else might understand it, but he did. His mother wasn't safe.

"I'm calling the cops, Terry," Tommy said, pulling out his phone.

"Put your fucking phone away, Dreamer," his father said. "I'm leaving." He walked down the block and got into his car.

When his father finally drove away, Tommy said, "Come on inside, Kids."

"You alright?" Phil asked Turner as Briana started to follow her father and security inside.

"Yeah, I'm good," Turner replied. "Are you?"

"I'll be aiight. Thanks for the save."

"You coming?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Phil replied.

"You, too, Kid," Tommy said to Turner.

"Me?" Turner asked in shock.

"No, the invisible guy behind you. Yes, you."

Turner obediently followed. He was clearly nervous as they walked inside. Once Tommy brought them upstairs, he said, "Briana, you know the drill. Take care of Phil."

"I've got him," Briana promised. She put on a pair of latex gloves before starting to clean up Phil's head.

"Ouch!" Phil cried out as Briana touched his wound with an alcohol pad.

"Don't be a baby," Briana said. "Hold still. This will be over soon."

Phil knew it was far from over.

TURNER

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dreamer, Sir..." Turner said nervously. "I wasn't trying to disrespect you by getting into a fight."

"Relax, Kid... What's your name?" Tommy asked as he started cleaning up Turner's minor injuries.

"Turner, Sir. Turner Knighton."

"Cut the Sir crap. It's Tommy." He paused. "You did a good thing, helping Phil."

"He's a friend. I'm a CZW guy."

"I thought you looked familiar... You were at Ring of Honor during the revolution, right?"

"Yeah... I was a last-second replacement."

"I don't suppose you've got your ring gear today?"

Turner couldn't believe this might be going where he thought it was. He'd always felt he belonged at House of Hardcore, but he'd never dreamed he might actually get to work a show. "I don't go anywhere without it," Turner forced himself to reply. With a smirk, he added, "Never know when you might need to have a deathmatch on the spot."

"I've got an empty spot on the card. Morrison, or Hennigan, or whatever his fucking name is now had to pull out because he's got food poisoning. I'm reworking the entire show around it, but if you want a match, you've earned the spot."

Turner stared at him in shock for a moment. "Definitely," he said as he found his voice. "I'll do anything you need. Thank you for the opportunity."

"Okay. I'll let you know. First, I need to see if Phil here is clear to wrestle."

"I'm fine," Phil said. "I've taken worse bumps in my sleep. It's just a small cut."

"You're getting cleared by a doctor, Kid."

Phil clearly knew better than to argue. He grumbled a response as Briana finished cleaning up his head.

"I'll need a doctor to check you, too," Tommy told Turner. "You seem fine, but just to be on the safe side."

"That's fine," Turner said. He knew he was alright. Sabu's body was falling apart and even in a blind, drug-fueled rage, he could only do so much damage. He was slightly sore, but it wasn't a big deal.

"Phil... I want you and your sister to think about getting a restraining order," Tommy said. "I was serious when I said that. Without one, your father can just keep pulling this crap."

To Turner's surprise, Phil didn't outright refuse. "I'll think about it," he said. "But Leesh isn't gonna go for it. She never tells anyone what he does... She's always protected him..."

"I'll talk to Felicia," Briana offered.

"Good plan," Tommy said. "Alright, guys, I need to rework things. I'll get a doctor up here. I'll be back to check on you in a bit." He walked away.

"Welcome to House of Hardcore," Briana said cheerfully. She extended her hand to Turner. "I'm Briana, or Bri Dreamer, or Twinovator B."

"I know who you are," Turner said. "I've been to every HoH in the area since I was a teenager. I'm Turner. Turner Knighton... Also known as Mr. Knight."

"I know who you are, too. I've seen you around CZW... I believe my sister spent more than one show flirting with you."

Turner laughed. "Yeah, I've met Kim, but you never introduced yourself. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She stopped talking as the doctor on-call came upstairs to examine him and Phil.

The doctor checked Phil first. After a few minutes, he said, "You're blood pressure's a little high, but that's probably just the stress. Your pulse is also a bit fast, and you're shaking."

"I'm coming down," Phil said automatically. "Trying to stay clean."

The doctor nodded. "Alright, that fits the symptoms. Mostly, you're fine. Not even a concussion. Just keep that cut clean. But be careful, alright? Don't put too much strain on your body today. Your heart can't take too much. I'm not going to stop you from wrestling because, technically, you're okay, but I'd recommend a tag match so the burden isn't fully on you."

Phil nodded as Turner allowed the doctor to check him out. "Everything looks good,," he said. "You're in excellent health." He turned back to Phil. "Listen, I respect that you're trying to get off the drugs, but you can't do it cold turkey. You need to ease your body into it...Off the record, I suggest you smoke something. Make sure it's as clean as you can get it, but it should ease some of your stress, and that will bring your heart rate back down."

When the doctor left, Turner said, "I've got some joints in my car, but they're not necessarily totally clean."

Briana raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. "No," Phil said. "I promised Tommy... I gotta stay clean." He stood and walked downstairs before heading straight to the bathroom.

"He needs something," Turner said.

"Dad wouldn't flip over weed... Not after what Phil just went through," Briana said. "I mean, if he tried to get me or Kim to do it, he'd kill Phil, but if the guy just needs to smoke a little to ease the withdrawal, that's different."

"You should tell Phil that."

"If he comes out of the bathroom, I will."

Turner noticed how worried Briana looked. "He'll be fine," he said. "He's come down hard before, when he was broke. He's tough."

"I know he is... But I wanna beat his dad with my kendo stick right now."

"That would have been fun to watch!" He laughed. He stood and said, "I guess we should go downstairs." He led the way, still stunned he was going to live his dream that night.

PHIL

He was gripping the sink so hard, his hands were turning white. He stared at his reflection, struggling to breathe through the agony of withdrawal.

"Fuck..." He mumbled. He realized he was starting to hyperventilate. He ran his hands under cold water for a minute before splashing some on his face. As it dripped down his cheeks, he continued to watch himself. "You're a fucking mess," he informed himself.

He continued to shake, more violently now, and Phil realized he was crying. "Pussy," he taunted himself. "Stop being a little bitch!" He could see his father in his reflection, taunting him. He'd said those words to him more than once to convince him to go along with the dark, twisted things he thought of over the years. Everything was about not being a bitch, about proving he was a man, no matter what his father demanded of him...

He threw his hand against the mirror, hitting his palm several times in quick, angry succession before he finally collapsed to his knees and stayed there, struggling to breathe.

"You alright?" Aiden asked from the entrance to the bathroom.

Phil looked up at his friend and asked, "You got anything on you?"

Aiden pulled out a joint. Phil knew he could count on him. He also knew Aiden's stash was always pure. It was as good as the shit you got with a prescription. Surely it wouldn't be that bad if he smoked a little... Just to take the edge off.

Aiden helped Phil stand back up before saying, "I've got you, brother."

They walked out together and went for a walk. Phil inhaled several times before he relaxed slightly. He knew Tommy was probably going to kick him out for this, but he needed it. Each puff pushed his issues further away until he stopped thinking about the things he tried to hide even from himself.

ARTIE

His father grabbed him and dragged him off to a more secluded spot. "Do you have something to tell me?" He demanded.

"No, Sir," Artie said nervously. He had no idea why his dad seemed so pissed off.

"Is this true?" His father demanded. He pulled something up on his phone, and Artie's world shattered.

Kidd Dudley Spotted at Gay Club! The dirtsheet article read. There was a picture, too. "I..." Artie began.

"What were you doing at some gay club?"

"I wasn't... I'm... I'm not..."

"Don't lie to me, damnit! What the fuck is this?" He could hear the fury in his father's voice.

"I…" He couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening.

"There you are, Babe!" Markie called. Much to Artie's confusion, she proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him on his lips. She smiled sweetly at his father. "Hi, Matt," she said cheerfully.

"I... Are you two...?" His father tried to ask.

"Dating? Yeah, for three weeks now. Artie's great."

His father seemed to relax slightly. "What were you guys doing last night?"

"We went to a party at a gay club in town. They play the best music, and most of the guys can actually dance, so I thought it might be fun to check one out."

His father laughed. "You two should go public," he said. "The rumor mills are trying to declare Artie's some sort of queer or something." He shook his head. "Good work, Artie. This girl's a keeper." He walked away smiling.

"What the fuck was that?" Artie asked.

"I'm your beard now," Markie said with a laugh.

"My what?"

"Your beard. As in the girl you date so no one knows you're gay until you're good and ready to tell them you are."

He stared at her. "Markie... You don't have to do that."

"I want to. After seeing how upset you immediately got, and how your dad reacted, I want to help. You know I love you. I don't mind playing up a kayfabe romance so you have one less thing to worry about."

His heart ached. "You'd really do that for me?" He asked.

"Of course I will. That's what family does. We look out for each other." She hugged him. As she saw Craig walk in, she declared, "Guess what! Artie and I are a thing now!" She laughed.

Craig frowned. "I missed something," he said.

"I'll explain later," Artie promised him. He hoped Craig wouldn't hate him for this. He knew how his best friend felt about Markie. In fact, pretty much everyone did, except for Markie. Craig appeared to be hopelessly Friend Zoned. Artie watched Craig continue to frown as Markie pretended to fawn over him. Awkward didn't even begin to cover it, but Artie knew she was right. If he was going to keep his private life private, he needed to offer up a convincing public one.

It's just kayfabe, he told himself. If this was just another storyline, it would be easy to get through, so he focused on that. No one had to know the truth... Especially not his father.

CRAIG

As soon as the doors opened, Markie began hanging out in Artie's lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing and flirting and selling this new romance harder than she'd ever sold anything before. He knew it was an act. He knew Markie was just trying to protect Artie... But it still made Craig feel sick to watch it.

"When did they become a thing?" Carrie asked as she joined Craig.

"Very recently," Craig replied.

"Tough break, Craig... I'm sorry." Carrie paused. "For the record, she's missing out. You're a great guy. She just doesn't realize you're meant to be."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not... But I bet I can help!"

"How?"

"Let's make her jealous... Force her to realize she loves you, too." Carrie smiled at him.

"How, exactly, do we do that?"

"Easy... You make out with me."

Craig stared at her. "Seriously?"

"It would get her attention."

"Here? In front of all these fans?"

"Well, I would, but I'm guessing you're not interested in this spreading like wildfire. Everyone will be backstage soon. I'll grab you there."

Craig didn't think she was serious, but a little while later, she pulled him toward the corner across from Markie and Artie and kissed him hard. Carrie got really into it, slipping her tongue into his mouth and everything. It was by no means unpleasant. Carrie was a hell of a kisser... But even as Craig went along for the ride, he realized how empty he felt kissing her. Carrie was probably the sexiest woman alive... But she wasn't Markie. His heart just wasn't in it.

You'll never have her, a voice taunted him. She's always going to see you as a brother.

Craig had been with a healthy amount of other girls, but it never worked out. Most of them realized very quickly that he dropped everything for Markie, and they soon figured out why.

"You're good at this," Carrie said against his ear. Her lips sent a chill through him.

"So are you," he replied. His heart might not be in it, but his hormones were another story.

"We should hook up sometime... No strings. I know you love her... But some great sex never hurt anyone."

He would have been surprised, but it was Carrie. She was nothing if not unpredictable, and she didn't do relationships. Having a fuck buddy might be nice...

He moaned as she gently bit his earlobe. "I'll take that as a yes," she teased him.

"Jeez, guys, get a room!" Markie teased them from where she was sitting, still in Artie's lap.

"She's jealous," Carrie whispered. "You're welcome." She pulled away and smiled seductively. "What?" She asked. "We were just having some fun." She rubbed her body against Craig's suggestively and he couldn't help but respond.

"Carrie Heyman!" Her father shouted.

"Daddy? I didn't know you were coming tonight!" Carrie said cheerfully.

If Craig were a white boy, he'd have turned red. As it was, his cheeks burned as he stuttered out, "I'm s-sorry, Mr. H-Heyman..."

"You! Of all the people here, you were the last one I expected this from!" Paul shook his head. "You can't trust anyone anymore! Keep it in your pants, Son, and step away from my daughter!"

Craig stared at his feet as Carrie said, "Daddy, I'm a legal adult. I love you, but this isn't your business."

"I will not have you dry-humping some... some... some Dudley in public!" Paul looked like he was about to kill Craig. "Have some respect for yourself, Carrie, and keep things like this private! And you!" Paul glared at him. "Show my daughter the respect she deserves and don't be such an exhibitionist next time!" He flung his arms up in frustration and walked away.

"I am so sorry!" Carrie said. "He's sort of overprotective."

"You think?" Markie asked. "That was brutal!"

"Forget it... Are we on for tonight?" Craig asked. He might as well see this thing through to the end.

"Sure," Carrie replied sounding pleasantly surprised.

Craig smiled at her. It wasn't love, but maybe he'd stop feeling so shitty if he spent the night with Carrie Heyman. At least it gave him something to look forward to.

FELICIA

She'd been told what her father had done. Briana had even gently tried to convince her to agree to a restraining order. As a result of knowing her father had gotten so close, Felicia was too shaky to work at Rob's table again. She sat on the balcony instead, planning to watch the show from the darkest corner she could hide in. She was beyond terrified, and Tommy was talking about going to the cops. All she wanted was for this nightmare to go away. She pulled out a small blade and ran it across her wrist lightly. She could make it stop. She could end her life... But then what would happen to Phil and her mother?

With a sigh, Felicia put the blade away. She started to clean up the small cut she'd made. It would probably scar, but not as badly as some of the other marks on her flesh. She'd hurt herself before, but she tried not to. It was hard sometimes. Her brother coped with drugs, but Felicia had an addiction of her own.

"Felicia?" A gentle voice asked hesitantly,

Felicia quickly moved to roll down her sleeve as she saw Chris. "Hey!" She said too nervously.

Chris slowly walked closer. "Can I?" He asked.

She wanted to tell him no, to keep her secret a secret, but she knew he'd already seen it. She nodded. Chris carefully rolled up her sleeve.

"Oh, man," he whispered. He took an alcohol pad and re-cleaned the cut, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. "It's okay," he promised her.

"It's just a scratch," Felicia said quickly.

"Felicia... I've been in and out of therapy for years. I'm not going to judge you... Not ever... But I know what those scars are from. I've seen it before."

She felt tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't apologize. I'm just worried about you." He pulled the pad away. "It's okay now."

"Do you think I'm a freak?" Felicia asked.

"You're an ECW legacy. We're all freaks." He smiled sadly. "At least you don't hear your dead father talking to you."

"You're not a freak for that, Chris. He's your dad. Of course he's watching over you."

He paused. "You don't think I'm nuts?"

"No. I believe there are things out there that we don't understand. Who's to say spirits aren't real?"

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Thanks... Felicia, have you gotten any help for the whole cutting thing?"

"No. Nobody knows... Well, I think Phil suspects, but he doesn't call me on it."

"You need to talk to someone."

"I can't talk to a shrink... My family doesn't do that."

"Okay..." He paused. "But you can talk to me. Okay?"

She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but a deep desire to help her. "Okay," she found herself saying. "I'll try."

"That's good enough for me." He hugged her. Although she'd been flinching from almost everyone, she never flinched from Chris. She knew she'd be safe with him.

ABBY

She was beyond psyched that Tommy had asked her to play ring announcer for the night. When not announcing, she'd be sitting by her father at the commentary table. This was going to be fun.

She stood in the ring now, ready to offer up the first surprise for the Philly fans. "Hey, Philly!" She declared. The fans cheered in response. "Welcome to House of Hardcore! We're going to start the night with a special guest…"

Music began to play and the fans started screaming. Terrance Gerin, best known as Rhyno, came out to the ring. He wasn't dressed to wrestle, but considering the Pageant Boy had refused to let him so much as do a meet and greet the night before, this gave the fans hope that things were going to go better tonight.

"I'm home!" Terrance declared into the microphone. He smiled at the fans as they cheered. When they quieted down enough, he continued. "First of all, I'm sorry I wasn't able to appear last night. My bosses down at WWE decided they needed me at the last minute and pulled me off of the card… I know everyone here knows about the on-going battle between WWE and the wonderful children of the original ECW roster… As a show of good faith to prove he's quite willing to negotiate and work this out, Triple H has graciously allowed me to appear here tonight and address you all. He's even given me a statement to read to you." Terrance pulled out a piece of paper. He cleared his throat to indicate he was about to read it, then crumpled it up instead. The fans cheered as he tossed it out of the ring.

"The Rhyno has been unleashed, my friends! I'm back home, and I've got exactly one thing to say to you all tonight… Free E-C-Dub!" Terrance shouted. The fans immediately began chanting.

Abby smiled as she hugged him. Paul Levesque might have expected things to go his way, but he'd made a huge mistake letting Rhyno go to the show. She'd known he'd stand with them. He was ECW to his very core.

"And, by the way, Hunter… I quit!" Terrance declared. He proceeded to flip off the cameras and chant, "Fuck that Pageant Boy!"

Abby knew Terrance was endangering his career. WWE still owned him. He was in breach of his contract. The fine he had to pay would be huge and he'd be banned from wrestling for the remainder of his contract, but they couldn't really do much to him. Terrance was too popular with fans. He was also a politician and knew how to argue his way out of things. On top of that, Abby was certain Sellie would find a loop-hole in his contract, which she'd written, and get him released. It would be a battle, but he'd obviously decided it was worth the fight.

As Terrance headed backstage, Abby focused on announcing the first match of the night. "The following match is scheduled for one fall!" Abby declared in her best Announcer Voice.

The first song began to play. It was Phil's. He walked out to the ring confidently, fully in character, and Turner followed him. "Introducing first, making their way to the ring, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the team of Mr. Knight and Tabu!" She announced Turner first because this was his first match at House of Hardcore and the fans might not know who he was.

Big Balls began to play and Chris came out. "And their opponents… Introducing first, from Nutley, New Jersey, Jon Mahoney!" Abby declared. Chris got into his entrance as always, pointing at fans and getting the crowd to sing along to his music.

Enter Sandman began to play and the fans got even more excited. "And, his tag team partner for this match… from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Little Sandy!" Abby announced. She stepped out of the ring and allowed the match to begin, joining her father at the commentator table.

LUKE

He'd worked with all of the people in this match before. Chris has been his tag partner, his opponent, and at one point, his manager over the years. He was one of his best friends. The two had bonded because, of all the ECW legacies, they were the two youngest who were actively involved in the wrestling world. They'd grown up together. He'd worked with Turner and Phil at CZW and at several of the hole-in-the-wall promotions he'd wrestled at. He was looking forward to this match.

Turner and Luke started. Luke pulled out a kendo stick right away, because that's how he rolled. He hit Turner across his back before grabbing him and hitting a DDT. Turner tossed him off of him as soon as he tried to go for the pin.

Luke shrugged and pulled out a beer. Because he was still technically not legal to drink, he tossed it into the crowd. The fans loved that. He then pulled out a water bottle and drank some. As soon as Turner stood up, Luke spit the water in his face. Turner flung Luke toward the corner and chopped his chest hard. He did this four more times before finally letting Luke out of the corner.

Luke was gasping for breath, selling the chops, but it was also legitimate. Turner didn't hold back. He was okay with that, but it still knocked the wind out of him. He tagged Chris in to give himself a minute to catch his breath.

Chris immediately hit Turner with a running clothesline, catching him off-guard. He went for the pin, but Turner kicked out. Chris walked toward the ropes, ready to go for a splash, but Turner tagged in Phil. Phil knocked Chris down onto the ropes, nutting him. Chris cried out in pain as Phil broke out a bag of thumb tacks. He spilled them over the mat, then climbed up to grab Chris and throw him onto the tacks. Chris tossed Phil onto them instead.

Phil sold it as hard as he could, but Luke knew thumb tacks didn't hurt him. They barely registered for someone as hardcore as Phil. Chris hit a frog splash and Phil cried out even louder. Chris nearly got the pin, but Phil kicked out just in time.

Chris tagged Luke back in. Phil crawled to his corner and tagged in Turner. Turner hit Luke with an exploder suplex. He followed this up by going for an SST… Although the inverted brain buster was actually called that by a lot of people, Turner preferred it be called by the more hardcore name of Severe Skull Trauma, and Luke agreed it sounded way cooler. It had been one of Axl Rotten's finishers, which was why Luke was familiar with it, and he knew how to avoid it. He escaped before Turner could fully complete the move and hit Turner with a White Russian Legsweep. Turner got out of that and went for a British Bomb.

Luke stayed down, but Chris dove in from the top of the ropes and broke up the pin. Phil jumped in and attacked Chris. They threw each other around until Phil flipped over the ropes and out of the ring onto the ground below. Chris went after him, diving down onto him as he stood. Turner dove through the ropes onto them, knocking them both back down. Since everyone else had done it, Luke shrugged and threw himself through the ropes, too. He jumped back up like nothing had happened and declared, "I'm okay!" Then he picked Turner up and tossed him into the ring, pinning him.

The referee counted to three and Luke stood up. Chris jumped into the ring and hugged him before they had their hands raised. They celebrated by tossing more beer to the fans before they headed backstage. Luke opened up his final can once he was back there and downed it, out of sight of fans or anyone who might object.

"That was fucking epic!" Luke declared.

"Damn right it was," Turner said with a grin. "I've never felt this amazing in my life!"

"The Arena does that to people," Chris said. He was staring at Turner. Luke wondered why, but he didn't ask. Chris often did things that seemed strange to other people. Luke was used to it.

"I'm gonna go get some more beer from the car. Who wants?" Luke asked.

"Me," Phil said. "I definitely need a fucking drink."

"Cool. Anyone else?"

"I'll take one," Turner said.

"Chris?"

"You know I don't drink much, Luke," Chris said. Some people assumed that was because Chris was afraid of addiction issues because of his dad, but Luke knew it was mostly just because mixing alcohol with the psych meds he was on was dangerous.

"Okay, that's cool. See you guys in a few." Luke walked out to his car, eager to have a few drinks and relax.

TURNER

Getting to watch House of Hardcore from behind the curtain was awesome. Turner had never had so much fun in his life, and Luke provided a seemingly endless supply of alcohol to keep them all in good spirits.

At the end of the night, after Luke and his father walked out and had everyone party in the ring to celebrate with Enter Sandman and beer, Turner found himself upstairs in the locker room with the last of the stragglers.

"Tommy… I gotta confess something," Phil blurted out.

"What's up, Phil?" Tommy asked.

"I smoked a blunt before the show… Just one… I… I needed it. I know you're gonna kick me out now-"

"Slow down, Kid. First off, I knew. I'm not stupid, but thanks for the honesty. Second, it's a joint. I'm not going to kick you out for needing one joint after the day you've had. I'm glad you went for that and not something harder."

"You're not mad?"

"You had a rough day."

Turner was impressed. Tommy really was a great guy. He was thrilled to have been part of the show, and now he wanted to tell him the truth… It was now or never.

"Tommy…" Turner said.

"Yeah?" Tommy asked.

"I have a confession, too."

Tommy raised an eyebrow at that. "Was everyone high tonight?"

"Not that," Turner said quickly. "I just… Um… I'm sort of…" He hesitated. Could he say it? Could he finally tell someone?

"Out with it, Kid. What's going on?" Tommy asked.

"I'm Axl Rotten's son," Turner blurted out before he could chicken out.

Tommy stared at him for a minute. "Wait, seriously?" Phil asked. "You never told me that."

"Axl didn't have any kids," Briana said suspiciously.

"It's true," Chris said suddenly. Everyone looked at him. "Just… Trust me. If you paid attention to him in the ring, you wouldn't even question it."

Turner was impressed Chris had realized he used his father's move set. He remained quiet, nervously waiting for Tommy to speak.

Tommy considered all of this for a minute before asking, "How long have you known?"

"A couple of years, technically… But it was never confirmed until recently… I met his wife, Laura… She had a picture of him and my mom… I know it's not actually proof, but-"

"You're Janny's kid." Tommy said bluntly.

Turner stared at him. After a moment, he said, "Yes, Sir, I am."

"I told you, it's Tommy, not Sir." He took a deep breath. "Your dad would be really happy you're here, Kid. Really happy." He opened up his arms and said, "Welcome to the family, Turner." He hugged him, leaving Turner completely stunned.

"You believe me?" He finally asked.

"I have no reason not to." Tommy looked at him. "You should have told me sooner, Kid. You belong here. You finally found your way home."

Turner was overwhelmed with emotions he couldn't quite identify. For so long, he'd felt like an outsider. He never fit in anywhere. He got in trouble everywhere he went. He'd never known his father, and his mother had disowned him. He was on his own… But now, for the first time ever, he had a family. Tommy was right. He was home.