Roman looked up at Paul who had returned to his private locker room alone. Paul looked nervous. Understandably so. Paul had failed the task of bringing Kiwi to Roman as requested. No one went against what the tribal chief wanted.
"Where is she?" Roman asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but she said no," Paul said.
"She said no?" Roman questioned. "She doesn't get to say no!"
Roman grabbed the table in front of him and flipped it upside down in his anger. Paul backed away in fear but he stayed in the room. He knew better than to leave without being allowed to do so.
"Maybe if I ask again. Maybe if I tell her that my... no, her tribal chief is demanding that she comes here," Paul said.
"Get out!" Roman growled.
"Or I can get your cousins for you if you like," Paul offered.
"I said, get out!" Roman screamed.
Paul booked it out of there before Roman took his anger out of him. Roman looked at the flipped table and all the items that had been on the table but were now all over the floor instead. He sighed at the mess. There was something ironic in all of this. Kiwi would have pointed out that this was exactly what she meant when she said he had changed. Nothing had hurt more than hearing her say that she didn't know him anymore.
He grabbed the remote and rewound the show to minutes earlier when the referee raised her hand in victory. Her green eyes sparkled through the screen. Her hair was still dyed a sassy green to match her name. He paused the screen and stared at her. His lost love. She had left him and he couldn't get over her.
"I don't understand why you're making such a big fuss out of it," he said.
"You don't understand?" She asked. "I wish you could see what the rest of us see. I wish you could see what I see."
"Just change your fucking hair color! That green shit looks like trash!" He snarled.
She crossed her arms and gave him that defiant look he knew all too well. He used to admire her stubbornness. He used to love it that she didn't allow anyone to boss her around. Now he hated it. He hated that she wouldn't fall in line like the rest of them.
"You used to love this color on me. You even bought me a year of hair dye for my birthday last year, remember?" She asked.
"I remember," he sneered. "And I fucking regret it. You're gonna change that color tonight, or else..."
"Or else what, Roman? Finish the fucking sentence! I fucking dare you!" She yelled.
He crossed his arms too and stared her down. He wasn't going to degrade himself by finishing it. She could fill in the blanks on her own. He was in charge and she better fall in line.
"Acknowledge me!" He barked.
Her mouth fell open and she stared in disbelief.
"I don't know you anymore," she said.
He stared at the frozen image on the screen. She had left him after that fight. She still rocked that green hair. He would never admit it to anyone but she looked stunning with that color. Her eyes had that sparkle in them that he longed to see everyday. Worst of all, she looked happy. She was happy without him. She had moved on and left him stuck. He couldn't move on.
"Acknowledge me," he said lowly.
His voice sounded oddly weak. He looked around, almost fearful that someone had snuck into the room to hear him like that. No one was there. No one entered without permission. He moved his eyes to the screen again and felt that same old pain in his heart. He sighed and hit the power button on the remote. The screen went dark. Dark as the hole in his heart.
"If you won't come to me, I'll come to you," he said.
He got up and left his locker room. He kept his back straight as he started walking through the arena. People feared him. A lot of people would press themselves against the wall, keep their eyes on the floor or even jump into a random room to avoid him. Everyone feared feeling his anger, and today that feeling was justified. He was angry.
"Watch me!" Liv giggled.
"They always do," Kiwi said.
Roman's heart skipped a beat by the sound of Kiwi's voice. He turned the corner and saw Kiwi and Liv standing further down the hall. Liv was putting on a show for a backstage worker who couldn't stop staring at her. The poor guy tripped over a box on the floor. His face went red and he ran down the hall to get away. Liv giggled again.
Both women turned back around and continued their path which was towards Roman. He stood still and waited for them to come to him. He had many versions in his head how this could go. One way or another, she would talk to him.
All his plans dropped to the floor the moment she looked at him. Her eyes took away his words. He could see it in her stare. She didn't care. She would never acknowledge him and fall in line. She was done with him. The two women walked past him without saying a word. Just as they were about to turn the corner, Liv stopped, looked back at him and slapped her ass.
"Watch me!" She giggled.
He didn't watch her. He watched Kiwi as she turned the corner without ever looking back at him. Liv giggled again and turned the corner as well. He kept standing there looking at the corner. His feet refused to move despite wanting to turn that corner himself and watch Kiwi walk away. He craved to see her even if it meant seeing her leave him over and over.
"Enough," he whispered to himself. "Let her go."
He turned around and saw Paul standing further down the hall berating a backstage worker over something. Roman couldn't care about what the poor worker might have done wrong in Paul's world.
"Paul!" Roman yelled.
Paul looked up at Roman and then started hurrying up towards him with those creepy eyes full of admiration. Paul would never know that Roman only used him until Paul no longer would be of any use for Roman. Paul had contacts and Paul was smart. Just not smart enough to realize he was being played.
"Find my cousins," Roman said. "We have work to do."