CHAPTER 22 Armageddon – Part 2

Fresia ran at breakneck speed, as to get away from her pain, not caring where she was going. She found herself in the arena and looking around her she saw the technician's hole, directly under the central staircases. The place was peaceful and isolated, with a dimly light coming from the ring. Nobody would have disturbed her there and she had a desperate need to be alone to work out what had just happened. She sat down on a huge speaker, between two columns, her back against the wall. She hugged her legs, putting his head on her knees.

Mark's words were echoing in her head, booming threateningly, like a dark pain. He had called love a stupidity with such contempt that she still had goose-flesh. In that very moment all her hopes, her dreams about a future together, the illusion to hear him tell her that he loved her…. everything died in that moment. She was there, at the locker room, to inform Mark that she was going at the bar with Jason. She had arrived at the door just in time to hear him spit on her feelings. And hearing him say that he couldn't care less about her had really destroyed her.

I could replace her tomorrow if I wanted it, were the words pronounced by the mouth of the man she loved more of her life. That life had lost every purpose now.

Fresia called herself a stupid, how could a plain girl like her, a simple hairdresser, make a man like Mark Calaway fall in love with her? It was her fault, she knew she was gambling when she accepted his "indecent proposal"; nothing could guarantee a happy ending. But she had always been a romantic at heart and believed that even fairy tales had a little truth in them. Well, it didn't work. Now she would have gone through a bad time, trying to find the strength to face the pitiful looks of her friends and coworkers. She had to find a way to see him every day, knowing she couldn't fall asleep and waken up in his arms anymore. Because his words were like a death sentence for their relationship.

Maybe it was better to leave the WWF and find another job. An old friend of hers worked in a model agency in Italy, perhaps she could find a position for Fresia in Milano or in Paris, and she would have been closer to her family in that way. There was time for that anyway, her contract in WWF expired in six months, she had all the time to plan her return in Italy.

I'm a loser – she thought shaking her head. Then, after a little reflection, she changed her mind. No, she wasn't a loser. She had lived a dream, lasted more than three mouths and she had been happy, more than ever. Love was never in vain, she said to herself. But she had no intention of letting Mark walk on her in the name of love. She had to talk to Mark, she had to face him… But not tonight.

While Fresia was there, trying to decide what to do now, she heard Jason calling her name.

"I'm here" she answered. She stood up and went out of her hiding place to meet her friend, who appeared more upset than her.

"Darling, I've looked for you everywhere. How are you feeling?" he asked, breathless.

"What do you think? I'm feeling violated, as if someone had torn down a part of me" she answered, hugging Jason.

"What are you going to do now? – he asked, rocking her – You should talk to him, you know? Making things clear before taking a decision".

"I know Jason, but tonight I really can't – she whimpered – The way I'm feeling now I would just throw myself at his feet, begging him not to leave me".

"Oh no, I won't allow it" Jason declared firmly, pulling away from the hug and taking the situation in his hands.

"I'll tell you what to do – he sentenced – I'll call my hotel booking a room for you, or you can stay with me, if you want. Right now we are going to your hotel to take all your stuff".

With that said, he took her hand heading for the back door of the arena.

"The night will help you to find the right way out of this mess… After a good mug of tea, of course" he concluded.

Fresia felt immediately better. Jason was right. She just hoped to not meet Mark while she was in their hotel room, gathering her things. Fresia and Jason got in Jason's rental, driving to Fresia's hotel. It wasn't the same hotel of Jason, because he wanted to be free, in case he decided to share private moments with someone, far from the discriminating looks of his colleague. He took his cell and booked a room at his hotel for Fresia, who wanted to be alone. They arrived at Fresia and Mark's room with no snags. She took her luggage and started to fill it quickly and efficiently. Ten minutes later she zipped up the trolley and went out without turning back. She didn't want to have the vision of an empty room, as the last memory of their life together.

Within a half-hour they arrived at Jason hotel. Fresia picked up her key and Jason walked her to her door.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked attentive.

"No, thank you. I need to relax and think. I always do it better when I'm alone" she said with trembling voice.

"Do you want to eat something?" he insisted

"Now I'm not hungry. Maybe I will ask later for room service" she said, practically dismissing him.

"If you need me, I'm in the room at the end of the corridor" he informed kissing her forehead, before going to his room.

Fresia thanked him again and then entered her room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it, her eyes closed and her breath deep. She was alone. She started to unpack, just to get ready for the night. She took out from the trolley two shirts too, because the permanence in the luggage would have creased them. She undressed and went in the bathroom to shower. It was cold in that part of the Usa, and Fresia wore her thick wool PJs with matching robe and wool knee socks. Then she went in the kitchenette and put the kettle on the stove.

All those simple activities were relaxing her and the heels in her brain started to function correctly again. The truth hit her like a slap: Mark didn't love her. She had no doubts about it, no more maybe, no more perhaps. She could entrust his life to him and Mark didn't know what to do with it. Sipping her hot tea Fresia told herself that the next day she would have talked to Mark, telling him that it was over.

She put the mug in the sink and took off the robe, going to the bed. She slipped under the quilt and turned on the TV, but she couldn't focus anything. With eyes full of tears, Fresia remembered that she had sworn not to cry for a man anymore; but when the sobs started to gush out of her chest, she turned on a side pouring her heart out. This time she would have made an exception.

Mark arrived at the hotel two minutes after Fresia and Jason had left. He marched towards their rooms and when he was there, the empty closet and drawers made him understand that his worst premonition had come true. Probably he could have intercepted her but Glen made him lose precious time with his sermon. He sat on the bed with his forearms on the knees. What the hell had happened? He remembered the events of the last hour and realized that in a short period of time his life had turned upside down. And it was his fault. The guys in the locker room were blabbing incessantly about love, Christmas and Mark had felt…. Involved. So he panicked.

He had known those monsters for years and now they had become lambs in the hands of their shepherdesses and Mark had the impression that to others eyes he looked just like another lamb…. This thing annoyed him a lot, he didn't want to be tamed. A sense of suffocation had took him and Mark reacted taking refuge behind his preferred armor, the alter ego that everybody knows in the ring, The Undertaker. He had silenced all his coworkers with curt and cruel words, directed just to the presents anyway. A declaration of independence and male strength.

He didn't expect for Fresia to be there, behind his back, hearing the sharp words he pronounced with so much annoyance. Damn him and his bad luck. He would never have forgotten the look in her eyes. Amazement, disbelief, pain. She didn't even say a word, she just had turned around, running away. Mark wanted to follow her, talk to her, explaining that it was just a façade for those stupid guys who were always teasing him, but he had been caught unawares, freezing on the spot.

All the guys in the locker room, after the first moments of disconcert, started to criticize him furiously. Even Kurt Angle, who was the worst "couldn't-care-less" kind of guy Mark had ever known, looked at him shaking his head, then he walked out of the room saying:

"You don't deserve a girl like that".

Paul, Dwayne and Glen had literally attacked him, making him feel even more of a worm of what he already was feeling. Obviously his features didn't show anything, but he had felt like an asshole. His friends were right, he was a fool. The sense of guilt that was tormenting him since a few days, for his decision to not invite Fresia to go home for Christmas with him, had played a bad trick at his mind and he reacted like a pissed off T-Rex.

The truth was that Fresia never tried to tame him, she didn't expect rings or marriage's proposals, she never asked him to not going out with his bike for hours like he loved to do, nor had kept him to spend time with his bikers buddies playing cards. Fresia had done nothing but love him and in exchange she only asked respect. Sadly today he had denied her even that request.

He remembered Glen's words: You're an idiot, Mark and will see it the moment you'll lose the only thing you had ever cared for.

Glen was right, he had to talk to Fresia. Mark took the cell and dialed her number, but one more time the metallic voice of the answering machine was the only answer he got. He left the hundredth message, praying her to call him back.

The news about what had happened in the male locker room had gone round the WWF in less than an hour. Glen, Paul and Dwayne told it to Jessie, Stephanie, Cindy and Kevin, who in turn told it to Laura and Nora. Kurt Angle, for his part, questioned by the ones who had heard Mark's yells, told everything to Steve Williams and his wife Debra, to his masseur and the guys who were building the steel cage in the ring.. Like wildfire, the gossip spread homogeneously, from the cleaners to the boss of WWF, Vince McMahon. Everybody agreed that Mark Calaway was a definitive imbecile.

The girls met in Stephanie's office, worried to death. They just could imagine how their friend was suffering in that moment. They tried to call her, to make sure she was fine.

Fresia didn't have much time to cry and feel sorry for herself. Mark tried to contact her a few times, but she let the answering machine on. He was asking to call him back, that they had to talk. His tone went from imploring to demanding as she persisted in her silence.

"Squirrel, call me immediately, or the next time I'll see you, I will treat you like the capricious child that you are and you won't be able to sit for at least a week" was his last message.

Fresia snorted, annoyed and incredulous. Now it was all her fault? Then how he dared using the Undertaker voice to intimidate her? Stupid!

Then she received the call of the international courier, who informed her that the items she had ordered in Italy had arrived. The Christmas gifts! With all that happened she completely forgot about it. She asked to the delivery office to carry everything at the arena's address, the next morning at 10 o'clock. In that way she could have the time to hide the packages in the hair area, to present them to her friends before the show. She would have decided later what to do with Mark's jacket.

Then Stephanie called. She was with the girls and had put the phone on loudspeaker.

"We know what happened. How are you honey?"

"Where are you? Wanna have some company?"

"Tell us everything, darling"

"Do you want us to kill him for you?"

The voices reached Fresia almost like a chorus, and she got comfortable on the pillows, preparing to a long phone-call. She told them in detail the events of the day; she felt destroyed and upset, but was trying to react; no, she didn't want to see anyone at the moment, she needed to be alone; no, thanks, there was no need to kill Mark, she had to talk to him before and after that maybe she would have been the one to assassinate him. The girls supported and encouraged her and when Fresia hung up, an hour later, she felt stronger. There was just one thing left, before going to bed. She dialed Mark's number and he answered at the first ring.

"Squirrel, where are you?" he asked, as if he was anxious

"I'm in another hotel Mark"

"Tell me which one, I'll come to get you" he said, ready to go.

"No"

"No? Did you just say no to me? I need to talk to you, immediately"

"In fact I called you for that, we need to talk but in this very moment I don't feel like seeing you" Fresia answered, cursing herself for her trembling voice.

There was a pause, then Mark sighed in defeat.

"When? Tomorrow at breakfast?"

"I'll see you at 11 am at the arena. I will be in my room"

"All right, I'll wait till tomorrow… but I will miss you tonight, Squirrel" he said in a murmur.

Fresia shuddered and couldn't answer immediately. That caressing voice…. How could he be so hypocrite? Tears started to fall again and Fresia hoped that he didn't notice it.

"My name is Fresia" she said with all the dignity she could gather. Then shut the phone and turned off the light.

She prepared herself to a long night…. And the next day would have been a worse day, if possible.