Chapter 10
Amber walked through the gym doors and stopped. She hated having to work out in the same gym as Seth and the guys, but this was the one gym in the city they had an arrangement with. This was the gym she knew from previous tours.
Summer Rae gave her a quick nod as she walked toward the treadmills. She'd given Amber a ride since Kaitlyn had other plans. Amber spotted Seth jumping rope and decided to start on the other side of the room. She'd just finished stretching when a familiar voice had her pulling up. "I was wondering if I had the plague or something," Lexi said.
With a smile, Amber turned to face her friend. "Hey girl." She wrapped Lexi in a hug. "You don't have the plague. I saw how you got mobbed in the locker room yesterday and I just wanted to give you time to get settled back in."
"Well I'm settled," Lexi replied as she pushed to arms length and Amber tried not to squirm under her friend's assessing gaze. .
"It's really good to see you."
"You too," Lexi fingered Amber's hair. "What's with the goth look?"
Amber's smile slid into a frown. Why did everyone seem to hate her hair? "What? You don't like it?"
Lexi arched a brow. "I didn't say that. I'm just curious as to why you felt the need to change your look."
Amber thought that Lexi of all people would have understood her situation, but now she was beginning to wonder. She shrugged and turned back toward the stair climber. "Management wanted me to take my character in a new direction. So that's what I'm doing."
Lexi climbed onto the machine next to her. "Your character, huh? Does your new character also include finding all new friends, because according to the guys that's what you seem to be doing."
Amber cut a look in Lexi's direction as she started her work out. So the guys were feeding her friend with misinformation. She should have known that they'd make the situation look one sided, as if all of this was her fault. It was time she clued Lexi in on what was really going on. "Management wants a division between Dean and myself and the rest of the guys. They said it's better for the storyline."
"Really," Lexi arched a brow as she glanced over her shoulder to where Dean currently spotted Roman while he lifted weights. "Seems to me Dean is still involved with the guys."
Amber shot a brief glance toward the guys, then turned back to her machine. She could admit that it irritated her to see Dean blatantly disregarding management's orders. Especially when she didn't have that luxury. They hadn't threatened Dean's career and she'd bet that until they did he'd keep right on breaking the rules. "Dean doesn't care what management thinks."
"And you do?" Lexi challenged.
"I better if I want to keep my job," Amber replied and was a little shocked to hear the resentment in her own voice. .
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Amber chewed on her lip for a minute. She'd decided Lexi needed to know her side of the situation, but did she really want to pull her friend into this nightmare by telling her everything? At this point she'd already opened the door and Lexi was the kind of person who would keep prodding until Amber told her. Better to get it over with now. "I mean I was told to play along or I'm fired."
Lexi immediately slowed on the machine as she arched a brow. "You're kidding?"
"No I'm not kidding," Amber replied as a newfound resentment began to build. "I play along and do exactly what management wants or they'll replace me."
Lexi stepped off the climber and moved next Amber's machine. "So this playing along for management included breaking up with Seth?"
Amber felt her frown return. "Please understand that I didn't want to hurt him, but I can't lose my job, Lexi." She shook her head. "I'm not you. I'm not a legacy. I don't have clout. I'm nothing special."
"Who told you, you were nothing special," Lexi argued. "You've been a member of the Shield for the last year and a half. You've been half of a tag team that has constantly kicked ass in the Diva's division."
"Yes, with you making over eighty percent of our wins with either a pin or submission," Amber corrected. "I might have been there, but you're the one who closed the deals. I need to prove to management that I can be something special on my own."
"And you think you're going to accomplish that by being arm candy for Dean?" Lexi shot back.
"Lexi-" Why couldn't Lexi see this from her point of view? It was as if she had a choice in the matter.
"No." Lexi shook her head as she hit the off button on Amber's climber. "You're selling yourself short with this storyline, Amber."
Frustrated by her friend's inability to see her side of the situation, Amber stepped down. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean if you continue with this storyline, nobody is going to take you seriously." Lexi said.
"Oh really and how do you know that?" Damn! She hadn't meant to angle her hands on her hips. Even if she was being defensive she didn't want to look like she was being defensive.
"How do I know?" Lexi challenged. "Look at Rosa. Look at Summer Rae. Go back a few years and look at Nicole Bass, Cherry, and Marlena. When they did get in the ring they weren't taken all that seriously. Is that what you want, Amber? To be known as eye candy who can kinda wrestle?"
"It doesn't have to be that way," Amber shot back. "There have been some valets who ended up being great wrestlers. Look at Chyna. Look at Trish Stratus. Look at Lita." As soon as the words left her mouth Amber regretted it. How could she have forgotten what Lita did to Lexi?
She saw the flash of pain that lit in Lexi's eyes and her guilt spiked. "Oh, God Lexi, I'm so sorry."
Lexi shook her head. "No, it's okay. That's was a long time ago." Her gaze traveled around the room and stopped on Roman. For a moment she simply watched him and Amber couldn't help but wonder what going through her friend's mind.
"Lexi?" Amber whispered. "I wasn't thinking. I am really sorry."
Slowly she looked back and Amber noted that the pain was now gone. "It's all good. When my past pops up like that, I just have to take a moment to remind myself of what I have now." She raked a hand through her hair. "My therapist taught me that trick." She paused for a moment and simply looked at Amber with those assessing eyes. "And the point I was trying to make to you was that you have the skills and to potential to be a top Diva. Do you really want to settle for being known as a valet first and a wrestler second?"
Amber shrugged. "What can I do? This keeps me in the spotlight. Even if the fans hate me right now, at least I'm relevant. My wrestling skills are lacking. I don't have a big finisher like Roman's spear or Dean's DDT or even your sharpshooter," Amber admitted.
"You can change that," Lexi encouraged. "You have the power, Amber. Take it back from management and set your own destiny."
"But it's not what they want."
"Who cares if it's not what they want?" Lexi replied. "Management isn't always right and you have to know when to step up and challenge their authority." She paused and raised a brow at Amber. "Ask yourself this question, Amber. Are you happy?"
Without thinking she turned to look at Seth and felt the lump form in her throat. No she wasn't happy. She wanted Seth back. She wanted how everything was, when she and Lexi were a tag team and they were part of the most dominate stable in wrestling. "My feelings don't matter right now," she finally replied on a sigh.
Lexi frowned. "I'm really sorry to hear that, because I can tell you right now, until they do, management is just going to keep using you. There's a difference between working a shitty storyline you don't like and ruining your life and career. Right now you're doing the latter and until you're willing to admit that fact I can't help you."
"I never asked for your help," Amber shot back, feeling a little defensive at her friend's tone.
"No, you didn't," Lexi replied then pointed toward the guys. "But Seth did. Even after you broke his heart, he's still worried about you." She looked back at Amber, her eyes now filled with resolved. "It won't always be that way, you know. Eventually he'll get over his broken heart and he'll find someone else. Then he'll have the career and love and you, my friend, you'll be nothing more than a distance memory of what once was."