Helms residence
Hollywood Hills, California
29th May, 2020
When David Helms stepped back into the ring officially at Day of Infamy, it was fair to say that he wasn’t sure what exactly he should expect. The physicality was never in question, he was as fit then as the day he actually had what he thought was his last match. His training levels hadn’t dropped even an iota despite the call of retirement; this had been his routine for so long, he’d been doing this for so many years, that it was basically habitual now and he wasn’t sure he could stop if he tried. Maybe that was a metaphor for his return to the ring, or maybe it just spoke volumes of him having an addictive personality, at least to some degree anyway… but it wasn’t the physical aspect of the wrestling business he was concerned about. That hadn’t been a concern at all when he and Lucas first started to scheme their return as those loveable rascals, El Lucho Grande and El Lucho Venti. It was everything else he was unsure about. How much had the business changed while he was away, maybe his physical fitness had remained top level but what if his wrestling style was outdated. What if emphasis lay elsewhere from where it had been when he was last active? He was sure it hadn’t, and it wasn’t as if he had stepped away from the business entirely given he had continued to train students at AnteUp and had also had his stink as general manager of the UWA too, but there were still plenty of questions that he wouldn’t have the answers to until he threw himself in at the deep end and it was a scary time for David, even if he wouldn’t have admitted that to anyone at the time. But he found that it was like putting on that old sweater that’s filled with holes and pulled out to twice the original size but that you just can’t stand to get rid of. You put it on and it feels comfy, it’s comforting. That was pro-wrestling for David. From bell to bell, it was where he was alive and forgot about the troubles, forgot about his age, his worries. His eye was locked firmly on the prize, grabbing that victory and putting on a show, and that freedom was important to him, more than he cared to admit.
But as he returned, while he wasn’t exactly pulling up many trees, aside from his Trio’s tournament victory with Ace Marshall and Glory Braddock, he realised that his return wasn’t something that he should have ever questioned, because his return to the ring was a case of hand in glove. While the business passes some by, David found that there was a David Helms shaped hole that his return had finally filled. It may not be a hole near the top of the industry anymore, like it had been once upon a time, but he knew how hard he would have to work to reach those levels again someday and he was prepared for it if the chance did come along. But if it didn’t, he was happy just knowing he was doing what he loved, what he truly believed he was born to do almost forty years earlier. His calling, for want of a better explanation, and he found that he fit in SCW still like a case of hand in glove. The only thing that he had to ensure was that he didn’t allow his return to cloud his judgement where his priorities were concerned. He loved the business, but he loved his family more, and just as was the case in his last run, they were still his number one priority in life and that had to remain the case, regardless of what problems ‘work’ may throw up.
That had been tested somewhat as of late, he had to admit. The issues with Tommy had driven a wedge straight down the middle of what he saw as his family at one time, and despite his anger at his former friend, a part of him still felt like he had lost a brother during this. He and Tommy had been way more than friends, what with the wars they had fought alongside each other, both inside and outside of the ring… but despite the gut wrenching feeling of loss that he definitely had, he also knew that he had made the right decision by choosing family over ‘family’, when all was said and done, and it was Tommy who had forced him to make that decision, and if he didn’t like it then it wasn’t any of David’s concern unless he pushed the issue. The problem was, that had already happened, and more than once in recent weeks. He and Tommy had physically come to blows several times to the point where David was without any doubts that they were destined to meet inside of the ring at some point in the near future… what form that match came in was something that he couldn’t predict obviously, be it tag team action or singles, but he had no doubts over the fact that with the trajectory they were on, a real fight between the two was inevitable. And with the anger that had started to replace the love his had for his fallen brother, David wasn’t just fine with that but had practically demanded it. And whether the tag titles were involved, whether it was going to be a tag match with Regan by his side and Plastic Face by Tommy’s or whether it was just him and Tommy in that ring, he only had one plan and on plan alone. He was going to beat some fucking respect into the guy he had once called a brother and make sure he knew damn well that he had fucked up by forcing David to make a choice between him and Regan. Because it was always Regan and it would always be Regan! And whether Tommy handled that well or not was none of David’s fucking concern…
“You’re dressed already?” Regan said as she walked into the kitchen, stifling a yawn, to find David drinking a mug of coffee at the kitchen island. Their schedule was a bit of a mess, all things considered, thanks to it being pay per view week in SCW. They had set off home the same night as the show, flying from Baltimore to LAX in order to get some time at home before Taking Hold of the Flame on the Sunday, which would include another flight to his home state of New Jersey sometime Saturday, and David had decided not to go to bed when they got back, because it was so late that it was actually early and it seemed counter productive. He hoped the plan would turn out to be a foolproof method of ensuring he slept like a baby when he crawled under the sheets on Thursday night, but despite the fact that Regan ensured he got some extra cardio in too, he was still staring at the ceiling when the clock ticked over to 4am and by half past he decided to drag his ass out of bed and concentrate of keeping himself awake instead of trying to concentrate on the opposite. The coffee he was nursing when Regan entered the room wasn’t the first of the day, let’s put it that way. “I wondered where you’d gone when I woke up and you weren’t there, thought maybe you’d gone to pee, but the bathroom door was open and the light was out, so I got up. Everything okay?” she asked as she stepped behind her husband and ran a hand across his chest while leaning her chin on his shoulder.
“Just some trouble sleeping babe,” he told her as he reached up to grab her hand that was on his chest. “Spent a few hours staring at the ceiling before giving it up as a bad job and getting up. I got dressed out on the landing so I didn’t wake you.”
Regan gave his hand a squeeze before reaching over to grab the mug that sat in front of him and she brought it up over his shoulder to take a sip before screwing her face up. “Christ, how much sugar?” she asked as she quickly reached over to put it back down on the island again.
“Serves you right for stealing my coffee,” David said with a smirk as he turned the mug around to grab the handle so he could take another sip. He smacked his lips, satisfied, as he put the mug back down again. “But, with me not sleeping since Tuesday night, I figured I’d need it. Was tempted to chase it down with a Red Bull, but after three of these, I--”
“Jesus, that’s your third?!” Regan asked as she grabbed a mug from the cupboard. “Dave, I know you got the all clear with your heart years back, but babe you need to be careful with that shit!” she chided her husband as she set about fixing her own coffee with a far more sensible amount of sugar in it. “Last thing we want is your heart going ‘bang’, right?”
Despite his sleep deprived self, David couldn’t help laughing at the joke. It was terrible, but he found it funny regardless. “They say it’s better to go out with one,” he said, taking one last gulp of his drink before getting up to take the mug to the sink. “But much as I love the free standup comedy babe, I need to get going. Want to swing by the gym before classes start rolling in; Matty was installing some new alypticals yesterday and I need to make sure they’re good to go.”
“You bust your ass too much at that place, babe.” Regan told him as she poured cream into her mug and leant back against the kitchen counter to look at her husband. “I know how much it means to you, but seriously, you have staff for a reason…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” David told his wife as he walked over to her and gave her a kiss goodbye. “But if I left it to Matty, the place would burn to the ground, you know that…”
Grinning, she nodded her head in agreement. “Fair point… but you’ve got more than just Matty working there, babe. Or heaven forbid, Tommy could put some fucking work in for once…”
The name hung in the air between them for a moment, and Dave’s fist clenched up into a ball in his pocket without him meaning to do it. He only noticed when his keys dug into the soft flesh of his palm and he released them. “He’s been keeping away,” David said, as if this served as an explanation for Tommy’s absence since their issues surfaced. It wasn’t, but Regan didn’t push the issue. “Besides, I’m kind of glad. I don’t want the students and people working out to suffer because Tommy’s ego is larger than his level of talent…”
Regan’s eyes widened a little at the shot but just nodded. “Okay,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee before placing it back down on the kitchen counter. “Just make sure you don’t get in over your head before the pay per view. One of us has a Flame to grab hold of on Sunday.”
He shot his wife a grin and nodded his head in promise that he’d take it easy before leaving the kitchen. It was still early, but he had a ninety minute drive ahead of him to get to Santa Barbara, and just as he did every day as he set off for the school, he wished he hadn’t moved to Santa Barbara when he first left Raleigh to start again somewhere new. It made the morning commute a pain in the ass to say the least. He’d pondered a second school a little closer to home already, but with everything going on with him and Tommy, he’d be damned if he was going to bring up new business ventures any time soon. And in truth, there were times he enjoyed the drive, if traffic wasn’t a complete pain in the hole; it gave him time to think on things, time to mull over ideas or think on plans… lately, the drive had been about nothing but trying to hold things together for the sake of the students at the school. He was thankful for that reason that Tommy wasn’t showing his face as often as he once did, though David was sure it was more to do with his time being dedicated to the new club Tommy was opening than not wanting to run into him. A happy byproduct maybe. The drive was without incident thankfully and he parked in the spot reserved for him at the side of the building before heading inside. There was no class yet as they didn’t start for another forty or so minutes by the time he arrived, but Matty Stone and Brittany Lohan were both there setting up for the first class of the day and there were one or two people working out in the back of the room. He waved as one of the gym goers called out to him and Britt walked towards the ropes as Matty slid from the ring to meet him.
“Surprised you’re here brah,” the Bostonian said as he slapped hands with his friend. “Figured with it being pay per view week that you’d be busy packing,” he added as he brushed sweat-soaked hair from his face and shot his friend a grin.
“With the new machines, I figured I’d better check in,” Dave explained as Brittany climbed from the ring and joined them. “They live up to the hype that the supplier promised?”
“They seem to, yeah…” Matty said, turning to look over at the new machines.One of the customers that was there to workout had just got on one of the alypticals that they’d had delivered and was putting it through it’s paces. “Quiet as a fucking mouse, brah. Put them through a bit of a stress test last night, me for the weight and Aaron came by to test them to their speed limits. Ain’t no way this tubby Bostonian is running quick enough for that,” he added, slapping himself on the belly as he laughed.
“As long as it wasn’t bullshit to shift some stock, it’s all good,” Dave said, turning back to look at Matty and Britt. “Last thing we want is to think we have the latest kit and then it turns out it’s from three years ago and the supplier had surplus that they wanted rid of.”
“I did a little googling and they seem perfectly legitimate,” Brittany said, as David turned to look at her. “Gold’s just installed the same model in their gyms according to a twitter post and I saw a couple other posts about them from other companies. I think it’s a solid investment.”
“Let’s hope so, because I told the supplier we’d talk about the treadmills and some of the weight machines if it worked out,” David told them, grinning. “Last thing I want is some asshole raving about a gentleman’s agreement if it turns out we bought a load of crap.”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll know in a couple of days, but I think it seems like a solid investment,” Brittany reassured him. “I gave one of them a go last night, much smoother than the old machines, and like Matty said, much quieter too. Just need to make sure they hold up to the constant use that they’ll get.”
“Alright,” Dave said, nodding. “Well, I trust your judgement, guys. If you say they’re legit then I’ve no reason to doubt it. I’ll let you get back to setting things up, I’ll be in the office if you need me for anything; I have the warranty certificates to fill out for the new machines, may as well get that done while I’m here. I’m not teaching until this afternoon, right?”
His schedule was a little different now that he was back, and a lot of things had been changed to accommodate the fact that Tommy wasn’t really coming around the place much anymore. Classes had to be covered, and duties spread out across the staffing pool. He had taken on as many new classes as he could, but had to leave room to deal with the paperwork too. “Yeah, the 1pm class,” Matty confirmed and David nodded his head, thankful.
“Okay cool,” Helms said, thankful that he had got the schedule right. It wouldn’t be the first time he made a mistake with all the changes, if he had got it wrong. “Alright, I’ll be upstairs if you need me then.”
“Have fun,” Brittany said with a smirk before turning back to the ring to finish up with what she and Matty had been doing.
Matty smirked and patted Helms on the shoulder before following suit, leaving David to make his way upstairs. The office was empty - no surprise there then - when he walked in, but the computer was at least switched on and the AnteUp logo was bouncing around the screen until he shook the mouse to wake it up. He tapped in his login details and after a second or two the desktop appeared and he went to his emails. He knew that the sales invoice for the new machines included a link for the online warranty registration and while it wasn’t exactly the most exciting of work, the boring stuff had to be done. Especially now he seemed to be the only one who gave enough of a fuck to actually do it! There were plenty of other admin type jobs that needed doing and David threw himself into his work, filling out the paperwork for the new machines and working on schedules, and all the while, he wondered if maybe Regan was right about AnteUp and how it may be time to consider hiring someone to do this side of things now that both he and his asshole business partner were both wrestling again. When he was retired, he didn’t mind doing the donkey work, sorting through the boring paperwork side of things and dealing with the business issues that cropped up… but now that he was back in the ring himself, why should he do double the work on top of his return to the ring?! That didn’t seem fair, without even taking into consideration the fact that Tommy had all but disappeared where AnteUp’s schedule was concerned. He seemed to care more about his new business venture, the club he was trying to open up, than he did about AnteUp anymore… if that wasn’t the perfect metaphor for their friendship, Dave didn’t know what could beat it. But unlike his ‘friend’, David Helms cared about the business they had built, not just because he wanted it to continue to be successful, but because he cared about the work they did. They were helping others, helping them chase their dreams or live their lives to the full extent possible. It was worth the heavy amount of time he invested, beyond what was actually necessary.
He was so engrossed in the work he was doing that he didn’t hear the door to the office open and wouldn’t have realised it had happened if it wasn’t for the voice of the person that had entered the room speaking out and almost making him jump in the process. “Wondered what that stench was, as I was walking up the stairs,” Tommy Valentine said as Dave turned in his seat to look towards the doorway, where his business partner and former friend stood, a look of disgust on his face. “It’s the smell of betrayal… shouldn’t have realised that anyway, this isn’t our first rodeo, is it brosef?” he asked, ice forming on his words as he virtually spatt the last word towards Dave, heavy emphasis making it sarcastic rather than an honest description.
“Go fuck yourself bro,” David replied calmly as he turned back to face the computer.
By the door, Tommy scoffed. “That’s rich,” he snarled, shaking his head as he walked into the room and over towards the closer of the two desks that sat inside of it to lean on the edge of it. “You turn your back on me, disown me, do nothing but spread lies about me in your promos and make it your business to try and go for me at every turn at the shows and now you’re telling me to go fuck myself?” he asked, shaking his head and actually laughing, as if it was all some funny joke. “If I didn’t know better from years of sharing a locker room with you man, I’d say you had a hell of a set of balls on you…”
David laughed. Not that he thought it was funny and there was no humor in his laugh as he did it, but it just came out. This whole situation was laughable, in such an incredibly sad way. “Finally decided to show your fucking face, huh?” he asked, his eyes still trained on the screen rather than looking at the man that he had no real desire to be talking to. “Figured you’d forgot the place even existed by this point… you know, like you forget just how much people have done for you as soon as a new piece of skirt turns up?” he added, not even bothering to hide his contempt for Kandis any longer.
“Again, that’s rich, coming from the douchebag who was fucking Zoe Sperling for months while pretending to be the saviour of SCW,” Tommy shot back at him, a twisted grin plastered across his face. “But that’s always been your problem, hasn’t it Dave? Do as I say, not as I do, that’s your attitude… and let me tell you man, it’s not just worn thin, it’s worn through by this point.”
David nodded his head. He didn’t agree obviously, that wasn’t why he was nodding. He just wanted to give Tommy the impression that he was actually taking on board what he was saying. Let him stand on his soap box and bitch if he wanted, he didn’t care anymore. He was entitled to his opinion but that didn’t mean it had any merit, just because he believed it. “Alright bro, cool talk…” Dave said, attempting to make sure Tommy had no doubts about the fact that he didn’t plan to indulge him any further. “But I think we’re done here,” he added as he signed off on what he was doing and then logged off of the computer. He wasn’t going to sit there and let Tommy talk crap to him yet again, when he could do literally anything else instead. Even watching a ten hour loop of Bree promo’s would be better than this. Standing up, Dave headed straight for the door, but as he neared, Tommy turned to face him and the grin on his face was impossible to miss.
“Running away again, huh?” Tommy asked, continuing to smirk. “I mean, why not bro, it’s one of the greatest hits at this point, isn’t it? Nothing like going back to the well...”
David froze by the door, and he knew he should just keep walking, that he shouldn’t let the world’s biggest jerk drag him down to his level, but he didn’t. Tommy knew how to get under his skin. Of course he would, they’d known each other long enough to know all the triggers, hadn’t they? Which is probably why his own filter failed when he spoke. “Isn’t that what guys in West Hollywood call Kandis’ vagina?” he asked, knowing that it was a cheap shot, but physically unable to stop himself; Tommy was grating on his last nerve, in part no doubt down to the fact that he was aware that Tommy’s statement was at least partially accurate, touched a nerve so to speak, but there was also more to it. With everything that had gone on between the two of them over the last few weeks, with everything between Tommy and Regan that had gone on slightly longer… well, he had chosen a side, hadn’t he? And the bridge had already been burned weeks earlier when David made that choice.
“The fuck did you just say?” Tommy asked, standing tall now. Until that point, it had been more like a game for him, goad David and have some fun doing so… but now David had clearly overstepped the mark and Tommy was pissed.
Dave didn’t back down, despite all common sense saying he should, instead turning back to look at his ‘friend’ with a malicious smile on his face. “Sorry bro, did I stutter?” He asked, taking a step back towards Tommy as he cleared his throat. “I said… that the male population of the West Hollywood area, that's a place east of here where Kandis lives... all refer to her female genitalia... as the well... because they go back to it on--”
“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE TALK ABOUT HER THAT WAY!” Tommy yelled, spittle flying from his peeled back lips as he snarled at David like a wolf about to bite, lunging forward to push David, who stumbled backwards into a filing cabinet behind him, the metaling bang echoing in the relatively quiet gym. “SAY IT AGAIN DAVE, I FUCKING DARE YOU!” he continued to yell as David straightened up, still smirking, which only served to further annoy Tommy, who was angry enough already!
“And you’ll do what, push me again?” David said, egging Tommy on now. “Well go right ahead dude, if it makes you feel better about half the guys in the city going where you now--” he managed before this time Tommy swung for him, connecting the punch that once again sent David flying back into the filing cabinet and he knew as soon as the punch connected that Tommy had split his lip, he actually heard it split before the room was filled with the metallic bang of his back once again connected with the cabinet behind him. He brought the back of his hand up to touch against his lip and he felt the sting of an open cut before he saw the blood on his hand as he held it back to examine it. But his lips were still twisted in a sinister smirk as he actually let out a laugh. “Dunno where you’ve been doing your training as of late bro, but your punches are going soft…” David said, his words designed to mock Tommy more than make sense; the punch Tommy threw had split his lip, he obviously wasn’t going soft as David suggested, but he was trying to goad Tommy now and it didn’t matter if what he said was making sense or not as far as David was concerned. “Wanna try again? Can have the second one free too, but after that it’s fair game…”
Tommy pointed a finger at David, threateningly. “You think you’re hot shit, huh brosef?” He asked, scoffing. “Funny, but I don’t see anything since you returned that shows me you haven’t lost every advantage you once had inside of that fucking ring. Aside from winning Trio’s, where Ace and Glory both carried your ass, you’ve fucked up at nearly every step of the way!”
“That’s your angle?” David said, laughing again. “Dude, I told you Kandis has been passed around more than a doobie at a Grateful Dead concert and you critique my career? Wow…” he said, shaking his head. And while his actions were indefensible, for David, he had lost control now. He was tired of attempting to keep the peace, of holding back. Yes, he’d gone after Tommy a couple times at shows but it was only because Tommy had done something first and he felt like he had to step in. But this… this was different. This argument had been brewing for some time and now his words were designed just to hurt his former friend. To antagonise him and push him into snapping. If this was going to happen, Tommy had already thrown the first punch. David would give him the second. The third wouldn’t follow suit. “Sure, maybe my track record since returning hasn’t been all that hot, but we both know I’m still better than you so what’s that say about your skills these days, huh?” he asked, laughing in Tommy’s face again.
“Coming from the guy who went from Hall of Famer to his wife’s bitch in under four months?” Tommy spat back, laughing himself before putting on a horrible feminine, fake english accent that was both nothing like Regan and barely recognisable as an english accent. “Oh look at me, I’m Regan Helms, I just have to be the centre of attention for the whole universe… now where’s my title shot?! Oh, why am I not a Supreme Champion yet? Why did I blow it and let my partner down when I actually had a shot at the belt?! Ooh, look how many people are pandering to me to help me win the titles, which of my pathetic slaves am I going to choo--” he mocked before Dave’s hands shoving him in the chest cut him off mid sentence and Tommy went flying backwards over the desk behind him, sending the computer monitor and everything else on there crashing to the floor as he went over it.
“Son of a bitch!” Tommy said as he grabbed hold of the edge of the desk and pulled himself to his feet and lunged at David, tackling him into the filing cabinet again, and this time under the weight of both men, the cabinet toppled sideways like a tree being felled as David landed on it with Tommy’s weight on top of him before they rolled to the floor, David on top now as he reared back to punch Tommy. Tommy spotted it coming though and threw David sideways and he rolled into the side of his desk, rolling through into a crouch before springing forward again and this time he tackled Tommy - who was starting to get to his feet - into the office wall, making the picture frames hung to it dance under the impact. Dave went to throw a right hand but Tommy duked sideways and Helms punched the wall, clutching his hand to his chest in pain with his left. Had something broken?! Tommy shoved him from behind and Helms staggered forward, almost falling through the doorway onto the mezzanine beyond but luckily he managed to drag at the door frame with his good hand to stop himself from falling. He turns though, just in time for Tommy to rush him and tackle him, and both men went spilling out onto the mezzanine. “FUCK YOU!” Tommy spat as they both rolled away under the impact of hitting the ground and neither men realised how silent the room below had gone as they both got to their feet and lunged at one another, not locking up like they would in a ring but just unloading on one another. Fists flew, but few of them actually hit the target as both were throwing wildly without actually looking for an opening. It was as far removed from what they both did for a living as possible, more like something you saw on Sunset on a saturday night than what you’d see on tv on a Wednesday night.
“You’re… a… fucking… hypocrite!” David yelled as he tried to punch, strike, swipe and claw at Tommy, looking to maim at this point, not just take him down. “I can’t… say a thing… about Kandis, but Regan is fair… game?!” he bellowed, simultaneously trying to duck blows from Tommy while throw them himself, the end result being that both men looked drunk and unsteady on their feet.
“She fucking started this!” Tommy said as he dodged a big swing from Dave and promptly lost his balance, stumbling back towards one of the weight lifting machines that were on the mezzanine level, but he managed to use that as a grounding point and set his foot against the bolted down support as he pushed off and tackled David, driving him back into the bannister that ran along the edge of the upper floor. The metal didn’t budge, but the heavy glass cracked as David’s back connected with it and if it wasn’t as thick as it was, the two former friends would have gone through it. Instead, David pulled his feet up and used them to push Tommy off of him, and the slightly younger man went skidding away across the floor.
David scrambled away from the glass panel he was leant against and went to run at Tommy but before he could, big arms gripped him around the waist and pulled him around and away. “No you don’t,” Matty Stone said, gripping David in a bear hug that he knew he couldn’t break. He tried to look around over his shoulder and he caught sight of Brittany standing with her arms out in front of Tommy, holding him back too. “Would you get a look at yourselves! You should be fucking ashamed!” the Bostonian barked, his voice making Dave’s ears ring before Matty let go and shoved him towards the stairs, evidently hoping that David would walk straight down them. His ears ringing and his head throbbing from punching the wall, David did not do that however, and he rounded on Matty, pointing at him with his good hand.
“Out of my way bro,” David warned, still pointing but Matty simply folded his arms across his chest.
“Or you’ll do what, hit me too? Fire me? Take a walk, brah. It’s not worth it,” He replied, standing firm even when David stepped towards him. “This ends now,” Matty said before David could respond. “Christ, you’re both grown ass men and you’re acting like children! And in front of a whole class of new students I should fucking add!” he bellowed, gesturing to the floor below, but neither David nor Tommy looked where he was pointing, their eyes locked on one another and shooting not just daggers, but various other weapons upto and including stinger missiles and in David’s case, perhaps as far as geo-therman nuclear missiles! “Just leave!” Matty ordered David, despite knowing he was in no position to do anything.
“Yeah Dave, run away again!” Tommy spat over Brittany’s shoulder, laughing at him. “It’s what you’re fucking good at, isn’t it?! Teach those kids down there the value of a retreat when the odds aren’t in your favour, you fucking pussy!”
David lunged again, but Matty was already there to stop him, shoving him back. “This is pathetic!” Brittany barked, glaring at Tommy as Matty sidestepped to block David’s latest attempt to get at his ex tag partner. “This isn’t the right place for any of this, and that’s coming from me of all people! Jesus, will you both just take a minute and think about the way you’re acting?!”
“Stay out of this Lohan,” Tommy barked at her before snapping his head back around to glare at Dave. “That or pack your shit and get out. Don’t forget who owns this fucking place…”
“Threatening the staff now bro?” David asked, laughing in scorn at him. “That’s about your fucking level. You always were the one with far less class out of the two of us. Dating Kandis only proves that.”
“Coming from the guy who married a raging cunt after his last wife left him because she found some random asshole in a bar more interesting!” Tommy spat and David lunged again. This time he managed to push Matty back a couple steps, surprising comparing the side difference between the two. But Matty found his footing again and stopped Dave from getting any closer. “Pathetic. Even with all the motivation in the world, you’re stuck at the first hurdle. Christ, maybe it’s a good thing I came back today, even if I was only planning on getting something from the safe when I turned up here. If you’re teaching those kids down there, they clearly need someone who knows what they’re doing to step in because we all know you’re only a shadow of your former self, instead of the shadow of Hope you used to claim to be!” he spat, and while David didn’t want to admit it, that one hit him where it hurt. The idea that he wasn’t as good as he used to be didn’t hurt him one bit, he was four years older and with that came a reduction in his speed. That was obvious from Wednesday when he lost out to Jordan Majors because she was that bit quicker than him… but the idea that he wasn’t doing right by the kids who enrolled at AnteUp stung him more than anything that had been said since the argument began. And with it, something snapped inside of him, his mouth running on autopilot now, because the logical part of his brain had clearly switched off.
“You think you can do better? Fine!” David spat at Tommy, a malicious smile spreading across his face. “Then fucking prove it. We’re done, bro. Done. I’m done with you, and everything we’ve built! I’m dissolving the partnership, right here and now. You want to prove you can do better than me with this place, then put your money where your mouth is,” he said, actually laughing a little as he stepped away from Matty, rather than trying to get past him now.
And that in itself was troubling to Matty and Brittany, because in one moment, it was as if a switch had been flipped and the rage had subsided, but it had been replaced with something else and they didn’t like the look of it. “What’s the supposed to me, brah?” Matty asked as David continued to grin. “You can’t mean--”
“It means I’m done,” David shot at Tommy, not even looking at Matty despite the fact it was him who asked the question. “You wanted me to make a choice bro, and I made it. This place, the label, all of it, I’m fucking done with everything. So you better start looking at your finances Tommy, because I’m getting the accountant to go through everything to work out a valuation. Hell, I’ll ask Heath to do the same, maybe ask some of his friends,” he said, nodding at the idea as it came to him. “And once I know how much everything is worth in total, the choice is yours. You either stump up half of that number to buy me out or I’ll sell to anyone who fucking does! Who knows, maybe Blake fancies buying into this place. The AnteUp Experience could be a hell of a branding opportunity,” he said with glee as Tommy lunged for him this time, only for Britt to hold him back.
“FUCK YOU, DAVE!” Tommy yelled over Britt’s shoulder, spittle once again flying from his lips as he yelled and, what turned out to be his soon to be ex business partner as well as ex best friend and tag partner. “FUCK YOU AND YOUR THREATS! I’LL DO IT! I’LL BUY YOU OUT WHATEVER THE FUCKING COST, YOU PRICK!” he yelled in anger, his rage at the mention of Blake no doubt clouding his judgement despite the fact that he and Kandis had already won back the tag titles from them on Wednesday night.
And David simply smiled, nodding his head. “Well, good luck then,” he told Tommy, shrugging. “Something tells me you’re gonna need it though… I mean, I’d hate for this to get in the way of you opening that new club of yours, but hey, you’re resourceful as well as a douche bag, I’m sure you can work something out… and if not, I’m sure I’ll find someone willing. Like I said, maybe I’ll call Blake and give him first refusal. He’s probably got the readies, huh?” he asked, grinning as Tommy tried to get beyond Brittany again, but she stood firm and he couldn’t go anywhere.
Matty took a step forward towards Dave so that he could speak quietly with him, ignoring the yelling that was once again coming from Tommy. “You can’t be serious about this brah,” Matty said, his eyes wide as dinner plates as he tried to process what the fuck was happening in front of him. “Dave, think about what you just said. This place, the record label, The Skillet and the offices in Raleigh, all of it… the plane man, even that… you’re throwing so much away out of spite because you want to piss Tommy off! Surely annoying him isn’t worth that price?!” he said, trying to talk David out of it, but he simply shook his head as he started to back off, heading for the stairs.
“Sorry bro, but my mind’s made up. I can buy another place, I’ll have a hell of a payday coming my way from everything that he has to buy from me if he wants to keep owning it…” He said calmly to Matty before turning to Tommy who was still being held back by Brittany. “YOU HEAR THAT ASSHOLE? MY MIND’S MADE UP!” he spat at Tommy, who continued to try and get to Helms again as Brittany maintained her stance to stop him getting anywhere near him. “Don’t worry about your jobs, he tries to fire you you’ll be able to take him to the fucking cleaners for doing it out of spite. His club will never get to open if that happens… and who knows what the future holds, huh?”
“Dave, just go okay?” Matty told his friend, a hand pressed on his chest as he started to guide him to the stairs. He knew that things weren’t going to calm down while both men were in the building, and he hoped that cooler heads would prevail and Dave would change his mind once he’d had a chance to calm down. “Go… I’ll cover your 1pm class, go for a drive or a run or a beer. Just get out of here, huh? We can talk when you’ve calmed the fuck down,” he added and Dave nodded, before turning to walk down the stairs. He could feel Tommy’s eyes burning a hole in him as he walked down the bottom floor but as he disappeared out of view of his, he came into view of the students on the ground floor instead and every one of them stared at him as he passed.
“Sorry about the interruption guys,” Dave said, casual as ever, as he headed for the door. “Matty and Britt will be down shortly, and we’ll sort something out by way of an apology for your class being disrupted,” he said before bellowing up to the mezzanine above. “Hey Matty, Britt, sort these guys out with some of the branded gear, alright? Some shirts or something,” he said before turning back to the students. “Enjoy the rest of your class,” he told them, smiling, which probably wasn’t a great idea because in true comedic timing, a trickle of blood ran down his chin from his lip as he did so and it probably made him look crazy. He made a hasty exit after that, not even looking up to see if either Matty or Britt had moved into view to acknowledge what he said, and outside the hot air hit him like another one of those punches that he’d taken from Tommy but he made a beeline for his car and quickly jumped in; as he’d spent the morning doing paperwork he’d not even had chance to change out of his jeans yet, so at least he didn’t have to go looking for his keys. That would have made it a far more awkward exit had that been the case.
Ninety minutes later, he walked back through the door at home and heard voices from the kitchen that he recognised immediately. The obvious one was his wife, Regan… but he also recognised Kath’s too. Why was she here? Obviously Dave understood that Jay was going with her from that evening, but he was still in school, it was barely into the afternoon, so it wasn’t as if she came around to pick him up, was it? He didn’t need to catch sight of himself in the hallway mirror to know that it would be a bad idea to head into the kitchen where their voices were coming from but he did and he realised he looked a real mess… much worse than he actually was, in truth. The cut wasn’t big, but it had bled like a champion and he started trying to walk quietly towards the staircase in order to go upstairs and clean up… but Regan had obviously heard the door open and close. “Babe, that you?” she called out from the kitchen as the talking stopped.
“Yeah,” he called back. “Just heading up for a shower, won’t be long” he told her, hoping that would be all that was required of him. He wasn’t that lucky.
“I thought you were teaching this afternoon?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
“Matty’s taking the class,” he called back to her, still trying to walk up the spiral staircase to the upper floor, where he could at least try and make his face more presentable than it was.
“Oh my god, Dave, what the fuck?!” Regan said and Dave realised that she had walked into the hallway just as he’d rounded the staircase enough to give her a perfect view of his face.
Kathryn appeared over her shoulder a right after, obviously jumping up at the reaction and her eyes widened in shock too. “Oh my god, sweetie, what the hell?!” she asked as Dave sighed and let his head drop as he started to walk back down the staircase.
Regan rushed over to her husband and grabbed his chin to lift his head so she could get a better look. “Okay, come with me right now,” she said before grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the kitchen. Kath jumped out of the way to let them pass and Regan led him towards the kitchen counter before opening one of the doors to the wall hanging cupboards.
“I think maybe I should get out of here,” Kath said, sensing that it would be for the best to leave them to it. She didn’t want to intrude on whatever was going on, and she didn’t need an explanation as to what had happened, even if she was concerned about the state of him.
Regan shook her head though. “No, what you can do is grab me the bottle of vodka from the freezer,” Regan said as she pulled a first aid kit down from the cupboard she was rummaging through.
Dave watched as Kathryn nodded and headed for the refrigerator and pulled the smaller door open to look for the bottle as Regan placed the box down on the counter top and popped it open. “I’m not sure drinking is a good idea right now babe,” David said, but Regan only rolled her eyes at him.
“It’s for the cut, you ass,” Regan told him as Kath walked over with the bottle. Regan pulled out some sterile wipes and ripped one from it’s packaging before using it to wipe at the dried blood on his chin. She then grabbed a second and doused it in the vodka that Kath had just unscrewed the cap from. “This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” she said before pressing the cloth against his lip and he hissed through his teeth as the alcohol bit into the raw open skin of his lip. “What the hell happened? And why didn’t you clean this up straight away instead of letting it start to dry up?!” she asked, a mixture of concern and annoyance filling her voice as she continued to clean him up. He reached out for the bottle and despite what he’d said, he took a swig straight from it before placing it back down and allowing Regan to go back to work. “Well?” she asked, once she was happy that the wound was actually clean and she took the bloodied cloth away from his lip.
David looked from Regan to Kath and back again before sighing. He screwed the cap back on the vodka bottle and walked over to the freezer to put it back, both serving as a stalling tactic and removing the temptation of drinking any more of the stuff. The cold freezer felt good on his hand, which had already swollen up from punching the wall earlier and he hoped he hadn’t broken anything as he closed the door of the freezer again and turned to walk over to the chairs at the kitchen island. “Someone decided to finally show their face at the gym,” David said, figuring it would be as much an explanation as was needed. Regan rolled her eyes and groaned, knowing exactly what he meant, but Kathryn looked confused.
“Wait, someone did this on purpose?” she asked, looking shocked. “I mean, I kind of figured it was maybe an accident with a student or something, but someone hit you?”
“I know who it was,” Regan said, thunder in her features as she slammed the first aid kit shut with a snap and turned to walk back to where David sat and her and Kathryn had clearly been sitting before David came home. “Tommy fucking Valentine, right?”
“Wait, Tommy did this?!” Kathryn asked, her mouth hanging open as David nodded his head. “Damn… I mean, I knew you two weren’t on the best terms right now, but to do this?”
“We got into it… words were exchanged and… well, you can see for yourself,” he said, pointing at his face with his bust hand and Regan and Kath both noticed the swelling at the same time. David realised he’d fucked up a couple seconds too late as a fresh roll of thunder settled across Regan’s face again.
“Jesus, Dave!” she said before jumping back up and heading for the refrigerator again. She grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and, grabbing a clean dish towel from a drawer, wrapped the ice pack in it before marching back over to her husband to hand it to him.
He pressed his swollen hand into the towel-wrapped ice pack, former a crater, and let out a sigh of relief as the cooling effect instantly started to help. “Thanks,” he said as Regan sat down across from him and Kathryn joined her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys,” he said but Regan frowned and Kathryn shook her head.
“Don’t be a dumbass,” Regan told him, like he was the biggest moron on the face of the planet. “But what the fuck happened?! I thought he’d hardly been around since you guys fell out!”
“He hasn’t,” David replied, shrugging. “He came to get something from the safe apparently, but couldn’t resist getting his shots in… I wasn’t exactly classy myself, so I don’t have any moral high ground, but… yeah… wasn’t pretty,” he explained, not exactly proud of his own behaviour even if he laid the blame at Tommy’s doorstep more than his own.
“What happened?” Kathryn asked and Dave explained to the best of his recollection what was said and then what little he could remember of the fight. It wasn’t as if he had gaps in his memory because of the fight or anything like that, it just happened so fast and was over so soon thanks to Matty and Britt getting involved that he didn’t really have time to take stock of everything. “Well, thank god Matty and Britt were there, I guess?” Kathryn said when Dave had finally explained everything up to the point where the fight was broken up. “And at least things didn’t do too far before it was broken up. Maybe you guys can fix this down the road, depending on what happens in the future… you did once before?”
“I think the chances of that are pretty much slim to none, doll…” David said, closing his eyes and breathing out a long sigh.
Regan’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her husband's reaction to what Kathryn had said and knew that something was wrong almost instantly. “Something else happened, didn’t it?” she asked, and David nodded. “What?”
He tried to piece it together to explain, remember exactly what was said by Tommy to make him ‘snap’, but he just genuinely couldn’t remember exactly what was said so he had to do his best to explain in a more roundabout manner than he would like. “Tommy said some things, and I... kind of lost it…” he explained, though admittedly it was a poor attempt at doing so.
“What did you do?” Regan asked, her eyes still narrowed.
“You didn’t do something to Tommy, right?” Kathryn asked, clearly concerned that things had turned physical again at this point.
David shook his head. “No, nothing physical,” he said, pausing to adjust the ice pack on his hand. “No chance of that with Mt. Lohan-Stone standing between us… but… well, I may have said some things…”
“Well, based on what you already said about Kandis and Tommy, I’m not sure things could have got much worse, babe…” Regan told him, hoping to make things a little easier.
David knew better though, because he was more than aware of what he had said and what damage had been done with it. “I told him I was done with him and if he didn’t buy me out of everything I’d sell it all to someone who would,” David told his wife and his ex-wife, who both ended up with identical expressions on their faces. They were in complete shock, their eyes wide as saucers and their mouths hung open. And then they both spoke at once, and it was way too weird for Dave to deal with.
“No fucking way!” Regan said as Kathryn yelled “You’re joking, right?!” at him and he felt more henpecked in that moment in time than he thought it was possible.
“Okay, that’s disturbing,” he said as Regan and Kathryn looked at one another and at least managed a half grin before turning to do Davic, evidently demanding answers. “Seriously, can you not both shout at me at the same time, it’s freaking me out…”
“Dave, shut the fuck up and explain, because you can’t be serious right now!” Regan said and Kath nodded her head in complete agreement with the Brit.
It was seriously triggering for David to have his ex wife and current wife both grilling him, but he wasn’t going to push it. He knew he couldn’t really drop that pipebomb on them and then not explain what was going on. “I’m serious,” he confirmed, taking his hand off of the ice pack to open and close it a few times. It was starting to go stiff and he wasn’t sure that was a good thing. “I don’t want anything to do with that douchebag anymore, babe…” he said as he looked back at his wife again. “I know what you’re gonna say, that we built an empire and I can’t let him force me out, but honestly, right now? He’s the one that lit the blue touch paper, not me. He’s the one who forced me to pick between him and you, he’s the one who drove the wedge wider with his bullshit, he’s the one who made this way more fucking personal than it ever had to be when he flipped out over comments you made that were no worse than anything Kandis ever said about herself and now he’s paying no fucking attention to things at AnteUp while I pull double duty wrestling and running shit at the school… and then he questioned my ability to actually teach those kids, saying I was failing them and I snapped. I told him I was getting an accountant to value everything, asking Heath to look at everything too, and then he either bought me out of all of it or that I’d find someone who would,” he finished, and the hesitancy was gone from him as he finished explaining. If anything, he was more sure now that he had made the right call than he had been when he first spat it out at Tommy in the heat of the moment. He didn’t want to be business partners anymore, he wanted the partnership dissolved and he’d go it alone moving forward if he had to! “And I stand by it despite the fact I’m not fired up anymore… I don’t want to work with an arrogant asshole like him anymore, even if it means sacrificing everything I’d helped build up to this point.”
“But you can’t give up the school, sweetie!” Kathryn told him, looking genuinely upset on his behalf. “You guys, not just you and Tommy, but everyone else, you’ve worked so hard making AnteUp what it is today. So many graduates have gone on to amazing things in the business, and what about the staff? Do you think Britt stays working there without you as part owner? Will Tommy get rid of Matty just because you and him go way back?! Aaron works there right now, what do you think Tommy will do with that?!” she said, trying to get Dave to see sense.
But David just shook his head. “They’re protected, if they want to return,” he said. “They have legal rights that he can’t fuck with, unless he shuts the place down, and do you think that’s his style? I don’t. He’ll probably work twice as hard to ensure it remains a success, just to try and rub it in my face. But here’s the thing…”
“But you worked so hard for AnteUp, babe!” Regan argued, knowing how much work David had put into building the school into something not just credible but one of the best in the country.
And he really had bust his ass over the years, he wasn’t going to disagree with that. But he also wasn’t going to back down, and not just because of reasons that were rooted in some sort of foolish pride, either. “I did,” David told her, nodding. “But I’ll do it again if I have to. Because this was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Tommy wanted me to picka side… he just expected me to pick him instead of you. And I don’t know why he thought that would happen, but this… all the shit, and me making this decision? This is the fallout of what he made me do… so he’s going to have to handle the consequences. And with everything we’re talking about here? I mean, it’s not just AnteUp is it? The record label, the plane, the bar in Raleigh and the real estate that used to be Next Level headquarters that we now rent out to god knows how many companies on a floor by floor basis? That’s a hell of a sum that he has to pluck out of thin air if he doesn’t want some random ass business partner… I can do a lot with that money, when all’s said and done. Including a new school closer to home. I know Santa Barbara isn’t a million miles away, but that ninety minute commute can be hell. Maybe something downtown? A nice fifteen minute drive? I could certainly live with that…”
Kathryn looked on at her ex-husband, still doubtful that this was the right call, but Regan’s eyes were glassy as she stared right into his hazel ones. “You’d really throw away everything you’ve built over the course of more than a decade because you’d rather choose me over him?”
“I’d make the same decision every single time,” He told her, as she reached out and grabbed his hand. He instantly wished she hadn’t because it was the swollen one, and the grunt that came from him made it obvious for her too as she quickly let go. “Maybe wouldn’t make the same mistake of punching a wall, though…” he added with a nervous laugh and Regan and Kathryn both laughed as the tension eased considerably.
“Okay, I’m making fresh coffee,” Kathryn said, getting up from the table. It was clear she wanted to give David and Regan a modicum of space even if she was only at the other side of the room, and she quickly made her way to the coffee pot to busy herself with making drinks, leaving David and Regan alone.
“You don’t have to do this, you know?” Regan said, grabbing his good hand instead. “You could swallow your pride and tell him you changed your mind and I wouldn’t think less of you for it…”
“This isn’t about my ego babe,” David told Regan with such sincerity that she didn’t doubt him for even a second. She could see it in his eyes, that he truly meant that. “This is about making a decision weeks ago that, I realise now, had a lot more to it than just deciding if I took his side or yours… this is also cathartic. It truly cements the fact I picked you over him, and gives me freedom going forward to build something myself, instead of being part of something that I feel he tarnished! I think… I think I want to do this, as much for myself as it is for spiting him and defending you.”
Regan squeezed his hand again as the tears silently fell at last. She wiped them away with her other hand and leant across the table to kiss him. She already felt that it was a big deal that he had been so quick to defend her in the first place, but for David to turn his back on years of hard work, years of building something from the ground up, to truly stand behind her? That was a huge deal with Regan, and honestly, it was a big deal to David too, because on the one hand it was sad that it was an end of an era, but at the same time… it was an opportunity to start a new era, and it was also freeing for him. Yes, he loved AnteUp, and it would be more than heartbreaking for him to actually step away… but sometimes you had to make sacrifices in life to move forward. And David was going to stand by his wife no matter what the sacrifices he had to make. If nothing else, Thomas Valentine knew that now, that David would stand behind Regan no matter what he felt he had to do, what sacrifices he had to make personally in order to do so. That was the value of loving someone, giving up other things you loved. And David had no doubt how much he loved his wife. Now it should be Tommy who was asking himself how much he loved Kandis. Because that was the sixty four million dollar question, wasn’t it?
