Love Never Dies
Nov 20, 2019 0:15:32 GMT -5
Post by Cordy on Nov 20, 2019 0:15:32 GMT -5
Love Never Dies
(off camera)
“Thanks for coming out, chica.” Cordelia said, finally breaking the moment of silence that lingered between them. Brushing loose strands of hair from in front of her face, she turned to face the beautiful Brazilian seated next to her. “I’m legit glad you could make it, Day.” She continued, her tone light and affectionate, the way it usually seemed to be whenever she addressed her… friend? business partner? boss? ex lover? Over the course of the seven years that they’d known each other, there had been many mantles that Dayshia Fernanda Rainier, (better known to the wrestling and modeling worlds as Dayshia Raye) had taken up in the life of Cordelia Stevenson. Their relationship was ever changing, yet deeply rooted in a love and familiarity that never seemed to let one stray too far away. It all resulted in an unequivocal and dynamic bond that Cordelia had grown to cherish, no matter how undefined and confusing it became.
“Aww, you knew I wasn’t going to miss this.” Dayshia turned her gaze away from the workers setting up the ring below, and focused them on Cordy. “Not for anything in the world.” She added with a soft smile as she assumed the one role that she’d never relinquished over the years; that of a supporter.
Through the many ups and downs, and all of the tumultuous times that a relationship as complicated as theirs tended to bring, Cordelia could not recall a single point in time where Dayshia Raye had not been in her corner. No matter how strained things became between them, Dayshia’s confidence and support in Cordelia’s career and personal endeavors not once wavered. Unbeknownst to Dayshia, she had become somewhat of a pillar of strength for Cordelia, and one of the very few people that Cordy knew she could count on.
“Did you ever think that you would end up back here?” Dayshia asked, glancing around and taking in their surroundings. Cordelia couldn’t help but to do the same, inhaling sharply as a wave of realization swept over her.
The Spectrum Center located in Charlotte, North Carolina was relatively empty with the exception of the crew hustling and bustling about below to get things set up and ready for FGA’s Autumn Annihilation Pay Per View. Cordelia knew that in just a few hours time, the empty rows of seats where she and Dayshia were enjoying their moment of solitude would be filled.
All 19,077 of them.
The home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets would be packed with the raucous and rowdy FGA faithful; their voices loud and reverberant, making the silence that now permeated the arena, a long forgotten memory.
And Cordy would be down there, in the midst of it all.
Just like old times.
That was the ‘here’ that she knew Dayshia was referring to. Not the physical place of where they were, but the moment that Cordelia was bound to find herself immersed in later on that night. A warrior in the modern day coliseum, once again challenged with but one main and true objective. To survive. Undoubtedly that was exactly what she would have to do.
It was what she was prepared to do.
Savannah Taylor. Johnny Karma... it didn’t take rocket science for her to conclude that the history she shared with both competitors served as more than sufficient fuel and ammunition to warrant her demise in their eyes. To Johnny, she was the perpetual roadblock that somehow always managed to fall in his path, diverting him from his goals or flat out stopping him altogether. Unfortunately for him, it was just how the cookie always seemed to crumble and fate was never on his side. It hadn’t been in the Lion’s Cup Tournaments when they’d crossed paths, nor the lethal lottery tournament that eventually saw her crowned as FGA World Champion.
She was Johnny Karma’s kryptonite and always had been. And with that already established, Cordelia knew that it was pretty much a no brainer that his crosshairs would be on her. Despite how he may have felt about Savannah, history had shown time and time again that Cordelia was the biggest obstacle he’d have to overcome in order to truly achieve his goal, and Cordelia realized that if she were in his shoes, she’d insist on removing that obstacle as soon as possible.
That was also a tactic that she was sure Savannah would try and utilize as well. Not to say that Savannah necessarily saw her as the biggest obstacle, but she clearly viewed Cordelia as the biggest potential threat and she didn’t hide that sentiment with her disparaging remarks of Johnny Karma being a third wheel whenever anyone would listen. Although her history with Savannah didn’t go anywhere near as far back as her history with Karma, it was much more personal. The few exchanges between the two had been heated and the bad blood had come to a boil rather quickly.
Two of FGA’s most dangerous talents would be looking to lay waste to her in a hurry, yet it was the kind of challenge that Cordelia welcomed. The game was just as much mental as it was physical, and when it came to working a game plan and adapting on the fly, Cordelia felt that there was no one better than she was. Her talent had brought her far, but her mental acuity was what kept her ahead.
Even after all that time.
It had been 745 days since she’d last headlined a major FGA Pay Per View; 745 days since the last time she’d seen her name featured across the scrolling marquee outside of a stadium for one of the companies’ mega events. 745 days since she’d been on a stage of that magnitude, where the lights always seemed to shine the brightest, but somehow she managed to outshine them all.
Exactly 745 days since she’d said goodbye.
November 4th, 2017. FGA’s Sixth Year Anniversary show was supposed to have been her swan song. Her match against Chandler Scott was the exact way she’d envisioned her story coming to an end. Arguably the companies biggest stars ever, (the proverbial 1a and 1b, or 1 and 2 if you were to go by the order of their Hall of Fame induction announcements) doing battle one last time and capping what had been a remarkable story between them.
Yet there had been something so unceremonious about it, that ending.
Something so bittersweet and empty that it left Cordelia longing for it to just be over. Maybe it was because she’d already had both feet out of the door by the time it all unfolded. Maybe it was because her heart simply wasn’t in it any more. Maybe it was because the flame she’d once thought was eternal… her love for the business, had faded out completely. Or so she thought. Maybe she’d been wrong, but back then, when Cordelia Stevenson walked out of the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, she was 100% certain that she was walking out of a wrestling ring for the absolute last time.
Which made the moment sitting there with Dayshia all the more surreal.
“No.” Cordelia scoffed, answering the question that Dayshia had asked. “Not in a million years.”
It wasn’t really an answer that needed to be said. Dayshia had known just how far gone Cordy felt from the business. There were so many aspects of life that Cordelia felt she’d neglected; so many avenues that she felt the need to explore, the possibilities of all the new paths and where they could all eventually lead ignited a passion and excitement in Cordelia that wrestling simply hadn’t in quite some time. And Dayshia had been one of the main ones urging Cordelia to follow that feeling.
While so many others had questioned how she could possibly walk away from something while seemingly at the peak of it, Dayshia never questioned it or doubted it. Naturally a free spirit, Dayshia Raye had lived her life mostly following intuition and doing what felt best, consequences be damned. Ironically, that same free spirited nature that eventually attracted Cordy to her, was also what initially caused issues between them when they first met.
Dayshia shrugged. “I did.”
Cordelia looked at her, mouth open in disbelief. “You did not.”
Dayshia nodded. “But I totally did. I knew you’d be back…” a beat “...eventually.”
Cordy laughed; her way of calling bullshit. Dayshia playfully slapped her shoulder. “I did!” She exclaimed unconvincingly.
“And how’d you know that?” Cordy entertained, raising an eyebrow and awaiting Dayshia’s response. Dayshia lowered her gaze sheepishly, and Cordelia could have sworn that she saw Day’s cheeks turn the slightest bit of red.
“Because you never really give up on the things that you love.”
There was something extremely sobering about Dayshia’s words. Maybe it was the tone in which they’d been delivered; laden with such a personal nuance that resonated against the strings of her very heart. Was it an acknowledgement of the many things left unsaid between them?
Or maybe it was simply who the words had been delivered by, and the frightening truth behind them.
Cordelia’s gaze fell, an unwilling victim to the sudden and newfound weight of the moment.
Was Dayshia Raye not the personification of that very statement? A living and breathing testament to an unspoken truth, yet one not as well hidden as Cordelia had originally believed? She felt her breath catch in her chest. It had been years since a discussion of feelings had taken place between them. It was an issue that Cordelia never pushed out of fear of once again complicating something that had become so effortless and peaceful between them.
Was clarity necessarily worth a break in the serenity they’d found with one another?
A younger Cordelia would have said that it was and she’d demand answers that sometimes hadn’t even been discovered yet. The immaturity in her actions had been a huge problem for Dayshia back then and understandably so. It was easy to look back and see where they’d gone wrong, and it was easy for Cordelia to pinpoint the mistakes that she’d made along the way. Granted, hindsight is always 20/20, but some things remain hidden from the eye until a certain level of maturity is reached to unveil and understand them.
Cordelia had noted the changes within herself. She had grown in so many ways and life had been a valuable teacher, providing her with wisdom and the ability to learn from her mistakes. The woman she had become was so much different than the 21 year old girl that Dayshia had been with, and Cordelia often wondered how things would be now. Yet the past had her afraid of a fragility that wasn’t really there. Sometimes human nature made it easier to remember the wounds than to see the strength in the healing.
“You may walk away from it, or… say you’ll let it go,” Dayshia continued. She paused momentarily to gather herself, not really wanting to give away what was on her heart. “But-- you always find a way back to the things you love...”
Dayshia’s voice trailed off. Cordelia lifted her eyes and turned to see Dayshia staring directly at her. From the moment their eyes locked, Cordelia could see a wave of emotion flickering in the Brazilian’s beautiful Hazel irises as they attempted to read her and coax an inaudible confession, almost daring her to finish the sentence the way they both knew it should end.
Just as with wrestling, there had been a point in time where Cordelia had decided to “let Dayshia go” as well. However, it was not due to a perceived loss of love as it had been with the wrestling business. It had been quite the opposite actually and one of the hardest things that she’d ever had to do. It was never a choice that she’d wanted to make, but at that time, she felt as if alternatives were a luxury that she simply hadn’t been afforded, especially not by Dayshia. ‘I can’t let go of you.’ Those had been Dayshia’s words to her, and although Cordelia shared the same sentiments, she’d felt she needed to be the one to break the cycle. She did the unimaginable and there wasn’t a day that went by where she didn’t think of that alternate path. That one night had changed life for the both of them in so many ways. Dayshia’s depression followed, and a drunken marriage to Brandon Banks. Cordelia saw the remnants of her decision every time she stared into the eyes of Dayshia’s daughter Gisela, undoubtedly an end result of the choice Cordelia made that night all those years ago.
‘If only I hadn’t let go…’
But maybe it had been meant for her to do so. Life had been kind to both women throughout the years and somehow they’d managed to find a way back. They were closer than they’d ever been; their bond the strongest that Cordelia could remember. The time away had allowed them an opportunity to grow into their friendship and love.
Would it be the same with wrestling however?
Had time away truly been the remedy that fixed something that Cordelia felt was broken? There hadn’t been any reluctance when she’d walked away from the business. It had been a welcomed change. One that many didn’t understand, but Cordelia’s happiness was never reliant on the opinion of others. Yet, there she was, once again in a familiar place that she had vowed to leave for good, and happier than she’d ever been.
Cordelia smiled as she reached out and placed her hand on top of Day’s. “I guess I do have a knack for doing that. Don’t I?”
The openness of the statement seemed to catch Dayshia off guard, but it brought a smile to her face. “You do.” She let out a sigh as she leaned down and placed her head on Cordy’s shoulder. “But watching you in that ring, it’s always felt as if you just belonged there, you know?” She continued, gazing off into the distance. “There’s just a genuine love there. And I don’t think something like that ever really dies.” She placed her free hand on top of Cordy’s and smiled. “Even if we lose sight of it sometimes.”
Cordelia tilted her head and rested it on the crown of Dayshia’s. Closing her eyes, she allowed Dayshia’s words to run on repeat through her head.
Love never really dies.
It grows. It wanes. It develops. It fades. But Cordelia was beginning to understand that no matter what, there was always some sort of lingering remnant there; an ember always capable of rekindling at any moment.
The proof of that was lying right there on her shoulder. Additional proof of it was being constructed below. Two very different extremes of the very same thing that ironically left her with the very same feeling.
That she was finally back where she belonged.
It was in that moment that Cordelia Stevenson realized that night would not be about a title, nor would it be about revenge...
That night was about the rediscovery of love.