Epilogue #2
“Noah,” I call out, my eyes still glued to the screen, but he doesn’t answer.
I’m starting to understand why John told me they hadn’t decided on a finisher.
He didn’t want me to know because he knew I would have lost my mind.
Death Valley is one of “The Reaper” Brody Wilder’s old finishing moves, one that he retired years ago, but apparently, he’s bringing it back for this special occasion.
A dangerous move if done improperly. One wrong move, and you could paralyze your opponent.
With a final breath, The Reaper sails off the top turnbuckle.
He drives his knees into the mat, tossing Brooks off his shoulders and slamming him sideways into the mat.
His upper back and shoulders take the brunt of the fall, digging into the mat in a hard, but proper, fall.
It’s still too close for comfort. The entire ring shakes from the impact as both men lay arms wide in the center of the ring.
Neither man moves for what feels like hours until, slowly, Brody drapes himself across Brooks and hooks the leg.
One…
Two…
Three…
The bell rings and the crowd erupts.
Neither man moves at first, catching their breath before Brody pushes himself upright. He looks around the arena and then back at his best friend, a genuine smile tugging on his lips. Standing, he reaches his hand down to Brooks.
That’s when the walls come down, and it’s no longer “The Reaper” Brody Wilder and EWE golden boy Brooks Taylor in the ring.
This is Brody Wilder and John Brooks, best friends…
brothers. Brody pulls his best friend into a tight embrace, whispering something to him that makes them both chuckle, eyes shining beneath the arena lights.
A low rumble forms among the crowd, and I think they’re starting to catch on to what’s happening.
A warm hand squeezes my shoulder as I stand in the center of gorilla. Tears burn my eyes, and when I glance over my shoulder, Noah stands there. He pulls me into an embrace as we watch John take a microphone from a ring-side aide.
My husband stands in the center of the ring, and Brody finds home in one of the corners.
They’re both battered and bruised, a layer of perspiration reflecting off their skin, and both men are still visibly emotional.
He chuckles, rubbing his chin and running his tongue over his teeth, trying to keep it in check a little longer.
“I don’t really know where to begin, but I’ll start with thank you.
Twenty-one years ago, I stepped foot in the EWE ring for the first time, and it changed my life forever.
You guys changed my life forever. Without you, none of this would be possible.
I wouldn’t be able to do what I love, and none of us would.
I’m so very grateful that you have allowed me to share this space with you for over two decades. ”
Visible emotion begins to cross the faces of those in the front rows, hanging on to every word he says, waiting for the inevitable.
John runs a hand over his recently cropped hair, his shoulders rising and falling with a heavy breath.
He glances over at his best friend, and Brody gives him a reassuring nod.
“Brody, we’ve been doing this for a long time together…
Over two decades. My brother. My road buddy.
My ultimate rival and best tag partner. You’re the only person who knocked me on my ass, and I thanked him for it.
Brody, we started this journey together, and it was only right that it ended that way, too. ”
“brO-DY!” the crowd chants, and Brody waves them off with a bashful smile.
“The last twenty-one years with Elite Wrestling have been the journey of a lifetime. You’ve watched me grow up in this ring.
Watched me win titles, lose titles, bleed, overcome injuries that should’ve taken me out for good, and stand toe-to-toe with the best in the business.
” His face softens. “But the best thing this ring ever gave me is my wife.” A wide grin echoes the sound of the crowd, and I swear I feel the building shake beneath my feet.
“How I ever convinced her to marry me, I don’t know, but—”
Brody cups his hands around his mouth and yells, “You got lucky!”
“Damn straight,” John says, pointing at him. “She came into my life unexpectedly and took my world by storm. She’s made me a better person, a better wrestler, and an even better man.”
The sound of my name fills the arena, and it’s surreal.
Since my retirement almost three years ago, I haven’t spent much time back at the company.
I elected to stay home and take care of things there, to take care of our two-year-old daughter.
I recently started working at NextGen, replacing Juliet as one of the trainers—I’ve found that it helps keep my longing for the ring at bay.
I usually join John for big events like Wrestlefest and Beachbash, but in terms of week-to-week shows, I haven’t made many appearances. This Monday, however, was a must.
“I’ve had a lot of matches in between these ropes.
Big ones. Brutal ones. Bloody ones. But tonight…
tonight is my final one.” A collective gasp fills the air, rippling through the crowd, followed by a chorus of “Nos.” I watch him fight back the wetness coating his eyes.
He rolls his lips between his teeth and nods.
With another heavy sigh, he says, “Tonight, I announce my official retirement from EWE.”
“You should go out there,” Callum says, appearing beside his half-brother.
“This is his moment.” I shake my head. “I don’t…I don’t want to take away from that.”
“Trust me, Savannah. Having you out there is going to make it a lot easier to say goodbye.”
John sighs on the screen. “I know, I know,” he says softly, swallowing back the wetness that makes his eyes shine beneath the stadium lights.
“Nobody likes goodbyes, me included, but I’ve been doing this for a long time—almost twenty-eight years total—and while I love it…
I do, I love it. There is nothing in the world like standing here in this ring, nothing like being here with you guys, with the people in the back, but there comes a time in life when you have to say goodbye to the things you love to make room for more. ”
“Thank you, Brooks!” fills the air, and this time, he can’t hold back the tears.
Walking through the curtain, I smile at the two men on the other side before I walk into the arena—no music, no special entrance, nothing to draw the attention away from what’s happening in the ring.
Brody claps a hand down on John’s shoulder and pulls him into an embrace, patting his back.
When he pulls back to say something, his words stutter as we make eye contact.
One by one, the members of the crowd start to realize someone else has joined them, until finally my husband looks over his shoulder to see what has caught their attention.
A new wave of emotion crosses his face, and his eyes shine beneath the stadium lights.
Climbing the stairs, I step through the ropes that Brody holds open.
We don’t say anything before he pulls me into a soul-crushing embrace.
Around us, the audience loses it, chanting a mixture of my name and his.
John kisses the top of my head before he pulls away to cradle my face in his hands and kisses me.
“I’m sorry for crashing your party.”
“Sweetheart, you can crash my party anytime,” he says with a toothy grin. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Now you’re just being corny,” I say, rolling my eyes. He could have easily done this without me, and in a way, he has after I retired, but he never wanted to, and that means everything to me. I tighten my grip around his waist as he drapes his arm over my shoulders and turns back to the crowd.
“I wouldn’t be here without all of you in the seats, everyone watching at home, and every person in the back.
Whether we’ve been friends for a long time or we just met, this small-town boy from Indiana would’ve never been able to live his dream if it weren’t for all of you.
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
” John crouches down, resting the microphone in the center of the ring.
“Let’s go home,” he whispers in my ear, as the crowd chants “Thank you, Brooks!” louder than ever before.