5. SUNDAY — SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO #2
I lay in the wreckage gasping, staring up at the blinding stadium lights, my body completely spent.
Through the blur, I saw Silas drag his battered and bleeding frame out of the debris.
He crawled back to the ladder, pulling himself up the rungs one step at a time.
With only seconds left on the clock, he reached up, his hand closing around the gold plates of the World Heavyweight Championship belt, and unhooked it.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
“HERE IS YOUR WINNER AND THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! ‘TIMELESS’ SILAS REED!”
I rolled onto my side, clutching at my ribs and hiding my face in the crook of my arm.
With long heaving breaths, I lay there sobbing.
To the cameras, it was due to the agony of defeat, but really, I was crying because I was so damn proud.
I wasn't sad about losing the title, not for a single second, because I was the one who got to help Silas fulfill a lifelong dream.
The walk back was a blur. Referees helped me limp up the ramp while Silas celebrated in the ring, the crowd showering him in blue and white confetti.
We slipped through the curtain, and I collapsed onto a heavy black road case in the staging area, wheezing.
I was shirtless now, pain blooming across my chest, my skin covered in a slick coat of sweat and drying blood.
Eyeliner was smeared down to my jaw in dark, messy streaks as the spots in my vision danced along the edges.
“Medical!” shouted a producer.
“I’m fine!” I yelled, waving them off and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the concrete. “Just…give me a minute.”
I dragged a hand across my face, trying to catch my breath, but when I looked up, I froze. The room was absolutely full.
My parents stood alongside Maverick and Scott.
The two dads were beaming, clapping each other on the back like proud co-patriarchs of a massive, blended clan.
My mom had her hands over her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes.
My three sisters were huddled together with Silas’s brothers and cousins, their faces a mix of tears and wide smiles.
“Cal!” Sarah screamed and ran over, closely followed by the rest of the horde.
“I’m okay,” I told my mom as she pushed past my sister to hug me, ignoring the blood transferring to her nice blouse.
Firm pats on the shoulder came from Maverick, David, and Scott.
Intense pride shone in their eyes from the bloodbath they just witnessed.
“I promise, Mom. I’m okay. It looks worse than it is. ”
I pushed off the road case, standing in the center of the blended sea of Reeds and Donovans, flanked by our massive, chosen family. The absolute gravity of everything we had survived settled deep into my chest as the countdown hit zero. Then the curtain opened. Silas walked through.
He was limping heavily, covered in confetti and blood, and clutching the championship belt to his chest like a lifeline.
He took two steps, saw his family and mine with me dead center waiting for him, and his legs gave out.
He fell to his knees, his forehead landing on the cold concrete, and sobbed.
“Silas!” Scott, Maverick, and I shouted in unison.
The three of us were there instantly, hauling him up. It was a massive, emotional pile-on of our blended family as Silas cried, hugging his dad fiercely. He’d done it. My man had just rewritten the Reed legacy, and the weight of that victory was suffocating in the best possible way.
He pulled back from his father, his wet eyes immediately finding mine. “Cal,” he rasped, his voice wrecked.
“Fuck it.” The belt, the very thing he had chased his entire life, dropped to the floor as he closed the distance between us. He crashed into me, and I caught him. I wrapped my blood-slicked arms around his broad frame, burying my face in his sweaty neck right in front of everyone we loved.
“We did it,” he sobbed into my ear, his massive arms crushing my sore ribs.
“You did it. I’m so proud of you. God, so proud.”
We held on for what was probably a beat too long for two men who had just warred with each other, but beneath the surface, it was our everything.
This specific moment stemmed from a decade of love, loss, and sacrifice.
To the outside world, our embrace could’ve been justified as professional reverence.
The biggest feud in wrestling history, finally coming to an end, cementing our legacy together.
After all, the sheer amount of love and respect swimming throughout our eyes was impossible to hide.
But the people in this room knew exactly what it meant.
“Guys.”
We turned to see Evan, his usual sarcastic armor completely stripped away. He walked up to me first. There were no jokes or snide remarks, he just placed his hand on my bare, bloodied shoulder and squeezed.
“You guys did it! I saw you up there on the ladder. You talked him through it.”
I nodded, swallowing the massive lump in my throat. “I'd break my own neck before I let him fall again.”
“I know.” Evan pulled me into a quick, tight hug. “And now thanks to you, he’s the Champ.”
Silas was immediately pulled away by UWF media for official photos, but I didn’t feel alone. My sisters surrounded me again, April and Si’s cousin Josie, talking animatedly over everyone else as they hit it off.
Lena stood in the middle of it all, her eyes wide as she took in the sheer volume of our blended family. The lines were entirely blurred between where his ended and mine began. It was a chaotic, beautiful preview of the rest of our lives.
I watched Silas hold that belt up for the cameras, flashing his million-dollar smile, his eyes still clad with tears, and blood still splayed across his skin.
He looked perfect. It took ten minutes for the photographers to finish and allow Silas to step away and grab a towel.
He walked back toward me, his eyes bright with the euphoric high of the win.
I stepped into his space, leaning in close so my lips brushed the shell of his ear.
We were thankfully still hidden by the noise of our family celebrating.
“Check your phone,” I whispered, my voice dropping into a rough, dominant purr.
Silas pulled back slightly with a furrowed brow. “What?”
“When you get to the locker room, check your phone and check your bag. You have instructions to follow before you leave this building, Champ.”
Silas's eyes widened as a deep crimson rushed through his cheeks.
I winked, smirked, and patted his broad chest, before I turned back to my mom. “Okay, Mom,” I said loudly, gesturing to my hairline. “Now you can look at the cut.”