Chapter 24 #2
“I just wanted to hear your voice.” A soft hum comes through the phone.
“I miss you.” The words come out before I can stop them.
I do miss him. I didn’t think it was possible to feel this attached to someone in such a short amount of time.
It had taken months before I felt like this with any of my exes, but with Ben…
it’s barely been three weeks. “Ben, I’m sorry that I’ve been distant and all over the place the last few days.
This story…” I sigh. “It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”
“Did you finish it?”
“Yeah,” I say, and the corners of my mouth pull up. “Yeah, finally. May need a few minor tweaks, but it’s ready to hand over Monday morning.”
“Why don’t you look it over again and email it to your editor or whoever it goes to, and call it done?”
“Normally, I could, but Barry wants to have a meeting with me on Monday, asked me to bring it then. Who knows? Maybe they’re firing me.”
“Seems a little excessive for a story about—”
“Hey!” Lexi bangs on the door. “Can’t you two wait to have phone sex until the rest of us are gone?”
Ben exhales, and I’m sure an eye roll accompanies it on the other end. “Oh, for the love of God.”
“We are not having phone sex!” I hiss, swinging the door open. She leans against the door with a smirk, tossing a piece of popcorn in her mouth.
“I don’t judge. By all means, do what you have to do, but can you hold off for another two hours so we can finish this movie? Your SIL requires at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep to be a functional human.”
What the fuck is a SIL?
Ben breathes out a soft laugh, and I stare at his sister like she’s speaking another language.
“I’m sorry—my what? What is a SIL?”
“Sister-in-law,” Lexi says plainly, like I should’ve known that. Surely, I didn’t hear her right. Sister-in-law? Ben and I haven’t even been together a full month. What is she talking about? “Anyway, tell Benny-boo that you have to go. He can have you back tomorrow.”
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I’m still in shock after what she just said. Why would she say that? I haven’t even told her or any of my friends that we said those three little words that aren’t so little…unless he told her. Note to self: ask him about this later.
Lexi still stares at me expectantly, and I sigh. “You heard her, Benny-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo,” I say, voice sweet as honey, staring straight at my sister-in-law. “I’m being summoned, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” he confirms.
I have to do a double take as our car approaches the hotel entrance.
People line the driveway on both sides, held back by steel barricades, and they cheer as we drive by.
There’s a mix of men, women, and kids. Some hold signs, most wear their favorite wrestler’s shirt, and some even carry replica belts.
How long have they been standing out here?
More importantly, how do they know this is where the EWE talent stays?
“Crazy,” Lexi says under her breath, shaking her head, and returns to her phone. She’s been going back and forth with someone since we landed in Houston almost an hour ago. I hope it’s not Troy.
The traffic out of the airport was ridiculous and only made my nerves worse with each passing minute.
At first, my conversation with Ben last night quelled my anxiety, but as the night went on, I started to question everything again.
Nothing about our conversation addressed my concerns.
He sounded almost annoyed when I told him I have to go back to Boston after this trip before I can go to Tampa—if I can go to Tampa.
I don’t know what Barry is going to do…or what I’m going to do.
I’ve considered handing in my resignation along with the story, but what happens then?
I won’t have a job, but I still have bills to pay.
It’s not like I can walk across the street to Pulse and ask for a job.
Diane isn’t my biggest fan after our last conversation.
This is such a fucking mess, but I can’t worry about it right now.
My focus needs to be on the man upstairs.
“Is it always like this?” I ask, looking out over the crowd.
“Usually.” Lexi sighs, looking up from her phone. “I don’t know how they do it, but they always seem to find out where we’re staying. Sometimes the company will book rooms at other hotels to throw them off.”
“That’s actually pretty genius.”
“Yeah, but they always figure it out eventually,” she says, and slides her sunglasses over her eyes when the door opens.
A thunderous scream echoes off the walls of the porte-cochère.
“Plus, it’s kind of fun to watch them freak out when you get here, until they realize you’re not one of the wrestlers. ”
I laugh. “You’re terrible.”
“Maybe.” Lexi shrugs with a wide grin, sliding out of the car. I follow when the driver opens my door, and the screams continue, slowly fading as people in front realize we’re not anyone special. Wow, way to make someone feel worthless. “Is Wolf here?” Lexi asks.
“Upstairs,” I say, following her through the double doors held open by hotel staff members.
That’s when I notice the three men stationed around the driveway.
Dressed in black slacks and polos, they have earpieces and listen as the one closest to the door speaks.
Is such a heavy security presence really necessary?
The fans seem to keep a respectable distance, staying behind the barriers.
Or maybe it’s just a precaution. “What’s with the men in black?
” I ask, making eye contact with the one near the door.
“There have been a few incidents over the years. Sometimes fans can get a little…too comfortable. They’ll sneak into the hotel and bother the wrestlers, bombarding them while they’re trying to get from one event to the next, or trying to relax, especially when it comes to Brooks, Savannah, Brody, and those kinds of people.
EWE hires extra security during these week-long events to avoid it as much as possible. ”
“What about your brother? Is he one of those people?”
“Oh, definitely,” Lexi says, pressing the elevator call button.
She seems comfortable here. Why wouldn’t she?
Her brother has been in Elite Wrestling Entertainment for over ten years.
Lexi has probably been to this hotel numerous times.
“If there’s one thing you need to learn, Sloane, it’s this: there will be people who think they know my brother and his friends.
The parasocial relationship between wrestlers and their fans is a real thing, now more than ever.
Social media has really blurred the lines… Has Wolf ever told you about Trisha?”
“Who is Trisha?” I ask.
“Trisha used to be in love with him. Hell, I’m sure she still is.
When it came out that he and Harper were getting a divorce, Trisha decided it was her job to ‘comfort’ my brother.
” Lexi steps onto the elevator and presses the seventh floor button.
“I have to stop at the lobby. Do you know what floor you’re on? ”
“Twenty-five.”
“So, anyway, Trisha,” Lexi says, pressing my button.
“She was around before the divorce, but seemed harmless enough. Wolf used to call her his biggest fan because she was at all the big shows, all the signings, press tours, etc. Normal stuff—maybe a little excessive, but normal. But after the divorce, she started messaging him online constantly. She showed up outside NextGen a few times, waiting for him. One time, he came home from the road, and she was outside his house.”
“What the fuck?”
“Somehow, to her, their divorce meant he felt the same way about her that she did about him.”
“Lexi, that’s insane! How did she even know about divorce? Your brother hardly posts online unless it has to do with work.”
“He used to. Stopped after Trisha, though. She monitored public filings. Marriage certificates, divorces, all of that is public knowledge if you know where to look. Property records, too. It’s not hard to find all this information.
Most people don’t because they respect other people’s privacy, but it happens more than you think.
Brooks has had a few ‘super fans’ over the years, but only one who got a little too close for comfort.
” The elevator doors open, and she takes one step out, straddling the doorway.
“So, long story short: Yes, the extra security is necessary, even if it seems like overkill.”
“What happened to her?”
“I’ll let my brother tell you that,” Lexi says with a wink, and the door closes between us.
My ears pop twice on the ride up to the twenty-fifth floor, and a new onslaught of butterflies erupts in my stomach when I step off the elevator.
Even though I know there’s nothing to worry about, a small kernel of self-doubt has sprouted in the back of my brain and tells me something is wrong.
It’s my conscience, feeling guilty for not being completely honest with him, and I have no idea how I’m going to tell him the truth…
Can I tell him the truth? I don’t have much choice because it will come out eventually.
I have to tell him, but not today. That’s not what today is supposed to be about. Maybe tomorrow, before we leave…or maybe I’ll wait until Barry decides whether he’s going to run the article. If he doesn’t like it, then there’s no reason to say anything.
Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door labeled 2515.
Quiet rustling behind the door tells me he’s inside, but I can hear the metallic clank of crutches near the door, ready to go in case it’s someone else.
There’s a brief pause before the door swings open.
Ben stands on the other side, only a pair of sweats hanging on his hips.
His hair is damp, and there’s a thin layer of perspiration on his skin.