Ain't That a Kick in the Head?

Anna Stone: “He knows.”

Chuck smirks. This was nothing new. He figured he would figure it out eventually. Chuck was never very good at hiding his relationship from the world. Likely because it was so expected. Chuck was known for his promiscuous lifestyle, and people had come to expect that he was fucking someone new everytime they saw him. They were determined to figure out who it was.

Anna Stone: “I told him.”

This was new.

Chuck Matthews: “Why?”

Anna shakes her head, looking at the ground. Chuck takes a deep breath. The word had come out sharper than he had meant it. He wasn’t angry that she had told him. Truth be told, he was surprised she hadn’t done it sooner. But the tone of his voice in that simple question…she seemed a bit taken aback.

Anna Stone: “I don’t know, I just…it was a heat of the moment thing, I think, and you know I had all those things on my chest, and…I just kind of let it out.”

Chuck nods. Well, this certainly made things interesting. People usually didn’t react well when they realized their girlfriends were sleeping with Chuck Matthews. Ask Brenton Cyrus, he could vouch for that. But on the flip side of that coin…Brandon hadn’t really done a whole lot lately. At one point, Chuck may have been nervous. He and Brandon had never really seen eye-to-eye, but they weren’t “enemies.” At least, not in Chuck’s eyes. Brandon was a follower. He had followed Chuck for some time in Bad Company…though that turned out to be an act, covering up his true intentions: following Nick Ridicule. But that was all. Brandon was an accessory. An instrument, used by others for their own agendas. Hell, the only thing Chuck could think of that he would hate Brandon for was the situation with the Live or Die match, and even that wasn’t his fault, but the brainchild of the woman standing before him now.

This was cruel irony at its finest.

But while he was a poor leader, there was something that Brandon was good at, and that was his in-ring ability. He had beaten Chuck twice in the past. No small feat. But he was beating anyone and everyone in his path. He seemed unstoppable. That was different these days. Brandon had lost more matches in IWF in the past few months than he had during his entire NLWF career. Hell, he had lost to Corey twice, and how many times had Chuck beaten him?

Chuck Matthews: “You alright?”

Anna frowns, and shakes her head, her eyes watering. Son of a bitch. That was the chink in the armor. That one thing that could slip into Chuck’s otherwise impenetrable psyche, and break his defenses down: a woman’s tears.

Chuck Matthews: “Come on. Don’t…”

Anna Stone: “I loved him.”

Chuck cautiously opens his arms, and she runs to him, burying her face in his shoulder. Chuck gently rubs her back, running his hand through her hair. He stares off into space, listening to her cry a moment, thinking of what to say next.

Chuck Matthews: “You still do.”

Much to Chuck's surprise, Anna shakes her head, though she keeps her face concealed from Chuck's view.

Chuck Matthews: “No?”

Anna wipes her eyes, looking at Chuck.

Anna Stone: “I gave him the papers.”

Chuck can’t help but smile a bit. He knew exactly what she was talking about. She was divorcing Brandon. It really wasn’t something to be smiling about…but it was the next step.

There was something about Anna. Perhaps it was that forbidden feeling about her. She was another man's wife. Part of that was exciting, knowing the relationship between the two of them was wrong. There was something strangely exciting about it, trying to keep the entire thing hidden from the world...and especially from Brandon.

But then...those feelings should have dissipated, right? I mean, Anna had spilled the beans. Brandon knew about her and Chuck. There was no point in hiding it anymore...and yet, Chuck still felt strangely attracted to her. He had for a while, come to think of it. She was certainly beautiful. Chuck still didn't know much about her. Not much of her past, at least. He knew she was exceptionally intelligent. She was willing to take charge of things. She and Chuck had, indirectly, battled for a while in NLWF, when Chuck was taking over with Bad Company. Anna had come up with the Live or Die plot...something that Chuck hadn't even considered. The plan eventually failed, and Chuck seized control of NLWF anyway...but the Live or Die ploy was executed masterfully, and it was thanks to Anna that it went off.

Chuck Matthews: "I'm sorry."

Anna wipes her eyes.

Anna Stone: "It's not your fault, Chuck."

Chuck Matthews: "Can't say I hear that too often."

The corner of Anna's mouth perks up a bit. Chuck gently brushes her hair from her face.

Chuck Matthews: "Damn, I almost got a full smile out of that one."

Anna stares at Chuck for a moment, then kisses him. Her face slowly breaks into a full smile.

Anna Stone: "I hate you."

Chuck smirks.

Chuck Matthews: "Do you?"

The two stare at each other a moment. Finally, Anna looks away, shaking her head.

Anna Stone: "I have to go."

Chuck frowns, and leans back against the table behind him. She pushes herself away from Chuck, brushing her hair out of her face, avoiding any eye contact. She grabs her purse from the table, heading quickly towards the hotel room door.

Chuck Matthews: "One of these days, you'll give up."

Anna stops in her tracks and turns to face Chuck.

Anna Stone: "Chuck..."

Chuck raises an eyebrow. Anna sighs deeply.

Anna Stone: "Look, you're a great guy. Really, you are. But..."

Chuck Matthews: "But what? You're married? You still love Brandon? You divorced him, what do you think you have left?"

Anna opens her mouth and closes it several times, making strange noises as she struggles to find the words.

Anna Stone: "I have to go."

Her voice cracks, and she turns from the room, burying her face in her hands as she leaves. Chuck watches the door swing shut behind her. That was probably a stupid thing to say. For a moment, he thinks about going after her. But she would be back. She always was. That was probably why he said that. He was frustrated. This wasn't anything new to Chuck. It happened every time he and Anna spent time together. They would get comfortable. Spend some time talking. Enjoy each other's company. Everything would be fine. But as soon as things got serious, she'd turn and run. She'd leave, to God knows where. Sometimes it'd just be a few minutes, other times it would be hours on end, and Chuck would be woken up at midnight to Anna at the door, crying her eyes out.

Chuck couldn't blame her. How could he? She was going through one of the toughest things a woman could deal with...and it wasn't really like Chuck was doing much to help her. Sure, he offered a shoulder to cry on, and he'd sit and hear her cry and moan...but at the end of the day, Chuck was using her as much as she was using him. Chuck was suffering some sort of obsession over her. Something about her had struck Chuck to the very core, and he was doing whatever he could to win the heart of a woman who, just a few short months ago, would have been repulsed by the very mention of his name.

Perhaps that was why she ran. Perhaps she was aware of this growing closeness between the two. Anna was coming to the realization that the man she thought she loved was cheating on her with someone else...and the man she thought was the pinnacle of corruption and evil in the world was turning out to be exactly what she had expected her ex-husband to be. Perhaps she ran because she was afraid that letting things continue on would cause her to feel for Chuck what she once had for Brandon...and for her, this was a fate worse than death. But this was all speculation.

Chuck Matthews: "Fuck."

The word seems to linger in the silent air for a moment, drifting around the room as Chuck sits on the sofa. He puts his hands behind his head and lies back in his seat. He was tired. His inexplicable insomnia was slowly getting better. He was sleeping more at night, with less frequent wakings... but he was still drained the next day, even if he spent it sitting around doing nothing. Jessica told him he should see a doctor. That was a few months ago. Chuck never did. Who the fuck goes to a doctor for sleepiness? Chuck was a wrestler. He'd suffered a broken neck, a crushed knee, a torn ACL, and a gunshot wound. God be damned if he was going to be taken out because he missed naptime.

Still though....sometimes, the desire to sleep was almost unbearable. It was pointless, too. Whenever Chuck had the time to sleep, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Sleep would only befall him when he was filing paperwork for ME, or trying to relax at home in front of the TV, or driving to and from work. Once night fell, he was wide awake, and nothing was helping him get to bed. He was getting better, though.

A knock at the door snaps Chuck out of his sleepy haze. He slowly stands, and opens the door, only to be greeted with Anna crashing into him, hugging him tight.

Chuck Matthews: "Five minutes. New record."

Anna squeezes Chuck tighter.

Anna Stone: "I'm sorry."

Chuck Matthews: "For what?"

Anna shakes her head.

Anna Stone: "Forget it."

Chuck frowns.

Chuck Matthews: "People usually don't apologize to me without good reason. Come on. What's going on?"

Anna lets go of Chuck and flops on the sofa.

Anna Stone: "Nothing...I just...I'm sorry I keep running off like that."

Chuck Matthews: "I can't say it's something I'm used to. Most women just want a free night with the Sex Icon. Can't say many of them run off before they get the chance."

Anna Stone: "Well...I already had that chance."

She smirks slyly. Chuck grins.

Chuck Matthews: "Yes....yes you did..."

Anna giggles, but slowly falls back into her serious demeanor.

Anna Stone: "I just feel like...like..."

Chuck Matthews: "You don't want this to turn into anything."

Anna bites her lip, and looks at Chuck nervously.

Anna Stone: "Are you mad?"

Chuck shakes his head, and sits next to her on the sofa. She curls up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Chuck Matthews: "Nah. Why would I be? You married the guy. I would think there was a reason for that. I'm not going to ask you to throw out years of feelings for him just because I suddenly show up and dump everything on its head."

There's silence for a moment.

Anna Stone: "Would it be weird if I said I'm glad you did?"

Chuck laughs.

Chuck Matthews: "That depends. Why?"

Anna smiles. The first genuine smile he'd seen in a while. She did have a very pretty smile...

Anna Stone: "I guess you just showed me what an asshole Brandon was. You reminded me that there were plenty of other sweet guys I could be with, and that I didn't have to deal with his bullshit if I didn't want to."

Chuck Matthews: "Damn. I did all that?"

Anna Stone: "You're a lot nicer than people say you are, Chuck."

Chuck shrugs. Before he has a chance to respond, she kisses him again, and slowly climbs on top of him. Chuck holds her close, and he feels her smiling as they kiss.

'I think I love her...'

Maybe he did.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chuck Matthews: "Alright.....so, let me say this as nicely as I possibly can.

What I do for my family is none of your fucking business.

Brandon, you and I have never really seen eye to eye. We've been on the same side...under false presumptions...But mostly, we've been on the opposite sides of the spectrum. Brandon, the guy who fights for honor, who fights for what's right, who fights to win, fights til the end.

Chuck Matthews...fights for himself, his own personal glory. Lives for himself, and will do whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, with no fear of any repurcussion.

But here's the thing....this whole high horse you're on, where you can sit there and tell me what's right and what's wrong, and tell me that I'm sick and twisted...you really think I care? What, like I'm going to stop and change my attitude and do things differently just because you, of all people, tell me not to?

Aww, boo hoo, big Brandon dun't like me!

You think I give a shit about you not liking me? You think I give a shit that you think my decisins regarding my family are cheap and dirty? I'll tell you what's cheap and dirty, Brandon. Hint hint, you've been fucking it for the past however many months it's been.

Oh hey Ash. How've ya been darlin?

Let's be honest with ourselves here, Brandon. I'm not the bad guy. Am I ever really the bad guy? I'm the guy that does things his own way, and I don't give a shit if people like me or not. You're going to sit there and play the victim, aren't you? That's so painfully predictable of you. God's Favorite Son, Brandon Macdonald, and his pretty little virgin girlfriend Ashley. Always do what's right, always stand up for what you believe in. Good guy wins, bad guy loses!

Good fucking God, I think I may have actually thrown up a bit. Haven't I pounded this into people's heads enough? Haven't I already made this completely clear? This ain't a fucking fairy tale. Welcome to the real world, jackass. The bad guy wins.

You know who the real victim is here? It ain't you. It ain't Ashley. Hell, it's not even me. No, the real victim is Anna Stone. Yeah, your ex-wife, Brandon. Let me guess. You think I spend my time doing everything in my power to fuck her brains out, and I used my evil devil powers to finally hypnotize her into doing my evil bidding. Right? I mean, I'm the Sex Icon, right? Guy's gotta be getting these women somehow, right? Surely must be some sort of trickery on my part.

Nah, I'll tell you what happened. Poor Anna was neglected. Course, it all makes sense now, doesn't it? While the great protector Brandon was off fucking some girl behind her back, Anna gets lonely. Wonders why her husband is getting father away from her. Wonders why he's never around. Eventually, that starts taking its toll on the poor woman. She looks for someone to vent to. Someone willing to listen, to hear her problems without judgment, someone who won't tell her what to do, and just let her spill everything that's on her mind.

Guess where I come in?

I did what you failed to do, Brandon. I stole your wife, the woman you claimed to love for the rest of your life. Took her from right under your nose. And since you were so preoccupied with some other girl, you were none the wiser. How's that for sad? Of course you won't blame me for this. You shouldn't. It wasn't my fault. I gave the woman a shoulder to cry on. I gave her someone to talk to, someone who would listen to her cry about how her precious husband didn't love her anymore. Christ, the woman is a one-girl soap opera. But in the end...it turned into something so much more than that. If there's anyone to blame for this, I'm pointing the finger at the man who was too busy fucking other women to notice what was going on.

Yeah, Brandon. That's you.

I was being a nice guy. I was helping a broken woman back on her feet. Do you like the sight of a woman crying, Brandon? I don't. I comforted her...and in doing so, I came to a surprising realization, one that even I refused to believe at first.

I love Anna Stone. She is a beautiful woman, one of the purest, most precious beings I've ever seen. So maybe it's actually me who should be thanking you, Brandon. If not for your stupidity and infidelity, I never would have met her. Ain't life screwy sometimes?

Now....this week, I find myself in an interesting situation. See, I don't really have anything to do. Nobody to fight....so guess what I'll be doing this week?

You can thank me later, Frankie.

I found it funny, listening to Brandon and Ashley run their mouths this week. Partly because I know Ash only gets it from me. Fuck, how many times did they say Ashley was every bit as biting and vicious as her old man? I find it a little ironic that Brandon made the claim that he "never fails...

Ever."

Is that a fact? Because I can look back to, say, Demolition Day.

Failure.

More recently, From the Ashes.

Failure.

Keeping your beloved wife.

Failure.

Problem, Brandon?

It seems that you've been on quite the failure streak lately. What, you beat Shadow Demon? As if that's some big accomplishment? You lost the IWF Championship to Ruben...because you were so drugged up you couldn't see your fucking hand in front of your face.

And you have the audacity to talk to me about what is and is not pathetic?

Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is self-illusion at its very finest.

I'll give credit where it's due. Brandon, you were one of the best in NLWF. You left for your own reasons, just as I left for mine. By the way, those reasons had more to do with Nick and Ashley than you. Nice try, though. In IWF though? You've lost to Corey Casey twice. Been IWF Champion for a couple months. Sided with two of the biggest failure stables in wrestling history in the Right Honourable Gentlemen and The New Disciples.

I mean, at least people realized Se7en existed. Does anyone realize there was a team to fight against it? Of course not, because Brandon was too busy playing God and dating Ashley and....

....whoa, flashback. I just had the strangest vision of some jackass with a mohawk. Weird.

Speaking of Ashley, how ya doing baby girl? Still mad at me? OF COURSE YOU ARE! Because you've come to realize that without this constant drama and misery in your life, nobody gives a shit about Ashley Matthews/Borden/Ridicule/Macdonald/Mason/Tilli/Rydell/whatever the fuck you decide to call yourself. You know what sucks the most about your past life? You got used to it. You're a glutton for punishment. You're a walking contradiction. If you're not miserable, you're not happy. You need to suffer, you need to have SOMETHING going wrong at all times, or else something just isn't right, is it?

There have been countless times when your own happiness was just one small choice away. You have one little decision to make. One causes a million problems, one makes you the happiest girl in the world. And you know the funniest part of it all? Most of the time, when you have that decision, it's because I did everything I could to set things up so YOU could be happy. So YOUR life would be easier. That's what fathers do. That's what I did. And yet, every time you were faced with that decision, you'd decide to make your life infinitely more complicated, and somehow turn all the blame on me. Fine. Fuck it, then. That's what I get, I suppose. They said you were the best thing I've done in the last three years. The one kind-hearted gesture in years of arrogant, self-absorbed decisions. I saved a poor girl and gave her a new life. For a while, I agreed with them. You were the closest family I had. These days...I really don't give a shit. Do what you want. I won't even play the adoptive father card on you, because I truly don't care much anymore. You know, the card that conveniently reminds you that without me, none of this shit would have ever happened and you would have spent another year getting your head bashed in with table lamps and rolling pins? Remember that?

Of course not. It's all about you, isn't it? All about 'Oh, he's my dad and he helped me, but I like everyone else on the face of the earth more than him.'

Look, I'm happy for you. You're my daughter, of course I'm happy for you. But don't expect me to be all flowers and smiley faces whenever you decide you want to start fucking some other douchebag I really don't like. I'm the last person in a position to approve or disapprove of other people's methods. But that doesn't mean I have to go along with this. So I won't. I'll do what I do best. You've made a point to erase me from your life, so be it. That means I can go back to doing things totally and completely for myself. I don't need to worry about any backlash you might suffer, or Chris, or any friends or family. I can worry about myself, and only myself.

And that's just the way I like it."