A Figure Skater & A Ginger Loner [v. Stian and Declan]

[Crosby Carter]

Sunday, March 18th, 2018

It was casual Sunday at Casa de FloBro. Thadd was at the gym, of course, and the dynamite couple were lounging on the couch in their living room. Carsyn was binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy on netflix and Crosby was pretending not to be enamored with the medical drama. He was wearing a pair of ripped black jeans, a grey hoodie and a camo snapback, backwards over his gorgeous locks. A beer was clenched in one hand and his phone was clenched in the other, as he scrolled through social media. His gorgeous girlfriend was wearing a black leggings set from Fashion Nova, which included a pair of high-waisted leggings with white stripes down the side and a matching long-sleeved, crop top with a hood. Instead of focusing on the show in front of her, she is staring at the wall beside it, her mind racing, elsewhere.

Crosby takes a sip of his beer and glanced down at his phone, a smirk on his face.

“Babe, I found an article about our match this week.” Reading about himself online was surreal. The wrestling world had ignored him until now.

Carsyn didn’t respond, glued to the blank spot on the wall that she was staring at.

“Babe.” His voice was slightly louder, trying to get her attention and she jumped a little, looking in his direction.

“Huh?”

“Listen to this.” He said, beginning to read the article aloud from his phone.”The Flo Bros were a joke before their first match. But after stepping into the ring with a submission queen like Nora and a technical star like Gosch, and winning, you cannot deny that the Bros have talent. This week they’re facing the random pairing of Stian Fournette and Declan Hale. To be fair, they both put on a great show last week, but they don’t know each other. Declan doesn’t seem like the friendly type and I don’t think he’ll appreciate being teamed with a former figure skater grasping for his next little bit of fame. Nothing can compare to a true team. Crosby and Thadd have been a team for their entire careers. Inside that ring, they understand each other better than most. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to best utilize them. Declan and Stian probably haven’t even met.”

Carsyn really only caught the tail-end of what he just said and simply nodded. “They’re right. You and Thadd are solid.”

“And we have you.” A smile touched his lips.

“Well, they’ll probably have Aurora too. The numbers will be even this week.”

Crosby couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Obviously he saw Carsyn as more of a threat than Aurora. “Well, you can take care of her. And the difference is, I don’t worry about you out there. You are tough as nails and I know you can handle yourself. Stain, on the other hand, threw himself in front of a weapon for Aurora last week. She’s his weakness and if we put her in danger, he’ll get distracted and then we’ll corner Declan.” Just another example of their tag team strategy.

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Blu Alehouse - Sunday, March 11th

The clinking of glass filled the empty bar as Carsyn and Clementine stack empty glasses behind the bar. It was another late shift for Carsyn, but those always tipped the best. It wasn’t country night, so Carsyn was simply wearing a pair of high-waisted ripped jeans with a hot pink, lace crop top that looked more like a bra. Her long locks were curled perfectly and her look was finished with a pair of black converse. The place was empty and Clementine was counting her tips on the counter. As Carsyn went to move a tray of glasses under the bar she got a searing pain in her abdomen. It felt like a hot poker and she doubled over, dropping the tray and sending glasses tumbling to the floor. Most of them survived but a few shattered into pieces upon impact.

Clementine dropped the money and spun in Carsyn’s direction. The blonde’s teeth were gritted as her hand clenched at her stomach. Her coworker ran to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Cars, are you okay?” Her voice was laced with concern as she looked down at the tough blonde.

“It’s fine.” She answered through gritted teeth. “It’ll pass.” The Staten Island native knew this because she had gotten these shooting pains sporadically over the last few days.

A few moments later, the pain began to subside and Carsyn slid onto the floor behind the bar. It wasn’t the most sanitary place, but she could barely stand. Clementine crouched down next to her with a look of motherly worry spread across her face.

“That’s new.”

“It’s been happening for a few days. It’s fine.”

Clem arched an eyebrow at her friend. “You need to go to the doctors. This could be serious.”

The blonde blew a piece of hair out of face and simply shrugged. “With what insurance? I work at a bar and my boyfriend is a wrestler. We only go to the hospital if a limb is hanging off.” Clementine also knew that it was because her parents had just cut her off, which meant they wouldn’t be covering any medical bills for their college drop-out of a daughter.

“Maybe you’re pregnant.” Clementine joked as she nudged Carsyn lightly. Carsyn just rolled her eyes.

“I’m not.”

“Are you currently bleeding?” Yes, this is how girls talk about their periods. Grow up boys.

“No but that doesn’t mean I’m pregnant.” The blonde shot back as her eyes narrowed. In her mind she was trying to remember when she last had her period. When was the last time she ate something completely gross out of hormonal rage?

“Either way. You need to take care of yourself, Carsyn. If you drop dead I am not going to go down as the person who let you do it. Crosby would murder me in cold blood. If this was him, you’d make him go to the doctors.”

Clementine made a valid point. “I just don’t want to worry him. It's probably nothing.”

“Okay, go tomorrow during your shift. The boss is off and I’ll cover for you. Monday’s are literally so dead. If it’s nothing, at least you’ll have peace of mind.”

A small smile touched the lips of the female FloBro. “For real?”

It was probably her motherly instincts that made Clementine nod.

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Crosby looked down as his phone and began reading again. “Stian is an amazing technical athlete - excelling in both submission and technique, but this isn’t a regular wrestling company. Last week the FloBros defeated Nora, who is a better submissionist than Stian and Gosch, who is probably one of the best technical wrestlers in the company. It’s clear that they are able to use their high-flying ability, speed and power to find ways around technical skills.”

“Not to mention, that figure skating loser is no hardcore wrestler. This is yours and Thadd’s element and weapons will help you level the playing field.”

Emi smiled from the kitchen as Crosby glanced back at her. She was rummaging through the fridge and acting like she owned the place. But she did have a point. He shrugged and kept reading.

“Declan, on the other hand, is riddled with injuries. An injury is a liability in a regular match, but in a match against extreme fighters like the FloBros, it could be detrimental. They won’t hesitate to break him down with weapons and when all of your injuries are in your lower-half, it will be awfully hard to hit any standing moves once they’ve been picked apart. He'll be rendered useless quite easily.”

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JFK Medical Center - Monday, March 12th, 2018

Carsyn had just spent hours at JFK Memorial Center. She knew that Clementine had the right idea. Being in Crosby’s corner every week meant that she needed to keep herself in her best physical shape.

She stepped outside of the main hospital doors with a somber look on her face. Her black Alexa Mulberry bag was slung over her shoulder and she was wrapped in a simple black leather jacket. A few pieces of paper were clenched in her hands. After making it a few steps outside, she leaned up against the brick wall and scanned over the sheets.

Whatever was on them looked serious as she wiped a single tear from her cheek and shoved them inside her purse. A few moments passed by before she reached into her pocket, Carsyn pulled a business card out and stared at it. With her other hand, she pulled out her phone.

She hesitated.

Carsyn Carrabetta didn’t ask for help. Especially not from a stranger. But he did say anything. And didn’t really have a choice, did she?

The blonde bit her bottom lip and began dialing.

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“Not to mention, Crosby Carter and Dickie Watson are a similar speedy, high-flying style and Declan wasn’t able to overcome the latter. So why should we believe that the ginger loner will be able to overcome it this week? With a loss under his belt and some creepy masked psycho lurking in the shadows, Declan’s focus will be elsewhere. What’s to stop the masked man from attacking again and costing him yet another victory?”

“Overall, the Flo Bros have aerial skill, fearlessness, speed and power on their side. I don’t see how they can lose to a team who have never met before in a hardcore environment where they thrive.”

Crosby looked to Carsyn with a smile on his face. “Whoever wrote this is brilliant. We’re going to crush those losers this week. This is our house and our future is at the top of the Factory.”

“Mmhmm.” Was all the blonde could muster, without even looking in his direction. She was clearly not paying attention, yet again.

“Cars, what’s up with you?” The beautiful Bro asked. Glancing up, his girlfriend had guilt written all over her face.

“What do you mean?” Had he been through her purse? Crosby would never snoop but maybe it was an accident. Her mind started racing with how she would explain this.

“You’ve been quiet all week. I can just tell something is up.” Running his hair through his beautiful, thick locks the daredevil let out a sigh. “Thadd’s got his psycho little sister sleeping in his room, hiding her relationship with Logan and god knows what else. Everyone is running around slamming doors and you’re acting like I’m made of freakin’ glass. Like can everyone just be normal again?”

Relief washed over her. He didn't know. Sliding closer to him on the couch, Carsyn placed a hand on his thigh and pouted slightly. “I wanted to tell you this last week. But I just wanted you to focus on your match. I didn’t want to be a distraction.”

Crosby took her hand in his and stared deep into her eyes. “Carsyn, you are the love of my life. You can’t be a distraction. Is it something the old man said to you?”

His eyes were pleading with her to come clean. And she would come clean, just not about what was truly torturing her.

“My parents found out I dropped out of college. They cut me off, Cros. They think I’m a failure.” And just like that she began to sob. Crosby wrapped her in his arms and she buried her face in his neck, letting out all of her pain. To be honest, she had gotten over the stupid drama with her parents pretty quickly. She was crying over bigger problems now. But she didn’t want Crosby to worry.

“Babe, I’m so sorry.”

A little piece of her died lying to Crosby. But until she was certain about her future, she couldn’t be his distraction. She couldn’t be the reason his dream wasn’t realized.