Post by emily on Mar 2, 2024 11:53:41 GMT -5
My mom took me away from my dad when I was four years old. I remember her putting me to bed and then going downstairs to the kitchen to argue with my dad. I would sneak out of bed and sit at the top of the stairs and listen to them fight. Mom would get violent with dad and then claim he was the violent one because he was a wrestler. Plates would be broken, glasses would be shattered and eventually I would run back to my room and pull the covers up over my head and snuggle with my teddy bear and suck my thumb. In the morning everything would seem fine but I could sense the underlying tension between my parents and I could see the bits and pieces of broken dishes left around the kitchen.
When things were quieter, dad and I would watch wrestling tapes of him and his friends when they first started wrestling. I told my dad that I wanted to be a wrestler just like him and he never once said no, instead he told me that if I worked hard and had enough grit and determination I could do anything I wanted to.
One night while dad was away at a wrestling show, mom packed up what she could and she tried to leave but I kicked and screamed the whole way to the car and continued until I had cried myself out and ended up falling asleep.
“Where’s daddy? Is he coming to meet us too? I want daddy!”
I remember crying to this day and it still breaks my heart as badly now as it did then.
~~~~~
Ruby ran along the dirt path that led to the woods behind her home. Handsome was beside her on his leash and more than happy to be out with mommy.
“Come on Handsome! Let's step it up a notch and run to the top of the hill!”
Handsome was more than willing to go a little faster if it meant spending time with mom. The two of them ran together up the slight incline and reached the top of the hill in just under ten minutes.
“Who’s a good boy?”
Ruby asked as she slipped her backpack off and sat down on a nearby rock and brought out her portable doggie water dish and dumped some cool water into it for him..
“Has mommy told you how much she loves you?”
Handsome looked up at her with his deep deep dark adoring eyes and then licked her cheek. She wrapped her arms around her rotweiller’s neck and kissed the top of his head. She brought out a baggie with some kibble in it and fed Handsome as well. Then she took out some trail mix she had made up for herself and munched on that and then finished off her water bottle.
Taking her phone out of her pack, she turned it on and took some pictures of Handsome before she turned on the record button.
“So I have another match this week. Brooke must have been pretty brave or pretty stupid to wanna get in the ring with me. People have seen what I can do in and out of the ring. I’ve had a bit of a bumpy start here in WGWF but that changes this coming week when I break my opponent in half like a twig. She’s a former believer in Marisol Vilaro’s Vilaro System? What a joke, sounds more like a cult to me! I know you’re a rookie just like I am but see there is a huge difference between the two of us besides our size. I quite literally grew up in a wrestling ring as a child. I may have been young but I understood the ins and outs of the wrestling ring. I’ve been working my ass off for years honing my skills. I may not have the best record yet, but that’s about to change when I pin you Brooke in the middle of the ring and leave you wishing you had never become a wrestler. Hey El Presidente! Watch out for your next rising star!”
Ruby put her phone away and put Handsome’s stuff into her backpack and the two of them headed back down the hill. She let him run off leash, knowing full well he would run right home to his favorite swing on her front porch. However as she drew closer to her home, she could hear Handsome growling and barking and someone yelling at him.
“Get away from me you flea bitten mongrel!”
“What the hell are you doing here Travis?”
Ruby came upon the scene of Handsome, with his fur standing up on end and snarling with his fangs showing. Having her stepfather cornered in the side of his truck with one foot on the ground and one foot in the truck, using the truck door to keep the rottweiler from biting him.
Ruby called him but he refused her command and stayed where he was. Handsome lunged at Travis’s foot and he yanked it back into the truck and cursed at the dog.
“Watch your mouth! That’s my dog you are talking to, he has more compassion in one paw than you have in your whole body Travis.”
“Keep that monster away from me!”.
“Shut your mouth you man child and stay where you are or I’ll let him loose again.”
“You’d do that to your father?”
Ruby spun around as she stood at the top of her porch steps and with raised eyebrows and flared nostrils spoke with a deadly tone in her voice.
“Father? You are lucky I didn't shoot you for trespassing! You’re just some man child that my mom married and then allowed him to verbally and physically abuse me! Do remember breaking my arm when I was nine when you yanked me up from the carpet when I spilled grape juice? Do you remember how you and mom covered it up at the hospital so CPS wouldn’t be called? What the hell do you want Travis? Handsome come!”
Ruby was so angry that her hands were gripped into fists as she stood there, Handsome looked over his shoulder at Ruby but ignored the command.
“It’s your mom.”
“What about her?”
“She’s in the hospital, she was in a bad car accident this morning and they wanted her family to gather.”
“So you’ll be the only one there then? Because I sure as hell am not going near that woman. She lost the right to the name mom when she allowed you to hurt me! Go to hell and get off my property before I call the cops! Handsome now!”
Ruby knelt down and held her arms open to her dog and he finally left Travis’s truck and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
“She’s your mother! You owe her some respect Rioux! That monster of yours is no good and should be put down!”
“I owe her nothing! Don’t call me that. Only my dad was ever allowed to call me Rioux! Handsome is no monster Travis, you and mom are the monsters around here, now GO!”
Travis opened the door to his truck as if he were going to get out and Handsome barked and snarled as he moved between the truck and Ruby attempting to protect her.
“Fine! I’ll go but you're going to regret this Ruby.”
“Whatever Travis! I stopped being afraid of you years ago!”
Ruby watched as Travis backed up and spun his wheels and took off.. Once he was out of sight, Ruby dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Handsome and hugged him tightly. She lost track of how long she sat there until her knees began to ache from kneeling so long. Handsome stood up and she braced herself against him as she stood up. Heading into the house she took his harness off and he sauntered over to the fireplace and curled up in front of it on one of his many doggie beds he had throughout the house. Ruby grabbed a drink from the fridge and just slumped onto the sofa in front of where the dog was napping now. She popped the top on a can of Pepsi and took a long sip as all the adrenaline drained out of her body and she felt physically exhausted as she kicked off her running shoes and propped her feet up on the coffee table and then took another long swig from the can in front of her and she laid her head back against the sofa. Watching her dog, Ruby was amazed at how quickly he could go from killer instinct to big baby in the blink of an eye.
Handsome sensed he was needed and he opened his eyes and locked contact with Ruby for a minute and got up from his bed and hopped up onto the sofa with Ruby and laid his head in her lap.
“You’re mommy’s best boy ever.”
Ruby said as she finished off her Pepsi and then kissed the top of his head. She stayed there for quite awhile just enjoying the dog’s comforting presence before she got up and locked the front door and then made sure all the windows were locked and the back door was locked before tossing her empty can into the recycling bin and calling to Handsome who followed her upstairs and left the light on before she crawled into bed where Ruby cuddled with the massive dog until she had felt safe enough to fall asleep.
When things were quieter, dad and I would watch wrestling tapes of him and his friends when they first started wrestling. I told my dad that I wanted to be a wrestler just like him and he never once said no, instead he told me that if I worked hard and had enough grit and determination I could do anything I wanted to.
One night while dad was away at a wrestling show, mom packed up what she could and she tried to leave but I kicked and screamed the whole way to the car and continued until I had cried myself out and ended up falling asleep.
“Where’s daddy? Is he coming to meet us too? I want daddy!”
I remember crying to this day and it still breaks my heart as badly now as it did then.
~~~~~
Ruby ran along the dirt path that led to the woods behind her home. Handsome was beside her on his leash and more than happy to be out with mommy.
“Come on Handsome! Let's step it up a notch and run to the top of the hill!”
Handsome was more than willing to go a little faster if it meant spending time with mom. The two of them ran together up the slight incline and reached the top of the hill in just under ten minutes.
“Who’s a good boy?”
Ruby asked as she slipped her backpack off and sat down on a nearby rock and brought out her portable doggie water dish and dumped some cool water into it for him..
“Has mommy told you how much she loves you?”
Handsome looked up at her with his deep deep dark adoring eyes and then licked her cheek. She wrapped her arms around her rotweiller’s neck and kissed the top of his head. She brought out a baggie with some kibble in it and fed Handsome as well. Then she took out some trail mix she had made up for herself and munched on that and then finished off her water bottle.
Taking her phone out of her pack, she turned it on and took some pictures of Handsome before she turned on the record button.
“So I have another match this week. Brooke must have been pretty brave or pretty stupid to wanna get in the ring with me. People have seen what I can do in and out of the ring. I’ve had a bit of a bumpy start here in WGWF but that changes this coming week when I break my opponent in half like a twig. She’s a former believer in Marisol Vilaro’s Vilaro System? What a joke, sounds more like a cult to me! I know you’re a rookie just like I am but see there is a huge difference between the two of us besides our size. I quite literally grew up in a wrestling ring as a child. I may have been young but I understood the ins and outs of the wrestling ring. I’ve been working my ass off for years honing my skills. I may not have the best record yet, but that’s about to change when I pin you Brooke in the middle of the ring and leave you wishing you had never become a wrestler. Hey El Presidente! Watch out for your next rising star!”
Ruby put her phone away and put Handsome’s stuff into her backpack and the two of them headed back down the hill. She let him run off leash, knowing full well he would run right home to his favorite swing on her front porch. However as she drew closer to her home, she could hear Handsome growling and barking and someone yelling at him.
“Get away from me you flea bitten mongrel!”
“What the hell are you doing here Travis?”
Ruby came upon the scene of Handsome, with his fur standing up on end and snarling with his fangs showing. Having her stepfather cornered in the side of his truck with one foot on the ground and one foot in the truck, using the truck door to keep the rottweiler from biting him.
Ruby called him but he refused her command and stayed where he was. Handsome lunged at Travis’s foot and he yanked it back into the truck and cursed at the dog.
“Watch your mouth! That’s my dog you are talking to, he has more compassion in one paw than you have in your whole body Travis.”
“Keep that monster away from me!”.
“Shut your mouth you man child and stay where you are or I’ll let him loose again.”
“You’d do that to your father?”
Ruby spun around as she stood at the top of her porch steps and with raised eyebrows and flared nostrils spoke with a deadly tone in her voice.
“Father? You are lucky I didn't shoot you for trespassing! You’re just some man child that my mom married and then allowed him to verbally and physically abuse me! Do remember breaking my arm when I was nine when you yanked me up from the carpet when I spilled grape juice? Do you remember how you and mom covered it up at the hospital so CPS wouldn’t be called? What the hell do you want Travis? Handsome come!”
Ruby was so angry that her hands were gripped into fists as she stood there, Handsome looked over his shoulder at Ruby but ignored the command.
“It’s your mom.”
“What about her?”
“She’s in the hospital, she was in a bad car accident this morning and they wanted her family to gather.”
“So you’ll be the only one there then? Because I sure as hell am not going near that woman. She lost the right to the name mom when she allowed you to hurt me! Go to hell and get off my property before I call the cops! Handsome now!”
Ruby knelt down and held her arms open to her dog and he finally left Travis’s truck and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
“She’s your mother! You owe her some respect Rioux! That monster of yours is no good and should be put down!”
“I owe her nothing! Don’t call me that. Only my dad was ever allowed to call me Rioux! Handsome is no monster Travis, you and mom are the monsters around here, now GO!”
Travis opened the door to his truck as if he were going to get out and Handsome barked and snarled as he moved between the truck and Ruby attempting to protect her.
“Fine! I’ll go but you're going to regret this Ruby.”
“Whatever Travis! I stopped being afraid of you years ago!”
Ruby watched as Travis backed up and spun his wheels and took off.. Once he was out of sight, Ruby dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Handsome and hugged him tightly. She lost track of how long she sat there until her knees began to ache from kneeling so long. Handsome stood up and she braced herself against him as she stood up. Heading into the house she took his harness off and he sauntered over to the fireplace and curled up in front of it on one of his many doggie beds he had throughout the house. Ruby grabbed a drink from the fridge and just slumped onto the sofa in front of where the dog was napping now. She popped the top on a can of Pepsi and took a long sip as all the adrenaline drained out of her body and she felt physically exhausted as she kicked off her running shoes and propped her feet up on the coffee table and then took another long swig from the can in front of her and she laid her head back against the sofa. Watching her dog, Ruby was amazed at how quickly he could go from killer instinct to big baby in the blink of an eye.
Handsome sensed he was needed and he opened his eyes and locked contact with Ruby for a minute and got up from his bed and hopped up onto the sofa with Ruby and laid his head in her lap.
“You’re mommy’s best boy ever.”
Ruby said as she finished off her Pepsi and then kissed the top of his head. She stayed there for quite awhile just enjoying the dog’s comforting presence before she got up and locked the front door and then made sure all the windows were locked and the back door was locked before tossing her empty can into the recycling bin and calling to Handsome who followed her upstairs and left the light on before she crawled into bed where Ruby cuddled with the massive dog until she had felt safe enough to fall asleep.