It's A Long Walk

[This was originally posted on the DWF boards, and I'm reposting it here as a call-back on a few things Nora references in her other thing. I hope you enjoy.]

“Uhmmm hi. I’m Nora Harris, I called earlier today about visiting hours?”

The lady at the information desk for the Nexus Recovery Center in North Dallas looked up at Nora, well, more across at Nora as she shifted nervously, her sneakers squeaking on the clean tiles. Nora looked around before she took a step closer, fishing her wallet out to show her I.D. then nervously dropping it after removing it from the plastic sleeve. Without thinking she put her wallet back and then sighed as she was handed back her I.D.

“Sorry. So is it cool if I… where am I supposed to go?”

The lady held up a finger then tapped in some information to her computer.

“He’s out in the garden, I’ll have one of the orderlies walk you back.”

She paused, giving Nora an almost sympathetic, warmer look.

“You’re the first person that’s come to see him.”

Nora rocked a little back and forth, her hands going to the pockets of her jeans as she not quite made eye contact with the lady, Carol, she thought, her nametag says Carol.

“Oh. Well his family is all up in Ohio. I just happened to be in Texas, my job and all. Going to be in Austin for it on the 26th so I figured I’d come a little early, make the trip to see him too.”

Nervously she picked at the zipper of her hoodie, the weather had been overcast and rainy even though it wasn’t raining right now and she wanted to be prepared. She slid her I.D. into her pocket next to her phone and she sighed again. She didn’t know why she was feeling this way, heart pounding a little, almost dizzy but she managed a smile as the orderly came up. He was an older man, big in a way that former pro football players were before they went to fat from keeping the diet of an athlete without the working out part. He gave her a kind look after checking with the desk where he was guiding her, and he gently took her by the elbow to steer her as they walked along the long hallway towards the gardens. Nora looked straight ahead as they walked past open rooms including an ongoing yoga class in one, a pottery class in another, one hand tight on the strap of her purse. There was an underlying medicinal smell, the sort of industrial cleaners used in hospitals and institutions like this across the country that the pleasant aroma of the aromatic plug ins she saw along the walls failed to fully mask and those were set strong enough that the ‘Clean Linen’ smell was making her big eyes water a bit.

It was a real relief when the orderly opened the door, and escorted her out into the gardens. They weren’t much really - some park-like paths that were in a big loop with a figure eight in the center, some low shrubbery, a few hardy flowers that would do pretty well with the temperature fluctuations that came with a Summer in Texas. There were some nice benches, some wood and some a fake marble, a koi pond (at least Nora thought there were koi in it) and music played out over tinny speakers. She spotted Tommy Böhmer near one of the brick walls that surrounded the gardens, pacing back and forth and when he looked up she gave him a little wave. Her steps faltered as the look he gave her wasn’t exactly one of welcome but she convinced herself that it was because of the orderly who was with her. She sat on one of the benches and he told her if she needed anything he’d be around. An awkward silence ensued until the orderly disappeared back into the building. Nora tried to break it, at least.

“Hey. I thought it would be nice to come see you instead of sending you just another email, since DWF is in Texas for a show…”

She trailed off and bit her lip, waiting but he was still pacing. It made her think back to how he was in a wrestling ring, how he’d always made it seem so effortless. He was still pale, despite sitting outside and his dark hair was longer than she’d ever seen it, long enough that he’d pulled it back into a manbun. His tattoos were the same chaotic riot of color, but instead of that sort of thrill she’d used to feel around him she was distress to realize that the only thing she was feeling as she looked at him was a kind of sinking in the pit of her stomach. His look had eased off from the hard one of earlier but he still wasn’t speaking, and still hadn’t really looked at her. He finally paused his pacing and crossed his arms over his chest. They were still well-muscled but he looked so thin, too thin.

“I didn’t ask you to come, Nora, for a reason. I don’t need your charity, or your pity, or your emails or your socks. But since you came all this way?”

His thin lips twisted just like they always had, usually right before he’d say something cutting to someone and Nora unconsciously leaned back on the bench, bracing herself. His eyes roved over her, and for a moment his expression loosened up and that was somehow worse.

“Look just go get me a soda and then we’ll talk. I’m sorry I’m being a jerk, but I’m not past the D.T.’s yet and it’s making me edgy.”

Nora shot up to her feet, and grabbed a couple of dollars out of her wallet before she took off towards the building.

“It’s cool, I didn’t mean to… let me go get you that soda, I’ll be right back.”

She gave him a smile over her shoulder before she sprinted off, and he watched her until she went into the building just like he had the orderly. Then he looked at the bench she’d been sitting on, and took in the sight of her white leather purse.

Outgoing Text:
Patrick, can you maybe come get me?

It was raining.

Of course it was raining.

Her phone beeped to signal a return text and she eagerly pulled it up, then sighed as her shoulders slumped.

Outgoing Text:
Oh.

Okay. Call you later.

“Max versus Heidi versus Patrick versus Nora. I have to admit I was excited when I saw that Patrick had bought his way into this match. I was maybe a little too excited, because this is all so new to me. I’ve never seen a company do anything quite like this, to let talent buy their way into a match? It just seemed super cool to me and I wanted to try it too. It’s also the main event of the show and come on, who isn’t excited about being able to be in the main event?”

Nora was unseen as her voice was recorded at first, the GoPro she normally used set up and facing the edge of an empty hotel bed. Nora came into the shot, walking slower than usual and she flipped the covers back before she sat down, wearing a pair of grey sweats that had seen a lot better days, her luxurious dark hair was twisted into a braid for sleep, and she looked very tired herself, hints of dark smudge under her big expressive eyes.

“Max, I admire him a bit you know? This is a guy that works hard, harder than most people would give him credit for, just to be here. You can’t help but admire that sort of drive, and I really can’t think of anything negative to say about that. I’m not saying that he doesn’t care about winning? But maybe he’s just happy to wrestle and doesn’t much care about what some of the rest of us do. I wouldn’t ever speak for him, but he’s definitely a person who has overcome a lot and who wouldn’t respect that?

Heidi, I’ve talked about her attitude before. I mean, we’re not friends, you know? But I would like to think that by the end of the day we’re not enemies either. I kind of just have gotten to the point I take a lot of stuff she says with a grain of salt because really… in this business if you take every little thing said to you to heart? You’re not going to get very far. She runs hot and cold though, and I mean I’m not all that much older than she is but come on, know when to reign it in. You don’t need to make enemies or rustle jimmies to be good in the ring or make yourself a nice little career in this business. Right now it’s crucial, it’s key… who are you Heidi? What is it that you strive for, where do you actually see yourself? If you have trouble answering any of those questions you need to do a serious halt, back up and regroup.

Patrick…”

Nora gave a sweet smile, and a spark lit in her dark eyes.

“You really make me smile, you know that? I meant what I said, about how when I look at you I just want to listen to your stories, I want to hear anything you have to say. I know I kind of went a little far in buying into this match, and I felt bad for a bit because it was your idea first. But I really just wanted to be in another match with you, and that makes me smile too.”

She paused, and reached to shut off the camera, but not before it picked up her last words.

“The cuddles thing is pretty amazingtastic too.”