Chapter 9

Backstage, Nova grabbed Becket's arm, forcing him to turn back to her. "Don't you ever fucking pull that shit on me again!"

He chuckled, "Do what? Oh, just a sec… Hey Raven! Thanks for the help."

Raven waved and smiled back at him.

"You fucking asshole!"

Nova kneed Becket in the groin and he quickly doubled over grabbing his crotch, wreathing in pain.

Walking over to Raven, Nova was ready to fight. "I will tear your head off, bitch!"

Nova started to grab Raven when someone approached her from behind, pulling her away.

A deep voice from a tall man behind her came with a rumble. "Raven. Get out of here. Nova, calm down."

She turned around seeing her old mentor, Kevin Larson, standing there.

"Kevin?"

"What's up, star shine? What? No hug for your old buddy, Kev?" Nova fell into his arms. "Come on. Let's get you to your locker room."

Walking her through the crowd of the Powerbomb Global roster, he glared at everyone watching as they pass by. Some wrestlers were excited she was there, some of them she knew from WEC days, and the rest just looked at her as if they hated her mere existence.

When they reached the dressing room, Nova ran in crying and threw herself face-first onto the couch.

Kevin just put his hands on his hips watching her breakdown. "Nova, you want to tell me what is up with you kneeing my friend in the nuts?"

"Ask him. He's a jerk. And Raven - That bitch shot on me. I may have been out of the ring for a while, but I know when someone hits me with intent to hurt me."

"From what I've heard, you've not been exactly a delight to be around since you walked in. You know I've always been real with you. We may not have seen each other since you left to play your music, but I still know that girl that was all smiles and giggles. From what I see on TV, and hear from Eric, you sort of lost your shine." Kevin sat down and patted the spot on the bench near him.

Nova scooted over rubbing her hands together while leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm not the same girl anymore. Kev, you were always cool. I loved hanging with you and the guys back in the day. You, Ace, Becket. I looked up to you all, but I was a just stupid kid then. I'm a grown woman now."

"So, begging daddy to get you here was being grown?" He leaned his head to look at her in the eyes with a serious tone.

Seeing her so broken, he took her hands in his. His massive hands covering hers like a cocoon was a comfort until the realization of his words hit her.

"Jeez! Not you too. I did what I had to do. Don't pretend to know anything about who I am now." She pulled away. "I came here because I miss my old life. I miss wrestling. Was it the ideal way to do it? No. But I'm a star now. Things change."

Nova grabbed water from the gift basket Powerbomb Global staff had set up for her, trying to avoid the conversation. Putting it on the swelling bump on her head, she winced in pain.

"Humm? It seems like the easy way out. Not the fighter I remember who worked her ass off to get in that ring every chance she got. Maybe that's why Becket is being so hard on you. You know how serious he has always been about this job. He's going to test you to see if you have what it takes."

"Kev I…" Nova started to speak when Becket suddenly threw open the door.

"You arrogant little bitch!" Kevin stood up standing between the two. "Kev, leave us alone for a minute."

"Great idea, Kev. Get out. I have things to talk to my new mentor about." Nova got in Beckett's face scowling up at him.

He looked down at her with his face red and scrunched up like a raging bull.

Kevin shook his head and just walked out. "This is insane. I'm out. See ya later, star shine. Try not to kill each other."

Becket pointed in her face. "First off. Hitting me in the nuts. Really? I would expect that from a childish brat like you. Second. You have no idea who you just pissed off. I am not one to mess with here. I may have no say in you being here, but I have a free pass to your departure. You better learn a little respect, or your time here will be one hell of a shit storm."

"Fuck you, Becket! You never even gave me a chance. And respect? Why don't you try to show some, if you expect to get it back? I'm not just some newbie rookie you can push around. I have been in this business since I was old enough to walk. I grew up around wrestling. Sure, I had a short career, but I'm not a clueless rookie who doesn't know my shit. You wouldn't know that because you won't even acknowledge I have any background at all."

"Background in what? Having daddy do your dirty work for you?"

Nova looked away as her heart felt like it was in a vice. "You obviously don't remember me, do you? I was a teenager when you were at WEC. When you first started, you wouldn't even give me a time of day. I thought you were the coolest talent there. Nothing's changed since then, I guess. You still see me as a spoiled little brat. I remember you always dodging me back then. I was a sophomore in high school, and Dad let me come to some shows during the summer."

"Nova that's..."

"No! You listen. I kept wanting to hang out with you and your friends, but you all just saw me as a pesky kid. Except for Kev who actually saw something in me. Well, I'm not a kid anymore, but my feelings still hurt just the same. What you did out there tonight was messed up and you know it!"

Becket held his head down knowing he remembered her. She was a small playful dark-haired girl who was always bugging him to work out in the gym and play music together. He hadn't played his guitar in years. He thought she was annoying most days, and huge crush on him back then, but she was just a teenager.

He remembered Nova getting the ring and being in trouble all the time for not asking permission. Even then, he could see one day Nova would be a star.

Becket sighed saying, "I remember you. You were so tiny compared to all of us. We were always were afraid you would get hurt in the ring."

He tried to calm down, realizing maybe he was being too hard on her.

"Well, the mighty Becket remembers a poor little wannabe. Why don't you just leave me alone? Stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours." She sat on the bench, looking defeated.

"Fine. The training starts tomorrow morning. We keep this business only. I don't expect you to stick it out for very long anyway. I work out early. Be ready to hit the gym at 5:00 am. You need to get rid of the crew you have with you. You don't need all that here. We have a makeup team and people here for us. I'm thinking that you're just being a showoff with all this fanfare."

"What about the ring-rats who are always hanging around Colossus? Are you willing to give them up? Not much difference is there? You have groupies - I have people who work for me. They are all I have known for years. Claire is my friend and my assistant, so I'm not making her leave. The rest of them… I couldn't care less. They're a bunch of vultures anyway. Either way, the groupies or entourage, all people like them want is to bleed off celebrity popularity. They're like vampires, sucking us dry," Nova explained.

"Shitty way to talk about your own staff."

"Claire is the only one of those bastards that have ever cared about me in the past six years. In one year that she's been with me, Claire has been more of a friend than any of them. All they want is to be seen with me, go to fancy parties, and live the glam life. Claire is the only one who ever has asked me how my day was or if I needed someone to talk to. She is the only one of them that has ever said one kind word to me. When I'm having a bad day, she brings me ice cream and sits in my room with me watching movies to cheer me up. She's a good friend and always makes me feel better."

"What about the rest of them?" he asked, not understanding why she would even allow them to stay if it was true.

He was a celebrity, but he didn't have a big entourage following him around. He was just an average guy when the cameras went off, unless it was event related. Seeing the hurt in Nova's eyes, maybe she was right about them.

Nova turned away, getting some distance between them. She fiddled with her fingernails while she thought of how they treated her. "For the past year, on my world tour, those people would talk trash about me. They sold photos of me that made me look bad to gossip magazines. Oh, and on good days, they would sit around laughing at me while my manager treated me like shit. The only reason they're here tonight is if I told them about my contract with Powerbomb, they would have leaked it to the media. One more week and those jerks will be gone."

"I didn't know that."

"Well, you wouldn't, would you? Like everyone else in my life, you never took the time to talk to me about any of this. No one takes the time to find out who I really am. You see that little girl who bugged you to work out with her in the gym. Well shit, Becket. It took all these years to get you to work out with me. That must be some sort of fucking record. Know what? Just get out. I need to get ready to leave this nightmare. I want to go to the hotel and get some rest." She grabbed her bag ready to leave.

Claire opened the door, peeking her head in. "Nova, the car is ready."

"Good. The faster I leave the better."

She stomped past Becket leaving him to think about what she said. He deserved no more explanation.