Maybe I Want To Prove Myself Just As Bad // Scream Fest 02

[Raven MacDemare]

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Charlotte, North Carolina

“I’ll also keep it a secret that your girlfriend is a baby killer and aborted your child last su-”

Raven clicked ‘pause’ on the YouTube video she was watching and sighed. Arianny DeLise had stooped to an all-time low last week when she had put Lord and Raven’s personal business out there for everyone to hear. The 20-year old had been watching the video on repeat for the last hour, torturing herself with the lowest point of her life, and always stopping it right before Lord hit Arianny with the “Silver Bullet.”

Getting pregnant and making the decision to have an abortion at the age of 19 hadn't been easy for Raven. She had found out about the baby right as she made the TopCats. Lord had been shell-shocked over the fact, and hadn't swayed Raven’s decision in any way. Ultimately, she was the one who decided to terminate the pregnancy knowing that neither of them were mature enough to be parents at the moment. Even though it had been the right thing, Raven felt lousy about it. Lovey had never told a soul and kept it their secret.

But now the whole world knew and that wasn't okay.

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Outdoor Patio of French Quarter Restaurant
Tuesday, October 25th 2016

For what seemed like the thousandth time, Tanith MacDemare glanced at her watch and sighed. Raven and her mother were having lunch while Amber Fletcher was at Bank of America Stadium trying out for the Carolina Panthers cheerleading squad. Raven was more excited than nervous for her sister, but Tanith was making the young brunette overly anxious.

“Relax, Mom. Amber is going to do fine.”

Tanith paused for a moment and finally looked at her oldest child. The former porn star gave Raven a long look and sat back in her seat. “It’s not Amber that I'm worried about right now.”

“I told you, I’m fine.” Raven busied herself by glancing at her phone. Lord was texting her, as per usual, but she wasn't in the mood to reply too him. He was still trying to convince her to come back to San Francisco. Raven had cancelled her flight for Wednesday and rescheduled it for Monday just to spite him. It was the most vengeful thing she had ever done in her life.

“Why keep that a secret?” Tanith still couldn't wrap her head around the fact Lovey had hid an abortion from their families.

“Because it's no one’s business but mine.” Raven had a slight edge to her voice. “It was my decision and I was doing just fine dealing with it until some mean person decided to look at my confidential medical records and tell my business to the world.”

Tanith gave her daughter a sympathetic look. Having feuded with Keilli Prosper-Chaos (the mother of Mondae Chaos), almost her whole career, Tanith was well aware of the damage that those people could do. “It was a horrendous thing too do,” Tanith agreed. “But if you want to stay in RSW and continue to compete, stuff like that will keep happening.”

“I believe change is coming, so quitting isn't an option. Like why even say that?” Raven had never once thought of quitting despite the hell she had been put through since joining RSW.

“Baby, you've been choked, assaulted, kidnapped, threatened, nearly drowned, and had your personal life ripped to pieces all in the span of a few months. No one would blame you if you wanted to quit. As talented as you are, wrestling might not be for you.”

Raven let Tanith’s words sink in for a moment and then took a sip from her water glass. “Now you sound like Lord.”

“Lord said wrestling isn't for you?”

Raven shrugged her slender shoulders. “Not exactly but we had a fight right before I left to drive to LA. He told me I needed to stay in San Francisco and train since Hailey wasn't around to help me anymore. The way he said it really irritated me. I'm probably overreacting but he just made it seem like I had no chance unless I put in a few extra hours of training.”

Raven frowned. She wasn't one to hold grudges, but she just couldn't shake Lord's comments. He was supposed to be her biggest fan. He wasn't supposed to point out that she needed more match preparation.

“I would never say this to his face, but he's the reason my record isn't better than it is. He cost me wins against Braydon Knox, God rest that poor man’s soul, and Bryce Albright. Lord didn't even give me a chance to compete against the two of them. He's backed off but I still think he doubts me. It sucks because he’s the champion and everyone thinks I'm just his crappy wannabe wrestler of a girlfriend. I want this ladder match to open people’s eyes when it comes to me. Mom, a ladder is a huge equalizer believe it or not. I'll be able to climb it quicker than anyone else, which means I can avoid the strikes of the power players.”

Tanith went to reply, but Raven politely carried on with her thoughts.

“I'll be able to use the ropes as leverage to propel myself up the ladder from different angles. You know I love going up to the top and heights don't scare me. Several of the bigger names in the match don't like this environment for whatever reason. That's a huge advantage for me. And some of the newcomers will only be able to focus on the fact that this could be their one and only break in RSW. They'll try to hard and when things don't work out, they'll lose their composure. No matter what happens, I always stay composed. Even when Mondae tried to drown me during our street fight, I kept my calm and my nerve.”

“Those are great examples honey, but there are title shots and advantages on the line. Even those that are out of their element, will stop at nothing to get their hands on one of those briefcases.”

Raven stared directly into her mother’s blue eyes. “Maybe I'll stop at nothing. Maybe I want to prove myself just as bad. Maybe I want to show Emma Douglas that me pinning her wasn't due to Lord being unable to make the save. Perhaps I'll get the Supreme Championship briefcase, or even GM for a night! How cool would that be? I'd put MGM and Violent Intent in a Hell In A Cell so they can all just destroy each other! There's also shots for the other two titles, and a mystery box. You can even get a chance to pick your own match stipulation.”

Tanith started to reply but her phone buzzed. Raven’s did as well. Mother and daughter both opened their iMessages, and Raven noticed that Nathan ‘Genocide’ Fletcher had been included as well. The iMessage was from Amber and it was a picture.

She was standing with Sir Purr, the mascot of the Panthers, and the rest of the TopCats. It simply said “I made it!”

/End.