Page 8 of Botched

AURORA

Never in my life have I felt more pathetic than I do now.

Warm tears sting my eyes as I push past people to get out of the bar. Someone else can cover my stupid fries; I’ll pay them back later. The cool New York air hits me square in the face as I step out into the night. I don’t go far, stepping onto the sidewalk and leaning back against the brick wall. The brick digs into the skin of my shoulders that my tank top doesn’t cover.

Theodore fucking Abrams. What a piece of shit. The rumors are not exaggerated. If anything, they might be under exaggerated. He’s awful. More than that, he’s good at what he does. He hardly knows me, but he knew exactly where to cut to make me bleed. He knew what cuts would hurt the deepest and made them while looking me in the eye. Not a bit of hesitation on his face as he hurt me.

“Rory,” Kai’s soft voice pulls me from my thoughts. He doesn’t even ask. His arms encircle me, pulling me against his chest, my cheek resting against his soft t-shirt. “Don’t fucking bother with him. He’s an asshole. There’s a reason he’s going to spend the rest of his life alone.”

I nod, but I don’t respond. What if he’s right? What if I’m notgood enough? What if I’ve been grinding my ass off for these last few years, living off ramen and dreams, and I’m notenough? Maybe I’m doomed to fail. Forever cursed to watch other people live my dreams while I grow old and slowly lose hope, but keep saying ‘it’ll happen someday’ anyway because what else am I able to do at that point?

It’s as if Kai can read my mind. He pulls away from the hug, holding me at arm’s length. “Aurora Bennet, you fucking listen to me. Youaregood enough. Everything Theo said was wrong. He saw one of your matches—an amazing match, by the way—but just one. He hasn’t seen how much you’ve grown over the years. He hasn’t seen all the work you’ve put in.”

“But what if the work isn’t enough?”

“Rory, stop. It is and you know it. You were so damn confident, and if you’re going to let Theo cut you down, you’re not the woman I thought you were.”

I want to be angry at Kai because I’m allowed to be upset. I’m allowed to be angry and hurt, but he’s right. Confidence is not something that I lack. I know who I am. I know what I can bring to the roster of any company. I could set the GRW locker room on fire. Give me an opportunity and I will knock the fucking doors down.

I take a deep breath and blink back the remaining tears in my eyes. “Holy shit, he is such a dick, though,” I groan, tilting my head back and looking up at the night sky in exasperation.

“Oh, I know,” Kai laughs. “He’s garbage. I think he honestly did his fiancée a favor. Can you imagine spending the rest of your life with a man like that?”

My face scrunches in disgust as that thought crosses my mind. The idea of being forced to spend any extended amount of time with him is my idea of hell. I’d rather drag my vagina through broken glass.

“That’s the last thing I want to imagine.”

“So, I think it’s fair to say that we are not giving him the benefit of the doubt?”

I shake my head. “Nope.” He’s as awful as everyone says. I don’t care if he’s just ‘living the gimmick’ or ‘keeping it kayfabe’, the man’s a piece of shit. There’s no reason to be that much of an asshole outwardly, especially to people that you don’t know.

“Okay, good.”

He wraps his arms around my shoulder and I lean into him for a moment, taking the comfort that he offers after my little freakout. Now that I’ve had enough time to settle, I feel so embarrassed. I let him get to me. I showed weakness in front of Theo, and I know if I ever see him again, he’s going to extort that fact.

The bar doors swing open, and I’m fully expecting to see his stupid, gorgeous, smug face storm out. Instead, Sammy walks out with a look of annoyance on her face. She joins the two of us and Kai wraps his other arm around her.

“He’s a fucking jerk-off,” she says. Before I get a chance to agree, she reaches into her pocket and hands me a hundred-dollar bill.

I take it, thoroughly confused, until I see a note scrawled on it.

Roo, sorry - Theo

I stare at it for a few seconds. Roo? I’m sorry,Roo?!White hot rage flows through me. “Who the fuck is ‘Roo’?” I ask. Did this asshole give me a nickname because ‘Rory’ wasn’t up to his standards or something? Did he give me money to apologize? I try to step away from Kai because someone needs a solid punch in the face, but he keeps his arm firmly around me.

“Rory, he’s not worth it. He also seems like the type who’ll think that punching him is a form of flirting.”

The very thought makes my nose scrunch. Flirting with Theo is one of the last things I want to do. I sigh and relax back against Kai.

“Whatever. It’s not like I’m ever going to see his stupid fucking face again.”

Chapter Seven

THEODORE

This week’s venue for Rise, GRW’s weekly television show, is a simple arena. The outside is a dirt-stained ivory. Production trucks are already parked in the back lot. The production crew has likely been here for hours at this point, ensuring everything is set up for the show tonight. As I pull my rental into a parking spot, I catch a glimpse of my face on the side of one of the trucks, my shit-eating grin looking back at me.

I remember the first time I saw my face on that truck. It was the first sign to me that I made it. Indescribable pride washed over me, and when I sent a picture to my parents, neither of them seemed to care too much. Doesn’t matter. I spent the night with a cute blonde. I don’t remember her name, but I remember how quickly she threw back all the tequila shots I bought her.