Mick Overlast: Wow, it's only 12:30...
In actuality, the alarm clock on the nightstand reads 12:32, but who's ever exact when telling time?
Woman: I should get going. I have meetings all day tomorrow and...
Overlast turns on the lamp next to the bed and rolls over to face the woman laying next to him. He plants his elbow into the mattress, pushing his upper body up so he could look over her. She doesn't return the eye contact, continuing to look up at the ceiling fan that spins above them.
Overlast: Take a shower if you need to.
The woman simply nods, rolling toward the edge of the bed and sitting up. As she goes to stand, she almost turns her ankle thanks to the stillettos she wore to bed. She takes off the shoes and gets to her feet, walking to the bathroom without saying a word, her eyes looking down at the carpeted floor. Her wedding and engagement bands briefly sparkle in the dim light provided by the lamp as she moves into the master bathroom without saying a word.
She closes the door and Overlast puts his hands behind his head as he lays back down. The water comes on, leaving Overlast alone with his thoughts.
I really am an asshole.
A few hours ago, I was sitting at the bar at Primanti Brothers, enjoying my usual cheesesteak sandwich when a woman walked in and sat down a couple stools over from me. Without anyone between us, I began to make conversation with her.
She said she's in town on business; I said I do my business seemingly everywhere but here. She said she works in the human resources department for a fairly large corporation; I said I work in sending the incompetent in her direction. She told me she misses her kids deeply; I told her I'm glad to get away from them. She mentioned her husband works long hours to give the family a good living; I mentioned I only have to work weekends to support myself. She said there was something missing in her life; I said I have everything I could want and that I was one of the best in my field.
Three drinks later, she told me she was staying at the Holiday Inn Express around the corner. I told her she'd make it back before the bars close.
Overlast chuckles softly to himself as he goes over that moment in his memory.
So to sum up, there is some hopeless schmuck hundreds of miles away who put his kids to bed earlier tonight, completely unaware that his wife just had an extramarital fling with the WZCW Elite X Champion. I highly doubt that this little secret would escape the four walls of this bedroom, but could you imagine the backlash this would cause if it did?
The people would tell me that karma would come back to bite me in the ass. They'll point at this event, at how I brought Triple X's past to light, and even at the little speech I made at some cemetery in Miami and they'll say, Mick, you're gonna get what's coming to you.
And I'll simply laugh at them. Why? Because I'm above karma.
When I was younger, I was a pushover. I tried to be everything to everyone. I was the one people looked to when they wanted something, ranging from relationship advice to help with algebra homework. I was the shoulder my crushes would cry on. I was a model student, a hard worker, a son that my parents boasted about.
But I never 'got what was coming to me' then.
Nothing changed; people took me for granted. Slowly, I began to turn and realize I was never going to 'get what I had coming to me.' No good was ever going to come from the good that I did. It was then that I wised up and started doing stuff for me. And as long as I stayed smart about it, fate would never catch me because I would always stay one step ahead.
I stayed a step ahead of Triple X at Ascension, as I outsmarted him yet again to pick up the victory. All the physical gifts in the world mean nothing without a strong mind to help put them to good use. He learned that the hard way; maybe it was the years of hard drugs and booze that eroded his mind. Triple X was a champion for a long time, but it doesn't mean he was a good one. I, on the other hand, don't plan on giving this title away. I may not be the strongest guy on the roster, and I know damn well I'm not the fastest, but I am the brightest. I can't, and won't, lose.
The sound of running water stops, and the woman emerges from the bathroom a moment later, wrapped in a towel. She starts to gather her clothes and get dressed. Overlast sits up a little and watches her, not uttering a single word.
This woman is going to go home and make extremely passionate love to her husband for weeks, primarily out of guilt for what she did here tonight. Her husband will revel in this, thinking it was something he did, when it was all my doing. And as I lay here, I shudder to think what would've happened if I was still that crying shoulder.
I'd probably be in her husband's position, oblivious that my wife is cheating on me with some stud 15 or 20 years her junior. I'd be working those long hours and getting nothing in return. I'd have little direction in my life and career, much like Justin Cooper, a guy I broke into this company with and faced off against several times before. While I was rising up the ranks of WZCW, his precious little cult was crumbling to the ground. Now, I have a title belt around my waist, while he's been relegated to working with some rookie who won't last a month in this organization. Fate caught up to Cooper because he wasn't smart enough to avoid it, and now he's paying the price.
The woman looks in the mirror and fixes herself up as best she can so she doesn't return to her hotel looking completely disheveled.
Just like I used my intelligence to exert dominance over this housewife tonight, I will use it to crush Cooper at Ascension and prove to him, his lackey and everyone watching that I am a very powerful man and will stop at nothing to get what I want.
The woman puts on her shoes and goes to leave Overlast's bedroom when he finally speaks to her.
Overlast: Next time you're in town, let me know.
She just glares at him, a blank expression on her face. She shakes her head and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her as she lets herself out of his house. Mick grins and lets his head hit the pillow again. He shuts the lamp off and closes his eyes.
I really am an asshole. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
