"I Get Sad When I Think About You"
Feb 2, 2020 20:14:31 GMT -5
Psycho Vulcan Sentai (Kaz) and Olivia R. Adler like this
Post by Cassidy Adler on Feb 2, 2020 20:14:31 GMT -5
2015
Cass’ face was flushed red from all the alcohol he had drunk that night, arm propped around an enamoring blonde with fierce green eyes that softened only for him. He looked at her for a moment, as the party raged on around them, the warmth from the bonfire and the booze keeping them from succumbing to the otherwise cold night air. He smiled at her.
‘H-hey, I was thinking…’
‘I hate it when you do that.’ she replied immediately, halting him in his tracks.
He shook his head, laughing.
‘So do I. But really, I was thinking…’
He paused.
‘If we’re both single by 30, wanna get married?’
She turned her head to face him, her fingers still running through his hair. She smiled.
‘Sure, sounds like fun.’
‘Cool.’
If it weren’t for the constant music and chatter, a deafening silence would have taken place then. In Cassidy’s mind, it still did.
You fucking coward, Cassidy.
2020
‘You gotta stop fucking all my friends.’ Olive whispered to swole boi Cass at the Adler family dinner table. Across from the two of them sat their mother, who although beautiful had a perpetual look of sadness cast over her otherwise youthful features. To her left, there was a painfully empty seat. Out of habit, she had put cutlery on the table in front of the seat earlier in the night, prior to the twins’ arrival, but the man to her right didn’t approve of this and forced her to whisk them away quickly before Olive and Cass arrived.
Frank, their father, sat at the head of the dinner table, as was customary in the family. A near 50 year old man that could’ve passed for being in his mid-30s, or even better. Hairline? Intact. Body? Hardened through a consistent training regimen. Mind? Cunning. Calculated. Thorough.
He had not gotten to the top of the film industry by being complacent or settling for mediocrity. His posture alone told the story - elbows off the table, back straight as an arrow. A far cry from the slouched Cassidy, who absent-mindedly picked away at the some of the roast chicken prepared by the family maid.
He always gets this way around Dad.
She nudged him.
‘Cass, I’m being serious.’ she said, voice still hushed to keep beneath the clattering of knives and forks against plate, and the television audio softly playing from another room, which their mother had forgotten to switch off. Cass turned to Olive, who he could tell was trying to hide the smile on her face.
‘Don’t get so worked up. You can have my friends if you want.’
‘I hate your friends.’
‘So you say.’
‘So I know.’
Cassidy rolled his eyes, taking a quick glance up at their father, who naturally was sipping very delicately on a fine glass of red wine. Their mother, Elaina, smiled at Olive.
‘So hun, how’s your wrestling been going? Having fun?’
Cassidy opened his mouth to interject, but Olive had already begun to answer.
‘It’s okay. I like playing the character.’
‘Characte-’
Olive kicked him from under the table… about as quietly as one could possibly kick another human being. Cassidy was confused, until understanding dawned on him. They had made an agreement not to reveal that Action Wrestling wasn’t scripted, and to tell their parents that they were playing “characters” on screen. It was the only way they could’ve started their careers without a big uproar being caused in the family. As far as their parents and their extended family knew… this was just practice for them to eventually make it into Hollywood, especially in Cassidy’s case.
‘And what about you, Cassidy? What are you doing?’
‘Uhh… I’m still wrestling too? We’re actually scheduled to go on this week.’
‘Oh! I wasn’t aware of that. Sorry.’
‘...what do you mean?’
Elaina looked embarrassed, her pale complexion becoming slightly reddened. She brought a napkin to her lips, eyes cast downward. Their father spoke now, deep voice echoing around the room.
‘Your mother and I thought you’d given it up. I’m sure you understand why, given your track record.’ he said, coldly.
Cassidy’s fists clenched from underneath the table, knuckles whitened by the force. His own nails were nearly cutting into his palms.
‘Frank.’ Elaina said, eyebrows furrowed.
‘Yes, dear?’
‘We spoke about this.’
‘So we did.’
A silence at the dinner table. Again, customary. Olive tried to catch Cassidy’s eyes, but he remained still, keeping his gaze down toward his plate, which was still mostly full. Frank set down his cutlery, which Olive knew meant he was about to make some sort of announcement. Elaina seemed to notice this too, and turned her head towards him.
‘I suppose I should explain why I invited you two over.’
‘Because we’re your children and you love us?’ Olive chimed in.
‘Yes. But there's another reason.’
Of course there is. There always is.
‘Pinnacle Films are presenting me with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the company’s next gathering. It’ll be a major moment in my career. Everyone important will be there, as I’m sure you’re both aware.
‘There’s a lot of opportunity for the two of you to make connections at an event like this. Many of these people will have an influence on whether or not you make it in the industry. That’s why I’ve organized for you, Olivia, to be the one to make a speech introducing me before I receive the award.’
Cassidy’s head snapped up.
‘Normally, I would’ve given the privilege to my eldest child, but obviously that cannot happen. I trust you’ll do well in his stead, Olivia.’
At the mention of their elder sibling, Olive’s lips pressed together, keeping her mouth tight shut. Cassidy pushed backward, moving his seat from out underneath the table, before standing up. All three of them expecting to see seething rage upon his face.
That’s why he faked a hearty grin.
‘Sorry, I’m feeling a bit off. Plus, I gotta get ready for Brandon’s party tonight. Thanks for dinner, I’ll be up in my room before I go.’
He walked off and could hear Olive saying… something. But his anger and thoughts deafened him, as he took the climb up the spiral staircase that led to the twins’ massive shared bedroom, which always looked the same and was spectacularly clean, even though he had moved out years ago.
He went into his old wardrobe and picked out a black shirt with blue floral patterns covering it, and a pair of tan chinos to complete the basic look. To make sure no-one approached him the entire night, he unloaded a bottle of spray-on aftershave all over him. He didn’t even bother to do his normally perfect hair.
Instead, he pulled out his iPhone and began to record his reflection in the mirror.
‘I’ve recently realized that… sometimes? It’s best to stick to the basics, to what you know best, to what got you to where you are. That’s a valuable lesson that I think us Radler Adler’s are gonna have to teach to The Cool Kids this week.’
He pauses, smirking.
‘First of all, stupid fucking name, guys. C’mon, seriously? Out of everything you could’ve picked, you went with that? Ugh. Ultra cringe. You would’ve been more successful if you went by Vayden’s gamertag, which I’m sure is something slightly less dumb, like Xx_PussyMasterz_xX or something ridiculous like that.
‘...okay, I’m lying. That’s my gamertag, and it’s way cooler than anything Vayden could’ve ever come up with. I’m giving the guy way too much credit.
‘Look, dude. I’m not gonna lie to ya. Us Adlers? We’re cut from a different cloth. We’re gonna stomp you into the fucking ground this week. And I know, it sucks, yeah? You’ve done well for yourself here. Once upon a time you were some unknown kid who looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but now? You’re a recognized former champion, you’ve achieved something. People know you now. And that’s great and all…
‘But you’ve peaked.
‘You’ve had your chances, but you aren’t a A+ player. You’re an energy guy off the bench. Sure, you light the spark for your team every once in a while, but when you’re expected to hit the floor and do something when it matters, like in the Playoffs? You crumble. You aren’t one of the heavy hitters.
‘And for a while? It didn’t matter. You were still new, still fresh, still hungry. But now it’s becoming clear that… you’re just not cut out for this level, man. Know your role, stick down in that Cruiserweight Division like the good little lapdog that you are, and stop trying to make noise in a division that we’ve already claimed as our own, okay?
‘Because let’s be real. Look at the list of Cruiserweight Champions, and tell me… how many of them have made a splash outside of that niche division? Even QDT, the esteemed four-time champion of your prideful division, is… well, still stuck in that division.
‘The only man to truly step out of that division and make waves is ZMAC, but that dude is literally fucking immortal and is made from a different stuff than the rest of you 201 pussies. I guarantee I step in there with any one of you tomorrow, and I will fade you faster than how quickly your parents probably wanted to fucking abandon you for being a waste of space, Vayden.
‘Did that hurt? Good. It’s going to hurt a lot more when we embarrass you.
‘And Geri? Where do I even begin with you? What’s there to talk about? Your lackluster time in The Royal Family, where you were a benchwarmer for equally uninteresting, underwhelming performers like Estrella Luiz?
‘#OhWait.
‘This is why I fucking hate the two of you. No passion. No motivation. Just empty voids of wasted potential (or lack of potential? I don’t fucking know. You’re both equally disappointing.) who are happy to keep doing the same thing, over and over and over. What gave you the bright fucking idea to stay hidden in Estrella’s shadow AGAIN after that already proved to be an easy way for career suicide the first time you tried it?
‘Unlike my son Vayden, you can’t even claim to have been successful in the Cruiserweight Division. Nothing has changed for you. Still the same old, same old. We see flashes of a different side to you. One that’s vicious, one that’s ready to bring the world to its knees… and then we get treated to what we’re used to. Failure.
‘Don’t worry though. You don’t have to worry about conquering the world. We’re here to do it for you. And it starts with making a statement when we clap you inside five minutes.
‘It’s sad. I feel like in an alternate universe, I might have gotten along with you guys. In that universe, you guys may have lived up to your team name. But this world? It’s shit. We don’t get what we want, and people like you guys? You get the worst of it.
‘Because the best of us? The Adlers of the world? They take everything for themselves, like the selfish pricks that they are.
‘And you know what?’
He smirks.
‘I’ll welcome that side of me with open arms... if it means getting my name to the top of this heap.’
The video ends.