I sat in a conference room at the Performance Center in Orlando as I looked across the solid oak conference table at the man that could make or break my dreams. What he said next would either change my life forever or break my heart.
"As you know, we had people come from all over the country to try out with us for this audition, and we will only be offering contracts to three women. The women you were competing against were some of the most athletic tryouts we've ever seen come through the door. The competition was stiff, and we've had to make three very tough decisions. After talking it over with the other coaches, we've come to a decision, and I'm afraid I have some bad news."
I let out a sigh as I felt my heart drop to the floor at Hunter's words. I didn't need to hear him actually say the words to know that I hadn't been good enough. I mean I had seen the women competing against me during the tryouts. They were nothing short of amazing in the ring. He said it himself they were some of the most athletic tryouts they had ever seen. What chance did a girl like me, who has little to no experience in the business, stand against women who have been doing this in other companies for years?
Hunter looked down at some papers in front of him. His eyes scanned the words on the page before he looked up and his eyes met mine.
"The bad news is that you're going to have to go back home," he sighed as he looked back down at the papers in front of him.
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth to hold back my emotions and nodded as I looked down at my hands. I knew my chances of getting signed were slim, but hearing the rejection and the words actually leave Hunter's mouth stung more than I thought it would.
"The bad news is that you're going to have to go back home, and pack your bags because you're moving to Orlando." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter slide a piece of paper across the table towards me.
I picked my head up and my lips curved into a wide grin as I looked across the table at Hunter. Had I heard him right? Was this some kind of joke? Could this really be happening? I brought my hands up to cover my face as I tried to process that this was really happening.
"Breathe, kid," Hunter said as he smiled at me. "You've got yourself a contract. Welcome to NXT."
He rose from the chair he sat in and reached across the table to extend a hand to me. I reached down and wiped my sweaty palms on the top of my jeans before I stood up and reached out to shake his hand.
We spent the next hour going over the logistics of the contract, pay, etc. After signing my life away on the dotted line no less than six times, I had become an NXT Superstar.
"Why don't you follow me? I'll show you around the Performance Center and introduce you to some of the people you'll be working with." Hunter said as he led me towards the central part of the Performance Center.
It was the end of the tour and Hunter and I were currently standing in the main room of the Performance Center. Several superstars were sparring and training in the various rings around the room.
"Let me introduce you to a couple of the guys," Hunter said as he led me to the ring closest to us.
I turned around, and when I did, I felt the air leave my chest. My eyes met with an all too familiar pair of blue ones that I hadn't seen in more than ten years. I felt my mouth go dry and my chest get tight as I looked at the man that had stolen my heart a long time ago and then ran away with it.
"Brynn, this is Johnny Gargano and-"
"-Champy," I said it in a voice so low it wasn't more than a whisper. It was the nickname I had given him years ago when we were just a couple of kids with stars in our eyes.
Johnny's face curved into a grin at the nickname, and he brought his hand up to try and cover the smile that had formed on his lips. Even Triple H, who usually kept himself fairly composed, snickered from beside me at the nickname as it rolled off my lips.
"I take it you two know each other," Hunter said as he looked between Tommaso and me.
I couldn't bring myself to answer as my eyes stared at Tommaso, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my first love stood just mere feet away from me. Tommaso shook his head before looking over at Hunter. He slowly nodded his head before bringing his eyes back to me.
My mind immediately thought back to the last time I saw him before he left. Before he went to chase his dreams and forgot about everyone he left behind, including me, during his journey to his dreams.
It was just before sunset and the air felt humid and sticky from the thunderstorm that had rolled through a few hours prior. Tommaso and I were sat on his parents' front porch as we looked out at the horizon and enjoyed the mere fact that we were together for what would be the last time in a long time.
He had his arms wrapped around me, and I leaned my head back against his shoulder. I closed my eyes and tried to freeze this moment in my mind so that I could think back on it when he was gone. I knew it would be moments like this that I clung to.
When the nights got just a bit too cold, and the distance got just a bit too hard, I knew it would be moments like this I would think of to pull myself through the hard times. The nights where I could feel every single mile between us, I would close my eyes and picture this moment. The way I felt safe and secure in his arms. The smell of his cologne when I took a deep breath. The softness of his lips as he pressed a kiss to the side of my head. It was all the little things that would get me through the distance.
I knew that a long distance relationship wasn't going to be easy. I knew there would be times that I wished it wouldn't be this way. I knew there would be times that I would despise the fact that I was only seventeen and couldn't follow him as he chased his dreams. I knew there would be times that I felt like the small town we came from located just outside of Milwaukee would feel like a dense cloud suffocating me as my mind wandered to where he might be or what he might be doing.
There were a lot of unknowns that hung in the air. He didn't know where his next move would be. He had a couple calls out to various wrestling companies around the country, most of them in the North East part of the country. Meanwhile, I would be starting my senior year of high school in the morning.
"You promise you'll come back?" I whispered as I finally said the question that had been haunting me for weeks.
Being forgotten. It was my biggest fear and the biggest unknown that hung in the air between us. I knew he wouldn't be back in a week or maybe even a month. I didn't need for him to come back that soon. I wanted him to go out there and chase his dreams. I wanted him to make a name for himself in the wrestling business. I just needed to know that when it was all said and done, he'd come back for me.
When he didn't respond right away, I turned my head to look over at him. There was a sadness in his eyes that I couldn't help but notice. For a split moment my heart started to race as my mind began to think of worst case scenarios.
Was this the end of our story? Was he going to call it off with me so he could focus on his next move without having to worry about me? Did he not want to be with me? Did he not think we could do it? All these thoughts and more raced through my mind until I felt a nauseous feeling starting to form in my stomach.
"I will come back, I just don't know when. I don't know where I have to go or what I have to do. There's a lot of things I don't know. But the one thing I do know is that when I can, I'm coming back for you." Tommaso said as he looked into my eyes.
I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding in. He was going to come back. He wouldn't forget me. I just had to be patient and sit at home as he went out into this big, big world and made a name for himself.
"Just think a year, and we can be together. We just have to make it till May."
"Nine months. Nine months apart and then it's you and me taking over the world." His lips curved into a grin and I couldn't help but mirror his smile with one of my own. "But I want you to focus on school. I want you to get your degree and make something of your life. I want you to do what I didn't do and graduate."
"You think you'll remember me in nine months?" I asked as another thought came into my mind.
"What do you mean?" He asked as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Once you make it big you'll have all those girls screaming and wanting to be with you. You'll probably forget about little old me."
He reached up and took my chin his hand between his thumb and forefinger. He looked into my eyes and said, "No woman in the world could compare to you. Besides you're the only girl I know crazy enough to put up with me."
A chuckle rolled off my lips, and I smiled as I leaned my head back against his shoulder. It was true Tommaso could be a little crazy at times. Actually most of the time. But I loved him, and although my parents would much prefer I settle down with a doctor or a lawyer, and live in some suburb with a beautiful house and a white picket fence, it was Tommaso and all the uncertainties that came with him that stole my heart.
I shook my head to clear the memories that had filled my mind. I had to remind myself that the man standing in front of me wasn't the eighteen-year-old kid I had fallen in love with years ago. The man that stood in front of me was nothing more than a stranger to me. Just a shell of someone I had once known long ago.
The other superstars turned and made their way back to the ring to continue their training, but Tommaso and I stood there frozen as we looked into the eyes of our former lover. Neither of us said a word. We just stood there looking into each other's eyes.
"Brynn," he whispered, breaking the tense silence that hung in the air between us as his eyes took me in. He said it almost like he couldn't believe I was really here, standing in front of him. "I can't believe you're here."
"I can't believe you never came back." That was all I said to him before I turned and followed Hunter out of the room. Just before stepping out of the room I stole a glance over my shoulder and saw Tommaso standing there looking like he'd just been punched in the stomach.