Hold 2

by Jayne Blue

  Craddock was here with them so they all already knew he had won the fight this episode was leading up to. That actually made it a lot more stress free to watch.

  After the Tough to the Top training montages, they got to the fight. It was one of the tougher ones Craddock had faced. As fighters fell and were eliminated from the original 16 cast members the fights had become progressively more intense.

  The whole gym yelled, “OH” at the same time when Craddock’s brow opened up. They watched as blood flowed from it into his eye and he battled on. The show even used a slow motion effect for the blood flying through the air.

  “He’s so strong!” Flannigan teased Craddock as they watched him shake off the injury. They all went nuts when Craddock finished off his latest opponent. Craddock gave her a cocky little nod. They also showed Craddock being stitched up afterwards. While he was stone-faced as the needle went in and out of the flesh above his eye, Cassidy flinched.

  She was apparently not the only one.

  “Hey there’s Cassidy’s twin again.” A woman who had been in a few of the scenes appeared to be put off by the blood and gore. Julie Walters, a producer who had some airtime, all of a sudden took center stage of the episode.

  She faltered, appeared dizzy, and Craddock came to her aid.

  “My hero!” Darius mocked as Craddock paid attention to Julie on the episode. Cassidy tried not to look jealous or worked up over the tender moment on screen. Only Zeke and Sawyer knew she was back with Craddock. Cassidy also reasoned that Craddock should be nice to someone in distress. She would be angry if he ignored a woman in need. Still, it got her riled up seeing Craddock be tender with this stranger. She did not dare look over at him for fear she would make a fool of herself over nothing.

  Then it turned into something.

  As the scene with Craddock and Julie faded to commercial there was a snippet on the screen, “Stay Tuned, he’s a lover not fighter.” The GWG guys started hooting and hollering. Craddock stayed still as a statue. Cassidy felt hot needles in her chest. What was going to happen? What did they mean lover?

  As the final segment of the episode aired, the lights were dim but you could clearly make out that Craddock was in his Tough to the Top room and he was not alone. They were mostly in silhouette but the voice was unmistakable. She had heard it before. Craddock and Julie were in bed together, the sheets rustled, they both sighed and moaned.

  He was with her, in bed, they were together. Holy fucking hell!

  Then he called her Aghrá. Cassidy felt blood thundering in her ears.

  All of a sudden, lights flooded around her. A camera was in her face and she heard the bird nosed producer fire questions at her. “What did you think of that scene Cassidy?” He asked.

  She hated the scene. You could shove that scene straight up your ass. That is what she wanted to say. But she didn’t. Cassidy felt like a fool more than anything else. Craddock had played her for a total fool. Did he like all petite brunettes? All blondes? Was she one of many?

  “Do you think he was getting back at you for Zeke?” The producer fired another question at her. How did he know every detail of their lives? Had Craddock spilled it all in one of the cheap “confessional” interviews? She felt sick, cornered, betrayed. She was a caged animal and she needed to run.

  She put her hand up and turned away, she needed out of there, she didn’t want to be on camera at all, much less in this state. Unbidden tears streamed down her face. She started to bolt, tripped over a chair and fell to the floor. She heard Craddock yell her name and then “You are a son of a bitch, Tracy.” Fists were flying and Craddock was in a rage.

  A hand reached down and helped her up. It was Sawyer.

  “Come on kid let’s get you out of here.” He put a protective arm around her shoulder. She looked back and a brawl had broken out. Craddock had launched himself at a producer as the cameras rolled.

  “Whitey, contain this shit. I’m getting her out here.” Sawyer ordered and as they left out the front door, she heard Whitey’s signature whistle.

  She did not look back again. She had just seen Craddock give in to his temptation, it was not wine and it was not song, it was women. Craddock was a cheating asshole and now the whole world knew it. The whole word also knew she was the fool who he cheated on. Over and over again.

  Craddock

  He had thought it was another Cassidy dream. That was the fucking truth. What he saw unfold on the show was not him. He had only ever thought about her the entire time and yet there it was. Craddock with Julie Walters, on the show, on camera.

  He scrambled to try to get to Cassidy first but there were lights and cameras in her face. He yelled at Tracy, from the so-called Craddock Unit. They had set him up and he fell for it.

  Tracy got in between him and the crew surrounding Cassidy and Craddock started swinging. His old "rage first, ask questions later" mode kicked in and he landed a punch on Tracy’s jaw. He lost sight of Cassidy. Where the fuck did she go? He had to get to her. He also wanted to murder Tracy and Brian for setting him up. He did not know how they did it but he knew they did.

  He heard a sharp, familiar whistle, and Jessie tackled him to the floor, Darius joined in to hold him there.

  “Calm the fuck down Flynn. Stop it!” Flannigan stepped up and the three effectively neutralized him. Whitey walked up and got in his face.

  “Stop, they’re getting all this on camera. You want Meyer Thompson to think you’re insane?” Whitey said it as quiet as he could. He was right. This whole thing was fodder for the next episode of Tough to the Top. Cassidy was somewhere right now angry, hurt, all because of him and they would be able to use it for ratings drama. The more he lost his shit, the more they would love it.

  “You’re right, I got it. Let me go.” Jessie gave an unsure look to Whitey, his grandpa, and Whitey nodded. They loosened their hold.

  Craddock brushed his hair out of his eyes and took a breath. He needed to get clear of the film crew and get to Cassidy, apologize, explain, though he could not really explain it himself.

  He had no recollection of hooking up with Julie. She was cute, she reminded him of Cassidy, and he had helped her when she fell, but he did not put the moves on her.

  He turned to Jessie. “I need you to do me a favor and keep the film crew busy.”

  “You mean busier than nursing the busted lip you just gave that producer?” Jessie had a point.

  “I mean I need to shake them now and go find Cassidy. She doesn’t deserve this shit and I don’t want them to get any more footage of her when I find her.”

  “And crawl on your knees for forgiveness?”

  “Whatever it takes.”

  “Okay, anything for Cassidy, not you Flynn, right now I’d say you don’t deserve favors, but she does.”

  “Agreed. Thanks man.” Craddock watched as Jessie, Darius, and Tommy Flannigan did their best to distract Tracy and the other producer. It worked. Craddock slipped out and to his car without the incessant crew on his ass.

  He headed to Cassidy’s place and took the stairs two at a time. He pounded on the door. Quietly begged, texted her to open it. But nothing. He decided to plant himself there. She had to come home some time.

  It was hours later when his phone vibrated, it was his mom.

  “You okay?”

  “Yes and no. The producers are at our house Craddock. They say if you do not get over here right now, they are calling police. Dylan is getting worked up and...” His mom’s voice was filled with worry. Goddamn this show. Goddamn that fucking Tracy.

  “I’m on my way.” Shit, it was no use. Cassidy was hiding from him, not returning his texts, and now he had another problem. The damn crew was harassing his family. This was going from bad to worse.

  Where was she? Had she run back to Zeke again? Someone else? He banged his head on her door out of frustration. He had to go.

  If he could not set things right with her, he could at least protect his mom and Dylan.

  He drov
e over as fast as he could.

  “What do you mean call the police asshole?”

  Craddock barged into the kitchen of his mom’s place and found his mom and Tracy at the table.

  “Yeah, asshole.” Dylan chimed in from the hallway.

  “Could you not get him worked up again? I just got him calmed down.” His mom rose from the table. She had dark circles under her eyes. Her robe was cinched tight at the middle and not for the first time he worried about her health. She was recovering from cancer and his little reality show explosion was not going to help. She set after Dylan who had the beginnings of a meltdown underway.

  “They will not put The Fighting Flynn in the slammer. They will not!” Dylan announced and then kept singing “They will not, they will not.”

  “Fine. Tracy, you happy? You caught me with Julie, though I don’t know how, and now you have freaked out my family. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

  “I actually am. I am very proud of myself and I’m pretty sure Meyer Thompson will be too.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because the ratings for the last few seasons of Tough to the Top have been sliding. Fighting’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it needed more drama.”

  “That’s where you come in?”

  “Well actually that’s where you come in. This week on Tough to the Top we have you fucking a producer, a love triangle with your girl back home, and oh, a sick mom and special brother. Ratings gold, Flynn.”

  Craddock’s fingers were digging into his flesh as he balled his hands into fists.

  “What if I don’t come back?”

  “What if you don’t come back? You mean now, on our flight that’s booked for 7 a.m.”

  “Ever. I’m quitting.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll just call the police and charge you with assault. As a professional fighter you’re actually assaulting me with a deadly weapon when you use your fists.” Tracy leaned back in the kitchen chair and rubbed the angry red spot where Craddock had punched him.

  “So call the police.”

  “Do you realize what an assault charge will do to your fighting career? Not only will you be out of Tough to the Top, oh, that will be the least of your worries, you’ll also be out of MMA boxing. They’ll be no more 21C. You’ll be busted down to illegal, unsanctioned fights in the back of bars for shit money. Those dreams to support your family? Please. You’ll be lucky to pay rent.”

  “What do you want from me, you slimy mother fucker?”

  “You’re going to hug your mama and brother. Brian is going to film it and then the three of us are going to get on that plane. You are going to win Tough to the Top and all your dreams will come true. That’s not exactly a fucking punishment. You won’t get that hot little piece of ass at GWG anymore, but who cares. There are a thousand women who’d bang you today just because you’re on TV.”

  “And what do you get out of this?”

  “I get one rung up at your expense.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s showbiz.”

  Quit the show and lose his career, possibly go to jail, or go back and tough it out. He was pretty much screwed. Tracy had played him and Cassidy.

  “Fine. Roll the cameras.” Craddock went in to say goodbye to his mom and Dylan and they got it all on camera.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cassidy

  Sawyer had taken Cassidy to Bess’s house.

  “Well hello.” Sawyer and Bess had not met, but Cassidy realized they had, at different points, provided the protection and guidance she had needed when she was most adrift.

  Now was one of those times. She was heartbroken yet again at the hands of Craddock Flynn. She had also broken Zeke’s heart because of her stupid belief that Craddock could be trusted.

  “Sawyer I’ve heard a lot about you, come on in.” Bess’s little boy, Henry, peered out from behind his mother.

  “Wow, I like all your patches.” Sawyer got a nod of permission from Bess and crouched his long legs down to show Henry.

  “This one’s from when I first started with Great Wolves,”

  “Sort of like a merit badge.”

  “Sort of like.”

  Bess ignored them and put an arm around her.

  “So I saw the show. Let’s just have you stay here on until whenever okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “How are you doing?”

  “Awful, I’m so stupid, this time the whole friggin country knows about it since it was on TV.” Bess enveloped her in a hug. She did not want to cry but tears came.

  “Why don’t you show me your merit badges?” Then Sawyer, her guardian angel today, did her another favor by letting her and Bess have a minute and visiting Henry’s room with the boy.

  “So you’re a woman who loves the wrong guy. Not the first time that happened.”

  “Loved, I don’t love him dammit. I am over that.”

  “And the tears?”

  “Rage, embarrassment. Rage.”

  “So rage?” They both laughed and Cassidy hiccupped along with a sob. Who was she kidding? She loved Craddock. That was why this was so awful. Both times she had given herself to him completely, he had disappointed her.

  “I thought he’d changed.”

  “So when did this cheating business happen, just so I can get this straight as to the timelines here.”

  “Today, on the show. You watched it yourself, you just said.”

  “Well, I’m not one to defend Cap’n McCrunch or whatever his name is, but it technically happened when he was in Vegas.”

  “Yes. So what?”

  “While you were broken up? While you were with Zeke?”

  “So that makes it okay?” What the heck was Bess getting at?

  “No, I just. Nothing. What do you want to have happen?”

  “I want to not be near him. I want him to leave and go back to Vegas. I can’t be near him.”

  “Because?”

  “Because he has stomped on my heart at every turn.”

  “And let’s get at something here, something honest.” Bess was giving her a bit of therapy. But she was right. Cassidy had to take some responsibility.

  “I have absolutely zero ability to resist him.” There it was Cassidy spilled it out and admitted it to herself. She needed to be away from Craddock because if he knocked on her door, swept her in his arms, even looked at her she very well would forgive him. The cycle would start all over again.

  She had taken enough basic psychology to know she was in a pattern.

  “Okay. You want to resist him. You are going to have to learn will power about him and break that pattern.” Bess was so logical, so calming.

  “I have never in my life met someone who turned me around like this.”

  “Step one was tonight. You did not go to your place. You came here, he has no idea where here is so we’re breaking that pattern.”

  “So what’s step two?”

  “I have no idea. Probably ice cream.” With that, Sawyer and Henry came out to join them.

  “I like the way she thinks.” Sawyer said. Cassidy cracked a smile. She had no desire to eat anything. A smile was a start.

  She looked down and saw fifteen texts from Craddock. She hit delete fifteen times. It turned out that was step two.

  The next day, with Bess and Sawyer’s help she was convinced that the only way to counteract the embarrassment she felt over Tough to the Top was to hold her head high.

  “You didn’t do anything embarrassing, he did.” Bess told her.

  “And I need you at GWG. Anyone says anything you don’t like, they’ll deal with me, probably Whitey, and for sure Jessie.”

  It was not bad though she realized most of the guys knew she and Craddock had gotten together again. She’d thought they were being so secretive.

  She got a look of pity from Tommy Flannigan but otherwise a fist bump and a “wegotcherback” from many of the GWG fighters had her feeling okay at work.

  Sh
e was glad she was there though because the GWG sanctioned fight was that upcoming weekend. Sawyer had come to rely on her and she spent most of the day dealing with phone calls and last minute details of the fight.

  Latanza vs. Ransom was getting a good amount of attention and ESPN was planning to include it in an “up and coming” segment so it would get national press.

  She spent her day doing Sawyer stuff and then stayed late too do her classes. This was all instead of laying around in her bed weeping. That rage at Craddock Flynn was reigniting her own drive to succeed.

  He had his goals and dreams and nothing stood in the way apparently. She had hers too and she needed to stop this roller coaster with Craddock and Zeke and worry about work and school. Period. She knew he was on a plane to Vegas. Good riddance.

  The more she packed into her day the stronger she felt. She could focus just as he did. While he lifted heavy things and punched people, she could get things done, organize Sawyer, and crush her classes.

  She also could throw herself into Dr. Showers’s research.

  Next week was the last week of her internship and she even scheduled extra time there so if it was the last week of the program all together than at least she would give it all she had. She hoped a miracle would happen there but Bess said she had heard it was no go.

  It actually was good for Cassidy to worry about Paul Showers and his work instead of her stupid missteps with Craddock Flynn.

  That was the strategy, the one she had started on before she let Zeke step in and give her a soft landing place the first time around.

  Well this time around, she was going back to her foster kid days. Take care of yourself and toughen up. Craddock Flynn was not the only fighter in this war.

  Craddock

  When he got back to Tough House, there was no Julie. The one person who might be able to explain just what the hell had happened that night was gone.

  Off the show. Tracy said she had “moved on to other opportunities.” Had she been fired for sleeping with him? It seemed like the producer was glad she was gone.

  A new associate producer was forced to do Tracy’s bidding. The kid was in his early twenties and stayed out of Craddock’s way. Still, where was Julie?