Page 13 of Botched

The sound of my name breaks me from the thought spiral I’m on about this becoming a teenage drama.

Juliette Stanton is… She’s my girl crush. She’s the definition of perfect. Tall, toned, tan. She’s covered in gorgeously intricate tattoos with raven-colored hair that looks like she should be in a shampoo commercial. Her dark blue eyes are framed by dark lashes and dark makeup and she has pouty lips. A goddess among mortals.

“Jules!” I smile as she embraces me, breathing in her fruity scent.

When she pulls away, she smiles. “When I saw your name on the run-down, I was freaking out. Did you get a try-out? You’ve fucking deserved one since forever. I texted Kai and he didn’t know anything.”

“Sort of?” I shrug. “I’m actually on a pay-per-appearance deal.”

“Okay, oh my god. That’s big!” she says. “Come, sit. Tell me everything.”

For all the badassery that Jules exudes, she’s also a total sweetheart. Most of the time. After she warms up to someone.

Jules is known as ‘the cobra’. She’s hardcore asfuck. She’ll take bumps that most guys won’t. I’ve always wondered if she’s a little bit unstable or just that dedicated. Deathmatches, the ones with a lot of blood and things that make people think wrestling is a bunch of violent ogres, are what made her a name on the indies. They’re what got Weston Hext interested in her.

It’s hard for the rest of us to carve out a niche when Jules is blazing a trail.

We sit on one of the benches in the back of the locker room, and I run down everything with her. I choose to leave out most of the personal interactions with Theodore. She doesn’t need to know howmuch I hate my new partner. Just thinking of him as my ‘partner’ makes me want to gag.

“Oh. That sounds fun,” Jules says after I tell her about the storyline. Definitely the last word that I’d use to describe it. “Think of how in-depth you could go with it. Play up all the subtleties until you screw Hex out of the title win.” She calls him ‘Hex’ so casually, like they’re the best of friends nowadays. “Then you could close the PPV with something super fucking dramatic. It could be one of those final shots that people talk about for ages.”

Sure, it sounds great. Hell, I’d probably call it fun if it wasn’t for the fact that I have to work with Theodore. Does Jules not know what a piece of garbage he is? Have they not interacted since she’s been signed?

“Yeah, I guess it does sound…fun.” I decide to dance around the subject a bit, not cut straight to my issue. “I’m not sure how I feel about working with him. He has a bit of a reputation.”

She hums her agreement. “He’s rough around the edges, but he loves this business. It’s probably the one thing that he takes seriously. He’s going to give his all to this, that’s for sure. Everything will be fine if you give your all too. Theodore’s the type to appreciate hard work.”

He also appreciates getting under my skin. I hadn’t thought about him once—at least not outside of seeing him on TV—since that night at the bar. Now I’m going to begin my career by his side. Talk about karma. Who did I wrong to end up in this position?

I sigh. “Yeah, I mean, I’ll give it my all. But what about him? He seems like such an asshole. From everything that I’ve heard.” And everything he’s said to me.

“He’s never really been an ass to me,” Jules offers, and I’m surprised. I assumed he would’ve torn her a new one for getting noticed by Hext or something. “He doesn’t talk a lot to people backstage, anyway.”

I’m trying to pair the fact that Theodore’s never been an ass toJules with the Theodore that I know. It doesn’t compute. She seems like a prime target for his assholery, yet she’s never been a victim.

I don’t get the chance to press her about it a bit more because Jules turns the conversation to our match tonight. She’s going to win. It’s not going to be an upset victory by some unknown girl walking into the company, but she’s asking me for ideas.

Talking about wrestling is so much easier than talking about Theodore. Because I hate him and yet I can’t help but be just a little curious about him. Not enough to get myself tangled up in him though.

That is the last thing I need to do.

Chapter Eleven

AURORA

Rise

Episode 567

Burlington, Vermont

Before the show started, Jules had enough time to give me a rundown of the cameras and the angles. Where to look, how to play to them, all of the stuff that isn’t too important on the indies. She said it’ll probably be a little rough since it’s my first time, but she’s sure I’ll get the hang of it. She did.

Right now, we’re filming my first backstage segment. It’s supposed to be natural, but I’m feeling anything but. Nerves are twisting in my stomach, making me feel like I’m going to puke up the oatmeal I had for breakfast. All I have to do is interact with Theo. I’ve done that before. The kicker is I can’t have the ‘I want to puke’ expression on my face the whole time—from the nerves or the man himself.

Note to self: Book acting lessons with my first paycheck.

This is just supposed to be the beginning. All I need to do is convey a spark of interest. I don’t have to fawn all over him orworship the ground he walks on, so maybe that’ll make things a bit easier.

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