Concerns

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April 6th, 2019

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

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Tactical Warfare lived up to the hype.  It was every bit as brutal and violent as everyone made it out to be.  Blood was shed and bodies were broken but a winner emerged victorious.  Sasha and Team SCW survived the brutality of Tactical Warfare to decide the future of the company moving forward.

Matches like Tactical Warfare change people.  You don’t leave the same way as you entered.  Angelica had heard of this going in but she dismissed the warnings.  She has been an active competitor since 2003 and during that time she has been in some violent, bloody matches.  She is used to having to put her body on the line.  She has had to sacrifice part of herself in order to walk out victorious.  Sometimes she sacrificed part of herself for nothing at all.  Either way, she knew the risk going in.  Angelica knew what she was getting into and she thought, at least, that she was prepared for anything Tactical Warfare could throw at her.

She was wrong.

The Matriarch of the Jones wrestling family knew it would be violent but she didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as she did.  Angelica Jones unleashed her dark side, she unleashed The Dragon.  Hell, she embraced it and she enjoyed it.  Yes, The Dragon got her through Tactical Warfare, but at what cost?  Now that The Dragon has been let out once, it will be that much harder to keep him chained back up and locked away.  And that’s not even the most troubling for Angelica.

Jones could tell that James Evans, her tag team partner, was enjoying the brutality as well.  He seemed different, he seemed a little off after Retribution.  He wasn’t acting like himself, that’s for certain.  Then in the following weeks she saw what happened between him and Andrew Raynes when they put the tag titles on the line.  Again he seemed to lose control, just like at Retribution.

Angelica has grown close to James; as close as a friend could get.  They’ve been there for one another and watched one another’s back.  They supported one another though the trials and tribulation of the madness that both of them had to work through.  She would hate to see James starting to regress.

Then again, there is the distinct possibility that she, too, is regressing.

The redheaded Boston native sits cross legged on the floor in front of her fireplace in her Boston, Massachusetts home.  Jones is dressed in an ankle length skirt, no shoes, and a floral print blouse.  She is staring into the flames, she feels their warmth.  She is clutching a crucifix in her hand tightly as she prays out loud.

“Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.  To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.  Do thee do we send up our sighs, sorrows, and weeping in this valley of tears.  Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy upon us.  And in this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb...Jesus...oh clement, oh loving, oh sweet Virgin Mary.  Pray for us, Oh Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.”

Jones kisses the image of Christ and then gazes upward at the ceiling. “I don’t want this cross to bear.  I don’t want The Dragon.  I don’t need it.  And James…” her voice trails off as she tries to come up with the right words “...I think he needs help.  He…”

Just then her vocal musing is interrupted with the echoing sound of the doorbell.  Angelica pushes herself up to her feet and then sets the crucifix down on the sofa as she makes her way over towards the front door.  Angelica opens the door and immediately she is shocked to see her younger sister standing there before her.  Kayla Jones is wearing a long sleeve black sweater with a matching black leather skirt with a hemline that stops just at the knee.  The younger Jones sibling is perched atop black leather high heel pump.  Kayla has a pleasant grin on her face as she greets her older sister.  Angelica returns with a scowl.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Well is that any way to speak to your sister?” Kayla asks in a sickeningly sweet tone.  Angelica, however, doesn’t buy her sincerity.  Not by a long shot.

“The way you’ve been acting lately, I’m not sure you want to be my sister,” Angelica answers stoically. “So it may not be how you speak to your sister, but it sure as hell is how I speak to you right now.”

Kayla sighs and nods her head. “Fair point.  But doesn’t that make you the least bit curious as to why I showed up?”

The pair of sisters used to be very close. Angelica and Kayla had gone through a hellacious time during their teenage years. After reuniting they swore to watch one another’s back and to make sure nothing else separated them ever again.  Yet it seems as if this may be something too much even for them to overcome.  Still, Angelica is intrigued. She sighs before nodding her head and stepping aside to allow Kayla room to enter.

“Fine, but this had better be worth my time.”

“It will be.” Kayla sticks her tongue out at Angelica as she walks into her sister’s home. “With that attitude I am curious as to why people think I’m the bitch.”

“Do you really want me to explain?” Angelica asks, narrowing her eyes in a judgmental gaze.

“That’s twice you gave me attitude.” Kayla smirks. “You didn’t used to be so judgmental. You didn’t used to have this kind of attitude. What happened to my big sister?”

“And you didn’t always have this conceited attitude.” Angelica fires back. “Now do you have anything worthwhile to share or are you just here to piss me off? Because if that’s it, you’re doing a good job.”

“I do have something I want to say but I can’t say it until you’ve been a good host,” Kayla winks “if you catch my drift.”

Angelica places her hands on her hips. “You want wine.”

“If you don’t mind!”

The Matriarch of the Jones family sighs with frustration but spins on her heel and marches away towards the dining room.  Her sister, Kayla, follows close behind. The elder Jones enters the dining room and approaches the refrigerator. Kayla sits down at the luxurious dining room table. Angelica retrieves a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. The Dragon sets the two wine glasses down and pours the wine.

“Good job, sis.” Kayla takes a sip of her wine. “You should have been a waitress.”

“Whatever.” Angelica sits down across from her younger sister. Jones then takes a sip of wine. “You got your booze. Now get to the point. What do you want?”

“Look, I get it. You’re mad at me. And maybe I brought some of that upon myself.”

“You’ve been acting like a complete bitch, Kayla.” Angelica answers pointedly.

“I still think I’m justified in being angry with you, though. We promised that after our one on one match at Retribution of 2018 that neither of us would return to SCW. That match was supposed to be our swan song.”

“Circumstances change, Kayla.”

“So you say.” Kayla rolls her eyes. “But I’m not here to argue with you about that. I’m here because I’m worried about you.”

“Worried about me?”

Angelica is somewhat doubtful and her voice shows. And yet it makes perfect sense, in a way. Angelica and Kayla have always watched each other’s back even when they didn’t necessarily want or need it. This is a battle that they’ve fought before. They argued tooth and nail before when they were trying to help each other but the other sister would have none of it. Perhaps Kayla does honestly want to help in her own weird way?

“Yes, I’m worried about you. Are you so surprised that I’m worried about my sister? We may argue and fight but at the end of the day I still love you.”

Kayla certainly sounds sincere. Even though she still has reservations, Angelica figures she should at least hear her sister out.

“Ok, I’ll humor you. What’s wrong?”

“I’m worried about you possibly regressing.”

Angelica furrows her brow out of curiosity. “Regressing? What does that mean?”

“Despite what you may think of me right now, I do care about you. I hated it for you when you were locked up in the mental hospital.”

Angelica nods her head. “You visited me every day.”

“Right, and I was always concerned about you losing control again. And you did lose control. Last August you took a sledgehammer to your opponent’s back.”

Kayla doesn’t need to remind her older sister of this event. She still regrets losing her composure and trying to end this person’s career. She still feels guilt over this. Angelica bows her head in shame.

“Yeah, I remember that.”

“Angelica, I know you can beat this insanity. You’ve beaten it before and I’m cheering you on the whole way, hoping you’ll beat it again.”

Angelica looks up at her younger sister, frowning skeptically. “I appreciate that, Kay. I really do.”

“But look at the company you’ve been keeping lately in SCW. I mean, in Tactical Warfare you were fighting on the side of a maniac.”

“Gio is…” Angelica pauses as she tries to think of the best word for it “...unorthodox, but I do think he wants...um…” another’s uncomfortable pause as Jones again tries to think of the right word “...fairness.”

“You don’t really believe that.” Kayla states definitively.

“Kayla…” Angelica starts to protest but Kayla interrupts.

“No, stop. I’m not even specifically talking about Gio, though I’m glad you brought his crazy ass up because he’s yet another bad influence on you.”

“Well if you’re not talking about Gio, then…” Angelica’s eyes grow wide as she comes to a realization “...James.”

Kayla nods her head. “You know that man and his past. You know what he has done.”

“That’s unfair, Kay. You know as well as I do that people can change. Hell, I am living proof of that. So is James. That’s why we call ourselves redemption.”

“It’s a nice story, sis, but the reality is that James Evans is losing control. Didn’t you see what he and Andrew Raynes did to one another on Breakdown?”

Angelica rolls her eyes. “I was there, Kayla. Yes, I saw.”

“Then for God’s sake quit being in denial and accept reality!” Kayla exclaims. “Your tag team partner is losing control and…” Kayla wipes a tear from her eye. She lets her voice trail off.

“What is it?”

“I don’t want him to lose control and then drag you into madness with him.”

Angelica stares deep into her younger sister’s eyes. Kayla seems to be genuinely concerned. And Angelica has to admit, Kayla does bring up some legitimate points. Angelica takes a sip of wine and then reaches across, placing a hand on her sister’s hand.

“You’re not going to lose me, Kay.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You know what? Maybe we have just drifted apart. Maybe we need to repair this rift that has come between us?”

Kayla grins. “What are you suggesting?”

“You and I, we need to get together and hang out. Just the two of us. No Aphrodite and no Trenton.”

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April 6th, 2019

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

A Few Hours Later

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Music is blaring loudly throughout a club just inside the city limits of Boston, Massachusetts.  The music is so loud that you could easily hear it from outside the building.  Inside the dance floor has flashing lights of various colors, seeming to tease and encourage the patrons to dance to their heart’s content.  The younger member of the famed SCW tag team and Boston’s own Kayla Jones is out there on the floor, enjoying herself.  Her older sister, Angelica, sits at the bar with a glass of beer in her hand, watching on with a smile on her face.

It has been so long since she and Kayla have really been able to just get out and enjoy themselves like this.  The sisters used to do things together all the time, even as adults.  It didn’t matter that they were grown up now and were their own people.  They still wanted to hang out.  But then relationships came along.  Angelica met Aphrodite and Kayla met Trenton.  Slowly but surely they drifted apart.  Angelica spent more time with her girlfriend and Kayla spent more time with her new husband.  Not to mention Kayla had openly been opposed to her sister’s relationship with Aphrodite.  Kayla claimed it was because she just didn’t trust Aphrodite but Angelica still secretly believes her younger sister is homophobic.  Perhaps that homophobia is part of what was driving a wedge between the siblings?

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t?  Either way, it seems as if things are finally starting to come back together.  It appears as if Angelica and Kayla are finally beginning to regain that strong bond that they once had.

Still, she isn’t quite sure what to make about Kayla’s accusations regarding James Evans.  Sure, Giovanni Aries is a little crazy.  But James?  He has fought hard to change his ways and to become a better person.  So has Angelica.  The accusation that they are both regressing and losing control is quite a bold one.

Yet, Kayla isn’t the only one who thought this. Angelica herself must admit that the thought has crossed her mind.

Tonight isn’t about worrying over those problems.  Not tonight.  Tonight Angelica just wants to try and repair a fractured relationship with her sister.  The elder Jones takes a sip of her beer before calling out to Kayla.

“You look great out there, sis!”

Angelica chuckles.  She takes another sip of beer.  Kayla clearly heard her sister call out to her and then begins to make her way over.  She exits the dance floor and approaches the bar.  Kayla takes a seat next to Angelica.  She motions for the bartender, a young man, who walks over to take her order.

“I’ll have what she had.” Kayla remarks, pointing to Angelica.

The bartender nods and walks off to fill the order.  Kayla turns to face Angelica.  She points to the dance floor.

“When are you getting out there, sis?”

“Maybe later.”

“Still need to get drunk first?” Kayla asks with a wink. “I understand.”

“Not hardly.” Angelica sighs as she stares off distantly into the crowd of people dancing.

“I’m glad we’re doing this, Angel.” Kayla says with a wide grin on her face. “We haven’t done this in a long time.”

“I know.  It’s been too long.  And it’s been too long since you called me Angel.”

“Well that’s what you are.” Kayla winks at her older sister. “You’re an Angel.”

“I thought I was a Dragon?” Angelica asks.

“No, absolutely not.” Kayla shakes her head. “That old thing is dead. Dead and buried.  You beat it, sis.  And I’m proud of you for it.”

Angelica turns and stares intensely at her younger sibling.  That definitely wasn’t the tone Kayla was singing earlier.  Kayla had been concerned that James Evans would drag her backward.  She was concerned that Angelica herself had been regressing.  Now suddenly Kayla says The Dragon is dead and buried?

“Uh, yeah.  Sure…” Angelica says, her voice trailing off as she clearly sounds not convinced.

“Seriously.  What you did was impressive, Angel.  You had a serious mental illness and you beat it.  You should be proud.”

“Kay, it’s just…” Angelica motions to the crowd of dancers on the floor “...look at them.  What do you see?”

“I don’t know.” Kayla shrugs.  “Idiots?”

The bartender returns with Kayla’s drink.  The younger Jones takes it and begins to sip.  Angelica shakes her head.

“No, they’re just people; people without a care in the world.  No concerns and no worries.  But me?  I’m not like them.  I’m worried that The Dragon will come back.  I’m worried that I cannot keep it restrained.” Angelica points at Kayla. “And earlier this evening you agreed.”

“Well…”

“Don’t deny it.” Angelica states. “You said you were worried about losing me.”

“Fine,” Kayla nods her head “I admit, I was...am...worried about losing you.  But come on, I think everyone has their own serpent right?”

“Serpent?” Angelica furrows her brow out of confusion.

“Serpent.  You know, Adam and Eve?  Garden of Eden?  You’re supposed to be the former nun.  Figure out the imagery.  A serpent tempted Adam and Eve to sin and fall from grace.  We all have serpents in our lives.  But we’ll be fine so long as we remove those serpents from our lives.”

“And who is the serpent in my life?” Angelica asks.  She has a feeling she knows who Kayla is referring to, but she wants to hear it from Kayla’s mouth.  Kayla smiles nervously.

“Uh...well…”

“James.  It’s James, isn’t it?”

Kayla sighs and nods her head. “Him and Aries both have been bad influences upon you.  James more than Gio because at least Gio’s madness is clear and obvious.  James masks his by pretending to want to change.  But you were there in Tactical Warfare.  You were there on Breakdown.  You saw him lose his cool.  Be honest with me, Angel, you can’t believe that you are better off by his side?”

“I do believe that he needs me.”

“And maybe he’s just trying to pull you back down into the madness with him?  You need to get rid of him.”

“Get rid of James Evans?  What are you suggesting?”

“Don’t be naive, sis.” Kayla remarks. “You were dragged into Tactical Warfare thanks to Evans. That match brought The Dragon back.  You don’t need to be dragged into these crazy wars with James Evans any longer and you don’t need to fight this war against Bree and Raynes.  Stay away, let James fight them by himself.  He deserves it.”

“I can’t believe you’d suggest that.” Angelica takes one final sip of her beer before standing up. “You think I’m the type person to back out of a fight?”

“This isn’t your fight.  It’s his fight!”

“I’m his tag team partner and I promised to have his back, just as he promised to have mine.”

“He doesn’t have your back.” Kayla answers. “He’ll turn on you.  He’ll lose control.  I’m just trying to protect you.”

“No,” Angelica shakes her head “you’re trying to split us up.  I should’ve seen it coming. But I thought you cared.”

“I do!  I do care!” Angelica turns and starts to walk away.  Kayla’s eyes grow wide in shock. “Hey!  Where are you going?!”

“I’m leaving.” Angelica answers plainly.

“But I drove!”

“I’ll call a cab.”

==========

April 7th, 2019

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

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Angelica Jones stands just outside of a bitter, cold, dark, gloomy, and quite creepy cemetery on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts.  Inside this cemetery are trees, some are alive and well, but most of them are dying.  To enter the cemetery the redheaded matriarch of the Jones family must skirt around a pile of brown frosted leaves, the innumerable flashing fragments shine in the brilliant light, for today there is no weather; no wind, no cloud, just very cold temperatures.  The cemetery is cool and there is dew on the grass.  The air is fresh and despite the greenery it is hard to tell what season it is, due in large part to the cold temperatures. Jones always liked being in the cemetery; it’s quiet, peaceful. The dead laid to rest, grave stones in promise of not being forgotten, but a promise which is always broken. She likes to visit the old crooked, crumbling grave stones the people who have had no one visit or care in a long time and leave a single flower upon each headstone. She likes the way time seems to stand still, the wind unmoving, the birds always quiet like they know to be silent and reverent.

All this beauty over everything dead. And yet Jones is there to add to it with a bunch of pink roses in her gloved hand. she pauses, her breath rising in visible puffs, then remembering why she came in the first place. Angelica needed to talk to her and this is the only way.  This is the only way she can see her beloved mother, Kelly Ford-Jones.  But she’s not here for her, not really.  She’s here for her own mental stability, for her own well being. The proximity to her frigid bones and the gift of flowers will close the gap between for a moment, and in that brief window of time she hopes to feel her love again.  And hopefully that love will heal her pain and put her mind at ease.

Jones has spent years trying to fight back her inner darkness, a violent and bloodthirsty part of her nature that she calls The Dragon.  Not so much a separate entity or consciousness as much as it is just more her violent and aggressive tendencies.  When Angelica loses control and gets too violent, that’s what she refers to as The Dragon being unleashed.  The Dragon has ended careers and put fellow wrestlers on the shelf.  Worse yet, The Dragon has taken life.  It was in this out of control violent state that Angelica murdered Sean Williams, the father of her identical twin daughters Marie and Kimberly.

She spent time in a mental hospital trying to deal with this darkness.  She thought she finally had it under control.  It was while she was under mental observation that she met and befriended James Evans.  The seeds of Redemption were planted that very moment.  They swore to watch each other’s back, they swore to hold one another accountable, they swore to protect each other.

Angelica is struggling with trying to hold James accountable.  She is worried that he is yet again losing control.  Her younger sister, Kayla Jones, seems to think that not only is James losing control but he is dragging Angelica back into madness with him.  And instead of hearing her out, Angelica walked out on Kayla.  She didn’t want to hear any of it.

Perhaps she doesn’t want to hear any of it because she secretly believes what her sister has to say is true?  The only other option is that Kayla is simply trying to put a wedge in between them.  Kayla is trying to plant seeds of doubt in her older sister’s head.  If so, she didn’t have to do it.  Angelica already had begun to form doubt when she saw James begin to lose control on Breakdown.

Kayla and Angelica haven’t had the best of relationships as of late.  The Sisterhood, former two time SCW World Tag Team Champions, have begun to fracture.  It happened ever since their match at Retribution that was supposed to be their last in SCW.  But Angelica changed her mind.  She wanted to team with James Evans and win tag team gold.  Kayla has been upset about the development but it’s hard to say whether she’s just simply jealous or if her concerns are legitimate and justified.

Angelica feels as if she needs some advice and the best advice she can get for this particular problem must come from her mother.  Her mother who lies at rest, for eternity, in the mausoleum just up ahead.

Angelica just turns and steps towards the entrance to the mausoleum. Inside of the mausoleum is full of marble and granite.  It’s exquisite, definitely befitting a family with connections.  It didn’t used to be this grandiose.  Kayla and Angelica have added to it, trying to make it look nicer as their own wealth increased over time.  They wanted to honor their family in a way they felt their family didn’t honor themselves.

“Hi mom, it’s me.” Angelica grins sheepishly as she approaches a marker that reads ‘Kelly Ford-Jones” and places her right hand upon it. “Your oldest child.  And yeah, I may have screwed up again.”

Jones chuckles lightly to herself. “But then again, you probably guessed that.  Every time I visit you I always seem to have some problem on my mind.  This time it’s with Kayla.”

Angelica sighs and nods her head. “Yes, I know, Kayla and I are sisters and ultimately, at the end of the day, we only have each other.  We need to look out for one another, I know this, but we’re drifting apart more and more and I can’t seem to figure out how to fix it.  I don’t even…”

Her voice trails off as tears form in her eyes.  She shakes her head. “...I don’t even know whose fault it is, really.  I guess we’re both at fault in a way.  But who am I to judge anyone but myself?  And as for me, I’m worried that I may be losing control.  Then there’s James...”

She reaches into her coat pocket and produces a tiny white cloth which she uses to dab her eyes, wiping the tears away.  She puts the cloth away and continues.

“...poor James.  Kayla thinks he’s losing control and, honestly, I’m worried about it too.  James and I are supposed to hold each other accountable.  We’re supposed to watch out for another and help each other.  But if he really has lost control, under my watch, I couldn’t…” she shakes her head “...I couldn’t live with myself.”

“But you could live with yourself knowing you screwed up our relationship, right?”

The redhead thought she was alone.  Hearing this voice startles her.  She spins around and spots her younger sister, Kayla Jones, standing in the entrance way.  Kayla is dressed in denim jeans, black high heel sandals, and a long sleeve black sweater.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  Her hands are resting on her hips and she has a smug, arrogant look on her face as she stares down her older sister.

“Kayla?”

“That’s my name.  Kind of surprised you remembered it.  Thought you’d try to forget about me, considering the way you walked out on me last night.”

“You know me better than that.”

“No, I don’t know you.” Kayla shakes her head. “Not any more.  I have no idea who or what you’ve become.  Yesterday I tried to reach out, I tried to see if there was anything left of my sister, but I’m not sure there is.”

“You’re overreacting.” Angelica retorts, approaching Kayla.

“Am I?  You didn’t used to hang out with drug addicts and psychopaths.  Now your best buddies in SCW are Giovanni Aries and James Evans, both of whom fit that bill to a damn T.  You didn’t used to sleep with anything that breathes.  Now you’re sleeping with Aphrodite Noel.”

“Let me stop you right there!” Angelica exclaims, pointing a finger at her younger sister. “See, that’s what I think this is all about.  You don’t really care about James Evans or the fact that I broke our promise from Retribution last year.  You don’t really care about me palling around with Giovanni Aries.  You ultimately don’t approve of me dating Aphrodite Noel and you’re subconsciously looking for any excuse to be pissed off at me.”

“Bullshit.” Kayla shakes her head.

“I’m right.  You’re a homophobe.”

“Wrong.  I don’t hate her.  I don’t really care about her.  I just don’t trust her.  You know her reputation.  You know what she’s done.  She’s no good for you, sis.” Kayla shrugs her shoulders. “But hell, I tried to tell you that over and over again.  I told you that so much that I got tired of telling you.  I just don’t want you to get hurt...again...but if you want to get hurt, be my guest.  I’m tired of trying to warn you about her.  But this James Evans shit, I’m serious about that.  That’s not an excuse to be mad at you.  He’s a real problem.”

Angelica tilts her head to one side. She points back to their mother’s marker, where she was just standing a few minutes ago before Kayla entered.

“How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough to know that you believe me when I tell you that Evans is trouble.”

The Matriarch of the Jones family sighs and then nods her head. “Fine, I admit that some of his actions and words have troubled me lately.”

“So what I said yesterday did get through your thick skull?”

“Not quite.” Angelica pauses momentarily. “I’ve had those thoughts before you ever approached me.”

“Really?” Kayla arches her brow.

“You just reinforced my concerns.”

“So what’s the big deal then?” Kayla asks incredulously. “If you know something’s wrong then dump the loser.”

“It’s not that simple.” Angelica states, shaking her head.  “James and I were there for each other when we were both suffering from our mental issues.  We were both there to help each other through the valley of death.”

“Valley of death?  Really, Angel?” Kayla rolls her eyes.

“And when we did get through it, when we were given a clean bill of mental health, we promised to stand by one another.  We promised to continue to be there for each other and hold the other accountable if necessary.  What you’re asking me to do would be to break that promise.  You’re asking me to abandon him when he needs me the most.  I can’t do that.  I can’t break that promise.”

Kayla chuckles lightly. “Ok, let me get this straight, you know that something is wrong with James and yet when I confirm it you’re still not convinced that you need to dump him?  You’re willing to break the promise you made to me, the promise that neither of us would return to SCW after our match at Retribution last year, but you’re not willing to break this promise you made to James Evans?  And best of all…”

She points over to their mother’s marker “...you’re willing to talk to our dead mother about this but you won’t admit to your own sister that you were wrong about James Evans?”

Dragon.

In fit of rage Angelica rears back and punches Kayla in the face with a sharp right hand.  Kayla falls to the floor.  Angelica stares with hatred and anger down at the fallen form of her sister.  She points judgmentally at her as she starts to yell.

“Never talk about our mother like that again!  EVER!  Or else!  OR...or…”

Angelica’s voice trails off as she watches Kayla slowly turn over onto her stomach and then push herself up onto her knees and then back up to her feet.  Angelica’s eyes grow wide as she realizes what just happened.  She snapped.  She got angry and lost her temper.  She lost control.  Otherwise she wouldn’t have struck her own sister like that.

“Kayla, I...I’m sorry…”

Before Angelica can get any more words out, Kayla rears back and punches her older sister with a right hand.  Angelica falls backward onto her ass.  Kayla points angrily down at Angelica.

“Now we’re even.” She states angrily. “And don’t tell me what I can and cannot do.  You lost that right.  I tried to help you.  I tried to right your wrongs.  I’m done trying, Angel.  I’m just plain done.  You make whatever mistakes you want to make.  Whatever we once had is over.  It’s finished.”

With that said, Kayla spins on her heel and storms away angrily, leaving Angelica alone in the mausoleum, rubbing her stinging cheek.  Angelica pushes herself up and back to her feet.  She approaches the Kelly Jones marker again and places her hand back upon it.  Tears once again fill her eyes and run down her cheek.

“I’m sorry, mom.  I’m so sorry.”