Circling The Drain

"Sorry to hear that man... women, what can we do with them?" Charlie said with a forced laugh. "At least you can still kick ass. I just feel like... I dunno, a guy who relies on speed who had every ligament in his knee torn up can only go one direction." Charlie said as he looked back toward the ring. That ring used to make Charlie feel free.

Now being inside those ropes were more of a prison. A forced reminder that he wasn't what he used to be, that he didn't have what he used to have in his home life, and that he had no other skills or work prospects. With that Charlie sighed and looked at Clyde with a shrug, his eyes more glazed over as the whiskey was catching up to him.

Clyde huffed in amusement and shrugged before hearing Charlie out further. It made Clyde frown deeply and wonder if his career would end if he had his knee torn up. The worst he had suffered was a concussion and separated shoulder. "Ever thought about working your upperbody?" He asked, thinking of how Bonnie's knee had been wrecked by Allison and Poison.

Clyde looked at the dude and saw a look in eyes, he didn't look all there. "You okay, friend?" He asked.

Charlie let out a laugh as Clyde expressed his concern. "Heh... never better dude." He said, realizing far too late that a big breath would likely give away the smell of his breath. More specifically what was on his breath.

"Enough about me though.... got any big matches coming up?" Charlie asked, partially out of curiosity, but moreso so change the topic of conversation away from himself.

Clyde wrinkled his nose when he got a whiff on the whiskey on Charlie's breath, causing him to furrow his brow and completely ignore Charlie.

"You always drink on a workout, Chuck?" Clyde asked after titling his head up at Charlie.

Charlie saw it, the judgemental stare. Whatever. "I like to feel good when I work out. If there is a direct correlation between buzzed and happy... then so be it." Charlie said as he crossed his arms, looking at Clyde.

He shook his head slightly as he kept an unfocused look at Clyde. "Whazzit to you?"

"I hear ya, man. I like feelin' good too." Clyde answered with a shrug like it was no big deal. He missed drinking.

"But uh... Drinkin' while workin' out? That's like taking one step forward and two steps back. You ain't improvin' nothin. Unsafe too." He didn't look very happy to boot.

"This about that girl?"

Charlie nodded along with Clyde as he spoke. It wasn't that Clyde wasn't making good points, its just that Charlie really didn't care. Some dude he just met was going to tell him what was good for him?

His mood shift a bit as Clyde asked if it was all about Talia. Charlie let out a bit of a sigh as he spoke, sounding a bit deflated. "Yeah, I guess. We were together for a year and she just went up and out when I was going to propose to her. I just don't see me ever meeting anyone like that agian."

Clyde could see his words weren't meaning shit so he was thinking about just leaving the guy to be before he finally spoke up and spilled his guts about his girl and Clyde felt some familiarity with Charlie's situation. An eerily familiar situation that made Clyde scratch the back of his neck nervously before he sighed deeply. Charlie seemed a bit more older than Clyde, he figured the dude didn't want to be talked down to by him.

"Aw hell..." Clyde felt bad for Charlie. He could only imagine the heartache that he probably felt. But hurting himself would do him no favors.

"Well trust me, man. You can and will if yer willing to let go of yer old gal. I almost married this one girl, I thought she was amazing, but I ended up meetin' someone way better." Clyde said as positively as he could manage, doing his best to not tell Charlie that she too had left him, though Clyde doubted it was her fault. It had to be Allison or Lilly's fault. Maybe even his own? Clyde wasn't sure. As amazing as Mercy was, she never told him anything.

"I've done the drinkin' and mopin over my first ex. It ain't worth it in the long run." Clyde said with a firm nod, wondering if a drunk Charlie could even comprehend all this.

"Ok... but what happened in the end? Are you living the dream in your "happily ever after" deal?" Charlie asked, not thinking that Clyde was lying... but Charlie was drunk. He wasn't sure if this was just a smokescreen or the real thing.

"Also... what if your perfect lady never came along, but it was the perfect lady who left?"

Clyde frowned deeply and stared at his sneakers. "Not yet. Its gon' take some work..." He admitted like he let Charlie down.

He looked at the high flyer and shifted his feet before sighing deeply. He hadn't considered that.

"I 'spose that's entirely up ta you, pardner. " He said. "But the way you going ain't worth it... Trust me..." Clyde said solemnly, feeling weird that he was trying to help someone when he didn't need to.

"Can I have the drink?"