𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 #𝟏𝟔: 𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐃𝐢𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲
"𝐼'𝑚 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔."
The words seemed to cling to every inch of the hotel room that Matt Jackson sat in with the rest of The Elite. There was no way he could have heard that right, especially not from the man who had uttered those words. He let his plastic fork rest in the takeout container of shrimp fried rice he held. "Could you repeat that?"
Cody Rhodes adjusted his position as he sat on the love seat in the room, leaning slightly against the arm rest and away from Kenny Omega who sat next to him, "I...uh...I'm leaving."
Nick Jackson put his plate on the table, faking a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "That's a good one, man! If you're leaving, bring back some ice. We're almost out."
Cody rolled his eyes at Nick's attempt at a joke to hide the awkwardness of the current situation. He set his own plate down on the small coffee table that sat between the group of friends. "Not for food. The company. I'm leaving AEW."
There was a silence as the others exchanged glances. Leaving? "Can...can ya even do that?" Adam Page raised an eyebrow, half a crab rangoon in his mouth, "You're an EVP."
"I talked with TK and-"
"Before us?" Matt asked, the hurt evident in his voice, "You talked to TK before you...you didn't think to talk to...𝙬𝙝𝙮?"
Cody drew in a deep breath, soft blue eyese meeting with Matt's gentle brown, "It's not like I...Matt, listen..."
"Listen to what? You already made up your mind it seems," Kenny scoffed with a roll of his eyes. The two men had never really gotten along.
"𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁," Cody hissed at the man who sat next to him on the couch, "I don't have to explain myself to you of all people."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Kenny's voice raised slightly as he stood up, matching Cody's actions as the two men stood toe-to-toe.
"YOU never wanted to be with this company anyways! YOU had to be convinced into coming here!" Cody shouted, shoving Kenny lightly.
Before Kenny could shove back and a fight could break out, Matt had moved to stand in between the two. "Knock it off. Both of you knock it off! Kenny, why don't you and Nick and Adam take a walk, okay? Please."
There was a moment in which it seemed Kenny was not going to take his advice, but after a moment, Kenny muttered something under his breath before following Nickout, with Adam trailing behind them. Matt waited to make sure they left before turning to Cody, "I should have told you all, I know. I just-"
"You're right, you 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 have told us first," Matt crossed his arms over his chest, "can you at least tell me 𝘄𝗵𝘆?"
"There's nothing left for me here, Matt."
Matt's face fell and he blinked back the tears that threatened to fall, "That was on you, Cody. You were the one that backed yourself into that corner. The fact you...you didn't even think to..."
"Matt...you have to understand..." Cody sounded just as hurt as he reached out to try and touch Matt's shoulder. When Matt pulled back, he let out a sigh, "I know I did wrong..."
"You did," Matt gave a nod as he moved past Cody, "and you're gonna have to live with that."