It's My Rhode, Not Yours

Death Angel commeth. **Updated**

A/N- The updates are coming so keep an eye on here and then once I have caught myself up, fingers crossed I can catch myself up a lot quicker with unwritten chapters

Word count- 1077 words
Updated word count- 2006 words (updated 5th Jan 2022)
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"Nova, come on, you are being ridiculous" the purple haired woman heard her friend say for about the twentieth time in their conversation "I seriously don't know how many more times you want me to say it. I don't want to work for them, with them or even in the same damn fucking state as them. Why can that not be respected" Novalee seethed, annoyed that not one of the men were listening to her. "Lee, you wouldn't be working for them you'd be working for the company and hell if you didn't want to see them we would put you in the darkest room possible away from them so your paths didn't have to cross. Your good Nova, really really good. We want to give you that chance to shine like the star you are!" Nick exclaimed. Listening to the men trying their best to suck up to her, Nova rolled her eyes, they were nothing but relentless she had to give them their dues, looking up at her clock on her wall while playing with the ear of her mini Australian shepherd Luna while watching her other mini Lola chase her tail she realised that this conversation had been going on for the best part of 2 and a half hours and she was getting to the point where she was over it. Taking a deep breath, she stated "say I agree to signing HYPOTHETICALLY, can you honestly swear to me that I will have nothing to do with them outside of the ring. I mean it B1, if they start...." "I promise you Lee, they'll have nothing to do with you. I will even personally make sure that you have a dressing room in the darkest part of any arena we go to. Come on, you know you want to" Matt smiled through the phone. As Nova stood up, her eyes went to the only picture she had of her and her father together from when she was about 14 and instantly she felt her heart start to pound out of her chest, needing to end the conversation she sighed "okay, okay. Send me the details and the directions to where I need to be and contract information for my lawyer and I will be there", "Lawyer?" Nick asked confused "do you think I am signing something without it being looked over first? And I would let who you need to know know that there will probably be negotiations happening with it too" "fine, jeez I forgot how much like Co..."Nick stuttered as Matt, trying to cover his brothers back exclaimed "you wont regret it Noves, I swear to you. We have all missed you" "I'm not sure everyone has.... I need to go take the dogs for a walk, give the kids a hug from me" and before the brothers could say anything else, the Purple haired woman hung up her phone.

Looking at the picture above her up cycled fireplace, Nova felt the tears in her eyes threaten to fall once more and she did the only thing she could think of to make it stop and calm herself in equal measures, as she leaned back to try and slow her breathing down, she felt the dogs, the two fluff-balls that gave her some kind of purpose, come and jump on her lap, letting her know she wasn't alone "how you two know when I need this is beyond me" she thought to herself. As the woman tried to calm herself after the phone call from hell, all she could think about and see in her minds eye was her family and what they were doing, it wasn't so much her siblings she missed, it was her nieces and nephews the woman missed more than anything in the world and had done since the day she was thrown away, anyone who knew her knew that she was the most amazing auntie and would spoil her nieces and nephews rotten (even when she was told she didn't have too) and it had been one of the only things she had struggled with. When it came to her siblings however, it was a completely different story and one that she had struggled with acknowledging and accepting, finally accepting what had happened only recently with the help of a friend who had seen her at her worst and had stayed by her side regardless of her trying to push him away out of fear. After coming to accept what had happened wasn't her fault, she realised rather quickly that she couldn't miss them, not anymore, after everything she had been through since that dark day, her ability to feel anything for them had faded and in a weird way, it had given her a kind of peace she never thought possible of experiencing. When their father had gotten sick, he had made his children vow to look after his youngest daughter, knowing that his little Moondust would take his imminent death hard, but between the four of them dealing with not only their own grief, but their own lives and careers, Novalee quickly realised that she was on the outside looking in and thar she fitted in nowhere within the dynamics of their new life. As she thought more about her siblings and her family, she quickly had to shut the door that she had had locked for years as she felt her anxiety start to creep forward once more, hearing a bark, she looked at her two puppies, their heads tilted in the same direction concerned about their human, as Nova instantly smiled, she joked "who needs to pay for a psychiatrist appointment when I have you two fluffy girls" "WOOF!" she heard Luna bark happily "maybe I can do this, that's face it, Ive proved I didn't need them to myself, why not prove it to them...and I am talking to you like you can answer, I really have lost my mind" "WOOF!" Lola barked, making the woman laugh. As she looked up at the picture of her and her father on the wall, she touched her necklace, the one thing bar the photo she still had that reminded her of her dad "if only you were still here pop. Maybe I wouldn't have changed this much". As the woman got herself ready to take the dogs out, her eyes kept going back to the picture of her and her father and as she did, the memories of what happened that day came screaming to the front of her mind at a speed that was enough to make her feel sick

** Flashback**
"You can't be serious Novalee!!" I hear my brother Cody yell after I finish telling our family the decision that not only myself, but our father helped me come too about my career and where I wanted to go with it "you are a Runnels, we get into the business, we use dads name, It's tradition, I know family doesn't mean much in your perfect little world and that you have been shielded by us too a lot , but I am sure that even you can see how wrong you are", "so Dustin using Golddust is tradition is it Cody?, or should I say Stardust!! You are a sanctimonious ass you really are. Not that it is anything to do with you, but I sat down with dad and went through my ideas and he loved it, he even gave me his approval to not use our name, why can you two not do the same?" "That isn't fair Nova, don't bring your father into it" I hear Brandi exclaim which pissed me off even more "NO! What isn't fair Brandi is the fact that I am an adult and I am being treated like I am a stupid little girl" "then stop acting like one" Cody bit back. Looking over at Mom, Teil and Kristen sitting and watching the argument, I knew as per usual, that I was going to have to fight this battle alone yet again...something I had become accustom too, looking at a very Irate Cody, I step forward and say simply and calmly "you need to listen to what I am saying because obviously something in your brain is telling you that I'm speaking another language, I am not doing this to upset or to anger you, I am doing this for me and MY Career, MINE. I am sick and tired of being booked because of who I am, Dad was proud of me, why cant you be". As I turn to my oldest big brother, I continue "Dustin, you have always told me to be me, regardless of what anyone thought, well this is me trying to be my own person, Dad approved, why can't you...you have..." "NO, do not bring in dad with your poor little me act and certainly do not try to butter up Dustin. We are a legacy, dad knew that and would want to keep it like that" "I think we all need to calm down a little bit" I finally hear my mom state "better late then never" I thought to myself, "Mom, I'm sorry but Novalee needs to learn her place. She is a Runnels, therefore she will, if she wants any kind of career, compete as a Rhodes, like it or lump it" Cody seethed, hearing enough, I roll my eyes "get this through your thick head douchebag, I..AM..MY..OWN...PERSON. What I choose to do with MY life and MY career is my decision and mine alone, funnily enough that's the one good thing about not signing your life away to the devil". As I watch my brothers reaction change instantly, the smirk quickly doubled in size, knowing I had hit a nerve "what, no comeback Cody", watching him walk over with a face of fury, he did the one thing no one in the family ever thought he would do. As the sound of the mans hand meeting my face echoed throughout the silent room, everyone was in shock "Cody, what the hell are you thinking" Dustin seethed, pushing Cody away from me "whatever lie you want to tell yourself, to help you sleep at night, dad would be ashamed of you. If you don't want to use dads name, your not welcome around us. Your no Runnels." Cody seethed, looking at my tear filled eyes "Think about this" I hear Kristen finally say, but I couldn't handle it anymore and with that, I grabbed my bag and ran out the door "Novalee, baby wait Please" "leave her mom, she has made her choice".

** Flashback ended **

Shaking off the memory of one of the worst days of her life, Nova got up from her sofa and stared at herself in a nearby mirror, as she did, the changes she had made to herself both internally and externally over the years hit her in the face, it was safe to say, she no longer looked like a member of the Runnels family anymore, between the cosmetic work she had gone through and the changes to her appearance she had made, it was safe to say, not one member of her family would point her out of a lineup and for the first time in years, she was okay with it. Grabbing the dogs leads, Novalee turned around and saw the two dogs staring at her "well time to prove I made it with out them, right puppies?" "WOOF!" "I'm not sure if you are agreeing or just wanting to go for a walk, but at this point I will just take what I can get" Nova laughed.

If her debut was what was wanted, Nova knew for sure a debut was what her friends were going to get, it was time for the Dark Angel of Death herself to right some wrongs and make her father proud, and her evolution was coming sooner than many people planned.