Heath had staunchly refused to do any interviews, telling Carter that under no uncertain circumstances would he permit the camera in his dressing room. He hated people being in his personal business and even though he was in a completely different place emotionally this time around, he still wasn't up for any interviews. He didn't care if they did a feature on him for the player profile, and had even agreed to taking photos, but he refused to permit any interviews. It would never happen.
His phone rang again, and he grabbed it, seeing that it was Connor calling this time. He always felt a curious, indescribable pang whenever he saw a call or text from his big brother; he wasn't sure how to identify the feeling, but it was a cross between dread and pleased anticipation.
"Hey, bro," he greeted when he answered the call. "What's up?"
"Hey, Heath!" Connor said enthusiastically. "I just heard the news about Smackdown. Another sixteen-man tourney, huh? You ready?"
"How did you hear that?" Heath asked in surprise. "I just found out myself, not ten minutes ago."
"Ah, I heard it from Frank," Connor replied. "One of his fighters, new kid at his gym, is in it now that they included more men."
"Oh," Heath replied. For some reason, he always felt a little bit of annoyance whenever Connor referenced Frank Campano or his gym. He didn't know why; Connor could work out and train with whomever he wanted. Maybe it was because Frank had spent the entire time along the side of the ring during his bout with Connor at Ultimate Warrior, screaming for him to finish Heath off. And whenever Heath saw him now, even though his relationship with his older brother had significantly improved, Frank always seemed to either look through him like he wasn't there, or stare at him suspiciously. Heath didn't appreciate any of it and expected that the day would soon come when he'd have to put Frank in his place.
"So you feeling pretty good about everything then?" Connor went on. "John says you've been training really hard, plus you're doing great running that gym."
"Yeah, it's all good," Heath said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm just tryin' to get in the right frame of mind for the fight. Couple guys on the ticket that I gotta keep an eye on, study their film pretty close. Otherwise, it'll be what it will."
"You don't have to play coy, man," Connor said. "If you're nervous, you can tell me."
"I'm not nervous, really," Heath replied, beginning to get annoyed. "Just need to keep my eyes open around them."
"Right. Well, Lana and I, and John, would love to come see you in Buffalo. Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay," Heath said. "You guys are my family." The words felt strange and foreign on his tongue, but far from unpleasant.
"Great. Which day you headin' up?"
"Probably head up the morning before," Heath said. "It's only a two, two-and-a-half hour drive from here. Try to get there before noon."
"Why, you doin' interviews this time around?" Connor exclaimed, and Heath could practically hear the grin in his voice. "Day before is always a press day."
"Fuck you think?" Heath replied scornfully. "Those vultures can have at it with the other guys. I'll go for the pictures because Carter says that's in my contract but I ain't doin' any fuckin' interviews."
"No shit," Connor said. "The day you give an interview is the day I'll bet my life savings on red." He paused. "You know, tons of papers and magazines have been tryin' to get me and you to do an interview and photo shoot together for a while now." He paused again. "Lot o' money to be made in that, brother."
"Connor…." Heath sighed.
"I know how you feel about it. But there's a lot of interest out there in our relationship and the progress we've made with each other, and with John. I know TapouT contacted you for an endorsement deal—they contacted me too, and they said if we could do an ad campaign together, they'd increase our payout and give us a percentage of the sales for a year."
Heath paused. It was a tempting offer. "I don't know, man," Heath said. "It sounds good, and that's a lot of money I could send to Aida and the kids but at what cost? Exploiting myself? You? John?"
"Just think about it, Heath," Connor said. "Okay? Just think about it, is all I'm asking. Not everyone is a vulture."
"I'll think about it," Heath said, and his voice indicated that was all the discussing about it he was willing to do.
Connor wisely took notice and changed the subject. "So, how's it goin' with Drew?" he asked. "You survive meetin' her family yesterday?"