They say payback is a bitch. He’ll agree once I shove the barrel of a 12-guage shotgun down his throat. Harsh? Maybe, but you are not seeing from behind my blue eyes? You couldn’t even begin to fathom the pain crawling deep down inside of me. You won’t have to either. I’ll share it with you and the world at Eternity. I will also test two individuals. I guess you could say my vengeance is like one big rollercoaster ride. Phayze and Summer have been volunteered by Corey to be my own personal crash test dummies. Who gets on next after they fall off? Only Corey knows the answer to that. I can assure you though that once I reach the end, that Television title will be waiting for me. Now I only have one problem. When in the hell will this mile of forest bullshit come to an end? Two hours of this shit and I already wanted to blow my brains out all over the black leather of my front seat. I can imagine my wife wanting to do the same thing to me. After the way my anger had gotten the best of me last night. She still doesn’t understand and here I am thinking she did three years ago.
I moved back to California and joined the rehab center my wife worked at. The medical records and the wheelchair did nothing to convince my rehab instructor that I was indeed paralyzed from the waist down. She believed something was wrong with me mentally. No matter how many times I fell out of my wheelchair, she stayed with that analysis. I admit for the first few months, I told myself there was nothing I could do. This was just one of those unexpected curve balls I would have to live with for the rest of my life. One night alone with her changed all of it. I fought through the pain and lifted twenty pounds with my legs. My instructor wanted to celebrate the moment and… Well, she did this little thing with her lips around the tip of my … Just to see if I had any feeling back down there and … OH MY GOD! I never knew that could make you fall in love again. Thereafter, my sessions with her were nothing less than miracles. My progress was monitored by world renowned doctors. Editorials were even written about me. The world waited for the day I would walk again. It never happened. Or at least it never happened when they expected it to.
Three months later, my father and I talked for the first time in nine years. Truthfully, I was skeptical about the two of us meeting. He sent me a telegram by courier explaining the details. He flew out the next morning and we met at a local internet café in the Hills. He hated the place, but it calmed my nerves. Conversation between us was minimal for the first hour, and then he finally told me why he went out of his way to meet me here. I remember the exact words he said. They came without emotion. “Your mother is dying. There is nothing I can do.” I knew his last few words were bull, because later that evening my life was flipped upside down. This wasn’t the first time my father had visited the Hills. He owned property here. I’ll give you one guess as to what property exactly. Yes, the rehabilitation center. Not only that, but my instructor was the women he was having an affair with. The dirty bastard was the reason my mom was dying. I couldn’t let him get away with what he was doing. Not this time.
Luckily, his flight was canceled due to the downpour of rain. It was unforgiving and relentless as it beat down against the broken concrete I walked. There he was, all alone in his fancy hotel room. His bodyguards had called it a night. “This is going to be too easy,” I thought to myself. I flipped the hood to my hoodie over my head and gripped the Louisville Slugger tightly in my hand. Here goes the moment of truth. I crashed through his motel window and then rage overcame me. What I did next … was the reason nightmares happened in the dark. That’s why I turned out the lights before hand. Batter up! That was the first time in my life I had ever heard a grown man scream like a little girl. The Hills Police Department never found a suspect.
My mom died from cancer. The funeral service arrived faster than I expected, though I didn’t have the strength to go alone. Theresa came with me, because she knew I was so alone. I felt like I was on that stretcher once again. I couldn’t bear to wheel myself up to the front of the room to see the body lying in the casket. I almost left without saying goodbye but Theresa convinced me otherwise. That’s when it happened. Somehow I gained the strength to stand and I began to walk toward the casket. At first it seemed like an out of body experience, but I was really walking again. How did I know? My father’s jaw probably hung lower than his testicles. Everyone in attendance paused when they saw me on my feet. I kissed my mother on the forehead and sat the rose in my hand beneath her pillow. I fell to my knees and began to let the year I suffered fall away from my eyes. As my tears hit the carpet, Theresa came up beside me and helped me up. I almost buckled, but Theresa caught me in time. She threw my arm over and her shoulder. We slowly walked away from the casket with all eyes on us. We reached the door and neither one of us looked back. On the ride to the airport that’s when she told me, “If you take revenge, I’ll understand.”
Arran Hayden was behind the wheel of his jet black Carrera GT, already pushing it forty miles over the speed limit. With the wind blowing through his blonde hair and his shades down, there was only one thing on his mind. He would arrive at Eternity, break some heads, and advance in the Television title tournament. On top of all that, he would come face-to-face with the man who ended his career three years ago. Well, maybe not face-to-face, but he sure as hell would make an impact in his life. Taking his eyes off the road for a second, Hayden grabbed the briefcase in the passenger seat and handcuffed it to his wrist. No one was going to ruin this for him. He would make his announcement. Looking back at the road, he smirked as he passed a highway patrol car. Hayden looked in the rearview and chuckled to himself. There was no way in hell the highway patrolman could catch him. They both knew it. Right when he put his eyes back on the road, his Trejo 650 began ringing.
“Hello? Hey, babe. Look, I’m sorry okay. You know I’m on edge about being in the same building with him. It makes it hard for me to control my actions sometimes. Ignore it. Yeah! When I get home I promise I’ll make it up to you. If you want, you can catch a flight to Pittsburgh and meet me there. Okay! Okay! Calm down, I understand. I promise you this will be all over soon. Everything will be back to normal. I’ll be the same fun loving guy you once knew. Oh yeah? Funny. No! Of course I’m going through with it! How many time do we have to fucking argue about it? Until I turn the other cheek my ass! You can’t be serious. Uh-huh! Whatever! Bye!”
Hanging up, Arran tossed the phone into the backseat and became angry. He spun out of control and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. He shut his ignition off and drove his hands into the steering wheel. He slammed his head back into the head rest and sighed heavily. His phone went off again and he grumbled. He reached into the backseat and checked the caller ID. It was just the man he needed to speak to. His name was Brett Cordova. Arran quickly punched in the answer button and right away Cordova started talking.
“How is Sin’s poster boy for the Television title holding up? I know it’s too early to be calling you that, but we both know you’ll fly through this tournament with ease. You may even get him one-on-one next week. Just like that you’d be able to end it all in one match. For our sake, I hope it goes the other way around. Someone actually takes him out. If that happens, we’ll have the advantage.”
“It doesn’t matter. Either way, I still have to take out Phayze and Summer. So if we do meet in this tournament, regardless of the outcome, it’ll only be just the beginning of what I have in store for him"
“Remember, you can’t possible hurt him anymore than I already have. I regret what I did, but nothing can bring back a life from the dead.”
“So, you did kill his…”
“Yeah!”
“I won’t lie. Phayze and Summer will be a joke compared to this man. That’s why you’re the only one who can break him. You both feel the same monster growing inside of you. Only difference between the both of you is his drinking problem.”
“After I’m done with him, drinking won’t be the only problem he’ll have to deal with. He won’t be able to walk. Let alone grab another bottle of alcohol.”
“I’m glad your confident in your abilities, but don’t underestimate him. Be ready Hayden and one more thing before I go. You got the money?”
“You know it.”
“Good. Make him pay kid. I’ll call you after the show just to check up on you. Hopefully, things go according to plan.”
“They will. I promise you that.”
“See you around kid.”
With that Arran restarted his ignition and corrected his car with a quick donut. He shifted back into first gear and smoked out his tires. Eternity was only a day away and he was ready for anything. He let go of the brake and his car shot off toward the city.