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With Brandon Evans still battling for his life in the hospital in Des Moines, Jake has viciously been trying to slowly return to some sense of normalcy. Hearing that Brandon did not purposely overdose on any medication was a welcome sound, although one that definitely hit him deeply.
Unfortunately for Jake, normalcy is not coming easily. When Jake was in the doctor's office, and presented with a do not resuscitate and had to weigh the options of whether or not to sign it. The decision he made, to ultimately have the hospital do everything in its power to keep Brandon alive, is one that has not sat well with him. It isn't a worry that he wants his friend alive, it is whether or not it was the right decision to make overall. He wonders if he did it because he truly believes Brandon can pull through, or if he's being selfish, holding onto false hope, and just doesn't want his friend to be lost completely. This inner battle has taken a toll on Jake from a personal standpoint, as he has really been struggling to function as a normal human being. Every day he internalizes the situation more and more, leading to a feeling of isolation within his own mind. This isolation has been picked up on by many close to Jake, as his parents have come up from Texas to assist in caring for Mara, while Roeper tries to help Jake break through this funk. She can see the toll it's taking on him, but cannot figure out the ideal solution to help curtail the effects. She knows that she cannot let him continue to internalize everything, as it will ultimately drive him to a state of mental and potentially physical self-destruction. One thing she has gone back to is doing what she did for him when he was simply staring at his phone, and that's bringing him coffee, and helping him on a day to day basis. As she brings him another cup, she sees him blankly staring at his computer screen, obviously trying to find something mindless to focus on. She sits down on the side of his desk, and tries to make small talk with him. Roeper Hart: ... Do you need anything? She knows he's trying to convince himself he made the right decision, and as Jake doesn't initially reply, she just sits there, looking at Jake with loving eyes. As Jake lets a pause take over the room, he finally just speaks out.
Jake Starr: Do you think I made the right decision? She reaches out and puts a hand on Jake's shoulder.
Roeper Hart: Babe, you know I would have made the same decision, if it were me. I would make it for you, too, even if you had told me to do otherwise. I admit that I'm selfish enough to know that I am not willing to let you go that easily. People have already tried to pry you from me, but I haven't let it happen yet, and wouldn't going forward. Hell, not even a crazy stalker girl could do that... Roeper smirks as she looks at Jake, who also lets out a smirk at the reference. The comment makes Jake look up into his wife's eyes.
Jake Starr: You know I'm STILL extremely sorry about that, right? Roeper chuckles.
Roeper Hart: Oh I know! I wouldn't give you a hard time about it, if I thought that you really weren't. Besides, I would say it was a pretty good learning experience for you. You now know that all other women in this world are bat shit insane! Jake smirks again.
Jake Starr: Well not all OTHER... All women are! Roeper Hart: Oh! Gee thanks, buddy! Jake grins.
Jake Starr: Hey, the shit-giving can go both ways, you know? Roeper Hart: Oh I never expect it not to. But back to the real topic... You may have made a selfish call, but you did it out of love, and Brandon knows it. You know that, right? I mean I look at you and can tell it's taking a toll on you. Jake Starr: I don't know, love... I just don't trust my own judgement anymore in ANYTHING. I mean, for the longest time I was confident... I was cocky... I was arrogant... I was EVERYTHING... I could do no wrong in ANY aspect of life, at least in my mind, but nowadays it's different. I haven't done SHIT right, and have become a completely mediocre human being. Roeper Hart: Babe, you're NOT a halfwit. The fact is, times change. Sometimes things go in directions that people aren't necessarily planning for. Hell, it's not just sometimes, it's with EVERYTHING in life. Listen... I know everything just seems to be piling on you at once... Jake nods.
Jake Starr: Yeah... I mean, I have never felt so overwhelmed in my life, and it is not something that I really know how to effectively cope with. Roeper Hart: Babe, nobody is used to coping with this much all at once... Jake Starr: I just want something positive in my life, you know? I'm just sick and tired of all of the bad news and disappointment that I have had to deal with. Roeper Hart: So what are Mara and I? Chopped liver? We should always be the "safe space" in your life, babe... Jake Starr: You're not chopped liver, but the fact is I can't escape the reality that I am not happy, though... I don't know how to be happy when there is so much going wrong aroud me... Roeper Hart: And that's understandable... But of the main things surrounding you right now, one is completely out of your control, and the other thing simply requires you to figure out where you're slipping up. The fact is, though, we are your constant, and it will never change. I know it may not seem like something that will magically fix everything, but the reality is we can help. Jake Starr: I am trying to understand it better, babe... I just, I just am having issues with it... As the two talk, Jake's phone begins buzzing and ringing. He looks down and sees that it is the hospital calling. The calls they have received lately have been primarily focused around letting them know that, "nothing's changed, and we're still running tests." Jake puts the phone on speakerphone, so Roeper can hear any updates as well.
Jake Starr: ... This is Jake... Dr. Gardner: Jake, Dr. Gardner, how are you? Jake Starr: I've been better, but I'm making it... Dr. Gardner: I understand, Jake. I do have some updates for you. Jake Starr: Roeper and I are both listening... Dr. Gardner: Well we have received a full toxicology result, finally, and we can 100% confirm that Brandon's situation was not caused by any ilicit substances. It also showed us that this whole episode was caused by a severe case of anaphylaxis. Jake is shocked and a bit confused. He doesn't quite understand what that means.
Jake Starr: Ok... And how did that happen? Dr. Gardner: In a nutshell, anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction to some type of stimuli. For some it is food products like peanuts. For others it is something like bee stings or even taking some everyday medications. We, yet, don't know what the exact cause for Brandon to be sent into anaphylactic shock was, which is why I am calling you. Do you know of any severe allergies that Brandon had? Jake squints, trying to think. After a couple moments, he finally responds.
Jake Starr: Severe? He's never mentioned anything severe. The only allergy he's ever mentioned to me was that he couldn't eat crab legs because they didn't agree with him. I had always assumed that he just meant that it gave him the shits. Yeah, he avoided them like the plague... Dr. Gardner is immediately surprised to hear this.
Dr. Gardner: Really? Shellfish? Jake Starr: Yeah. He was even kind of paranoid about that fake krab stuff, thinking it may have some actual crab inside it. Why do you ask? Dr. Gardner: Well that really opens my eyes, and I think I have a true idea of what may have happened, then. We had to pump his stomach to ensure he did not aspirate any more vomit than he already had. We examined the contents, and we did find quite a bit of shellfish present... This revelation makes Jake look up at Roeper with a sense of confusion, and ask her a question.
Jake Starr: When would he have eaten shellfish? Dr. Gardner hears Jake's question, and assumes it is directed to him.
Dr. Gardner: I am not sure, but I can confirm there was a substantial amount. We did not pinpoint any exact types of shellfish, but the amount was significant. Jake Starr: Did he eat it intentially? Dr. Gardner: To answer this question legitimately, I would say yes. But I do not conclude that it was eaten to try and cause this type of reaction. This type of reaction is very violent and causes a lot of pain and suffering, so it's hard to believe it was done to try and initiate this event. I will say there were other types of food detected as well. Jake begins to think back to that night.
Jake Starr: Well we were eating a family meal, but I don't remember any kind of shellfish being on the menu... Jake, again, looks up at Roeper.
Jake Starr: ... Did you put anything in any of the dishes you made? Roeper shakes her head.
Roeper Hart: No... It didn't go well with the lasagna. But I vaguely think I've used crab around Brandon before, though. Jake Starr: Yeah... I mean we've been out to sushi bars and eaten, and Brandon just orders stuff without crab inside. I figure the knife touches crab, and if it were something this awful we would have seen it set him off. It just didn't seem to... Dr. Gardner: And it could be that this is a mild allergy when in very small doses or residues. The quantity he apparently ate, however, from the remnants we pulled, wasn't a small dose. Jake sighs.
Jake Starr: He couldn't have known about it... Roeper Hart: I don't even know where it would have come from... The doctor then shifts the conversations to the next steps of the process.
Dr. Gardner: We are to the point where we are going to begin removing systems to see if Brandon's body can fully come back "online." As we do this, these next couple of days will be absolutely critical to Brandon's overall prognosis. With that being said, I wanted to update you on everything we had discovered, and I want to thank you as well for helping us better understand why the anaphylaxis took place. Jake Starr: Well we want to thank you for the update. And I want to personally thank you for truly keeping us in the loop, and as you take him off the systems please keep us informed on how his body takes back over. Dr. Gardner: I assure you both that my staff and I will. As the parties say their goodbyes, Roeper and Jake begin staring at one another and contemplate where the shellfish may have come from. Neither can think of something they ate that contained the ingredient. Going forward Jake hopes that as the machines are removed from Brandon's body he begins to come back to life. Even if it's slowly, Jake wants his friend back. He needs to know that, for once, something "right" is happening, rather than being diverted to another crisis. If something "right" happens, Jake may be able to take a deep breath and finally relax for a few minutes and divert all of his attention back to his professional life inside the squared circle.
Jake Starr: As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours... All my life I have dealt with shitty situations here and there. All my life I have looked around and seen bad things happen, but had good things to turn to in order to feel better. But look at me now... Jake turns around, and there is no Thoren Holt, no cardboard cutout of Brandon Evans, and most importantly, no chair by his side.
What do I have to be happy about? What do I have to feel good about? Day after day I'm reminded that I am not who I once was, and time after time someone has to tell me that I can't hang anymore. When I begin to feel and think otherwise, what happens? I don't magically transform back into the Jake Starr of old, and begin steamrolling people left and right. No, instead I continue to flounder. I continue to look at that "brass ring" and have to try and REMEMBER what it felt like because I'm not afforded the same gifts as others. Instead, I'm held to a different standard. I'm forced to go above and beyond that of everyone else to PROVE I deserve ANYTHING. If I don't, I'm forgotten, and thrown out like yesterday's garbage. I'm looked at as someone who doesn't fall into the same categories as those who may have not always been at the upper echelon, but still received opportunities to step their game up. Donovan Kayl, Ace Marshall, Rachel Foxx, all three of them are people who have gotten shots to grab that brass ring over me, and yet, there were points when they were afforded those moments where I should have been right in consideration. But again, Jake Starr... Different standard... It's why I stand here alone, today. I stand here because I think it's time everyone looks at me just like everyone else. I think it's time everyone realizes who I am, and quits deciding that the rules are ALWAYS, and I emphasize ALWAYS, different for me. So instead of standing, surrounded by other individuals and other things, I'm standing here, me, Jake Starr. No fancy background. No fun camera tricks. No laugh tracks. No NOTHING! Look AT ME! Look at JAKE FUCKING STARR! Look at the guy that YOU PEOPLE are constantly SHITTING on, ALWAYS for someone else, and realize that it's YOU who are pissing away my opportunities, and not me. It is EVERY ONE OF YOU who has taken my chances and spread them out, rather than giving them to someone who actually put in the work and effort for them. So I want you to look at me, and see me for who I am. I want you to realize I'm a human fucking being, here, who has given blood, sweat, and tears to this company all for what, lately? What has it been for? To be dicked over, time and time again? Yeah well I'm done being the forgotten soul. I'm done doing EVERYTHING I AM FUCKING ASKED TO DO to try and get an edge here, ultimately to receive a steamy pile of shit in return. I am ready to be shown the RESPECT I deserve, I'm ready to be taken SERIOUSLY again, and I'm ready for those motherfuckers in overpriced suits to FINALLY give me a handout, like they've given to others. So no distractions... No pomp... No circumstance... All Jake Starr! Jake, feeling the effects of the stress and frustration of late, is sporting rather thicker facial fescue than normal. He runs his hands through it and lets out a sigh.
... But the bigger question is will it be worth it, in the end? Will me standing here, reminding everyone of who Jake Starr is without all of the distractions? Will people even care? Will they just look at me as someone trying desperately for attention? I don't even know anymore. I don't know what people think, nor do I know what people WILL think when this finally airs, but I have to do something. I have to step up and TRY to remind people that I fucking matter. If I don't, what is the point of me being here? What's the point of saying anything? Why not just retire? It's what people do around here. They lose their sense of self-worth, and they leave. I used to shit on them, but I am starting to feel like they do. The difference is, I'm willing to fight back! Acceptance of mediocrity is not something I'm OK with, but if things are going to continue trending like this, I may not have a choice but to consider accepting. Right now isn't that time, though. Right now, I have to try. I have to go out there and try to show people that they're wrong, and DESERVE to be proven as such... ... And with Rise to Greatness upon us, there's no better time to shine but now! Jake takes a sniff of air through his nose again.
Folks, this is the time of year I always dream about. I always think about the fact that this could be my time to shine on the biggest stage, and do what I do best, and that's win. Only ONE TIME have I suffered a defeat at Rise to Greatness, and quite honestly, I still stand by the fact that it shouldn't count against me. Face it, I've never, personally, been beaten! But aside from that minor caveat, I don't lose at Rise to Greatness, in fact, I shine. I stand out. I win. This year, I was at a point where I felt I'd be forgotten from the event. I was in a lull where I figured my ONLY chance to get on the card was to beat Shilo Valiant. I figured if it didn't happen, I'd be one of those rejects left off, and told to beat it. Well when I saw an opportunity to seize and make my mark, I took it, and I also made sure that everyone saw EXACTLY who was responsible for me not being in a title match at Rise to Greatness. Greg... You made your LAST mistake! For a long time, I have had to sit back and watch Greg Cherry have this IDEA of what he wanted to be. I have had to listen to ALL OF THE STORIES about what he was going to do, the minute he got his World Title Shot in Pittsburgh. I got to hear this fairy tale that was NEVER going to happen, unless he decided to quit being the same PREDICTABLE has-been he's always been, and actually got a new edge to him. I told him all of this. I told him what the reality was of BOTH of our situations. I told him we would both have to rely on strength in numbers to ensure success, and I made it ABUNDANTLY clear he couldn't be the same depressed, win or bust, ass he's been in the past. But he turned into it! He became "Typical" Greg Cherry! I thought he might bounce back, but instead of doing that, he became careless. He became, for lack of a nicer way of putting it, a FUCKING MORON! He cost us opportunity after opportunity. When he would try and "help," he would fuck up. He would prove he didn't have what it took to actually be a competent ally in the greater scheme of things. And when he helped Shilo Valiant win, it was the last fucking straw for me. I had the chance to do something NOBODY else had done. I don't care if you don't like me talking about it, it matters! I would have been the ONLY person to secure all of the championships, and that ASSHAT completely ruined it for me. That's not something a FRIEND with the best intentions for ANOTHER FRIEND would do! So I dropped his ass on his head, and I made it clear that it was time he be taught a lesson. When this match was announced, it became MY TIME to put this SHELL of a man out of his misery, and do so in a manner he could not refute in any way, shape, or form. That's why there will be no chairs... No Thoren... No nothing. It'll be Greg Cherry getting his ass HANDED to him by Jake Starr, AGAIN! Jake snarls.
How do you like the sound of that Greg? Does it ring a bell or sound familiar? It should! See you're that person who lives so far in the past, reality plays no role in what is going on. You're the type of person who will reference that ONE TIME you beat me, and took the Adrenaline Championship from me. You won't reference EVERY, OTHER, MATCH, that we have stood opposite, where you have NOT been able to best me. You'll pretend they don't exist. Yeah, have I done that? Sure... But the fact is, I do so in a manner where I sound like a horse's ass talking about it. Case in point... You've done nothing since you've returned, unlike me, who single handedly ruined the happy bon voyage of David Helms? See how it works, Greg? I can make a comment about a guy who beat me every time but once, referencing ONE INSTANCE, but do so in a manner that simply shows the world I'm a complete dick. I do it because it PISSES people off. I do it because I KNOW it gets under people's skin. I do it for the sheer FACT I want them to become emotionally off kilter, and even TELLING THEM won't change the fact it will STILL be the same thing. You, you dwell. You remind people of once instance because you want people to believe that it was a true representation, and not an anomaly. But you beating me was an anomaly. I was looking past you. You were the moment I realized I couldn't ignore the person staring me in the face, no matter how much of my vision they obstruct, even when they're 100 yards away... Jake smirks.
What? Didn't think I'd get at least ONE fat joke in there? The fact is, I look at you and I see someone desperate, and by your own admission to me, you are. You're the same DESPERATE person who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and got to know how it feels to have your bubble BURST by who? OH YEAH! ME! I was your foil for your big night, and I RUINED it for you. I beat Greg Cherry on the night he was to stand tall and have his moment of glory. Fuck you and that moment and ANY moment you want going forward! It's MY MOMENT now! I gifted you a chance to truly help me resurrect my career, and I yours, but instead you couldn't bear to not be greedy. But look at you... Look at where you are now, Greg. You haven't really been involved in a match in HOW LONG, now? You're expecting to come into the pay-per view that I OWN, and beat me? You're delusional. You're crazy. You're dumb as shit because this, right here, was our chance to be great. If you had LISTENED TO ME, we would have been in some bigger matches here, but now, I'm stuck beating some reality into you. While it pains me, to a point, it's something that needs to happen, and needs to happen on a big stage. So don't walk out there cocky. Don't walk out there trying to act like you're the king of the Cherry Pit Crew. You're nothing like that. You're nothing like the man who became the Hall of Famer. You're merely a namesake of that individual. I thought you had something special in you for one more run, but you became a liability for me. Now I have to take that liability and remove it from my life. I can send you back to whatever rock you crawled out from under for the Trios, and I can remind you of your place in today's reality. You had your chance. You had your opportunity, and you squandered it. Now, I take you out, man against man, and I prove to you why I am still around and you're LONG SINCE FORGOTTEN! Greg... You're walking into the funeral of your wrestling career. That ring will be your final resting place, and you will see the last moments of your wrestling career fizzle out and DIE. Your eyes will cast its final sight upon the lights in the arena, and yours truly staring down at you waving goodbye. The best part is, in a court of law it will not come back to haunt me. Any judge who watches the tape will understand this is ultimately a mercy killing. They'll just ultimately look at me and say two words that everyone in the world will agree with... THANK YOU! Fin |
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