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Thaddeus Duke · **09-29-2020, 09:07 AM**

Illuminatus Compound || Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Relentless came and went and I did everything I said I would. Some people, and I’m not mentioning any names (Shawn Warstein), like to undercut my successful weekend by damning the quality of those opponents. Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s not but I didn’t see his name anywhere on the Relentless cards. I know why he shits on me. I understand why he does it. Despite his efforts on twitter to disguise our “friendship,” he thinks I’m wasting my talents on people lesser than me. He thinks I should be shooting higher and he may not be wrong but here’s the thing: there wasn’t a bigger, badder, more famous Warstein before him. He doesn’t see that I need to do things my own way. He doesn’t see that I need to cut my own path within the landscape of the XWF in order to stop being just Sebastian Duke’s kid and become myself.

Maybe I never will step from his shadow. Maybe I’ll never be entirely my own man because no matter what I do or do not accomplish in this business, I will always share his name. But I need to try. I need to know that whatever I do accomplish isn’t because my dad was first.

Today isn’t a particularly great day for me. The sprained ACL is on absolute fucking fire and Elizabeth has hidden my Percosets from me. Apparently, I get “too loose” and say things I shouldn’t.

…..so?

At least its fun.

In any event, I am not staying stuck in this fucking house. Pain or no pain, I’m taking Frankie and we’re going to New York to visit Corey Smith.

”C’mon Frankie, trains leaving,” I say as I crutch my way toward the door leading to the garage. Just as I reach the door I drop my car keys on the floor causing me to sigh. Using my crutch, I stamp the rubber tip to the key ring and force it into the wall, then slowly drag it up the wall so that I can reach them. ”God dammit… FRANKIIEEEE!” I call out again showing a bit of impatience.

”I’m comin’! I had to pee first!”

”Oh thank god.”

”You’re really going?” Liz says with a disappointed undertone as she rounds the corner behind Frankie.

”Liz, I told you, I’m not staying in this fucking house,” I say as I open the door to the garage and kick it open with my crutch. ”You could have came too, but you gotta stand on principle for some god damn reason. Fuckin’ stay home then. Do whatever the hell it is you do when I’m not around.”

”You’re mad because I took your pills,” she says as she folds her arms in front of me and gives me “the look.” You know “the look.”

”I’M IN FUCKIN’ PAIN LIZ! YOU EVER SPRAIN A GOD DAMN ACL!?”

”Don’t yell at me.”

”I’m fucking red hot right now and I’m out, Liz. I’m out for the next month at least and the only thing you want to do is fight with me. You want to take the thing away that eases all this fucking pain because I’m “too loose” and I “say too much” well, fuck off Liz.”

”You’re gonna get yourself addicted.”

”I don’t have an addictive personality trait, Liz.”

”No?

“So you don’t get a rush from adrenaline. You don’t get a rush from driving way too fast, or doing 360’s on your dirtbike?

“You don’t ever get adrenaline rushes when those wrestling crowds are chanting your fucking name and urging you to destroy your own body for their entertainment?”

Well shit. I have no argument for that.

”You’re addicted to adrenaline, Thad. You even refer to yourself as an adrenaline junkie. Don’t say you can’t get addicted.”

”I said I wouldn’t, not can’t.”

*beep*beep*

”Frankie, in the car.”

”You’re supposed to keep your leg elevated. Can’t do that if you’re driving.”

”It’s a hospital. They got a lot of beds, hun.”

She sighs.

”Be careful then.

“I love you.”

She says it rather unconvincingly, but she means it. I’m not exactly pleasant to be around right now and sometimes I say things I shouldn’t say. Pain causes people to do and say things out of character.

”Yeah, I know,” I say as I head into the garage toward my car.

During the drive to NYC, the aforementioned Shawn Warstein hooked me up with a few painkillers through a contact of his at this place called Brownstone. I’m not an idiot though, I waited until Frankie and I were off the road before taking one and we won’t head home until it starts to wear off. Pain be damned, I’m not putting Frankie’s life or anyone’s life at risk just because I don’t want pain.

Lying on a hospital bed with Frankie just kinda chillin’ at my feet, the nurses kindly wheel us into Corey’s room at Mount Sinai.

”Hey hey!” I say, grabbing Corey’s attention.

”What the fuck?” Corey says as they wheel us in.

”Bum knee and all, gotta keep it elevated.

“Frankie, this is Corey Smith. Corey, this is the one and only Francis Robert!”

”Thaaad,” he says with a sigh.

”Sorry, Frankie. He doesn’t like being called Francis.”

Corey extends his hand to Frankie and Frankie accepts.

”Nice to meet you Frankie,” Corey says, giving him a crooked smile.

”Hi,” he says shyly.

”No Liz?”

”Fightin’.”

”Thad was an ass,” Frankie interjects, causing Corey to laugh.

”Who’s side are you on, kid?”

He looks back at me, averting his eyes from the replay of Relentless, muted on the TV.

”No one’s. And you were,” he says matter-of-factually. ”You shouldn’t yell at her Thad, she just loves you and doesn’t want you to hurt yourself more.”

”Yeah I know,” I say, disappointed in myself causing me to pull out my phone and text her an apology. I’ll give her a real one later on in person.

”How long you out?” Corey asks.

”Four to six,” I say with a sigh.

”Fuck that has to suck for you. You’re like white hot right now.”

”Yeah man, thanks for reminding me. I hadn’t thought about that in like five minutes.”

”Sorry man,” he laughs. ”Congrats though, runnin’ the table at Relentless.”

”Annnnything Page can do, IIIIII can do betterrrrrr,” I sing. Yeah. The pill is kicking in. ”You’re only watching Relentless now, how’d you know I ran the table?”

”Word travels.”

On the screen, Chris Chaos is making his entrance for night three.

”Oh dude! You GOTTA watch this! Paul was… on. Fucking. Fire.”

”Speaking of fire, bro, were you really gonna set Mastermind on fire?”

”Bro I was in the moment. So fucking angry with people taking advantage of my good nature, ya know? I was sitting there on the mat next to him thinking, what can I do to make people think twice or better, not even think about it at all.

“It was what came to mind.

“I mean, I’m glad Paul was there to talk me down because Mastermind is a fucking moron, but he didn’t deserve for me to go that far. No one does.”

”When I found out Heyman was at your side I’ll admit it perplexed me a bit. You don’t need someone in your corner. But I’m starting to see it I think. He does a great job keeping you focused and you’ve always been a little scatterbrained, directing your anger correctly, glowing you up.

“You ever think maybe you have ADHD or something?”

”Shit, turn it up!” I say to him as Paul Heyman makes his way to the ring and unintentionally ignoring his question.

”CUT THE MUSIC!” Heyman yells out on screen.

”Thad, Paul still owes me a dollar by the way.”

”Why?”

”He bet me Peter Gilmour would beat Oswald… or whatever his name is this month.”

”You’ll get it, don’t worry.”

”Oh shit! Here comes Thad sneakin’ in with a kendo stick!

“Chaos is such an idiot.”

He sure is.

”What would you say, Chris, if Paul Heyman was standing in the corner and Thaddeus Duke was standing behind you?

“No, really!”

Corey laughs his ass off as he watches me go to work on Chaos with that kendo stick.

”The Sultan of Swing!” Corey laughs even harder.

”It’s true bro,” I laugh with him. ”Kendo sticks, light tubes, chairs. I’ll swing anything really really hard.”

”So I mighta mentioned this but… we were busy laughing at Chaos being Chaos,” he says and I turn to him. He lifts his left arm about halfway. Considerable improvement. He could lift his arm only a couple inches last time I was here. He’s coming along quite nicely.

”Oh my god that’s awesome!” I say excitedly. ”How’s the leg?”

”Mehhhh,” he says, waving his hand side to side. ”Hasn’t improved like the arm, but, I can put some weight on it and it holds up. Still don’t have any forward motion on it.”

”No but that’s good right? You couldn’t put any weight on it at all last time.”

”It’s your fuckin’ fault!”

”What do you mean?” I say with a laugh. ”What do you mean my fault?”

”Your little tough love speech that one time, man. It hit home. So I’ve been working my ass off to get better and things are looking up.”

”I’m so fuckin’ proud of you bro, seriously.”

”Corey, watch Thad do something stupid,” Frankie interrupts our bromance as we watch me climb the X-Tron.

”Jesus man, why do you do these things? Why do you have this need to be a human highlight reel?”

I don’t actually have an answer for that. Not a real one at least. I just like thrilling crowds and hearing that pop when I do something crazy...like jumping off the X-Tron.

”Well...that couldn’t have been good for the knee,” Corey says. ”Dumbass.”

”I’m right here, you know?”

Frankie and I stay with Corey and finish watching Relentless with him. There’s like 3 hours left so… plenty of time for this painkiller to wear off.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Pain, Painkillers & Corey Smith
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