Wednesday, October 29, 2014 – 6:00 pm.

((“Loverboy” Vinnie Lane rushes through the ER doors of Mercy Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Parting a seemingly endless sea of downtrodden, triaged white trash, Loverboy finally manages to get to a nurse’s station. As the megastar gasps for breath and slaps his hands onto the countertop, the large, stereotypically sassy black woman behind the glass slides a clipboard towards him with disinterest.))

Mammy Nurse: Fill this out and have a seat.

Loverboy: What, dude? No, no… I’m here for Roxy!

Mammy Nurse: What is the nature of your injury?

Loverboy: What is this? Is this ER based on the novel Push by Sapphire? Is this what Illinois-level tech schools try to pass off as education? Are you even for real right now, Precious?

Mammy Nurse: Excuse you?

Loverboy: Yeah, excuse the fuck outta me… Roxy Cotton. What room? Now!

((Nurse Sidibe gives a Loverboy stinkeye that looks capable of melting steel, then checks her computer, typing in Roxy’s name.))

Mammy Nurse: You can’t see her right now, sir, he’s in the ICU and … HEY! HEY! GET BACK HERE!

((Loverboy is out of earshot, even for the nurse’s thunderous voice, before she can get the second word out of her mouth. Running, he slides through a double door and sprints down a green tiled hallway, knocking over a gaggle of medical interns straight out of Grey’s Anatomy. Eventually he finds a sign directing him to the Intensive Care Unit, and grabs the first white coat he sees off of a random doctor’s back, shoving the doc into a broom closet before he can react.))

Loverboy: Sorry dude!

((Loverboy keeps jogging down the hall, looking in the open doorways until he finds Roxy’s room. He skids to a stop and ducks in, closing the door behind him and slowly approaching Roxy’s bedside. She lies there, motionless, with tubes running from her arms and mouth. Her lifeless body barely rises and falls with the gentlest of breaths in rhythm with the heart monitor attached to her. Most horrifically, Loverboy sees that her slender arms are wrapped in bandages from wrist to elbow, surely covering up the gashes she sliced into herself soon after their last conversation. Like a PTSD flashback, the confrontation that morning hits Loverboy in a tsunami wave.))

Oh my fucking god. Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me right now?

Vinnie, wait, listen…

You went home with some other motherfucker and fucked him, right? After we had talked on the phone about our plans? Really Roxy? I trusted you! How could you?

((Loverboy sinks into a bedside chair and slides his shaking hand into Roxy’s, her limp fingers offering no resistance. Loverboy’s voice cracks as he speaks to her softly.))

Loverboy: Roxy… my angel… I am so sorry, baby… I don’t want to lose you… I’ve never felt so crazy over anyone in my life, dude, and I just… I think I was scared to go through the heartbreak of losing you to someone else, and… and now… now I almost lost you permanently. I swear to you, Roxy, as soon as I get done in the ring tonight against Peter and Morbid and settle this Trios Title bullshit, I will be right back here and by your side until you’re ready to come out of the hospital. I don’t care if I have to no show for a week or back down from every challenge thrown my way, baby, you come first! I need you baby… I need you…

((The scene fades to black as Loverboy leans forward and kisses the back of Roxy’s hand with tears rolling from his eyes.))




Griffin MacAlister.

People sure do throw your name around these parts a lot.

Just fucking kidding man, they forgot your ass the second you tucked your vestigial tail into your cunt lips and scampered off to donate enough tailless sperm for cheap beer money.

But you know what I didn’t forget about you, dude? Other than the sight of you racing out the door as soon as I said I was willing to meet you in the ring? I remember you running that cumcatcher mouth of yours about my girl, Roxy. Listen to me really closely, grease monkey, unlike everyone’s favorite dickwarmer, Olive, Roxy would never touch a dude who doesn’t shower. That, and you’d need more than that innie of a pecker you’re sporting to do anything other than scissor sister her if she felt charitable enough to give you a pity fuck. What can I say, the girl’s got a heart of gold and a soft spot for the mentally feeble. She wanted to be an ESE teacher before she hit it big as my personal arm candy, dude. And they don’t get much more lacking in brain cells than a punk ass Chicago boy who thinks lasagna is fucking pizza. Face it, dude, you’re stuck putting little Griff half an inch into “Oral” Olive – that’s what anyone who’s gotten her number off the truck stop bathroom wall knows her as - as long as you have a face less fit for television than a boxer in a bumfights video.

So let’s get something perfectly crystal clear before you slide back under whatever Chicago Bear needs a gumjob on the downlow. Your time as one of the top dudes in the XWF? It’s over. I’m gonna introduce you to the next generation of megastar this Monday, when I split your legs like lumber and stomp your marble balls until you’re chunking up bloody poutine every time you whack off to old Jordan highlight reels.

I only hope the brainless powers that be like Fairfield and Tigris remember to put that cage up around the cage so I can keep you from running off again once the bell rings, dude. That and so I can be sure your little ass-gerbil Frodo stays the fuck out of my business for once. I bet you like having that fuckin’ stepstool of a human being around though, don’t ya? Makes you feel tall? Hard to believe you’re only like an inch shorter than me with that scoliosis slouch and the fifty-plus pounds I have on you. 180? Seriously? Get some GNC powder or some shit, man, those are some crackhead stats, dude. Are you gonna offer to tongue-punch my taint for rock money?

Jesus Christ. I guess you still have a few days to hit the local gym and try to get into ring shape, dude… do you think you can at least go five minutes into the match without sucking wind and embarrassing the whole company?

Guess we’ll find out on Monday, right? Get the fuck outta here, and try to find a non-Canadian sport your city can excel at.




Thursday, October 30, 2014 – 2:00 am.

((“Loverboy” Vinnie Lane returns to Mercy Hospital, triumphant and with his hard earned championship still intact. However, he goes not walk with his usual cocksure gait, nor does he do anything more with the Trios belt than drag it listlessly behind him as he trudges back down the fluorescent glow of hallway lights to once again make his way to the side of his comatose love, Roxy Cotton. Again, he finds himself at her side, again clutching an eerily cold hand adorned with contrastingly vibrant manicured nail polish, and again he talks softly to her without a hint of machismo or bravado in his voice, listening to the whisper of breath that leaks from her mouth without the feeding tube from earlier present to muffle the sound.))

Roxy… I won baby… I won for you, just like you wanted me to…

((Her lips do not move. Her eyelids stay closed.))

I did what we came here for, Roxy… we can go home…

((The heart monitor beeping is the only reply.))

We can start our new life…

((Beep.))

Our family…

((Beep.))

Together…

((Beep.))

Baby, please… I need you here with me… you can’t go…

((Loverboy breaks down, and brings his hands up to his face to muffle his outburst of sorrow. Noticing the bruise on the back of his hand, he recalls the climax of his and Roxy’s altercation – with the arc his hand carves in the air before slapping her against her perfect cheekbone permanently etched into his memory and haunting him like a bad dream.))

Jesus… fuck, what did I do… God damn it, what did I do to you, baby? I’m so sorry, I’m such a piece of fucking worthless shit for hurting you…

((Loverboy grabs his Trios belt and lays it across the bed sheets, just over Roxy’s midsection. He kisses her gently on the forehead and turns toward the door, hanging his head as he slowly makes his way to the hallway.))

I love you, Roxy… I’ll make sure you’re always taken care of if you just wake up for me and keep living… but I won’t bother you and make you deal with my shit ever again… goodbye…

Vinnie…

((Loverboy snaps his head back into the room at the sound of the meek little voice that croaks from Roxy’s throat.

Vinnie, come here…

Roxy, I don’t deserve to be in the same room as you after what I did. I don’t deserve to ever speak to or see you again. I’ll make sure all of this is paid for but…

Vinnie… shut up and come over here…

((Loverboy slowly walks back to the bed, standing over Roxy and looking down at her with tears welling in his eyes.))

I’m so sorry…

I know.

I’ll never…

Vinnie. Stop.

But…

Get into bed with me. Please.

((Loverboy hesitates, but the wet pools of Roxy’s beautiful eyes sways his will, and soon he slides under the sheets and curves his body against her prone form, as she did with him so many nights before.))

Vinnie, I forgive you. I know that your heart was breaking from what I was trying to tell you, and I know you’d never lift a violent hand to me unless you were out of your mind. You don’t have to hate yourself for what happened. We’ve both been through a lot worse than that.

Roxy, I don’t know… a real man would never…

A real man would never leave his woman when she needs him most, Vinnie. And I need you right now more than I ever have. And I know you need me, especially with what you’ve got scheduled.

You… you heard?

I heard everything you said, Vinnie. No one has ever said sweeter things to me in all of my life. I love you, Vinnie Lane. I love you, and I will always be right here by your side if you’ll be by mine.

I will! I swear it!

Good. Now stay here with me, Vinnie. I’m so tired. I want to wake up next to you again. Tomorrow, we can get me out of here and start getting you ready for MacAlister.

Baby, you don’t have to worry about…

Vinnie. Listen. I am going to worry about it. You are my man, my champion. You’re going to stand tall in that ring Monday night, and you’re going to do it… for us.

((Loverboy smiles from ear to ear for the first time since the previous morning. He leans in and kisses Roxy deeply, caressing her face with his hand as he holds her close to him.))

For us.

((Fade to black.))