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Thaddeus Duke · **09-24-2020, 07:04 PM**

Illuminatus HQ || The Residence || Old Saybrook, Connecticut

The clock on my bedside end table buzzes loudly at precisely four in the morning, not a second later. I’m a busy guy with a busy schedule. Getting up this early allows me to get a workout in and a shower before starting my work day at seven. Today though, I hit snooze. Many, many times. Last night at the after party, things took an interesting turn in this little triangle between myself, Elizabeth and Garrett (I affectionately just call him G). I requested that I be allowed to love both of them and Liz basically laughed in my face. I should have expected a response like that or near equivalent though, right? How many relationships are a trio?

Very few.

We should normalize that.

Anyway, my feet don’t hit the floor until about half passed six. Far too late to get a workout in. My head pounds and I really can’t stop thinking of G. It’s awful right? I have this beautiful woman who adores me, but I’m not sure she’s enough. I have too much love in my body to give it to one person and only one person. It sounds shitty even in thought, I know. I want to have my cake and eat it too, as they say. I want both Liz, and Garrett. I don’t want either of them to hurt because I can’t be with them. I don’t want me to hurt because I can’t be with both. If I’m being honest, I knew it the moment Garrett showed up at the house here awhile back. It was the first time I’d seen him in something like ten months and there he was in all his short scrawny glory, cute as hell and pink frosted tips. Fuckin’ irresistible.

After my shower, I make my way back to our bedroom. Liz is awake and staring at the ceiling.

”Hey,” I say to her sheepishly as I’m drying my hair with a towel. I’m not embarrassed about last night, but I’m feeling guilty for putting both of them in a position where one of them has to lose. In reality, no matter how this shakes out, I’m the fuckin’ loser.

”Hey baby,” she says with a forced smile.

”About last night, I...” I begin before she cuts me off.

”You really want to love us both?”

I drop the towel to the floor and sit on the bed next to her.

”It’s not that I want to Liz, I just can’t help it,” I say to her honestly before lying next to her. ”I know its fucking stupid, but I want you both. I see you, I want you. I see him, I want him.

“I was serious when I said that I had enough love for both of you.”

”I know that.”

”Do you love me?” I ask as I turn my head toward her, giving her my most ridiculous boyish charm look that I could muster. I mean, look at this face. Clearly I can muster some boyish looks, no?

”I hate you,” she says with a laugh before turning her head the other way. ”Of course I love you.”

”Do you trust me?” I ask with full sincerity.

”Of course I do,” she answers with an exasperated sigh.

”Do you trust me that I can love you both without getting you twisted up in knots?”

Silence.

I sit up on my knees on the bed.

”You know I’d never hurt you, right?”

”This is getting dangerously close,” she answers as she buries her head in her pillow.

”That’s because you’re thinking about it wrong.”

She turns her head to look at me and lifts her head from the pillow. ”Excuse me?”

”It’s not your fault, its natural. But its wrong,” I begin to explain. ”Anyone in a situation like this is preconditioned to think instead of rather than also.” She sits up on the bed, half wanting to kill me, half wanting something much more fun. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

”I know its crazy, its fucked up and its so wrong of me to have even brought it up...”

”It needed to be done,” she interrupts. ”I couldn’t keep walking on eggshells.”

”I’m sorry baby,” I say as I lay my head in her lap and wrap my arms around her waist.

”I know,” she sighs. ”Do you even know anyone willing to let their boyfriend fuck other people?”

”Not people,” I say, jerking my head from her lap. ”Person, just one.”

She wacks me with her pillow, causing me to fall off the bed.

”I’m gonna shower,” she says as she steps over me. What a sight though. ”Then I’m going into town for awhile,” she says as she closes the door.

”Okay, I’ll call...” I begin to say, still lying on the floor, one leg up on the bed as she interrupts me.

”Don’t call me!” she shouts from the other side of the door.

”I’ll text you then!”

”Don’t do that either, Thad! I need time to think!”

After my shower, I try my best to avoid Thaddeus. One of the good things about his job, is that I know his schedule. I know who he’s meeting with, what room he’ll be in and the exact time and precisely how long that meeting is expected to take.

He’s great, he’s wonderful, kind hearted, full of love, but also a big fucking dope. We were great! How could he seriously fuck this up!? Don’t get me wrong, I get it. But fuck! What do I really need to do to get a win in life? Going from Alister Henry to Thad is like night and day, apples and oranges. Insert metaphor here. I know what he wants, why he wants it and all, but I can not believe he actually had the balls to ask! Siiigh. At least he’s not doing it behind my back.

”Babe!” he calls out from behind me just as I reach the front door. I was so close! I want so badly to be mad at him. But then I look at his face and I melt. Those puppy dog eyes with his strangely hot oddball left eyebrow just fucking kills me and god damn him for being so fucking cute!

I turn around with a sigh and he just about tackles me. His strength is the only thing that keeps us both from crashing into the marble floor. He kisses me on the cheek.

”I’mma still text you though,” he says with his stupid awesome boyish smile. God I hate him. And I love him. Without saying a word, I take my cell and lay it on the table near the door.

”Ohhhh It’s like that eh?” he says acting like I hurt his heart. Poorly acting, in fact ”Guess I’ll just wait here then,” he says and sits cross legged on the floor.

”You’re pathetic,” I say, unable to hold off smiling.

”Gurrrrrl, I idle at pathetic,” he says, faking the stereotypical feminine gay voice.

Finally I’ve seen enough and tackle him to the floor, giving him the best open mouth kiss that I’m sure he’s ever had in his short life.

”Get a room! There’s like a hundred!” Frankie yells out as he walks by heading toward the stairs with his trusty iPad in hand, Mufasa close behind him as per usual. His remark causes Thad and I to both burst out in laughter.

”Stop making me laugh, stop being cute, stop being you!” I say as I climb off him, when really I just want to jump him right here, but I’m not giving him the satisfaction.

”You’re not the boss of me, Liz!” Thad shouts in fake anger. ”I’m not doing any of those things, I don’t care what you say,” he says with his juvenile sense of humor. Which incidentally, I love that too.

“I’m leaving, I’ll be back by nooner, NOON!” Fuck. He’s gonna make a joke.

”Nooner! It’s a date!” Okay, that wasn’t so bad.

I can’t say anything else to him. He’ll do something silly and I’m still trying like hell to be mad at him. Does that sound stupid? Trying to be mad at him? That has me thinking though, I should be pissed, furious, hurt, pick the adjective ya know? But I’m not, really. I’m just...confused I guess. I don’t know what to think, what to feel, how to feel, really.

The camera fades in to Mastermind sitting in his Thinking Chair… okay so really it’s just Frankie dressed up like Mastermind with a goatee drawn on with eyeliner and the Thinking Chair is just a small childs high chair.

”Thaddeus Duke! I don’t remember shit but I know I’m mad! You better ummmm… get ready for me to kick your ass and stuff because I’mma big tough guy and...” Frankie pauses and looks to his right. ”Do I really have to be Mastermind?”

The camera zooms out revealing Thaddeus Duke sitting nearby.

”Yes.”

”This was cool when I thought I was dressing up like your dad. Why do they look alike?”

”I don’t know, strange coincidence.”

”He’s not good like your dad though.”

”No, he’s not.”

”Why am I in a high chair though?”

”Because he’s little and so are you. Anyway that’s not a high chair, it’s a Thinking Chair god dammit!”

”THAD!” Liz yells from somewhere else entirely.

”WHAT!?” Thad responds more angrily than he intended.

”YOU BETTER NOT HAVE FRANKIE CUTTING ANOTHER PROMO!”

Thad sighs.

”Ha! You’re in trouble,” Frankie says while he starts to laugh.

”Shut up, you.”

”You’re always in trouble.”

”I know and you better remember this because someday you’re gonna be in trouble all the time too with your girlfriends.”

”I’m not as dumb as you...”

Thad sighs.

”Why are you like this?”

Frankie laughs.

”I learned it from you.”

”I’mma bad influence on you.”

”You really are.”

”You gonna talk some shit on Mastermind or not?”

”I don’t know Thad, he seems… beneath my talent level.”

Thaddeus busts out laughing.

”I’d feel like I was a bully, we don’t like bullies.”

”Are you saying I’m a bully?”

”No. The bitch had it coming, even if he wants everyone to think he’s a victim.”

”Well, you know what they say...”

”Bitches get stitches?”

”No, and its snitches get stitches.”

”Nut up or shut the fuck up?”

”Are you botching these just so you can swear?”

”Pretty much,” Frankie laughs.

”What am I gonna do with you, kid?”

”Love me and play video games.”

”I called Ebay, they won’t let me sell a child. Apparently there’s trafficking laws or something.”

”Who would you get as a sidekick then?”

”Someone dumber.”

”Like Mastermind?”

Thad laughs. ”Not that dumb.”

”Thad?” Liz says as she enters the room. She rolls her eyes as she looks at him and Frankie. ”Dude, he looks like a midget in your dads old gear.”

”Hey! I’ll still have time to grow, Mastermind doesn’t!”

”Whatever Frankie, its time for your bath.”

”But Mom! Five more minutes!”

”Thaddeus Leander!”

”Oh shit.”

”FRANCIS! ROBERT!”

No, Frankie, that’s bad!” Thad says sarcastically as he tries and fails to contain his laughter.

”Bath time now or you’re not going to Relentless.”

Frankie’s eyes widen as he bolts out of the high chair.

”I’m gone!”

Once Frankie makes his exit, Liz gives “the look” to Thad.

”What?” he asks as a look of growing concern crosses his face. ”Okay, no more promos.”

”Thank you,” she says with an exasperated sigh and exits the room.

We’ll see about that.

Know what else we’ll see about? The testicular fortitude of Mastermind. He wants to assert all these adjectives and what I think is him attributing them to himself in regards to our matchup at Relentless but let me let you in on something, Mastermind. Let me let you in on a dirty little secret. You better be all of those adjectives and more come Saturday night because I am going to unleash hell. I am going to unleash a new brand of violence and intensity that even the Xtreme Wrestling Federation hasn’t witnessed. I’m going to make you hurt, Mastermind. What’s more is, I’m going to make myself hurt just to make you hurt and Squirt, I hope you’re ready to play. I hope you’re ready to step to the plate and this isn’t some facade that I’ll knock down inside of five minutes.

I want you to fight me.

I want you to take all of the aggression packed inside of your puny little body and I want you to unleash it on me. I want you to unleash it on me, Mastermind, because I need to know that you’re even worthy of fighting. I need to know that when I busted your skull and put you in a fucking coma it wasn’t all for nothing. I need to know that when I meticulously took you apart on Warfare, that it wasn’t just me picking on some undersized runt.

You can continue to play the victim. You can play the victim, Mastermind, and some of these people might even buy it but here’s reality. As clear as fucking day, the reality of the situation is you brought this on yourself. You can pretend you interfering in my match and robbing me of a clean victory over Thunder Knuckles isn’t what this is about but you’ll only be proving to the world what I and everyone else on this roster already knows and that’s quite clearly that you are one of the biggest fucking idiots walking this planet.

I know it because you had the audacity to interfere in my match. I know it because you had the stupidity to think it wouldn’t piss me off. I know it, Mastermind, because you honestly thought that there wouldn’t be some kind of... payback. There’s that word you used. Payback is a bitch, Mastermind, you’re right about that. It’s a shame you don’t remember it because it… was fucking glorious. I took my time on you. I took pleasure in hurting you. I took a lame ass steel chair and made it mean something. What I did to you was no masterpiece, but it was a spectacle to behold and I have no regrets. I have no remorse for what I did to you and I do not feel guilty.

Not for a second.

Now it seems that you’ve heeded my warning about you not wanting this to continue past Relentless and that’s the smartest decision you have ever made. Even in doing that, you made a mistake by threatening Paul Heyman. See, I’m loyal to a fault, Mastermind. He’s become part of my inner circle and when you’re in, you’re all the way in and I will protect that circle with everything I have at my disposal. You want to blame Paul Heyman for what I did to you?

What is it with you and passing the buck?

Your fat ugly cunt of a wife mentioned me not owning my losses and always putting the blame on something or someone else and not only is that not true, it never has been true. Yet here you are, passing the buck and blaming Paul Heyman for your own mistakes. It wasn’t Paul Heyman’s idea to do what I did. It wasn’t Paul Heyman’s idea to scramble your fucking brains like I’m making a fuckin’ omelet. It wasn’t Paul Heyman’s idea to stop just short of snapping your ankle, Mastermind.

The buck stops here.

It always has.

It was me. It was my idea. It was me swinging that chair and it was me fucking up your night.

Paul Heyman’s job is to keep me focused. Paul Heyman’s job is to fire me up. Paul Heyman’s job is to bring out the best possible version of myself and I might have to give him a raise because god damn is he good at what he does. Go ahead and threaten Paul Heyman you little cunt, see what happens.

For the record, House of Horrors precedes my time in the XWF. There have been a few before, but I guarantee this one will be memorable if for no other reason, but the violence, the blood and gore and the intensity that this one will attempt to contain.

You clearly had a thesaurus handy because most of those words I’m sure you don’t know the meaning to. I mean, you can refer to yourself as Relentless but your version of Relentless and mine are two different things. When all is said and done, Squirt, and you’re fading in and out of consciousness staring up at the dim lighting of Alcatraz and my music is playing, my hand is raised, my name is announced as the winner… you will know the debt you owed has been paid with your own blood, your own pain, your own failure. I might even let you continue on with your unremarkable career… provided you earn my respect. After all, I’m a generous man.

Your kids deserve better.

Your wife deser… scratch that, she’s as fucking stupid and worthless as you are, you deserve each other.

You earned everything I did to you and everything I'm going to do to you. You deserve to have your wife screaming and crying for me to stop. You deserve the violence and the intensity I'm going to give you this weekend.

I'm going to spill your blood, I'm going to make you hurt and I'm going to beat you and not only because I'm better than you, Mastermind.

...But because I can.

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