***After last week’s Climax Control***
“Effie... talk to me...”
Ty West is catching up to his best friend backstage, the Roulette title draped over her shoulder. To Ty, she looks like she is in the middle of one of her blackout phases. She doesn’t react to anything like normal making him think that she is shut off any ability to feel.
Effie always described it as akin to sleepwalking. You have no control, no awareness. Your body relies on some basic sense to complete some task. This scared Ty considering that he knew her mind would be on trying to get Sin back. She looks up at Ty and he can see the recognition in her eyes. He sighs in relief.
“They took him...” she says, barely a whisper.
He immediately pulls her into a hug.
“It’s okay Eff, we’ll get him back. Somehow. Just tell me what I can do?”
She shakes her head, her eyes are glassy.
“Don’t get involved Ty. Seriously, I really, really appreciate you wanting to help but I couldn’t bear it if you got mixed up in this and then I lost you too. I can’t lose both of you.”
It was the most emotion he had ever seen her show. From a woman as stone cold as Effie, it was a compliment that he meant that much to her. The feeling was mutual obviously. Effie was like a sister to him.
“Are you sure...”
She cuts him off. “Yes. Just, prepare for next week like you would any other match. I’ll keep you updated, okay?”
He nods and Effie steps back from his embrace. “I gotta go home. Don’t worry, okay? I’ve had worse happen. I’ll fix this.”
She walks away and Ty shakes his head, “That’s what I”m afraid of.”
***
Ty looks down at the piece of paper in his hand and double checks the address. It was the correct place for sure but the condition of the apartment building he was entering had him feeling itchy. Not because he was a prima donna and couldn’t handle seeing a poor neighborhood, but itching because he wanted to help. He wanted to do more than just volunteer his time. The elevator was broken so he had to climb the stairs to the third floor. Once he finds the right apartment number, he knocks. Inside he hears a baby crying and then a dog barking. It takes at least a minute before the door opens a crack, the door chain visible.
“What?” A woman’s voice says.
Ty clears his throat.
“I’m not interested in whatever you’re selling...” she attempts to close the door but Ty grabs the handle.
“No, no. Excuse me. I’m Tyler West. I’m from Big Brothers. I’m here to see Mason.”
The woman rolls a brown eye through the crack and closes the door, only to unlock the chain. She opens the door wide. Ty can see that she is heavily pregnant with another baby sitting on her hip.
“Mason... That guy is here...”
She walks past him and places the baby into a playpen that seems to be on the verge of falling apart. The baby stands and Ty knows that he must be at least a year old. The little girl smiles at Ty through dried tears and then sucks on her fist.
“Yo. You Ty?”
Ty turns to see the young man that the agency had assigned for him to mentor. From the records he was given, Mason was thirteen. Struggling in school, not many friends and had been in and out of foster care for the last two years, this was his fifth foster home.
“Yup. Mason?”
He nods. “Come on, let’s get out of here, the old lady’s on a warpath.”
Mason grabs Ty’s arm and pulls him toward the door.
“Mason remember, be back by Nine or I lock you out again.”
The door closes on her words. Ty looks back before running after the youth.
“Does she really lock you out?”
The boy shrugs. “Sometimes. But it’s the best home I’ve had since being in the system, so I don’t make any trouble. It’s just until my Dad gets out of jail then he said we’re going to move to Utah. Start fresh.”
They come out of the building and Mason’s eyes go wide seeing Ty’s bike.
“Wow, that’s yours?”
Mason starts to inspect the vehicle.
“Wanna go for a ride?”
The boy smiles wide while nodding. Ty hands him his helmet and tells him to get on behind him. They drive around a bit until Ty pulls into a diner down the street from the building.
“You hungry? Let’s get some food and we can get to know each other.”
It seems like Mason hasn’t eaten in weeks, judging by home much food he orders and actually finishes including a massive ice cream sundae. He burbs and then laughs.
“Sorry... and thanks... usually the old lady don’t make nothing edible. She doesn’t hit me like the other places so I’ll deal, you know?”
“What did your dad go to jail for?”
Mason uses his spoon to try and get the last drops of melted ice cream from the bottom of the glass.
“Fraud. He scammed a bunch of guys. Accounting stuff. So it’s not like he murdered nobody or like hurt me or anything. But that’s why we’re going to Utah once he’s out. New start. He even said we could change our names. I was thinking of something smart sounding.”
He lets the spoon clink the glass as he looks up at Ty.
“It’s still a crime...”
Mason shrugs. “Oh, I know. He was just trying to save money for us to move and have a good life. It’s been pretty wack since my mom died.”
“I”m sorry.”
Mason bites his bottom lip. “I miss her a lot. She used to be a good mom, you know? She never let Dad get away with anything. Then she got hit by a car and died.”
“I just lost my dad.” Ty says, “I am still getting over it even though he wasn’t a good dad.”
He hopes that maybe it was a way to help relate to the youngster. IT was as much of a benefit to him as it was to this young man.
“What did he do?”
Ty nods. “He didn’t work. He ran scams too but more of placing large bets on things like sports and horse races. It got him killed.”
“Whoa. Heavy. “
The kid was pretty mature, but Ty stocked that up to him being introduced to a lot of grown-up stuff so early in his life. Ty is amazed that Mason seemed like a decent kid.
“I’m sure your dad misses you a lot.”
He nods. “I visit him sometimes. I know I’m not supposed too but I’ll skip school and take the bus. He’s up at Clark County. He’s got two more years on his sentence.”
“I know that you want to see your Dad, but maybe don’t skip school. Alright? If you wanna go on a weekend, I’ll drive you. OKay?”
Mason smiles wide. “Really? On your bike?”
Ty nods. “Yup. I’ll even let you use my boyfriend’s helmet.”
Mason stops. He stares at Ty.
“Boyfriend? Like for real? I would have never thought you were gay...”
Ty is amused. “And why is that?”
The boy shrugs. “I dunno. Sometimes gay people have a certain way they act and stuff. I know they all don’t and I”m not against it or anything.”
“Not that it matters but, I want you to be able to trust me Mason, but I’m Bi-sexual.”
He feels a bit uncomfortable. He hopes that it doesn’t get back to the coordinator at Big Brother. They may think it was inappropriate to discuss his sexuality with Mason.
“OH. Well... I know you aren’t allowed to talk about that stuff. But sure. That’ll be sick.”
Ty knew it meant he approved. After a bit more small talk, Ty takes Mason back to his building.
“Thanks... I mean I’ve never had a mentor that was cool like that. All they did was chastize me for not focusing only on school. I”m not really interested in what they teach. It’s boring.”
Ty understood. “I get it, but even if you could just get passing marks, that would be good. Your worker is worried about you. She doesn’t want to see you living on the streets.”
Mason rolls his eyes. “I won’t be. I got my Dad. But thanks. I guess I’ll see you next week?”
“You can count on it.”
Mason nods and then runs to the door, trying to make sure he gets to the door before his curfew.
Ty liked him. He knew deep down that he probably wasn’t going to have children of his own but if he could help boys like this, it would be just as rewarding. He wanted to give back.
***
The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 3, Entry #11 -- “Missing Persons”
“Today, I’m not here with my regular spiel about how I plan to beat St.John and get my Roulette title back. No. I’m actually here to ask that if anyone has info or has seen St.John that they please call this number.”
A bright yellow number appears on the bottom of the screen.
“This is an answering service. You can leave anonymous tips. St. John may be my opponent and rival professionally but personally, he is like a brother. Even in as short a time as I have known him. I would forfeit every chance at a title if it would bring him home safely. I promised Effie that I would get involved with actually going out and finding him but she never said anything about service announcements seeking information. I doubt that even if Sin comes home before the weekend that he will be in a state of mind to get in a ring and duke it out.”
He sighs deeply.
“Whatever this organization he used to be a part of, it better realize that Sin is not one of them anymore. He’s part of the SCW family. Let him come home.”
Ty looks visible stressed over the situation.
“But that’s all I gotta say right now. Please... call, even if it’s not much. Every little bit could lead to his being found. Thank you.”
The camera shuts off abruptly.
