"A boy's best friend is his mother."
Have you ever heard that saying? Do you recall it from a classic work of fiction by one of the premiere directors of suspense in motion picture history, Alfred Hitchcock? It is originally a quote from the 1960 feature film, "Psycho", based on the 1959 novel of the same name. If you're familiar with this story about a psychologically disturbed young man and his unrelenting fascination with both death as well as his beloved mother, then good for you! If you're not, well what ever is the matter with you? It's a classic people!
Now to all of you out there who know well the subject of this promotional story, go ahead and make all the jokes that you desire. It's only natural. Many have watched the exploits of Despayre from past promos and gotten a chuckle or two at the young man's expense. They look toward each new appearance and wonder to themselves, 'What new comedic antics will Despy and Angel get into this time?' That is all well and good. Truth be told, it's to be expected after the relatively short amount of years that Despayre and his plush pal have been in the public eye. From the time he first debuted in the Asylum Wrestling Alliance almost four years ago, to his transfer to his current 'stomping grounds' of Sin City Wrestling, Despayre has become one of the most popular young stars in the world on professional wrestling, thanks to both his innocent nature, and the comedic antics that nature has caused. The AWA was a major world-wide wrestling promotion that brought it's stars to television screens and pay-per-views the world over. Sin City Wrestling, as you well know, is an independent wrestling promotion that, although it's shows have been held in as faraway continents as Africa and along island coasts, kept the majority of its programming online, be it their weekly edition of 'Climax Control' or its many varied Supercard spectaculars.
Many close to him joke around that his bonding friendship with the world's most popular teddy bear, Angel, has been the focal point of those little (mis)adventures. Whatever Angel suggests for fun, Despayre follows without question! Whatever Angel believes best, it is wise not to argue because Despayre is fiercely loyal to his 'bestie'. After all, Angel works tirelessly to protect and defend his charge (you know, Despayre) from the various slobbering beasties (not besties) that lurk in the shadows of the closets and beneath the beds where Despayre stays during where his wrestling travels take him, or in the place that he calls home. Those shadow creepy crawlies know no bounds, and will target the young and innocent souls, no matter where they sleep, so their protectors, the teddy bears of the world, need always be on high alert for the protection of those they have come to love; their new families.
Herein lies the catch; there is a small factor that many tend to forget about Despayre, whether it's by choice or simply force of habit. He has more than certain 'mental deficiencies'. He has been classified by psychologists as 'psychologically insane'. Where you might see a young man with the mind of a child, it devolves into something else altogether when you pick away at the wall surrounding him and you get into the heart of the matter. Think on it: a grown man with all the physical qualities of someone his age and size, but with all the restraint of a toddler. How does a child react when he or she wants something so very badly? When they believe they are wronged? When they feel they are under threat? A child that fights or vents does so without the mental restraints built up from within that you or I might have had due to our natural growth and upbringing.
Despayre, does not.
When Despayre finds himself in those situations, when he grows more frightened, he fights with all the restraint of an animal backed into a corner. Just ask former SCW Grand Slam Champion, Goth, a man that takes great pride in being the 'Boogeyman' of Despayre's life. When Goth 'attacked' Angel in the AWA, and came ever so close to tearing the teddy bear's head clean off, Despayre not only physically threw the two men restraining him, two men who were each twice his size, clean off of him, but in an attack of retaliation weeks later, Despayre came close to critically injuring Goth and laid him up in a hospital bed for weeks in recovery. When he was young, he stabbed, literally stabbed a hospital nurse through the hand with a sharpened pencil, an act he had repeated on his own current tag team partner, Big B. He brutally attacked Nick Jones for the former Heavyweight Champion's insults towards Angel, choking him until Big B rescued his cousin, which resulted in the aforementioned pencil attack.
And even then, these instances do not even begin to scratch the surface of the many mysteries that are within his mind. The doctors who attempted to treat him were at a loss, and all they were able to do was simply medicate him to hopefully subdue his more violent tendencies and outbursts. Other doctors who attempted to treat him at a Canadian mental institution only succeeded in making him worse through their diabolical methods that instilled hatred and fear within Despayre's already fragile mind. Synn himself claims to be at a loss to understanding everything that there was to know about his own flesh and blood.
Confused? I don't blame you. A lot of this is probably all too new to everyone who thought they knew or understood Despayre. They believed he was just fun... innocent. How were they to know this young, comedic character could actually be quite dangerous once provoked?
How was anyone to know?</color>
Las Vegas - 08/08/2014
"I don't understand why you're so worried." Theresa Aguilera said in a hushed tone of voice as her fingers gripped the plate and slid it's empty contents out from under the head of the household, Synn, as he sighed and reached across the glass table to grasp the newspaper from where it lay. She and Synn had been engaged in this quiet topic of conversation, ever since he had first arisen from bed this very morning.
"It's his momma and grandmama." she said, scraping off the last trace of egg from the plate before she set it in the sink to rinse before placing it, along with the rest, in thee dishwasher. (Who really understood that logic?) "I'm sure everything will be fine."
"And what do you base that on, exactly?" Synn asked as he idly held out his pine green, ceramic mug for the live-in housekeeper to fill with piping hot, black coffee. He took a brief sip so as not to scald the inside of his mouth before he went on, questioning, "From all the times he's spent the night elsewhere since he came to me?"
"Oh yes." Theresa said as she placed the pot back on the coffee warmer and turned back to face her employer as he made a rather sad attempt to feign indifference to the topic at hand. "It is not as if Joshua has made it a habit of staying for an evening or two with Gabriel or Rage, now and then."
Her words rang true, but that did not infer that they came to any comfort toward the man she directed them toward. Such was the nature of this relationship between employee and employer. Theresa was not just the 'woman of the house', the housekeeper that Synn had kept in his employ for the past number of years. She was family. She took care of the needs of not only he and his son, but the varied other members of the Sins that found their way inside of these walls. Ask any of them. You don't mess with their Theresa.
"That's different." Synn observed. "He's been closer to the both of them over the past few years than he has been with Margaret, or Victoria."
"True." Theresa conceded. "But that doesn't make it any less true that he'll be on his best behavior for his momma." She wagged a forefinger and turned back to begin loading the dishwasher with what dishes she had ready without Despayre having had his meal as of yet. "A boy wants to impress his mama."
Synn took another swallow of the piping hot coffee, black, before he set the mug down. He almost made the cardinal error of placing the mug on the glass counter of the table itself before he caught Theresa's eye and shifted the mug a couple of inches to place on the coaster. Joke all you want, but Synn stated himself numerous times that the kitchen was her domain, and no one else's.
Synn said, "Be that as it may, you know as well as I do that sometimes his behavior can be ... unpredictable. With or without his medicine. I just don't like not being around in case something were to happen."
"Now what do you think is going to happen?" Theresa asked, her tone bemused but her curiosity ignited. "Do you think his momma is going to just up and run off back too Canada with him?"
Theresa glanced back over her shoulder and stopped short when she found Synn's eyes simply frozen on her. Not angry. Not stunned. Simply ... frozen. She shook her head and a faint trace of a smile curled the corner of her lips. "That is what has you worried, isn't it? Dios mÃo!" She looked up and closed her eyes for a brief second, before she shook her head and sighed. "I thought you were well past that fear."
"I don't think I'll ever be well past that fear, unfortunately." Synn said with an idleness to his voice. "Not when I've lost so many years to begin with and have so many more to catch up."
Theresa exhaled a sharp breath, ready to begin anew her words to attempt to alleviate Synn's fears when their discussion was interrupted by the third member of the house.
"Morning."
The soft, gentle mumbling drew the attention of Synn up from the kitchen table and his focal point of the newspaper that he had been scrutinizing for the past several moments in a vain attempt to draw his attention away from where it had been going ever since he had first agreed to this little sleep over. Despayre entered the kitchen, still clad in his rumbled white t shirt and Marvin the Martian pajama pants, and Angel snuggled safely in his arms and held closely to his chest in that ever find embrace between man and teddy bear. Despayre's pet cat, Sebastian, a white and orange tabby, hurried into the room as well, weaving himself around and between the young man's feet, almost causing him to stumble and have himself a fall while it went right for it's food dish against the far wall, under the cabinet where the good china was kept.
"Good afternoon, Joshua." Synn answered in retort, even though it was in good nature. "You're up late, even for you."
"Hm?" Despayre murmured as he pulled one of the kitchen chairs around the table so he could sit closer to his dad, giving Angel his own place of honor at the head of the table, on the table. "It's still early."
"It's past eleven." Synn said.
Despayre stopped short, just before he plopped his heiney on the chair. He opened his eyes wide in concentration. Blinked. Shook his head, and then shrugged. "That still counts as morning." He stressed as he sat beside Synn and hefted a large bag onto the table with a thud. Only days before, Drake Green had promised Despayre in a Twitter message that he would buy for him the absolute largest bag of Skittles that was made available to the public, and darned if the SCW Heavyweight Champion wasn't a man of his word. Two days ago the package showed up at the Las Vegas business office of Sin City Wrestling, and Mark ward personally forwarded it overnight mail to their home residence. Quite the happy surprise for Despayre, and not so much the same for Synn who knew what his son was like when he was on a sugar rush. Despayre had spent the better part of the day, carefully separating the purple Skittles from all the other colors of the candied rainbow, just for Angel's benefit ... and the safety of the rest of the household.
"Boy's got a point." Theresa said with good humor as she set a tall glass of chocolate milk in front of Despayre, his absolute favorite way to kick start his day. "Hey hey! None of that!"
Synn shifted his gaze to see Theresa snatch the bag from Despayre's hand, which had been halfway inserting itself into the bag for a sweet treat to begin this day.
"Hey!" Despayre protested, one hand holding his glass of chocolate moo juice, and the tell-tale sign of a chocolate `stache on his upper lip. His free hand was holding naught but empty air. "Those are mine!"
"And you can have all you want but you need a good meal." Theresa said as she opened up the cabinet door where Despayre's more favorite treats were stored in the kitchen, and deposited them inside. Right beside five large boxes of new Twinkies filled with a chocolate center; a gift from Gabriel for his 'little brother' but one of a more prankish nature from the magician.
He too knew what Despayre was like when he was loaded full of sugar.
Despayre's eyes followed the housekeeper, the cool, gray orbs burrowing into her back as she opened the refrigerator door and leaned in to busy herself, getting fresh ingredients to make him his breakfast, or lunch depending on your view and the time of day that he had awoken. His brow furrowed into a frown, clearly unlike his nature as his father took note of this and the son found his dad's hand on his shoulder. Despayre blinked and looked up into his green eyes and Synn shook his head in the negative, hoping to soothe Despayre's annoyance at the housekeeper taking away his candy.
His candy! That meant a great deal -- right?
Despayre huffed and fidgeted, burying his fists into his lap in a strained semblance of calm rather than finish off his usual first of two or three glasses of chocolate milk.
"You okay?" Synn asked, and was answered with a shy nod to confirm his father's question. "Are you sure?"
Again, Despayre nodded, but this time he spoke up and said, "I was up a little late. Angel an' me."
"Oh?" Synn folded his newspaper closed once again and slid it away so that he might indulge the lad. "And what, pray tell, had you two up so late?"
"Getting things ready to stay at mom's." Despayre answered timidly. He knew that this topic was still something akin to a sensitive subject for his dad, and Angel told him he had to breach it with subtlety and care. Personally, he was quite surprised (and thrilled) when Synn had agreed to allow him to stay overnight with his mom and grams before they left for Los Angeles the following day. He continued, "And Angel was giving me lots of advice for me and Bernie's match this weekend."
"Bernie and my match."
"Huh?"
"It's Bernie and my match." Synn stressed.
"You're not teaming with Bernie!" Despayre contradicted his dad in an almost hot manner."I am!"
Synn glanced up and saw that Theresa had paused from getting out the milk and Fruity pebbles cereal for Despayre, both somewhat caught off guard by this outburst. Subdued as it was, it was still an outburst.
"I am aware of that Joshua." Synn said calmly. "I just meant... you know what/ It's alright. Did Angel give you some good tips? You know your opponents won't be easy for you and Bernard to win against."
"Well, Angel said Drake would be really hard to wrestle since he's so good and he's the champion." Despayre seemed to come around to his usual demeanor again. "But he said Equinox was a weak link so he wouldn't be that hard a challenge."
"You know," Synn smiled, proud of his son's confidence and amused at his outlook towards the Roulette Champion. Equinox is a champion, too."
"Yeah but he was mean to Rage." Despayre pointed out as the bowl of cereal was slid in front of him. he picked up his spoon and dug in, finishing by saying, "So he doesn't count."
Synn watched him for a brief moment and smiled, ever the feeling of a proud father growing by leaps and bounds. It was not a feeling he had ever believed he would indulge in, let alone savor. But he did, and he would. Slowly Synn got up and walked across the kitchen to a small cabinet in the crook of the counter top, one that (unlike the rest) had a small lock on it. Inserting the key and giving it a slight twist of the wrist, the lock clicked and Synn opened the polished wood door and one by one, he started to remove seven small, brown bottles. Each one contained a different form of medication -- Despayre's medication. It was one thing that Synn made certain Despayre stayed on a strict routine. Not taking his medicine was not only frowned upon, it was not tolerated.
The non-stimulant, Effexor.
Lexotanil for anxiety.
The anti depressant, Sinequan.
Topamax, a mood stablizer.
Seroquel, an anti-psychotic.
Rhotrimine, a sedative anti depressant.
And lastly, Trilafon, a very strong medication for psychosis.
It sickened Synn, knowing his son would probably have to remain on these drugs for the remainder of his life, and it made him regret all the more that he had not burned down that god damn hospital who did this to his boy, with the doctors yet sealed inside.
Turning around, Synn walked back over to the kitchen table and cleared his throat. Despayre glanced up with a mouthful of cereal and semi-automatically held out his hand, palm up, and Synn dropped the small pills into his palm. Despayre's fingers curled around them and he watched as his dad turned his back to lock the medicine cabinet back up and, unknown to him or Teresa, Despayre hurriedly tucked the pills inside of the pocket of his pajama pants rather than take them. Just before Synn turned back around, Despayre grabbed his chocolate milk and drank it, feigning the illusion of washing the pills down.
"All set?" Synn asked, and Despayre nodded, holding his free hand under the table and crossing his fingers, using the innocent belief that doing so would absolve him from fibbing. Synn nodded. "Good." He patted him on the back. "Soon as you're done, head upstairs and finish packing what you'll want to take to your mother's."
"`Kay." Despayre nodded, shoveling another heaping spoonful of cereal into his waiting mouth.</color>
"I still don't like it."</color>
"It's fine. I'm fine. It's only for tonight."</color>
"But, you didn't take your medicine last night either. How come?"</color>
"I just wanted to make sure that I'd be okay. I don't want to have to take them when I'm at mom's."</color>
"I still don't understand why. Your mom knows you have to take medicine. So does your gramma. It's nothing to be embarrassed over."</color>
"I'm not embarrassed!"</color>
"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. But you can't fault me for being concerned. It's what I'm made for."</color>
"I know. And I'm sorry I snapped. It's just ... this is the first time in a long time I got to stay with mom. And grams. I want them to think I'm strong."</color>
"You are strong, Despy. You're one of the strongest people I know!"</color>
"Oh go on! .... No, I really mean it. Go on."</color>
"Well it's true. You and I share a lot. You've told me a lot of stuff that's happened to you, and look at you now."</color>
"Why? I got a boog?"</color>
"No. I mean look at how far you've come. And how much you've grown. You got a family and friends..."</color>
"Friends who are family."</color>
"Exactly! They all love and support you. So you shouldn't be worried about what your mom might think of you taking your medicine. They're like vitamins. They're good for you."</color>
"Brussels sprouts are good for you too but that doesn't mean I'm going to eat them."</color>
"You did when Theresa made the for supper last week."</color>
"Yeah, well...."</color>
"Just promise me you'll be alright?"</color>
"Of course I'll be alright. You don't have to worry about me!"</color>
"Yeah well... I don't see that changing any time soon."</color>
"That's why I love you so much."</color>
Equinox
noun: a day when day and night are the same length
"Interesting terminology. A rather unique depiction for a most unassuming man. I'm sorry. You'll have to forgive me if I sound at all bitter towards you. Towards the man that has run around the entire SCW as if he were the world's saving grace towards the forces of darkness or whatever other kind of foolery that may have entered his mind at one time or another. Given his past and penchant for punishing demands, I wonder at times if this individual had landed on his head a time or two too many and addled what brains he had left."
"First, you arrive under a wholly different personae and wage war against Hot Stuff International as though you believed it were your solemn duty. Now don't get me wrong. I have little love for some of the men that walk those ranks, but you? Alone? You picked a fight and even I must admit you showed yourself admirably. You walked away from the impending matches with more wins than losses, but the fights outside of the ring? Those left a little more to be desired, didn't they? It is almost as if you did not understand that the numbers were against you. Look at yourself! You are a member of NXT and even they did not have your back when you saw fit to wage your one-man war!"
"Does that tell you anything, Equinox? Hm? It certainly doesn't state much as to your standing nor respect held within your own stable of friends. And then you seem to come from out of nowhere and walk away with the Roulette Championship. Well bra-VO to you! You have defended that coveted title time and again, yet that still was not enough, was it? Not when you started to look past HSI, and found a newer prize, a target of grander scale. That was when you opted to start a fight with a force that was beyond your imagining. That was when you decided to pick a fight with a member of my family, Equinox. That was when you decided you were going to tame the Sin of Wrath himself, Rage."
"Only -- things didn't quite work out for you in the same way that they did when you competed with the members of HSI, did it? No, because as I recall, Rage fought you tooth and nail, and you discovered that it was not so easy to quench such a sin as wrath itself. Wrath, perhaps one of thee single most dangerous of the Seven Deadly Sins. Ranked right up there with Pride. Perhaps you realized that you were beyond your abilities, because after that humbling experience, I have yet to see you attempt any other confrontation with a member of my little family, and a good thing too."
"Had you made that foolish attempt, my friend..."
*chuckles*
"You would have discovered the fact that you simply can not defeat sin in the heart of mortal man. Were Gabriel present, oh I would so dearly love to be the witness to the massacre that would occur in that little endeavor. Gabriel has a way about him when it comes to humbling those beneath him. So you should consider yourself lucky... or not. Because you don't face either Rage or Gabriel this coming weekend. No, you find yourself opposite of the ring with a force of nature unlike any you have ever experienced before."
"Despayre. He is just as I said; a force of nature. A storm that can not be contained. All you can do with such is simply step back and allow nature to take its course. Its not something you can oppose, Equinox. It's not something that the celestial sphere of your two faceted namesake can protect you from. People say they can prepare to face a storm. They can take all the precautions that they so desire, but when you get right down to it, all you can do is huddle together and wait for it too pass. Unfortunately, you don't have that option. Because you're going too find yourself trapped inside of the center of that storm when you're inside of the ring with Despayre, and nothing you can do or attempt to use against him will be able to subdue such a force. He is the storm cloud to your silver lining, and what so few people tend to forget is this:"
"That storm cloud causes so very much more damage than any silver lining might be capable of."
</color>
"Mom!" Despayre raced inside of the front door of Margaret Young's new home in Las Vegas, one she now shared with her mother, Victoria, Despayre's grandmother. His arms immediately enveloped her in the loving embrace that would only be understood between a mother and her child.
"Gramma!" Despayre released his mom to rush into the warm hug of the white haired, older matriarch of the Young household, the only grandparent he had known that looked upon him with love and care, and not the cruelty of indifference and ignoring like his grandfather had when he was yet alive and Despayre was just a small tot of a child. Of course, back then, all that was completely lost on Despayre. Back then, he had thought the world of his grandpa, no matter how he was treated.
"Don't I get a hug?" Synn said as he set foot inside of the house's foyer, setting the two overnight bags down on the tile floor.
"You don't deserve one." Margaret teased and then she looked down at the two stuffed bags and shook her head in amusement."Joshy, did you pack your entire bedroom?" She looked up at him and chuckled, "You're only here overnight before you lave tomorrow, after all."
But what she saw was not the returned amusement or innocent humor that she had expected in return. The stricken look in Despayre's eyes acted almost like a shocking douse of cold water in the face. Despayre averted her gaze and looked down, and he started to fidget uncomfortably.
"I-I'm sorry." He fussed, refusing to meet her eye. "I can take one back... or sort through it so it's not so much. I... I just wanted to bring extra for us to have f-fun with and I-I..."
"Joshua?" Synn frowned, taking a step closer but Margaret got to their son first and placed her hands on his slim shoulders first. Synn looked over toward Victoria and Despayre's grandmother had a shared expression of bewilderment on her face, equaling Synn's own puzzlement.
"Oh sweety, it's alright." Margaret said as she enveloped her son into her arms and held him tight. Despayre's own hands snaked their way up along her back until he returned the embrace, giving as good as he got. He buried his head into the crook between her shoulder and neck for a brief moment, and had Synn might have sworn he saw his son's body shudder involuntarily. But Despayre looked back up and drew in a deep breath before he stepped away from his mom's hug and gave her a sparkling smile.
"Are you okay?" She inquired, too which he nodded.
"Are you sure?" Synn asked, taking the last step toward the group.
Despayre looked up at his father and answered, "I'm. Fine." Perhaps a tad more forcefully than he had intended.
"Alright." Synn forced his own smile and wrapped an arm around Despayre's shoulder and gave him a light embrace. "Enjoy yourself. Okay?"
Despayre nodded, his face quickly averted again into a bright smile.
"Are you certain you can't stay for dinner?" Victoria asked, tilting her head to the side. She had never been given a real chance to accept Synn as the father of her grandchild, all because of her deceased husband's penchant for strict upbringing and behavior. But now that he was gone and she had the chance, oh it would be nice to be given more of a chance to get to know this enigmatic man.
"I would," Synn started to say. "I'm afraid I may burst into flame when you begin saying grace." He smiled that oh-so charming smile of his and Victoria just shook her head as Margaret rolled her eyes. He continued, "Seriously, I promised Theresa I'd bring home Red Lobster on the way home. It's her night off."
"I see Joshua isn't the only member of that house that you spoil." Margaret teased.
"Guilty as charged." Synn smirked. He then winked, "You enjoy yourself as well."
As Despayre chattered away with his mom, all about Angel's helpful hints about his upcoming match with Bernie this Sunday, his grandmother escorted Synn towards the door and opened it for him. Just before he stepped out, he turned and whispered in a hushed tone toward Victoria, "Call me if you need anything." He simply could not quite shake that something was amiss.
Across the city, in a neighborhood separate from Margaret and Victoria's own, Theresa went through the upstairs hallway of the house that she maintained. One day out of the week, a small cleaning team of three came to the house to assist her with an in depth cleaning, with her in charge. there was simply no way that a single person could maintain such a home all on her lonesome.
Yes, it was indeed her day off, but old habits died hard and without Synn at home to harp on her to rest and enjoy her evening off, she was free to make certain that all was right and in order as it should be. Just a quick pass through and by then, Synn would be home with that mouth watering steak and lobster from Red Lobster that he promised. He had tried to talk her into letting him take her out to a better class of seafood restaurant, but she held firm and wished to simply enjoy her meal at home.
Joshua's bedroom door was slightly ajar and she was about to close it, when curiosity caused her to nudge it open just a tad more and she peaked inside, and almost wished she hadn't. That boy knew better than to leave his room in such a state, but it looked as if he had torn it apart to retrieve everything he wanted to take to his mother's, and to prepare for his journey to California on the morrow. There were DVD and his books scattered everywhere, clothes, both clean and that ready for the hamper, lay rumpled all along the back of his chair, dresser, and quite the unmade bed.
With a sigh of bemused annoyance, she pushed the door open and set foot inside. true, this was not her room and she was under no obligation to clean it. Truth be told, Synn had once or twice before informed her that it was Joshua's room and if he wished to live 'comfortably', well... it was only the one room, after all. Unfortunately, that was not at all how she saw things. Without Despayre home or Synn to stop her, she immediately set foot into the bedroom and set about to straightening it up. At least a little bit. She hurriedly scooped all of the books up from off of the floor and set them in a nice stack on Despayre's desk, so he could arrange them how he liked when he got home, then did the same with the scattered DVDs. Not knowing what clothes were clean or soiled, she stacked them all on the chair to his desk so she could gather them tomorrow when she first got up and she'd wash them, saving herself the effort of having to 'smell' them. That left the bed, which looked as if the young man had slept fitfully for one reason or another. She walked around the bedside until she was at the headboard. Grabbing the comforter, she gave it a flip up and immediately something, several somethings, were sent scattering along the bed and floor.
She reached down and picked up what looked like a pill, then looked down at the floor and reached down, picking up one, two more. Three more found their way in the border of the bed stand, and was there more? The comforter had been tucked under the mass of pillows at the headboard, and by sheer instinct, Theresa picked the bottom pillow up and her heart sank when she saw a small number of remaining pills tucked underneath. It looked like ... ten or more.
Two days worth.
"Oh Joshua..." She whispered. "Qué ha pasado?" And she immediately turned and rushed out of the bedroom as quickly as her feet would carry her.
Back at Margaret and Victoria's home, the mother and grandmother sat down to a savory dinner with Despayre at the table in the house's lovely alcove, adorned with several flowers and potted plants, a passion Victoria had in her heart when she was younger. As matriarch of the house, Victoria at the head of the table, taking the place that her husband had once held for himself. Margaret sat across from her, and Despayre sat between them. Of course, across from him, seated on a small pile of books, was Angel. You had to include Angel -- especially since they were having his gramma's world famous pot roast! You know, with those little red potatoes that made you forget about the roast itself?
"Joshua?" Victoria said as she sat the slow cooker filled to the brim with the roast and assorted vegetables. "I hope you're hungry. I know how much you enjoy pot roast."
I do?" Despayre blinked, leaning over at the waist to closely inspect the contents of the pot. He inhaled deeply and leaned back in his chair with a smile."Okay!"
And Margaret stood up while her mother took her own seat, and she started to dish out portions of the meal to all four plates. Yes, all four. She was not going to leave the teddy bear out, knowing that she or her own mother would probably end up eating that small portion to spare her son's feelings. According to Despayre, Angel needed his strength since tonight he was defending an all new homestead.
As the meal went on with sporadic conversation, mostly between Margaret and Victoria, as Despayre seemed to be strangely quiet. His eyes were glued to the teddy bear seated on the other side of the table, and he started to fidget uncomfortably until Victoria noticed and she inquired,
"Joshua? Sweety, what's the matter?"
"Who is going to protect dad and Theresa tonight?"
"What do you mean?"
He answered, "Angel is here. He always protects me, dad and Theresa. But he can't protect them tonight. Who will?" He looked up, wide eyed and his eyes quivered with fear. Victoria and Margaret looked at each other and Margaret turned to try to soothe her son's anxiety.
"Sweety, I'm sure your father and Theresa will be..."
But her words were cut off with Despayre shaking his head emphatically in fierce denial and he cried, "No! They won't!" he inhaled a choked sob and said, "I left them all alone and they won't be alright and it'll be all my fault!"
"Joshua..." Victoria reached to pat his hand but he surprised both women by jerking it out from under her hand. "Honey, they'll be fine."
Margaret added, "Honey, Angel probably scared all those scary monsters away so you don't have to..."
"NO!" Despayre cried out in a sudden, swift, and shocking outburst, sweeping his right arm wide across the table and sending not just his glass of Cherry Coke, but the cooker filled with the pot roast clear off the table! The contents struck the near wall, splattering against the painted wall and curtains that hung over the windows!
Both Margaret and Victoria cried out in surprise and jumped to their feet, their eyes shaking in shock at the young man curled up in his chair, his eyes tightly shut but the flowing tars were all too evident as they streaked down his face. His body started to tremble, but for the longest of moments, neither woman knew what to say, or even how to say it. They had never seen him act in this type of manner before, and even with his apparent fear for Theresa and his father, it simply did not explain how he could react in such an outburst.
Joshua?" Margaret finally found her voice. She waited until he opened his eyes, and the tears flowed more freely once he did. He inhaled a choking sob and looked up at the two. "Would you go into the front room while we clean this up?"
Saying nothing, he lowered his eyes and remained where he was seated for several long seconds, until finally he pushed his chair back away from the table and stood up. Stoically, almost as if he were in a trance, he walked around the kitchen table and exited the dining area, leaving Angel where he sat at the table. Had either woman noticed, they would have realized that in itself was perhaps a very big warning sign.
Victoria looked at her daughter and whispered, "What was that all about?"
Margaret had no answers. Since she had first been allowed back in her son's life by Synn's good graces and the assistance of Gabriel, she had never once seen any form of misbehaving by her son. Yet, this went far beyond misbehaving or his fun loving antics that she had heard so many stories about from all his friends in this little group he and his father had surrounded themselves with. No, this was something different. Something more...
Margaret shook her head and started to say, "I don't know. Maybe I should call..."
But in that split instance, a loud crash was heard coming from the living room, startling both ladies! Margaret immediately ran out of the dining room with her mother hurrying after her. They rushed down the hall and ducked around the corner of the door frame to the living room, where they were stopped short by a frightening sight.
There, in the center of the living room, stood Despayre, and he stood in front of thee glass coffee table, or what used to be the glass coffee table. Now it was a shattered mess, the glass counter having imploded inside of the wooden frame, thanks to the heavy vase that was thrown down into the center of it. And Despayre, he stood there with his eyes frozen on his hands that were apparently cut up as they were stained with his own blood. Had he tried picking up the mess once he had caused it? Neither lady knew, but that did not mean Margaret was going to not try to help her boy.
"Joshy?" She whispered, her voice betraying the worry she was beginning to feel festering in her bosom. "Joshy."
"I don't know this place."
His words cut right through both ladies, and it told them that something was indeed very wrong.
"Joshua, honey..." Victoria started to speak when he looked up at both women and had a frightening, vacant look in his eyes.
"I don't know you."
"Don't know...?" Margaret stepped toward him but Despayre flinched and backed away from her, stopping her short. His leg struck the corner of the coffee table and he almost feel right through it and into the glass, but it was a miracle that he did not.
Victoria turned to her daughter and urgently whispered, "I'm calling his father." And she hurried away toward the kitchen where the closest land line was. This left Margaret alone for the moment with Despayre, and their eyes remained locked within the other's.
"Joshy, I'm your mother." Margaret said. It was all she could think to say. And it did not help at all as Despayre's eyes closed tightly and the tears started anew as he shook his head.
"No." He sobbed. "My mommy isn't here. She left me." he gasped a deep breath, almost choking on the sob that escaped. "She doesn't love me!"
"Joshy! I do too..."
"She doesn't love me!" Despayre cried as he grabbed another potted plant an was about to throw it, causing his mother to flinch and cover herself with her hands, when the front door flew open with a loud bang and Synn ran inside, followed by none other than Gabriel. One look at the chaos in the Young household told the story as easily as words might have, and both he and Gabriel turned to look at Despayre who suddenly appeared not simply ashamed, but terrified.
"Joshua..." Synn stepped into the front room, protectively taking a stance in front of Margaret so she might not come to any accidental harm. "Put it down."
Despayre sniffed back the tears and his eyes burned towards the man and he slowly shook his head in refusal.
"I don't know you people." He started to cry again. He looked at Gabriel, and his best friend saw no recognition in his eyes. It was nothing like he had ever seen in 'his Despy' before and he did not like it. Despayre started to hyperventilate, dropping the potted plant to the floor as Victoria, having heard the fresh wave of commotion, returned but Gabriel held an arm out to shield her behind his own body until this was dealt with.
"How did you ..." Despayre's grandmother started to ask, but Gabriel held up a hand to silence her and he whispered,
"I pulled up just as Synn got back and Theresa came running out. She found his pills. At least two days worth."
Despayre looked like a frightened child, and mentally that was exactly what he was and so much more. He clenched his hands into balled fists, forcing the wound she suffered to worsen as he pleaded, "I-I w-want to g-go home!"
"Joshua, calm down." Synn said and he finally took the initiative to approach the unstable boy but before he could get hold of him, Despayre cried out a sharp "NO!" and swung wildly, clipping his bloody fist against his own father's jaw.
The sharp blow surprised Synn more than hurt him, but with Despayre's fear and desperation welling up quickly, he packed some strength behind the punch. Synn regained his composure quickly and moved faster than Despayre could avoid him and grabbed him with both arms wrapped around him from behind as his son struggled and kicked, crying wildly.
"Let me go!" He pleaded with worsening tears. "Please! I want to go home! I WANT MY DAD!!!"
Despayre's struggles grew more frantic by the moment and Gabriel hurriedly pushed something into Victoria's hands before he turned and hurried off into the house in search of something!
"I'm here, Joshua!" Synn tried to plead but Despayre's mind was nowhere that it should have been, due to depriving himself of the medications that stabilized an otherwise unstable mind. Synn dropped to his knees, pulling Despayre down along with him due to his superior strength and body weight. Synn's grip became tighter as Despayre's struggles grew more frantic, until Gabriel returned with the one thing he could think of that might help. the only thing he could think of.
Gabriel cautiously approached where Despayre cried out and screamed, and kneeled down before him. And from behind his back, Gabriel held Angel. He held the teddy bear that was so precious to Despayre on more levels than anyone could explain. Nobody said anything as all they could do was watch, wait, and -- hope. Despayre's eyes fixed on the teddy bear and he simply looked into the warm, brown eyes of the plush form and inhaled a shaky sob.
"I'm sorry." Despayre whispered, shaking his head. "You were right..."
His hand slowly stretched foward and Gabriel carefully passed the teddy bear into his grip. Synn did not rlease his son, not yet. He held him as closely to his chest as Despayre held Angel against his. Victoria carefully stepped forward, and handed the pills back to Gabriel. The magician looked at Synn who nodded, and Gabriel slowly offered the pills to the weeping form in front of him....
"Not at all what you expected, is it Drake Green?"
"I don't blame you. Its something I had always hoped to avoid, and yet in thee end I know that I can not. Not always. Not forever. Still, I would imagine yourself grateful that this little episode was washed from out of his system before you found yourself inside of the ring with him because, let's face it: the end result simply would not have been pretty. Not that it will, mind you. Not compared to what could have happened, but I'd say you were quite lucky with what you will find yourself opposing, compared to what you could have."
"Now please forgive me if it seems like I am ignoring you in favor of your partner. It's not as if I prefer him to you. Christ, no! Quite the opposite, in fact. At least you have worked and fought hard for where you are, as opposed to this parasite you find yourself saddled with. One who is full of requests and demands for things he has not earned. Believing himself to be more than he is. Now I understand that for this coming weekend, he is indeed your partner and you have to put your faith in him to do for you what you plan to do for him, but then you have to wonder, will it be enough?"
"On your end, I'm certain you will do your fair share. The proof is around your waist. Not many men can say they have won the Heavyweight Championship of Sin City Wrestling one time, let alone two. You have indeed, an thus have proven yourself worthy to be remembered. Yet, here I have a little tidbit of a secret for you."
"Do you know how close you came to never having won that title for the second time? Reason being, before he and Big B won the tag team titles, there was quite the backstage campaign for Despayre to receive a shot at the very belt that now adorns your own waist. The staff, his friends, even I tried to convince Despayre to allow me to sign him to a title shot against the champion at the time, but he was unyielding. He simply does not want to wear the same title that you cherish so. And yet, he did make a promise to me, and to those that showed him such faith; were he and Big B to not win the tag titles when they did, then he would accept one -- and only one -- shot at whom ever was the heavyweight Champion at the time."
"Well, you know the rest. The Bosom Buddies did indeed win the tag titles, and any chance at the time of Despayre challenging for thee heavyweight title fell by the wayside-- for now."
"No, now Mister Green, you and your partner will be teaming together for the very first time in the Clash of the Champions, and despite the fact that you have that prestigious gold around your waist, this time you find yourself at the disadvantage. This time you find yourself in a match against the Tag Team Champions, two men who have thus far worked so well together that they not only have the titles to prove it, but the unblemished record to do the very same. Two men teaming for thee first time, against an already established combination. I believe we all know where the advantage lies at the Clash, and it is not with the two singles champions of the men's division."
"I would dare say that Despayre is perhaps the only member of the Sins right now that carries the favor of the fans, but never let that fool you, Drake. Despayre is smaller indeed. The smallest man in this match in fact. But never has his size been a detriment to him as he has al the ways to use his speed and leverage to its full advantage, even against such a technical expert as yourself. And should you do anything to anger him, hurt him, bring out thee animal...?"
"Well then, I truly pity you."
"Clash of the Champions, Drake. Your partner asked for this opportunity to team with you. This match is the end result. You will have only him to blame for what is to come."
</color>
