Healing: Part 7

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Off Camera

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Hatred is a strong emotion.  Few people admit to actually hating someone.   Most individuals just ignore people they do not like.  Most people do not put that much mental and emotional energy into one individual or a group of individuals.  Hatred is also a dangerous emotion.  Hatred has led to some of the most horrible, heinous acts in human history.  Adolf Hitler’s hatred of the Jews led to the Holocaust; the murder of six million European Jews.

The hatred of Kimberly Williams damn near destroyed her, her sister Marie, and the entire Jones family.  Kimberly’s hatred and outright jealousy of Marie Jones and the bond that she shared with Angelica drove Kimberly to perpetrating some heinous acts.  Marie, herself, grew to hate Kimberly because of what she had done to the Jones family in the past.

It is difficult to let go of hatred once you have held that grudge for as long as Marie and Kimberly have held onto their grudges, but thankfully they did manage to let go of their grudge against one another and they bonded as the sisters that they were originally meant to be.

Still, not all of the hatred was gone.  There was a mutual hatred that both sisters held towards their own father, Sean Williams.

They hated him for a variety of reasons, but it all boiled to one common theme; Sean Williams abandoned both of them.  He was never around to guide them like a normal father.  In Kimberly’s case, he was never around period.  At least he was around for brief periods of time in Marie’s life, but most of that time was spent plotting ways to try to gain custody of Marie.

The absence of Sean Williams from both of their lives led to them developing a hatred towards him and his family.  That was a problem that they knew had to be dealt with.

Marie Annabelle Jones and her twin sister Kimberly Williams had a visit with their paternal aunt, Carolyn Williams, and it went off without a problem.  Both siblings know that one visit will not suffice, but still, this visit does make all parties involved feel a sense of hope; hope that Kimberly and Marie might very well make peace with their father’s memory and family.  It’s part of Kimberly’s road to recovery.  She needed to let go of the hatred in her heart, the hatred of her father that had been ebbing and flowing like lava from a volcano for so long.  Now with that volcano of hatred stopped, there is hope for Kimberly and Marie.  Hope for peace.

Marie is specifically grateful, because she doesn’t want to live with hatred in her heart.  She’s seen what that can do to her and Kimberly.  She’s also seen what it can do to others.  Specifically, one of her opponents at Taking Hold of the Flame; Regan Street.

Jealousy on Regan’s part, jealousy of her not getting the championship opportunities she felt she deserved, led to a hatred boiling over inside of her, an uncontrollable hatred that turned her into the bully that she is today.  She thought that she could force her way into a United  States Championship Match against Marie Jones at Taking Hold of the Flame.

In some way, she was right, because Marie did request that Regan be added to the title match; but that’s just it, she was added to it.  Tyler Tucker will be part of the equation as well and he, too, deserves his title rematch.  He deserves this opportunity just as much as Regan does, if not more.

Marie will fight them both and do whatever she can to overcome the hatred, the jealousy, and retain her SCW United States Championship.  But that’s later; for now, she and Kimberly are just now leaving their visit with their Aunt Carolyn Williams.  The excitement and joy that they had felt from seemingly forming a bond with their paternal aunt is slowly dying down and both siblings have sensed it the entire way on the ride from the cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts back to the mental institution where Kimberly Williams spends her days and nights.

The luxury automobile comes to a stop in front of a black iron gate with stone pillars on either side that looms ominously overhead, overlooking the entrance to the mental hospital where Kimberly Williams currently calls home.  The redheaded beauty from Boston, Massachusetts turns to look at her sister Kimberly in the passenger’s seat. Kimberly’s mood is a rather somber one, yet still she manages a smile.

“We’re here…” Marie frowns as she seems to detect Kimberly’s mood “…what’s up with you, Kim?  You look upset.”

“I’m fine, sis.” She smirks. “Don’t worry about crazy Kim.”

Marie tilts her head to one side. “You’re my sister, my twin sister, I have to worry about you.  It’s kind of an obligation.”

“It’s just that…” she looks away from Marie, looking forward towards the towering mental facility where she will be returning to momentarily and sighs “…I’m just wondering if this really is it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Was that really all I needed to do?” Kimberly shrugs her shoulders. “I mean, I don’t feel any different.  I don’t feel like I’ve changed or I’ve been fixed.  I feel the same as I’ve always felt.”

“You don’t feel any differences at all?  None?”

Kimberly shakes her head. “None…” she pauses momentarily to rethink her answer “…well, maybe a little less hate.”

“That’s a good sign, Kim.” Marie kisses her sister on the cheek. “It’s a good thing.”

“And yet,” Kimberly gazes forward towards the gate “I still have to go back.”

“Yes,” Marie begins “because Dr. Warren needs to continue evaluating you to make sure everything is fine.”

“Trust me, sis,” Kimberly taps herself on the head “everything is fine in this head.”

“Says you,” Marie remarks frowning “but don’t you want the expert’s opinion?  We did hire her for that reason.”

Kimberly sighs and nods her head. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Then trust me and trust Dr. Warren.” Marie says with a pleasant smile. “We only want what’s best for you.”

Kimberly looks over to Marie. “What about mom?  Is she going to come visit me any time soon?”

That wasn’t a question Marie wanted to answer.  Kimberly is beginning to lose hope that their mother, Angelica Jones, will ever go see her.  As far as Marie is concerned, Kimberly and Angelica bonding is just as important, if not more important, than Kimberly’s recent visit to see their Aunt Carolyn.  Kimberly, after all, wants to be accepted as a member of the Jones family.  She wants to be accepted and loved by her biological mother.  Seeing Angelica would be a step in the right direction, but Marie still has her doubts.  She doubts whether Angelica will actually live up to her promise and she worries that, even if she does show up, how the meeting would go.

“Mom is going to come see you, Kim.” Marie states definitively. “She told me she will.”

“I hope you’re right about that.” Kimberly says in a voice that illustrates how unconvinced she is. “I’d really like to see her.”

Marie smiles warmly. “Well she will be coming.  In fact, why don’t we go on up to the hospital now and I’ll notify Dr. Warren that you will be having a special visitor soon?”

“Whatever.” Kimberly says, shrugging her shoulders.

With that, Marie puts the car back into drive and slowly pulls up closer to the gate.  She rolls her window down and presses a button on a control panel.  The gate slowly starts to open up.  When it does, the car slowly starts to pull past the gate and into the driveway.  The driveway is a narrow strip of asphalt with sweeping, wide curves with rhododendron bushes on either side.  Jones pulls the car into a parking deck and then pulls into the nearest parking space.  Marie turns the car off and reaches for the door handle but then stops.  Kimberly notices her sister’s slight hesitation.

“What is it, Marie?  Afraid of hospitals now?”

“No…” Marie rolls her eyes as she turns to look at Kim “…I, uh, just remembered I forgot something rather important.  A…um…phone call I need to make.”

“A phone call, sis?” Kimberly says, again looking unconvinced.

“Yeah, a phone call.” Marie states. “Why don’t you just go on inside and I’ll be up in a moment, ok?”

“Don’t bother, Marie.” Kimberly shakes her head. “I get it, you don’t trust me with whatever secret you have.”

“Don’t talk like that, Kim, it’s just…”

“No, no, it’s ok,” Kimberly cuts her off as she opens her passenger side door and exits “I understand completely.”

With that Kimberly shuts the door and starts to walk away.  Marie feels like a total heel as she watches her sister enter the hospital.  She hated doing that, she hated misleading her sister, but this time it isn’t because she doesn’t trust Kimberly.  It really is for her own good.  Jones exits the car, shutting the door behind her.  She sighs out of frustration.

“Ok, Jessica.  I know you’re in here somewhere.”

“Clever girl.”

Marie spins around and, out of the shadows she spots her and Kimberly’s half-sister, Jessica Jones, approaching her slowly, cautiously.  A sly smirk is on her face.  Marie just shakes her head.

“It isn’t clever,” Marie retorts “it’s called knowing how my sister acts.  You’ve been doing this kind of thing all your life.”

“I learned from the best.”

“You mean your father?”

“Who else?” Jessica chuckles as she gets up close to her sister. “Dad always was the cryptic, sulk-in-the-shadows type.”

“What’s the deal here, Jess?” Marie demands as she places her hands on her hips. “What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jessica asks with a knowing grin. “I came here to visit my half-sister in the loony-bin.”

“It’s not a loony bin, Jess.” Marie growls angrily.

“Oh, I’m sorry, it is a mental institution.” Jessica rolls her eyes. “Whatever you want to call it, Kimberly belongs in a place like this and I came by hoping to see her locked up in a straight jacket in one of those padded rooms.  Unfortunately she was gone with you to visit someone…who was it again…”

Jessica snaps her fingers “…oh yeah!  Your aunt Carolyn Williams!”

“How did you know about that visit?”

“Dr. Warren knows I’m family.  She had no problem letting me know everything I needed to know.  I thought about trying to find you,” she shrugs her shoulders “I guess I thought that was too much trouble, especially when I could just wait you out.”

“No, Jessica.” Marie shakes her head. “You’re not going to see Kimberly.  I don’t know what’s wrong with you but she doesn’t need your attitude right now.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Jessica points at Marie. “What’s wrong with you?  She tried to destroy this family many times over and you’re willing to forgive her?”

“She’s family, Jess.” Marie responds. “And she wasn’t healthy.”

“Oh, right, she had a mental condition.” Again Jessica rolls her eyes. “But tell me this, Marie, do you remember how she kidnapped you?”

Marie sighs and nods her head. “I remember.”

“Yeah, and do you remember who saved your ass?” Jessica pats herself on the chest. “Me.  I did.  I risked a lot and sacrificed a great deal to save you from her and now what are you doing?  You are trying to reform her.   You are trying to train her as if she is some bad dog.”

Jessica shakes her head. “She’s not a bad dog, Marie, she is a rabid dog and you put down rabid dogs.”

Marie rears back and slaps the taste out of Jessica’s mouth.  The impact is so forceful it sends Jessica staggering backward.  She rubs the stinging out of her cheek as Marie angrily points an accusatory finger at her.

“Listen to me, Jess!  I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, but Kimberly is our sister!  She may have made mistakes but she’s trying to atone for them and she wants to be accepted into our family!  She wants to be accepted by our mother…HER mother, Angelica Jones.”

“Mom?” Jessica chuckles. “She wants mom to accept her?”

“Yes, she wants to have that bond with mom that we had but she never had.  Is that wrong for her to want that, Jessica?”

Jessica is still laughing throughout Marie’s rant. “Oh this is rich!”

“What’s so funny, Jess?”

“Kimberly Williams wants to be accepted by our mother and yet she still hasn’t even accepted me!”

Marie is taken aback by this by this startling statement from Jessica. “What the hell are you talking about, Jess?   Mom accepts you…”

“The hell she does!” Jessica snaps back at her. “You always were the favorite of the children.  I knew it, the entire world knew it, you were just blind to it.”

Marie doesn’t respond, she stays silent as she turns to look away from Jessica.  Marie cannot look into Jessica’s eyes because she knows this to be true.  Angelica did recently admit that Marie was the favorite.  Marie has felt horrible about it ever since.

“Wait a minute,” Jessica can sense Marie’s guilt “you know it, don’t you?”

“Mom told me…”

Jessica approaches Marie again, getting up in her face. “I was a good daughter, I listened and obeyed, but that psycho in there comes whining to you and immediately you want to help her but not me?”

“She’s my sister too, Jess.”

“To hell with you, Marie!”

Jessica spits in her sister’s face.  Marie reacts with another slap to the face.  This time Jessica reacts with a knee to the gut and then a punch to the side of the head, knocking Marie down to the ground.  Jessica kneels down so that she is level with Marie, who is on her hands and knees on the ground.

“That was a mistake, Marie.”

“NO!”

Jessica suddenly rises to her feet in time to see Kimberly Williams running over.  Kimberly gets up in Jessica’s face and Jessica just smirks confidently.

“What are you going to do, psycho?”

“Do you really want to find out?” Kimberly says in a threatening tone.

“Stop it!” Marie manages to rise to her feet and steps in between Kimberly and Jessica. “Stop it now!”

“Or what?” Jessica asks.

“Please, Jessica.” Marie asks pleadingly. “Can we finish this another time?”

Jessica nods her head. “Yeah, we’ll definitely finish this another time…”

Jessica turns and starts to walk away, stopping only to turn away and look back at them one last time. “…we’re not through, Marie.”

“I know.”

With that, Jessica turns and walks away.  Once she is out of sight, Marie sighs with a sense of relief and turns to face her twin sister Kimberly.

“Thanks…”

“Oh don’t think anything of it, sis.” Kimberly says smiling broadly. “We’re sisters, we look out for each other.”

“Still, it could’ve been dicey.”

“I know, and we don’t want you hurt before your big night in SCW now do we?”

“Right,” Marie says chuckling as she thinks about Taking Hold of the Flame “I definitely don’t want that.”

“Tell me something.” Kimberly motions to where Jessica was just standing. “Is that what was troubling you earlier when you were clearly trying to keep a secret from me?”

Normally she would lie at this point but there is no use in continuing the story, so Marie just nods her head.

“Yeah, I noticed Jessica was here.  I know how she feels about you and wanted to avoid a confrontation.”

“That didn’t exactly work out how you planned, did it?”

Marie chuckles and shakes her head. “No, it didn’t.  And I honestly don’t know why…”

“Why?” Kimberly shrugs her shoulders. “Maybe she just has an anger management problem like her old man?”

“I wish it were that simple, Kim.  Jess has some deep seeded jealousy problems here and I hate to say it, but I think a lot of it boils down to me.”

Kimberly shakes her head. “Don’t be ridiculous, sis.  It’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” Marie asks. “She’s jealous because I’m the favorite.  I’m mom’s favorite and she was ignored.  Even you’re getting some attention, to a degree.  Jess received nothing.  You and I, we got a great deal from at least some source.  Especially me.”

Marie starts to cry and Kimberly immediately embraces her in a tight hug, patting her on the back. “It’s not your fault, Marie.  It isn’t your fault.”

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On Camera

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What is it that adorable green thing on Star Wars says?  Oh yeah…

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

I’m beginning to think deep down inside Regan feels a little bit of that fear.  Though I’m not sure it started that way.  I think with her it started with jealousy.  Jealous with how so many people were getting championship opportunities before her.

Amy Chastaine got an opportunity and took advantage of it.  Regan gets pissed.

Tyler Tucker gets an opportunity, he takes advantage of it, and Regan gets pissed off even more.

Then I get an opportunity and you guessed it, I took advantage of it and I defeated Tyler Tucker to become the SCW United States Champion.  And what did Regan do?

She just got pissed off again and did the only thing she’s been good at lately; jump people from behind, bully people around with her new flirt buddy Josh Hudson.  And why is this?  Because she didn’t get the opportunity she felt she deserved?

I’m rather inclined to agree with Regan on some level that she deserved a title shot.  But you don’t get a title shot by acting like a spoiled little brat.  You get a title shot by busting your ass in the ring.  You don’t get a title shot by jumping people from behind.  You get a title shot by sacrificing everything you have, your heart and your soul, in the center of the ring.

But Regan chose a cheap and easy way to the opportunity, she chose to jump people from behind.  That’s jealousy, right there, ladies and gentlemen.  And you know what else it is?

FEAR.

Does little miss hell kitty feel threatened by Tyler Tucker and Marie Annabelle Jones?  Is she afraid that her time has come and gone and people like myself and Tyler are surpassing her?  Is she afraid that she’s about to be done for while she’s in the prime of her career?

Yeah, I think so, and that fear has led to the anger and hatred we see her spouting off every single night.  Now why would I want to reward that kind of behavior by requesting her to be in the championship match at Taking Hold of the Flame?

It’s simple; she should get that title opportunity.  Yes, Regan, you heard me right, you SHOULD get a shot at the United States Championship.  You have earned it.  But what you’re going to find out at Taking Hold of the Flame is that your fear is very real.  Tyler and I have surpassed you, Regan and while you do have this opportunity that you have whined, bitched, and griped about for so long, that’s all it will ever be…just an opportunity…because unlike Tyler Tucker, who did take advantage of his opportunity, and unlike me when I took advantage of my opportunity…

…you will NOT take advantage of this opportunity.  You will fail and you will go to the back of the line.

Will it shut you up?  No, you’ll still rant and rave on twitter like you always do, complaining about how everyone gets handed everything and poor little Regan is getting treated unfairly, but at least for one night the world will get to watch you get put in your place.

Tyler Tucker, you mentioned about how you won your first singles championship ever, and it was the United States Championship, only for me to take it from you.  You mentioned how that loss stung and how it still hurts to this day.

I know all too well that feeling of losing a championship.  I was UWA World Champion, and I won it on their biggest pay per view, Olympus.  And just like you, I lost the title on my first defense.  Do you know how much that hurt?  The emotions I felt after losing that title clouded my judgment and caused me to make choices that I still regret to this day.

I feel for you, Tyler, but I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to do what I did and learn to deal with it, because I am not ready to feel that way again.  I’m not going to lose this championship on my first defense, Tyler.  I’ve fought too damn hard to restore my reputation and to get back into title contention.  I fought too hard to win this championship and I am not ready to give it up.

You could say I do feel a sense of fear, fear that I could lose my title.  But unlike Regan, I will use that fear to fuel me, it will motivate me to put on the performance of a lifetime and I will by God walk out of Taking Hold of the Flame STILL SCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION!