Inner Peace: Part 9

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November 2nd, 2019

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

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Marie is troubled to say the very least and that isn’t supposed to be the case; at least, that’s not the promise she received when she started attending this Inner Peace Enlightenment Retreat.  She was promised, well, inner peace.  She was promised tranquility.  She was promised an avenue to move on from the tragic suicide death of her late husband Arthur Pond.  To be fair, the retreat has delivered on that promise.  The Phoenix has managed to move on with her life and, while never forgetting his memory, beginning to at least accept that he is never coming back, it was not her fault that he ended his own life, and to look towards the future, perhaps even a brighter future.

The entire philosophy is centered around positive thinking; looking at the bright side of things instead of always thinking negatively about every little incident that creeps up in her life.  Therein lies the problem, sometimes an unexpected wild card comes up that you can’t help but think negatively about; case in point, the young man known as Brandon, Brandon Buchanan to be precise.

Buchanan had apparently been tracking down Marie for quite some time and he finally found her shortly after an SCW Breakdown event in Kansas City.  It was there that Marie received the most shocking news of recent time; not only is Brandon the brother of Marie’s new friend from the retreat Julianne, but also he clams Raul Alfaro, the leader of the retreat, is a ‘monster’ who has seduced Julianne into joining this cult.

Marie still isn’t willing to call this a cult, those were his words.  But Marie’s own twin sister, Kimberly, also calls it a cult. Marie at first was unwilling to entertain Kimberly’s notion that this was some devious cult.  Now?  Now that Julianne’s brother has seemingly popped up out of the woodwork and is saying the same thing and is begging Marie to help his sister escape from the retreat?  Well, Marie has to entertain it.  She must consider the possibility that Kimberly and now Brandon are right.  And if they are, Julianne needs help.

So today at the Inner Peace Enlightenment Retreat Marie is going to at least attempt to get some answers by confronting Julianne about the recent piece of information she obtained from Brandon, the man who claims to be her brother.  The courtyard covered a wide area that could fit about three small houses. It was hilly with a tall tree or two near one hill. There were benches for people to sit in every corner and jogging tracks were all around the edges of the park. The west corner had some swings too on which many could come and sit.  There we miniature formal gardens scattered here and there providing a sight to see, along with ornamental trees and water fountains to create an air of beauty and luxury.  Flower hedges and bushes grew all around; this made the courtyard look more pleasant and attractive.  This place was most beautiful at this time; it as so very pleasurable to relax here and take in some cool fresh air.

Near the center a large tree extends high into the heavens.  Marie Jones and Julianne sit at the base of the tree.  Marie looks uneasy and nervous, clearly a lot is going through her mind right now and she is unable to concentrate.  Julianne seems as joyful and carefree as ever, popping grapes into her mouth that she finds in a basket to her left.

“Mmmm these are good…” Julianne pops another grape in her mouth and then holds out her hand to Marie, offering her a grape “...want one?”

“No thanks.” Marie says with a shake of her head.  Julianne tilts her head to one side as she studies her redheaded friend with curiosity.

“Is something wrong, Marie?” The blonde joyful Julianne shifts so that she can get a clearer view of Marie. “You have been quiet today.  I hope you’re not beating yourself up over those tag team championships at Under Attack.”

The Phoenix shakes her head, indicating a no.  Marie already told her about the events of SCW Under Attack and how a blindside assault from Christy Matthews took Marie out of the tag team title defense and forced Kimberly to defend the titles by herself against Zero F’s To Give.  The handicap situation was too much for The Woman Scorned to overcome and thus Twin Magic lost the SCW World Tag Team Championship.  Marie was understandably devastated at first but after speaking with Julianne, who had been teaching her to look at the positive side of things, has been trying to help her see the silver lining even within this tag title situation.  At least Marie and Kim are still in the tag team championship discussion and no doubt will receive a rematch down the road.  And it wasn’t Marie’s fault that they lost the titles, nor was it Kimberly’s.  But this isn’t about the tag team championship…

“No, Julianne.  It’s not about that.”

“Well that’s good!” Julianne says in her overly perky voice.  “But what could it be then?  Oh, I know!  I bet you’re having doubts about joining The Inner Peace Enlightenment Retreat as a full time member, aren’t you?” The blonde reaches over and embraces Marie in a tight hug. “Well let me assure you, sweetie, that this is the best decision you have ever made!”

The Phoenix doesn’t have the heart to tell Julianne that she still hasn’t made a firm decision about joining the retreat on a full time basis.  Just the mere mention of no longer showing up on a weekly basis was enough to send the normally bubbly and positive blonde into tears.  Julianne is convinced that Marie is definitely joining and that is the reason behind her joy right now.  But Marie has only told her that she was thinking about it. No firm decision has been made one way or the other.

“It isn’t that either,” Marie says with a shake of her head after breaking the embrace “it’s something else…”

“Well tell me!  Trust me, I can help you turn anything from bleak and gloomy into happy and sunshine!”

“Well ok…” The Phoenix says, her voice trailing off as she is uncertain if Julianne truly can find any sort of happiness in this next revelation “...Julianne, your brother approached me a few weeks ago.”

“My brother?” Julianne seems genuinely confused, as if she has no clue what Marie is talking about.  The Phoenix just nods her head in confirmation.

“Yes, your brother.  Well, at least he claims to be your brother.  His name is Brandon and he seems to know a lot about you so I tend to believe him when he says he is your brother. But what he told me about you was rather...troubling…”

Marie watches her blonde friend soaks up this information.  She is anxious to hear what Julianne will say next.  Was all this a lie from Brandon?  Is this a ruse of some sort?  As much as Brandon knew about Julianne she finds it hard to believe that this is made up.  Julianne finally confirms Marie’s suspicions with a nod of her head.

“Yes, Brandon is my brother.” Julianne sighs as her bubbly features go to a stoic gaze. “What exactly did he say?”

“He told me you were in danger, Julianne.  He says that this place is a cult and that Raul is a monster and…”

“Don’t believe him.” Julianne immediately cuts her off, shaking her head vehemently. “Don’t believe any of his lies!”

Marie is shocked to see anger wash across Julianne’s face for the first time ever.  “Do you want to know who Brandon Buchanan really is, Marie?  He is my brother but if you want to know who the real monster is, it’s him.  Him and our entire family are the monsters because they could not accept me and would not accept me for who I am!”

The Phoenix is thoroughly confused and doesn’t quite know what to say to all of this.  Where is Julianne going with this rant? What does she mean?  “Julianne, I don’t understand; I mean, I know who you are...at least, I think I know who you are…”

Tears are forming in Julianne’s eyes as she shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter…just forget about Brandon, forget he ever existed!  That’s what I’ve tried to do!”

The Phoenix does care about her new friend, she cares too much to just take her advice and move on.  Julianne needs help coping with this, just as Marie needed help coping with the death of Arthur.  The Phoenix takes her hands and squeezes them tightly. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Marie…”

“Julianne, you told me that this partnership between you and I was about helping one another.  You helped me move on from the death of my late husband.  I want to help you but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Julianne sighs deeply. “I had already moved on from my problem, by forgetting Brandon and my family ever existed. But then he shows back up in my life through you?  That’s just like him to try and come back into my life.”

With her red, tear filled eyes Julianne gazes deep into Marie’s soul. “Marie...I love you.”

Jones is taken aback but she still isn’t quite sure what her blonde friend means. “Uh, ok, thanks, but…”

“No, I mean I LOVE you,” Julianne repeats the statement, placing emphasis on the word ‘love’ “I am attracted to you.” Without warning Julianne grabs Marie by her head, pulls her in, and plants a kiss on her lips. Marie is shocked and her eyes grow wide. Julianne immediately regrets her decision. “I...I’m sorry...I’ve just wanted to do that since we first met…”

“Oh, well, ok then…” Marie’s voice trails off as she tries to come up with the right words to respond to this.  Julianne shakes her head with regret on her face.

“I’m sorry.  You must hate me now.”

“No, absolutely not.” Marie shakes her head. “I mean, does there have to be an understanding?  Yes.  Because I do have a boyfriend...but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.”

Julianne wipes some of her tears from her eyes. “You mean, you’re ok with me?  With who I am?”

“Of course I am.” Marie nods her head in confirmation. “My mother is bisexual.  She has made her life choices and I am ok with that.  I am ok with whatever decisions you make about your life and your sexuality.  Are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good…” Julianne says with a small smile returning to her face.

“Great.  Now tell me, how does all of this tie into Brandon?  He seems to care for you and is worried about you.”

“Well he’s not.” Julianne shakes her head. “Marie, me and my brother come from a very traditional very conservative household.  I would even say it’s borderline Stepford traditional.  I knew when I came out of the closet that my sexuality would clash with what my parents and brother believe.  Still, I held out hope that love for your own family would win out.”

The blonde sighs and shakes her head. “But no, they were angry, VERY angry.  For years they made me feel horrible about myself.  Depression hit and like you I was on the brink of suicide. That’s when I met Raul and he introduced me to this retreat.  His system has helped me to move on with my life.  But now, if Brandon is coming back, then I…I just don’t know what to do or what to think or…”

Marie embraces Julianne in a tight hug. Upon breaking the embrace Marie stares deep into her blonde friend’s eyes. “Julianne, you don’t need to worry about Brandon.  You don’t have to worry about your family.  You have new family here at the retreat and that family includes me.”

A wide grin forms on the blonde’s face. “You mean…”

“Yes,” Marie nods her head “I’m joining full time.  I’m moving in.”

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November 6th, 2019

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

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The lawyer must have come from a monochromatic world; even his skin was the colour of dirty snow. Behind black rimmed glasses were eyes of grey, if they had ever been blue it must somehow leached out along with his humanity.  He is tall and in a creepy way resembles the creature from Frankenstein.  He is ostentatious, reassuringly expensive, and in the most exclusive part of the city. He had perfected the art of argument in legalistic language and commanded an exorbitant fee.

This is attorney Josh Morton; his office was painted grey, and it had only one floor-to-ceiling window, which faced the main road. On the grey desk sat a desktop computer, a notebook lying open, and a stack of papers sitting under a turtle-shaped paperweight. In a corner, the air conditioner was blasting at medium, and there was a swivel chair in the middle of the office. A bookshelf, bursting with books was in a corner, with yet another stack of papers under a paperweight that was shaped to look like a tuft of grass. A few pens were lying on the papers, but some had fallen onto the top of the bookshelf.

“Ok then, you do understand exactly what you are doing, Ms. Jones?” Morton asks in a low barely audible drawl. He sits at his desk, across from none other than Marie Jones and her identical twin sister Kimberly Williams.  The Phoenix seems to have a very cheerful attitude which matches the wide grin. In contrast her sister Kimberly looks concerned, very concerned.

“Oh I definitely understand what I’m doing, Mr. Morton!” Marie says in cheerful tone not unlike that of her friend, Julianne. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Kimberly. “I’m gonna do a great thing for my wonderful sister!”

“In that case,” he slides a document, a legal deed to be precise, across the desk to Marie “you and your sister need to sign this and your home in Boston will belong to Ms. Williams.”

“Oh goodie!” Marie remarks enthusiastically, taking a pen and, without even looking much at the deed, signs it. She passes it over to Kimberly. “Your turn!”

“You have lost your mind!” Kimberly exclaims. “This is your home we’re talking about!”

“Wrong, babe!” She reaches out and touches Kimberly on the nose. “This is your home! At least it will be after you sign it.”

“I can’t…” Kim shakes her head “...you know I can’t…this is your home, Marie. You live there…”

“No, I live at the retreat now.” Marie says still with the cheerful grin on her face. “We already have been through this.”

“I know and I still don’t like it.” Kimberly remarks angrily. “I cannot and will not be party to you ruining your life through this damn cult!”

Marie’s cheerful look fades. “I understand. You’re wrong but I understand. If you don’t want this gift I am prepared to give you then I suppose I could sell my home to the retreat. I am sure Mr. Alfaro could find some use for it…”

“No…” Kimberly sighs and reluctantly takes the pin and signs the deed “...you’re out of your mind, Marie. But there’s no way I’m letting you give them the home. I’ll give it back to you when you return to your senses.”

Marie reaches out and hugs Kimberly tightly. She kisses her on the cheek. “Yay!  Congrats, sis! You’re a home owner!”

Kimberly is definitely concerned not only by Marie’s willingness to sign over her own home but also her sudden and drastic change in attitude. Neither notice the attorney reaching across the desk and taking the deed.

“Ok, I will take this and get it recorded and everything will be finished, I will be back momentarily.”

Josh Morton gets up and exits the room. Immediately Kimberly turns to look at her sister. “What’s wrong with you, Marie?”

“Nothing is wrong. I’ve never felt better.”

The Woman Scorned sighs out of frustration. “You heard the same thing I heard from Brandon. He says that Raul is a monster and his little retreat is a cult. You’re ignoring his warnings and you’re joining them now?!”

Marie shakes her head. “I didn’t ignore anything. I confronted Julianne with the news regarding Brandon.”

“And what did she say?”

“What she said was none of your business.” Marie stands up. “Julianne has a new family with the retreat and if you’re unwilling to accept my decision then maybe I have a new family as well.”

Kimberly watches closely as Marie exits. “Not on your life, Marie…”

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On Camera

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So you have ZERO F’S TO GIVE?  But you cared enough to want the tag titles back.  You also seem to care about your association with Infamous.  You hate that myself and Kimberly and others constantly group you together with those jackasses.  All I hear from you every time I bring it up is that you want to have nothing to do with Infamous.  Yet you have no problems using the help they gave you.  Hell, they practically handed you the SCW World Tag Team Championships on a silver platter at Under Attack when Christy took me out, making this a two on one situation.

Kim and I have been beating around the bush for far too long so let me just come out and put it this way, Ryan Watson and Autumn Valentine are not Zero F’s To Give, they are a pair of hypocrites, plain and simple.  A pair of jackasses with a catchy name who cannot beat Twin Magic straight up in a fair fight.

We are better than you, you know it and that’s why you took advantage of Christy’s interference.  You two clowns knew you couldn’t beat us that night unless you had an advantage.  But that’s fine, go ahead and continue your charade of not giving any fucks and not wanting to be associated with Infamous, because I think we all know the truth.

It will be clear as freaking day on Breakdown when you two and your Infamous pals team up.  Let me guess, you don’t want any part of that, either do you?  I know that’s the next big lie to come  out of your damn mouth.

But then again, maybe it isn’t a lie?  Because now you two have just pissed us off and on Breakdown, alongside Jordan Majors and Jake Starr, we’re going to beat the hell out of you and Infamous.  As far as Christy is concerned…

...payback is a bitch and so am I, especially when I get angry.  You really aren’t worth all of this.  You’re worth nothing because, Christy, you ARE nothing.  You used to be something special, you used to be someone whose talent I could at least respect but now?  You’re just a fucking pawn.  You’re little more than puppet, a toy, and you don’t even seem care.  Maybe I should just let Kimberly have her way with you and put your worthless, pathetic little ass out of your misery.

It will do the entire world a lot of good.