Suddenly, a vibrating noise emanates close by and Butch quickly fumbles about the pocket of his jeans and soon enough he retrieves his ringing cell phone. He sees his wife’s name on his caller ID and takes another deep breath before answering.
(Butch): Before you kick off, you know I had no choice but to do what I did tonight………no there was no other way around it, you think if there was, I would’ve signed that contract?........No, I’m getting on at you……..a paternity test? I never thought of that……..I’ll speak to my legal team, see what I can get organised………….I’m sorry about all this sweetheart, I really am but you know I’d do anything to protect you and the little one, I can take anything Senester can throw at me but I will not let him endanger your life or the life of my own child…..Yeah I know I’ve already seen his promo, I’ll address it if I’m up to it, I’m still a little shaken up that’s all, been a bit of a rough night *Butch manages a little laugh at the situation to try and lighten the atmosphere a bit* I know baby, but I’ll be back in Santa Barbara tomorrow morning, my flight’s at 8.30am so I’ll be home around lunchtime……yeah, you get some sleep and I’ll see soon…..I love you too.
Butch terminates his phone call with Wisdom and just sits in silence for a moment before he goes over to his duffel bag. He pulls out a large rectangular white case and unzips it to reveal a Macbook. After powering it up, he sets up the recording device on it and links it with HWA TV. He takes a brief moment to wipe his face with his hands and to settle himself before clicks record.
(Butch): Congratulations, Senester, you’ve managed to outdo yourself on yet another unprecedented occasion. You brought me to the edge of the precipice and in one fell swoop just did enough to push me over. I suppose I only have myself to blame, knowing in my heart of hearts that this was all too good to be true. Because the truth is, unless I’m actually dead, I’ll never really be able to walk away from this, will I? I’m that one last puppy left in the basket that you just won’t let anyone take home will eh?
Dredge you were happy to see leave, Thane, Reaper, Lenny, Punisher, even Talon, Eddie, Hans and Logan were all allowed to slip off into obscurity. But you just can’t let me go, can you?
You ask if I would be willing to do it all again? Go through the same pains, tortures, triumphs? You bet your arse I would because the things we do, good or bad and the hard times we endure and the good times we revel in are what make us who we are. Oh I’d still be Butch Parker if I’d chosen to cut my losses and go somewhere else and as cliché and corny as it may sound but I’ll always be Butch Parker and like you say, my name will always be synonymous with this industry but that wasn’t by your hand. You forget how accomplished I was before I stepped foot in the Hardcore Wrestling Alliance. You forget the triumphs and tribulations I endured before that to even be able to step foot in an HWA ring. The HWA is but a chapter, albeit the longest and most glorified but still but a single chapter in a long, old and tattered book that is my professional career. So I am sorry to say, that although you may the Alpha and Omega of the HWA, you are by no means the centre of my universe. In actuality, you’re more like a fuse, the ignition that will fuel the fire that is about to start.
Butch stops for a brief moment to compose himself and re-assert his train of thought before continuing.
(Butch): You’re talk of my selfishness lack of thanks reeks of desperation and the same rehashed bullshit I’ve heard a million times before from you. No matter what you say or how you try and twist things, it doesn’t change a thing. For all the terrible things I did in the past, I’ve atoned for those sins and faced the consequences of those actions and my motives cannot be possibly be questioned and not you or anyone else can make me think any differently.
You can harp on until the rapture of my supposed preordained return that foreseen all those months ago but the reality is Senester, you need me! I don’t need you, I was happy with my life as a married man and father to be. Like you said, my biggest worry was whether to watch series five of The Big Bang Theory or series seven of American Dad or what colour to paint my child’s bedroom. You weren’t even a variable, Senester, not even an afterthought, you were like the awkward drunken one night stand you see in the street that you recognise but you can’t quite remember where from. But no, Senester, you need me. That’s why you organised all this bullshit to bring me back. Otherwise who would you have to lord your World Title over and give narcissistic ramblings to? Bryan Deas? Judas Mercury? Romano? No, I think not. You yearn for someone to challenge you, to dare stand up and defy your rule. You won’t concern yourself with Buff Bridges anymore because that’s a different bag of chips altogether and you know and my old friend both know that nothing will be lost or gained by going down that road again. You and I though, Senester, we’ve almost been there but something has always came up and stopped it in its tracks and you want nothing more than to see me squirm and cower under your iron fist and shield my eyes at the brightness of your divine light. Well, it looks like you’ve got your wish. But be careful what you wish for Senester, because you’ve got what you wanted, Butch Parker back in the HWA and by the time the dust settles, you may find yourself confessing your own sins and asking for atonement because I have a feeling you’re not going to enjoy this.
Butch reaches out with his and clicks the “upload” icon on his Macbook and closes it shut before rising to his feet. He mops his face with his hands, running through what he just said in his head and contemplating what the next few years are now going to bring to him and his family.
He reaches back into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone. He takes a moment to scroll through his address book until finally he locates the number he’s looking and places the phone to his ear. About five seconds pass before the call recipient answers.
(Butch): David? Hey it’s Butch….I’ve been better, I guess you seen what happened tonight? ……yeah listen, I need a favour….
The scene fades to black.
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