Post by Kenzi Grey on Dec 9, 2017 22:19:19 GMT -5
GREY MATTER
Kenzi’s Video Blog
Kenzi’s Video Blog
The camera focused on Kenzi on the set of Hexx as she laid on her stomach and the special effects crew was hard at work strapping her into the rig that would facilitate her flying scenes on the show. Kenzi waved into the camera and gave a wink.
“Well guys, this is it! My very first real life video blog! I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. No idea if I am doing it right or what, but thankfully I have the support of the best darn V-Logger on the face of the planet to make sure I am not screwing this thing up too badly!”
Kenzi pointed off to the side and the camera turned to catch a glimpse of her wife, Sarah Selena Lacklan sitting in her futuristic wheelchair. Despite the new nature of her condition, Sarah still presented a regal appearance with her platinum hair in a high bun, adorned with sparkling jewels and dark wings painted around her red hued eyes. The scene was oddly offset by the tiny white pigmy bunny in her lap that she absently stroked. Sarah raised one of her eyebrows and gestured for the camera to turn back to Kenzi, which it promptly did. Kenzi sheepishly grinned into the camera.
“Anyway! Welcome to the ‘Grey Matter’ video blog, I am Kenzi Grey-Lacklan, and in case you didn’t know, I am the new Ladies All-Star Wrestling Breakout Champion! I was so blessed to be part of the 5-person ladder match at Night of Glory, which I personally thought stole the show, in Long Island, New York. I fought some of the toughest women in LAW and I managed to emerge as champion when it was all said and done. I was bruised and I was battered, I was taken to my limits and beyond, but I did what I set out to do. I did what my wife always said I would do…I set the world on fire on the grandest stage that LAW had to offer.”
“So, in my mind at least, winning that championship was a long time coming. Almost a year ago I was contemplating leaving this company and the business behind because it just wasn’t working out for me. I had been busting my behind for this sport, but no matter what gains I made, no matter what I did…I was always looked down on for my methods. I was always singled out as a whiner and a complainer. It didn’t matter that I beat multi-time champions, Hall of Famers, or that I proudly defended the title I held and LAW against a woman who wasn’t even part of this company…I was nothing but enhancement talent that was punching above her weight class. No one cared about my contributions to the company, and that made me stop caring as well…until…”
Kenzi pointed and the camera followed her finger back over to Sarah. She gave an enormous eye roll, but the smile on her face was evident all the same. She sighed, turning her focus to the cameraman.
“This isn’t ‘The Twilight Sexy Fang V-Log, please keep the focus on my wife, THANK YOU!”
The camera swung back to Kenzi as she sat up and the crew continued to strap her into the harness that would pull her into the air as she portrayed the namesake of her television program.
“Like I was saying, Sarah gave me the desire and the will to continue to fight in this business. I became a champion on three separate occasions this year and all of them were special to me in their own way, but this one…the LAW Breakout Title was special because this is the one that I managed to win all on my own…the way that my wife always believed that I could…”
Kenzi gestured and one of the set members brought her the platinum title belt that gleamed and glinted under the bright lights of the special effect trailer. Kenzi held it up for the camera to see next to her smiling face.
“Like I said the day I won this title, I don’t know if I will hold it for a week, a month, or even a year, but I do know this; I will carry this title with honor and pride. I will do my very BEST to make this title the most prestigious championship in the company! It’s a lofty goal when I find myself having to erase years of negativity surrounding my time in LAW. Still, I relish the chance to turn the tide and do one more thing that no one in this business thought that I would be able to do! I am going to show the fans, the girls in the back, and I am going to show management that despite what they thought of me, I am one of the most valuable members on the LAW roster…PERIOD!”
The crew members finished up and Kenzi thanked them, sending them on their way as she waited for the director to call her to the set. She turned her attention back to the camera, brushing her braids from her forehead.
“That brings me LAW 73 and my first ever Champion’s Challenge! I don’t know how many of these matches I have witnessed before, but I know that I have always wanted to be a part of one. I have always wanted to test my mettle against the top talent in the company for bragging rights, if for no other reason than to elevate the status of a championship…or affirm the importance of one. There is no higher honor than to go into a match like that and come out on top…to raise your title up higher than the rest and have the entire world see that no matter where they put you on the show…whether they call you the top champ or not, you’re the champion of champions and no one can take that away from you!”
“A lot of people have been saying that Crystal Hilton, the current Marquee Champion has the edge because she got Night of Glory off due to my wife’s accident. Well, I can say this with a great deal of certainty; my Aunt Crystal wanted an opponent for the pay-per-view, but it just wasn’t in the cards for her because of the short notice. So, I won’t jump up and down and scream that she was ducking the competition and that is why she has an advantage…in fact, I won’t say that she has an advantage at all. In this sport, every match and every opponent is a learning experience. If you ask me, Crystal doesn’t have the edge, she is at the biggest disadvantage of anyone out there!”
“Gabby wrestled in the main event, Kate fought inside a cage, and I was in a brutal ladder match that is a top candidate for match of the year. Maybe the three of us aren’t as fresh as she is, but you can damn well bet that the three of us…all newly crowned champions, learned from those opponents at Night of Glory! We all faced down the best of the best and we all walked out all the better for it…we all walked out 10 pounds heavier! Now, I am not foolish enough to think that Crystal doesn’t have it in her to face any of the three of us down, let alone all three and come out the winner…but I can tell you all this, she hasn’t beaten me yet, and I don’t intend to let her start a new trend when we roll into Philly and lock up in the main event! I’m on a two match winning streak against ‘The Rose Goddess’ and I’m planning on going for the hat trick as soon as that bell rings!”
“That being said, I don’t want anyone to think that I still have any animosity towards Crystal, because I truly don’t. It’s all water under the bridge now and I’m focused on one thing and one thing only, being ready to pin her shoulders to the mat or make her tap out in order to prove to the world that I am more than a catch phrase for a cheap pop! I don’t give myself a moniker like ‘Silver Screen Queen’ and not live up to it. What I do is tell the entire world what I intend to do, then I go out there and I do it! When I get to Philly Crystal, I am going to prove to you that while you might be a ‘Goddess’ or even a ‘Queen’ in name, what you aren’t is a Champion of Champions. That title will be mines and it won’t be one that I made up to get the crowed riled up or to boost my ego, it will be a fact because like it or not, you won’t be winning that match next Sunday…I will!”
Kenzi turned and pointed to a picture of her in her Hexx costume, wings and all facing off against Kate Steele, in character as Gaia.
“Kate Steele and I have a very long and checkered past, most of it spent just like this scene from the show…us at each other’s throats. At the beginning of this year, all of that changed when we were forced to form Guilty Pleasure…the tag team and the music group. It was quite jarring at first. Here I was standing shoulder to shoulder with a woman that never had anything good to say about me. A woman that only wanted to fight me and try to take me down whenever she saw me start to climb. It was strange, but after a while the two of us started to gel and see things and each other differently…for a while at least. You changed all of that when you went into business for yourself and decided that what we were fighting for wasn’t as important as what you wanted. Kate Steele was bigger than Guilty Pleasure, and the irony of it all was that you blamed me.”
Kenzi grew silent for a moment as she reflected on her past with Kate. It was long and colorful, but it was obvious that it bothered her now…maybe more than ever.
“Kate, a couple of days ago you came to see me on set and you told me that you were ready to put things behind us…all that bad was just too much and it needed to be squashed. I couldn’t agree more, but you didn’t leave it at that, you also pitched a reunion of Guilty Pleasure. Now, I don’t want to say that was the real reason that you came to see me, but I also can’t ignore the fact that it can never be just ‘I’m sorry’ between us, it’s always something more behind it. When you came and you gave me the peace offering, I was very happy and I thought that maybe things were really changing between the two of us…but now I am convinced that you haven’t really changed at all.”
“Not even a month ago, you were conspiring with Crystal Hilton to hold open auditions for the Pink Ladies to take down the ‘on going threat’ of the Cool Kids. Last week you were handing me a Pink Ladies jacket and recognizing my mother as an influence in starting the group. I don’t know who you are from one moment to the next, but I will tell you what I do know Kate; I know that the last time we fought in the ring I didn’t get the better of you and I also know that you walked out of Night of Glory as the Chaos Champion. I know those things with a great deal of certainty and there is no lie in them. I know that you are a dangerous opponent in the ring, regardless of what color jacket you are wearing and what words are tumbling out of your mouth. That is what I know about you with complete certainty Kate.”
“Because I know these things, I will not be swayed by a smile or a pat on the back. I won’t let your words deter me from doing what I have to do when you step into that ring next Sunday night. There won’t be any thoughts in my mind of tag teams or factions, I won’t see you for anything but what I know you do be…the LAW Chaos Champion…and a champion that I aim to put down! I know how much you wanted to be a three time champion in LAW, it was all that we talked about on our shared quest to become tag team champions…now, you are, but nothing has changed. For you, being Chaos Champion is just a reason to solidify your place in the LAW Hall of Fame…you said that yourself. I didn’t become champion to be in the Hall of Fame, I became champion to show the world how much of a champion I could be!”
“I haven’t beaten you before in a singles match Kate, but I am not the same person I was when we last found ourselves across the ring from each other. I didn’t know who I was back then or what I was capable of. For you, it was about putting a notch in your faction’s belt and having bragging rights for your Pink Ladies. You got that, but that isn’t LAW 73 is going to be about…it’s going to be about who is the champion who stands taller than the rest. Next Sunday night, it won’t be the Pink Ladies verses The Kentourage or the Cool Kids, it will be the Chaos Champion verses the Breakout Champion. You better believe that when that bell rings, I won’t be wondering who I am or who you are, I will be putting you down for the three count or tapping you out in the center of the ring for one reason and one reason only…to show the world that I am not just another champion…I am THE Champion!”
“After the match is over, if you want to shake my hand and make amends…I will shake your hand. No promises of any reunions or collaborations. No ridiculous us versus them wars. I am a champion of Ladies All-Star Wrestling first and foremost. My friends don’t define me, my friends support me and I support them. If you have a problem with that, it’s a personal problem that you’ll have to deal with on your own time, not mines. I have one goal…one mission…be the best damn champion in LAW, and after I beat you, I hope you decide that you’ll want that same thing!”
Kenzi couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips as she came to the woman to beat in this match…the woman who fought in the main event of Night of Glory and recaptured the LAW Title from Amy Jo Smyth. There was history there and it was long and ran very deep for anyone that followed the company. This would be special…Kenzi was going to make damn sure of it. She looked right into the camera to speak to her opponent directly.
“First things first Gabby, sincere congratulations on making history at Night of Glory. Winning the LAW Championship is not an easy thing and to win it back three times is truly amazing. You and I don’t like one another and we probably never will, but unlike you, I can recognize your accomplishment and separate it from the person that I have come to know you as. Yes, right now you are the LAW Champion, and maybe to you that means that you are at the top of the food chain, but for me…it only means that you are sitting atop a very large perch, one that I mean to knock you from!”
Kenzi settled back, lacing her fingers as she rested her arms over her title belt, returning her attention to the viewers.
“Just like with Kate, I have never beaten Gabby in a one on one match. Three times I have stepped to her ready to win, and three times I have had to watch her hand raised and listen to her music be played, all the while knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it should have been me. Going into Queen of the Ring, I got to see another side of things when I eliminated her from the battle royal and she came charging in after me, just to make sure that I didn’t win. Her actions were the actions of a person who was desperate to reassert her dominance after she was faced with defeat. We all got to see it again when Gabby’s desperate nature reared its ugly head against my wife. She couldn’t win that match, so she got desperate and used a chair to get herself intentionally disqualified. She can tell the world whatever she wants about those two incidents, but what she won’t do is refute the truth! When I eliminated her, she couldn’t take that and she lost it and had to come back in the ring and ensure that I didn’t win. In her match with Sarah; my wife grabbed the chair, but Gabby is the one that used it. This isn’t revisionist history…these are the facts.”
“I have so many reasons to want to win this match. To finally get over the Gabby Camacho curse, to make her eat her words to me that were meant to make me quit, and lastly to make her regret EVER hitting someone I love with a steel chair! I don’t believe in curses, so that is not something that even need to concern myself with. Forcing her to take back the things about me that she has said is never going to happen, she is too small minded and pigheaded for any of that. However…laying into my wife with a chair during a match to save yourself from losing, straight up? Well, that is something that I CAN sink my teeth into and trust me my bite these days is way worse than my bark!”
“You are the LAW Champion now…you hold the title that everyone inside and outside this company looks to as the symbol of excellence, and yet…when I look at you, all I can see is desperation and pettiness. All I can see is you doing and saying anything and everything to have us all believe that you are something that you aren’t…unbeatable. I know that you are, and you know it too. Come LAW 73, everyone else on the planet is going to know it as well when I beat you and every other singles champion in this company to show them all what a real champion looks like and how I real champion stands for what they believe in!”
“I warned Gabby about living in the past and thinking that whatever fiction she weaved around herself was going to carry through to reality. That isn’t going to happen next Sunday or any other Sunday after LAW 73! This won’t be the first time she came off a huge win and followed it up with a huge loss, but it will be the sweetest as far as I am concerned. You can call it revenge, or you can call it someone getting what they have coming to them, but at the end of the day, if Gabby thinks for one single solitary moment that she is going to walk out of Philly smelling like a rose, she has another thing coming! She needs to no-show or bring a chair in the ring and smash it over her own head if she wants to get out of what I have in store for her!”
“Do I have respect for the LAW Title? Of course, it is the title to which everyone eventually aspires when they come into this company. One day, if I do all the right things and the stars align, maybe I will get a chance to add my name to the list of champions who have worn it. Now, ask me if I respect Gabby Camacho and you will get a much different answer. The woman makes the title, and until she proves it to me inside the ring that she really is ‘The Franchise Player’ she’ll just be the chick that I beat alongside two others on 17 December 2017 on my way to proving that I am not only a champion in LAW…but I am THE Champion in LAW!”
“Ms. Grey, the Director needs you on set in fifteen minutes!”
Kenzi nodded as the stagehand relayed the message and then disappeared, closing the door behind him. Kenzi sighed as she patted the shiny face of her Breakout Title and moved to her feet.
“The Chaos Title has always been viewed as the lowest title on the show. In fact, that title never got any airtime except when I carried it last year to events all over the country. Everyone knew who the LAW Chaos Champion was! Now that Kate Steele is the champion, what is she going to do to elevate the title…to put the company out front? When I was the champion, I made the title, not the other way around!”
“The Marquee Title was once even more highly prized than the LAW Title. It had epic champions like Nyako, first ballot Hall of Famer and Mackenzie Roberts, who was just inducted at Night of Glory. Those champions made the title great! I know that Crystal didn’t get that chance last Sunday, but she’ll have a chance next Sunday to prove to the world that she deserves to have her name mentioned in the same breath as the women that came before her!”
“The LAW Championship has a checkered past, with a lot of one hit wonders as champion. Only a very few took that title and made it mean something other than just being a time piece. For the current champion, that is all it is…a third go around with nothing of substance to it at all, draped over the shoulder of a transitional champion!”
Kenzi held up the Breakout title, putting it over her own shoulder and caressed the face.
“For a time, this title that I now hold was highly sought after. Keira Fisher and Jenni Drew fought over this belt like it was the most important thing in the universe. Things cooled for a bit and then Chacalita became the Breakout Champion and she took on all comers, she seemed damn near unstoppable until Orchid came onto the scene and pushed that title to even greater heights. She made this belt mean something in her time, and that is what I want to do…I want to make it mean something again! You can rack and stack the belts however you like, but after LAW 73 in Philly, this title and this title alone is going to be the one that stands over them all…”
Kenzi raised the belt over her head.
“…this title is going to stand over them all because the woman who holds it is going to stand over them all! From this Champion’s Challenge until the next one, I will be known not only as the LAW Breakout Champion, but I will be known as the Champion of Champions!”
Kenzi put the belt back down over her shoulder and pulled out her phone. She started to scroll through the browser until she found the stream of her V-Log and moved down to the comments section.
"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to answer a few questions from the viewers..."
@gigolotony: How good did it feel for you to curb stomp Maria Spencer's head into the ladder at Night of Glory after she attacked you twice and tried to end your career?
"Well Tony, I will just say this. I didn't want to hurt Maria, at the end of the day we are both supposed to be professionals. Of course, what she tried to do to me before the PPV was way out of line. I am not proud that I stomped her head into the ladder, but what I did was completely within the rules of the match and I didn't take it beyond that. I hope that she learned a lesson and I hope that lesson carries over to the Battle Royal next Sunday."
Kenzi moved to the next question...
@shinystar: How long are you going to pretend to not be a complete and utter douche bag? Everyone knows that you're nothing but a whiner and a complainer!
"Ouch Shiny Star! However, point well taken. Yes, I have a past and a lot of it isn't good. Just like Nova Sinclair is so fond of constantly pointing out. I am not perfect and I am not claiming to be. What I am doing is being the best person that I can be from this day forward. I am planning on carrying the Breakout Title with distinction for as long as I hold it and I am going to do my absolute best to not to slide back into that negativity that you pointed out. Thank you."
Kenzi muttered under her breath as she read the next question...
@notinformer: We heard a rumor that your wife's standing in Lacklanland has been reduced to a figurehead because of her condition. If this is true, why aren't you acting as the Queen in her place since you two are married?
"Getting super personal now, but that's okay NOT Informer. My wife is the Queen of the sovereign nation of Lacklanland, PERIOD! Yes, it is true that there are people in their government that don't want her to exercise her power while she is recovering, but that's something that Sarah will deal with, so their is no need for me to act in her place...thank goodness!"
Kenzi rubbed her hands together, hoping for a better question, that was a bit less personal...
@hexxfan: With your television show coming to an end soon, does that mean that you'll have more time to focus on movies, maybe even a Hexx movie?
"That is actually exactly what that means! Working on Hexx has been a great joy for me the last few years, but the fact of the matter is that doing a weekly show is a drain on my time that leaves me struggling to find time to train and chase after other pursuits. The plan is to do more movies, since the schedule is a bit less hectic, and frankly, that should give me more time to focus on wrestling as well. I am sad to see the weekly show go, but I am excited to see what we come up with next."
She scrolled down the next question...
@womenswrestling: Since you have the Champion's Challenge match coming up soon, who do you think will be the biggest threat in your match and why?
"Well, it would be really disrespectful and shortsighted of me to just pick one of them as the biggest threat. Gabby has been on quite a roll lately, but to be honest, while I know what she can do, I am not putting her over as the biggest threat. The same goes for Kate and Crystal. While I know what all three of them can do, because I have faced all three, I am going to just say this; I am the biggest threat in that match, bar none! I have the biggest heart and I have the most will to win! I know that the three of them really want to come out on top in this thing, just like I do, but there can only be one and I chose me!"
"MS. GREY, WE NEED YOU ON SET!"
Kenzi winked into the camera as she laid the Breakout Title across the back of the seat and headed for the door, ready to film the final few scenes of the series finale of her television show...
"Thank you guys for tuning in! I look forward to making each and everyone of you proud when I step into the ring in the main event of LAW 73. I don't plan on taking a backwards step and I don't plan on leaving that ring without having my hand raised and my theme music playing in the back ground! See you guys in Philly!"
The scene faded to black as Kenzi went to Sarah's side and wheeled her out of the room...
MEXICO CITY
November 8, 2017
Sarah and I had flown down to Mexico to spend time with Angie Vaughn after she had another run in with Voidstar, the man who had almost ended her career a few weeks prior. Angie had actually taken matters into her own hands and gone after him, smacking him in the face with a kendo stick and costing him the number one contender's match that he was in. Of course, he deserved it, but this was out of character for Angie and the tall blonde felt terrible. We spent the day watching cat videos and singing songs in Spanish that we didn't really know the meaning of, but it was a good time all the same.
That night Sarah and I had turned in early and slept like babies...well, she had...I hoped. I was troubled as I woke up in the early morning hours. Since becoming a Scientologist, I had enjoyed exchanging deep and meaningful communication with my wife. It had been some time since we had done it, and I couldn’t believe I had put this off so long. After things had been settled with Milisandre, this was going to be the first thing that Sarah and I did, but the accident had thrown things out of whack. Now that Sarah was lucid, my concern for her had pushed most other things aside...things like this, but no longer.
I woke her gently with kisses as she lay next to me... “Morning Sleepyhead.”
She smiled, returning my greeting. “Good mor…” Her eyes wandered down to my nakedness and I felt her quicken.
These sessions were usually done nude because there were to be no barriers between us. I laced my fingers with hers, happy to have that contact with her that was more intimate than making love in my mind. “Today we do this laying down...”
She gave a grunt of frustration, “That shouldn’t be hard for me.”
I took a deep breath as I focused on her eyes, the red hue that I loved so much. I knew that her paralysis bothered her deeply, but it was just another hurdle to get over. “I know that this isn’t ideal, I know you desire to be back on your feet and raising hell as the Red Queen, but this is reality...for now. Work hard to get back to being the Firestarter, but don’t do it for me...do it for yourself. I love you just the same.”
“But I’m NOT the same! None of this is the same! I can’t even please my wife…” Sarah exclaimed.
I paused and took a deep breath, readying myself to address the elephant in the room. “Sex...” I broke the contact only to move her hand to my chest and hold it there. “...I don’t want you to worry about my needs, I have all that I want and need already. We will cross that bridge again when it's time...not because one of us is overly concerned with the other.” I leaned in and kissed her again, deeply this time. “...I love my Baby, forever and ever...”
Sarah nodded after the kiss, but looked a little troubled. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. "I feel guilty that my actions have harmed you. There have always been people who think that meeting me was the worst thing to happen to you, and I fear that, if I am never able to walk again, those people might well be right. Meeting me has given you a lame wife, and I fear that things might have been better for you if you had passed on my affections." She chewed on her lip a moment. "I love you, Ken, and promise to work hard to make you proud, even in this."
I shook my head, as a caressed her face. “Meeting you made me realize my worth when I was ready to give up on everything. I won’t entertain anything negative about my love for you. If people don’t like it, they can fuck right off because I don’t need or want them.” I laid my head on her, caressing her body, and enjoying the rise and fall of her chest. “I am proud. Proud to be yours, proud that you are mines. Never doubt that...even in this.”
Sarah raised her arm up, and was getting better at that with the daily physical therapy, but then dropped it on top of my side, probably a bit harder than she intended. "Sorry." She caressed my side with her fingers and nuzzled into my braids. "I don't deserve you. And that is the honest truth."
“Lucky for you that you gobbled me up then! I’m hooked on you...you’re my favorite thing in the entire world!” I continued to caress her side, that favorite part of her between her hips and the swell of her thighs. I could be lost there forever and be as happy as the day is long. I paused as a darker thought crossed my mind. “We will need to deal with Sebastian. He may not recognize my rights as your wife, but he should recognize your ability to resume your position as more than just a figurehead.”
Sarah let out a small growl. "I am meeting with him again today. He has the best interest of the compound at heart, as he always has, but he needs to realize that my mind is whole, now. I appreciate his concerns, but I intend to make sure he knows that we are here and capable." She ardently caressed on my braids for a moment. "And we need to get that paperwork taken care of. A little tired of having an affair with my wife!"
The marriage contract. I had not signed it after the annulment from Colin, partly because she had wanted to present it to me in a special way, just as she had the first time she asked me to marry her. I still had not signed it, even when Sabastian Hargrave had all but cut me out of having any dealings with Sarah's holdings while she was incapacitated. Honestly, the responsibility was too much. If Sarah wasn't able to run Lacklanland, then maybe it was better if Sabastian did.
None of that mattered now, Sarah was back and now Sabastian would be hard pressed to keep Sarah from resuming her mantle. I smiled at this, still resting my head on her bare chest. “Soon...” I shrugged. “...affairs aren’t so bad, with you.”
LOS ANGELES
November 9, 2017
It had been an eventful day after flying in from Mexico with Angie Vaughn to play in our LFL game against the LA Stars. As soon as the game was over, Sarah and I cleaned up and headed off to Octane to watch 4 Corner's Wrestling. It was nice to be on the road again like old times, but it was taxing. By the time we got home, we were both exhausted, but we needed to get cleaned up before bed. I headed to the bathroom and got the tub ready. I put her usual litany of oils in the water and readied it for her. I secured my robe and headed out to get Sarah. “Are you ready for a bath?”
Sarah seemed despondent at first, then snapped to. "Sure..." She looked down at her lap for a moment, red eyes on lame legs. "A little help?"
I smiled, as I wheeled her to the bath. I could have gotten one of her handmaidens to do this, but I felt that it was my duty as her wife to take care of these things. I helped her disrobe and got her seated. I stripped down and hopped in behind her, sponge in hand. “Ready?”
Sarah leaned forward to give me as much of her back as possible. "As I can be." She absently fingered the scar along her side, evidence of the surgery from after the accident. "I hope that I haven't lost too much of my lat muscle."
“You’ll be fine.” I lathered up and began to wash her back gently as I made small talk. As I washed the soap from her back, I paused, wondering... “Did you feel any of that?”
"Sort of. It is rather odd. Like, I can feel pressure, but not necessarily sensation. Some places I can, but mostly just pressure. Of course..." She flicked one of her thighs hard enough to turn the white skin red. "...nothing below my hips. Nothing at all."
I rested my head against her back. Rubbing my hands over her delicate front as I spoke aloud. “I’m sorry Baby, it must be hell for you. Your body was always so sensitive, and now it’s...less.” I tried to keep my mind elsewhere as my hands washed her. “Soon enough, you’ll be back to your old self, and even if you’re not...I’ll wash you every single day and try not to molest you!” I laughed, kissing her neck.
Sarah sighed and bit the inside of her lip in frustration. "I feel enough." She leaned back, forcing us to lean against the back of the tub. "And you can molest me any time...you have needs, too..."
“You are my need. I need to be with you...like this...like when we read together...when we eat...anything! You’re my special girl, and everything with you is amazing!” I couldn’t help the shudder that ran through me as my hands found her more intimate parts. I did my best to only clean her...nothing more. “Stop worrying about me! You know I’m fine.”
Sarah bit down hard on her lip, probably trying not scream out in frustration. "I appreciate all of that. Especially the faith sharing." A tear streaked hotly down her cheek. "Share with me now? What are you studying?"
I paused, unsure if my answer would please her or make her angry. "I-I have been studying poisons with the scruffy man that lives in the forest. Trying to find something that will help make you better..."
Sarah smiled. "Skeeter." Her smile grew. "My wolf. He promised my father to watch after me." Her smile fell as she shook her head slowly. "Be as wary of him as you are trusting. He lost his way when his wife died. And losing his eye to that fight with the bear did not help." She paused for a second. "Find anything?"
I could only shrug. “No...yes...maybe!” I wasn’t at all certain. “Scruf- err Skeeter thinks that the poison was derived from the venom of baby arachnids. It’s strong when they are young. He is working on something...but he is concerned about the region.” My mouth twisted. I didn’t want to say the words. “He wanted to try to speak with...Jacob. I told him to talk to Sebastian and see if he knows anything.”
Another tear fell down Sarah's face. "Sebastian blew off our meeting today. Citing being too busy with matters of the compound and a promise to reschedule at some point this week." She shook her head. "And Doctor Andrews tells me that the dose of venom Jacob gave himself was significantly stronger than what he gave me. I don't know if he tried to kill himself in some kind Romeo and Juliet nonsense or if he just wanted to delay my recovery...but I swear to God that I might well kill him whenever he comes out of that coma. I don't even care why he did it, anymore."
I clenched my teeth, trying to hold my tongue, but I couldn’t. “I’m not at all interested in hearing about Jacob or his piss-ant father. In fact, I wish every night that Frack will call me and tell me that Jacob died in his sleep or choked to death on his own spittle, either would do. As for his father, I don’t care if he followed soon after. If there is one thing that I know, it’s this…the racism that Jacob wallowed in when he destroyed our apartment wasn’t something that he developed or found on his own, it was learned!” I moved around front and proceeded to wash her thick beautiful legs. They were putty in my hands, but still shapely…for now. I dreaded the thought of seeing them withered away to sticks. Not that I would love them any less. I kissed each one, a silent apology for my stupid thoughts. I turned my attention back to the Hargraves. “So far as I know, Jacob is just another budding young Lacklanlander who has never left the nest. Sabastian Hargrave isn’t much better than his son…and probably worse! FUCK HIM!”
Sarah flinched at the outburst. "I know, Beloved. Well...maybe. I don't know. Sebastian was Father's closest adviser for many years. He..." Sarah's eyes went wide as she stared at me in fear and confusion. "BELOVED! WHERE ARE WE?! I don't want to go...I..." went completely silent and her eyes seemed to wander off, as if she was suddenly more interested in the interior of our master bath.
"Baby? Sarah...SARAH!" My chest thundered as I saw her slip away again, consumed by the catatonia that had initially taken her from me. The doctor's said that it could come and go, sometimes last for just hours...other times last for days, weeks...or...maybe forever. This time tears rolled down my cheeks and I pulled Sarah into a tight embrace, my words no more than a whisper. "...I love you...and I'll never leave you...I swear..."