Post by Eli Goode on Aug 14, 2022 20:08:58 GMT -5
“There’s something wrong with me. All I can feel now is something cold growing inside of me. Something is trying to take over me. It’s something that I’ve been able to hold back for about a year now. It’s the Other Side of me. It’s this darker half of me. It’s trying to get out because it’s sensing something. It’s sensing something is going to happen to me, but I don’t know what it is. My Other Half seems to be wanting to get out, but I can’t let it escape again. I don’t want to go back to that darkness.
It’s Stephen Stratford. He’s been getting under my skin recently. Ever since Trent announced our match, he’s all I’ve been thinking of. I don’t know why. We’ve barely spoken to each other. All I did was defend Amber Payne. But, there’s something about him that makes me feel horrible. It’s like there’s something otherworldly about him, but I know there isn’t. What could it be? I don’t know. I don’t even know how to describe it. I… I just don’t know.
I’m gonna figure it out. I know I will, but… I don’t know. Maybe I need to let my Other Half out. Maybe he’ll be the only way for me to get the upper hand on Stephen. I don’t know. I have to wait and see. I can’t just assume everything is going to go bad on me. I can’t assume they’re going to do anything against me yet. No, until then, I’m going to relax and try to find a way to calm my Other Half. Once he’s calm, everything will be alright.”
-----
Off-Camera
There is a quietness in the air. Normally, Eli is enjoying his time with Katie, but for some reason, she distances herself from him. He places his hand on her leg, but she pulls herself away from him. He does not push to know what is wrong with her. Maybe she is not feeling well and is trying to keep Eli from getting sick. Maybe she is just tired. He does not know, but he does not want to seem like he is pushing her to give him an answer.
He looks around the room and does not see Will anywhere nearby. He stands up from the couch and looks down at Katie. She huddles herself up and pulls her knees to her chest. He sighs and walks out of the living room. He walks through the hallways looking for Will. He notices the door to Will’s room slightly open. The light is turned on, but Eli can still not see Will. Eli approaches the door and opens it. He sees Will sitting on the bed playing with some toys. Eli looks at the toys and does not recognize them. Eli tries to create a real smile and walks up to Will. He crouches down and places his hand on the side of the bed.
“Hey buddy, did you get some new toys from your mom?”
“No, a man gave them to me”
Eli looks at Will with a hint of confusion on his face. Eli never got a good look at the toys. He slightly turns Will around and actually looks at the toys. He notices one of them looks like Eli Goode but it is disfigured. Eli looks at the other toy and notices it looks like Stephen Stratford. Eli looks at the Stephen Stratford for a second and stands up. He looks back at Will.
“Will, what did the man look like that gave you these?”
“Like this.”
Will lifts up the Stephen Stratford toy and shows it to Eli. Eli backs out of the room and towards the living room. He walks over to the couch and looks at Katie. He notices her still in the fetal position. He walks around the couch and kneels in front of her. He times to place his hands on her hands, but she shakes them off of her.
“Katie, Katie, stop. Stop, Katie. Katie, please, talk to me. What did he do? Katie, I want to help. Please, tell me… What did he do?”
“No, no, get away from me. Get away from me.”
Katie stands up from the couch and walks away from Eli. Eli tries to stop her, but Katie walks up the stairs back to her room. Eli continues to follow her and tries to reach out for her hand.
“Katie, stop. I wanna help. Tell me, did he do anything to you? Katie, please.”
Katie ignores his questions and enters her room. She slams the door and locks it behind her. Eli tries for the handle and knocks on the door. He gently places his head against the door and pleads to her to open the door. He places his ear against the door and hears her sobbing. He knocks on the door again trying to get her to open the door. He suddenly hears footsteps coming from the stairs. He turns around to see Will at the top of the steps.
“Hey buddy, what’s up?”
“Are you and mommy fighting?”
“No buddy, I’m just trying to ask your mommy some questions, that’s all. I just wanna ask her about the man that came to visit you.”
“I can help.”
Eli weakly smiles and walks up to Will. He crouches down and rubs Will’s shoulders. He chuckles to himself and nods to Will.
“I know buddy. I know, but this is a grown-up problem. I don’t want you to seem like anything is wrong buddy. Hey, when your mommy and I get all this figured out, we’ll get some ice cream, ok?”
Will smiles and rapid nods. Eli pats Will on the shoulders.
“Ok, now head back to your room. Just be careful going down the…”
The door opens behind him, and Eli turns around to see Katie walking out of the room with a suitcase at her side. Katie walks past Eli and grabs Will by the arm. She takes Will down the stairs and to his room. Eli stays up stairs and slightly hears her telling Will to pack his suitcase. He hears the rustling of clothes being placed inside of a suitcase. Eli walks down the stairs and sees Katie and Will walking out of the house.
“Katie, wait, Katie where are you…?”
The door slams behind Katie, and Eli runs down the stairs trying to catch up with Katie. Eli sees Katie going to her car. He tries to catch up with her as she places Will in the back seat. She places her suitcases in the trunk and gets in the driver seat. Eli runs up to the car before Katie can drive away. He places his hands on the driver's side door trying to get her to open the door.
“Katie… Katie, open the door. Katie, talk to me. Katie, tell me what happened. Did he do anything to you? Katie, talk to me. Katie… Katie… Help me understand what’s going on. Katie, please.”
She looks over to him and shakes her head. He cannot hear her clearly, but he can understand her enough to know what she says.
“You weren’t here, Eli. You can’t understand what happened.”
She starts the car and backs out of the driveway. Eli continues to get the door open, but she drives away from her house leaving Eli alone in the driveway. Eli can only watch on as she drives away from her house. Eli rubs his hands through his hair and shouts at the top of his lungs. He pulls out his phone and quickly calls the only person he can trust right now: his sister, Lacy. He stands in the front yard for a few seconds until all he can hear is his sister’s voicemail message. He shouts until he leaves her a message.
“Hey, Lace, I just wanted to check in on you. Someone visited Katie that wasn’t supposed to. I wanted to make sure that you weren’t visited. If you get this message, call me back. This person crossed the line, and I don’t like this. Ok, call me back.”
Eli hangs up the phone and looks back at the road. He walks back inside the house and walks into Will’s room. He looks at the new toys and stares at the Stephen Stratford one. He picks it up and violently rips the head off of it. He looks back at Will’s bed and stares at the disfigured version of himself. He takes in a deep breath and keeps his focus on the toy knowing that this means war.
-----
On-Camera
“So much hard work is being put to the test. Not just a physical test, but an emotional test. Stephen Stratford, what did you do? Hmm? What did you do to Katie? I don’t give a damn what you do to me, but you keep her OUT OF THIS!!!!! She has nothing to do with us! I keep the people I love out of the spotlight for a reason, and you destroyed that security. You decided to insert yourself into my life one your own accord. You had no right to do that. No RIGHT!!!
I know you’re watching this. I know that you’re sitting in whatever hellhole you call a home, and you’re enjoying seeing me seething in anger. Good, I hope you’re smiling from ear to ear. I hope you’re enjoying yourself because when I meet you face to face at EXP 30 you’re going to regret what you did. I know you’re going to be busy with Chelsea Skye, but you need to keep you eyes at the back of your FUCKING SKULL!!!
I’ve known people like you. Yeah, I’ve been a person like you. I’ve been the person that’s pushed people to their limits. I’ve been the person you’ve been. I… did stuff like this, and I’m ashamed everytime I look back at my time like this. So when I look at you, I just see the dark reflection of me. I see the version of me that I didn’t like to see. So, Stephen, I know you’re preparing to take the Courage Title away from me. I know that you’re using mind games to get me off of my groove, but I know the games you’re playing. I’ve played those games, and they’re not going to work on me.
Stephen, if you go after the people I love again, I will tear you in half. You think I’m a fully nice guy? Hehehehe, no, I know how to go to that dark place. Then again, that’s where you want me. You want me in that dark place. You want me to alienate all the people around me. You want me to tear down the walls and let out my Other Half, but that’s not gonna happen. Stephen, at EXP 30, I’m going to meet with you face to face, and we’re going to have a nice talk. No violence, just talking.
And that’s enough talking about Stephen. He’s just been on my mind recently. No, I need to talk about my actual opponent at EXP 30. I need to talk about Kennedy Matthews. Kennedy, Trent Steel must have high hopes for you. He wouldn’t have put you in a match with me if he didn’t. What is it about you? What have you done to get you this match? Oh wait, yes, yes, yes, now I remember, you’re a third generation wrestler. Drat, how could I forget? How could I forget that third generation wrestlers always get a bump in their career? I keep on forgetting about nepotism being a big thing.
Kennedy, I don’t care what your family has done in the past. I don’t care about your lineage, I don’t care if you were in a psych ward, and I don’t care if you’re going to come down to the ring and pretend you’re going to be the strongest person in the ring. All I care about is letting out some of my aggression on someone. You just happen to be that person.
Kennedy, I’ve been in the psych ward too. I know what it’s like there. Sometimes they can be good to you, and other times they can be bad to you. It took the people with me a long time to realize that I wasn’t going to be their best patient. They decided to be a bit more aggressive, but that didn’t help them either.
Kennedy, I hope you’re ready for our match. Then again, because of your third generation heritage, you were probably forced to always be ready for a match. Good. I’m ready for our match. I’m ready to finally fight someone after what happened to Katie. I’m ready to make someone pay for what Stephen did. At EXP 30, the audience is going to see a side of Eli Goode that hasn’t been seen since he first debuted. I was more aggressive when I debuted. I was hungrier. I wanted to hurt people, but I pushed that side of me back to turn over a new leaf. But Stephen decided to cross the line.
Kennedy, I’m sorry for what I’m going to do to you. But let this match be a lesson to everyone in the back that wants to cross me. Never go after the people that I love. Never think that getting to me means affecting the people I love because the moment you break that barrier that’s the moment you damn not just yourself but the person I’m fighting.
Kennedy, this isn’t personal. If you were Stephen Stratford, it would be personal. Kennedy, at the end of the day, you’re just a casualty in a battle. I hope you’re prepared for that. I’m not That Damn Goode today. No, I’m just fucking pissed, and I’m ready to break someone in half.”
It’s Stephen Stratford. He’s been getting under my skin recently. Ever since Trent announced our match, he’s all I’ve been thinking of. I don’t know why. We’ve barely spoken to each other. All I did was defend Amber Payne. But, there’s something about him that makes me feel horrible. It’s like there’s something otherworldly about him, but I know there isn’t. What could it be? I don’t know. I don’t even know how to describe it. I… I just don’t know.
I’m gonna figure it out. I know I will, but… I don’t know. Maybe I need to let my Other Half out. Maybe he’ll be the only way for me to get the upper hand on Stephen. I don’t know. I have to wait and see. I can’t just assume everything is going to go bad on me. I can’t assume they’re going to do anything against me yet. No, until then, I’m going to relax and try to find a way to calm my Other Half. Once he’s calm, everything will be alright.”
-----
Off-Camera
There is a quietness in the air. Normally, Eli is enjoying his time with Katie, but for some reason, she distances herself from him. He places his hand on her leg, but she pulls herself away from him. He does not push to know what is wrong with her. Maybe she is not feeling well and is trying to keep Eli from getting sick. Maybe she is just tired. He does not know, but he does not want to seem like he is pushing her to give him an answer.
He looks around the room and does not see Will anywhere nearby. He stands up from the couch and looks down at Katie. She huddles herself up and pulls her knees to her chest. He sighs and walks out of the living room. He walks through the hallways looking for Will. He notices the door to Will’s room slightly open. The light is turned on, but Eli can still not see Will. Eli approaches the door and opens it. He sees Will sitting on the bed playing with some toys. Eli looks at the toys and does not recognize them. Eli tries to create a real smile and walks up to Will. He crouches down and places his hand on the side of the bed.
“Hey buddy, did you get some new toys from your mom?”
“No, a man gave them to me”
Eli looks at Will with a hint of confusion on his face. Eli never got a good look at the toys. He slightly turns Will around and actually looks at the toys. He notices one of them looks like Eli Goode but it is disfigured. Eli looks at the other toy and notices it looks like Stephen Stratford. Eli looks at the Stephen Stratford for a second and stands up. He looks back at Will.
“Will, what did the man look like that gave you these?”
“Like this.”
Will lifts up the Stephen Stratford toy and shows it to Eli. Eli backs out of the room and towards the living room. He walks over to the couch and looks at Katie. He notices her still in the fetal position. He walks around the couch and kneels in front of her. He times to place his hands on her hands, but she shakes them off of her.
“Katie, Katie, stop. Stop, Katie. Katie, please, talk to me. What did he do? Katie, I want to help. Please, tell me… What did he do?”
“No, no, get away from me. Get away from me.”
Katie stands up from the couch and walks away from Eli. Eli tries to stop her, but Katie walks up the stairs back to her room. Eli continues to follow her and tries to reach out for her hand.
“Katie, stop. I wanna help. Tell me, did he do anything to you? Katie, please.”
Katie ignores his questions and enters her room. She slams the door and locks it behind her. Eli tries for the handle and knocks on the door. He gently places his head against the door and pleads to her to open the door. He places his ear against the door and hears her sobbing. He knocks on the door again trying to get her to open the door. He suddenly hears footsteps coming from the stairs. He turns around to see Will at the top of the steps.
“Hey buddy, what’s up?”
“Are you and mommy fighting?”
“No buddy, I’m just trying to ask your mommy some questions, that’s all. I just wanna ask her about the man that came to visit you.”
“I can help.”
Eli weakly smiles and walks up to Will. He crouches down and rubs Will’s shoulders. He chuckles to himself and nods to Will.
“I know buddy. I know, but this is a grown-up problem. I don’t want you to seem like anything is wrong buddy. Hey, when your mommy and I get all this figured out, we’ll get some ice cream, ok?”
Will smiles and rapid nods. Eli pats Will on the shoulders.
“Ok, now head back to your room. Just be careful going down the…”
The door opens behind him, and Eli turns around to see Katie walking out of the room with a suitcase at her side. Katie walks past Eli and grabs Will by the arm. She takes Will down the stairs and to his room. Eli stays up stairs and slightly hears her telling Will to pack his suitcase. He hears the rustling of clothes being placed inside of a suitcase. Eli walks down the stairs and sees Katie and Will walking out of the house.
“Katie, wait, Katie where are you…?”
The door slams behind Katie, and Eli runs down the stairs trying to catch up with Katie. Eli sees Katie going to her car. He tries to catch up with her as she places Will in the back seat. She places her suitcases in the trunk and gets in the driver seat. Eli runs up to the car before Katie can drive away. He places his hands on the driver's side door trying to get her to open the door.
“Katie… Katie, open the door. Katie, talk to me. Katie, tell me what happened. Did he do anything to you? Katie, talk to me. Katie… Katie… Help me understand what’s going on. Katie, please.”
She looks over to him and shakes her head. He cannot hear her clearly, but he can understand her enough to know what she says.
“You weren’t here, Eli. You can’t understand what happened.”
She starts the car and backs out of the driveway. Eli continues to get the door open, but she drives away from her house leaving Eli alone in the driveway. Eli can only watch on as she drives away from her house. Eli rubs his hands through his hair and shouts at the top of his lungs. He pulls out his phone and quickly calls the only person he can trust right now: his sister, Lacy. He stands in the front yard for a few seconds until all he can hear is his sister’s voicemail message. He shouts until he leaves her a message.
“Hey, Lace, I just wanted to check in on you. Someone visited Katie that wasn’t supposed to. I wanted to make sure that you weren’t visited. If you get this message, call me back. This person crossed the line, and I don’t like this. Ok, call me back.”
Eli hangs up the phone and looks back at the road. He walks back inside the house and walks into Will’s room. He looks at the new toys and stares at the Stephen Stratford one. He picks it up and violently rips the head off of it. He looks back at Will’s bed and stares at the disfigured version of himself. He takes in a deep breath and keeps his focus on the toy knowing that this means war.
-----
On-Camera
“So much hard work is being put to the test. Not just a physical test, but an emotional test. Stephen Stratford, what did you do? Hmm? What did you do to Katie? I don’t give a damn what you do to me, but you keep her OUT OF THIS!!!!! She has nothing to do with us! I keep the people I love out of the spotlight for a reason, and you destroyed that security. You decided to insert yourself into my life one your own accord. You had no right to do that. No RIGHT!!!
I know you’re watching this. I know that you’re sitting in whatever hellhole you call a home, and you’re enjoying seeing me seething in anger. Good, I hope you’re smiling from ear to ear. I hope you’re enjoying yourself because when I meet you face to face at EXP 30 you’re going to regret what you did. I know you’re going to be busy with Chelsea Skye, but you need to keep you eyes at the back of your FUCKING SKULL!!!
I’ve known people like you. Yeah, I’ve been a person like you. I’ve been the person that’s pushed people to their limits. I’ve been the person you’ve been. I… did stuff like this, and I’m ashamed everytime I look back at my time like this. So when I look at you, I just see the dark reflection of me. I see the version of me that I didn’t like to see. So, Stephen, I know you’re preparing to take the Courage Title away from me. I know that you’re using mind games to get me off of my groove, but I know the games you’re playing. I’ve played those games, and they’re not going to work on me.
Stephen, if you go after the people I love again, I will tear you in half. You think I’m a fully nice guy? Hehehehe, no, I know how to go to that dark place. Then again, that’s where you want me. You want me in that dark place. You want me to alienate all the people around me. You want me to tear down the walls and let out my Other Half, but that’s not gonna happen. Stephen, at EXP 30, I’m going to meet with you face to face, and we’re going to have a nice talk. No violence, just talking.
And that’s enough talking about Stephen. He’s just been on my mind recently. No, I need to talk about my actual opponent at EXP 30. I need to talk about Kennedy Matthews. Kennedy, Trent Steel must have high hopes for you. He wouldn’t have put you in a match with me if he didn’t. What is it about you? What have you done to get you this match? Oh wait, yes, yes, yes, now I remember, you’re a third generation wrestler. Drat, how could I forget? How could I forget that third generation wrestlers always get a bump in their career? I keep on forgetting about nepotism being a big thing.
Kennedy, I don’t care what your family has done in the past. I don’t care about your lineage, I don’t care if you were in a psych ward, and I don’t care if you’re going to come down to the ring and pretend you’re going to be the strongest person in the ring. All I care about is letting out some of my aggression on someone. You just happen to be that person.
Kennedy, I’ve been in the psych ward too. I know what it’s like there. Sometimes they can be good to you, and other times they can be bad to you. It took the people with me a long time to realize that I wasn’t going to be their best patient. They decided to be a bit more aggressive, but that didn’t help them either.
Kennedy, I hope you’re ready for our match. Then again, because of your third generation heritage, you were probably forced to always be ready for a match. Good. I’m ready for our match. I’m ready to finally fight someone after what happened to Katie. I’m ready to make someone pay for what Stephen did. At EXP 30, the audience is going to see a side of Eli Goode that hasn’t been seen since he first debuted. I was more aggressive when I debuted. I was hungrier. I wanted to hurt people, but I pushed that side of me back to turn over a new leaf. But Stephen decided to cross the line.
Kennedy, I’m sorry for what I’m going to do to you. But let this match be a lesson to everyone in the back that wants to cross me. Never go after the people that I love. Never think that getting to me means affecting the people I love because the moment you break that barrier that’s the moment you damn not just yourself but the person I’m fighting.
Kennedy, this isn’t personal. If you were Stephen Stratford, it would be personal. Kennedy, at the end of the day, you’re just a casualty in a battle. I hope you’re prepared for that. I’m not That Damn Goode today. No, I’m just fucking pissed, and I’m ready to break someone in half.”
