A/N: Quick little thing I wrote in about 20 minutes after being depressed all day. I was in the right mindset for this piece and after I finished, I felt surprisingly better. Hope you enjoy and all mistakes are mine because I was too lazy to edit past glaring spelling issues.
Standing in the middle of that ring was something I always had enjoyed ever since I first stepped into one all those years ago. But for the first time, all that the ring reminded me of was the pain and suffering I had gone through. Running a hand over my head, I debated whether or not I was doing the right thing but the slight throb in my leg reminded me that it was time. "For 434 days, as WWE Champion, I couldn't enjoy the ride cause I was always looking around the corner at what was next. The WWE Championship meant the world to me. It was everything I dedicated my life to obtaining but I wanted that next challenge and I found that challenge in the Rock. And as I battled somebody who will arguably go down as one of the greatest Superstars of all time, I…I still wanted more. And I looked 'til tomorrow. I wanted to know what the next hurdle in my career was because I am never satisfied with what I'm doing. I always want to do better, I always want to be bigger. I always want more. After being champion for 434 days, where do you go? After battling the Most Electrifying Man in sports entertainment, where do you go? And I looked to the one thing that could possibly be bigger than the championship that I loved so much, the one thing that would be bigger than wrestling the Rock and that was taking on the Streak at WrestleMania. And I pushed the Undertaker to the limit…" It was at that point where I found myself unable to continue speaking. I looked out into the crowd of people that had come to love and at times, loath me, over the years and I felt no rush of energy like I used to. It wasn't until I heard the simple call and response chant of Undertaker and CM Punk that I knew I couldn't keep doing this. It killed me to know that I had to do this but I was broken, both physically and emotionally too many times to go on any longer. I looked over at Paul and, with a heavy heart, softly said, "I'm sorry man, I just can't" before pulling him into a hug.
"I understand. Take care Phil," he replied quietly, hugging back. I pulled away after a brief moment before my resolve had a chance to wavier and handed him the mike. I could feel Paul's eyes on me, along with the thousands in attendance, wondering what I was doing. A small part of me, the part of me that would die before giving up, even wondered what I was doing. I headed toward the steel steps and as I descended, I felt the weight I had been carrying for so long lift. I had given this business everything I had over the years even if the fans didn't always know it. This business had been my life and now, I was finally free to rest. It was overwhelming in many ways but I knew I was doing what was best for me. Call me selfish but I needed to rest, to recover. I was half way up the ramp when I stopped. I looked up at the entrance and was hit with a brief onslaught of memories of the thousands of times my music hit and the crowd came alive. I knew I couldn't go back there, couldn't face the locker room, couldn't act like this was normal. Instead, I hopped off the ramp and headed to the back door that would lead me away from this life, from this crowd, from Paul, from the WWE. Not once did I stop. I knew if I did I wouldn't be able to walk away. And right now, all I needed was to get away.
The moment that door shut behind me, I felt my legs start to give out. I knew I couldn't give in, I suffered so much because of this but I couldn't let it show now. This company had taken all that I was and this is what I was left with but I'd be damned if they caused me to break down. Pulling out my phone, I flipped through the contacts to find the one person I could turn to right now. The one person who could help heal me. Pressing send, I waited for the line to connect.
"Hey Phil." The moment the voice filled my ear, the emotions that I had been holding back from moment I saw the crowd started to bubble up and before I knew it, I was leaning against the door with tears in my eyes. I didn't say anything. I didn't have to. "I'll be there as soon as I can okay, where are you?"
"Outside the arena," I replied, my voice sounding so broken.
"Stay there. And Phil, it is going to be okay." The line disconnected. Deep down, past the darkness I felt, I knew that it would be. And maybe one day, it would be okay enough for me to return. Maybe one day I will be whole enough to come back. But for now, I had to let myself heal, rest, and recover. It's gonna be a long road ahead of me, but I am looking forward to it. It will all be okay.
The End