"Hi Sweety, I'm Carol. From the Make A Wish Foundation," A too happy young blonde woman said to the camera. The face of a tired young girl came into view, Carol looked expectantly at the child, when the teenager said nothing she continued on awkwardly. "Well we are here to make a wish of yours come true."
The young girl didn't respond to the annoyingly pepping blonde in anyway. "Do you have a particular wish in mind?" Carol was getting annoyed, the brunette finally reached for something out of the camera frame, a marker and whiteboard. "What is this?" The blonde asked annoyed, looking around at the crew members.
"Umm. Miss Carol. Sarah here doesn't have the ability to speak." A timid doctor said. "She communicates through her white board and basic sign language." The blonde looked embarrassed, even more so that the camera had caught her slight outburst.
Sarah finally held out the whiteboard to the woman, not oblivious to the blondes irritation, almost seemed amused by the outburst. The camera moved to read the white board- scrawled in red ink was 'WWE RYBACK RULES'- the blonde made a face. Not sure who Ryback was and turned to the teenager.
"WWE? So you mean like John Cena?" Carol asked. The crew laughed at the face Sarah made, a look of disgust and comtept. "Weeeeell, I'll call up WWE headquaters and see if this 'Ryback' is available."
The TV shut off suddenly and I had to blink for a couple seconds, I had been more focused on the screen then I thought. A cough sounded from my right and I turned, Vincent K. McMahon looked at him expectantly, had he asked a question? I didn't remember.
"What?" Eloquent Ryan, that really shows the boss you're charismatic.
"I said, Do you wanna do it?" He looks nervous, not of me. Guess he's scared I'll flip out on this girl and that would be 'bad for business.' "We could always say that you can't afford to leave the roster."
That would be easy, convienant for me, I wouldn't have to go make awkward small talk with a dieing chick. But no one had ever asked for me before, no one had really liked me since this Ryback Rules gimmic. Maybe it won't be so bad, answer questions for like an hour, or whatever the hell I'm supposed do. She hadn't wanted Cena, she didn't even seem to like him. If that was the case then this girl is okay in my book.
"I'll do it." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the way Vince nearly choked on his coffee.
"Okay, we'll send you after Payback." I flinched, oh yeah the girl will want to meet a loser. But I kept my mouth shut.
Payback was definitely a bitch, I was embarrassed, sore, and defeated. What was Vince thinking? Sending me to meet a fragile little girl after what I just had to deal with. Thankfully I escaped from the ambulance before it could even leave the parking lot, I still had some of my pride, not much, but enough to stride into the hospital with my head held high.
"You can't let that- that Monster see my daughter! He is unstable." And of course someone had an opinion on my Ryback personality. It must've been the girl's mother, looked very much like her except taller and longer hair. "I don't care if she requested him, get me John Cena or Randy Orton- someone with alittle more sanity."
"Orton has more sanity than me?" I suprised her, she whipped around in fear. "The guy hears voices in his head. I just shout 'feed me more' seems like an unfair comparision." The woman sneered at me and I had to smirk.
"Ma'am if you're gonna cause problems I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. You're presence is very stressful for Sarah already and this is supposed to be a happy occasion." Of course the mother would have none of this and continued screaming, it was pretty funny to see until she slapped me. I didn't do anything but it still was annoying, she had to be escorted out that time by security.
"Sorry about her, she is Sarah's only family member, not exactly a good presence around her though. This isn't the first time she's been escorted out." The doctor didn't seem nervous of me and I smiled at that, it was weird when normal people thought I was gonna rip them apart. "Sarah is right through here."
"Psych Ward?" I read the sign posted on the hallway we were traveling down. "What is the kid's problem? Vince wouldn't tell me." Now this doctor looked nervous.
"There are several reasons why she is admited to us." He stopped us now, the halls empty. "She currently suffers from Aphasia Voluntaria or Reactive Mutism. She has the ability to speak but because of a traumatic event she can't, we're not sure if it's from fear or she is just not sure she knows how to talk- though I believe it's a combination of both."
"Traumatic event? Like what?"
"When she was a child her parents divorced and her father got custody- he was the only one with a providing job and home. Well several years ago we believe he began abusing Sarah severly." Oh God, I'm gonna be sick. "We can't be sure when or how or to what extent really because she can't talk, but she has scars left from it. Anyways the father's newest wife didn't like her and began poisining her with mercury, causing her to be sick and lose most of her hair. The father found out killed the wife in front of her and she ran away and showed up here with his ID and a picture of her Mother.
"Detectives tried the dad for murder and child abuse, he is serving a life sentence now and her mother is rubbing it in everyone's face that she was right about him." The doctor finished and I nearly threw up, that was horrible. "Be aware she suffers from mild panic attacks and will relive all the abuse during one of them, she'll fight like hell so try not to get to close and call an orderly as soon as possible."
"You don't think that me being... Well Ryback, will scare her?" I cracked my knuckles, a bad habit I do when I'm uncomfortable.
"Quite the contrary." The man sounded cheery now, must be Bi-Polar or something. "Her father was a short, bearded man with long unkempt hair and a beer belly and dark eyes. I would be suprised if she didn't find you as an appealing father figure. Most children that are abused usually cling to parental-like figures that are exactly oppossite of their abuser."
"Uhh." My head was hurting, I needed an Advil.
"Too much for you?" The man smiled sympathetically. "It's alot of baggage but we think this visit will be good, she doesn't interact with the other patients much, with the exception of badgering them into watching wrestling every Monday and Friday." The doctor smiled fondly.
"How does she manage that?" It was amusing to think of a tiny, mute girl pushing around the other patients who, no doubt, are bigger than her.
"She's very smart about it, shoving them when orderly doesn't look and swiping the remote. Growling and snapping her teeth at them, one time she even managed to wrestle one of most tempermental patients into submission, she's particularly fond of using Alberto Del Rio's arm hold." I laughed at that, I like this little girl. "Of course she gets in trouble for doing that but honestly she doesn't hurt anyone and it's refreshing to see her so full of life. If I'm in charge at the time she gets caught, I give her something minial like dish duty or sweeping the rec room."
I started to say something about that when I noticed movement around the corner, a small, pale face looking back at us. Sarah, she was even smaller than I had thought, I couldn't see much of her since only her left arm and head were poking around the corner, her dark eyes were wide in disbelief. Had someone told her I wasn't coming? Her mother no doubt.
I barely heard the doctor walk over and escort her to stand infornt of me, introducing us. What do I do? What do I say? Maybe I should've listen to Cena when he gave me a blow-by-blow on what happens at these things instead of blowing him off in a fit of rage. She was so little, what do I do?
"I'm Ryan." Great start, now what. She offered her hand, oh right thats probably a good idea. I felt like Golliath with her tiny hand in mine, but she didn't seem bothered. The doctor said more things but I was stuck looking at her, she was in fuzzy red pajama pants, black socks and a baggy grey sweat shirt. The general hugeness of her clothes did little to hid her scrawny frame.
She led me to her room, holding onto my hand, boy her skin felt cold. I don't know what I was expecting her room to look like but it definitely wasn't a padded room- thank God- it was a soft blue with darker sheets on the bed and a few pictures on the wall. Most- if not all- were wrestling related, a couple clippings of Orton, way too many of Evan Bourne, and several of me. From when I was Skip Sheiffield in Nexus to last month's issue I was on the cover of.
That's really cute, I had never really met a real fan of me, everyone seems to have turned on me after the 'Cena Incident' as I like to call it. I was tracing the edge of an Evan Bourne picture with my pinkie when I felt her nudge me gently in the hip. When I turned there she was holding a box towards me an eager smile on her face.
"What's this?" She shoved it into my hands, I had to grin back at her, the joy she was exuding was contagious. I opened the unwrapped box slowly, half expecting some kind of prank. What glittered back at me was far from that.
"A championship?" I glanced at her, she looked at the floor chancing a glance up at me nervously.
I smiled and pulled it from the box, it was a hand made championship belt, looked just like the new one the Rock had debut. Where there was leather on a real belt there was soft pleather here. Instead of heavy gold there was smooth clay painted gold, she had to have spent hours on this. It was carved out perfectly and she even put my jagged "R" on each side where Cena had his own symbols on the real one.
It had fake jewels sealed into the edges of clay and at the bottom was scrawled across 'Ryback', she was watching me trace over name slowly, worried I didn't like it. I gave her a wide smile. "You made this?" A short nod. "This is amazing!" She beamed and I could practically hear her asking 'better than the original?'
"Can't wait to show this off to everyone on the roster." I set down the title and walk over to her, she threw her arms around my middle in a tight hug, I laugh alittle and return the gesture. "So do you have any questions for me?"
She nodded quickly, dashing away from me and moving briskly around the room. She picked up various clippings of paper and gently pulled pictures from the wall.
She shoved one article into my hand, I sat down on the edge of her bed as I read over it, it was about a the Shield's debut ruining my match with CM Punk. "I remember this day, uhh I was so annoyed when they told me I was supposed to lose, again. But they're good kids, lots of talent with them. I had a fun time rivaling them." She smiled and pointed to Dean Ambrose in the picture, a shy grin on her face. "You like him huh? Yeah you seem to like the crazy ones in the business don't you?" She laughed and nodded thin hair brushing against her face.
"Here I should've thought to bring you something," He yanked the beanie off his head and secured it gently on her's. The hair was just long enough to poke out beneath it, reaching just past her eyebrows. "I'm kind of new at this." She smiled widely, reaching up to pat the jagged 'R' on the center. "So what's next?"
She handed him the next one, it was a picture of him in Nexus as 'Skip Sheffield' she pointed to Heath Slater expectantly. "Hmm I don't really talk with anyone from the old Nexus, I got sidelined with an injury a couple weeks before Wade got kicked out. Too bad, working with CM Punk is always fun expecially when he's working the 'I'm better than you angle.'" This got a laugh out of her. "You a Punk fan, too?" A quick nod.
"You have great tastes in wrestlers, missy. Evan Bourne, Punk, Orton, and of course me." I grinned at her and she laughed easily, reaching up to gently push my face in mock annoyance. This continued on for several hours, her silently handing me pictures or articles and me telling her my thoughts on it or what I was doing at the time.
Finally the Doctor from before -Mitchell? Marshall?- walked in, he stopped short almost dropping the clipboard he was holding. Both Sarah and I looked at him in confusion, then I realized the problem. At some point I had moved to sit with my back against the head board and she had followed me, curled up against my side eagerly pointing things out to me.
I could understand how that would look odd to anyone else, but Dr. M recovered and gave us a smile. "Glad this visit went so well, but it almost 5 now and Sarah need to eat and go to group therapy." The brunette next to me tensed up and I couldn't tell why. "I know it's not your favorite past time but it is necessary." Her head lowered and I felt bad for her.
Sarah shuffled her feet nervously, she obviously didn't want to socialize with anyone else. It kinda broke my heart, we had been doing so well and now it looked like she was gonna go back to being shy and scared. "Uh- Give us a few minutes, Doc. Just gonna say our good-byes then I'll walk her to the cafeteria."
"Of course, I hope you had a nice visit." He smiled easily and walked out. Before the teenager could even begin to look upset at my departure I yank out my phone, I call Hunter, he'd be easier to convince than Vince or Stephanie.
"Hey Hunter, yeah I'm still at the hospital."
"Oh wow that's like four hours or something. I take it the meeting is going well?"
"Yeah, I really like the kid." I flash Sarah a crooked grin and she smiled shyly. "Anyways I was thinking, what if I bring her to Raw next week? Vince wanted me to make a face turn soon, I think she'd be able to help." Her head shot up, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Hmmm I don't know Ryan, it might be to much for the girl. And besides we wanted to bring the face turn when Vickie got fired." I groaned, that was weeks away.
"Come on Hunter. Cena got to bring those kids and he was legitly dieing, Sarah is just really sick. Not terminal just sick." I gave her a glance and another smile. "I barely got to spend a the afternoon with her, I could help so much more if she came on the show." I heard a long sigh and I knew I had gotten my way.
"I'll check it out with her doctor," I grinned widely and Sarah was straining to hear what was being said. "And I have to talk with creative, we'll get something done in two weeks. Send the kid my best wishes."
"Thanks Hunter, will do." The man mutter something that I didn't hear before hanging up. I turned to the anxious girl. "Triple H says hi, anyways if your doctor gives us the okay then you'll be on Raw in two weeks."
She let out an excited squeal and charged me with a hug, damn she nearly speared me, how much power can this girl pack? I hugged her back when I remembered the only thing I remember Cena saying earlier. Don't get attached, you can't save them all. Was I just making it worse for myself if Sarah ever... No she was just sick not dieing, calm down Ryan.