Dark Reflections

Chapter 48

Don't Look Back In Anger

Once the funeral was over, everyone went back to the McMahon residence.

Vince was standing in the living room, looking out the window. There were dozens of people standing around the room, talking to one another. Telling stories to ease the pain. Steve Austin put a hand on Vince's shoulder, making the older man turn to look him in the eyes.

"You don't have to… You know… Be strong. I know you want to because you don't want anyone else to see you upset. But… I want you to know I'm here to listen." Steve stated.

Vince raised an eyebrow and considered Steve's words.

"I'm okay, Steve. Thanks for your concern, though."

Steve smiled and walked away, allowing Randy the opportunity to approach his boss.

"Hey Vince."

"Hello, Randy. That eulogy you delivered was just… Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for those extremely kind words." Vince stated with a smile.

"Ah, you know me. Just telling the truth… I think some of those stories had to be heard by people attending the funeral. Not everyone got to know Shane as well as we did." Randy replied.

"You're absolutely right, Randy."

"I thought your eulogy was great, too. Short, but sweet." Randy stated.

"That's how Shane liked it. God, did that kid hate board meetings. I used to see his notes scattered on his desk sometimes… They were completely covered in either highlighter or Sharpie. I was talking about stocks and he was drawing Pacman and writing 'wakka wakka' in different colors."

Randy nearly spit out his drink. Not only did he find what Vince said highly amusing, it completely caught him off guard. He laughed out loud once he got over his near-death experience.

"His mind sure did wander quite frequently." Randy stated once he regained his composure.

"Yes, that it did. But nobody complained about it that much, which is good," Vince paused to flash a smile at Randy, then looked around the room and frowned.

"Have you seen Shawn and Rebecca anywhere?" He asked.

Randy paused to look around the room. He looked back at Vince and shrugged his shoulders.

"I saw him earlier, around the time we got here. I don't know where he went since then… I'd imagine he'd be with his kids or something. He hasn't seen them in ages."

Vince sighed and looked at the floor.

"I know… I feel so guilty about that…"

Randy raised a confused eyebrow.

"Does that mean you were the one behind the whole 'Shawn can't go home' thing? Or was Paul involved in that, too?" Randy asked.

Vince sighed again and looked back at Randy.

"A lot of it was my idea. Paul tried to tell me I was wrong about it… So did Shane. I should have listened to them. Shawn wouldn't be so… Messed up in the head… And Shane would probably be alive right now."

Randy put a hand on Vince's shoulder.

"Listen, Vince. We can't look back in anger. We have to accept that we made these decisions as intelligent grown men and nothing we can do can change them. We thought they were right at the time… That's the best that can be said. Even if you did send Shawn home, do you think he would have been safe? Paul probably would have scheduled something else to happen to him. Maybe one of his kids would have died… Rebecca could have died. How do you think that would have turned out?" Randy asked.

Vince stared at him in shock.

"…You're right. We can't dwell on the past, can we?" Vince asked.

"No. We can't. Especially with this situation. There's no book on how to act after the dust settles. Nothing could have helped us." Randy replied.

Vince sighed again.

"I presume you're right. Something bad would have happened either way. We were just trying to do right by Shawn."

"Yes, we were. And I think we did, to a certain extent. By keeping him around us for as long as possible, we prevented any harm from going to his family. That's a good thing, especially for someone in his mental state." Randy stated.

Vince looked at Randy with wide eyes.

"You're pretty damn smart."

Randy shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

"I learned from the best."


Shawn was sitting outside, enjoying the sun and the slight breeze in the air. It was one of the most gorgeous days in quite some time. His son Cameron was off in the distance, entertaining his younger sister Cheyenne, as well as Declan and Kenney McMahon, and, of course, Aurora Levesque. Shawn sighed as he stared at Shane's boys. What were they going to do without their father?

Better yet, what was he going to do without Shane?

Sure, there were people who had a stronger emotional attachment to the kid, but Shawn always had a strong relationship with Shane. Shane was the one who kept Shawn the drug addict from storming around and getting into more trouble than he already did. He attempted to keep him sane during the most recent ordeal. Hell, Shane was one of the very few people Shawn actually listened to.

Now his only form of sanity for the last two or three months was gone. Marissa was without a husband. Declan and Kenney were without their father. Stephanie was without her brother. Vince and Linda were without their son.

And their son in law.

But nobody gave a fuck.

Today is about Shane, Shawn told himself. Paul is not raining on this parade. He brought this on himself. He's going to suffer alone.

Shawn once again looked up and sighed. His day possibly couldn't go any slower, could it?

"You should really calm down a bit, you know,"

Shawn raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Being anxious about the day isn't doing you any good, neither is thinking about Paul. You need to clear your mind… It's too crowded in there as it is."

Shawn narrowed his eyes. He couldn't quite place the voice.

It wasn't until a certain smell in the air… Some type of cologne… Caught his attention and he realized who it was.

"Shane?"


A/N: And, just like that… That's the end of Dark Reflections.

It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? I thought it was quite fitting that I end this story on the four-year anniversary of the day I posted it.

I want to thank every single one of you that joined me on this hellacious ride, whether you were attached from the very beginning or joined on 20 chapters into the story. I don't care. You still made this story and all of the crazy updates possible.

I know the name of the chapter, 'Don't Look Back In Anger,' is a song by Oasis, but that's not where I got it from… It was the name of a skit performed on Saturday Night Live in the late 70's, which showed John Belushi as an old man visiting the graves of the other Not Ready For Primetime Players, seeing as to how he was the sole survivor. I thought it was appropriate.

Once again, thank you for all of the love and support over the last four years. Feel free to check out my other stories.