Chapter 4 – Nobody's Home
By now, I was the biggest thing since The Beatles. At first you think that saving the world is no big, but when it takes you away from the things you love… it becomes more of a chore. I wanted to be with Kim. I wanted to help her through this time.
Interview after interview after interview. They all wanted to talk to me. "How would you describe your life?" They all wanted to know about me. "What does the term 'hero' mean to you?" They all thought they knew me. "There's a lot of evil in the world, but what do you do for fun?" But in reality they didn't know anything. When you realise your dreams it tells you a lot about who you are. And if you do realise your dreams, you sure as shit better know what to do with them. I usually think about so much, and yet I can only think of one thing… over and over in my head, like a mantra; "I don't want to be here"
I don't want to be here.
There's only one place I want to be. I want to be home, with my Kim. I wanted to be at her side. I wanted to be with her through thick and thin. But I chose to do the right thing, and I started going to rehab. Of course, I got my agents to cover me.
"We are sorry to announce that Ron Stoppable will not be able to answer your hits on his website for a while, he is suffering from a congenital stomach disorder… which makes it near impossible for him to do anything while it is inflamed. He is of course seeking out medical attention, and hopes to get back to business as usual as soon as possible. Thank you"
"Would you like to make any comment on the rumours surrounding Ron's drug use?"
"We have no further comment at this time"
Her skin smells like milk. As I stand beside her in the hospital bed, the nurse puts the device on her stomach. A distorted image appeared on the screen next to her. "That's your baby" The nurse pointed to the screen.
"That's our baby, Ron" Kim looked up to my now crying eyes with a smile.
"That's our baby" I responded, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Well, I guess we'd better get married…"
I started the day waking up next to Kim, lying there. We hugged for hours, just talking. Later, I went off to save Canada from Drakken and his new giant robot. I used to love Canada as a kid, I dreamed of being famous there.
It was like I had no dreams left, they had all come true. There was nothing left to chase, no prize that hadn't already been awarded.
I remember injecting the gold into my arm whilst watching CNN. They were doing a report on the rumours of my drug abuse. I wasn't really paying attention.
I guess I took a little too much.
Kim walked in and found me lying on the bedroom floor, the TV still on. She rushed over and sat on top of me, pounding my chest.
"Fuck you! You don't get to do this! Fuck you!" She got up and started dragging me by the feet out of the bedroom.
"Fuck You!" She dragged me into the bathroom and laid me under the shower. She turned it on full blast.
"Fuck you!" As the water pounded against my head she just kept repeating those two words. The water drenched my clothes, my face dripping with water. Almost like hers. I woke up with a loud gasp, breathing heavily. I looked up, she was sitting on the toilet, crying into her hands. She looked up at me, and I could see the look of fear on her face when I looked at her. My face was stern, pale, frowning.
"Fuck you!" I responded.
The new best day of my life came. We were in paradise, on the beach, the wind running through our hair. The sound of the ocean in the background.
"I do"
"I do"
I've never been very good at happy endings. Will this one do? Shall we quit now while we're ahead?
Okay. I was pretty medicated that day, and I couldn't stand up too good, but love is a powerful thing you know. With the wind still blowing the palm trees in the background, Kim and I kissed. We were such a great couple.
This is as beautiful as it gets.
I was lying in a hospital bed, wired up to a machine next to me. Medical facilities are nothing if not adaptable. A wife can go through labour on the maternity wing, while a husband sweats Junk out of his system down the hall.
I needed to get clean for my wife.
Kim burst in through the door, a look of pain, fear and slight anger on her face. "If you think I'm giving birth to this child on my own, you're crazy. Get out of bed!" I needed to get clean for my wife.
For my child.
She took me to her room. Whilst lying on the bed, she held my hand, which still had that tube stuck in it. I think Kim was more worried about me than the horror show going on between her legs. It was hard to keep my head up, I still had the shakes pretty bad.
But she did it. And seeing her resolve just made me even more determined to get clean. For my wife. For my child.
For my daughter.
