So I guess it probably goes without saying that Rise to Greatness was kind of a shitty night, huh? Like, it doesn’t take the smarts of a fucking rocket scientist or physicist to know that I was probably going to be pretty disappointed in myself after I was “pinned” - and yes, I do use the wrong word on purpose, mostly because Bree was apparently annoyed by that - given the importance of that match. I’m not talking about the US title here, because honestly, the belt never fucking mattered where that match was concerned; sure, I was proud of being United States champion, be that interim or legitimate full champ… but I’m not sure I even need to explain why the match was never about the gold. Sure, Bree was always going to thrust the title in mine and everyone else’s face if she won it and in a way I can’t even hold that against her. I’d have done that myself once upon a time, and maybe would have done it after Rise to Greatness had I won, just to make her a little saltier than she is on any given day. Her pussy must taste like a fucking salt lick… dunno how Dom can go there. That’s just another part of the whole issue though. Dom. Being honest, the last few months have just been one giant clusterfuck in general… from the minute Bree found out about me and Amy and chose to play guardian of all morality in SCW, I think it was destined to end up like this. The fucking irony that she’s free to jump in bed with who she wants and others aren’t is staggering, but like she says, she isn’t the one who’s married. Evidently her convenient catholic beliefs cause her to shove her head even further up her own ass than her every day ego requires already.
I shouldn’t make this about religion though. I can’t hate Bree all i want but I don’t hate her because of her faith. If I do that, I’d have to turn on Amy too, and that sure as shit isn’t gonna happen. But all of this, everything that’s happened in the last three of four months, it all boils down to one thing and one thing alone: Bree’s inability to ever believe that people are allowed to see things differently to her. Shit, she really is a catholic.
Ugh. I need to stop that. Seriously Jase, not about religion so cut the crap. What I said is true though; everything boils down to that one thing, that Bree can’t accept that not everyone lives life the same way she does. Tell me where that’s inaccurate? Then again, maybe it is wrong… I mean, it’s been no secret that I was in an open relationship since pretty much arriving in SCW, yet Bree only had a problem with that when she found out and Amy and Wyatt were too. She went out of her way to be nice to me on several occasions before the truth came out, so maybe she’s just a huge fucking hypocrite instead? But yeah, I’m going off on a tangent I guess. After Rise to Greatness, or after my match with Bree, I felt like someone had let the air out of my existence. Flat, devoid of anything. The title was gone but who cares, what she really took from me that night what any sense of validation that I deserved to live my life however the fuck I choose. And Amy… I mean, she never once said anything, probably didn’t even let the thought enter her mind in all honesty, but it felt like I’d let her down just as much as I’d let myself down by losing, if not more so. I wanted to win not to keep the gold, but to wipe that smug fucking grin off of Bree Lancaster’s face and show her that she doesn’t get to dictate who people are and what they’re allowed to do with their lives... great fucking job Jase, way to blow the one match you’ve wanted to win above all else and in the process, not just fail to wipe the smug look from someone’s face but help it grow.
Christ, talk about fuck ups...
And what improved? What even changed, because of that match? That’s the kicker... it’s like, okay, so Bree has a victory over me; couldn’t care less. She’s US champ now; again, who cares about her photoshoot the minute she won, just makes her look needy for promoting it right away and my little vignettes on the shows have done more for her reign so far than Dior can ever do anyway, so fuck it. But in the past few months, I’ve fallen out with my sister-in-law, my nephew, my half-brother, I’ve been jumped, attacked, assaulted in the street, hounded by gossip pages for interviews, and ended up living on the other side of the country for the most part. Only the latter of those is positive in any way, and while I’m happy I do have a place in Nola, I also miss California. Sure, maybe it’s just more shit to throw in my face, tell me I fucked up because I decided I liked Amy for more than just that sweet honey pot between her thighs, you’re allowed an opinion, but honestly? Losing at Rise to Greatness, as much as I hate to fucking admit it... it just proved people right and left me looking like a fucking moron. Since I turned up here, I’ve been telling people it’s all about the name, that I’m a fucking Helms and people need to remember that, whether they like me or not. What did it get me at Rise to Greatness, huh? Yes, it got me Amy and I’m not saying I’m not thankful for that because I really fucking am... but while I still have Amy, while I’m still a part of her family now – which I cherish – I came out of the biggest show of the year with no validation whatsoever, with nothing but people thinking they can tell me they were right all along and basically, everything to prove all over again. But you know what? Maybe that could be what I need. Maybe it’s time to remind people exactly why I got under their skin or up their noses when I first turned up here... I’m tired of trying to be something I’m not, fed up of trying not to upset the apple cart. I’m Jason fucking Helms, and it’s about time I reminded everyone of that fact!
The Black Dahlia Bar
West Hollywood, CA
27th August, 2018
Given that we’d been living in Nola almost-exclusively for a few months, it was starting to feel odd whenever we visited the house in Cali for any reason... Rise to Greatness’ culmination provided a welcome break from life on the road and it was nice to not have to start thinking about logistics or flights and travel for a while. But I couldn’t deny that I probably should have thought more about the bar during that time off, which yeah, was left in pretty good hands with Aniya promoting one of the staff to manager so that she didn’t have to be there most days... but she still spent half the week out there while I was on the road, save for Wednesday night’s where she was with me for Breakdown, assuming I was actually attending rather than having fun by just sending video packages in to the production team anyway. But enjoying life in Nola did come with a downside, and that was the fact that it was avoiding what was waiting in California... and while Aniya repeatedly told me she was happy for me to leave the bar to her, it didn’t feel right that I wasn’t pulling my weight, when it was supposed to be a joint business venture that we started together when we first arrived in Cali. It’s not as if it was ever my passion though, which probably showed given how little interest I really had in the place... the Dahlia was always Nia’s dream, it was her who wanted to own a place on Sunset, the history of the place, the lifestyle and all that good stuff. That was always her bag, not mine... but you don’t say no to someone’s dreams, not if you care anyway...
So we bought the place. We bought it, changed the name – I don’t even remember what it was called at this point, which kind of says it all really – and Nia put her own spin on the club and it churned out a pretty decent profit most weeks, which wasn’t something to turn your nose up at. It was just hard to invest in any way other than financially, given it wasn’t really my baby in anything but name only. It was our money and my name was on the paperwork as well as hers, but when it came to which of us actually gave a damn about the place, I wasn’t even a close second. In fact, some of the staff probably cared more than I did despite me being a fifty percent owner as far as legality was concerned. But when Aniya got a call to say that the health inspectors had been in wanting to arrange an audit, I knew we didn’t have much choice but to go back to California and even if I’d be about as much use as a chocolate tea kettle, I wanted to travel out there with her, so we hopped on a flight so late on Saturday that it was pretty much early on Sunday instead, giving ourselves the last of the weekend to relax before heading into the bar on Monday to start going through all the files and checking on the hygiene certificates, safety procedures and everything else that already had me feeling sleepy before we ever climbed into the car to drive out there.
“Angela’s done a pretty damn good job of keeping everything afloat all things considered,” Aniya told me about fifteen minutes after we got there, pouring over the books instead of going through the papers for the health inspector. I mean, just from the face of it I could see that anyway, given the place was still standing and looked as clean as it did when Aniya and me were there six nights out of the seven. Not that I had much to do with that, given we employed a cleaning company to come in every morning but one of the big worries for Nia was that standards would start slipping if she wasn’t around as often, but looking at things, the chick that Aniya promoted had been doing a good job. “In fact, takings are up for the last two weeks... Jimmy said that Angie had tried some new ideas, a new night on Tuesday, try and draw customers in on the quietest night. It looks like it’s working,” she said, though whether she was impressed or annoyed I’m not entirely sure... I guess it’s that feeling that your baby can look after itself or doesn’t need you around. Makes you realize you’re not quite as indispensable as you imagined you were. “Tuesday’s and Wednesdays are the nights we don’t see, because of your schedule. It’s nice to see that Angie’s figured out how to bring more people in on Tuesday because that was the one night that worried me...” she admitted, which answered my previous question at least. Evidently she was impressed rather than annoyed.
“Long as the place is still going, that’s all I care about,” I told her, smirking. “I mean, if we got here to find the ceiling and half the walls gone, I’d be worried... but if money’s up, the place looks fine... Angie’s earning her salary as far as I’m concerned.”
“Oh, I knew she’s do well,” Nia told me, shrugging. “It’s why I offered her the job, because I knew she could handle it without being on the phone every five minutes or needing me down here every day. She’s reliable,” she went on, before closing the ledger that held the financial stuff in, only to replace it with an even bigger file that she slammed down onto the bar top with a resounding thud that rattled the glasses of soda I’d just placed on there.
“Christ, you could kill someone with that,” I said, looking at the thing. Maybe not kill, but I’d definitely consider using it as a weapon if they ever booked me in an underground rules match! “Makes me realize how much I don’t know about this place...”
“Yeah well, fortunately I’d never ask you to run the place if I was suddenly unable to,” she told me, laughing at me. “You’d either burn the place down or you’d turn it into a titty bar... and I’ve got no issues with titty bars, but I don’t want to own one,” she added, giving me a cheeky little smirk as she winked. I’m pretty sure she would want to own one given the profit they turn, but point taken.
“Yeah well, maybe I’d like to own one, have you thought about that?” I teased, trying to keep a straight face. “All those women in one place, sounds like heaven to me...”
“What, you don’t get enough from the two women you already have?” Aniya asked, her eyes flashing dangerously though she was only being playful, I could tell that from the twitch at the corners of her mouth as she tried not to laugh.
“More than,” I said, throwing my hands up. “Maybe that’s the problem... I want a brake with a woman I’m not allowed to touch,” I told her, slapping her on the ass.
“Gotta make you work for it baby,” she told me with a wink and I went to say something but my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I almost ignored it at first, half expecting it to be some bullshit notification from twitter or an email, but the vibration pattern was my text messages and I thought I should check it in case it was Amy or Wyatt, maybe Jaina even. If it wasn’t Nia texting me, chances are it was one of those three. Slipping my phone out, I saw Dave’s name on the screen as I unlocked it with my thumb and I pulled up the text, my face immediately tightening. “What, what’s wrong?” Nia asked, looking concerned.
“It’s Dave,” I told her, sighing as I looked at the message. “Trying to give me a heads up...”
“A heads up?” she asked with just as much concern in her voice as what I saw in her face a moment before. “A heads up about what?”
“Dom,” I said with a sigh as I rattled off a quicke reply to my brother. “Apparently he’s looking for me again... saw us leave earlier as he was pulling in at Dave’s place. Dave’s spent the last forty five minutes trying to calm him down because he got angry at the sight of me in the car,” I said, rolling my eyes. What, because it wasn’t bad enough that Bree’s cunt turned him against me, but I had to deal with him wanted to argue with me at every fucking opportunity too?! “Apparently Dave couldn’t get him to chill out and he got back in his car to come find me...”
“I thought he was living in Nola at the minute, staying with mega-bitch?!” Aniya asked, confused. “I mean, all those articles and stuff, the photos all over TMZ...”“Dunno, Dave didn’t say,” I told her with a shrug. I honestly didn’t care. “I know he’s filming in Nola at the minute, but maybe they’re on a break or he has some time off or something? Either way, he’s probably on his way here right now... I mean, it’s gotta be one of the first places he’d try...”
“Alright,” she said, nodding her head. “Then go lock the door. We’ll shut everything off down here and head upstairs... you can’t see the office from anywhere but the yard out back and he’d have to climb a ten foot high gate to get in there...”
“Nah, let him come in,” I told her, shaking my head. “I’m not hiding upstairs like I’m afraid of him, babe. I’m not afraid of him, not in the slightest... and to be honest, I’m shocked this hasn’t happened sooner, I mean plenty’s gone on since he gave me his little warning last time, right?” I said, thinking about how last time we’d been breathing oxygen in the same vicinity as each other, I’d taken a punch to the face for my troubles... that wouldn’t happen again. Not now. “If he wants to see me so fucking badly then let him come find me, I’m done caring about trying to keep things together. He made his choice, so what happens happens.”
“I get it babe, but try and remember that he’s family,” Aniya told me, as if that provided him with a free pass to act however he wanted. It didn’t.
“So’s Regan, yet she tried to cripple me in that ring Nia,” I replied cooly. I wasn’t angry with her for making the point but I had to get her to see that being relatives didn’t give people a free pass. It certainly didn’t get me anything, no one willing to give me the benefit of the doubt or faith that I knew what I was doing. “Just got me beaten up in the middle of the fucking ring as well as punched out on the street. Am I meant to keep giving people a free ride when I don’t get anything in return?”
“No baby, of course not,” she told me, putting a hand on top of mine. “But I also think it won’t hurt to show some restraint either... just remember that no matter how angry he gets and how tough he acts, it probably is an act,” she cautioned, and I guess I couldn’t argue with that. He wasn’t a trained fighter, he was an actor... being able to throw a punch isn’t the same thing as being able to legitimately hurt someone.
“Then I guess I’d--” was as far as I got before we heard the door open and we looked up to see Dom marching into the club, making a beeline right for where I stood behind the bar.
Nia grabbed the folder and stepped out of the way, reading the look on Dom’s face exactly the same was as me I’m guessing, because she started to edge away which I was pleased about. The last thing I wanted was for her to get involved in the middle of something that may just turn nasty. “You’re a fucking son of a bitch, you know that?!” Dom said, marching straight at the bar and grabbing the glass of soda that I’d not even taken a sip of yet, throwing the contents all over me, soaking me through. “You couldn’t fucking help yourself could you, you can’t help stirring the god damn pot at any given opportunity instead of just leaving things be, you arrogant prick!” he yelled at me as I grabbed a cloth from underneath the bar and dried off my face. Soda still dripped from my hair, I placed a hand on the bar and gripped it tightly for a second, weighing up my next move but as a deep breath left my nose, I lost all desire to hold back and I vaulted over the top of the bar, and stepped up towards Dom, shoving him back. Not hard, but hard enough to knock him back a couple of feet and he steadied himself on the back of a chair before glaring at me. “What the fuck is it with you, huh? You can’t leave anything alone can you, you have to meddle, keep picking at the scab until you make it bleed again! Well I’m fucking sick of it Jason and I’m only gonna tell you one more time, stay out of this!”
“You’re only gonna tell me once?!” I asked, trying to not lose my cool more than I already had with the shove. It wasn’t fucking easy, believe me. “How about you step the fuck back and think about the irony of your words when you just stormed into a bar I own and thrown a drink on me!” I told him, and I could feel the vein in my temple throbbing as my blood pressure got higher with every second. “What the fuck did I do this time, huh? Did I sneeze in the wrong direction? Did my lack of congratulatory tweets to Bree displease her? Or is it just because Bree told you to be angry with me and you figured what the hell, you’d come treat me like shit?!”
“Really?!” he asked, squaring his shoulders slightly and the fact he took half a step towards me wasn’t lost, even if I was looking him right in the eye. “You’re really going to stand there and pretend you’re the innocent party right now, after everything you’ve done since the lead up to Rise to Greatness?!”
“Can we try and calm this down?” Aniya asked from over by the bar, still keeping her distance having stepped away when Dom first stormed in. “I know you’re both angry but--”
“Go upstairs Nia,” I told her calmly without taking my eyes off of Dom for even a second. “Go upstairs and sort that paperwork out, okay? Me and Dom have a lot to talk about it seems...”
“Yeah,” Dom said mockingly, actually smirking humorlessly at me, keeping his own eyes locked on me as he nodded. “Yeah, you do just that Aniya. Me and Jason have to talk about some things...” he agreed and I could see him clenching the knuckles on his right hand, even though he was too far away to even think of throwing a punch. And I wasn’t gonna be suckerpunched this time either; if he wanted to punch me, he’d have to do it while I was right in front of him and ready for it.
“I’m not gonna let you just dismiss me in--” Aniya started to say but this time I was far sterner when I cut her off.
“Nia. Please. Go,” I told her hotly, and I could almost feel her eyes burning into the back of my neck from her glaring at me, but I heard the sound of the folder she’d been looking at slide across the bar top and it was quickly followed by the sound of a door opening and swinging shut again. “Alright, just us now ‘bro’... so go ahead, say all you’ve got to say. But make it count...” I told him, making sure the threat wasn’t lost in my words and he didn’t miss it if the clenching of his jaw was anything to go by.
“I warned you Jason,” he told me, leaning forward a little, no doubt trying to come across as more intimidating that he truly was. I don’t fear my half-brother, even if he has a few inches on me. “I warned you not to keep bringing me into it, not to keep fucking around with Bree and making this personal, and you--”
“Making it personal?!” I said, anger and amusement fighting for supremacy, laughter actually winning out in the end. “You’re fucking shitting me right now, you’re saying I’m the one who made this personal?! It wasn’t me who started this bullshit by hiring private detectives to follow people, paying P.I’s to follow me and Amy, get ‘evidence’ of an above board relationship after her own brother told her he was well aware of what was going on,” I told him, throwing every single fact back in his face. “And then what did she do when she had that information hum, Dom? What did she do when she had proof of what was going on? She blackmailed our own brother into giving her air time at the very end of the show, intending to show the world that ‘proof’ just to get a sense of enjoyment out of watching Amy suffer... only it fucking backfired didn’t it? Amy told everyone the truth herself--”
“Only because she wanted to save face,” Dom told me, interrupting me mid flow.
“Save face?!” I said, laughing at him again, which was clearly making him angrier. Don’t get me wrong, I was livid myself, but he was actually making me laugh with his arguments, even if I didn’t really find it all that funny. “Fuck you Dom, Amy did it because she didn’t want Bree to feel like she’s scored a victory when there was nothing to win! Amy and Wyatt had chosen to explore their relationship like consenting adults, and it’s no secret that me and Aniya are in an open relationship... but no, Bree has such a fucking stick up her ass that she can’t possibly think about someone else being different to her. She can’t even give her own brother and the woman who trained her the benefit of the doubt and assume they know what they’re doing, because Bree fucking Lancaster has to be right about everything!” I told him, pointing out him as I emphasized every single point.
“So what?!” Dom asked, waving it away. “So what if Bree didn’t like the fact that her brother was being taken for a ride by this little arrangement... you’re the one who chose to keep it going!” he said, spit flying from his mouth he was so angry. “First you just announce to the world that me and Bree slept together in a fucking promo of all places, then you keep it going on twitter, and then you go to fucking TMZ and do an interview!” he yelled, and I could help smirking at the mention the TMZ interview that happened just before Rise to Greatness. He had no idea that I didn’t want to give that interview really, but the fact it probably annoyed Bree at least brought a smile to my face. “Don’t you fucking smirk at that, you piece of shit! You have no idea when to let stuff go, do you?! The stuff with the t-shirt, Dom/Blake... the photo’s on twitter of famous people called Dom or Blake, you think that was cute?!”
“I thought it was fucking hilarious more than anything if I’m being honest,” I said, laughing again. I couldn’t help myself. “Though I’m surprised it took her as long as it did to cotton on to what I was doing, because let’s face it Dom, she needs things spelling out to her before she actually understands, doesn’t she?!” I asked him. “Did you have to whip your cock out and wiggle it in her face before she realized you wanted to--” I started to ask, but I’d evidently gone too far. I saw it coming before he even moved, and he was wearing a leather jacket that did him no favors where movement was concerned, but taking a stride forward, Dom swung his arm back going for a punch. The last time it happened he caught me off guard but this time I was waiting. The arm came towards me but I side stepped and grabbed his wrist, twisting it around and up his back, putting just enough pressure on to stop him from going anywhere unless I let him as I drove him forward towards the doorway. I didn’t push him through the door though, but into the frame. Not hard, but enough to pin him there. “Here’s a fucking tip ‘bro’... when you want to catch people off guard, don’t go back to the fucking well,” I told him as I gave the wrist a little twist, careful not to go too far and do some serious damage.
“Let me go, asshole!” Dom spat, though his voice was a little distorted from his face being pressed against the wood of the doorframe. “You’re just--”
“I’m just what Dom?” I asked, pushing forward a little. “Just fed up of people thinking they can walk all over me? Fed up of people that are supposed to care deciding that their opinion is more valid than me? Too fucking right I am!” I told him, speaking directly into his ear as I tightened my grip on his wrist. “You came all the way here from Dave’s place because you saw we were in town, you came all the way here just to yell at me because I don’t let your bitch of a girlfriend or fuck buddy or whatever she is at this point get her own way without putting up a fight... and you think you can call the shots after that?! You must be out of your damn mind if you think I’m letting you throw any of that back in my face after everything that she’s done leading to this point then you have another thing coming!”
“That’s it, lay the blame on her door,” he said, struggling to try and get free but he didn’t have a chance, I had his wrist held tight and the more he struggled, the more pressure I put on. “Let me fucking go!” he shouted, and I almost did.
Instead, I pulled him away from the frame of the door and moved him towards the actual door. “Remember this when she dumps you for the next flavor of the week or when Blake comes crawling back again Dom,” I told him, getting close to his ear to make sure he was listening. “You were second best last time and it’ll happen again... but while you’re crying into your cap’n crunch, remember who turned their back on who, yeah? Remember that it was you who chose Bree over your own blood... remember that you gave up on me because of the cunt that let you in her cunt... I hope it was fucking worth it,” I said with finality, shoving him into the door, which swung open. Shoving him away from me, he stumbled into the street but kept his feet. I didn’t bother to watch after that, turning back inside and letting the door slam shut behind him. I half expected him to come tearing back in, but I heard the trash can outside clanging – I’m guessing a well-aimed kick – and that was it. About ten seconds later I heard tires screeching and I assumed it was him leaving. Walking back over to the bar, I walked behind the counter and grabbed a bottle of jack and a glass, pouring myself a drink, which I drained just as the door to the upstairs opened and Nia walked back in. “He’s gone. Won’t be a problem again,” I told her before turning around.
“Are you okay?” she asked, walking over to me, her voice filled was concern. “Did he--” she started to ask but I shook my head.
“He didn’t get the chance this time,” I told her, just wanting to forget everything that had just happened. “Like I said, he won’t be a problem again...” was about all I could say before I turned back to the bottle of jack. I almost poured myself another but I knew deep down that it wasn’t the solution. I screwed the cap back on and put it back on the shelf before pulling some singles out of my wallet to add to the cash register. I wasn’t the kind of owner that drank his own profits, even if what had just happened kind of warranted it... who the fuck did Dom think he was, storming into our bar to tell me the score, when he as far as I was concerned Bree was the one who started all of it. And if he wanted to choose Bree over me, then so be it. There’s no accounting for taste, and if he was going to make his bed then he could lay in it too. Took me long enough to figure that one out, huh...
Like I said, I was done letting people walk all over me. I think that was the moment of affirmation in a way; Dom thought he could walk in there and talk down to me in the bar I owned, all because I’ve offended his fuck buddy. I mean, I’m assuming that’s what he is anyway, given she was talking about going out on a date on twitter the other day and I know for a fact it wasn’t with Dom because he wasn’t around at the time. I’m done trying to be the nice guy or trying to keep the peace or get things through working hard... I’m not saying I’m giving up on everything from the last six months or reverting to type or anything. The last thing I want to do is turn into a whiny little asshole like Aaron has recently, but if it comes down to a choice between letting people walk all over me or taking a stand and sticking up for myself then you know for a fucking fact that there’s only one choice I can make with that. It’s time to remind people just why I got to the point I did, how I became interim U.S champ, how I started making waves before those fans starting getting behind me. And hey, let’s face it... if it’s people like Bree I’m taking it out on then they won’t be going anywhere any time soon either. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me that going after the people like Bree is going to lose me fans. You can’t, can you? Because no matter how much of a douche I may be at times, that will never compare to how much of an awful person she and her ilk basically are... so like I said. Time to remind people exactly why it’s All About The Name. And when I’m done, maybe certain assholes will realize I am someone to be concerned about in that ring and out of it...
