Age of Innocence II: The beast rises. | DIRECTOR'S CUT
Jan 9, 2022 11:39:54 GMT -5
Addy A, Max f'n Daemon, and 3 more like this
Post by Lissie Hope on Jan 9, 2022 11:39:54 GMT -5
|then| Lissie Hope’s shoes skidded against the pavement as the prism of lights from the Crypto.com Arena rained down from overhead. She left the arena early to escape the horde of fans flooding the streets of downtown Los Angelas, unable to watch the conclusion of the World Heavyweight Championship match between Dandy DiVito and Downfall. “What’s the point?” she asked herself, even knowing how much pleasure she derived from watching DiVito beaten to a pulp. Instead - a call for help. Having been on this murderer’s row defined only by one word - closure - over the last few months, and having to atone for her past transgressions and after avenging the betrayals levied against her, she found herself lost, and broken - like a bird with a fractured wing, free-fallen from the sky and crash-landing in the center of the earth. She didn’t want eyes on her - not anymore. The pressure that comes with high-profile matches like Corey, like Carter, like Ash - it magnified her deficiencies. She needed to lay low, she wanted the targets on Jill and Regan to grow, because when she’s not in the sniper’s crosshairs? The failures wouldn’t hurt as much. Like a shipwrecked wanderer attracted to the siren’s song, she approached Tom’s Watch Bar, but her feet sank and she hooked a right on 11th Street. She hoped to maintain her invisibility among the tourists, even under the warm lights, reverberating sounds, and inviting liquor shelves. She kept walking, towards nowhere in particular. A concrete hedgemaze with nooks on the ground level of every high-rise - and The Beast summoned. Just have one. It always starts with one. One step at a time. A left on Flower Street. The scent of grilled chicken floated overhead. The glowing moon began to illuminate the blackened night as she approached the concrete arch of the clock tower. The playgrounds. The benches. The trees. The childlike innocence undeterred by failure, uncompromised by depravity. A utopia of purity and simplicity under the shadows of the Hollywood sign. A sign from God. A sign from the angels. The sign read
“Baby, are you okay? I’m worried.” “I’m… better.” “Honey, I saw your post, and Addy called me and told me you didn’t answer her back. Are you sure everything’s fine?” “Yeah… I’m gonna be alright. Thank you, though…” Lissie observed her quiet surroundings. Smelling the aroma of fresh leaves, she kicked the gravel underneath, the creaking rusty swingset threatening to collapse. But she felt buoyant, floating - that despite failure and anguish, her fractured wing had finally began to heal. And she knew with little bit of help, and empathy - she’d soar through the sky again. “...y’know, for calling. For caring.” “Baby, of course I care. So many people care. Let them.” “...yeah…” She sounded unsure. “Ma? Can I come home?” Lissie’s voice cracked with desperation. After a lengthy pause, her prayer was answered. “I’ll pick you up when you get in.”
Lissie Hope landed in Houston at half-past-ten. Filing out of the aircraft and white-knuckling a carry-on, her emotions were raw, unsure if she packed enough. She didn’t know how long she would stay - a homecoming far overdue, as she’d spent several months living out of suitcases and hotels. But there was something satisfying about breathing the Texas air. She felt weightless again when she stepped out of the terminal and found ‘ma waiting for her. ‘Ma opened her arms, letting her only daughter collapse into them. “Honey, it’s so good to see you.” “Thank you for coming for me,” Lissie choked out tearfully. “For always being here for me.” “Nothing you could ever do,” ‘Ma assured. “Would ever make me give up on you.” “I’ve been such a burden,” Lissie said, unbuckling her seat belt and resting her head on Ma’s shoulder as they embarked on the half-hour ride. “On everyone.” “Honey, the cross you bear,” Lissie squeezed her crucifix until her flesh burned. “I will always help you carry it. You aren’t alone, not while I’m here.” The scenic route. The towering trees. The open roads. The familiarity, and the simplicity, of home.
“I just want you to surround yourself with people who love you - appreciate you,” ‘ma said. “Settle down, get your priorities right. Find yourself a boy you love.” “I do love someone,” Lissie admitted, regretfully. “Oh god, please don’t tell me you’re still seeing him…” “Cass?” Lissie replied with a smirk. “Oh mama, nooo.” “I always found him a little… what’s the word?” A pause. “Dumb?” “‘Ma!” Lissie laughed, nodding her head in acquiescence. “He’s actually a lot smarter than he seems. But yeah, he was a jerk.” “He used you… influenced you…” she said quietly. “It was heartbreaking to watch you go back to that… behavior.” “Yeah,” Lissie answered, resigned. “He was a mistake. But he’s gone now… I don’t have to worry about him anymore. I'm done being conned.” “Are you sure?” Lissie nervously fidgeted with her sobriety pendant. “That whorehouse you’ve been to. Those girls you’re hanging out with,” ‘Ma said, sternly. “You need to be careful.” “It’s not like that, ‘ma.” “Cut the enablers loose. Get rid of the jerks who just want something from you. What are they called — clout chasers?” “Yeah.” “Jock riders?” “Ma.” “Dick suckers?” “Jesus, ‘ma!” “Like that Max guy. Could never stop talking about you. You need to do what that weird red-head guy told you to do. Cut them off.” “You really do know everything.” “What else a lonely old hag like me gonna do by myself? Puttin’ that ten-dollar subscription to Paramount to good use.” “That’s sweet, ‘ma, that you still care for me this much,” Lissie squeezed her hand. “Besides… there’s only so much MTV I can watch.” “…MTV?” “There’s a show with this girl who looks exactly like you.” “Ma… seriously. I don’t want to worry you anymore.” “I’m always gonna worry for you, baby,” she said lovingly. “I signed up for it when I made you.” Lissie felt the love. She felt the purity and the innocence of being her mother’s child. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the clock, watching it hit 11:09 - but finally - she wasn’t scared. She didn’t feel the paranoia rumbling in her stomach, or her heart pounding in her chest. She finally felt optimistic - like she’d moved beyond the curse. They turned the long-winding road towards the childhood home. Past the train-tracks that woke her. Past the pond she and Robbie would skip stones in. Past the ranches and the primitive downtown filled with antique shops and family businesses and her old church. She was home. “Oh-n,” her mother gasped. Lissie’s eyes turned from the clock to the plot where the home was rebuilt. But in the smoldering rubble, only one thing remained, from the smoke, from the ash - the painting, the gift, from the Dark Man. And she felt the tentacle slither around her throat. The Beast had risen. |