"The Sensation" Danny Starr


	Paradise Lost: The Downfall of Danny Starr
	It was almost Seven o’ clock PM… the sun had fallen behind the trees, and darkness overtook Hartford. Gazing out my window to see if Jenn would pull into the drive-way. I had been expecting her… not because she had my car, but because I had finally decided that today was the day… or night rather, I would ask her the question. Backing up from the window, I turned to the dark, empty house… it was peaceful now that Mark Crow had finally figured out what he wanted to do with his life. The quiet was nice, but I’m going to miss Mark’s company; I’ve been around him off and on since the beginning of my career… so this was no easy task. As they say: ‘Times change’ and this time was for the better… Mark was finally becoming aware that he had ambition somewhere hidden inside of him… like me, cleaning up his act and working hard to beat the odds. I respect Mark for that… He had picked up his belongings earlier as if this was meant to happen… well, especially since Jenn was called into work right after Mark left for the airport. It gave me a chance to set up the ambiance for when Jenn arrived… I had my dining room covered in candles, all lit… the entire room was dark besides the light the fire caused… and an empty house for Jenn and I to enjoy the night in our own company… if you hadn’t figured it out, tonight… I would ask her to marry me… The last piece of the puzzle I needed to complete the redemption of Danny Starr. I had won Last Man Standing fair… I had beat Kevin Conner for the World Title fair… Mark had went off on his own… I made amends with enemies… I patched things up with Michael… and now I have met the one girl I want to spend the rest of my life with… Jenn Copelin. It seemed like the only thing to do, and I was damn sure of it. She told me she would be home around 7:30... Which gave me plenty of time to prepare for our magical evening… despite the aftermath of Kevin and my match when The Void came back… I was putting all HWA business aside… I wouldn’t let that ruin my mood for tonight, this was more important than Zack Tyler… I walked around the dining room, pacing back and forth… feeling the cool breeze drift in from an open window I left to make the candles’ flame dance. The fire over-powered the cool March breeze, but for some reason… the air wrapped around me like a snake… making me ice cold despite my location next to the fire-place. Chills ran up my spine… just as I related it to the feeling of the Hall of Sensation… the feeling I got at the Auto shop. We had finished our ‘planned’ lunch at the Italian restaurant I promised Jenn… and we both had our fill. The next task on the list was to pick up my 300 M that would supposedly be finished by the time we had finished eating. I remembered the man was shady, and had a strange feeling about him… I knew I knew him from somewhere… I’m very good with faces, but perhaps I was mistaken. We back-tracked from the restaurant, only I drove this time… Jenn didn’t want me to, but I successfully convinced her. Perhaps she knew something in advance… but I didn’t see it coming… FLASH BACK If you can imagine it, I’m in the driver’s seat of Jenn’s yellow mustang… while Jenn sits in the driver’s seat. The sun blinded me whenever I would drive, and my sun-glasses were still in the 300 M… therefore I was desperately trying to see past the squint I was making with my eyes… I look over to Jenn who is not wearing a seat-belt. Danny Starr: Put your belt on, Babe… Jenn Copelin: I’ll be getting out in a minute… Danny Starr: Come on, put your belt on… Jenn Copelin: Fine… I look over to make sure she puts the belt on…. She does so, and I return to trying to see ahead of me. Jenn Copelin: So he claims the CV joints will be fixed? Doesn’t he need to get parts? Danny Starr: Yeah, he said that my car would be done by the time we finished lunch… believe me, Jenn… these mechanics know what they’re doing! Jenn Copelin: Danny… we have to talk… Have to talk? That doesn’t sound good at all… she can’t be breaking up with me… Danny Starr: About what, baby? I got nervous… my mind lost focus… Jenn Copelin: Danny, I missed my… I look to Jenn as she began telling me something, only to see her face jump in fear as I quickly look to the road… but it’s too late… Jenn Copelin: Danny! CRASH! It happened so quickly… both Jenn and I forgot that she was telling me something… and focused strictly on the fact I had hit somebody from behind as I took my attention off the road. Danny Starr: Shit… are you okay? Jenn Copelin:…Yeah, I’m fine… I TOLD you I should drive! Danny Starr: Okay, it wasn’t that bad… let me just see if the other person is okay… hand me the insurance. Jenn reaches into the glove compartment… I can feel my heart beating rapidly… almost as if it was punching its way threw my rib-cage out threw my chest. She handed it to me, and I got out of the vehicle to meet the person I had hit. When I stepped onto the pavement, I looked around for any police first… there were none in sight. I saw a man dressed in a nice suite giving me the impression he was a businessman… a wealthy man driving a Lexus 4-door. Man: Are you okay? Danny Starr: I’m fine… are you? I’m terribly sorry, my friend… the sun is blinding today. Man: I understand… The man looks to the back of his car which, remarkably, has no damage… I look to Jenn’s mustang to see the light has been smashed on the left side. It was my fault… Danny Starr: I have insurance here… Man: Listen, I’m fine… if you are. Danny Starr: Absolutely, sir… again, I’m very sorry… We shake hands and part our ways. Man: Have a great day… Danny Starr: You too… For whatever reason, the man had no damage on his car… but Jenn’s head-lights were completely smashed… should only be a few hundred dollars that I would take care of. I climbed back into the driver’s seat, handing Jenn the insurance card. Jenn Copelin: What happened? Is he okay? I shut my door and put my seat belt on… Danny Starr: He’s fine… his car is okay, he decided to let us go… Jenn Copelin: That was a loud crash, Danny… there has to be damage somewhere… Danny Starr: Well, you’re headlight is obliterated, but I’ll take care of that.. I’ll leave it at the Mechanics when we pick up my car. Jenn Copelin: You’re never driving my car again! Danny Starr: Oh, come on, Jennifer… this was my first accident… Jenn Copelin: Danny… it’s my car… you don’t get points on your liscense, I do! Danny Starr: I’m sorry, baby… look, we’re basically at the shop, I might as well just drive there… Jenn Copelin: Fine… just be careful, baby… Long story, short… we pulled up to the shop to see my car sitting in the lot. Danny Starr: That’s odd… Jenn Copelin: Wow… I guess it is fixed… this guy is good! Danny Starr: See, I told you… I pulled up closer and saw the garage door was closed… Jenn Copelin: What, do they close at 4? Danny Starr: I’m not sure… I’ll knock… I climb out of the car and the cold hits me like a brick to my face. I walk past the 300 M, looking inside of the driver’s window to see the keys are just hanging out of the ignition. Danny Starr: Oh, that’s a great idea… this is a 40,000 dollar car… someone could just walk up and steal this… Jenn yells from the car… Jenn Copelin: What’s wrong? I look to her, trying to yell so she could hear… Danny Starr: They just left the keys in here… why don’t you park the car over by the garage and start mine up… Jenn follows my instructions as I walk up to the gray painted garage door. I knock on it once… twice… finally a third time and no one answers. I begin looking for another possibly entrance and finding a glass door reading ‘CLOSED’ on it. Danny Starr: Damnit… I look to Jenn who is now walking to the driver’s side of my car. Danny Starr: Jenn, they’re closed! Jenn sighs without reply, as if thinking of what to do.. Jenn Copelin: I guess we’ll just have to bring it back tomorrow… Danny Starr: Okay, get back in your car… Jenn Copelin: Yeah, I don’t think so… Danny Starr: What?! Jenn hops into the driver’s seat and turns my car on… Danny Starr: No!!!!!!!! My baby!!! Jenn takes off out of the lot… on a positive note, I didn’t hear any grinding when she turned the wheel. Dust is flying up into the air as I begin laughing at her spiteful actions. Danny Starr: Great… I shake my head as the cold wind pushes me towards her Mustang… I climb into the driver’s seat and turn the key… hearing the engine growl as I rev it up. END FLASH BACK My thoughts are interrupted by my cell phone ringing… perhaps Jenn was calling to tell me a certain time she would be home. I look down at the name, but it’s not Jenn… it’s Michael Diamond. I could use someone to talk to, to kill some of the time I was wasting here alone so I answer it… Danny Starr: Hello? Michael Diamond: Danny! What the hell was that about? Danny Starr: I assume you mean Zack Tyler and Mathew Hydrox? Michael Diamond: I haven’t seen them in years! Danny Starr: Yeah, I know… it was quite the surprise, but hey… they aren’t ruining the fact I beat Conner for the title… Michael Diamond: Heh… yeah… Danny Starr: Listen, Michael… Michael Diamond: What is it, Danny? Danny Starr: Tonight, I’m going to pop the question to Jenn… Michael Diamond: What question? Danny Starr: I’m going to ask her to be my wife, Michael… Michael Diamond: Whoa! Big step… are you sure that’s what you want? Danny Starr: I couldn’t be more sure, Michael… she’s everything to me… and more. Michael Diamond: Well, I mean… do you think she’s going to say yes? Danny Starr: She better… the ring I bought her was worth a quarter of what I paid for my 300 M… Michael Diamond: Well, of course… Wow, though… that’s… wow, so when is this happening? Danny Starr: Tonight when she gets home from work… she should have been home at 7:30, but she said she might be late. Michael Diamond: Well, best of luck, Danny… let me know how everything turns out… Danny Starr: Will do… I’m really nervous… Michael Diamond: Nervous? Danny Starr nervous? Wow… never thought I would see the day… Danny Starr: Hey, I can’t be cool and collected all the time! Michael Diamond: No, of course not… but hey, give me a call later or whatever… and we’ll talk about this HWA situation after you, uhm.. Well, do the ‘deed’. Danny Starr: Sounds like a plan, Michael… good night. I hang up the phone… a sense of disappointment over-takes my thoughts as I become eager for Jenn’s arrival. She has been gone for hours… FLASH BACK TO THIS AFTERNOON I watched a taxi leave my house… Mark Crow and his belongings. I offered him a ride to the airport, but he preferred a taxi… I don’t know why, but I didn’t take it personal. Mark had his own methods and reasons… As I watched the taxi roll down the street, I heard my car door slam behind me. I turned around, and to my surprise, saw Jenn sitting in the drivers seat staring ahead… Out of curiosity, I walk up to the driver’s side and look at her through the tinted glass… noticing she is on the phone. She looks up and sees me staring at her, and shakes her head in disgust. I look at her back, making a facial expression as if saying ‘What is wrong’. She shakes her head again and replies back to the person on the phone. She says something then folds the cell in half as she rolls down the window. Danny Starr: What’s wrong? Jenn Copelin: Some idiot completely fucked up the blue prints to a project I’ve been working on. I need to get down there and deal with the contractors. Danny Starr: Are you taking your car? Jenn Copelin: Danny, not now… I am not driving at night with that thing, and I have no idea when I’ll be back… so just trust me for once… okay? I remembered that her head-light was still broken… even 4 days later we could never find the time to take it to the mechanic. Danny Starr: All right… Jenn Copelin: Thank you… I love you… Danny Starr: I love you too… I lean down and kiss her… the cold creeps in through my clothes, making my body numb as I watch her reverse out of the drive-way. I can’t take my eyes off of her… I won’t. END FLASH BACK… That was hours ago… she could be there all night for all I know… my memories of this afternoon are interrupted by the cool breeze drifting in threw that window, once again… it was a moist cold… and I could now hear the sound of rain slowly dropping to the window seal. The rain could not stop this from happening. Jenn and I prefer rain during romantic evenings… because no matter how messy it was outside; inside… we were together, and that’s all that matters. But the rain could be deceiving… Jenn was not inside with me… therefore, there was nothing romantic about the storm… Lightning added a bright light to the room full of darkness as the rain picked up heavily, slamming against the window seal. The time was now 8:01 PM… and still no sign of Jenn. I was tempted to call her, but didn’t want to agitate her during her work. And if she was on the road, I didn’t want her to answer the phone while driving in this mess. A cold, startling wind blew in fiercely from the outside… blowing some of the candles out. The smoke lifted from the un-lit wick dancing above the candle… taunting me… as if it was making fun of the fact the rain was tampering with my work… My heart starting to beat faster… I tried to get my mind off of the storm by thinking of other things… but the lightning and crashes of thunder reminded me of its presence. In another attempt to rid my mind of it… I reached into my pant pocket, searching for the small case which held Jenn’s engagement ring. I looked at its black surface, and opened it up… staring at it’s elegance… it’s silver beauty. She preferred silver over gold… as did I. The lightning lit up the room once again, and as a spectrum caused the diamond on the ring to glow for mere seconds as I sighed in nervousness. As I continued to view its amazing beauty… the ringing of my cell phone startled me as the thunder had been. Without thinking, I flip the phone and place it directly to my ear… not even seeing who it was. Danny Starr: Michael, I’ll call you later! There was no voice… it was a deadly silence for a moment or so before I pulled the phone away to look at the name. It was still connected… and the name read ‘Mom and Dad’… but they weren’t mine. I placed the phone back to my ear… that’s when the man spoke. Man: Danny? I gulped… by his voice, I could sense something very odd… Danny Starr: Is something wrong? I thought you were Jenn… Man: Danny… In the background, I could hear a faint sound of torture… I could not make out what it was, but it was not pleasant. Man: Tonight around 7:20... Jenn was driving home from work when.. Oh my god… No… Danny Starr: What happened… Is she okay? Bob… Bob: She… hydroplaned and apparently lost control of the vehicle… they said the joints snapped causing her to drift into another lane where a pick-up truck was driving… and couldn’t stop in time. Danny Starr: Oh my god… No… Bob: She died almost instantly… she had no pain… Danny Starr: No… no… tell me this isn’t happening, Bob! TELL ME! Bob: I wish I could, Danny… but I can’t… The thunder crashed… and the lightning flashed… and a gust of wind blew the rest of the flames out… my world went gray. Danny Starr: She’s gone… Jenn’s gone? Bob: Yeah, Danny… there was nothing they could do… Tears had built up in my eye-lids… and I now knew why the flames taunted me… dancing as if mocking me… my beating heart slowed down… and the beating nearly stopped as my heart broke almost as instantly as her very death… but the pain still remained with me… and always will… Danny Starr: Oh my god… There were no more words I could say… only the heavy breathing and gasping for air as I drowned in my own tears… suffocating in my own distress. The love of my life… is gone as quickly as I had her. Bob: I know we didn’t really get to know each other, Danny… but you loved Jenn… and she loved you… His words were to comfort me, but there was no antidote to calm my hysteric anguish. Bob: We love you like a son… and we are here for your support… I finally gained enough oxygen to speak in reply. Danny Starr: Oh my god,…. I love her so much… how could this happen… oh my god, how selfish I must be… you are her Father… and Estell is her Mother… I should be offering you my support, not the other way around… I am here for you too… but Jesus, why… how could this be… Bob: Look, Danny… I have to go be with Estelle… Please, I want you to call some of your friends and have them to be with you right now. There is nothing left we can do until her funeral… if you need anything, don’t you dare hesitate to call us… you are family to us. Danny Starr: As you are to me. I’m so sorry for your loss… Bob: We need to stay strong, Danny… that’s how Jenn would have wanted it… Danny Starr: Give Estella my deepest condolences… Bob: I most certainly will, Danny… Danny Starr: When… when is the funeral? Bob: It will be Wednesday… Danny Starr: I’ll stop by tomorrow morning if that’s okay… and we can talk about this. Bob: Please do… and please Danny… get some of your friends to spend time with you tonight… Danny Starr: I promise… I will… We hung up the phone… Darkness filled my heart just as the dining room had been over-taken by it. The rain had slowed to a drizzled pace as the thunder had faded and the lightning stopped flashing. I was so close to redemption… so close to making things right, and God took the one thing I had. The one thing that made me smile through all of these mistakes, through all of these negatives in my life… I had finally been freed from this prison I had built around me… this locked containment I had broken out of to become a changed man… a new man with respect and values and this is how I’m repaid!? How could it be this way? How could God play such mischievous games… show such devious and deceiving images of happiness for my hard work and take the one thing I loved… I committed sins but repented… and because of those mistakes… Jenn was taken from me… my heart was ripped from my chest and no longer beats the drums of salvation… so close to paradise, but now it has been lost. I look down through my tears to see the engagement ring still locked inside of my grasped hand… holding onto it for dear life as I see a tear drop to its glimmer. A tear to break the ice between reality and fantasy and realize there was nothing watching me. There was no redemption, only falsity and hope that would diminish as soon as I was in reaching distance of true happiness… I love her… and I haven’t even gotten the chance to show her my love in its full affect… that was tonight. She was taken before I could even make her my wife… she died not knowing I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her… THIS IS REDEMPTION!? THIS IS MY SALVATION!? Anger flowed through my veins instigated by the tears that emptied my soul… THIS IS MY REASONING? I came so far… and proved to be changed, and THIS is how God repays my sacrifices? This is the treasure I am granted for being a good person for the first time in my life? I trusted God… I trusted Jesus… no longer will I follow such treachery… such lies that I believed and preached… My god… Jenn is gone… just as all of my happiness and love has now perished… my heart no longer holds anything but black, and complete devastation… perhaps time will heal it, but how could it? There could never be paradise for me now… just the memory of what was, but now isn’t. I decided to follow up on my promise to Jenn’s father and call my good friends… I dialed Michael and waited for him to answer… Michael Diamond: Hello? Danny Starr:…. Michael Diamond: Danny? Danny Starr: She’s dead, Michael… Michael Diamond: What? Who? Danny Starr: Jenn… And just like that… paradise was lost.