Jumpstart walked down the hallway of the hospital; he was somewhere on the seventh floor but was a little lost at this point. He was used to being on the fifth floor where his orthopedic doctor was located, and he was very hopeful they wouldn’t cross paths.

Fortunately for him, the seventh floor was the oncology wing of the Memphis hospital. That was a weird way for him to think about being on an oncology wing, he mused.

“Do you know where room 723 is?” Jumpstart asked a nurse behind a desk.

“Yes, sir,” replied the homely hospital worker. “Just keep heading down the hall, take a left and then take a right.”

He followed the nurse’s directions and finally found the room where Brandon stayed.

Brandon and his parents had approached Jumpstart during Gold Strike 22, and the parents introduced Brandon as the fan who had never given up on Jumpstart. The fan who still believed in him, despite all the cheating Jumpstart had done to stay relevant in professional wrestling.

The request from the young cancer patient was simple: please don’t cheat in the match against Golden Ben Miller for the Pure Gold Championship number one contender status.

And Jumpstart did do his best to wrestle GBM clean, but Violence had unexpectedly attacked Golden Ben Miller, which delivered him the win.

When he approached Brandon’s room, the door opened and Brandon’s parents and a doctor exited. The three people quietly huddled and discussed something regarding Brandon’s state while Jumpstart stood a little bit away to give them privacy.

The conversation ended, and the doctor noticed Jumpstart standing there. He gave a quick shake of his head to Jumpstart as if recommending him to leave, but then the parents saw Jumpstart, too.

Brandon’s father immediately portrayed a look of contempt for Jumpstart, and the mother threw her hands up in frustration before walking away. Cautiously, Jumpstart approached the father.

“I’m so sorry to bother you guys, but I thought stopping by might cheer Brandon up,” Jumpstart began.

The father looked less than agreeable.

“Listen, Brandon was hurt badly by what you did in that match. Working with Violence? Brandon believed in you, and then you go put together something like that.”

“I had no idea Violence was going to interfere, I promise. I’ve been dealing with a lot, but Brandon’s words really made me try to win that match clean. I promise. I just want to check in with him and explain.”

“You’ve been dealing with a lot? My son has cancer, sir. And when he had a chance to meet you at Gold Strike 22, he was happy again. Even for only a moment.”

This was like a dagger into Jumpstart’s chest, but he still wanted to make it right.

“If I can just talk to him, and even get him to some more shows, I can make him proud and keep his morale up.”

“No,” the father replied flatly. “The doctor thinks the distress of seeing you betray him has sent Brandon into a tailspin, and he’s getting worse. So, please get the hell out of here and just do whatever you need to be some ‘relevant’ professional wrestler.”

“Plea-” stammered Jumpstart before being cut off.

“I said leave, or I’ll call hospital security.”

Jumpstart decided there wasn’t anything he could do now, and shame permeated through his body as he turned and walked away.