Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

The TV screen flickers to life, and an awkward middle aged man in a grey suite stares from the other side, smilingly faintly before adjusting himself in his seat, “Welcome back, this is Monger, and I, am James Mercado, tonight we are joined by reality TV star and icon, Patrick Templer,” he says, as the camera angle changes to include another man, his pecks dance, as he smirks, and nods his head towards James, and then the camera.

“Pleasure to be here broman,” Patrick says smugly, as he flexes his biceps, and puckers his lips several lips as if preparing himself for a kiss.

“Haha, yes, broman indeed,” James says awkwardly with a laugh, before adjusting himself in his seat once more, furrowing his brow, and leaning in towards Patrick. “Now, Patrick, if you don’t mind, I’d like to start off tonight, with something most people out there, in TV land, don’t know about you, about the real you, away from the spotlight of the cameras,” he says.

Patrick leans back in the chair and rubs one of his massive hands against his chin, tightening his lips together and pressing them against his nose, “James, bro, this, this has totally caught me off guard mate, I came here to talk about my new movie, not what I, Patrick Templer does outiside of my stardom,” he says, before turning swiftly back towards James, smiling for a moment, then quickly, dropping the trademark smile for a frown.

“Ummm, okay, yes, well, of course we’ll talk about the movie, but, I want to talk about all the causes you’ve been a part of in the last few months, because, when I saw the list, I couldn’t help but be mystified, I never knew you were so active in so many fields.”

Patrick shines his pearly white teeth into more with a broad smile, “I came from working class, my parents, worked hard to pay for my schooling, my degrees, my first car and home, and, well, I see so much out there, that I could do to make the word better, that I just want to get out there and do it, so, that’s where you’ll find me, when I’m not working on some multimillion dollar movie, in the trenches, helping those when need it.”

“Wow, that’s just extraordinary,” James says, as he smiles broadly. “Well Patrick, after hearing from you all about what you’ve done with your game, we took the time to contact several of the charities you’ve listed on your cv, and we’ve brought along a few of the workers, to share their stories about you,” he says, Patrick’s smile drops, and his face goes white as the blood drains out. “Are you okay, broman?” James asks.

END