Hey everybody! I promise I have not forgotten about Saving Me, but an idea for this story has been rattling around in my head for awhile now and I had to get it out. It's a one chapter fic. . .hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. The title and lyrics come from the song "Wasted" by Carrie Underwood.
Wasted
I don't want to spend my life jaded,
waiting,
to wake up one day and find that I let all these years go by
wasted.
Torrie Wilson looked around the night club, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. She wasn't sure why she had allowed her friends talk her into coming out with them tonight for a "girl's night out." They had all gone off and left her, just like she knew they would.
Melina had been the first to disappear, but that was to be expected given her current relationship with Johnny. Maria had soon followed in suit, choosing to spend their "girl time" with C.M. Punk. Again, Torrie had anticipated that happening. Even Candice and Ashley had ditched her; Candice choosing to get her groove on with the WWE Champion and Ashley flirting with Matt Hardy. That left Torrie by herself.
She wasn't sure why she was surprised, for all of her friends had seemed to have attached themselves to the male superstars of the WWE as of late. They had encouraged her to go have fun with Carlito, but the two of them were just friends and that would have been awkward. Besides, there was a girl back home that her curly-haired friend was interested in.
The truth was that for the first time in a long time, Torrie Wilson was lonely. Her divorce from Pete was final and now she was back to square one, living the life of a single girl. Most of the time she didn't mind, for it was a welcome change from the stress that had been her marriage. Though she and Pete had loved each other deeply, they should have never been married. They were just too different.
Torrie had promised herself that she was done moping and mourning the loss of her marriage. She wanted to have fun this Wrestlemania weekend, which was part of the reason why she allowed her friends to convince her to come out with them to a club. It was Friday night and she had no other plans. She wanted to get out and explore Detroit instead of remaining cooped up in her hotel room watching a chick flick. Unfortunately, getting out to see the city had not gone according to plan.
The way Torrie saw it, she had two options. She could continue to stand in the middle of the dance floor like an idiot, or she could make her way to the bar, order one last drink, and slip out of the club with her friends none the wiser. She chose the latter.
She pressed her way through mass of bodies swaying to the pulsating music, ignoring the obnoxious strobe lights that illuminated the room. She finally reached the bar, relieved to have made it to her destination in one piece. One more drink and then she would leave.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked over the noise.
"A Cosmo!" she yelled as she leaned against the bar. The bartender nodded at her and proceeded to make her drink.
Torrie turned and watched the crowd, unable to see where her friends had disappeared to. She would call Ashley later and tell her that she had left so they wouldn't worry. There was no reason for her to spoil their good time.
"Here you are!" the bartender announced. Torrie turned around and reached into the pockets of her tight jeans to pull out some money, but he waved her off. "It's been covered," he told her as he pointed to the right.
Torrie raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction that he had pointed. Sitting at the other end of the bar was Adam Copeland, beer in hand. They locked eyes and he winked at her, revealing that it was in fact he who had purchased her drink for her.
She shook her head and made her way over to him, Cosmo in hand. "Thank you," she smiled. "You really didn't have to do that."
"Consider it a gift for Wrestlemania weekend," the Canadian responded with a grin that revealed his pearly white teeth.
"You're all by yourself," she commented, doing her best to be heard over the music. "I thought you'd be with Randy or somebody."
Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Randy is with his girl and I'm not sure where the rest of the guys are at the moment. I'm fine right where I am."
"Nice try," she retorted. "You're hiding out because Matt Hardy is here."
His eyes narrowed and then his cheeks flushed, which did not go unnoticed by Torrie. "What gives you that idea?" he asked before taking another sip of his beer.
Torrie flicked a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder. "Just an observation. All three brands are together this weekend and since Jeff's returned, Matt has been spending a lot of time around the Raw locker room. Not to mention everyone knows that he has this flirty thing going on with Ashley." She paused for a moment, realizing that she was beginning to babble incoherently. "I'm just saying that it's understandable for you to be hiding out," she continued. "Even though I for one don't think you should."
Adam raised an eyebrow, an intrigued expression playing across his face. "Oh really?"
"Really," she replied matter-of-factly.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, it's been quite some time since everything went down between Matt, Amy, and I, but it feels like yesterday whenever he comes around. I know I'm the scum of the Earth for what I did. I don't need him in my face, constantly reminding me of how I've fucked up."
Torrie empathized with what Adam was going through. True, the reasons for her divorce from Pete were very different from the situation that the WWE's real-life love triangle found itself in, but she couldn't help but feel like she knew where he was coming from. Adam had been a good friend of hers before he had been sidelined with his neck injury, but they had fallen out of touch once he came back to Raw instead of Smackdown. She wished she had worked a little harder to stay in contact with him because deep down he was a good guy. He had just made some poor choices.
Adam could tell that Torrie was thinking about something. "What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" he asked.
She smiled sadly at him. "I was just thinking that I wished we had stayed friends."
"Me too," he agreed. And Adam truly meant that. Torrie was one of the few people in the WWE who stayed out of politics and was nice to everyone. He honestly couldn't think of anybody who didn't like her. She was bubbly, warm, kind, and a great listener. She also never judged anyone, a quality that was very hard to come by.
"May I?" she questioned, motioning to the empty bar stool beside him.
"By all means."
Torrie took a seat and set her drink down on the bar. "How are you doing?" she asked seriously. "I mean, how are you really doing? Don't give me any of those one word, standard responses. I want to know the truth."
Adam shook his head. "Okay, whatever you say darling. The truth is that I've been better and I've been worse. I'm pretty mellow right now, although I feel like I should watch my back this weekend. Matt's already exacting a bit of revenge by telling everyone that Amy and I broke up."
Torrie had heard that, but she hadn't wanted to believe the gossip. Sometimes the locker room was reminiscent of high school with all of the rumors floating around. However, it appeared that this rumor happened to be true.
"I'm sorry," she sympathized. "Break ups are never easy."
Adam knew that she her divorce had recently been finalized, and though he had often wondered how she was doing, he had always been afraid to ask. It seemed as if anything was fair game tonight, though.
"How about you?" he pressed. "Here I am going on and on about myself when you just got through with a divorce. How are you?"
Torrie shrugged her shoulders and averted his gaze. Even though she promised herself she would start living her life again, every time her divorce was mentioned it felt like a ton of bricks were placed upon her shoulders.
"You know how it is," she answered sadly. "Divorce is hard."
"I know all too well," he agreed. "Are you and Pete still on good terms?"
"Sometimes," she sighed. "I don't know. . .I hate how this whole situation has made me feel." Torrie looked up at him, her eyes brimming with hurt and betrayal. "It's funny. When Pete and I were having problems, all I wanted was my old life back. Now that I have it, I can't help but want the security of marriage again. Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy."
"You're not crazy," Adam assured her as he covered her delicate hand with his own large one. "It's a difficult time for you and you're allowed to feel however you want."
It was so nice to have someone actually understand what she was going through. All of her friends tried to, but none of them had been married and divorced before. Torrie wouldn't wish this pain on anyone else, but it would be nice to have someone who had been where she was and had made it out the other side. It was at that moment that she realized she had found that person. Adam had been through it all and was still standing.
She drew in a shaky breath and tried to smile. When all else failed, Torrie always reverted back to the positive façade that she had been hiding behind.
"Don't do that," Adam cut in before she had the chance to speak. He could tell that she was trying to pretend like everything was all right when it wasn't. Torrie never let herself hurt, let herself feel. How was she ever supposed to heal if she did that?
"Don't do what?"
"That!" he exclaimed. "You were just about to say 'thanks for listening, Adam, I'll be fine.' Don't do it! Let yourself hurt, Torrie, and let someone listen. You can't go at this all on your own."
Torrie swallowed hard, doing her best to ignore the lump that had formed in her throat. She knew Adam was right, and at that moment all she wanted was to get out of this place and curl up in bed.
"Will you do me a favor?" she asked shakily.
"Anything," he promised.
"Get me out of here."
She never even touched her drink.
I don't want to keep on wishing,
missing,
the still of the morning,
the color of the night,
I ain't spending no more time wasted.
It hadn't taken them long to get back to the hotel, but to Adam it seemed like forever. Though Torrie didn't cry, it was clear that she was upset and he didn't know what to do to help her. They sat together in the taxi and he heard her breathing in shallow breaths, as if that would help her maintain her composure. He did the only thing he knew how to do: he slid his arm around her and allowed her to slide over beside him.
He held her close for the duration of the taxi ride, gently rubbing the soft skin of her arm in a soothing motion. She allowed him to touch her, to let herself be comforted by someone who understood what she was feeling and how hard it was to be strong all the time. She didn't have to pretend to be tough with Adam.
"It'll be okay, you know," he said softly in her ear. "The bad stuff only makes you stronger, right?"
She smiled sadly. "So I keep telling myself."
A comfortable silence settled over them and they remained that way until they arrived at the hotel. Adam graciously paid the cab fare and then escorted her to her room. Despite what anyone said about him, Torrie considered him to be a perfect gentleman.
They reached the fourth floor and stopped at one of the first rooms down the hall. "This is me," Torrie said as she reached into her purse for her key. "Thanks for the drink, and for the talk. You have no idea how grateful I am for that."
Adam smiled, his lips parting to reveal blinding white teeth. "That's what friends are for. And by the way, thanks for keeping an open mind about me. It means a lot to know that you don't hate me."
She shook her head. "I don't think I could, even if I tried."
They gazed at each other, the rest of the world fading away around them. Torrie swallowed, her heart beginning to beat rapidly against her rib cage. An unfamiliar feeling of desire coursed through her veins, one that she hadn't experienced since she had been with Pete. She shouldn't feel this way; it was too soon to want anyone else, yet she couldn't ignore the warm feeling pooling deep inside of her. God help her, she wanted Adam.
Adam brushed a stray lock of blonde hair away from her face, accidentally grazing the softness of her cheek with the tip of his finger in the process. Tiny shivers raced through his body and he sucked in his breath. Torrie Wilson was a beautiful woman and he couldn't deny that he was attracted to her. He couldn't do this, however. Though their relationship had fallen apart a long time ago, he and Amy had only recently broken up and Torrie was still reeling from her divorce. He wouldn't play with her feelings and break her heart. He couldn't do it.
The choice was taken out of his hands as Torrie closed the distance between them. Acting on impulse, on the sheer desire to feel love and affection again, she captured his lips in a passionate kiss. At first Adam was completely taken aback, but after a brief moment he allowed himself to give in. Her body cleaved to his and she wrapped her arms around her neck, while he encircled her waist with his strong arms. If she didn't stop. . .he wouldn't be able to stop. . .God, how he wanted her!
"Come inside," she whispered in his ear. "I don't want to be alone."
Adam pulled away from her and shook his head. "I can't," he answered, drawing in a ragged breath. "I'll hurt you, Torrie. I'm no good for you."
Torrie stood in the doorway, her chest heaving from the breathlessness of his kiss. "Let me decide that for myself. Besides, I'm not looking for a lifetime commitment. I just need to feel alive again."
She said everything that he was thinking. With a groan of passion he kissed her again, this time with fierce intensity and heightened passion. Torrie quickly unlocked the door and pulled him inside her hotel room, then shut the door and sealed them off from the rest of the world.
I ain't spending no more time wasted.
Torrie awoke late the next morning, only to find a note on Adam's pillow. Scrawled in his messy handwriting, it read:
Torrie,
Thank you for everything. I needed you just as much as you needed me. Ran upstairs to take a shower and change. My room is 504, and here's my extra key. Let me know if you need to feel loved again.
Adam.
Ps: You never did finish your drink. I owe you a Cosmo!
Torrie smiled as she traced her fingertips over her lips. She didn't know what lay ahead for the two of them, but for the first time in a long while she felt like everything would be okay.
I ain't spending no more time wasted.