A/N: Still dipping my toes in the pond with this one… I have a lot planned, I just don't know how inspired I'll be in the next few chapters.
Feeling like he had been ran over by a bus, Seth rolled over on a couch he wasn't very familiar with, holding his head in pure agony. He didn't remember drinking that much. That was the one thing he loathed about his drinking skills – he quickly lost his memory after about his second drink.
Where was he?
Looking around the place, the Iowa native couldn't put his finger on why it looked so vaguely familiar – but when a flashback of over a year ago came to him of having to meet up with a former friend of his because he had something for him, it all became so clear to him. He was at Roman Reigns. Yes, now he remembered. That's who he had called.
It was all coming back to him in little flashes. They met up at the bar, drank a little—or in Seth's case a lot—and came back here because none of them were in any position to drive home. But it appeared that Roman was hardly affected by their booze filled night.
"The fuck?" Seth rambled incoherently, running his fingers through his two-toned hair, not surprised by the fact that it was tangled.
"Morning, Seth." Roman came out of his kitchen with a glass of water and a couple of aspirins. "Here." Not even up for arguing about this—because Seth was way too hung over to put up a fight—the Iowa native took the items without hesitance and sucked them both down, before falling backwards against Roman's leather couch. "Here's the info you wanted too."
"Thanks." Snatching the information from his old friend's hand, Seth made to stand to his feet, but quickly sat back down when the room continued spinning. "Guess I'm stuck here for at least an hour."
"I know I'm not your favorite person but do you want to explain to me why you need to find this Paige chick? Plus, I have some stuff I would like to get off my chest. I know you're still angry because I wasn't there when everything went down two years ago and I know that you can't forgive me for not being a good friend, but how long are you going to be angry with me?" The well-built Samoan took a seat on the far side of the couch, away from Seth.
"Roman, you were one of my best friends. When my Mom died, you were there, no questions asked. But when Lizzy passed, my baby sister, the only thing I had left of my Mom, you bailed. It was like me and Dean had stopped becoming a priority the minute you met Layla."
Hanging his head low, allowing his hair to cascade down, Roman let out a frustrated sigh. How many times was he going to have to go over this until Seth forgave him? It was his and Layla's anniversary. How could he bail? For the nineteen-year-old college student, focusing too much on the past was beginning to take its toll on him.
For, Seth, however, he was a nineteen-year-old who was angry at the world because of the bad luck he had seemingly stumbled upon for almost a decade. He was nine when his mother passed in a tragic car accident. Then shortly after, very shortly after, his father met Diane and the two were married after being together for four months.
But Lizzy's death had hit him the hardest at the age of seventeen. She was a thirteen year old who worshipped the ground her big brother walked on and the two were inseparable. It was the last piece he had of his mother. His father, of course, took it rough and Diane too was devastated, but Seth was absolutely inconsolable.
Counting on his two best friends to get him through the tragic time, Seth was only comforted by Dean Ambrose when Roman only offered his condolences and skipped the funeral altogether. You could say Seth was a very forgiving person but when it came to Roman bowing out on something important, he wasn't exactly ready to make amends.
"Can you at least tell me who this Paige chick is and why you need to find her? When I went to my cousin with your request he gave me crazy eyes."
"I'm sorry that it was an inconvenience." Seth sarcastically apologized. "This was important though. Paige is Diane's biological daughter." When he saw Roman's expression, he was still able to know what he was asking. "Don't ask me. My father and I got informed this the other day when the doctor told her she has cancer and that her best chance of survival is finding a donor."
"So you're just going to go to California and find her? Then what? What if she doesn't know she's adopted? You're going to completely change her entire life and then ask her to come back to Iowa to save the woman who gave her up. The odds don't look good."
"Not that it's any of your business, but I have to try. I owe my dad this and you know why. He's never forgiven me. If he loses Diane, I'm afraid he'll get the impression that there's nothing left for him even though I'm right there. To sum it up: If he loses Diane, I lose my dad." Clearing his throat, Seth looked down at his feet, trying to avoid that damn look that he knew Roman was giving him at that moment. The look that said he needed to stop blaming himself, that it wasn't his fault.
Stretching his arm out, the Samoan man offered a reassuring pat on the back of his former friend. If the Iowa native was truly mad at him, he wouldn't have came to him for help or remotely opened up like this. "I know you don't want to hear it, so I won't say it. I'm just going to say this… Time heals all wounds. Seth, you're only as strong as you can be until you have to break because you can't carry the weight of all your pain. It's okay to be vulnerable. When Lizzy died, you sucked it up and held it in even though it killed you to not be able to mourn her. That wasn't fair to you."
"Can we not talk about that? Besides, you're two years late on being a friend. Why start now?" This time when he stood up, there was no dizziness and no queasiness. This was definitely a sign that it was time for him to leave before things got even worse between them.
"Because, despite it all, I still consider you my friend and I don't care how girly it sounds, I care about what happens to you. And I know that you don't want to talk to me about whatever is going on in your life, but if you decide that Dean can't understand, I'm here."
Instead of telling him that'll never happen, Seth simply gave him a nod of his head before exiting the man's apartment. He couldn't focus on Lizzy, his grief or even Roman's attempt of being a friend. There was a woman whose life was in his hands and that meant doing the very drastic thing of driving to California to pick up what could possibly save her life.
How would he go about it? Well that was something he would work out on the drive up there. In a few hours, he'd be making the very long trip and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
After a stressful day of final examinations, Paige was super relieved when she was able to meet up with Summer and Emma after a café a couple blocks away from the university, wearing the most gorgeous smile she had shown them since meeting them.
It was the first time in a while where she felt at peace in her life – maybe it was because she knew she had passed and that elated her. Maybe it was because summer vacation had officially started and she didn't have to stress about anything for three months. Or maybe it was because she wasn't planning on seeing her parents and it relieved her more than anything.
"Look at you all happy," Summer greeted her best friend with a hug before taking her seat. "I take it you passed your exams?"
"Yes. Thank the Lord. Now I can have a relaxing summer vacation without worrying about whether or not I'm going to have to repeat a course next year." The raven-haired woman fidgeted a bit with her black-painted fingernails before looking up at her blonde friends. "What?"
"Are you sure that you don't want to come home with me? I know we talked about this last night, but I can't fathom why you'd want to go out on some big adventure without someone with you." Just like she had been the night before, Summer was very persistent when she wanted something.
"Guys, I know I'm still relatively young, but I can take care of myself. Emma, you're going back home to Australia and Summer, you're going back home to New York. I don't want to go home. I never had the luxury of being welcomed home with open arms. And I'm okay with that. You guys need to spend this time with your family because it is super important to you."
Both the blonde girls stared at each other with quizzical eyes. When it came to her family and her past, Paige was extremely vague on details, which of course made her friends all the more curious. But not wanting to push her to open up, they would always leave her alone. This time, however, they were a bit surprised with the little information she did divulge.
It was a thing where Paige knew her friends were very much aware of her disconnection with her parents. She never talked about them. They never sent her anything in the mail. They never talked on the phone. It was pretty cut and dry.
Sitting there listening as her friends carried on about what they planned to do when they got back home, the British woman grew a bit envious. They could go home to their families and fill them in on their year and all the exciting things they did. She didn't get to do that. Or she didn't want to. At any point, she was positive her parents would love to see her, but after what happened, she didn't want to see them.
Why would she want to when they said she made everything up? That nothing happened? Especially when they witnessed it?
But she didn't want to focus on her family and all their flaws. She wanted to put her attention on the exciting summer ahead of her. She couldn't wait to get away from California and all her troubles. Plus, she had to think about whether or not she wanted to start things back up with Wade. While he seemed sincere in his apology, the fact that he had cheated on her once proved how much he lacked faithfulness.
Did she really want to be that girl who takes a guy back after being cheated on? She had always said if someone wasn't faithful, that was it. There wouldn't be a second chance. But something about how he said he had been thinking about her and how he didn't want to rush her into making a decision grated at her.
All the while she was well aware of the judgment that would be cast upon her had she decided to give it another go. But that wasn't their business. That was also why she wanted it to just be herself for the summer so that she couldn't be swayed by her friends telling her all the reasons to not get back together with him.
"I'm probably crossing the line here, but what is it about your parents that makes you cringe when someone brings them up to you?" Emma inquired, taking one for the team, since it was originally Summer who had wanted to ask the question.
"You are crossing the line. I made it clear to the both of you that my past and my family life is something I want to forget. I don't want to talk about it. And it's not because I don't think you guys can't handle it, it's because it's still hard for me. Can we just drop the subject entirely?"
Grabbing a glass of water that had been delivered to her by the waitress—probably some time during her reverie—Paige didn't bother to make eye contact as she sucked down the cold beverage. She hated that she had to be so harsh on her friends, but sometimes she had to be to make her point.
She had told them several times to not bring that subject up and they always started asking questions. It was just easier on everyone if only she knew of the secrets her family harbored. It was the biggest secret she had ever kept and if she told anyone, they would feel sorry for her, which she didn't want.
As soon as her senior year of high school hit, she started applying for colleges out of England. When she got accepted into USC, she had promised herself to start over and forget about the skeletons in her closet, so to speak. Of course when she made to leave, her parents tried preventing her from doing so, claiming that no one would love her if she tried telling the "sob story" she concocted.
They called her "damaged goods" as she walked out the door – had she not been through hell and back, the remark probably would left her a ball of mess on her front lawn, but because she was so anxious to leave and never come back, she didn't let the remark deter her. She gladly skipped to the taxi, happy for the first time in years.
This place had been her second chance of having a meaningful life without the giant abyss waiting to suck her in looming. And her friends were absolutely amazing, even though they weren't exactly the kind of people she had surrounded herself with. But she wouldn't trade them for anything.
"So… Dolph had the nerve to tell me that we should see other people while were away this summer. Does he not know that he's never going to find someone better than me?" Flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, the blonde nonchalantly shrugged off her offense. "I mean, not to tune my own horn or anything, but I'm kind of a big deal in this town."
"Someone has a big head – careful, it might burst from that egotistical brain of yours," Emma remarked.
As the two went back and forth, Paige found herself laughing at the two of them. They were really a weird group and they were such opposites. Summer was the sexy, rich girl. Emma was the very spirited girl who you never had a dull moment with. And Paige was the dark girl with the dark past. In the end, they all got along and it wasn't forced. While it would be good to get away from them for the summer, it didn't mean Paige wouldn't miss them. In fact, they were the closest thing she had to a family.
Shoving a bag in his car because he didn't plan on being gone for too long, Seth was surprised when his good buddy Dean showed up at the blue with a bag of his own things. "You're not going alone. Besides, we can take turns driving. Not to mention, I want to scout out California. There might be some major babes there."
"Dean, I'm not visiting. I'm going there to pick up this Paige chick and to bring her back."
"Maybe you should try calling her first so that it's not a wasted trip. I hate to agree with Roman, but going in there without a plan is going to backfire on you. Even if she knows she's adopted doesn't mean she'll agree to meeting Diane."
They both hopped into Seth's Tahoe, Dean drumming on the dashboard in front as he waited for the two-toned haired man to start up the vehicle. True, there was nothing else more he wanted than to accompany his friend on his trip; he was mainly there for moral support in case Seth backed out.
"I have a plan. I'm going to find her and casually spring it on her that she's adopted. Diane gave me the letter that she sent about a year ago, explaining why she did what she did. The girl has to have a big heart. I refuse to believe that if I told her that her real mom was dying that she'd let her. I know I wouldn't."
"Dude, you need to remind yourself that just because you have an idea of how a scenario is going to go doesn't mean that it's actually going to pan out that way. I've always been a realist. Shit happens, Seth. So while you're there thinking that everything is going to work out, let me try to brace you for the big picture. Now we have a long drive so you can't necessarily avoid this either."
Rolling his brown eyes, the driver just shook his head, becoming more and more annoyed from the passenger. He seriously wished he could have just done this on his own without the hassle and the negativity from anyone else.
"You're driving to the other side of the US to find a guy who you don't know and never met to tell her that she's adopted. Then you're going to turn around and tell her that her biological mom is dying and that she needs a donor to save her life. What good is going to come from that? Please explain this to me." Dean ran a hand through his shaggy light brown hair.
After an hour of going over his plan, Seth had convinced himself that it would all work out because something good had to be coming his way since he had only been cursed with back luck. Dean, on the other hand, still wasn't convinced that going there to a more-than-likely failed attempt was the greatest way to spend their summer.
"Whoa, this Paige chick is hot. I found her profile on Facebook." Dean shoved his phone in Seth's face, causing more than enough hazards to have an accident. When the driver took the phone and briefly glanced at the girl's profile picture, he noticed something from the solemn expression on her face. She looked like she had had her fair share of demons, much like him.
That made him all the more curious. What was her story? And more importantly, would she actually agree to do this big thing for someone whom she had never met? He had no idea if it was a so-called wasted attempt, but something in his gut told him to continue on. And so he did.