Chapter 2—Heartbroken
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"We need to talk, Liz," Tucker said.
Liz nodded. "Sure; we can talk while I finish making lunch." she said. Tucker sighed and followed her to the kitchen. As the young man passed by, Randy looked him over and cocked an eyebrow. Randy had a bad feeling about this guy, but he dismissed the uneasiness and credited it to his protective instincts.
Randy and Tucker sat at the kitchen's bar while Liz made the sandwiches. "So what did you want to talk about, babe?" she asked.
Tucker sighed and glanced at Randy. "I think it would be best if we spoke alone." Tucker said to Liz.
Liz frowned. "Is everything okay?" she asked.
Tucker nodded. "Yeah. Uh, everything is fine. It's just private and I don't know if you're okay with him being here." He said.
Randy scoffed; Liz chuckled. "It's okay, Tucker. He's like a brother to me. We can talk in front of him. Plus, I have a feeling he doesn't want us to be alone together." She said. Randy nodded in agreement.
"Okay," Tucker took a shaky breath before he continued. "We've been together for a while now, and I think we're great together. I've never met someone so perfect for me."
"Wait. How long have you been together?" Randy asked him.
Tucker thought for a second. "About seven months." he said.
Randy was shocked, angry, and disappointed all at the same time. "Why am I just now hearing about this, Elizabeth?" he asked crossly. Liz usually told him everything and vice versa; they had no secrets.
Liz sighed. "Because," she said.
Randy rolled his eyes. "Because, why?" he asked a little more upset than before.
"Because I knew how you were going to react. We met a few weeks before youleft. I decided that was going to tell you whenever you got back, but you never did… until now. Plus, I'm not 16 anymore, Randy. I'm an adult and I'm perfectly capable of picking a decent boyfriend. I really like Tucker and like he said, we're great together." She said without eye contact. She didn't want to see the disappointment in Randy's eyes; she had already heard enough of it in his voice.
Randy shook his head and stood from the bar stool; he left Liz and Tucker alone in the kitchen. Liz sighed. She waited until she heard Randy close the guestroom door upstairs before she turned her attention to Tucker again. "I'm sorry about that, baby. What were you saying?" she asked.
Tucker looked down at his hands as they rested on the bar counter. "Listen, Liz. I think you're an amazing girl, but I'm breaking up with you. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to tell you in person. I was going to call to tell you, but I wanted to do this like a man. I'm sorry." With that, Tucker got up and left.
Liz stood in the kitchen in shock; she never saw the break-up coming. She started to hyperventilate and soon, she could barely breathe at all. She went upstairs to Randy's room as quickly as she could; she banged on the door. Randy opened the door and his eyes went wide. Liz's face was red and she panting.
Randy guided her to the bed and tried to get her to calm down. "Take deep breaths; in through your nose, out through your mouth." He instructed. Liz did as she was told and soon enough she was able to breathe normally, but she was still crying.
"What happened, Liz?" Randy asked as he held her close.
She sniffled. "Tucker broke up with me." She said through sobs. Liz felt rumbling through Randy's body; he was livid.
"I knew I didn't like him for some reason." He said through his teeth. Liz continued to cry into his chest; he calmed himself down so he could more effectively comfort her. "Shh. Don't cry over him, Lizard. An asshole like him doesn't deserve you, anyway. He's the one who should be crying. He's going to miss out on a great girl," Randy said as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. Liz continued to cry for almost an hour; Randy just held her.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes when she was all cried out. "Thank you." she said.
Randy frowned. "For what?" he asked.
Liz shrugged. "I don't know. For visiting me. For always being there for me when I needed you… even when you were really far away." She said.
Randy smiled and kissed her forehead. "You don't have to thank me for that, Lizard. I'll always be here for you." he said sweetly.
Liz smiled. "I know," She took a deep breath. "I'm going to go back to the kitchen and finish the sandwiches." She said as she stood from the bed.
Randy nodded; he knew she was still hurting. She was going to be hurting for a long time and he knew there was hardly anything he could do to make her feel better.
"How early do you want to be at the arena?" Liz asked.
He thought for a moment. "Maybe three hours before the show starts. So maybe we could get there at 4 o'clock. I want to introduce you to everybody, then I have to get a quick workout, then I have the production meeting." He explained.
Liz nodded. "We'll have to leave here by three thirty if you want to get there at four. What time is it now?"
Randy pulled his smart phone from his pocket and checked the time. "2:42" he said. "I'm going to pack up some stuff, then we'll eat and leave." He continued.
"Alright. We're leaving at 3:30." She reiterated. Randy nodded and got up from the bed to pack. Liz left him to it.
Soon enough, Liz finished the sandwiches. She went back upstairs to let Randy know they were done. "Lunch is finished. There are two sandwiches on the counter. The one on the left his roast beef and the one on the right is turkey and ham." She said. Randy imagined the counter top to determine where the sandwiches would be and nodded. "Thanks," he said. Liz nodded and left to change for the house show.
In her bedroom, Liz dressed in black denim skinny jeans, a fitted white V-neck t-shirt, a red blazer, and a pair of black peep toe platform heels. She fluffed her curly, kinky hair out with an afro pick and pulled it into a bun on the crown of her head; she also added a decorative pin to the side of the bun. Liz sat at her vanity and draped a cloth over her chest to protect her clothing from the makeup she was about to put on; the particles of her loose powder tended to drop onto her clothes. Her makeup consisted of all natural colors. Her eye shadow had speckles of gold; her blush was a mixed shade of pink and tan; she used a nude color of lipstick to even out the natural look. She applied a minimal amount of mascara and put on her jewelry to complete her outfit; the pearl earrings and necklace really classed up her ensemble. She spritzed on some perfume and went downstairs to find Randy.
When she got downstairs, Liz saw Randy had already put his gym bag in the Hummer; he had also eaten his sandwich. She tried to figure out how long she had been getting ready; the way she saw it, she either took a really long time or Randy packed and ate really fast.
Randy heard her come into the room as he was folding his freshly washed and dried laundry. "Geez. Took you long enough." he said without looking at her. When he finally looked away from his folding, he gasped when he saw Liz. "You do know that it's just a house show, right? It's not even on TV." Randy said.
Liz nodded. "I just like to dress up when I feel bad." She said.
Randy smiled softly and nodded. "You look nice, by the way." He said.
"Thanks, Casanova." She said. Randy shook his head; he always hated that nick name. Liz had come up with it years ago because of Randy's reputation for dating so many girls in a short period of time.
"I haven't had a real girlfriend since you were in high school, so that whole Casanova thing is null and void." Randy said.
Liz was surprised. "Two years without a girlfriend! Who are you and what have you done with the real Randy?!" she asked jokingly.
Randy chuckled even though it wasn't a laughing matter. He would never tell Liz, but she was reason why he hadn't had a real relationship in so long. Randy always made sure to tell the women he was interested in that they would never be number one on his list of priorities. In Randy's eyes, the first woman on his list besides his mother is Liz. Any girlfriend would come after Liz, always. None of the women could handle that so they broke it off before the relationship could progress.
Liz went to the kitchen and saw that Randy had eaten the roast beef sandwich so by default, the turkey and ham was hers. She scarfed the sandwich down and tidied the kitchen. She grabbed her purse, keys, and phone before leaving the house. Randy followed her. Liz tossed Randy the keys to the hummer and hopped into the passenger seat. It was 3:23 and they were off to the area.
Twenty five minutes later, Randy pulled into the arena's designated parking lot. He saw the news cameras and fans waiting outside the car and groaned. "Are you going to be okay with them taking pictures of you?" he asked.
Liz nodded. "I don't mind it. At least I look cute." She said with a light chuckle. Randy shook his head and got out of the vehicle. Immediately, fans and reporters screamed his name.
"Who is that, Randy?!" a reporter yelled referring to Liz. Randy and Liz ignored the question.
"What about JoJo?!" another reporter questioned. Again, Randy and Liz ignored the inquiry. After what seemed like forever, Randy and Liz were inside the heavily secured backstage area of the arena.
Randy checked with the stage manager to find his dressing room; the manager directed Randy to his designated area. When they were finally in the dressing room, Liz smirked.
"What?" Randy asked when he saw the look on her face.
"So, you and JoJo?" she asked. Liz was familiar with JoJo. Being so close to The Viper forced Liz to know the ins and outs of all things WWE. Jojo was a new diva; she competed in NXT, WWE's developmental territory.
Randy frowned. "Hell no. Some idiot started a rumor about us dating and now everybody believes it," He explained. Liz nodded and accepted the answer even though she didn't believe him. She knew Randy's type and JoJo was the exact definition of his type: she was exotic, she had warm skin tone, she was a natural brunette, and she had a nice smile. To prevent Liz from thinking further into the topic, Randy changed the subject. "C'mon. Let me introduce you to everybody." He said as he walked away.
Liz nodded and followed him. Randy introduced her to literally everybody.
She expected to only meet the people closest to Randy like John Cena and Cody Rhodes; she met them last.
An hour later, Randy disappeared to a different part of the backstage area to work out at the stations WWE set up for the superstars. Liz spent that time talking to John who didn't have an actual match that night. They had started quite the conversation; they talked about everything from food to wrestling. John was like a second Randy; Liz really liked him. She quickly thought of John as another friend.
"Randy talks about you all the time." John said unexpectedly.
Liz smiled. "I'm so sorry. I know how longwinded he can be." She said. It was just a nice way of saying that Randy talked way too much.
John chuckled. "Remind me again how you know him?" he asked.
Liz nodded. "His sister and I share a birthday and we lived next door to each other. So naturally, Becky and I became really good friends. Ever since she died, Randy has been like a brother to me. I spent a lot of time in the Orton house. That's pretty much it. There just isn't much to tell." She said.
John was about to say something else when Randy went up to Liz and tried to hug her. She shrieked and used John as a shield; she didn't want to get covered in Randy's sweat. John laughed at the pair.
"That's just cold, Liz." Randy said with a stifled laugh as he shook his head. Liz mockingly stuck her tongue at the sweaty wrestler. "The show is starting soon. You might want to go find your seat." Randy suggested. Liz nodded and said goodbye to him and John. Liz hadn't planned on buying a ticket because she was going to hang out with Randy backstage, but Randy insisted on buying the ticket for her.
Liz walked around the arena until she found her ringside seat. She sat with her purse in her lap and waited for the show to start. She was mesmerized by the stage setup; she had been to plenty of live events, but she didn't frequent house shows often. Since they weren't recorded for TV, Liz hadn't seen the new set. The stage was much more elaborate than it had been in the past; there were real LCD screens and an illuminated WWE logo. It was really ostentatious for a house show; she was impressed.
When the show was over, Liz went backstage to meet up with Randy. She found him laughing with Cody and John. He had already showered and changed clothes from his match. "Hey, Lizard!" Randy said with a smile when he saw her walk up. Liz glared at Randy for calling her that in front of other people. It was a nickname she didn't care for; even though it came from part of her name, being called a lizard isn't really something a person can embrace. Randy hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
"I kind of told them it was okay to come back to your place and hang out for a while. I figured you'd be okay with it," Randy said.
Liz nodded. "That's fine. It'll be nice to have a full house for a few hours." She said. John and Cody smiled.
"Awesome. We just need to grab our bags from the locker room and we'll be ready." John said. At that, he and Cody disappeared.
Liz and Randy were left talking amongst themselves when Phil, otherwise known as CM Punk, showed up.
"Hey, Randal," he said with a sarcastic grin.
Randy glared at him for calling him 'Randal' because Randy knew Punk was only doing it out of spite. He knew Randy hated being called by his full first name.
"Well?" Punk asked.
Randy frowned. "Well what?" he asked.
Punk shook his head. "You are just so rude, Randal. Aren't you going to introduce me to this gorgeous woman? Ya know, introduce her to a real man?" he asked.
Randy didn't answer; he didn't even bother to introduce the two. Liz rolled her eyes at Randy's stubbornness and introduced herself.
"Hey. I'm Liz. It's good to meet you. I'm a fan of your work; I've watched you since your days in Ring of Honor. You've come a long way," she said.
Punk smiled. "Well would you look at that. She's beautiful and she knows talent when she sees it. Can't get any better than that, Randal. I wonder how you landed such a great gal?" he asked.
Liz laughed. "We aren't dating; we're just friends. I grew up next door to him," she said.
Punk smiled. "So are you seeing anybody?" he asked.
Before Liz could answer, Randy stepped in front of her. "She's not interested, Phil. Back off," he said with a growl.
Punk put his hands up in defense. "Woah! Down, boy. Lizzy, you might want to call off your guard dog before he gets unfortunately hurt." He said.
"Her name is Liz; not Lizzy," Randy snarled.
Liz rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Randy. Chill out," she said.
Randy looked to her with concerned eyes; then, he stared at Punk again. "Walk away, Phil." Randy ordered.
Punk smirked and held out his hand towards Liz. "It was nice meeting you, Lizzy," he said. Liz smiled and shook his hand.
"It was nice meeting you, too, Punk." She said.
Punk waved her off. "Please. Call me Phil. I only let the gorgeous girls call me Phil," he said.
Liz smiled. "Okay. Nice to meet you, Phil. Maybe I'll see you around." She said.
Punk nodded. "Yeah. I hope so; just don't tell big, bad Randal. You might get us in trouble." He said.
Liz laughed.
"Phil. Leave." Randy said sternly.
"Okay, okay. I'm leaving. You know where to find me if you get the urge, Lizzy." Punk said with a wink as he walked away.
Liz's smile lingered after Punk walked away. Randy shook his head. " What? He seems sweet," Liz said.
"I don't think you should hang out with him." Randy said.
Liz frowned. "Why not," she asked.
Randy sighed. "Because," he answered.
"Because what," she asked.
He groaned. "Because I said so!" he said.
She scoffed. "Excuse me?" she asked. She couldn't believe Randy was being so overbearing towards her.
He sighed. "He'll use you so he can get to me. I just don't want you to get hurt," he explained.
Liz thought about it for a moment. She decided that she could accept Randy's reasoning for her to keep her distance from Punk.
Soon enough, John and Cody returned from the locker rooms with their bags.
"Alright, let's head out." Randy said to the three people standing around him.
"Do you mind if we get a ride with you? Punk was our ride and he already left." Cody asked Randy.
Randy shrugged. "You have to ask Liz. It's her car, not mine." He said.
Liz playfully slapped Randy's chest making him laugh. "Of course! I don't mind," She said. "but I ride shotgun" she said with a smile. John and Cody nodded as they followed Liz and Randy to the Hummer.
When the four people arrived at Liz's house, she gave a more detailed tour. Randy noticed a lot more than he did the first time through the house. He hadn't noticed before, but all the floors were hardwood, every piece of furniture was real leather, and each room was painted a different color.
"This is really nice, Elizabeth," John said.
"Liz. Please call me Liz." She corrected. John and Cody nodded.
Since John and Cody didn't have any way to get back to the hotel, Liz let them sleep in the other guest rooms. It was nearly midnight when Randy helped Liz clean up after the other guests finally went to bed. John, Randy, and Cody had managed to make a mess of popcorn. "Thanks for your help." Liz said.
"No problem. It's the least I could do," he replied. Liz smiled and continued to clean up. Even though Randy was able to take her mind off of Tucker for the evening, the thought of him walking out on her was starting creep up on her again. She sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Tucker at first," she said out of the blue.
Randy took a deep breath. "You know what? Like you said, you're an adult and you can pick a boyfriend for yourself without having my approval. You can go out with who ever you want as long as you like him." He said with a genuine smile. Little did he know, those words were going to come back to haunt him.
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