A/N: Another chapter for you all. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. Please let me know what you think of this one! Things are going to start heating up, and the next chapter will be a longer one. :-)
Chapter 2: The Past Will Always Hurt.
As soon as her eyes flickered open she immediately wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Everything hurt, from her head right down to her toes. She couldn't remember a thing from the night before, infact she wasn't even sure where she was, or who's bed she was in. She felt the space next to her and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it was empty. Atleast that was one less problem she had to deal with. She managed to sit herself up and groaned at the pounding in her head, her hand aiming towards the window in a poor attempt to block out the sun that streamed through. She yawned loudly and finally took a look at her surroundings, her eyes widening in panic.
She knew exactly where she was, and whose room this was... Well, whose room this used to be. She practically fell out of bed, her body hitting the floor with a thud as she crawled around desperately looking for her clothes so that she could get the hell out of there. Where the fuck were they? She huffed and fell onto her backside, head tilted in confusion as she tried to figure out what was going on. None of her things were here, infact minus the bed that she had just crawled out of, everything was perfectly in place.
She used the dresser to pull herself up and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. He wouldn't be here, he couldn't be. But then how the hell had she got here? She shook her head and huffed, instantly regretting it when her throbbing headache got stronger. She was way too sober to be in this predicament. Finally, she took the opportunity to look down at what she was wearing.
"Oh, jeez..." She mumbled to herself. It was one of HIS old t-shirts. She pulled it from her body, almost disgusted to be wearing it and carelessly tossed it to the side. She wanted nothing of his anywhere near her, not anymore.
She began to pull at the drawers of the dresser. There had to be something of hers here somewhere, she'd practically spent half of her life in this room. That was unless he'd burnt every single thing that had ever reminded him of her. She rolled her eyes. It wouldn't surprise her if he had. She froze when she reached the top drawer, for it wasn't clothes that she found, but a picture frame. Carefully she pulled it from its hiding place and let her fingers trail over the all too familiar image.
She sank to the floor in a heap and stared at it intently. It had been taken backstage at one of the first shows she had done after being signed to her record deal. She, of course was a sweaty mess after having played for an hour and a half, her faithful guitar attached to her by its strap, one that she still carried around with her today. Her eyes were not focused on the camera, however, they were instead looking up at a tall, dark and handsome man, his own eyes beaming with pride, his head bent down to kiss her lips.
She felt herself well up as she absent-mindedly fingered her lips, almost able to feel his kiss once more. Those days seemed a world away from the place she was at now. She could picture how perfect that night had been, how loved she had felt not just by the man beside her, but by the dozens and dozens of people who had come out to support her and celebrate her dream coming true. She scoffed. How times change. She had gone from feeling like she was on top of the world to being completely alone. Sniffling, she took one more look at the picture and threw it at the wall, not even flinching as the glass shattered and flew in every direction. She refused to remember those days, they were gone... And so was he.
She didn't find any clothes so had to begrudgingly put back on the discarded t-shirt, but she did manage to dig out a pair of sunglasses to cover her tired eyes. That would have to do, she thought to herself as she headed for the door. Before she left, she took one more look at the room that held so many memories for her, and finally at the shattered picture that now lay on the carpet. She needed to get out of here and find something to fix her thoughts a-sap.
Clambering down the stairs, she painted on her best smile and headed for the kitchen. "Howdy Parentals."
Bob Orton looked up from the newspaper he was reading and frowned when he got a good look at her. Long gone were the blonde locks that she had inherited from her mother, now they were replaced with jet black waves that at this very moment made her look like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards. He was sure that the dark glasses she wore were covering the damage she had done the night before, and her slender frame seemed to be getting smaller every time he saw her. "Well look who's awake."
She simply giggled, missing the serious edge in his voice and dropped a kiss onto his wife's cheek before she sat down. Elaine stood by the sink, looking equally as concerned about Lily's appearance, especially after her performance the night before. "Breakfast, dear?"
"Not hungry." She replied simply, instead pouring herself a glass of juice. Elaine sighed in frustration. Whenever Lily did visit them, she would always make excuses that she wasn't hungry or that she'd already ate. It was just another problem on the long list they were both sure she had.
"Do you remember how you got here last night, young lady?" Bob asked, already sure of the answer. She simply shrugged in response and took a gulp of her juice. "Nathan had to pick you up."
That made sense. It wasn't the first time that their youngest son had come to her rescue, and if she was honest, it probably wouldn't be the last. "Ah, remind me to thank little bro' when I see him."
Bob took a deep breath to stop him from blowing up. Every time this happened, two things would happen. Lily would barely react to her actions, showing no sign of guilt for what she had done, and Elaine would plead with him to remain calm and not say a word to her. She was sure that if he did, then that would be it. The rare appearances that Lily did make to their household would disappear and she would be out of their lives for good. Most would deem that a good thing, she wasn't their daughter by blood, and the continuous cycle of her actions proved that she had no remorse for what she put them through time and time again. It's the addiction, Elaine would often say. She doesn't know what she's doing...
Well he was sick of this. He was sick of watching the young girl he'd helped raise destroy herself right infront of their eyes. This was not what her parents would have wanted for her, and if he had it his way then he would have dragged her upstairs and locked her in one of the bedrooms until she saw sense.
"I'm going for a walk." He said eventually before storming out of the kitchen.
Elaine sighed and placed a plate of eggs and bacon infront of Lily. She knew that she wouldn't touch them, but she would always make her something just incase. As predicted, Lily pushed them forward and instead took another sip of her juice. That would probably sum up her calorie intake for the day.
"So are you excited for Sunday?" She said finally, settling down in the chair that Bob had just vacated. Lily didn't even look up and instead reached for the newspaper he had left behind. "It's been quite awhile since you've been to a wrestling show, hasn't it?"
She noticed that Lily hesitated before turning to the next page, obviously caught up in her own thoughts. Elaine was well aware that the last time that she had been to an event was with Randy, and the way that her lips pursed together proved to her that the subject of her son was still dangerously painful. "Maybe you'll see Randy there..."
She knew it was a risky subject, but she just couldn't help herself. It broke her heart to know that her son and the young woman she considered her own no longer spoke. Her and Bob had both tried on many occasions to bring them back together, but it had proved hopeless.
As she expected, Lily leapt to her feet ready to make her escape. She did this every time that they tried to speak to her about him. "I think I'm gonna split... You know, busy bee and all that." She swallowed, eyes darting back and forth, looking at anything but Elaine. "Do you have my clothes? I couldn't find them in Ran-" She paused to correct herself, unable to bring herself to say his name. "In the spare room."
"I threw those things out," Elaine admitted, nursing the cup of coffee infront of her. "They were a mess, Lily. Lord knows what you got up to last night." She took a deep breath, counting to five before she continued. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her. "Why don't you stay for a little while? I'm sure Rebecca has something upstairs that you could borrow."
She thought for a second, giving Elaine an ounce of hope that she would accept her offer, but eventually shook her head. "No, it's okay. I have plenty back at my hotel. Do you mind if I take the car? I promise I'll have one of the valets bring it straight back once I get there."
Elaine sighed, she could never say no to her. "Of course dear. But surely you're not going to leave like that?"
Lily shrugged and twirled in the barely there t-shirt she was still wearing. "It'll give people something to talk about, huh?" Elaine frowned, while Lily simply laughed to herself and dropped another kiss to her cheek, snatching the keys from the counter before making her way to the front door. "Love you, Ma. I'll call you."
"Wait," Elaine said desperately, rising to her feet as she followed her out onto the drive. "Bob and I are in Atlanta for the show next week, promise me you'll meet us for dinner?"
"Of course," She agreed, skipping over to the driver's side of their Range Rover. "I'll see you next week."
"Okay," She did her best to smile, but as always, a part of her wondered if she would make it there. She always worried that when she did see her, it would be the last time. "Oh and Lily?"
"Yeah?" She asked, looking at her from the open window as she put the car in reverse.
"Promise me you'll be careful..." She asked meekly.
"Where's the fun in that?" Lily winked. And with that she was gone.