Disclaimer: I don't own any WWE Talent or any of their families. I only claim ownership to my OC's.
Rated: T
Warnings: slash, het, AU, OC lead, explicit language, violence, mature themes, etc.
Before you read: The beliefs stated in this chapter aren't necessarily mine - neither are the beliefs of any real-life characters. No offense is meant towards anyone.
#^#^# Morning (9 am) #^#^#
Haley felt a gentle prodding in her side. She yawned in her sleep and rolled over.
"Ow! You're on my hand!" Haley heard someone exclaim. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Phil was looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Why'd you wake me up?" Haley murmured, yawning again.
"We have Church at ten," Phil grunted. He was dressed in khakis and a light blue button-down shirt tucked in. He looked uncomfortable in it. "Welcome to Catholicism."
Haley sighed quietly and scooted out of bed. When she turned back around, Phil was gone. Mrs. Brooks entered then, wearing a robe and soaking wet hair.
"Come on, Haley. It's your turn for the shower," she announced, drying her hair with a towel slightly. Haley followed her down the attic stairs and to the bathroom. Mrs. Brooks shut the door behind her, and Haley locked the door. She figured out how to turn the water on, and took her clothes off while waiting for it to heat up. She hopped in and quickly washed herself before wrapping herself in a towel once she got out. In the mirror, she looked at her tangled, sodden hair and sighed slightly. Somehow, she forgot to bring her hairbrush with her, and she didn't feel like asking for one. Still wrapped in her towel, she left the bathroom quietly and went back into her bedroom. She pulled a pair of her new jeans out along with one of her new blouses, and quickly got dressed. She loosely braided her wet hair and secured it with a hair band before going down to the dining room. She quickly realized she was ridiculously underdressed and blushed at the realization.
"Don't worry about it for today," Mrs. Brooks said, sensing Haley's concerns. "I doubt you even knew we had Church today."
She sighed with relief and joined her adoptive family at the table, where she sat next to Selene and Mr. Brooks again. A bowl sat in front of her with a spoon in it, and three boxes of cereal sat in the center of the table, along with a gallon of milk. She picked up the Cheerio's box, poured some into her bowl, and added some milk. She felt Phil glaring at her as she ate, but did not give him the satisfaction of returning the glance.
"Haley, how did you do your hair like that?" Selene asked. Haley felt back and touched the braid.
"Oh, it's just a simple braid, Selene," Haley answered. "Do you know how to braid hair?"
"No," Selene confessed. "Can you braid mine before we go?"
"Sure!" Haley agreed, giving the girl a smile.
"Selene, are you sure you want her touching your pretty hair? I wouldn't want you to get lice or anything," Phil hissed. Mr. Brooks shot him an angry look.
"I doubt she's ever had lice," Selene responded around a mouthful of Lucky Charms. "I won't mention how you just got over an infestation… oops, I mentioned it, didn't I?"
Phil narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on his cereal bowl. Haley gave Selene a thankful smile, and she returned the gesture. After everyone was finished eating, they got into the car and headed off for the church. They walked in together and squeezed into a pew. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks sat next to each other, and then sat Mike, Haley, Selene, and Phil.
"There'd be some more room on this pew if we didn't have her hogging up half of the fucking room with her big fat ass," Phil muttered, loud enough for Haley to hear. She stared down at herself self-consciously before she glared at him. He gave her a bullshit smile.
They all focused their attention on the preacher, who stood behind a podium holding a microphone, saying stuff about God and Jesus.
"…now, let us pray," he declared, maneuvering the microphone to fit between his praying hands. He went on with a prayer while everyone bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and repeated what he said. Haley looked around the room nervously, not sure what to do. She was never religious, and praying didn't seem right to her. That's when her gaze fell on Phil, who was also not praying. The two looked at each other briefly before looking back down sheepishly. After an hour or so of listening to the preacher speak his words, they left for home. In the car, Selene kept going on about the sermon.
"Haley, didn't you think what he was saying about Jesus was nice?" she asked.
"Um, sure, Selene," Haley murmured quietly.
"God loves us all so much," Selene sighed dreamily. "He takes care of us, and He is always there for us."
"Yeah, well, He wasn't there when my parents died," Haley snapped, feeling her frustration start to bubble over from the past day and a half. Her voice kept rising higher and higher as she continued speaking. "He wasn't there to stop my dad from dying in that car crash, and He wasn't there two days later when my mom blew her brains out with a fucking pistol. And, most importantly, He wasn't there when I was begging Him to make me feel better and bring my parents back. He wasn't there when I cried for a month straight. If He really does love all of us, then He obviously must not know I exist, because if He did, He'd make my parents alive so we could live together happily, and I wouldn't have to ruin five other people's lives with my presence. He's never been there for me."
Haley was surprised that she had managed to say that so clearly, as she was sobbing so hard her lungs were starting to ache. Mrs. Brooks was turned around in the passenger seat and looked at Haley with sad eyes, as did Selene. She buried her face in her hands and allowed herself to keep crying for the duration of the car ride. From there, she jumped out of the car and ran up to her bedroom, where she cried hysterically until she had nothing left to cry, just slight whimpers and hoarse screams. After she lay in bed for a while, controlling her breathing, she grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She sat on the edge of her bed, her back to her door, and stared at the ground for a while.
Haley nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone crawl onto her bed behind her. She didn't turn around to see who it was, even when they crawled up right behind her and held her close in a comforting hug.
"God is just some bullshit façade, isn't He?" the person whispered. Haley's eyes widened in shock when she recognized the voice as Phil's. She turned her head to see his face next to hers. He gave her a short, sad smile. She turned her body so she faced him, and he sat pretzel-legged across from her, their knees touching slightly.
"Why are you in here?" Haley whispered, her throat sore from crying. "You hate me. You don't want me in your family, and you don't want me in your life, so why are you here?"
"I don't know," Phil confessed. "I guess hearing a girl cry for three hours straight gets to you eventually, even if you want nothing to do with her."
Haley glanced at her clock in disbelief. Had she seriously cried three hours straight?! "Wouldn't that give you some sort of sick satisfaction, though? Me crying, all alone in here, mostly at the hands of you? How could you feel bad about that?"
"I just said," Phil repeated, "hearing a girl cry for three hours straight gets to you eventually, even if you want nothing to do with her."
"If it makes you feel any better," Haley started, her eyes welling up again, "I'd much rather be with my parents than messing up your life here."
"Yeah, well, that's kind of impossible, isn't it?" Phil grunted. "So, I guess we'll both just have to accept the fact that you're a part of this family now, whether we like it or not."
"I like it," Haley hissed, "You're the only one with a problem."
Phil sighed and used his thumb to wipe away Haley's fresh set of tears. "I think I can get used to you living here," he finally sighed. Haley perked up, despite the tears still falling down her face.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked, hopeful. Phil gave her a slight nod.
"It's not gonna happen overnight," he warned. "Who says I won't get pissed later and be an ass then? We'll take it day-by-day and see how things go. Alright?"
"More than alright," Haley said, giving Phil a small smile. She surprised her adoptive brother by leaning forward, taking his face in her hands, and placing a small kiss on his cheek. "I'm an interesting person if you give me the chance to show you."
"I've already heard some things from my mom and Selene," he mumbled.
"Are they mad at me?" Haley asked suddenly. "I mean, I kind of freaked out on Selene. I didn't mean to, honest. I kind of have explosive anger problems. And I don't believe in their Catholic beliefs. Are they going to send me back to the foster home?"
"They would never send you back," Phil assured her. "Trust me, they wouldn't. They love you like you're their own flesh and blood. And as for Selene, she felt better after my mom explained to her the situation, and now Selene's just worried about you. They're all worried about you, actually. I was the only one balls-y enough to come in here."
Haley breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Well, thank you, Phil. I appreciate it. So, before I start crying again, what's for dinner?"
Phil snickered gently. "Mom's calling for take-out. I think she's getting pizza or Chinese."
"Sounds good," Haley commented, feeling the effects of crying through lunch weighing on her. "I, um… Do you know if your mom has a backpack or anything for me? I don't have anything for school tomorrow."
"I wasn't supposed to tell you," Phil started in a whisper, "but after dinner, you're going to be getting a few welcoming gifts. Come on, do you wanna use my laptop while I talk to my friend, Adam? My dad said he'll give me fifty bucks if he sees me being nice to you, and I really wanna get some new comic books."
"If you don't mind," Haley answered, sliding off her bed and following Phil after grabbing her flash drive. He opened the door to his bedroom. She took in the posters of Batman and other superheroes, the large, messy bed, the desk, and other things thrown around messily. She took a seat at his desk while he pulled out his expensive-looking cell phone and called his friend. She turned the computer on and waited for it to load. Once she had logged on, she started the Firefox browser and went to her e-mail account.
Dear Riley,
You told me to e-mail you ASAP, so here I am! My new family is very welcoming so far, except for Phil. He's being a real jerk. I hope he warms up to me soon. It's so stressful coming into some strange family and having to deal with the fact that this is my family now, too. It's really overwhelming, and I've cried so many times. I hope by the next time I e-mail you, I'll have adjusted some more.
What's the status of your paperwork with the Orton family? I know you wanna be a Birmingham for as long as you can, but I know how much you're looking forward to becoming an Orton, too! I hope you're not too lonely at the foster home. I miss MA a lot. Did you know NOBODY here says "wicked" in the way we do? And, they have no idea what a clicker is. They just call it a remote control!
TTYS! – Haley
Haley sent the e-mail before plugging in her flash drive. All of her photos popped up, and she went to the "Family" album. Photos of her mom and dad alone, together, and with her popped up. She clicked on one of the two of them together and smiled sadly. She shut all of the windows and turned the laptop off before shutting the screen. Phil was still on the phone when she snuck out of his room and went downstairs. She put the lanyard around her neck so she wouldn't lose the flash drive. Mrs. Brooks was in the kitchen talking to Selene, who sat at the counter.
"Can I have something to drink?" she asked, interrupting them once they both were silent for a moment. They both turned to look at her.
"Honey, you don't have to ask to eat or drink anything," Mrs. Brooks explained. "This is your home, remember? You can eat or drink whatever you want, whenever you want. Well, minus the alcohol, but I think you already knew that."
Haley left them to finish their conversation while she walked over to the refrigerator and took a juice box out. She stuck the straw in the top and took a long sip.
"Haley, why don't you sit next to Selene?" Mrs. Brooks suggested. Haley did as she said, and sat next to Selene at the counter. She still had the braid in her hair from when Haley had done it earlier. She sipped at her juice while Mrs. Brooks talked.
"So, Haley, are you excited about starting school tomorrow?" she asked.
"I'm a little scared, to be honest," Haley admitted. "There are so many new things I have to adjust to so quickly."
"Nobody's rushing you, dear," she murmured comfortingly. Haley rubbed her swollen eyes tiredly. "Haley, what religion were you brought up with?"
"I wasn't," Haley answered. "I mean, I celebrated Christmas and Easter, but it was mostly just as a family thing. I've never been to church, either."
"Well, we're not asking or forcing you to convert to Catholicism," Mrs. Brooks began, "but we'd still like you to attend Church with us, and respect our beliefs."
"I wouldn't dream of disrespecting your beliefs, Mrs. Brooks," Haley assured her.
"Okay, honey. I believe you. Now, let's order dinner. Do you like Chinese, Haley?"
"Yes," she said with a smile.
"What would you like?" she asked, sliding a menu over to her. Haley didn't need to look.
"Pork fried rice," she smirked.
"What else?"
"That's all."
Mrs. Brooks gave her an odd look before smiling herself. "Okay, honey. That was easy enough."
#^#^# After Dinner #^#^#
"Before anyone leaves this table," Mr. Brooks began, "we would like to give Haley some welcoming gifts."
Haley executed looking surprised quite well. "Me? You didn't have to get me anything."
"We wanted to," Mrs. Brooks said, walking over with a huge box filled with wrapped items. Haley's eyes widened when she saw what Mrs. Brooks was bringing over. After she set it down, Haley pulled a wrapped gift out slowly and ripped the paper off neatly before disposing of it in the box. In her hands was a lime-green JanSport backpack. It felt ridiculously heavy.
"Oh my god, do you have a body in here?" Haley joked, which made everyone, especially Phil, laugh loudly.
"Well, it's not a body," Mrs. Brooks started, laughing, "but open it up."
Haley set it on the table and unzipped it. Inside were binders, folders, notebooks, a pencil case with pencils, pens, and erasers in it, dividers, and two packages of loose-leaf paper. "Wow! This is all I need to start school! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome, honey," Mr. and Mrs. Brooks said. Mrs. Brooks continued with, "There are still a lot more in this box. Why don't you open them now?"
Haley stuck her hand in the box and pulled out the first thing she touched. It felt soft and heavy. Wrapped inside was a make-up pouch, and inside the pouch were mascara, eye shadow, eye liner, and various other cosmetic items. She grabbed a box-shaped item to find a hair brush, small toothed comb, wide toothed comb, a yellow loofah, some hair elastics and clips, a new toothbrush, a stick of deodorant, and a bag of 3-blade disposable razors.
"This is so much!" Haley exclaimed, looking at all that she had in front of her so far. There were still a few items in the box. "Thank you!"
"Keep going," Selene encouraged. She handed her a small, box-shaped item. "This one next!"
Haley took it from the young girl and ripped the paper off. Her eyes widened in complete surprise when she saw a box for an iPhone in her hands. "Oh, wow! You didn't need to get me a cell phone! And such an expensive one at that!"
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, Mike, and Phil held up their iPhones nearly simultaneously. "I think it's a Brooks' thing," Mr. Brooks said, smiling. "It's also cheaper than getting each of them a phone and an iPod. It's like killing two birds with one stone."
Mike pulled a large, heavy gift out of the box and set it in front of her. She tore the wrapping paper off and, once again, stared in awe at the gift in front of her.
"A Mac laptop?" Haley exclaimed, completely surprised by the gift. "I don't know what to say!"
"You said you like to write, so that was even more of a reason to get you this," Mrs. Brooks explained. Haley looked at her gratefully. She took another gift from the box and opened it. A photo frame with a picture of her new family sat inside. It was taken professionally outside somewhere.
"This is so neat," Haley said, running her finger along the black frame briefly. Inside the remaining presents were a few iTunes gift cards, five paperback books, and a package of colorful socks.
"This is better than Christmas. Thank you so much. I don't know how I can repay you or thank you enough!" Haley exclaimed happily. She went around the table, giving everyone a hug, even Phil. With fifty dollars on the line, he hugged her back briefly.
"We're glad you like it, Haley," Mrs. Brooks smiled. "You thanked us enough both with words and your facial expressions. We love you, Haley. Welcome to the family."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Please Review! :)
