Here we go folks, next little chapter!
RedRose85, Yeah, he had to take her with him really, not a lot of other choices there. Although (as you'll see in later chapters) it's not always easy being the guardian of a kid...
Psion53, That's definitely being in the right place at the right time. All part and parcel of his awesome big brotherness (which is apparently a word, huh, who knew?!)
Skovko, Lots of Mox to the rescue in this story! I won't apologise for it (not that anyone asked me too of course, well, not yet anyway, there's still time I guess!)
Irishfan62, Plenty more Mom and Doug to come (um, yay?!) I'll be honest though, there are no other wrestler cameos in this one. I just wanted to keep it super intimate and small. Hopefully I managed to do that well enough that you won't need cameos (I'll keep my fingers crossed!)
Mandy, Awww, feel better soon. Colds are the worst. I am ducking everyone in the office at the moment. It's like a viral nightmare in there! Every other person that comes in is sneezing. Glad this could slightly brighten you up!
Ohana1337, 'Squeaker' comes from the movie 'All Dogs Go To Heaven' which I adored as a kid. I kind of imagine Mox and Katie having watched it together at some point and having picked it up. I was going to actually write that in somewhere, but for whatever reason I couldn't make it fit. Glad you asked, it is really cute though!
Sammii Vega, Unfortunately this isn't the last we see of Doug though, although yes, I agree, he is not a nice guy. Families, eh? You can't pick 'em I guess (except for me in this case because I created them, but ignore that bit!)
AngelsDestiny22, Hi, glad you've found this one as well and are enjoying it. Just suddenly fancied a bit of a change and (what can I say) this is the result! I love writing about this side of him too. Plenty more to come, so, as always, stay tuned!
Adrirose, Maybe that should be my tagline 'the story you didn't know you needed in your life!' To be honest, I didn't realize either until I started writing it. Glad my muse threw it down to me though!
Moxleybabe18, Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're loving it. Hope that goes for this chapter too!
- 4 -
Mox Takes Katie To His Place.
Because he was out on the road so damn often, Mox didn't have a lot of time to play house. As a result his apartment was barren, devoid of personality and to be honest, kinda bare. He did have a sofa and a table and all that shit but it lacked the feel that made it a home. Not that his mother's apartment had that either.
Or maybe it did and it was just buried way down.
Along with her sobriety and maternal desire.
The benefit of his place though was no clutter, which meant he could both open and walk right through the door.
Katie followed him in her jacket and pyjamas, hugging Catsup tightly and looking dog-tired. It had already just struck one in the morning. No wonder she was half-asleep, she should have been long gone.
"Easy Squeaker," he grumbled at her gently as she tried to stifle a violent yawn, "Let's get you into bed, alright Kiddo? Don't want you passin' clean out on the floor."
With her bag in one hand and the other on her shoulders, he steered her towards the corner of the room. It was a tiny apartment with no separated bedroom, but it had a sleeping area which was pretty much the same thing.
Mox's bed was big, soft and comfy and Katie clambered onto it and crawled across the sheets, watching her brother as he unpacked her few belongings and then reached across to unzip her winter coat.
"You plannin' on sleepin' in this thing Squeaker?"
She shook her head at him wearily,
"No."
Mox helped her shrug it off then slung it over the couch arm before heading back towards her and swiftly pulling off her shoes. His exhausted little sister could barely keep upright as her tiny dark lashes fluttered sleepily up and down. Mox smiled a little then peeled back the covers, watching her scramble into them then heavily drop down.
"Smells like you," she mumbled,
"That a good thing?"
"Uh huh," she answered, nodding, "I like it – it's good."
Snorting in amusement, Mox tucked the sheets back round her, pressing them down so she was fully wrapped up. At once she spun onto her back to look up at him, her little brow pulled into a worrisome frown,
"Mox?"
"What's up Squeaks?"
"Why did you get so mad at Doug?"
Shit.
Mox sat down on the bed,
"Because he scared you. I don't like it when people scare my little Munchkin. I mean, that's kinda the whole point of havin' a big brother, right?"
Katie nodded wearily, reaching up a finger and starting to circle the tip of his nose. It was a strange little quirk that she had carried since infancy and particularly when he had come in from the cold. Something about the temperature gave her comfort and knowing it Mox grunted,
"You're a weird kid, y'know?"
"I know," she chirped back, "But there's no such thing as normal. Our teacher told us."
"She sounds pretty smart."
Katie giggled,
"No, it's a he."
"Who is?"
"My teacher," she intoned with an eye roll.
"I thought you had that blonde who wore all those dresses?"
Mox remembered her very well. He'd had to swing by to pick up Katie from school once and her teacher had been standing out with her in the yard, looking ridiculously hot in a swing dress with matching red heels and a little white belt. She'd had an actual roll in her blonde hair, like some fucking fifties pin-up a la Marilyn Monroe.
Katie shook her head,
"She's having a baby."
"So some guy's already nabbed her, huh? Figures I guess."
"Mox?"
"What's up Squeaker?"
"Don't send me back there."
At some point while he'd been envisaging her teacher, Katie had clearly been having thoughts of her own but unlike her older brother's more salacious musings, hers were based on what was to come. Nor was it a terrible question, in fact it was valid.
What was to come?
What exactly was the Moxley grand plan here?
He couldn't fucking keep her but he couldn't send her home.
Big blue eyes blinked up at him fretfully and he leaned in closer and smoothed back her hair, tucking Catsup down underneath the bedclothes and grinning to offset things,
"Don't worry Squeaks, y'hear? You're safe now. Mox's gotcha, you're not goin' anywhere. So you just shut your eyes an' don't let that shit bother ya. This face needs its beauty sleep, alright?"
As he spoke he squeezed her cheeks together teasingly before moving even closer to press his forehead against hers. His eyes bored into her, holding her gaze steadily and trying to reassure her.
"So – I can stay?"
"Uh huh, for tonight sure."
"But what about after that?"
Mox grunted,
"Katie, go to sleep. We can talk about all this shit in the mornin', don't think about it now, alright? Just shut those lil' eyes."
To make his point he placed his fingers on her eyelids and gently attempted to close them himself. Katie snorted and pushed him away again, but let out a sigh and rolled over on her side. For a minute or two she seemed to be fighting it, like she was trying to fight the exhaustion away. Mox sat silently, watching it happen and didn't breathe right until they finally stayed closed.
Fuck.
What a night.
His jumbled thoughts were everywhere, flashing through the last four hours all at once. The booze-soaked ring rat he'd nearly had sex with, Katie's face peering at him in the dark, the pizza, his mother and worst out of all of it Doug in Katie's room trying to peel off his pants. What the hell had the older man been attempting? Had he genuinely drunkenly wandered into the wrong room? Under normal circumstances, Mox might have bought it but Katie's admission earlier had burnt into his soul.
He scares me.
He looks at me funny.
Sure she was a kid but on some level she had to know. Whatever. It didn't matter. Doug made her feel uncomfortable and regardless of how or why it happened he couldn't let that shit go down.
Fuck.
Standing and crossing back over to the kitchen, Mox drew out a bottle of Jack, not wanting to douse himself like his mother but needing something to take off the edge. Taking a swig he smacked his lips together then forced himself to twist the cap back on. Katie already had one adult fail her and choose a life of liquor over being a mom, what she didn't need was her beloved older brother getting one night in and doing the exact same damn thing.
"Sorry Jack," Mox grunted, putting it away again and pushing it back far out of hands reach, "You and me need to start seein' other people. But only for a while, okay? We're officially on a break."
Shuffling into the lounge space he flopped down heavily, bouncing on the worn out springs of the chair. Realistically he needed to follow his sister, make up the couch and get some damn rest, but he strongly doubted that it would be that simple. He was still too pumped, still twitchy and fired up.
Instead he settled for some good old channel surfing, with the sound on mute and the picture lighting up the room. It was interesting trying to watch TV without the talking and to amuse himself, he made the conversations up.
"I'm sorry Mister Robinson, the surgery was unsuccessful and we couldn't reattach your twin brother's severed head. Oh no, what am I gonna tell father? Well we ran the DNA. Your brother wasn't his."
It was actually a pretty fun game he had dreamt up but it ended pretty swiftly when Katie let out a yelp, the noise startling Mox clean up off the sofa and across the room to see if anything was up.
"Squeaker?"
She didn't answer, her eyes still squeezed shut which Mox took to mean his kid sister was still asleep. She was frowning though, her little face all scrunched up and she was murmuring to herself in what was obviously a dream.
"No," she murmured, "Mmmm – nuh – don't like it."
The longer it went on the more distressed she got, turning her head left and right in dissention and even squeezing out a few sleep tears as well. Clearly it was not just a dream it was a nightmare and so reaching out towards her, Mox gave her a little shake.
"Katie? Squeaker?"
She opened her eyes slowly, frightened breaths tearing from her fluttering little chest.
"M-Mox?" she whispered,
"Yeah, s' just me Munchkin."
"I – I was dreaming that mom took me back again and I was shouting and shouting but she still made me go and you weren't there so you couldn't stop her and – and – ,"
She broke off with a little choke, the noise somewhere midway between sobbing and retching and making Mox's heart break into a million jagged rocks.
"Hey, sssh. It was just a crappy nightmare. She's not here, alright? I'm not lettin' her drag you off."
"P-promise?" Katie whispered. Mox nodded back at her, lowering her onto the sheets once more,
"Promise Squeaks, it's just you an' me now."
"C-can you sleep with me?"
Mox blinked back down, snorting softly at the hope in her expression and kicking his treads off in response,
"Sure I can."
Dropping himself sideways on the mattress, he let his sister wiggle herself back, pressing into his chest for security, pulling Catsup closer and then shutting her weary eyes. In less than a minute she was dead to the world again, with her older brother not far behind.
He'd done it now though. He'd promised she could stay with him.
Jon Moxley was nothing if not a man of his word.
So, who feels his decision is going to go really well with no repercussions whatsoever? Show of hands? Okay. Now who feels it might be slightly tougher than that? All of you? Alright. Tune back in on Tuesday to find out!
