Okay, so chapter 4 and you'll finally get a CM Punk appearance :)
Thanks for all the reviews/adds/favorites, I think I say the same thing in every prelude, but I really do mean it...you guys that read this story are awesome :) Enough rambling, enjoy!
Melissa stood in the kitchen twirling a piece of hair around her finger getting an eye roll from her daughter who was patiently awaiting her phone conversation to end so she could get her moms opinion. It was the night before Brooke's big trip to San Jose for her first Raw and while she was excited, Melissa was equally excited to have her first evening date with Dave. The two had been taking things slow, getting to know each other with their frequent lunch dates, and Melissa was looking forward to an evening out.
Brooke cleared her throat for the eighth time as Melissa finally realized her patience was wearing thin. "Okay, so tomorrow at 7…I'll text you the address…that sounds great and I'm looking forward to it…good night." Melissa pressed end feeling an ache in her cheeks over the big smile she'd been wearing all day, but she couldn't help herself. Dating had been placed on the back burner since Brooke was born, and even when she did go on a date it always ended in disaster. She had high hopes for this one though and seeing Brooke was getting older, it was perfect timing.
"It's about time!" Melissa looked at her daughter raising her eyebrow.
"Excuse me, but you're not in San Jose yet! Keep that attitude up and you'll spend Monday night in your room!" Brooke let out a small sigh trying to kick her frustration aside.
"I'm sorry mom, but this is really important! Should I wear In Punk We Trust or GTS?" Melissa held back an eye roll as she shook her head; she didn't mind giving her daughter fashion advice, but she had hoped they'd be looking at dresses instead of wrestling T-shirts.
"Isn't the GTS one the newest one?"
"Not exactly, now he has a Knees to Faces shirt, which reminds me can I get my allowance early? I need that shirt!"
"I think the last thing you need is another T-shirt, but I suppose you can have it early; I planned on sending you with some money anyway. I think you should go with the GTS one, matches the obnoxious yellow cast you chose." Brooke placed her hand on her hip not finding her mother's words amusing.
"Everyone thinks my yellow cast is cool…anyway, you don't think that's too much yellow?"
"You'll be fine sweetie…"
"Are you sure because this is a big deal for me…"
"Yes Brooke I'm sure; now can we go pick out something for me to wear? Speaking of big deals, I have a date tomorrow." Melissa smiled as Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Is it with that goofy guy you work with?"
"Brooke Marie that is not polite! Dave is a respected businessman and I suggest that when the time comes for you to meet him you act like the respectful young lady I raised you to be." Brooke saluted her mother before leaving the kitchen. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of her mom dating; granted it was a fairly new thing, but it had been the two of them for ten years and she liked it that way.
Brooke had never screamed so much in her life, which resulted in a sore throat at the end of the night, but she hadn't even noticed. Just when she and Jessica thought they'd had the best night of their lives, Jessica's brother Nick had a big surprise in store for them…a trip to the backstage area. Adrenaline rushed through Brooke's body as she took in the atmosphere behind the scenes; it was so much more then she expected as she followed Jessica and Nick past the technical crews and producers. In the craziness of everything, she'd been looking everywhere but straight ahead when she ran into something hard stumbling backwards.
"Woah, you okay kid?" Brooke took the hand extended to her noticing they were covered in tattoos; she didn't have to look up to know exactly who she had run into.
"Ahh…"
"Woah, sorry Punk, she's with me." Brooke heard Nick's voice as she looked past him seeing Jessica had a dumb grin on her face.
"It's cool, but you should be careful; from the looks of things you've already got one bummed leg, cool cast though, love the color." He winked as she let out a nervous laugh.
Nick and Punk chatted back and forth as Nick took in any words of advice he had to offer. Brooke didn't hear a word they said despite the fact she couldn't take her eyes off of CM Punk; she thought maybe it was because she was such a big fan, but something else got to her. When he'd helped her up, she noticed his dark hazel eyes, the same ones she saw in the mirror every morning. It could've been coincidence, but something in her heart said it wasn't.
"Well we should get going, these girls have school tomorrow." Punk sent them both a small wave as he turned to walk away. Brooke quickly realized he was leaving and finally found her voice.
"Wait, Mr. Punk, would you mind signing my cast?" He turned around giving her a smirk, which made her think of her mom pausing the TV only furthering her suspicions.
"Sure thing kiddo; what's your name?"
"Brooke Marser…"
"Marser huh? Growing up in Chicago, I used to hang out with a couple Marsers." He grabbed a Sharpie from his bag leaning down to sign her cast, but Brooke didn't even notice. She knew her mom grew up in Chicago…was it possible? Brooke shook her head as he finished up giving her a high five. "There you go Brooke, hope your foot gets better." Punk winked again before turning to walk down the long hallway; Jessica nudged her best friend noticing she was in a weird daze.
"Oh my gosh, that was so cool!" When Brooke didn't respond, still staring toward the hallway, Jessica tapped her shoulder finally getting her attention. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost…" Brooke shook her head willing a small smile to grace her lips.
"I'm okay, more then okay; that was beyond cool, I'd say life changing." As much as Brooke wanted to tell Jessica about her suspicion, she kept it to herself. She needed to do some investigating before anything could be revealed.
Brooke lied to Jessica's parents saying that her mother had expected her home that night. They second guessed her when they pulled up to her house just after 1AM and noticed it was dark, but Brooke got out of the car before any questions could be asked.
Upon entering the house, Brooke tiptoed up the stairs to her mother's room where she found her sound asleep. The whole trip home Brooke had gone over the suspicion in her head and everything seemed to make sense; they were both from Chicago, the last name Mercer and it would explain the real reason why her mom hated wrestling. A quick Google search on her iPod touch had shown Punk entered into a WWE contract right before she was born, so it was possible they were together before that; the only way to prove her suspicions was to look in the box her mom kept in the closet.
Brooke quietly entered the closet getting down on her hands and knees to reach the old shoebox that her mom didn't know she knew about. Brooke had seen it a number of times and always wondered what was in it, but until now she never had a reason to snoop. Upon getting the box in her possession, Brooke felt a bit of guilt creep up on her going through her mom's stuff, but at the same time she thought about her suspicion that she needed confirmed.
Brooke tiptoed back to her room and sat down at the foot of her bed taking a deep breath before opening the old shoebox. Inside she found a bunch of random ticket stubs from concerts and movies, nothing that would prove her theory. As the bottom of the box came into view, Brooke felt disappointed; not only had she not found the evidence she was looking for, but she'd gone through her mom's personal things. She let out a sigh as she pulled out an envelope. Holding the envelope in her hands she said a silent prayer hoping she wasn't crazy. She slowly opened it and smiled to herself; she'd found two things that told her she was right. As much as she wanted to be happy with the discovery, she felt sad that her mom had never told her.
Hearing a noise down the hall, Brooke stashed the box and the contents she'd found under her bed as she scrambled to get under the blankets. The door creaked open, light flooding in from the hallway; Brooke squinted her eyes looking at her mom.
"Is everything okay? I thought you were staying at Jessica's tonight…" Brooke rubbed her eyes hoping that her hoarse voice would pass for a sleepy one.
"Yeah, I just wanted to come home though."
"Okay I just wanted to make sure; Jessica's mom called, she thought maybe something happened." Brooke shook her head laying back down on her pillow.
"No, but I'm really tired…" She let out a deep yawn noticing the smile on her mom's face as she crossed through the room to tuck her in. As Melissa kissed Brooke's forehead, she wanted nothing more then to question her mom, but knew it wasn't the time. "Good night mom; thanks for letting me go, I love you…"
"Good night sweetie; I love you too…" Brooke shut her eyes pretending to sleep until her door was closed again. Waiting a few minutes, she listened for her mom's door to close before reaching under her bed for the envelope. She pulled out the photo taking a close look, a small smile on her lips; for the first time she thought of the prospect of having both her mother and father in her life. Brooke hid the envelope under her pillow as she closed her eyes drifting off to sleep.
So Brooke now has proof of who her father is, but what will she do with it? More Punk coming next chapter :)
