CHAPTER SEVEN
CODY
I was living an episode of Jerry Springer or some other trashy talk show. Never in my life had I expected to be sitting around waiting for DNA results, but here I was with my big brother and my possibly younger sister.
Dustin sat glaring at Lily the entire time. I nearly told him his face was going to get stuck like that if he didn't stop. Seriously, Grumpy Cat had nothing on my brother.
We'd had them rush the results. This was easy to do since we were all employed by WWE and would be leaving town shortly. They deemed up Very Important Patients pretty quickly. Within a couple of hours, we were called back into the office.
"So, the results came back," the doctor told us. "There is no doubt here. You all share a father."
Lily looked stunned. I suspect I shared her expression. Dustin, however, was furious. "The results are wrong," he insisted. "I want a second opinion! We'll find another doctor, a specialist in this field-"
"No," I said.
He stared at me with his mouth open. It might have been comical under other circumstances. "Cody, we need proof-"
"No. We have proof. DNA doesn't lie, and ours matches. Dustin, for God's sake, the girl just lost her mother. Don't put her through hell when we already know the truth." I looked at Lily. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I mean, sure. Now I know. Thanks, guys... I'll just go," Lily replied.
"You don't have to leave," I said. I thanked the doctor and led my brother... and sister out of the office. "Let's go somewhere to talk."
"So she can make her demands?" Dustin asked.
"No, so she can get to know us, and we can get to know her."
"No thank you."
"Dustin, stop being an asshole. This is our kid sister."
"She never knew him. She's not really his kid, and now she can just go around tainting his memory and trying to steal our money-"
"I have no interest in your money," Lily said firmly. "I just thought we all had a right to know the truth. I'm sorry I inconvenienced you, Dustin. I'll just keep my distance."
"Guys, stop. Dad would want us to try," I insisted.
"Dad wouldn't want some gold digger's kid spreading lies about him," Dustin said.
Lily had had enough. She walked away, ignoring me as I called after her. I'd never wanted to hit my brother as much as I did in that moment.
"Dustin! She's our sister and she's only twenty-one. She's practically still a kid. You could at least try to be nice to her instead of assuming the worst," I said.
"She's a legal adult, and I see no reason. She's not my family Cody, you are," Dustin replied.
"The test says otherwise. Why are you being such a jerk about this?"
"Our father was a good man, Cody. A scandal like this could tarnish his legacy. He's not here to defend himself, so that's our job."
I knew my brother had been fighting hard to make our father proud. They'd had a lot of trouble through the years, but they loved each other. He'd taken his death so hard. He'd nearly fallen off the wagon. It had taken a lot to keep him from losing it, and ever since, everything he'd done had been about doing what Dad would have wanted.
"Dus... Dad would have wanted us to be here for his daughter... Our sister. He raised us to put family first. It's not a scandal. I'm sure he never knew she was his kid, so it's not like he just abandoned her."
"Think about her age, Cody!" Dustin argued. "He had an affair. He cheated on your mom. Why aren't you more upset?"
"Why am I going to waste time being angry with him when I can't confront him? He's gone, Dustin. Does it suck to know he cheated on my mother? Hell yes, but you know what? Dad was human. He made mistakes. Who hasn't?"
"He was a good man-"
"A good man who made some bad choices... Like turning on you."
"Don't."
"Dustin, when you left your wife for a man, Dad lost it. He disowned you. It took years for me to convince him he was wrong and that he needed to work things out with you. I didn't understand why he was so angry with you just because of who you loved, and I made sure he knew I wouldn't turn on my big brother no matter what."
"Just stop! That's ancient history. I'm not that guy anymore."
"Dustin, we both know you're gay, and there is nothing wrong with that!"
"Shut up! That was a mistake. I'm with a woman now, like I should be."
"You're faking it because you think that's what he would want. You aren't happy, Dustin. And you deserve to be happy."
"This isn't up for debate. I'm going back to the hotel. Keep that girl away from me, Cody. She's trouble, and I don't want anything to do with her."
He marched off and I sighed. "That went well," I said to myself sarcastically.
I thought so, too, Stardust said cheerfully in my head as I found myself walking back to the hotel alone.
LILY
That had gone about as bad as possible. Cody might be okay with me, but Goldust apparently hated me. What the hell was I doing? I never knew who my father was. These guys hadn't grown up with me. We weren't really family... We were just related. There was a difference. My mom, my family was dead. I was alone in the world. It was depressing, but at least that meant my only family didn't hate me for no fucking reason.
Dean spotted me as I walked down the hall. "You're back," he said with surprise. "How are you holding up?"
"Lousy," I admitted.
"Talk. If you want, I mean."
"I found something out… My mother left me a note with the identity of my biological father."
"How bad is it?"
"It's not bad, it's just… He's a legend and my new brothers hate me. Or at least, one of them does."
"Who is he?"
"Dusty Rhodes." It was still weird to say it, but now I had proof. I might as well get used to it.
"Wait… You're Dream's daughter? Wow… I mean, seriously, wow. That's insane."
"I know."
"So you told Goldust and Cody?"
"Yeah… Cody seems to be trying to deal with it, but Goldust… He hates me. He thinks I'm trying to steal the family fortune or something."
"He's a douche. Forget about him. Focus on Cody. Goldust will come around when he's ready, and if he doesn't, fuck him."
"I need a distraction."
"I have tons of those. What do you want to do?"
"I'm tempted to say get drunk, but… But not here." Not when he's probably somewhere lurking in this hotel waiting to hurt me again, I added silently.
"Knock that shit off, Lily. Trust a guy who's been down that road… Drinking isn't the cure."
"So what else can I do?"
"Come back to my room. We'll watch a bad movie or something… Or I could take you out for karaoke?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Um… Nope, I don't think I'm ready for that just yet."
"Bad movie it is!" He led me back to his room. He'd just gotten settled on the couch with me when someone knocked on his door.
"I'll get rid of them," Dean assured me. He opened it and I heard the last voice I wanted to hear.
"Hey, Dean," Roman said. "Can we talk?"
I listened closer as they talked, praying Dean wouldn't invite Roman into the room. "Bad time, Joe. Is it important?" Dean asked.
"Well… Yeah, kind of… I don't know… I think I fucked up, man."
"You? The almighty perfect chosen one?" Dean teased him.
I felt sick. I hoped I wouldn't throw up on Dean's floor. I felt myself curling into a ball, shrinking smaller and smaller, trying to disappear.
"Shut up. I'm serious. I was drinking the other night and… Well, I hooked up with this girl," Roman said.
Hooked up? Is that what he calls it? I thought in disgust.
"So? What's the problem?" Dean asked.
"Well, she was kind of young, and very drunk, too… And she sort of… Man, I don't know. She fought me. Like, I mean, she really fought me, cut me with her nails and everything… But I still ended up sleeping with her," Roman said.
Dean's entire body stiffened. "When?" He demanded.
"What?" Roman asked, confused by the sudden change in Dean's attitude.
"Fucking when did this happen?"
"I don't know, man… It was her birthday."
"Son of a bitch… It was you!" Dean screamed at him.
And then, to my horror, Dean attacked his best friend in the world. I could hear Roman hitting the wall hard with a startled grunt of pain. I could see Dean twitching and knew he was throwing punch after punch at him.
"Dean! Stop it! Stop!" Roman shouted.
"Why? You didn't!" Dean screamed back.
Part of me was freaking the hell out, but a smaller part mentally tipped my hat to Dean for that comment. He was right. Roman hadn't respected the word "no," so why should he?
Two wrongs don't make a right, my mother's voice said in my head.
Not now, Mom, I thought in response. This isn't the time for clichés, and if it were, I'd just counter yours with one of my favorites… Karma's a bitch.
"Dean! Dean, get off of him!" A horrified voice cried out. I realized it was Ashley. "What the fuck is going on?"
"He's a fucking rapist and I want him out of here!" Dean said. This was loud enough that everyone in the immediate area could hear him. I was just glad he hadn't announced who it was that Roman had raped. I might not want people to know I'd been the victim, but I knew people needed to know what kind of man Roman Reigns really was.
"What?!" Ashley asked in horror.
"You've got it wrong, Dean-" Roman tried to protest. "I was drunk! It wasn't like that!"
"You were drunk. She was drunk. Fine. But you know what? She said no. She fought you! You told me that yourself! When you kept going in spite of that, it became rape, you fucking asshole! Get the fuck out of here before I fucking kill you!"
"Dean, you're my brother!"
"Fuck that! No brother of mine would fucking rape an innocent girl!" He punched him again, and again, I tried to shrink away into his couch and disappear. "She's a fucking kid, Joe! She's barely fucking legal!"
Suddenly, Ashley put it together. And then, I heard what I can only assume was Ashley joining in the beatdown of the man who had raped me. Was this really happening?
I stood up. I couldn't very well let them get arrested for me. I was trembling as I made my way to the doorway. Sure enough, Ashley and Dean were both kicking Roman's ass. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose, and I noticed blood on top of his head as well. Dean wasn't backing down. Ashley was just getting warmed up.
"Stop…" I whispered.
They didn't. That's probably because they didn't hear me. I tried again. "Stop… Guys, please, stop it!"
Ashley was still throwing punches, but at the sight of me, Dean froze. He stood up and looked at me, trembling and terrified, and he walked away from Roman.
"I'm sorry, Lily," Dean said. "Fuck. I am so sorry… I had no idea… I would have killed him… That night, if you'd told me… I swear I would have."
"I know. I believe you," I said.
Roman looked at me. Ashley responded by punching him hard in the right eye. Dean nodded approvingly, but pulled her off of Roman after seeing the desperate look on my face.
"She doesn't want this," Dean told Ashley. "He may not respect what she wants, but I do."
Ashley reluctantly moved away from Roman. He was gasping for breath and spitting blood out of his mouth. He tried to say something, but Dean cut him off.
"No," Dean said. "You don't get to speak to her. You don't get to look at her. You don't get to fucking think about her! Are we fucking clear, Joe?"
Roman's only response was the coughing up of blood. "I'm going to call this bastard an ambulance so we don't get charged with murder," Ashley said. "Though it would totally be worth it. And Joe? If you try to press charges, I will bury your ass. My father has some of the best lawyers in the world. Be glad I let you escape with your life."
Dean led me back inside after Ashley insisted she could stand guard over the severely beaten Roman by herself. "Lily… Fuck. Seriously, I don't even know what to say," he said.
"I'm sorry," I blurted out.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"He's your best friend… And I ruined that. I shouldn't have put you in the middle."
"You didn't. He made his choice, and he did something inexcusable. There's no justification for hurting someone like that, and Joe knows one thing I don't stand for is a rapist."
I looked at him and said, "I guess bad movie night is off?"
"What? Hell no. We need it more now than ever!"
I was surprised. "Really? You still want me here?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't I? The cops will be questioning us pretty soon, though, so maybe we should wait till after I know whether or not I'm getting arrested."
"Don't worry about that," Ashley said as she ducked back into the room. "I played the concerned co-worker and he told the cops he got jumped and has no idea who did it. He left your names out of it and told them I found him like that."
"Seriously? How'd you manage to get him to do that?" I asked.
"I told him I'd tell his cousins he's a rapist. I don't think they'd react well to that, and apparently, Joe agrees."
I couldn't believe all of this had just happened. Even more, I was stunned Dean and Ashley weren't in trouble. "I hope he fucking rots," Dean mumbled.
"Thank you guys," I finally said after a minute. "But, you know, you didn't have to do that."
"He deserved it," Ashley said.
"He deserved worse," Dean added. "I can't believe I ever trusted him."
I think Ashley noticed I was uncomfortable, because the next thing she did was ask, "So, what are you guys up to?"
"Bad movie night," Dean said. "Starting with Terror of Tiny Town, this western from the 1930s starring an entire cast of Hornswoggle-sized people on a set built for full-sized-people."
"You're kidding," Ashley said. To my surprise, she added, "I love that movie! It's so awful, I couldn't stop laughing!"
Dean looked at me before saying, "I guess one more participant would be okay."
"Yay! Bad movies are awesome. I have a ton of them on my Netflix account. We'll definitely have to log in and check some of them out. You guys, this is going to be fun!"
Surprisingly, I believed her. I suspected that Ashley and Dean had never even considered hanging out before, but somehow, here we all were, brought together by pain, suffering, violence, and apparently midgets in a saloon. This was turning out to be an interesting night, and to my relief, neither of them mentioned what had happened with Roman again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so sorry I've taken this long to update! I've been busy and I have several other fics going right now, too. I'm going to try to update this one more often. I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and I appreciate your reviews. By the way, Terror of Tiny Town is apparently a real thing. I found it on Rotten Tomatoes on a list of movies so bad they're kind of good. I take no credit for the name or plot, but it seemed like something that would appeal to Dean's mildly psychotic mind.
