Finally got the ideas for the next few chapters. Hopefully the updates will come thick and fast now. Thanks everyone for reviewing, favouriting and following :)
Thursday July 9th 2015, 4:54pm
In Wade's mind, the two most beautiful sights that could grace his eyes were the rolling hills of his native Lancashire and his wife's smile. The opportunity to sample both simultaneously was one that he savoured immensely. They'd only made one previous excursion to the cottage, during which AJ's behaviour had both fascinated and charmed him. He'd never stopped to consider just how wildly different their childhood homes were; his split between the semi-rural Preston suburbs and the remote valleys of North Wales, hers spent smack-bang in the middle of one of the world's most densely-populated urban areas, lacking the financial means to escape to greener pastures. She'd gone straight from this to the life of a WWE superstar; an endless blur of flights and freeways, city to city with very little time or inclination to explore what lay in between.
She'd rarely spent any time in the countryside whatsoever, and the English countryside not at all. It warmed his heart immensely seeing her eyes widen with wonder as she discovered for the first time the views he'd almost took for granted during his youth. Her blissful grin barely left her face as he navigated their rental car through the endless winding abyss of country lanes and quaint villages to where their home-from-home lay, at the end of a mile-long dirt track, concealed by thick woodland three miles south of the small town of Clitheroe. Clitheroe had a castle. AJ thought that was just about the coolest thing in the world. She was so disappointed when he informed her that it was not for private sale, whether they could afford it or not. He silently giggled to himself at the memory of her eagerly dragging him to the top of the main turret, attracting bewildered stares from everyone they pushed past, then admonishing him for not saving his marriage proposal for such a location.
"What's that?" AJ asked dreamily, continuing to gaze out of the passenger side window.
"That's Pendle Hill," Wade replied, all too happy to indulge her intense curiosity.
"We're watching the sunset there tonight," she said firmly. It wasn't a question.
"It's quite the climb..." Wade cautioned playfully.
"...especially when you're jet-lagged."
"Piggyback?" she questioned in as sweet a tone as she could muster, batting her eyelashes at him.
"No! We get a good enough view from the back of the cottage," Wade countered.
"By the way, I was wondering..." AJ began.
"...can Celeste and Mercedes stay over tomorrow night? I've been dying to show them this place and it'll cost them a fortune to get a taxi back into town at that time."
Wade rolled his eyes wearily. He wasn't one for house guests.
"What happened to this weekend being about us?" he asked plaintively.
"Well, that kinda went out the window when you chose to abandon me for football on Saturday afternoon," she fired back.
"That's different. I only get to about two games a year, you see your mates all the time," Wade countered.
"Actually, I've seen both of them, my best friends, only once since they left WWE. Thanks for noticing. Maybe if you weren't such a fucking loner you'd know how hard that is," AJ replied, now genuinely rather disgruntled.
Wade looked across at her as she sighed heavily with her head bowed. This weekend was meant to be about cheering her up, and here he was bringing her down. This was not the time to be greedy or antisocial in not wanting to share his home or time with his wife, however instinctively that behaviour came to him.
"I'm sorry, poppet..." he conceded softly, placing his left hand on her right knee.
"...of course they can stay."
AJ's smile returned and she placed one of her hands on top of his.
"Thanks. I know it's not your thing. I promise we won't be too girly. We're all varying degrees of tomboy anyway, can't imagine there'll be much discussion of lipgloss or the Kardashians or whatever women are 'supposed' to talk about," she said.
Chuckling fondly, Wade swung the car left down the track. The cottage soon emerged in all its rustic glory. AJ smiled proudly upon setting eyes on it once again. She'd chosen very well indeed.
"To think, I never gave a rat's ass about nature before we got this place..." she remarked as they stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine.
"...speaking of which, rats are just about the only evidence of the natural world to be found in Union City."
"I've always been a big fan of natural beauty," Wade quipped in response, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. That gentle, loving touch. AJ couldn't but feel helplessly lovestruck whenever she experienced it. Being back in his 'natural habitat' seemed to make him somehow even more handsome, his hair ruffled by the light breeze, the filtered sunshine reflecting through the trees and making his arms look even more chiseled than normal. The look he was giving her with those breathtaking greenish brown eyes, like he could not possibly behold a prettier sight than her face, like there was literally no other place he would rather be. She'd chosen very well indeed.
Alicia's flight had touched down at Manchester airport an hour before AJ and Wade's. Lord knew how Aksana had found their flight information. Once again it was probably less unsettling to be in the dark on that score. She'd set off for the cottage using the directions Aksana had provided, pulling over near her destination and waiting for them to pass. She'd wondered whether it was inappropriate to confront them with this no sooner had they arrived, but then, when would it be appropriate? The sooner it was out of the way the better. She drove slowly along the track; stomach knotted, hands shaking so profusely she could barely keep the wheel straight. Without even thinking to she peeled off into the woods and came to a stop. Clearly her body wasn't about the let her mind put it through this agony. But she hadn't come all this way to weasel out of it yet again. All she needed was the right moment, but how was she to know when that would be?
Then she had a brainwave. She'd brought as much of her camera equipment with her as her baggage allowance permitted. One never knew when the opportunity for the perfect photograph would arise. It also served as a source of comfort and optimism, that all being well she'd get the main purpose of her visit out of the way and things would go smoothly enough for her to have the time and the inclination to engage in some leisure activities before she left.
She fetched her tripod, camera and telescopic lens attachment from the back of the car, setting it up amidst the greenery where the tree line allowed for a small glimpse of the cottage and its frontage. In all truth she had no idea what she was hoping to see, what she would interpret as a sign that now was the time to make her move, but being aware she was merely stalling didn't mean she was able to stop.
She brought the lens into focus. There they were, stood facing each other outside the front door. They hadn't changed much, but then it had only been two years. AJ was slightly plumper, Wade's hair was beginning to grey somewhat, but essentially they were still the same as the were the day she almost ruined their lives for good. He had his hand at her cheek; Alicia wasn't much of a lip-reader but it was clearly from the besotted expression on AJ's face that whatever her husband was saying was hitting all the right notes in her heart. Those cute, delicate features Alicia had sadistically attempted to smash into smithereens, denying her the right to experience what she was experiencing at this moment. How could she have done such a thing?
AJ closed her eyes; the eyes that had silently begged for Alicia not to hurt her only to be cruelly, indulgently denied. She placed her hands around his neck and leant on her tiptoes to meet him with a tender kiss. The kind of kiss that only came with the deepest of loves and the most intimate knowledge of one another's bodies. Alicia's heart ached with the juxtaposition of relief that her actions hadn't led such a love to die, and fury at herself for endangering it. It was only through sheer fortune that she wasn't a murderer. A murderer. She'd never thought of it that way before but now the word was filling her entire head. She'd wanted to murder little AJ Lee; that sweet, harmless girl she was watching amid romantic bliss at this moment. A woman who had never posed her any ill will, who's only crime was to fall in love at a time when Alicia herself had never felt more cheated and alone. She shouldn't have come here. It was arrogant to expect their forgiveness. It was too late. She was a monster.
But what was the alternative? She'd hate herself forever if she didn't at least try. She had to do this. A sudden swell of courage swept over her and she prepared to pack up her camera and head down to the cottage. But then they stopped kissing. And then Wade held her; his enormous frame protectively enveloping AJ's little body that Alicia had savagely beat and broken with permanent consequences. AJ's eyes remained closed, a soft smile of security and contentment on her lips. Wade's face however, told a completely different story; one of hurt, worry and determination.
Maybe she was projecting, but Alicia could almost feel him reliving that day he nearly lost her, and the various other traumatic episodes that had preceded and followed it. He looked like he never wanted to let her go, that this was the only way he could know for certain nothing or no one would hurt her. AJ wasn't the only one Alicia had scarred for life. They may still have had each other, but thanks to Alicia's actions, AJ and Wade's relationship would always have a permanent air of fear and angst. And she expected to walk into this scene and be treated with anything other than hatred and disgust? It wasn't going to happen.
Then through the almighty guilt crept another feeling. She'd never been held like that. Her safety and love had never been the fuel that powered any man's life. Here she was at 29 years of age and Wade, for whom she now felt nothing apart from remorse, and who no doubt loathed her with a passion, was still the closest she had come. The events of two years ago aside, had AJ really lived that much more of a good life than her that she was rewarded with this and Alicia had still never even come close? Was she really so special?
Then another horrifying thought of realisation struck her. This was how it had happened. This exact train of thought, this exact sense of jealousy and injustice, left to fester over a prolonged period and stoked up repeatedly by the likes of Aksana, was what had driven her to such psychotic actions. She still had it in her to think in such a detached and maladjusted way. Only self-control and knowledge from experience of just how far off the deep end she could go was stopping the monster from reawakening. It still lived inside her.
She all but threw the camera into the boot of the car, caring little whether it stayed in one piece, slammed the door, reversed wildly out of the clearing and sped back towards the road, tears streaming down her face. It didn't matter what she did; this guilt, this anguish, this loneliness, it would all follow her to the grave.
Thursday July 9th 2015, 9:25pm
"We are looking way too good for social media to not know about it," Sasha chirped merrily as she examined her and Kaitlyn's reflections in the hotel room mirror. They were just about to leave for the welcome party for the weekend's wrestling event, held at the club where the shows would be taking place over the next two days. Sasha had spared no effort in her appearance. Looking 'diva' felt rather alien to her after the past couple of months, and actually being satisfied with her reflection was something of an ego trip after what felt like an eternity of self-doubt. But all being well, the trip had only just begun.
"You're actually Tweeting?" Kaitlyn questioned in pleasant surprise.
"Now I'm finally doing something worth Tweeting about; yes!" Sasha enthusiastically replied.
"Now get in!"
Sasha pulled Kaitlyn by the arm into the range of her phone camera, striking a sassy pose with her arm around her housemate's waist as she took the picture. Kaitlyn could not have smiled wider. This was the cheeky, cheerful girl she had fallen in love with back with a vengeance. Tonight they were going to have as great a time as the promoter-enforced three-drink maximum would allow. She'd reigned in the thoughts that had been torturing the night before and was simply anticipating a night of unadulterated fun with her favourite person in the world. She was content to play the best friend for tonight at least. Even if Sasha did look positively delicious in that little red dress of hers.
"Dayum, we lookin' fly! Jaws gon' be hittin' floors when we roll up in dat spot," Sasha enthused as she examined the photo. Kaitlyn gave a giggle of familiarity. She knew Sasha was in a good mood when she started breaking out in ebonics.
"At you, maybe. I look like a fucking nun!" Kaitlyn smirked, pulling at the long hem of her dark blue garment. She hadn't known about the party before arriving and had only packed one outfit that could be considered 'smart', a long-sleeved dress that was more church than club.
Sasha was glad Kaitlyn had been rather conservative in her choice of attire. With brash confidence (which increased many-fold when alcohol was added to the mix) and her ample curves, the older woman usually attracted the lions' share of male attention when they were out. This never used to bother Sasha when she had a man waiting for her at home, but now she was, for the first time in her life, on the prowl, and could do with as little competition as possible. She had a point to prove. Punk wouldn't think twice before embarking on an unashamed conquest. Half his relationships were flings and one-night-stands that got out of hand, maybe including this latest thing with Becky. She couldn't let him have all the fun. She was nervous, of course, and a part of her was asking what the hell her principles had gone all of a sudden, but she was adamant: She wouldn't be waking up in this room tomorrow.
