Okay...bad Jennie again...I know...I am so astounded by the immense attention this story has received since I posted it. So here's another bonus chapter today. Happy readings.
9. Elizabeth
Elizabeth pulled into Angelle's driveway at half past eleven on Wednesday morning, while Angelle was in the living room watching WrestleMania X-Seven. She had been intrigued at the Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon match on the card and decided to start off her WrestleMania marathon with that. It had also been held in the same arena as WrestleMania XXV, she had noticed, and was curious to see just how many people were there for their 2001 edition compared to their recent outing in the same venue. She had smiled when she saw Chris Jericho with his long hair and shimmering shirts coming down to the ring, accompanied by video of him dressed up like a clown called "Doink" and urinating in William Regal's tea. She had chuckled when she saw Stephanie in her black "Daddy's Little Girl" jumper and crimped hair, telling her catatonic mother that she should be relieved that "One child turned out okay." It was family dysfunction to the hilt and Angelle hated to admit it, but she loved it.
The doorbell ringing startled Angelle and she sighed. She was surprised Elizabeth was even out at her place at all. Nobody from the family ever came and visited; they all just called her to whine that she was too far away. She wondered just why Elizabeth was coming out to drop the stuff off. Normally, she would have told Angelle to fly out and get it. Liz probably wants a vacation, Angelle thought to herself, getting up to answer the door. She was still in her pajamas; a pair of drawstring blue pinstripe pajama pants with a black tank top, her brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail. She unlocked the door and opened it to come face to face with her twin sister. Wordlessly, Angelle stepped to the side and let Elizabeth enter with the box of stuff. "I brought the stuff out to you, Ange. I guess they were going through some of his things finally, and wanted you to have a few things." Angelle nodded and Elizabeth put the box down on the living room table. "Are you going to look through it?"
"Not right now," Angelle replied. "Maybe later." Elizabeth's eyes caught on the television, where Stephanie McMahon was paused on the screen, looking down the hall at a retreating Trish Stratus and Linda McMahon. "What the hell are you watching?"
"It's product research for work," Angelle replied, taking her seat on the couch. "I need to get familiar with the product since I'm working there now." Elizabeth scoffed. "Scoff all you want, Liz, but this is stuff I have to do now that I'm working there."
"I can't believe you even agreed to take the fucking job," Elizabeth replied, sitting down on the couch beside her, shaking her head. "Knowing full well all the shit that goes on back there...all the drugs and deaths...it's just so beneath you."
"Elizabeth, did you know that they've been one of the biggest financial contributers to the Make A Wish foundation since the mid-nineties? Or that last week in Houston, they held a public reading challenge for kids at the Houston Library? I know you don't agree with what I'm doing, but at least for all my faults, I don't criticize everything you do. I'd appreciate it if you'd do the same for me."
Elizabeth sighed. "Fair enough. So who's that on the screen?"
"Stephanie Levesque, nee McMahon. I'm her assistant."
"Have you ever appeared on TV?"
"No. That's not part of my job description, thankfully," Angelle replied. "I just take care of creative meetings, production cues and whatnot...Stephanie's been holding three or four different positions backstage since 2007 and she needed some relief. So that's what I'm there for."
"Why can't they just hire more people?"
"Well, right now I'm just there until Vince hires somebody to take over Talent Relations permenantly. John Laurenaitis was originally the head after Jim Ross stepped down, but they felt he needed some supervision, so Vince put Stephanie in charge. She's also in charge of creative writing on all three brands and booking the on-air talent on TV and at house shows." Elizabeth whistled low. Angelle sighed. "I'm sure this business has its dark side, but what business doesn't? You know, in the last week, I've learned that the most important thing people need to realize is they're people, too. Who just want to entertain, but never seem to get any respect for what they do."
"Somebody's buying into this a bit too much..." Elizabeth replied with a roll of her chocolate eyes.
"Liz..." Angelle sighed in frustration, but decided to just drop it and change the subject. "How long are you here for?"
"I'll probably just be here until after dinner. I was actually on my way to Salem to go hang out with this guy I met on MySpace."
"Are you stupid, Elizabeth?" Angelle asked. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
"It'll be fine," Elizabeth replied. "I've been chatting with him since you ran out on us, so it's not like I'm meeting some random."
Angelle rolled her eyes. "And the guilt trips begin," she replied, getting up to go into the kitchen. She needed a drink. Bad. Her family always led her to drink a little more than she normally would. She wasn't sure how good of a thing that was.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth raged, following behind her.
"You guys couldn't have cared less when I packed up and left," Angelle retorted. "Nobody even offered to help me leave, knowing full well for the sake of my sanity I needed to do it. I had to do everything myself, only to have you guys bitch months later that I'm not around to clean up your messes anymore."
"That's not why you left, and you fucking know it!" Elizabeth shouted as Angelle made herself a rum and Coke. "You decided you couldn't handle anything anymore, so you packed your shit, took your ball and ran away. So don't sit here and act for two seconds that you needed to get away from us, like you leaving was all of our fucking fault."
Angelle took a swig of her drink and slammed the glass down on the counter. "I did need to get away from you. I needed to get away from everybody! I needed to get away from all of your guys' nitpicking, criticizing and bitching. I needed to get away from all the fucking stress that seems to follow you guys every time you contact me."
"Oh, so that's it? You just want to disown us?" Elizabeth sneered. Angelle glared at her sister.
"That's not what I said, Elizabeth Anne, and you fucking know it." Angelle shook her head. "You guys all like to twist everything around just to make life more difficult for the people around you. Well, let me tell you something; I'm away from all that now. And it's been nice. It's been peaceful."
"Then I won't obstruct you any further," Elizabeth snapped, grabbing her bag. Angelle sighed, closing her eyes as she heard the front door slam.
**
Eyes red-rimmed and swollen, Angelle opened the door to find John Cena on the other side. His expression softened and he hugged her almost instantly, his enormous arms offering her a modicum of comfort. She clutched onto him tightly, afraid to let go, as she sobbed into his chest. "Hey...calm down," he soothed, "Calm down; it's okay." She had called him after Elizabeth had left, asking him to come out. She had sounded so distraught that he had dropped everything he had been doing with his father and had rushed over. "Come on," he soothed, leading her into the living room. He noticed the big box in the living room and saw some pictures of her with a man on the mantle. "Have a seat. Tell me what happened."
She shook her head. "I shouldn't have let this get to me as much as it did," Angelle replied, taking a sip of her drink. It was the third drink she had had since Elizabeth had stormed out. "This shit happens all the time...I just...I fought with Elizabeth again. Now she's taken off and...fuck." She put her head in her hands and continued to cry. His expression darkened; he remembered her telling him about her somewhat acrimonious relationship with her sister, and he hated to see her in so much pain because of her family. He watched her play with the ring around her neck. What was going on with her?
"Angelle...talk to me here. What's going on? Why did Elizabeth stop by if she just wanted to fight with you?"
Angelle motioned to the box. "She dropped that off for me."
"What's in the box, if you don't mind me asking."
She sighed. "I don't think I'm ready to talk about that right now, let alone look inside," she answered, staring down at the floor. He nodded.
"Fair enough. But you know if you need to talk, I'm here, right?" She nodded. "Look...Ange, how about you and I go out for dinner tonight? Get your mind off of bullshit, and just relax a little bit. I can't in good conscience leave you here to drink yourself into a stupor by yourself. If you're still upset after dinner, I'll drive you back here and you can continue to drink yourself stupid." She sighed.
"I don't know...I should probably try and call Liz..."
"Fuck Liz," he told her. She stared at him, shocked. "I know she's your sister, but it's clear she's causing you a lot of pain at the moment. You're going to cheer yourself up and when you're not feeling like shit, you can call her up. Now, get upstairs, get dressed, we're going out. Is that clear?" She sighed and a small smile pulled at her features.
"Thanks, John."
"I don't see you moving," he said, his expression serious. She nodded and disappeared up the stairs. John stood and looked at the picture on the mantle. The guy was fairly attractive; he kind of looked like Jack Swagger, only with light brown hair and green eyes, and a bit smaller. Angelle looked extraordinarily happy in the photo; John wondered if that was her brother. But she had never mentioned a brother. He was curious about what was in the box...he thought it may have something to do with the ring around her neck or the man in the picture or even both, but he wasn't about to go snooping through her things. It was obvious she had a lot going on inside of her head at the moment. She needed someone she could trust at the moment, and John was pretty sure he could fill the void.
**
Angelle came downstairs dressed in a white spaghetti-strapped sundress with a floral design on it. She was smiling sadly, still visibly hurt by what had transpired between her and Elizabeth. He made his way over to her and gave her a hug. She gathered a white sweater and slid it on, grabbing her phone and her keys before they made their way out. "This is a nice place," John told her. She smiled.
"It's paid for and it's clean," she said with a smile. "I guess that counts for something, right?" He nodded and opened the car door for her. She climbed in and when he was sure her dress was inside, he shut the door and made his way around, climbing into the driver's seat. "I'm sorry, John."
"What for?" he asked, starting the car.
"Everything. You should be off spending time with your family, and instead, you're dealing with my family bullshit." He shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. I still have two days with them," he said. "Anyways, you're out here by yourself and you need friends, too. I mean, do you talk to anybody out here?" he asked. She shook her head. "Exactly. So anytime you need me, you just call me. Don't worry about the time or anything, all right?" She nodded. But she made a mental note to keep her distance; the last thing she wanted to become was a nuisance.
**
"So she was basically just stopping by on her way to meet a random man?" he asked incredulously, signing an autograph for a gaggle of fans while they were waiting for dinner to arrive. It had been a fairly good day; they had gone to different shops, where John had bought a few new jerseys and Angelle had even gotten herself a jersey at John's insistence. Of course, it was for the Boston Celtics, but she didn't watch sports. She had just taken John's word for it. For the better part of the day, he had really gone above and beyond trying to make her forget about what happened.
She nodded. "Yeah. She's meeting him up in Salem. She said that she's been talking to him since I ran out on the family." He shook his head as the fans disappeared.
"She didn't."
"Yeah, she did." Angelle sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "I guess she's right. I did just pack up and leave...but it's so fucking complicated." He shook his head.
"No, it's not," he told her. "If it was right for you at the time, then that's what you needed to do. And if she were in the same position, I'm sure she would want your understanding." She scoffed.
"Right. What goes for them doesn't go for me in the family. That's just the way it's always been." She sighed. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't be ranting so much. You must think I'm a total psycho." She stared out the window of the restaurant. John shook his head, dismissing her statement with a wave.
"Not in the slightest," he told her. "You're just somebody who needs a friend at the moment." She took a sip of her drink. "When did things start getting really bad between you and your family?"
"With Elizabeth it was when we were both teenagers. With my mom it was when my parents divorced."
"Do you ever hear from your dad?"
"Sometimes. He's a pilot, so he's always busy flying here, there and everywhere. I think I talk to him about once a month, if that," she said with a shake of her head. "With Elizabeth, it became really bad when she and I hit the eighth grade. My mom was so into that whole 'dressing the twins up the same' thing and seeing that we looked alike, that it backfired. I understand. Elizabeth wanted her own identity. I did, too. But Elizabeth went nuts about it, getting tattoos, piercings, cropping off her hair, bleaching it. She did everything she could to distance herself from me. It didn't bother me until she started becoming critical of my life. She hit the roof when she found out I took the job here. Told me I was devoting my life to drug addicts and was probably better off just working at a 'crack shelter', as she put it."
Cena chuckled. "She'd feel differently if she had to go through one of our random drug tests," he told her. She smiled. He shook his head. "You can't change a hater's perception, Ange. And if she's going to get really preachy about it and it bothers you that much, then you have the option of not talking to her. And I know you don't like to hear that..."
"You're absolutely right, John. But the more I don't talk to them, the more they tell everybody that I've abandoned them."
"What did make you leave, Ange?" he asked. She sighed as the waitress placed their dinner down in front of them.
"I don't think I want to talk about that right now," she answered. John nodded.
"It has to do with that box in your living room though." She nodded and he flashed her a reassuring smile. A few more fans approached before John started eating and asked for his autograph. He obliged happily before the fans went back to their tables. "I think you're a strong person, Angelle. And I think you're kind of afraid to let anyone see otherwise. This is just an educated opinion, here, by the way, so don't be offended. I think you've spent so much time playing tough that you can't handle the idea that somebody could see you any differently." He looked at her wine glass. "I also think you need to find a happy medium with your family, because drinking after every confrontation is not a good thing." She sighed, and nodded.
"You're absolutely right, John," she told him. He stared out the window for a second before turning his gaze back to her.
"How about I stick around your place tonight? We'll hit up a Blockbuster, rent a bunch of scary movies, get a bunch of candy and watch the movies with the lights out?" She shook her head.
"I appreciate your offer, but I couldn't do that. You have your family..."
"And they understand I have a friend who needed her friend at the moment," he said. "So don't worry about it. We'll pick up a Freddy, a Jason, a Chucky, a Leprachaun, Candyman..." She laughed.
"I guess I can clear all the clutter out of the guest room and you can crash in there," she said.
"You have a guest room?" he asked, incredulous. She nodded.
"I kind of turned it into an office when I realized nobody was coming to visit me, so if you'll let me move a few things out, you can settle in there tonight."
"No problem," he said. They continued to eat dinner, John changing the subject to the upcoming Backlash. The Last Man Standing match was going to be huge between him and Adam, and he was definitely thinking that this was going to be the month his good friend Randy finally captured the WWE Championship.
**
"This...is God."
The blonde in the nightshirt began to run down the alley as the dark figure chased her. Angelle felt her heart in her throat and she jumped when the nightstalker was suddenly right in front of the blonde, who screamed and ran back towards the gate that led to her backyard. John was watching Angelle, an amused smirk on his face.
"You seriously have never watched A Nightmare on Elm Street?" he asked incredulously. She shook her head.
"I don't watch horror movies."
"Man, it's going to be a long night," he said. "We have a lot to introduce you to." She laughed.
"If I have nightmares tonight, there is no shot in hell you have of having a decent night's rest," she warned him, taking a bite of popcorn from the bowl in his lap. He laughed. Her eyes widened as she watched the blonde woman fly around her bedroom and dragged towards the ceiling, screaming as her body was being slashed at before she fell from the ceiling, collapsing in an explosion of blood on the floor. The box was still seated on the living room table; Angelle hadn't moved it. The truth was, she didn't even really want to touch it, which made her feel guilty. John caught her looking at the box, but respected the fact that she didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't ask her anything. But he would have been lying if it didn't pique his curiosity. Whatever was in the box definitely had her shooken up. "I can't believe that's Johnny Depp," Angelle gushed. "Look at how young he looks!"
"Well, this was 1984," he told her.
"Touche." She had to admit, she really appreciated that he was there for her, and so close to her place to boot. Taking another bite of popcorn, her gaze fell on the box. She wondered when she was going to find the courage to open it.
