Chapter 9:

Turn, Turn, Turn

Whenever WWE sent their camera crews to interview the parents of their Superstars, a familiar pattern always emerged in their storytelling. Every parent spoken to painted a similar picture of a child destined for fame and stardom. In front of the camera crews, they would reminisce about their charismatic children who always had to be the center of attention, children who were bold and athletic, and willing to do whatever it took to make their dreams come true. They talked about their athletic achievements, about their love for professional wrestling growing up. It was a familiar beat, hit every single time by every single parent.

Jordana Marie Moody had grown up a professional wrestling fan during the major business boom of the Attitude Era. She'd loved every woman in the company, from Chyna to Sable to Lita and Trish. As a little girl, pro wrestling had been the one thing that bonded her with her grandfather. It became a routine for her to go to his home every Monday night for Raw, and then, starting in 1999, Thursday night for SmackDown. For her birthday one year, her grandfather had surprised her with tickets to WrestleMania 22. It was the last major outing she'd had with her grandfather before a heart attack claimed him the following year. Paul couldn't help but wonder if the show, coupled with his death, had made her decide to go down the path of becoming a wrestler. Until she'd started training, he'd never heard a word about her wanting to do it; her announcement had completely blindsided the family – they had wanted her to go to college and get a degree.

As a child, Jory had been shy and precocious, a far cry from the other children who grew up to become WWE Superstars. Growing up, her sister Allison had been the outgoing personality; she'd completely overshadowed Jory, who never seemed to mind flying underneath the radar. As a teenager, Jory had been a tomboy, always dressed in baggy clothes and running shoes. After she had been signed to WWE, she'd confided to her dad that she taught herself how to walk in high heels, since it seemed to be the only kind of shoes the women wore.

When she'd announced that she had joined a wrestling school, it had caught everyone by surprise. As her father, all he wanted was for her to be happy and successful, and he was more than willing to throw his support behind her. His wife had done the same; the only one who thought it was a stupid endeavor had been Allison. He'd been there for her first match; he even insisted on buying her first pair of wrestling boots.

It wasn't long after she had graduated wrestling school that WWE had come knocking, and it had caught everyone by surprise. Hunter had sent some scouts to a show she had been involved in, and it wasn't long after that she received the call about reporting to the Performance Center for a tryout. She'd been scared to death, but she'd aced her tryout, just like he knew she would. After getting offered a contract, she was hit with the shock of having to relocate to Orlando. She didn't want to leave Chicago; she didn't want to leave her father. Her mother had just died, and he was trying to navigate life without her. Jory had been worried to leave him behind, but he'd talked her into going; the last thing he wanted was for her to give up something she'd worked so hard for. After they talked, she'd packed up her belongings and moved to Florida, promising to be back as quickly as she could. For the first while in NXT, she'd been roommates with Bayley, who helped her navigate WWE life.

While Paul couldn't be in Florida for her first match with WWE, he couldn't describe the pride he'd felt watching his daughter on TV. Every day, after dinner, she called him without fail to check in. At first, she'd been so happy; their talks were brimming with the wide-eyed wonder of a girl exploring a brand-new world. He'd been so thankful to Bayley for helping her through, and for standing by her when everything had blown up in her face.

She had been so excited about all the attention Hunter and Stephanie McMahon were lavishing on her. Almost right away she'd been moved from NXT to the main roster; she'd never appeared on NXT TV. Every opportunity she had, Jory took the time to pick their brains for every ounce of information she could obtain. They had been all too happy to cater to her desire for knowledge for a little while, but then little situations had come up. The breast implant situation had been a surprise to Paul; Jory had been able to explain that as wanting to look good on television. For a while, she'd done everything in her power to keep the rosy picture of life in the WWE for her father; she still couldn't tell him about the coercion and threats that came with the breast implants. Dyeing her hair blonde had been a shock to him; when he'd asked her about it, she'd told him that it was something Hunter wanted her to try out, and she trusted his vision. It hadn't suited her; he couldn't get used to seeing her blonde.

He started noticing there was a problem around the time Hunter and Stephanie decided they had an issue with Daniel Bryan and his wife. Jory's morale had taken a hit, and for a while, watching her play the role of Hunter and Stephanie's mercenary made him wonder what kind of daughter he had raised. He did his best not to judge her when she phoned; at that point, she was absolutely miserable.

As hard as it had been to see her publicly betrayed and humiliated on live TV, Paul had been relieved when The Authority cut Jory loose. She was morphing into a person she didn't recognize, and they were both unhappy with that development. Since then, it's been a bumpy road – things still weren't quite where she wanted them to be – but they would both agree that she was far better off out of the clutches of The Authority. For a while, she'd sold her soul, but some way, somehow, she'd managed to get it back.

"You should be relaxing – you're injured..." he started, but Jory cut him off with a shrug. Lately, it wasn't a surprise for her to come over to his home sporting new, violent injuries. This time around was bruising on her neck and stitches in her lip. Alexa Bliss seemed like a small, annoying little gnat, the Mean Girl stereotype personified with her dip-dyed bleached blonde hair and heavy makeup, but he was learning that she wasn't one to be dismissed. The injuries she had inflicted on his daughter told him that she was dangerous, that her viciousness more than made up for her short stature.

"It's a little bit of bruising and a split lip – not even in the top five worst injuries I've ever had," she reminded him. He moved quickly to help her off the stepladder. Taking a step back, she put her hands on her hips and studied the painting. They both stared at it in silence for a few moments. Paul cleared his throat.

"Jory..."

"Perfect. Once again, you were right – this is the perfect spot for it." They turned to stare at the dining room. Paul wished she would have bought herself a house first, instead of worrying about him, but ever since her mother died, Jory's only concern seemed to be making sure he had everything he needed, especially since Allison moved to Marble Falls. Even with a busy career that never saw Jory in the same place for longer than a day or two, her biggest concern was making sure her father was taken care of. He looked at her, taking in the bruise on the side of her neck, in the shape of a ring rope. She was never a girl who liked to wear turtlenecks.

"I'm thinking about asking Tabitha to move in with me," he blurted. She looked over at him.

"You think you guys are ready for that?" she asked. He shrugged.

"It'd be nice to have someone else in this house with me," he confessed. "Things are going well...it just feels like now would be a good time. It'll take some of the pressure off you..."

"There's no pressure on me, Daddy. Please don't think that," she told him.

"You're allowed to have your own life when you aren't on the road. You have such little time to yourself as it is," he told her. She flashed him a smile.

"You aren't cutting into my time if that's what you're thinking. It's always nice to come home. Even if you can't cook," she joked, nudging him softly with her elbow.

"Tabitha's signed me up for some classes. I start next week," he told her. She shot him a surprised look. "It's a couples class. Maybe when I finally get unpacked, you and Seth can come over for dinner. If you're so worried about my cooking, I'll even order out so I don't poison him." He gave her a nudge but was surprised to find that she kind of sagged at the mention of his name. He cocked an eyebrow at the wistful smile. "Did I miss a memo or something? Have you two broken up or something?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," she assured him.

"Jory..."

"We're still together. We're just..." She sighed, and he could almost see the thoughts trying to form inside her head. "We're being pulled in a few different directions lately. We're not seeing each other as much as we used to."

"Having trouble finding that work-life balance, are you?"

"There is no balance in WWE, Daddy. Work is life." She crossed her arms over her chest. "But between our ambitions, there's also Seth's school and the other business he's looking into starting up. There's just...there's a lot going on right now. I can tell, because I'm basically falling apart at the seams, and he's too busy to notice."

"You love him."

"Yeah, I do." There was so much more she wanted to say about that, he could tell, but she wasn't about to spill her guts. "The kicker is I can't seem to find a good time to tell him."

"You'll know when," he told her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You two seem to have a good thing going; you'll know when the moment's right."

Her smile was tight, but she nodded. Paul smiled at his daughter. "How about I make some coffee, and then we can figure out where we're going to put your car models?"

"That sounds like a plan. We need to find a place where I won't have to move them if Tabby moves in." With a smile, Jory walked into the kitchen, her father close behind. While some children would be put off by the idea of their parents getting back into the dating game again, Jory was happy that her father had stepped back into the land of the living, happy that he was finally content with his life.

Seth couldn't help but get the feeling like his personal life was snowballing out of control.

He hadn't heard a word from Jory since she got home; as he watched his students run drills, Seth realized that it had been a long time since either of them had communicated with one another when they were off the road. He'd shouted out commands and critiques to the students, shouting louder than the thoughts in his head asking him if she was sending text messages and calling Baron while she was at home. He'd shouted over the thoughts reminding him that she wasn't backing away from her friendship with him, even though he'd told her to. Telling her to stay away from Baron had been an enormous mistake, even if he'd had the best of intentions behind it. He didn't trust Baron Corbin or his intentions. The last thing he wanted to see was Jory end up back in a bad situation. She was too good for that.

She had taken his request as a sign of being a controlling boyfriend, as opposed to him being protective, and Seth wasn't sure how he felt about that. Jory was her own woman; he respected that, but she was being naive when it came to Baron. The man was working in close quarters with Stephanie McMahon; how could she trust him? He hated that he was questioning Jory and her intentions, when only a few months before he had trusted her completely with his life. He still trusted her with his life. But something had changed. Seth wasn't sure he could pinpoint the moment where their tensions had begun, but he saw Baron Corbin as the maestro.

With class finished for the day, Seth sat in his office, leaned back against his chair, thinking about what he wanted to do. Bogging himself down with business plans and pitches didn't tickle his fancy at the moment; he'd spent weeks poring over all kinds of paperwork and lease agreements. He didn't think his brain could grasp anything more at the moment; it felt full to capacity. Moving from side to side in the wheeled chair, he looked at his phone on the desk, dozens of thoughts rolling inside his head. After a few minutes, he picked up the phone and scrolled through his contacts, hitting the call button. It was two rings before he heard a welcome voice on the other end.

"Hey."

"Hey. How's it going?"

"Not too bad. Helping Daddy get his house decorated today."

"How's that going?"

"Good. Ask me again when I start figuring out where we're putting his model car collection." Seth laughed. "How are you? You still at the school?"

"You know me too well."

"I do." There was a pause. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering what you were up to tonight. I know you're like a three-hour drive away, but do you want to meet up for dinner? You can come out here, or I can come out there, or we can meet halfway..." Seth felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach, and he was caught by surprise at the nervousness he felt. There was a fleeting thought inside his head that she would reject him, given the current state their relationship seemed to be in.

"Sounds perfect. I wanted to take a drive with the top down later, so I can come and see you. I'll probably be there at five or six, though. I still need to go home and clean up."

"You don't have to get all fancy to see me," he told her with a smile.

"There's no fixing this mess right now," she confessed with a sigh. "Alexa effectively messed me up."

"She'll have to try harder – you're still beautiful."

"You always know the right things to say," she teased.

Yeah, fucking right, Seth thought derisively, but he let her attempt at humor slide. "Great. So, I'll see you later?"

"I'll see you later, Seth." He felt like there was more she wanted to say, but instead, they said their goodbyes and hung up. Seth put the phone down on his desk and sighed. He wanted to fix things with Jory, more than anything in the world. He just wasn't sure where to start.

"I'm so sorry. There's no fixing...this...right now."

The apology was falling from her lips the moment Seth opened the door. Taking his girlfriend on the other side, Seth was hit with the realization that he had underestimated just how vicious Alexa's attack had been. The thick rope-shaped bruise around her neck was a rich, garish mixture of black, purple, and blue. The stitches in her lip were black and stiff, a small piece of loose thread jutting out of her lip. The dress she wore was short and black, the skirt flared out at the hip. A simple silver locket and ballet flats completed her look. Her hands were clasped in front of her to keep herself from fidgeting, and Seth realized that she was feeling self-conscious.

"What? You look fine," he assured her, but they were both aware of how hollow his words sounded. Instead of saying anything else, he stepped over the threshold with open arms, pulling her into him so their chests were crushed together. She hugged him, her eyes closing as her head rested against his chest. Seth was taken aback by the strength behind Jory's embrace; it felt like she didn't plan on letting him go. "She really messed you up, huh?"

"It looks worse than it feels," she confessed. "At least my lip is a normal size now."

He pulled back. "Did you just want to stay in tonight? I can order something in if you feel like hanging back..." He trailed off, but Jory understood what he was getting at – he wanted to spare both of them the stares and side-eyes that would come with a woman in her state. She already knew all about the stares, because she'd received them ever since the bruising made its presence known. Jory could only imagine the stares Seth would get just for being with her.

She sighed. "Is that okay? We can go out if you have your heart set on it."

"Nah – a quiet night with my girl is all I want."

Jory felt her heart flutter at the words 'my girl'. He stepped to the side so she could walk inside. He watched her, observing the way her dress fit, the way her skirt moved around her legs with every step. He followed her inside, shutting the door and locking it behind him. Jory made a beeline to the fridge to get herself a bottle of water.

"Any idea what you want to order?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I'm up for whatever," she replied, unscrewing the cap and taking a big sip. Seth joined her in the kitchen.

"If you need it, I got some Advil in the bathroom," he told her. He reached out, his fingers soft on her jaw.

"I promise it's not as bad as it looks. It's more awkward with the stitches than anything else." They fell quiet. She smiled. "You can kiss me. Nothing hurts worse than my pride."

Seth laughed, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. His expression changed when he saw her wince at the soft contact. "Jory..."

"I'm fine. I promise. It's just...uncomfortable." She sighed, taking a sip of her water. "I feel like I'm falling apart at the seams," she confessed ruefully.

"You're not falling apart – Alexa's ripping you apart," he corrected. He shook his head, his gaze falling to the long scar that ran up her forearm. He still remembered that night vividly, remembered getting to the hospital and finding out that Jory hated needles. Learning about her past with Alexa had been a revelation; he knew their animosity ran deep because of Hunter and Stephanie. Talking it out seemed to be out of the question at this point; the women had done far too much to one another to even entertain the thought of civility.

"I'll get her back. Some way, somehow," she said with a shrug. She took another sip of water. "I don't want to talk about work, though." Reaching out, she hooked her fingers through the loops of Seth's jeans and pulled him forward. "I'm here to see you."

"Chinese sound good? I can run out and pick you up a bottle of wine before it gets here," he offered.

"After the last couple days, a bottle of wine sounds good," she confessed. "You don't have to run out on my account, though, Seth..."

"It's no trouble. While I'm doing that, you can find something to watch."

"Sounds good." Seth was aware of her thumbs rubbing on his hips. "I take it you know a good place that delivers?"

"Of course. I'll give them a call if you want to get yourself settled." She nodded, taking a sip of her water.

"Sounds like a plan."

"So...Parkway Drive is coming to Chicago during our winter break."

"You're kidding."

With the sun long gone behind the horizon, Jory and Seth were cuddled together on the couch underneath a throw blanket, Jory's head rested on his chest. The coffee table was littered with wine and Chinese food, the two of them currently feeling too full to get up and straighten up. With her head on his chest and her arm around his waist, Seth realized that he missed these little moments with her. Underneath his arm, she felt right, and somewhere in the past few months, he'd forgotten all about it. He'd forgotten about their fight together, how they had found each other during dark periods of their lives. You always were self-centered, he thought to himself, looking down at the top of her head. He ran his hand through her hair, and she almost purred.

"No. I saw it on Facebook this morning. Did you want me to pick up tickets?"

"Let me think about – fuck yes," he told her. "It's been a while since we had a night out."

"I'll pick up the tickets when they go on sale," she said. Stretching, she yawned and burrowed into him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good. I don't want to move."

"I don't want you to move," he told her. There was a beat between them. "You should stay tonight."

Curling into him even more, she smiled. "I think I should, too."

Seth smiled, his attention falling back on the movie. Maybe...just maybe...he hadn't completely blown things with her after all.