The Good Life
AN. Thank you to livelaughspear, xHalosandwings, BigRedMachineUK, Liloxbubbly, KyraJane, DiivaLover, xTwistedxImperfectionx, xSiimplyCrazeedx, getcraazysofia, xsostarstruck, ThatGirl54, Nadia26 & gabrielxdivaa for reviewing the last chapter.
Thanks very muchly! :)
Chapter Ten – Temptation
Staring out of the kitchen window and into her backyard, Tiffany appeared to be lost in her own little world. The position she was in now—arms folded tightly across her chest, a mug of cold tea sat behind her on the table—suggested she'd been standing there entirely too long. She didn't seem to care though; all she was focused on was the small, pretty birds flitting around in her garden.
She'd done this one too many times now. Intent on being productive around the house, she was now often dragged into deep and hurtful thoughts. Nothing could be done about it. She just had to stop and give in to it.
What was happening to her? Tiffany hated to think that by covering her husband's terrible ways, she was also getting rid of a part of herself. It was certainly becoming harder—especially in the presence of her close friends—to spot the truthful, outgoing woman she knew she used to be.
The sound of footsteps coming her way from the direction of the master bedroom was enough of a distraction for the confused blonde. Shortly after turning, Drew appeared, wearing a simple grey tee—an item of baggy clothing on her which she used to love to fall asleep in—and a pair of plain boxer shorts. He'd obviously just woken up.
She, on the other hand, had been unable to sleep much past six o' clock and slipped out of bed - and away from the light grip her husband had on her – as quickly as possible.
"Good morning." His Scottish accent was clear as he spoke out into the silence. "How are the twins doing?"
"Fine, I imagine." She answered tartly and jerked her head away – an unintentional reaction – when he attempted to greet her with a kiss. "Please don't."
"Sorry." He gave a weary sigh and raised his hands up in defence before backing away altogether. "Any chance we can have a proper conversation about what happened any time soon?"
The housewife didn't answer straightaway.
Instead, she rested a light hand over her stomach and thought about the two small beings growing inside of her. Her thought pattern had been a little strange recently but there was one constant, recurring thought that made complete sense: If she and Drew weren't able to talk about the incident then what future did they have together? What kind of future would their twins have?
She knew it was time to revisit the painful memories of their honeymoon, and glanced briefly at the cast on her wrist. She only had to wait out another few weeks until she could have it removed...
"So let's talk."
The sudden comment startled him. He turned away from the coffee pot he'd been about to pick up, away from the empty black mug sitting next to it, and looked into her eyes. She was definitely determined enough to see her words through. "Do you mean it?" He asked anyway – just to make sure his own eyes and ears weren't deceiving him.
"Yes." She nodded. "I'm sick and tired of walking around this house and feeling like there's a stranger in it—especially when this stranger is someone I wish I could be proud to call my husband. So—" She straightened out considerably. "—we're going to sit down at the kitchen table, we're going to talk this through and... eventually... we'll work this out."
Tiffany McIntyre had never sounded so serious in all of her life. Drew didn't contradict a word of what she was saying and merely followed her to the table, blinking at the floor in stunned surprise. He felt like all of his thoughts were jumbled up, and he suddenly wouldn't be able to explain himself or the course of action he chose to take on that night.
Silence swallowed them whole for a little while as they took their places.
For the blonde, she knew that this may be make or break for their marriage; if she found out she couldn't trust him anymore, or wouldn't be able to in the long months to come, then she would have to make a heartbreaking decision. This enough was true.
"So," she started uncertainly, though she wanted to seem confident in her effort to finally open up, "Just how do you explain how you left it up to a stranger to help out your new wife when thugs decided to attack her? How do you explain why you just stood there while I struggled to breathe? How do you explain why you nearly let me die?"
John Cena had recently decided that when he wasn't training his heart out at the wrestling centre – the vision of finally making it big in the 'E to keep him going – he loved to be in the driving seat, radio turned up loud and sporting a clear mind while he got from point A to B. There didn't appear to be a place, not even at 'home' with Mike and Alex, where he felt better in himself.
A few seconds after pulling up at a red light, he glanced at the car beside his to see what the driver looked like. He was surprised to find an attractive red-head staring back at him, the perfect seductive smirk on her glossed lips. He would be lying if he said he wasn't quite the charmer when he wanted to be, and happily gave a dimpled smile in return; it was a look he knew many women fell for when he offered it.
Her smirk grew for a moment and then she turned back to the road, speeding off when the green light flickered back to life.
The wannabe wrestler let out a low chuckle as he drove on, once again focused on his way home. It was good to know he still had it in him to attract a woman's attention. With his luck in relationships, even this small exchange of a first encounter was a victory.
Admiring the sunny view of shops and – equally – shoppers around, he almost didn't hear his phone go off on the passenger's seat. He turned the volume down on a Flo Rida track and pressed a button on his cell, putting it onto loud speaker. "Yo Mike, what's up?" He greeted his roommate casually.
"Are you in the area right now? 'Cause I've got a job for you to do if you are – you get to make big bucks from this one, too."
"Sounds good to me. Yeah, I'm around. What needs doing?"
While The Miz explained the plumbing job in all its extent—a broken pipe that needed to be fixed in someone's bathroom—he smirked to himself. It had obviously been a genius idea of his to start up a small business in his name; the idea being that, if he built up his rep over the course of a year or so while he still trained in his spare time, he would be making enough money to pay the rent and enjoy himself at the same time.
John Cena, a mastermind? It definitely sounded right to him.
"So where's the place?" He asked curiously, wondering if he would have to turn around in a few seconds to go check it out.
"Just come on home." Even though he couldn't see him, Mike sounded like he was smirking. He was definitely amused to say the least. "It's the house opposite to ours."
His mood, unsurprisingly enough, turned sour in an instant. "That means..."
"Yeah, the Regal household. Look I have to go—" There was a scuffling sound in the background. He assumed his friend was putting on his jacket. "—got things to do and all, but Layla should be expecting you."
"One more question: how did she know I was a part-time plumber?"
"Oh, she didn't. She passed me on her way out this morning and said she was in a terrible mood because the upstairs bathroom needed fixing up. She didn't know what to do about it. And that's where you obviously come in. It's not going to be a problem is it, bro?"
"Nah, it's cool." He wanted to add Bro viciously to the end of the comment, but Mike didn't know about the relationship he used to have with Layla—he also didn't know about the woman's devious ways. "See you later."
"Yeah, sure. Alex is working late tonight and tomorrow, and then he's got that date with Eve that I told you about the next night, so don't expect to see him for the next couple of days."
"Alright. Bye."
After hanging up, John cursed under his breath. Just typical. It wasn't like he could back out now, so – instead – he sped up, with the mindset that this job would be over and done with if he got there quicker. It sounded like he needed five minutes tops – then he was free to leave and chill out at home for the next few hours.
He pulled into his drive in the next few minutes and took his tools out of the trunk, prepared for the short walk over to her house. He would have given himself a couple of minutes to tell himself not to get involved with his emotions, but by the time he arrived at the door, she'd already opened it with a smile.
"So it's upstairs, yeah?" He wasted no time. Barely bothering to look at her, he brushed past her and headed towards the stairs.
"Let me lead the way." Her tone was soft, almost... sexy... as she walked ahead, leading him upstairs.
He hadn't noticed before—what with his determination to ignore her completely and focus on the cash he would receive afterwards—but she was wearing quite a skimpy dressing gown. Rich in its baby pink satin, he had to stop his mind from drifting to thoughts he knew would get him in trouble later...
They passed her bed, immaculately made up, but she slowed down while he made a move towards the bathroom. "In here?" He questioned. When she didn't answer for a few moments, John sighed and faced her. "Layla, will you make this easy for..."
The former Diva's smirk was evident while she slowly untied the robe and let it fall to the floor around her bare ankles. She definitely had his full attention as she placed her hands on her hips, showing off her slender figure - dressed in lacy black lingerie - to him.
"I thought—" Flicking her hair out of her eyes, she advanced towards him, making sure to release the tight grasp he suddenly had on his tool box. "—that you could make the most out of this visit."
In his head, John was perfectly aware of the warning bells going off. Don't fall into her trap. That's all she's trying to do: trap you. Don't fall for it! But in his heart—and maybe more importantly, his pants—he felt something else.
The housewife leaned in on her tiptoes, pressing light hands against his broad shoulders. Her lips were now inches away from his own. "What do you say, John? You and me again. Because I missed you and I'm sure you—"
Cut off in an instant, he grabbed her by the small of her back and lifted her up. As she wrapped her legs around his waist, their lips met in a rough, passionate clinch and he blindly staggered over to the king-size bed waiting for them.
As far as they were both concerned, this 'visit' had been long overdue.
"I was... I was scared." Drew's answer wasn't perfect – far from it, in fact. But he was struggling to keep it together while he, too, remembered the terrible evening. "One minute we were taking this beautiful walk together and the next... the next..."
"You were thrown to the ground, I was grabbed by the wrist and held against my will by two guys who were about to rob me." She filled him in bitterly, shaking her head afterwards. "And the next minute you stood to your feet and just watched. You didn't do anything. You just... watched."
"I was in shock. I don't know how I can explain that to you rationally without you thinking I'm a monster." He reached for her hand, but she tugged it away forcefully before he could touch her. "How does your perfect world get turned around so quickly?"
"I don't know but it happened to me too, Drew." This was no good. Just a minute into the conversation and she could already feel the tears coming on—that, and an unbelievable amount of anger rising in her tense body. "Do you remember the vows we took when we were married?"
"Of course I do."
"Do you promise to love, comfort, honour and keep her? For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health?" Tiffany recited perfectly. The first tear splashed down her cheek and she wiped it away harshly. "Because I took the same vows – and then some – but I never would have allowed them to harm you, had it been you in the situation. Even if I couldn't do much I'd still do anything I could to help you. Absolutely anything."
"I should have helped. I know I should have done." He shook his head, glaring down at the floor. "I should have kicked into action from the moment it happened and fought to protect you with everything I have."
"Yes, well... shoulda, woulda, coulda. None of it matters now when all we're left with is this." Her emotions on the line, the blonde continued. "I don't think you realize how serious this is—"
"I do know. I do."
"At any minute I could have you packing your bags. At any minute I could tell you to get the hell out of my life, to never contact me again and not to expect anything from me. I could freeze you out of my life – out of our children's lives. Is that what you want?"
He ran a hand through his messy, long hair. "Is that what you would do?" He asked her instead.
Of course, Tiffany knew she wouldn't. Even if her darling husband had betrayed her by almost allowing her to be beaten up for the sake of a few flashy accessories, she would never shove him away so viciously. She was so helplessly in love with him... and she knew, just knew he would make the most perfect father a child could ever ask for.
But at the same time, it didn't mean it could never happen. Sitting here right now on what was meant to be a beautiful day, filled with the promise of a happy married life, she didn't imagine this was what her post-honeymoon days would be like.
Could she imagine post-break-up days away from Drew McIntyre, her new husband?
"I had to watch as a stranger – this random guy – had the guts to do what you didn't. He fought for me. He attacked the guys with everything he had, long enough for me to get away back to you... why wasn't it you fighting them? I won't ever understand that." She shrugged. "And no, maybe I won't kick you out... straightaway... but I won't be able to trust you either. It's like I don't know who you are anymore.
"You should have gone on that UK tour, Drew. You should have gone away for two weeks and left me in peace. You should have left me to think over this whole thing. Because I can't be here with you constantly reminding me about what you failed to do."
"I want to be here with you." Now he could feel tears coming on. This whole thing was just an emotional mess to deal with – completely unfixable as of right now. "Before the honeymoon, I was ready to go back to Scotland—to take you with me and show you off—to my family. But I chose to stay here because I know we can get through this. We can get past this."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure about that? No amount of apologies can ever make up for what you did, and you shouldn't expect them to."
"I don't, Tiff. Of course I don't." Another sigh, reminiscent to the one he gave off before this conversation, escaped through his mouth. Now they were both exhausted, barely five minutes into the argument, and so out of words to say without repeating themselves. "I just need to make this up to you. Any way I can."
"You can't." Suddenly, she was onto her feet and looking around for her car keys. "I was wrong. I can't have this conversation. It's too painful."
"But we need to talk. What about the twins? What about... us?"
Finally finding the keys and grabbing them quickly, she turned back to him. He was still sitting there in the same position looking utterly defeated. "Consider us on hold right now."
Then she left him to do whatever he pleased, and slammed the door behind her. A throwaway glance to the house opposite hers proved to be a mistake, as Maryse happily raised a hand to wave at her in greeting; her fellow blonde was sitting on the porch, flicking through a wedding magazine carelessly.
"Hi." She mouthed, moving back into 'sweet housewife' mode. It was better if nobody knew—not even Layla, who she felt was her closest friend on the street—about her marital problems. Let everybody think everything was just peachy in her life. "Call me later?" She gestured a phone signal with her right hand.
Maryse nodded and lowered her eyes to her magazine again.
Pleased that at least she could be distracted with a long gossip later, Tiffany slid into the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going but she just needed an escape from her life right now.
Then a thought came to her. There was an old library around here that she hadn't visited in a while, but she always used to go there for some alone time when needed. Perfect, she thought and headed in that direction. There was nothing like getting lost in somebody else's world via a good book to forget about your own.
So there's the next chapter. Please review :)
Coming up: While Mike takes Maryse out for a friendly dinner, John wakes up in Layla's bed...