CHAPTER TEN

NICKY

As a raging headache invaded his brain, Nicky realized he couldn't remember the night before. He looked around his room and saw that Keith was watching him with a frown.

"Late night?" Keith asked.

"I went out with a few of the guys," Nicky said. That was true. He'd gone out with Cena, Batista, and Jericho. They'd been in great spirits. It had quickly turned into a party. Once Chris offered to pay the tab, it became an open bar, and no one had bothered to card Nicky. Everything after that was a bit of a blur.

"Which guys?" Keith asked.

"You're not Dad, Keith. Stop checking up on me."

"You stumbled into this room at four in the morning giggling like a complete idiot. I'm not Dad, but I'm worried. If you'd prefer, I could call him."

Nicky panicked. "No!" He said too quickly. He paused. "I messed up, Keith, okay? I had a few drinks. It's not a big deal."

"You're only eighteen, Nicky. It's a very big deal."

"You got drunk at my age."

"No, actually, I didn't. I'd stop at one or two drinks. I never had to be escorted to my hotel room by the people I was with. And it wasn't even one of the guys. It was a Bella! Mom would kill you!"

"Wait, what?"

"Nikki Bella dragged your drunk ass back here. She was giggling, too, and she was all over you. I hope you've had your shots, Nick. And all she said was you might need to sleep it off."

"Whatever. She was with John. She probably just saw how drunk I was and wanted to help."

"She practically molested you in front of me! I think she was doing it to piss off our parents. You can't trust her, Nicky."

"You're overreacting." He rolled back over and pulled the covers over his head. Tne light was hurting his eyes.

Nicky nearly cried out in pain when Keith pulled the cover off of his head. "Not a chance, Nicky," he said. "Get your ass out of bed."

"Leave me alone, Keith!"

"Listen, your drunk ass slept through the text, but Alanna's in town. She flew here for a surprise visit, so you'd better get your shit together."

Nicky groaned. "I feel like hell."

"That's what happens when you drink yourself stupid." Keith hesitated, then softened. "Look, baby bro, we all fuck up sometimes... Just learn from it. Remember how this feels. Don't do this again." He produced a cup of coffee.

Nicky drank it gratefully. Keith then said, "Get in the shower. She'll be here in twenty minutes."

Nicky nodded and headed toward the bathroom. He had to get himself functional.

When he finally left the bathroom, his older sister was waiting for him. "There's my Squish-Face!" Alanna proclaimed before flinging her arms aroundhim.

"You know, I'm not a chubby six-year-old anymore," Nicky pointed out. "You need to retire that nickname."

"Bite your tongue! You'll always be my squishy-faced baby brother!"

Nicky relaxed in her embrace. Alanna's cheerful attitude had always been infectious. She finally released him. "Dad doesn't know I'm here," she said. "I wanted to surprise him." Ever since she'd turned eighteen, Alanna had been surprising their father by showing up unannounced. Her mother, Sam, had kept her away from their father as much as possible when she was a kid, so once she could legally choose for herself, she made sure to visit much more frequently.

"Let's get breakfast. I'm starving," Keith said. "We can find Dad after."

He opened the door to reveal someone standing on the other side. "Oh..." The girl said. "I was coming to see if you wanted to get something to eat, but-" She glared at Alanna.

"Claire!" Keith said with surprise. "That's sweet, but I just made plans-"

"Who's this?" Alanna asked with an amused grin.

"Claire's a Diva on NXT," Keith explained.

Alanna walked over to her. "Why don't you come with us? We were just going to get some breakfast. Any friend of Keith's is a friend of mine... Or are you his girlfriend?"

"I-" Claire seemed lost for words and very jealous. As far as Nicky knew, she wasn't Keith's girlfriend, but it seemed like she wanted to be.

"Ugh! Seriously, Alanna, stop!" Keith said with embarrassment. "Claire, this is my sister. Don't mind her."

Claire visibly relaxed at the word sister. "Oh! Oh, hi!" She said. "I didn't know you were in town."

"It's a surprise. So, how about breakfast?" Alanna asked again.

"I don't think she wants to be stuck in the middle of the Orton siblings," Keith said quickly.

"Oh, come on, Keithy! I can tell there's something between the two of you," Alanna said. "So I should get to know her."

"I'd be honored," Claire said.

Alanna grinned. "See? She'd be honored! That settles it!" Alanna practically dragged them all out of the room. Nicky was just grateful the attention was no longer on him.

MOLLY

The hotel restaurant was apparently the place to be that morning. Molly spotted Keith and Nicky walking in right before her. She recognized Alanna immediately, but was surprised to see Claire with them. The girl was clinging to Keith's arm like a parasite, laughing and clearly trying way too hard to charm the trio of Ortons.

Ugh, she thought. She was about to walk back out when Nicky called, "Hey, Molly!"

Molly took a deep breath and walked over to them. "Molly!" Alanna squealed. She hugged her in a way that could only be rivaled by Trixie before saying, "It's great to see you."

"You, too," Molly said. She looked at Claire sharply. "Hi, Claire. Long way from NXT, aren't you?"

"Oh, you know, I'm here to-" Claire began, but Molly cut her off.

"Job? Right, I remember now." She laughed. "I didn't know you knew the Ortons."

"Keith and I bonded over working out, and he very sweetly bought me lunch. I was going to return the favor with breakfast, but his sister beat me to it."

Yeah, I'm sure breakfast was all you were offering, Molly thought. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Molly asked sweetly.

"Sure," Claire said uncertainly. "Be right back, Keith."

Molly pulled her aside. When they were alone, she said, "I don't know what game you're playing, but if you hurt Keith, I will destroy you."

"I'm not playing games. I like him, and he has no issue with me," Claire protested. "So stay out of it and mind your own business."

Molly pinned her against the wall with very little effort. "Those boys are my business. They're my family. And if you hurt either of them, you deal with me. Understood?"

Claire glared at her. "Fine."

"Good. Now go play nice."

Claire and Molly walked back like nothing had happened. Claire kept slightly more distance between herself and Keith after that. Molly couldn't help but feel satisfied at that. She sat next to Nicky, leaning her head on his shoulder, and noticed he relaxed.

SARAYA

At first, when she woke up and realized she was back home, Saraya thought, I can't wait to visit my old haunts! I need to take Cay to that pub down the street, and Trixie needs to go to Mum's favorite store. They'll have fun-

And then it hit her all over again. Her mum was dead and couldn't take Trixie anywhere anymore.

Saraya tried to fight back the tears forming in her eyes, but she couldn't. This wasn't home anymore, not without her mum.

Cayla rolled over instinctively and pulled Saraya into her arms. It helped, but it wasn't enough. Saraya needed her mum, and she was gone.

It took her over an hour to calm down enough to head downstairs. She forced herself to put on a brave face. Her family needed her to be strong now. She could do this.

No you can't, a voice taunted her.

Fuck off, Saraya thought. She decided this particular little voice was one she needed to stop listening to.

She began to listen to a different voice instead; her mum's. That's my girl! Don't take that voice's crap! Kick its ass! You can do this, and you will! You're my daughter and that makes you strong!

Was it mad to hear your dead mother's voice? Maybe, but Saraya had never quite been sane. She took comfort in the familiar sound and prayed it never faded away.

RANDY

He'd finally fallen asleep. The dream that came was not a flashback, but something much more terrifying.

His father stood in front of him. "Come here, Boy!" He called.

Randy froze. This isn't real, he thought. His father reached toward him and grabbed his arm. His grip was firm.

"Of course I'm real, Randall," he said with a cruel laugh.

Randy jerked his arm away. "You're dead," he said. He was trying very hard to remain calm. Hyperventilating would accomplish nothing.

"Oh, come now, Boy! Evil never dies! I'm very much alive."

"No... You're dead. I know you are." If he repeated the words enough time, he'd snap out of this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare.

"No one can save you from me, Boy. No one cares. There's nothing you can do about it." His father unbuckled his belt and pulled it off. He raised it in the air and tried to hit Randy with it. Randy caught it, but his father jerked it away and tried again. This time, it connected. "You've been a very bad boy, Randall. You need to be punished." He hit him again, and again, and for some reason, Randy couldn't get away.

Randy finally curled up in a ball on the ground to try to catch his breath between sobs.

"Randy!" Someone called. "Randy, baby, wake up! Wake up!"

Corri, he thought. Corri's here...

His father hit him one more time before unzipping his pants. "You know what comes next, Boy!"

"No!" Randy screamed. "Stop it! Leave me alone, you son of a bitch!"

He hit him and shoved him onto his knees. Randy's sobs grew worse. He couldn't fight the hyperventilating now.

"You'll never be free of me, Boy," his father taunted him. Then he pulled Randy's pants down, even as Randy tried to fight him off.

"Randy!" The voice screamed again. Corri was calling him, and he could hear something else in her voice... Corri was crying.

With the small amount of fight he had left in him, Randy forced himself to wake up. He still couldn't breathe. He was on the floor. The blankets and sheets and pillows were scattered around like a tornado had come through. Corri knelt nearby, but she wasn't touching him.

She realized he was awake. "Fuck, Randy," she whispered. "I... I've never seen you this bad. What happened?" She hesitantly crawled toward him. When he didn't pull away, she pulled him into her arms.

Just a dream, he told himself. That's all it was, just a stupid nightmare... You're safe.

Randy still couldn't calm down. He buried his face in Corri's shoulder and sobbed. He couldn't catch his breath no matter how hard he tried. With every breath, he pulled Corri closer to him, until he couldn't think of anything but how he felt in her arms, how she smelled, and the sound of her heartbeat.

Finally, he was able to breath slowly along with the rhythm of her heart, which was also slowing down as her own panic subsided.

"Baby, talk to me," Corri whispered.

"I'm sorry," he managed to say.

"Don't you dare apologize... Randy, I have never seen you so scared... You scared me. I tried to hold you to comfort you and you screamed harder and started fighting for dear life. What did you remember?"

"It wasn't a memory... It was like he was actually attacking me right now."

Corri looked so worried, it broke him. "I'm sorry... I feel pathetic," he said.

"You are anything but pathetic," Corri said. "But, just so we're clear, he can't hurt you anymore, Randy. The bastard's dead and gone."

"I know. I told him as much. He told me evil never dies."

"Wow. That cliche would give me nightmares, too." She flashed a smile at him.

Randy actually laughed slightly. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, too." Corri paused. "Tell me the rest. You need to talk."

"I suck at talking."

"It's me or you go back into therapy, Sexy. I know you didn't enjoy that, but you need help. I love you, and you're hurting, and I won't leave you suffering constantly with no relief."

He sighed. "He beat the crap out of me. I tried to stop him, but I only blocked one hit... And then he..." He looked away. "I can't."

"You can tell me anything, Randy. You know that. I will never judge you."

He felt fresh tears in his eyes as he whispered, "He tried to rape me... And he would have, if you hadn't started crying. That's what got through to me; not my own fear and pain, but yours."

"God, Randy..." She hugged him tighter and wiped his tears away with a kiss to each of his cheeks. Then she casually said, "Next time, RKO him. He won't come back from that."

He laughed, harder this time than before. "I wish I'd thought of that."

"That's why I'm here."

He sighed. "I know what I need to do. I can't keep living like this."

"Name it and if I can help, I will."

"Get me my phone please?" She handed it to him. He dialed a number.

"What's up, Randy?" Paul answered it.

"Paul, I need a couple of days off..." Randy began.

"Now isn't a good time. We're heading toward a big pay-per-view, and-"

"I need to go home, Paul. I'm not sleeping anymore, and when I do... It's bad. I... I need to see it. I need to see his grave. I need to convince my subconscious of what my brain already knows, that my father is dead and gone."

Paul hesitated for only a moment. "Take all the time you need, Kid."

"Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Do what you need to do." He paused. "Do you need anything, Randy? Anything at all? Do you want to talk to someone?"

"I think I'll be okay. I just need to do this."

"Okay. I'm here, Kid. Anytime you need anything."

"Thanks, Paul. I know you are, and that means a lot." He hung up.

"When do we leave?" Corri asked.

"You don't have to come-" Randy began.

"You're joking, right? You need me. I'll be there every step of the way."

He stared at her in awe. "I'm so lucky I have you," he said. "I love you, Corri. You make me strong."

"You were already strong. I just remind you when you forget." She kissed him.

There was a knock at the door. Randy pulled on a t-shirt over the pants he'd slept in and opened it. He was surprised by the face that greeted him.

"Daddy!" Alanna cried out. She flung her arms around his neck like she was still a little girl, and Randy immediately shook off the last of his issues. He never showed that side to his kids, especially not Alanna.

"Baby, what are you doing here?" Randy asked.

"Surprising you!" Alanna looked at the mess of sheets and pillows and laughed. "Fun night?" She asked with a suggestive grin.

Corri saved him from having to answer by saying, "Come here, you little monster!" She pulled Alanna into her arms. "I missed you, Kid."

"Missed you, too, Corri," Alanna said. "I just came from breakfast with the boys and Molly and Keithy's new girlfriend."

This was news to both Corri and Randy. "What girlfriend?" Corri asked.

"Claire from NXT," Alanna said.

"Over my dead body!" Corri proclaimed. "That girl has talent, but if she's after Keith, she clearly just wants to get by in this business on her back like the Bellas! No way I'm letting Keith date that little skank."

"I don't think we get a say," Alanna said. "She seemed determined to make me and Nicky like her. Molly hates her, though."

"Randy, talk to him."

Randy laughed. "That won't help," he said.

"You know what girls like that are like. She's using him."

"Look, I had a No Divas rule once, but if I'd listened to it, Keith and Nicky wouldn't exist. I can talk to him, but I learned this lesson the hard way, and it nearly kept me from you, Corri. He might just have to learn this one on his own, and who knows? Maybe she'll surprise us."

"By giving our son an STD before she breaks his heart?"

Randy kissed her. She stopped. "Fine. We'll give her a chance. But if she hurts him-" Corri began.

"I'm positive Molly already threatened her existence," Alanna said cheerfully.

"If she hurts him, we'll unleash Molly!" Corri said with satisfaction.

Randy pulled his wife and daughter into his arms. He felt significantly better. "Come on," he said. "Let's go spend some time together." He looked at Alanna and added, "I'm really glad you're here, honey."

His world made more sense with his two favorite girls by his side. He only hoped his demons would be kept away for a bit.