CHAPTER ELEVEN
RANDY
Randy had spent the previous day with Alanna. Once he told her he needed to go to his father's grave, she'd insisted on coming along. Now, she sat beside him on the plane, with Corri on his other side. "You don't have to do this, Baby," he told her again.
"Dad, I told you, you need me. Besides, I've gone before," Alanna replied.
"You have?"
"Yeah. At the funeral, and once after... To spit on his grave."
Corri burst out laughing. "That's my girl!" She said.
"But... Why? He was your grandfather. When you were little, you loved him," Randy said.
"And then Mom stopped letting me see him, and him and Grandma got divorced, and I did the math... And when I asked Mom why, she told me what he did to you," Alanna explained.
"She told you?!" Randy was horrified. The boys didn't know, and he'd assumed Alanna didn't, either.
"Yeah. So when he died, I went back to the grave alone, and I spit on it. I think that should be reinforced every few years, a fresh loogie right on the dirt he lays in. That's about all he's worth."
Randy was stunned. He didn't know what to say. Finally, he said, "I never wanted you to know... I didn't want to taint your memories of him."
"My memories were a lie. That's not who he really was. Now I know the truth."
"I never wanted you to see that side of me, the weak side."
"Dad..." Alanna took his hand in hers. "You could never be weak. You're Randy Orton, the Viper, the Legend Killer, and most of all, my dad. You're the strongest man I know, and the fact that you survived all of that just makes you even stronger. I love you, and if you ever call yourself weak again, I'll RKO you myself!"
He was torn between wanting to smile and wanting to cry. He went with smiling. "I love you, Alanna. I'm so proud to be your father."
The plane landed and the personal talk ended. They headed to his mother's house, where she greeted them with hugs and food. Randy barely ate, unable to focus on anything but heading to the cemetery and facing his demons. An hour later, that's exactly what he did.
It was strange, seeing his father's name on the headstone. The last time he'd been here had been for the funeral, and the headstone hadn't even been placed yet. He stared at it. Alanna and Corri gave him some distance as he knelt beside the grave. He half expected hands to come up and grab him.
He touched the headstone, tracing his father's name and the dates engraved upon it. Finally, he registered it was real. His monster was dead. He couldn't hurt him anymore. He stood, feeling nothing, but the weight that had been crushing him was gone.
"Loogie time?" Alanna asked.
Randy could have spit on the grave. He could have kicked the headstone or cursed at it or told his father off. Instead, he whispered, "You're insignificant and have no power over me anymore." He looked at his daughter and said, "He isn't worth the effort or energy, Honey."
Alanna nodded and didn't argue. "Are you okay?" Corri asked.
"Yes," Randy said honestly.
"I'm proud of you."
He took her arm in his and held her close as they walked. Alanna took his other arm and Randy knew he was finally free from his demons.
SARAYA
She couldn't believe it was time to go. This was the last day she'd be here with her father and brothers, and then it was over. Her mum hadn't come back. It wasn't just a dream. As the truth sank in, Saraya sobbed in Cayla's arms.
This cry was different than the others. Her mum wasn't in her head telling her to knock it off. Instead, she was finally allowing herself to feel every impossible emotion this event had brought up. She cried until she had no tears left, and then she began laughing.
"Saraya?" Cayla asked in confusion.
"I'm good, Cay," Saraya said through her laughter.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She hugged her wife. "I needed that. Now pour me a shot so I can head off the right way."
"Here, here!" Zak declared, looking in on them.
Roy was alreading pouring the shot. Seeing the impressed look on Cayla's face, Saraya laughed and explained, "Brits can manifest booze, Luv. It's one of our genetic superpowers!"
Now Cayla was laughing, too. Roy poured her a shot, too. Together, the four toasted their beloved matriarch. Saraya was still sad, but she no longer felt numb or hopeless. It would be difficult, but life would go on because that's what her mum would have wanted.
I love you, Mum, she thought. Now I'm headed back to the States to kick some arse!
She swore she heard her mum say, That's my girl! It brought a smile to her face as she downed the shot in her honor.
NICKY
He'd gotten up early to train with Molly. She didn't go easy on him, and Nicky liked that. Molly never treated him like he couldn't handle whatever she could dish out. Now, they were both starving, so they headed to a local restaurant.
Keith was there with Claire. Molly rolled her eyes as Keith and Claire laughed. Keith tucked a loose strand of Claire's hair behind her ear. She flirted so hard Nicky wondered if she'd pull a muscle.
"Ugh," Molly said. "I have no idea what the fuck he sees in her."
"She's here," Nicky replied. "My brother's lonely."
"She's fake as hell, can't wrestle, and her voice is like a gerbil with a sinus infection."
Nicky laughed hard at that. "Okay, it is kind of squeaky and high-pitched at points."
"She's gonna give Keith her sick gerbil germs..." Molly looked upset. Nicky followed her gaze and saw Keith and Claire kissing.
It registered with him then. Molly was jealous. That stung more than it should have. Considering they'd slept together, Nicky had hoped Molly might have feelings for him, but it seemed she was more interested in his older brother.
Suddenly, Nicky really needed a drink.
"Are you okay?" Molly asked him.
"Yeah," Nicky said quickly.
"I see watching them grosses you out, too."
"Right." He couldn't tell her the truth. Molly was not the type to do relationships. If he got too clingy, he might push her away. He'd rather have her as a friend than not at all. She was too important to him.
So be better, he thought. Be more impressive than Keith. Step out of his shadow for once in your pathetic life and get the girl!
He decided that was exactly what he was going to do. Molly was worth the fight.
A woman approached them. She smiled at them too brightly as she said, "Oh, Molly! It's so good to see you! And look at you, with this handsome young man! You look good on the arm of an Orton."
Nicky was glad someone else thought so, but he kept quiet as he watched Molly react to the woman.
Molly blinked at her. "Um... Have we met?" Molly asked.
"You don't recognize me?" The woman sounded hurt. "Well, I suppose it has been a while... It's me, Baby. Your mother."
MOLLY
Molly stared at the woman standing in front of her. She had long brown curls and dark eyes, and Molly didn't recognize her. She hadn't seen the bitch since she was four, so that was perfectly understandable.
"You've got the wrong girl, Lady," Molly said coldly. "I don't have a mother."
"What did your father tell you about me? It's all lies, Molly! I missed you."
"Missed me? That's hilarious. You dropped me off like a used doll you got bored with and never looked back."
"Baby, I can explain. I was in a bad way, a single mom who couldn't afford to take care of you-"
"You were a trust fund kid, so don't even."
She stared at Molly. "What?"
"I remember your parents. I remember how much money you had. I remember how much you hated being stuck with a kid."
"That's not true-"
"I was four, not an infant. So try to sell that to someone else."
"Look, I made a mistake... But I'm here now, Baby."
"Don't call me that. My name is Molly. You should know. That's the only thing you ever gave to me, Egg Donar. I have one parent; my sire."
"Molly, please hear me out... I'm so proud of you."
"I could give two fucks, Lady."
"You've grown up so beautiful... You're dating an Orton."
"Nicky?" Molly laughed. "Nicky's one of my best friends, but I don't date, and even if I did, it wouldn't be because of his last name." She paused. "So why are you here?"
"I want to get to know you."
"That ship sailed and sank already, and Jaws ate the survivors. Why now, anyway?" And suddenly, it clicked. "Right. Because I'm famous now, so I suddenly matter, right?"
"Molly-"
"Fuck off! You have no part in my life!"
People were staring. Nicky protectively held her arm. Keith must have walked away from Claire, because he joined them now.
"Molly? Everything okay?" He asked in a tone that said he'd get rid of this bitch if Molly just said the word.
Molly was too upset to speak. How dare this bitch come back into her life now? Did she expect Molly to hug her? Was she hoping for some fuzzy, sappy reunion? Or did she want to be like the mother of the Bella twins, gaining fame through her child?
"Hi," the bitch said to Keith. She appeared to be flirting. Molly felt sick as she added, "I'm Molly's mother."
Keith immediately got closer to Molly. He might have spoken, but someone else did instead. "Kelly? Wow, you aged like shit." Molly tried to calm down. Her Sire had arrived.
The bitch's pleasant facade faded as she growled out, "It's Katie! For God's sake, what is so hard to remember about that?"
Dean replied casually with, "Well, you visit so infrequently, it's easy to forget." He pulled Molly into his arms. "What are you doing here, Kitty?" This time, it was deliberate.
"I just wanted to see my daughter-"
"You don't have a daughter. I do."
"Dean, you can't just keep me from her!"
"Really? You abandoned her. The courts granted me sole custody. You have no legal right to see her."
"She is an adult!"
"And as an adult, she is telling you to fuck off!" Molly screamed.
One of the guys from WWE Security came over at the sound of the yelling. "What's going on here?" He asked.
Molly glared at the woman who'd dared to call herself her mother. "Get her out of here! She's nothing but a deranged ring rat," she said. "She has no right to be here."
Dean nodded. The security guard called the restsurant owner over and together, they escourted her out. "Are you okay, Mol?" Nicky asked.
"Fine," Molly mumbled. She looked at Dean and said, "Thank you, Sire." Then she freed herself from his arms and ran away from that place and everyone in it as fast as she could.
