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This chapter's quote:
"I think The Deadman endures because there is a mystery to him. People always want to know more about him, and there is so little to know. These days, with social media and everyone talking all the time, you know everything about everyone and the mystery is lost. But with him, the mystery never got lost. Meeting Undertaker is exciting, but it's not the same kind of excitement as when you're a follower. You're a Superstar now, and it's as much about, 'I'm so excited to meet him!' as it is a question of, 'Can I beat him?'" –Antonio Cesaro (I do not agree with Cesaro's first sentence)
Chapter Fourteen
Insecure & Worried
Tuesday May 21, 2013
"How's he doing?" I asked curious.
Randy Orton let out an exasperated breath. "He's driving me fucking nuts."
I laughed when I heard Cena in the back ground. "Fuck you, Orton!"
"That bad, huh?" I teased my friend. It seemed as if lately, I didn't get that chance often.
Another sigh. "I'll be ready for when he'll be released from the hospital." Orton responded, sounding much older than his thirty-three years.
"It sucks ass, Orton. Trust me. Cena's hurting a lot more than you are."
Another exasperated breath. I almost felt sorry for the Apex Predator.
"I completely forgot, Calaway. How are you doing?" I knew he was concerned but there wasn't any need.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Are you sure about that?" He had his doubts. I could tell.
I tried to move up in the bed I was in and hissed in pain.
Orton chuckled. "That's what I figured. So what are your plans?"
I looked around the hospital room I was currently residing in and curled my lip in disgust. "I'm going home to Texas and taking a few weeks off." I replied in annoyance. I didn't want to take any time off. Especially when I just got back in the groove of things. Now I didn't have any choice.
"Have you talked to Ashley?" He asked slowly.
I growled at the mere mention of her name. I wasn't happy with Ashley. The night of Extreme Rules, she went around kissing every guy there without any thought of what anyone would think. So it was only a few of us and H, but she should have considered how it would affect everyone around her. Mainly me. Then I found out she had invited Jordan to dinner at her place on Thursday evening. In my opinion she trusted that guy just a little too freely.
Orton chuckled. "You haven't laid any claim on her, Calaway. She can kiss and date who she wants to. And besides, the kisses were nothing but friendly pecks. Don't read too much in to it."
I snorted. "I haven't a clue what in the hell you're talking about."
Orton laughed harder. "Yes you do and that's what's pissing you off."
"So it doesn't bother you that she invited Jordan to her house for dinner?"
Orton grunted. "Hell yes it bothers me. I don't like him nor do I trust him, but I don't have any claim on Ashley and I'm not her father or brother or anyone else that can tell her what to do. She's her own person, Calaway and she trusts easily because that's the type of person she is. If you don't like it, you know what you need to do." Orton replied.
"She's too damn young for me, Orton. Way too damn young."
"It's only a number, Mark." Orton stated softly, getting his point across quite clear.
"Right now it doesn't matter. I'm laid up with a fucking injury." I snarled.
Orton chuckled. "Just call her. Spend some time with her. Take her to Texas or something. Get her away from Jordan."
I grinned. I liked that idea. "Yeah, alright, I'll call her. Just keep me informed on Cena." I gave him an order.
He grunted in reply and hung up. He didn't like taking my orders but I knew he would follow them. He did it out of respect that I had earned through time.
When I heard the door to my hospital room open, I slid my phone under the covers and under my good leg. This hospital seem to have a problem with patients having phones; so I learned. A nurse walked in with a food tray and set it down on rolling table.
"Are you hungry, Mr. Calaway?" She asked me with a pleasant smile. I liked this nurse, Cheryl was her name. She was my nurse since last night; working a double shift and she was so far the only one that didn't flirt every time she opened her mouth.
I shook my head. "Not really." I replied, returning her smile with one of gratitude.
She shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Still craving those ham sandwiches, huh?" She teased.
I chuckled. "Yeah I guess I am." I told her. When she brought me dinner yesterday, it had been a chuck of ham with red potatoes and it reminded me of Ashley's ham sandwiches, but the taste of was seriously lacking. The nurse, Cheryl, had known something was bothering me and showed concerned. I actually told her of Ashley's ham sandwiches.
"You should call her with that phone you have hidden under your leg, Mr. Calaway." She spoke gently.
I looked up in surprise and she laughed. "You can't get much past me, Mr. Calaway." She called out in a sing-song voice as she walked out the door.
I chuckled softly and pulled my phone out from under my leg and under the covers. Since I had it on silent, I missed another call from Ashley; this one by accident. She had called several times since Monday night Raw and I knew she had seen what had happened and I knew she was worried. Every time she called, I sent her to voice mail or just ignored the call altogether. She texted once, but I ignored that too. I hated that I was worrying her, hell I hated that I was ignoring her even worse. Especially when I knew she was concerned for me. I was being an ass, but I was still pissed off over Monday night's Raw injury.
Bryan and Jacobs had a handicapped match against 3MB and the Shield interfered. Two of them completely took out Bryan before all three focused on Jacobs. I went out there to help, but when they took out Jacobs, the three of them came after me. They triple bombed me into the announcer's table and in the process, my tibia bone in my left leg was fractured. The doctors stated it was more of a crack than a fracture, but considering my line of work, it was being called a fracture. The doctors deemed me out of commission for eight weeks. Two months of rest and relaxation when all I wanted was to get back on the road with my fellow superstars.
The WWE officials announced that I was hurt and probably going to have to have surgery so I knew that added to Ashley's worry. I was being a punk ass coward by avoiding her, but I was just too pissed to talk like a rational adult. I was upset with Ashley, but I was also furious at The Shield for fracturing my leg. Early this morning, the doctor's had to go in and remove a tiny bone fragment that had embedded in my muscle tissue and that was why I was still in the hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. I needed to call her to let her know that I was okay, but I was still upset with the whole locker room fiasco the night of Extreme Rules.
It seemed like everyone came to my locker room after their match and wanted to sample Ashley's food. Before I knew it, there were over thirty people in my locker room. It was crowded as hell with people coming and going, most of them hanging around, laughing and joking and just cutting up. Ashley did indeed save two sandwiches for H and it pissed me off to see him kiss her directly on the mouth. Almost as much as it pissed me off when Orton kissed her. I was seething inside and Orton was completely right; I couldn't and still can't do a thing about it.
The only ones that didn't take to Ashley were the Bella twins, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, and Fandango. They liked her food just fine, they just didn't like her. I didn't understand why but Ashley shrugged it off and ignored them. She was having a good time with Orton, Jacobs, Bryan, her dad and me. I couldn't believe all the food she had brought. Not only brought, but made herself. That chocolate cake was abso-fucking-lutely delicious and pure sinful. It was a pretty big cake and she had to cut tiny slivers so everyone got a piece. No one got seconds. There wasn't enough to do that. She had made probably over two hundred ham sandwiches and those were gone pretty quickly after Extreme Rules was over. Most everyone got at least one but a few of us were lucky and got two. I was one of the really lucky ones; I got three.
Despite the whole kissing thing; speaking of, I kissed her. It wasn't a kiss that I would have thought of and it definitely didn't satisfy my desire for her. I wanted more. That one small kiss only made me hard as hell before my match. Thankfully it didn't fuck with my focus and I was pretty sure no one noticed that I had an erection in my pants. If they did, no one is saying anything. Trust me, I'm very grateful. The last thing I want circulating around the roster is that Calaway went into a match for a hard on the size of baseball bat. I'm not embellishing either. She made me that damned hard. Her lips were soft against mine and that soft little gasp almost did me in. I was barely able to make it out of my locker room without taking Ashley on the floor.
Two days later and I was avoiding her. That stopped… now.
"Hello?" Her voice was soft and the tone was unsure and almost sounded as if she was hurt. That cut through me like a knife.
"Baby girl, how are you?" I asked, keeping the smile in my voice. I wanted to relax her; put her at ease.
"I'm sorry for calling you so much. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She sounded totally unsure. In fact, it didn't really sound like the Ashley I knew.
"I should be the one apologizing, Ashley. I've been busy and haven't been able to answer your calls." The small lie slipped off my tongue with such ease, guilt filled me.
Silence greeted my statement.
"Ashley?"
She took a deep breath. "You don't need to lie to me, Mark." She stated softly.
She caught me completely by surprise. "What?" I refrained from stuttering.
"You may have been busy, that I have no doubt, but you've been ignoring me; avoiding me in fact. Why lie?" She called me on my lie. Son of a bitch!
"You don't need to explain yourself, but you don't need to lie about it either, Mark. If you didn't want to talk to me than all you had to do was say so. I would have understood. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I saw Raw and you were hurt and they were saying you were hurt and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She took a deep breath. "Are you okay?" She whispered through the phone.
I didn't know what to say so I just answered the question. "I'm fine. My left tibia was cracked and I had surgery to remove a bone fragment and I'm out of commission for the next eight weeks. But I'm fine, I promise."
"Good, I'm glad you're okay." She replied firmly and then I heard it.
A click.
"Ashley?"
I looked at the screen on my phone and sure enough; she hung up on me. Shit! She was really upset with me. I doubted the Ashley I had come to know and liked and definitely enjoyed being around would have hung up on me. Now what!?
Thursday Night May 23, 2013
I felt good for the most part. I was at home in Texas and I was relaxed and comfortable. My belly was full of good food and I was watching a boxing match on my eighty plus inch television. But I was not happy. I shouldn't have dwelled on it and perhaps I was being unlike myself, but it was bugging the hell out of me. And I only made it worse.
After Ashley hung up on me Tuesday evening, I left her alone for the rest of the evening. Despite the fact that I wanted to call her again, immediately. I called her last night and our conversation had been brief and tense. She had just returned from a date with Jordan. I wasn't happy at all to hear that part. After all, I thought their date was tonight. She said it was, but although Jordan was on call, he didn't have to go in unless there was an emergency. He had called her while she was at work, so after she got off work, she went out with him. He even picked her up at Harley's. At least he didn't go to her house. She proceeded to tell me where they went and what they had done. I did something I thought I would never do – I rudely cut her off and I told her I didn't want to hear it.
I knew I had hurt her feelings and I felt bad but I did not want to hear about Jordan. She then asked me very politely and oh so gently how I was and how my leg was. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was unsure and almost scared of how I was going to react to the simple questions. I told her I was doing pretty, the pain was minuscule and I was now at home in Texas. She then told me that she was relieved that I was okay; she bid me good night and hung up.
That was twice now she had hung up on me and I did not like it and I definitely did not enjoy it. The first thing I was going to do was warn her to never hang on me again or she wouldn't like the consequences.
I dialed her number and waited. She answered it what I was pretty sure was the very last minute before it went to voice mail.
"Hello." She answered my call, but I wasn't sure how long I would be able to keep her on the phone. So I got the warning out first.
"If you hang up on me ever again, you will not like or enjoy the consequences, baby girl." I warned her forcefully. I didn't care if she liked it or not, she wouldn't do it again.
She made a very unladylike snort. "Well, if you ever lie to me again, I'm afraid you won't like or enjoy the consequences either." She returned my own warning; with just as much force as my own warning held.
I was proud of her for this forceful warning, but she was wrong. Kind of.
"I didn't lie." I told her.
Not completely anyway. I had been busy.
"I was busy so yes I ignored your calls and for that I'm sorry." I stated sincerely.
"Apology accepted." She replied curtly.
She still didn't believe me. I chuckled softly. She was a smart one.
I gave a soft sigh. "How was your day?" I asked stupidly, knowing she had a date with Jordan.
"My day was fine. Yours?" She asked, her sweet voice holding no emotion whatsoever.
I knew her soft rudeness was my fault and I had to snap her out of it. Even if I didn't want to hear about it or him.
"Didn't you have a date with Jordan?" I hoped she took the bait.
"I don't want to talk about it, Mark." She told me briskly.
"Why?" My voice hard as stone.
"It doesn't matter why, Mark, I just don't."
To my ears, it sounded as if she was almost in a panic.
"Baby girl, I'm sorry for my rudeness yesterday. I shouldn't have acted like that." Once again I was completely sincere in my apology.
"Apology accepted, Mark. I understand. I really do." Her voice was now warm and sweet and back to normal.
I smirked to myself. "Good, now tell me about your date." I offered once again. Yes I was a glutton for punishment.
"I don't want to."
The sound of her voice gave me chills. Now I was worried about her and pissed off all at the same time. Whatever the hell was going on I was going to find out. And Jordan had better hope he could run fast enough. I may be old, but I was in damn good shape.
"Why not?" I questioned, unable to keep the irritation out of my tone.
She took a deep breath. "I just don't Mark. Please understand that."
It was almost as if she was pleading with me and I didn't like it. So I let it go. For now, but eventually I would know exactly what was going on.
"What do you say if I come visit for a little bit while I'm on lock down for the next eight weeks?" I teased.
"Really? You want to?" Again with that unsure and almost insecure voice. I did detect a hint of excitement though.
"Yes really. It would just be me though. Orton, Cena, and Jacobs are still out on the road." I said, teasing her some more.
"Is John okay then?" She asked, taking me by complete surprise.
Cena refused medical attention the night of Extreme Rules, but he did go to the hospital later with the urging of one small female. And it wasn't Ashley.
"Cena is fine. He had quite a few bumps, bruises, and contusions, but the doctors said he'll be fine and in-ring shape by Payback. He's driving Orton crazy though." I told her, laughing at just the thought of it.
"Good, I was worried about him. I talk to Randy the other night, but he couldn't talk long so I was unable to ask before we hung up."
I softly growled. I knew she was talking to Orton, but I lived in denial about that. I didn't like hearing it confirmed. Although if she talked to Orton often then maybe he could help me.
"You talk to Orton often?" I asked, a great idea coming together in my mind.
"Not as much as you and me usually do, but yeah. Why?" That unsure voice crept back in there, worrying me once more.
"I was just wondering, baby girl." I kept my voice pleasurable. "I'm glad you talk to Orton." I reassured her, although her talking to Orton bugged me. However, that meant she confided in Orton and her confiding in Orton would benefit me.
Friday May 24, 2013
I called Orton first.
"You want me to do what?" Orton questioned my intentions in complete disbelief.
"Call her and get her to tell you about her dates." I repeated once again.
"Dates? As in plural? And why don't you just ask her?" He was having a hard time understanding this. I didn't know why.
"Because I snapped at her and –"
"You snapped at her?" Orton hissed, clearly not happy about that.
I let out a sigh. "I wasn't in a good mood and the last thing I wanted to hear about was her date. So yes I snapped at her and now she won't talk to me about her dates."
"What makes you think I'm gonna get her to talk to me? And what makes you think if I do get her to talk to me that I'm gonna tell you about it."
I grunted at his playful mocking attitude. That I did not care for.
"I know you will because you don't want her anywhere near this Jordan character. Just as I don't." I told him.
Orton huffed out a breath. "I'll call you back."
He hung up and I felt a little better. She would divulge in him and then I would know for sure that everything was okay. I didn't understand why I was so enthralled with this little girl, but whatever it was she had me wrapped around her pinkie finger and I didn't even think she knew it. Hell, I didn't even think she really cared. I did believe she really liked being just my friend and for some reason, that bothered the shit out of me. Which was one reason why I had scheduled a trip up to St. Louis in the very near future.
For the next eight weeks, I was determined not to lose my mind with boredom so I had plenty of things planned. I had an interview with Conan at the beginning of June to discuss Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules and my injury. Technically my injury is just a bonus for Conan because when the interview had been schedule, I hadn't been hurt. They could consider my incapacitated state a plus in the lineup, I guess.
I would ride my motorcycle; my baby, but a cracked tibia hindered that quite a bit. I was definitely going to catch up on the real estate side of my life. I hadn't done that in a while. I was thinking of buying a place in St. Louis. Just because St. Louis was a hot spot for real estate right now. Not because that's where Ashley lived. I was most certainly going to watch the boxing matches I had recorded on my DVR. Maybe I could even get tickets to an actual match.
And I couldn't ride any of my bikes, but I could polish them up, make them shine. Maybe before I actually got back on the road, when I was fully healed, I could ride my bike up to St. Louis and give Ashley the ride of her life. On my bike of course.
I headed towards the kitchen with my crutches when I had to double back because my phone started ringing. They hadn't talked long and that didn't give me much hope.
"Orton? That didn't take long." I stated flatly.
Orton snorted. "That's because she wouldn't talk to me either. In fact, her whole personality seemed a little different." He stated with curiosity.
I let out a sigh. "Did she sound unsure of herself? Almost insecure?" I wondered.
Orton took a deep breath and then sighed himself. "That's exactly the way she sounded. What the hell is up with that?"
"I don't know why she's suddenly changing." I replied forlornly.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm booking a flight to St. Louis and I'm going to find out what the hell Jordan has done to my little chef."