I got this chapter out sooner than I thought I would. So here's the next addition for ya! Let me know what you think! I think I'm gonna try to wrap this story up and see if I can work on another one. I've gotten multiple requests for a trilogy of How To Love/ Show Me How To Love. I can't guarantee anything but I'll keep it in the back of my mind.
I hope y'all have a great weekend!
Part 21
"What time is it?" River asked in the small rental car that Joe, Colby, and Jon shared. She'd fallen asleep again, this time while Joe was sitting behind her. She honestly couldn't help it, he was so warm and comfy and as she came down from the pain medicine she'd been slipped she was freezing cold. And that had made them late.
"It is almost 6:30," Jon told her irritably. He was the only one angry with her. Colby and Joe both seemed to understand but Jon was a little more high strung than them.
"Shit! He's gonna kill me," River sighed.
"Who? Your old man?" Colby asked from the driver's seat. "I'd think he'd understand why you're late. I mean he is the one who lost you when you were higher than a kite."
"No, not my dad. Although, now that you mention it, he's probably gonna be pissed that I didn't call 'im. He's way overprotective," she rolled her eyes, "No, I told this friend of mine I'd give 'im a call when I got back to the hotel and escaped from the- I mean my dad. But I think my stepmom has my phone."
"First, who's this mysterious friend you keep mentioning, a boy friend?" Joe said hearing her slip up, "And you still haven't told us who your dad is. Do they work for the company, too?"
River laughed nervously. "No one knows that my friend and I are friends because he and my dad don't get along. And I don't tell people who my dad is."
"Didn't all the new guys say that you were sleeping with all of the old guys, um I mean legends, because you know so many of them?" Jon asked, intrigued. "I think George mentioned something about you when he was sent back to FCW."
"Yeah, they did. But that stopped because my dad told Vince to embarrass the hell outta Murdoch. After that, everyone kept their comments to themselves for the most part. I still hear some stuff now and then though. Are we almost to the arena?"
"If we guess who your dad is will you tell us?" Colby was a little too excited about this game. River shrugged her agreement. "Alright, he's got clout with Mr. McMahon, so my first guess is Triple H."
River actually laughed, "Definitely not. My nose is nowhere near as big as Uncle Paul's"
"Oh 'Uncle Paul'?" Jon asked, "That means Shawn Michaels."
"Nope, not Uncle Shawn either."
"I don't think he has any kids but Big Daddy Diesel?
"Eh, out of all of DX, Uncle Kevin is probably my least favorite. If I were his kid, I'd probably be even more fucked up than I already am."
"Okay, is he younger or older than Kevin Nash?"
I think my dad is younger than Uncle Kevin, but he's been wrestlin' longer than Uncle Kevin. My dad started wrestlin' before I was born."
"And you're how old?" This question came from Joe, who was sitting next to River in the back seat and genuinely curious about the girl who fell asleep in his arms, less so about her father.
"I'm 24, I'm the oldest of 5 kids. Actually I was born 2 days after my dad's birthday."
"Oh, I know!" Colby practically yelled as he pulled into the parking lot of the arena, "Your dad is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson!"
"Colby, you're an idiot. Don't you think I'd know if she were Dwayne's daughter?" Joe laughed.
River was confused, "How would you know that?"
"Dwayne's a cousin, kind of. Our great-grandfather claimed each other as blood brothers. In Samoan culture, that's just as good, if not better, than being biologically related," Joe explained.
"Are you a Guerrero?"
"Do I look Hispanic to you, Jon?"
"I know who your dad is," Jon said. "I've seen you around the arena's with him, working out and sparring. It's Brock Lesnar, right?"
"You- you've seen Brock and I?" River gasped "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. That means my dad might've seen or heard about it. Oh shit, I'm gonna be in so much trouble."
"So, not Brock then?"
"Dude, Brock's only like 30-something. No way he's got a 24 year old daughter."
"So if it's not Lesnar that means 'Taker. He's got legit beef with Lesnar, though no one really knows why-"
River cut Jon off. "It's because of me," she admitted, not understanding why she was telling these 3 guys stuff she'd never told anyone before. "Brock wanted to train me, all those years ago, when they were feudin'. That's when B offered. I was on the road with my dad because my mom's a psycho. And he started trainin' me. My dad blew a gasket when he found out, he didn't want my anywhere near wrestlin'. Then when B returned two years ago, he started trainin' me again, but this time it was mostly just strength trainin' 'cause he knew that's what I needed. It wasn't about getting' me into the ring but more about helpin' me overcome my- um, some personal stuff I was havin' issues with."
"And it looks like your old man is waiting for you."
Jon was right. Mark was standing in the parking lot, directly in front of the entrance door. Obviously expecting that no one was sneaking in without him knowing about it, and that meant River too. She banged her head against the back of the seat as Joe, Colby and Jon got out of the car. Colby, being a gentleman, opened her door for her and held is hand out to her to help her out.
"I'm so dead," she whispered. "You guys might be too, if he sees y'all with me."
"River Avery Calaway!" Her eyes snapped to meet her father's as he stomped over to the car she'd just gotten out of.
"Dead man walking," Colby whispered in her ear, making her laugh out loud.
"You think this is funny?" Mark demanded.
"No, Daddy-"
"You think its okay to fuckin' disappear?"
"No, Daddy-"
"You think it's funny to not call yer dad, or yer stepmom, or hell, even Paul, for hours after ya got outta the hospital?"
"No, Daddy-"
"We have no fuckin' clue who beat the shit outta you, and you're nowhere to be found. We were worried sick, River Avery. Ya left yer phone with 'Chelle and I fuckin' couldn't find you. What in the Sam hell happened?" Mark was nearly yelling, the three guys were trying to sneak away from the tongue lashing River was currently receiving from her dad but he spotted them. "You three, stay."
"Daddy, I-"
"And it's not really even you I'm so fuckin' pissed at. 'Chelle and Bess got a good yellin' at too. I was so fuckin' worried about ya, darlin'," now he started pacing in front of the four of them. "I get a fuckin' call in the middle of the night that my daughter is in the emergency room. And then my wife and her ex-boyfriends wife slip some pain medication in her fuckin' coffee without tellin' anyone. Then that fuckin' Cena boy puts together a damn welcome committee that runs her off. And then she's just fuckin' gone for five hours."
His rant was making River laugh, but she was trying her hardest to hide it. That is until she looked at Joe who was standing on her left, he was smirking, but trying to hide it with his hair hanging in his face. She lost it then, and so did all three of the guys standing with her. Mark stopped pacing and stared at the group.
"Y'all think this is funny?" he roared.
Joe and Jon quickly shook their heads, trying to sober up. While his outburst only made River and Colby laugh harder.
"Daddy please, it hurts to laugh!"
"I'm not bein' funny, River Avery. I'm completely serious. This isn't a laughin' matter-"
"I'm gonna pee my pants!" River screamed, squatting down to the ground and trying to hold her stomach with her left hand. This made Joe and Jon start all over again, while Mark just stood here looking at the four of them like they'd each grown another head.
"What's gotten in to y'all?"
"Daddy, yer not even mad at me. But yer rantin' and ravin' to me like I'm gonna be able to fix it. I can't go back in time and get away from whoever attacked me. I can't go back and tell 'Chelle for the millionth time that I don't want to talk any pain medicine and hope she'll listen that time. I can't go back and tell John that his welcomin' committee wasn't a good idea, and even if I could I wouldn't wanna hurt his feelins. And I can't go back in time and fix that I got lost in a damn hotel and couldn't find my way back to you. Thankfully, Joe found me and apparently I demanded that he take me to his room so I could take a nap-"
"And then she'd let me take her to find her dad, or her stepmom, or someone who knew who she was," Joe interrupted, "And those were her exact words."
"What makes you think that you wouldn't have run into whoever beat you up? What made you think I wasn't him-" Mark pointed to Joe, "who beat the shit out of you, comin' back to get some more?"
"I wasn't thinkin' Daddy. I just wanted to take a nap. I didn't and still don't know where my phone is and I couldn't find my way back. He looked familiar and my gut instinct said I could trust him. Which is why all three of them are standin' here, knowin' that I'm your daughter while people I've worked with for years have no clue and still think my last name is Avery," River shook her head, standing up, "You can't protect me from everythin' and everyone."
"The hell I can't!" he yelled, then he calmed himself down, "What happened last night, River? You were gonna tell me, before Paul and Bess walked in to your hospital room. And you're gonna tell me now, I don't care who is standin' here."
"I was walkin' back to my room from a workout session. My trainer had pushed me pretty hard because I kind of pissed him off when I got to the gym. So I was sore and probably limpin' but out of nowhere someone just jumped me. I don't know who it was or why it happened, it just did."
Mark shook his head confused, "You said that I'd be disappointed in ya. That I wouldn't be proud that you were overcomin'-"
"Um, I- well, it's, um because,-"
"She doesn't want us knowing whatever it is that she's overcoming," Joe interrupted. "Just skip that part River."
"You'll be disappointed because of whose been trainin' me. You told me years ago, and made it apparent to him too, that he was not allowed to train me. You thought he was tryin' to seduce me or somethin' stupid like that-"
"Wait a fuckin' minute. Two years? You broke up with Paul two years ago, you've been super quiet for two years. But you've looked healthier than ever for these last two years. And that fuckin' bastard came back two years ago. River Avery you better not be tellin' me that Lesnar is yer trainer," Mark was pissed to the max.
"If she's not tellin' ya then I will." The voice came from behind Mark and when he whipped around he got his answer, "Yeah, I been training her for the past two years."