Title: All Grown Up
Chapter 26: Core Four
Summary: *Growing Up Sequel* It's been 8 years since the gang has seen each other. Are their relationships and friendships as strong as they once were? Or are they shattered and beyond repair? HHH, Steph McMahon, Jericho, Trish Stratus, Randy Orton, Stacy Keibler
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters you don't recognize.
A/N: Again, sorry for the long delay in chapter updates. It's been a tough spot for me. The story is coming to a close, and it's hard pulling everything together. But I am working on it and not leaving you hanging. After this story is completed, keep a look out for my newest story.
XoxoxoX
Chris pulled up into the drive way of his and Maryse's home. After shutting the engine off, he sat there thinking of what to say. How would he face Maryse? After all, he did love her at one point, and still did. He just wasn't in love with her anymore. She would be devastated that he was calling off the wedding so close to it happening. The heart wants what it wants, and he couldn't deny it. A sigh escaped his lips, as he opened the driver side door. He stepped out of the car and shut it behind him as he made his way up the path way to the front door. The path seemed to drag on for a while, as he finally reached the door. He took out his keys, and slow unlocked the door. It was as if an alarm system was connected through their house, as Maryse's voice was heard the second he opened the door.
"Chris, where have you been?" Maryse came running to the door. "You've been gone all night and I called your cell and it went straight to your voice mail."
"Maryse, maybe you should sit down." Chris ran a hand over his head as he fully entered the house.
"No, I think I'll stand." Maryse folded her arms, curious to know his excuse.
"Ok…" Chris hesitated.
"Well…" Maryse tapped her foot impatiently.
"I'm leaving you." Chris spoke quickly, like tearing off a band aid.
"WHAT?" Maryse screamed, shaking her head. "You're what?"
"I'm sorry." Chris tried to reach out to Maryse. "You can have all of it, the house and everything."
"I don't get it." Maryse pulled away from Chris. "I thought we were happy."
"We were, and I love you." Chris stated. "I'm just not in love with you anymore."
"We can work this out." Maryse begged, tears falling from her eyes.
"No, we can't." Chris answered. "I'm in love with Trish, and I'm staying with her."
"I knew it." Venom became present in Maryse's voice. "I knew it."
"Get your clothes and get out." Maryse glared at Chris as she turned her back to him.
"I'm sorry." Chris frowned as he walked up the stairs to get his things.
Chris walked into the bedroom that they had shared for the longest time. It didn't feel right being in the room like it used to. He grabbed a suitcase from the closet and began packing all of his clothing items. As the short amount of time went by, so did the clothing from the drawers. The dresser was soon empty from his things and the closet became bare. Chris looked around the room as a sigh escaped his lips. He felt horrible for what he had just done, but he knew it was for the best. He couldn't stay with someone, when he was clearly in love with another. He just hoped that one day Maryse would forgive him. He made his way into the adjoined bathroom, and began to gather his personal items. As he closed the cabinet, he saw her reflection in the mirror. He turned to look at her as she looked like she had something to say.
"Why?" Maryse barely got out, as tears still spilled from her eyes. "Why her and not me?"
"It has nothing to do with you Maryse." Chris sighed. "It's me, and it's always been her."
"Ok." Maryse bit her bottom lip.
"I'm sorry." Chris replied again. "You are a great woman, and one day, you'll find someone better than me and they will treat you like the queen you are."
Maryse comforted herself as she walked away from Chris again. Jericho watched as she exited the bedroom. He shut his eyes, hating that he hurt her this way. He got back to packing up his things. He figured the quicker he left the house, the better Maryse would be. Grabbing the last of his belongings from the bathroom, he walked back into the bedroom. He placed the items in his bag and zipped it up. Double checking the bedroom, he made sure he had all his things. He knew he had more things here, but he would leave that to Maryse. If she didn't want them, then he would take them or she could discard of them.
Jericho took his bag, and walked down the stairs for the last time. As he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he glanced towards the living room, where Maryse sat on the couch. He took a step towards the living room, but stopped. He wasn't sure what he'd say, and he figured he'd only upset her even more. Another sigh escaped his lips as he walked out the front door for the last time.
XoX
Trish smiled as she came walking down the stairs. She was waiting for Chris to get back. They had spent the whole morning talking about living situations and Maryse. As much as Trish and Maryse hated each other, Trish felt guilty for taking Chris away from Maryse. She could only hope that Maryse would learn to forgive her one day. There was another part of Trish, who wasn't that upset about it, after everything Maryse had done to her to begin with. Ms. Stratus shrugged her shoulders as she made her way to the kitchen. It was nearing 1:00pm and she was getting a bit hungry. She pulled out some lunch meat and cheese from the fridge and got the bread from the top of the fridge. As she started making the sandwiches, her cell phone began to ring. She wiped her hands off as she then answered her phone.
"Hello?" Trish spoke into the line, placing the phone between her shoulder and ear.
"Hey Trish!" Stacy smiled into the phone.
"Stacy, hey how are you?" Trish responded.
"I'm excellent and you?" Stacy giggled into the phone.
"I'm excellent too." Trish shook her head. "You ok Stace?"
"Yeah, I'm Grreeaatt." Stacy spoke happily.
"Spill it Keibler." Trish smirked, demanding to know why her friend was so happy.
"Spill what?" Stacy bit her bottom lip with a smile.
"Something happened, now tell me." Trish laughed at Stacy's behavior.
"I could ask you the same question." Stacy answered, her smirk hinting in her voice.
"What's that mean?" Trish questioned.
"How's Jericho?" Stacy blurted out.
"How did you know?" Trish's face turned a slight shade of pink.
"Jericho just called Randy." Stacy answered naturally.
"Gosh, he couldn't wait could he?" Trish giggled, not taking notice of the name mentioned.
"I know right." Stacy laughed, as Trish gasped in the background. "What?"
"Randy?" Trish questioned. "How did you know he called Randy?"
"Um, uh…" Stacy pretended to search for something to say.
"OMG, you are and Randy are back together, aren't you?" Trish yelled over the phone.
"Ouch, that's my ear." Stacy retorted taking the phone away from her ear a bit. "And, yes we are."
"This is great!" Trish smiled. "The core four is together again."
"Yeah, now we just need six mix." Stacy giggled.
"Six mix?" Trish became confused.
"I couldn't think of anything else." Stacy whined. "But it would be awesome if McMahon and Levesque would quit hiding their feelings for one another."
"Yeah, but Steph is with Miz, and she clearly loves him." Trish stood up for Steph's relationship.
"Sure she does." Stacy giggled. "Even then so, miracles still happen. Hence, Jericho and Stratus."
"Oh shut up." Trish laughed on the phone as she finished making her sandwich. "I'm going to let you go now, Chris is should be here any minute."
"Ok, bye Stratus." Stacy spoke hanging up the phone.
XoxoxoX
Randy watched as Stacy hung up the phone and began pressing the buttons on her phone. It looked as if she were texting. Randy's eyes scanned her features, and her face. He watched as her eyes lit up at each word she entered into her phone. He smiled as the curves of the corners of her mouth began to go upward. Stacy was purely beautiful in his mind. She was his angel, and how he ever let her go, he would never understand. This time was different though, he wouldn't loosen his grip on her, but he would make it stronger. She was his life and there was no doubting it. His heart was clearly with her and he loved her so much.
"I love you." Randy blurted out and quickly covered his mouth.
"What?" Stacy quickly stopped what she was doing and looked at Randy.
"I need to vacuum." Randy quickly covered up.
"Oh…" Stacy trailed off and turning back to her phone.
Stacy sighed softly as she stared at her phone. She heard him correctly the first time, but she wasn't sure if he actually meant to say it. Her questioning it only proved her to be correct. She was hoping that he had said it and meant it. Stacy knew it could possibly be too soon for the two of them to say those three little words that meant so much to them. Thoughts played through her mind as she began to really think about it. Maybe she could talk to Randy about it, or maybe she could just tell him? She looked up at him staring at his own phone. He was also texting. She watched as his eyes followed the typed words and the slight smile that formed from his lips. She continued to watch him as his eyes glanced up at her. Their eyes met for a slight moment as he winked at her. Stacy shook her head, as she felt her phone vibrate in her hands. She looked down at the purple object in her hands, and noticed the lit up screen. Randy's named scrolled across the phone, indicating she has a text message from him. She furrowed her eyebrows as she opened the message. I really meant to say I love you. Stacy looked up at Randy quickly after reading the message. A soft smile was present on Randy's face.
"I love you Stace." Randy got up and moved to sit directly next to Stacy.
"Really?" Stacy questioned, her face glowing with happiness.
"Yes, really." Randy grinned. "More then you know."
"I love you too!" Stacy smiled kissing Randy square on the lips.
XoxoxoX
Paul sat on the leather black sofa in the living room staring at the blank television set that was placed in front of him. Jake had gone to stay with Shawn and Rebecca for a few nights, while Paul coped with the uncertain answers he had. Everything just kept getting worse for Paul. So many thoughts ran through his mind as he sat in silence. What if he had stopped her from leaving the night she told him that she was leaving? What if he hadn't said what he had said? None of this would have happened. Paul clenched his fist thinking of the accident all over again. His fist raised and came down to the sofa hitting it hard. His heart continued to break thinking about it. Mixed emotions ran through his body all at once. Feelings of hate, anger, remorse, sympathy, guilt, sadness, loss, and so much more. He didn't know what the feel at this time. Never in a million years had he thought this would happen to him or any of his loved ones.
Levesque got up from the couch and walked across the living room to the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and pulled down a small glass. His eyes scanned the kitchen as he made his way over to another cupboard. He opened the door slowly and pulled out the ¾ bottle of whiskey from the cupboard. Paul took the cap off as a strong smell of alcohol was detected by his nose. He poured himself a half glass full. His hand grasped the glass as he swirled the contents. His eyes watched the dark colored liquid swoosh around inside the glass, as his other hand held onto the bottle. Without a second though, Paul downed the drink, letting it burn the back of his throat on its way down. His neck tightened as he clenched the bottle and grinned his teeth to make the burn pass quicker. Paul looked down at the empty glass in his hand. On sudden impulse, he threw the glass across the kitchen, hitting the floor by the trash can. Staring at the shattered glass on the floor, Paul followed suit, throwing the bottle of whiskey right behind the broken glass. He stared as the liquid began to spill all over the floor.
A sigh escaped Paul's lips as he realized what he had done. Slowly he walked over to the trash can, where the glass was scattered everywhere. He grabbed the broom next to the trash can and began to sweep up the mixture of glass and whiskey. His heart ached horribly, due to the things he never got to say to Stephanie and Sami. Hell, Sami never knew that Paul was her real father and now she'd never know. The thought only made him feel worse inside as a sudden tear fell from his eye as he swept the contents into the dust pan. He emptied the pan into the trash and placed the broom and dust pan back in the corner. After his hand left the broom handle, Paul heard the faint sound of his cell phone going off. He quickly ran into the living room. His eyes glanced down at the phone in his hand. There was a number that went across the screen, but there was no ID to it. Before the last ring rang, he answered the phone.
"Hello?" Paul questioned nervously.
"Hi, may I speak with Paul Levesque?" A woman spoke from the other line.
"Speaking." Paul replied waiting for a response.
"Hi Mr. Levesque, this is Caroline with Alaska Airlines." Caroline answered. "I was calling to update you on the status of a Stephanie and Samantha McMahon."
"Yes, are they ok?" Paul quickly responded to her.
"Sir, we found their seats in a wooded area about five miles away from at accident." Caroline spoke sadly. "Their seats still had some remains of them. I'm sorry for your loss."
Paul stood there in complete shock. He had feared the worse and now the worse was coming true. His cell phone dropped to the floor as the lines disconnected. His body was being taken over by guilt, as his feelings began to unleash. Paul dropped to his knees as his hands and forearms met the floor as he buried his face in the rug. He rose up, only to scream out the words "NO". Tears streamed from his face as he looked towards the front door, which a knock had sounded from.
XoxoxoX
Thanks for reading this chapter. Please let me know what you think. I'm so sorry for the delay in updates. Thanks again to all my readers who stuck with me!
Citcat