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"Wife?" Randy asked in shock as the man walked out, "WIFE? You're married?" This was definitely not news he was expecting.
"Technically yes," Alex muttered shaking. Just then her parents raced in the room,
"What the hell is going on?" Her father barked angrily. Alex raced forward wrapping her arms around her father,
"Why is he back?" She asked sobbing. Alex was petrified to see her old flame,
"We heard he got parole, but we didn't think he'd come here. Isn't that restraining order still in place?" Alex's dad explained,
"He's walked straight through it before," Alex's mum said pointedly.
"Randy, where are you going?" Alex asked seeing her boyfriend head for the door,
"You're married!"
"Not by choice," Alex tried to explain,
"You're married and you NEVER once told me,"
"It never came up,"
"Of course, there was never an opportunity to mention it. Not when I was telling you about my past, not when we were talking about our deepest darkest secrets NEVER," Randy was furious and heartbroken. He'd trusted Alex and had completely fallen for her, but she'd played him. He realized he was probably the victim of some con planned by Alex and her husband, he was too angry to notice her fear.
"Randy…" Alex started not too sure how to continue. She'd only seen Randy this angry once and that was when he was drunk and broke John's face. She was scared she had just ruined everything and knew it was something that she should have told Randy, but had been hoping to deal with everything before he ever found out.
"Where you going boy?" Alex's dad asked as Randy once again headed out the room,
"Away from here!"
"If you go out in this weather you'll freeze to death before you get to the corner,"
"I'll take a cab,"
"Boy, this is where the 'I like you' comes into play. Go put some shoes on and a jacket and I'll take you wherever you want to go," Alex's dad barked out. Randy was still afraid of the man, despite everything Randy had knocked up his daughter.
As Randy put his shoes on and Alex tried to explain everything he began to think about the baby growing in his girlfriend's belly. With the reveal of the con that Alex and her husband were pulling Randy wondered if the baby was really his.
"Randy, listen to me… PLEASE!" Alex begged as Randy put his jacket on,
"Now you want me to listen? Now you want to tell me the truth? Not in the last 7 months that we've… Oh you know… BEEN LIVING TOGETHER!"
"I know I should have told you… But it's not what it seems,"
"Oh so now you're not married?" Randy asked sarcastically,
"No, I'm married, but…" Before Alex could finish Randy walked out the front door.
"I'll talk to him," Alex's dad said kissing his daughter as he followed the man out the house.
"If that bastard had just signed the divorce papers I wouldn't be in this mess," Alex hissed at her mother,
"Married or divorced its still something you should have told him,"
"I know. I made a mistake, but it's not like he hasn't made 50 million. The first night I was in Mass. He got drunk and broke John's face in two places. He got himself suspended running through a hotel in his boxer shorts…,"
"Maybe so, but he just found out he's dating a married woman. What do you think he's thinking right now?" Alex's sister asked walking in the room.
"Randy, boy, you need to calm down," Alex's dad said noticing Randy thrashing in his seat,
"She's married, she's fricken married!"
"You didn't give her a chance to explain,"
"I think it's pretty damn explanatory in itself," Randy hissed. Alex's dad pulled over and turned to face his daughter's boyfriend, ensuring to lock the car doors first. Not that it mattered, Randy could have easily unlocked the door from his side of the car.
"Alex and Brian met just over 3 years ago, they dated for about two weeks before Brian convinced her it was love and they should get married. So they did, just the two of them at city hall. I hated the guy from the get go, he was a jerk and always up to something.
"They were married less than 6 weeks when he started beating her. She didn't say anything at first, but she came around home one day to help with the boys and had a black eye. She claimed that she walked into a door. She didn't want anything done about it or to admit what had happened so we let it be," Randy gasped upon hearing this; she'd been beaten and hid it away.
"On their 6 month wedding anniversary he put her in the ICU for the second time… The first time we'd gotten a restraining order against him, he walked straight through it," Randy's heart was dropping. He was still angry and hurting, but he could understand why this would be a secret that Alex kept.
Randy remembered when he'd first met Alex. She looked so sad and Randy saw that there was something going on under the surface. Alex must have been some bubbling volcano of fear and anger after what she'd experienced.
"After breaking his restraining order my son and I found him and roughed him up a little before turning him into the police. He got put away for 7 years and just got out on parole. Alex's lawyer kept screwing her over, he'd apparently go, try to get Brian to sign the divorce papers, but he'd always refuse. Then we found out that he was just taking Alex's money and shredding the paperwork," Alex's dad explained.
"My daughter should have told you that she was married and we're all going to kick her butt for holding that secret in. But try to understand and see things from her perspective. She didn't expect to see him tonight; when she stayed with you she was free from all the hell that she's faced here," he finished.
"Did he really put her in the ICU twice?" Randy asked carefully.
"Yeah, the second time was so intense that she had to have surgery to repair internal bleeding,"
"Crap! But… Oh I don't know…"
"Do you want to know how to get this dealt with?" Alex's dad asked.
"What? You got some big solution?"
"That I do," Alex's dad smirked, "you are 6'4" and what 250 pounds?"
"245,"
"Whatever. You are full of muscles. You walk up that path," Alex's dad pointed up a path to a house, "break down the door and use your strength and sheer size to get him to sign this," he finished holding up a document.
"That's it?" Randy asked raising an eyebrow. He'd certainly used his size and strength to get him what he wanted in the past.
"Yeah, then Alex'll get her divorce and you can go back to living the American dream,"
"Fine!" Randy growled.
Randy was halfway up the path when he stopped. He looked at the house just a few feet away then looked down at the dark car. He couldn't see him, but he knew the man in the car was watching him. Randy remembered the last conversation he had with his dad before coming to Minnesota, his dad had been proud of him for growing and changing. For not being that angry drunk kid he'd been just months before. He remembered what it felt like when his dad told him he was proud of him and that he loved him. He remembered the email he'd recently gotten from Vince encouraging him on changing his ways and he remembered how reading that felt.
Randy loved Alex there was no secret about that, he loved her more than anything in the world. But, Randy just couldn't give Alex's dad what he wanted. A few months ago he would have been through that door and nearly killing the jerk. But, a few months ago he hadn't met Alex and she hadn't completely changed his life. He liked the man he'd become and staring at the house just a few feet away he realized that no matter how angry and how hurt he was he couldn't take his anger on out another man.
There was also the niggling thought that maybe Alex's dad had made up the story of Alex's husband. Maybe it was all part of the con, everyone just trying to get a go at Randy's money. Randy had met plenty of people just after his money, his lifestyle and his name. When the kids at school had found out that he was the son of Cowboy Bob Orton he had a million friends in an instant. All of them wanting to come to his house and meet his dad, no one ever just wanted to play with Randy. Then when trouble struck Randy figured out who his real friends were, the ones that stuck around even when the crap hit the fan. They were definitely few and far between and when Randy found them he held on to them.
Back in Mass. John was finding it harder and harder to be on the road. Every minute he was out of state he was worrying about Ashley. As John moved up through the card he was given more and more opportunities, all of which he turned down. He said no to going oversees for Tribute to the Troops; he turned down the Europe trip and politely declined hosting a seminar at WWE's developmental facility, FCW. This meant John was able to spend three nights a week with Ashley.
The night of Tribute to the Troops, John was nowhere near a television. Earlier that day he and Ashley had driven an hour to get to Ashley's parent's house. They were spending the next couple of nights there to have Christmas morning with them, and then they would drive back for Christmas dinner with John's family. John had met Ashley's parents before, not long after he'd found out about the baby, they were nice folks, but very traditional and weren't too impressed with the fact that their daughter was pregnant and not married. They also weren't the biggest fans of John's career choice, but then neither was he lately.
On the drive Ashley and John had been talking about how next Christmas was going to be crazy, they'd have a little one with them.
"I've always wanted to have a little girl and name her Sophia," Ashley said breaking John out of his thoughts.
He'd been thinking about the first conversation that he'd had with Ashley's father and how he realized that meeting him wasn't nearly as bad as it would be for any future boyfriends of his unborn daughter. Ashley had been talking about her family's Christmas traditions and how much they meant to her.
"What?" John asked after a moment,
"I've always wanted to have a little girl and name her Sophia," Ashley repeated, "Sophia was my grandma's name; she was an amazing strong woman. She refused to go to a nursing home and so she lived with us when I was a teenager. She didn't take any crap from anybody even my dad. He may have been a grown man, but she wasn't afraid to put him over her knee," Ashley smiled wistfully, John gently placed a comforting hand on her leg,
"Sophia is a beautiful name," he responded, "You know my grandma, Grace, sounds a lot like yours. What was with women of that generation? You just don't see anyone with so little social fear these days. How about Sophia Grace? In memory of two very strong amazing women, in hope our girl will be just like them," John smiled across at his girlfriend,
"Beautiful," she muttered smiling back, "Oh, she just kicked; I think she likes her name." John held his hand against Ashley's stomach and was able to feel his baby girl kicking.
On the drive to Ashley's parents John decided that he was going to do whatever he could to get some private time with Ashley's dad over the next couple of days. John wanted to do things right, especially since Ashley's parents were very traditional. When John asked Ashley to marry him he wanted to ensure he had her father's permission first. John already had the ring he was going to give Ashley, but he was trying to find the right time.
His biggest concern was that he would propose at the wrong time and Ashley would take it the wrong way. Did he propose while she was still pregnant? Or would she think he was trying to be the gallant warrior taking responsibility for his own actions. Did he propose just after the baby was born? Or would she think he was just freaking out being a new father. Did he wait? John didn't think he could wait, in fact if he got Ashley's father's blessing he was hoping to propose before the New Year.
As Ashley and John were getting ready for bed that night John's phone rang, it was Randy. He was upset and turning to his best friend for advice. John put his coat on and went outside for privacy. Unfortunately Ashley's dad came past and started filling his daughter's head with ideas,
"He's on the phone?"
"Yeah, Randy called,"
"Randy?"
"His best friend,"
"He's taking calls in private Ashley, that's never a good sign,"
"He'll tell me about it later,"
"Yeah, when he has a chance to come up with a good story," Ashley's dad sighed. He wanted the best for his daughter and there was no way that some wrestler was it. However, Ashley's mom had seen the way her daughter's eyes lit up whenever John was around and how John hung on every word she said.
Ashley's mom had an over protective father as well and could remember trying to convince him that Jake, Ashley's dad, was the love of her life. He'd been like John once, a young guy who'd followed his dream and spread his wild oats. He wasn't the type of guy her father saw as suitable, but her mother had seen the love in her eyes just like she saw in Ashley's.
