'I'm just gonna spend the day with her I think, take her up to see Guinness and then go for a run and have lunch and the like. I wanna try and keep fit still and since you've banned me from riding him I think jogging will do nicely, and mom loves to jog so it makes sense. I think she's finally psyched herself up enough to meet you without having a meltdown now too; dad's been singing your praises' said Chloe, turning her head and kissing his chest.
'Is she still scared of me then?' he asked, amused as ever by her mother's shyness to meet him.
'A little bit. According to dad she signed up on the website and sat and watched The Hardy Show for an hour with her hands over her eyes, looking between her fingers and saying 'He's crazy!' over and over while Hank just laughed and said he thinks you're great' said Chloe, picturing her mother sat there looking dumbfounded at Shannon's sense of humour and fun.
'Well I promise not to freak her out too much, I think finding out I knocked her daughter up was enough for her' he said, laughing loudly and trying to dodge the well aimed slap to his chest she gave.
'Such a wonderful way to put it, knocked her daughter up' she said, shaking her head as she laughed softly.
'Well I did!' he said, looking proud of himself. She just continued to shake her head and laugh, enjoying the last twenty minutes she had him in bed for before he had to get up and go for a workout with Matt and Jeff ahead of his WSW title fight in three weeks time. And so after enjoying the last of their morning cuddles, watching him with joy as he shifted down the bed to stroke her tummy and talk to their baby as he liked to do Chloe got herself showered and dressed and kissed the love of her life goodbye, content to tidy up the house while she waited for her mother to arrive at 11am.
'Good morning hun' said her mother brightly when Chloe opened the front door at 11.03 exactly, surrounded by three barking dogs jumping all over their visitor.
'Hey ma, welcome to Satan's lair' she joked, making her mother roll her eyes as she gave fuss to Oz who had jumped up and implanted his paws into her stomach.
'How long have I got before Satan gets back then?' she managed to joke finally. Her husband's praise of the man who had broken her daughter's marriage had finally started to sink in with Karen.
'About four hours, he's doing Hardy Show stuff after the gym' she replied, closing the front door and walking through to the longue with her mom. They decided to have a drink before heading out for the woods, deciding to leave the dogs in the house since the little ones inevitably always ran off while Oz just barked at everything. Walking at a steady pace to warm up they stretched and swung their arms in the hot morning sun and engaged in conversation regarding Chloe's new life.
'So I guess I don't have to ask you if you're happier now do I? You look more alight than I've ever seen you, even if it is with someone whose antics make me rather uneasy' said Karen with a little smile.
'He's a great guy mom. That's just one side you see of him, and he is a larger than life kinda person, but there are other elements to him than just that. It's why I love him so much, and for the fact he gave me something I wanted so badly from Mike but could never get. Well, two things. Adoration, and this little one' she said, smiling back at her mom whilst resting a hand to her stomach.
'I'm sure I'll learn to love him in my own little way' said Karen as they broke into a gentle jog.
'Just stop having preconceptions and you'll be fine' said Chloe, bouncing neatly over a large piece of tree branch sticking up as they ran the edge of the woods, not noticing that Lauren was 200 yards behind them. She'd once again driven to the house to find both their cars in the driveway, so had parked up further down the road and cut through to the woods to watch the house, running and hiding when she saw Chloe and her mother walk around from the back yard and out towards the woods.
Since she had heard the engine of Shannon's car roar into life she had decided to watch and see what Chloe was doing, all the time imagining and wishing it was herself who was in that position. She knew how she was acting could be easily deemed as crazy, but she loved him and couldn't help her behaviour even when her inner voice shouted 'Lauren King what are you doing?' When they turned the corner that bordered the river that ran through the wood she shot behind a tree fast once again as she saw Chloe turn her head..............
..................'Mom, remember on the phone I told you about Shannon's ex trying to win him back?' she said, her and Karen walking over the bridge that linked one side of the forest to the other over the steep gap the river flowed through.
'Yeah, what makes you mention her sweetie?' she replied, opening her sports cap bottled water with her teeth and taking a few gulps as they reached the other side of the bridge.
'I think she's following us' replied Chloe, as right on cue they heard Lauren suddenly scream and turned to see her come tumbling from her hiding place by the tree, her hands hanging onto everything she could grasp so as not to fall into the river, 15ft below where she hung.
'Shit!' hissed Chloe, running back over the bridge. Even though she hated Lauren for pulling the psycho ex girlfriend stunt at now of all times, all she could think at that moment was that she couldn't leave her hanging there; it'd be more than a few abrasions and bruises if she fell from the side of the high bank.
'Mom hold onto the branch and give me your hand' said Chloe as they both neared the edge of the bank.
'Chloe be careful!' Karen warned, worried in case she slipped and fell, and what that could mean if she hit her stomach.
'Lauren, I don't care right now why the hell you're following me, grab my hand and I'll pull you up' said Chloe, her own hand locked around her mother's tightly as she leant over the edge of the bank offering her other hand to Lauren.
'I can't! I'm too scared to let go!' she wailed, tears of fear forming in her eyes.
'If you don't grab my hand you're gonna fall, and if you hit your head on one of those rocks below the chances are you're gonna die. I'm serious Lauren if you survive the fall you'll be in a lot of pain, now grab my hand! I promise I won't let you go, c'mon grab it now!' she shouted, reaching her hand out even further, as far as she could physically stretch. With what little strength she had left in her arms Lauren heaved herself up a little more holding onto the thorny weeds she had grabbed onto with her left hand, letting go with her right and having Chloe snatch at her hand immediately and then begin to haul her back up the bank with her mother, who let go of the branch and assisted in tugging Lauren back up onto the bank once Chloe had pulled half of her body back over the edge.
'And now I'm taking you back to my house to get you cleaned up and get a strong drink in you. You've had a nasty shock, but as soon as you feel okay again I want answers. Don't think because I was decent enough to save your ass it means you're off the hook. You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do missy' said Chloe, calmly but with a prickle of anger in her tone. Lauren just dropped her head and nodded, walking along back through the woods solemnly by the side of Chloe and her mother, wanting to cry all the way she felt so stupid and pathetic at being caught out playing a game that had begun to make her realize how foolish her actions had been.
'You both sit down and I'll make some drinks' said Karen when they arrived back at the house, with Chloe going into the kitchen cupboard to where she kept a little tin full of her first aid things such as band aids and antiseptic wipes, also removing a pair of tweezers to pull the little thorns from Lauren's bloodied hands.
'Chloe, please! Sit down, you need to rest after all that' Karen continued, steering her daughter into a seat next to Lauren.
'Are-are y-you unwell or something Chloe?' she asked, feeling concern towards the woman she had previously felt nothing but jealous hatred towards.
'No, but I am three and a half months pregnant' she replied, before looking stunned as Lauren immediately burst into tears and covered her face with her torn up hands.
'I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! What the hell have I been thinking? Chasing my ex boyfriend like some love struck teenager when all the time all you both needed was to be left alone while you wait for your baby to come! Oh god I feel like dirt! The stress I must have caused you, stress you don't need in your condition! Oh god I'm so sorry Chloe, I really am. You must think I need locking up!' she wailed, surprised to be pulled into a hug by someone she had written off as her arch nemesis.
'I understand what it's like to be crazy in love with someone, I really do. I've been there before when I was your age, it's always harder when you're young, before you've learned a lot of life lessons you know doubt will before you get to my age. And I appreciate your apology too, and the fact you realize what you are doing is wrong. If deep down Shannon wasn't such a nice guy he'd have reported you to the police by now, he's only held back because he wanted to see if you'd get bored and just leave him alone' said Chloe, reaching for the tea her mother passed her and then opening the lid on the old tin and pulling out some antiseptic wipes, ripping the corner of the packaging open with her teeth and pulling out the wet white wipe inside to begin cleaning Lauren's hands.
'I can't believe how understanding you're being. And I just feel so guilty for doing what I've done, I really, really do' she said, watching Chloe begin to pick little thorns out of her hands with the fine tipped tweezers, cleaning each little puncture wound as she went along.
'Well as long as you've learned your lesson and realize that no matter how much you love him you have to keep your distance, I think everything will be fine. It's hard to love someone who doesn't love you back; Chloe and I have both been there haven't we honey? But the fact is, you'll do nothing but piss him off even more if you don't back away, and I'm glad you see this' said Karen, Chloe nodding in agreement.
'I do, believe me I really do. I've acted stupidly and I admit that. I mean Christ; you must be having enough trouble with your ex. I sense you're the kind of woman no man would take lightly to losing' said Lauren, with Chloe widening her eyes and pulling a face.
'That's good perception you have there. Yes, he's being difficult, but I guess it's no more than I deserve. Mother stop eyeballing me' said Chloe, turning to Karen and laughing softly. Karen made a 'what?' face that had both her and Lauren giggling within seconds.
'If you don't mind asking, but how long has it been going on for?' she asked after their laughter had subsided.
'Since March, and yes I have to confess you were still with him the first time we ended up in bed, and I do feel genuinely awful for that. And so did he, it was one of the reasons he broke up with you, he felt too guilty to carry on' said Chloe, watching Lauren nod.
'Chloe, I knew I'd lose him to you sooner or later. I saw the way he looked at you, the way he still looks at you. He never looked at me like that and that's because you're the love of his life, and if I cared one once about him as much as I say I do I should have just left him be. Because he's happy with you' said Lauren honestly.
'And not even my rotten shit of an ex husband can ruin that. Believe me, with what he's been throwing at me you're small beans' said Chloe, sighing and taking a gulp of her tea.
'What did he do?' asked Lauren, sounding quite concerned. Chloe thought that alone was quite sweet; like she was changing sides in all this.
'Well when we were married he basically neglected me totally, and now I've had the sense to leave him at last he's digging his heels in over the divorce. He refused to sign the first round of petition papers my lawyer sent out to him, and sent them back each time they sent him another copy. He leaves spiteful messages all the time, if we're out anywhere he likes to stand staring at us in the distance. He's too scared Shannon'll fracture his cheekbone again if he gets any closer than that. But he couldn't give a shit about smacking him one again, you know what he's like, he has zero temper 99% of the time' she said as Lauren nodded.
'You're a lucky girl, he's really something. I was too stupid to see that. Look I'm gonna go, thanks for looking after me' she said, getting up and walking out of the kitchen before Chloe could say anything. And she decided not to say anything either, and just let her walk on out of the house. She sensed they'd said all they needed to say to each other.
