Chapter Thirty-Four: Surprise

Jeff slid his phone back in his pocket and took a drag off his cigarette. Before he could exhale the smoke, a voice smoke from behind him.

"Please tell me that you aren't really in love with my best friend's wife."

Jeff cringed as he turned around to see John Cena standing by the entrance, arms folded across his expansive chest.

"Were you following me?" Jeff questioned.

"Yeah, because no sooner had you stormed out of the locker room, a stagehand came in looking for you. Now, I can understand why you did storm out, though. You couldn't handle Randy talking about him and his WIFE having their makeup fuck-fest, could you? What the hell is going on, Hardy? I thought you were after some chick in North Carolina."

Jeff looked at John and shook his head. "And Alex said you were more perceptive than you seem. I'm finding that really hard to believe." He could see the confusion in John's face turn to realization right before his very eyes.

"What in the hell made you think it was okay to sleep with Alex? Do you realize the kind of shit that you just stirred up? Randy is going to fucking kill you when he finds out."

"I think the question you mean to ask, Cena, is WHO made me think it was okay to sleep with Alex. And the answer to that is…Alex," Jeff replied, seeing the anger grow within his friend's eyes.

"You're a fucking liar, Hardy! Alex would never lead anyone on like that. She would never jeopardize her marriage and her family by intentionally sleeping with some else. So, what'd you do? Get her drunk? Slip her some of the drugs you got lying around? What was it?"

"I didn't give her shit, Cena!" he bellowed, standing toe to toe with the former WWE Champion. "She came on to me, just like I told you. She begged me to continue when I tried to stop it. Just like I told you."

"If everything you told me about the woman you are in love with is true, then you were after Alex months ago! How do you expect me to believe that you didn't do something to her when you've wanted her for so long."

"If you don't believe me, why don't you call Alex up and ask her?"

"Ask Alex what?" a third voice questioned from the door.

Cena and Hardy turned to see Randy standing in the doorway, a curious expression upon on his face.

"Nothing," Jeff muttered as he stepped back from John and tried to reenter the building, but was stopped by Randy.

"It is something when two men are having a pretty heated discussion concerning my wife," Randy replied, blocking the door with his arm.

"Orton, I said it was nothing. Now, if you don't move your fucking arm, there will be something."

"Good. I've been looking for a reason to pummel your scrawny, tye-dyed ass ever since you've been hanging around my wife," Orton growled, his face mere centimeters from Jeff's.

"Break it up," John said, stepping in between the two. "The last thing either one of you needs is another suspension. Save this for another time."

Randy and Jeff glared at each other as Orton reluctantly removed his arm from the door frame and allowed Jeff into the building. "What was that all about, Cena?"

John just shook his head as he looked at his friend. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."

XxxxX

Alex sat on the sofa about an hour after hanging up with Amy. She had ordered Backlash like she had all the other pay-per-views that she was unable to attend, but her mind was anywhere but on the show playing on the TV in front of her. It was going through scenario after scenario of how she was going to tell Randy that she had cheated on him with Jeff.

No matter how many ways she thought up, none of them gave her any hope that she and her husband would be able to work things out. She sighed and turned the baby monitor in her hands. Any other night, the twins wouldn't give her a moment to breathe, but the one night that she would rather do anything BUT think, they, along with Jayda, slept uninterrupted.

After a few more minutes of silent pondering, Alex was gratefully pulled away from her thoughts when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen and fear immediately gripped her. But she forced herself to answer it anyway.

"Hey, John. Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your match?"

"Aren't you watching? My match has been over with for about forty-five minutes," he replied.

"Oh, sorry. I have it on, but I've been fighting with Sadie and Jace to go to sleep," she lied.

"Gotcha. Listen, Lex, I'm not going to beat around the bush. I'm calling because I was told something today and I'm just not sure I believe it. Jeff told me that you cheated on Randy with him and that you were in your right mind when you did. Please tell me that it isn't true."

Alex hesitated as tears sprung to her eyes. "I wish I could, John. I really do. But I can't." She could feel the disappointment begin to seep through the phone. Then, it turned to anger.

"Why?" was all John said, but she could hear the fury in that one simple word.

"I don't think you realize how bad things got between Randy and me. Before this weekend, I don't remember the last time we said 'I love you' to one another. I don't remember the last time we had a conversation and not an argument. And I know that there is no excuse for what I've done and, believe me, I loathe myself every second of every minute of every day for what I've done to Randy and our family."

"And you should. I never would have thought that you, of all people, would do this. Everything that I ever thought about you was wrong. I thought that you would be strong enough to be married to Randy and put up with all of his shit, not look for a reprieve by jumping into bed with someone else, let alone Jeff Hardy, the minute things got tough."

"It's not like I slept with Jeff the first time Randy said something I didn't like. This had been going on for three fucking months, John! How would you deal if Payton belittled you every single day and made you feel absolutely worthless?"

"That's not the point, Alex! The point is you were unfaithful to Randy and when he finds out what and who you did, he's going to go ballistic and I'm not going to do a damn thing to stop him."

"I don't expect you to, John. Just please don't tell him. I don't want him to hear it from anyone other than me."

"Oh, you're actually going to stand up and confess? I figured you'd try to keep your little affair hidden."

"It wasn't an affair. It was a mistake."

"Either way, it was wrong. And I highly doubt there's anything you can do to make it right."

"Why do you say that like I don't know it? I know I'm going to lose Randy. I just hope he'll at least let me see the kids."

"Good luck. You better tell him soon or else I will," John said and hung up.

Alex dropped the phone from her hand and released the flow of tears that she had been holding back. She had always considered John one of her very best friends, but she knew that he and Randy were practically brothers. And now that he knew what she had done, her fate with Randy was sealed.

XxxxX

Two Days Later

Randy practically ran through the airport to catch a cab. He hadn't told Alex that he was coming home in the hopes of surprising her. He was hoping that it would lift her spirits a little. The past few days when he had talked to her, she had seemed kind of down. She tried to be happy for his sake, but he could hear it in her voice that the happiness was false.

The whole ride home from the airport Randy resisted the urge to call her. It was like he was in the honeymoon phase all over again. When the cab pulled into the driveway, he noticed that the SUV was gone. He checked the time and realized that Alex had just left to take Jayda to school.

He paid the driver and let himself into the house, noticing the toys scattered all about the living room. He smiled at the fact that he was finally able to see the house look like it was inhabited by a seven year old and two infants. Alex always made sure that the house was spotless when he came home. Truth be told, she probably did so because of the countless times he told her that she didn't do anything just because she wasn't employed somewhere.

But that was all going to change. He was going to be the husband and father that he should have been all along. He looked at the toys that littered the living room floor and thought about putting them all away until he realized that he had no clue where they all went. He made a mental reminder to have Alex show him when she got home so for future reference, he could help out.

Randy carried his bag up to their bedroom and began unpacking. Normally, he wouldn't bother, but he was going to be home until Sunday night and had plenty of time to repack. He had just placed the last of his toiletries in the master bathroom when he heard the front door close downstairs. He quietly ventured down to the first level and saw his wife collapsing into the sofa.

He smiled to himself as he walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She shot up like a rocket, grabbed Jayda's baton off the coffee table and turned around, preparing to wing.

"Whoa! Honey, it's just me," Randy laughed as he raised his arms defensively.

"Damn it, Randy! You can't do that to me! Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?" she asked, clutching her chest.

"I wanted to surprise you, baby. Granted, this wasn't what I had planned on, but I guess I did surprise you," he smiled, causing Alex to shake her head. "I'm sorry I scared you, honey," he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

"It's okay. But why are you home? I thought you were going to be gone until Friday."

"That's my surprise for you," Randy smiled. "Sunday, when I got to the arena, I found Vince and pretty much begged him for a lighter schedule for a while…and he granted it. I'll have to do RAW, pay-per-views and the occasional Smackdown or signing."

"That's great, honey," Alex grinned, stretching to give him a quick peck on the lips. As she was pulling away, however, was when Randy realized that the smile that her lips had formed hadn't reached her eyes. Her beautiful sapphires weren't happy. In fact, they were drowning in sadness…and worry.

"Is everything okay, babe? The last couple of days, you've sounded depressed and now, you're not near as happy as I thought you'd be. What's going on?" He watched her face intently, noticing some sort of inner struggle going on deep within her.

"Oh, nothing. Just tired," she finally answered. "I'm actually kind of glad your parents volunteered to take Sadie and Jace for the day. Especially now that you're home."

"Well, I kind of planned it that way, sweetheart. I wanted a day where I could show you just how much I love you. Just you and me. We can go shopping, go out to lunch. Maybe we can even catch a movie. Or we can just stay home, I can take you upstairs and really show you how much I love every inch of you," he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Alex looked back up at him and smiled. She knew she didn't have much time left before Randy would no longer love her because of what she had done. She was just going to bask in the feeling of him one last time. "Surprise me."

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season and that you have a Happy New Year as well.

Thank you to CapriceCC, Xandman216, RKOsgirl92 and Bingobaby for reviewing chapter 33. Don't forget to review this chapter as well.

Love,

Gabby