NOTE: There are 2 separate confrontations between 2 sets of people in the following chapter. I have separated them by using one in ordinary text and the other in bold. This is just so you can distinguish between the separate confrontations without me having to put a marker to show where one starts and the other ends. Hopefully this will make this chapter a lot easier to read and it will make it flow better also. Also note that these confrontations are NOT happening at the same time. ENJOY!
Chapter 52 – Things We Have To Face, Confrontations We Have To Have
Lillian Garcia tilted her head to the side as she glanced at herself in the mirror of the Diva's Locker Room. It was nice and quiet. Just the way she liked it. This was the benefit of having to be at RAW, and live events in general, so early to warm up and sound check before she went live infront of the nation– no screaming, yapping, squealing divas cluttering the Diva's Locker Room like it would be in about two hours.
The blonde inspected her outfit of choice for tonight. Short black skirt, knee high black boots and her newest purchase from this morning: a short midriff style top which was a deep purple and scattered with sequins. She had decided to put her hair up tonight in a simple high ponytail at the back of her head. The ring announcer made one last twirl in the mirror to make sure that everything was sitting in the right place, before she reached for her bag on the bathroom counter to start on her make-up. Lillian had managed to retrieve her shimmer eye shadow out of her make-up bag before her attention was drawn somewhere else.
Knock Knock Knock!
Lillian immediately turned to face the door to enter the Diva's locker room, a look of confusion crossing her face as she wondering who on Earth could be coming to bother her so early. No one even knew that she was here already, and there was no way that anyone would expect any of the other divas to be here so early prior to RAW.
Knock Knock Knock!
Lillian sighed as she placed her pot of shimmer eyeshadow back down on the clean white bathroom counter and headed for the door. She adjusted and smoothed out her midriff top as she reached the door before she slowly opened it.
Randy Orton and the man before him just stood there locked in stare. Minutes had passed without either of them uttering a word. Randy should have just diverted around the man and just left because he didn't deserve any of the Legend Killer's time, but for some reason Randy couldn't move from his spot. Maybe he was waiting for some kind of cue to distract him or tell him to just let it go and leave. If that were the case, until then he was just going to stand there in silence, his arms tightening slightly around his daughter cradled in his arms. The need to protect Heidi growing with each moment that passed especially in the presence of this particular person.
"You in Rumble?" Matt Hardy finally spoke, his voice firm and serious as he continued to stare Randy down.
"Correct," Randy replied, not showing a shred of emotion on his face.
Matt simply nodded as his eyes deflected to the ground beneath them for a moment before raising once more to meet Randy's.
"As am I," Matt commented, as if Randy had actually been interested and had asked.
Randy simply stood there, not replying at all. His eyes inspecting the Hardy brother infront of him. Trying to anticipate his next move, his next word. To be frank, he didn't know what to expect from this Hardy and he wanted to be ready for whatever Matt was going to do next.
"So I heard you're spot 30, right?" Matt soon spoke again, almost as if he were trying to establish a conversation.
It was almost as if he were trying to act like nothing had happened between them. That there was no animosity between them. They were just a couple of co-workers discussing the next big project at work. It made Randy want to punch his lights out that much more than he had originally wanted to.
"And?" Randy said, raising an eyebrow at Matt.
"It's a good spot is all," Matt said, raising his hands in defense, a small smirk appearing on his lips "I mean after all, you're going to need as good a spot as you can get."
"This coming from the less talented of the Hardy brothers?" Randy asked, not being able to help himself from retracting a comeback to Matt's smart ass statement.
"That's funny, cause you know," Matt immediately responded, the smirk still playing evidently on his lips "Randy Orton is pretty much nothing right now apart from Evolution's sloppy seconds."
Randy took a deep breath to calm himself down. Having his baby daughter cradled in his arms was absolutely no way to start a fight with someone as pathetic as Matt Hardy, especially when Randy could fully expect Matt to use Heidi to his advantage. Even if it meant swallowing a little of his pride, there was no way that Randy was going to put is daughter in harm's way. Absolutely no way.
"You know what Hardy," Randy finally spoke, his head shaking slightly "I have absolutely no time for you right now. You come and talk to me when you've won the World Heavyweight Championship and actually done something that history is actually going to remember apart from you being the biggest jackass the WWE has ever seen."
And with that Randy Orton detoured around Matt Hardy with the intention of heading straight back to his locker room with his daughter. Calm himself down, and then cheer on his girlfriend as he watched her match on RAW on the TV in his locker room.
"I also heard Li could very well be the next Women's Champion," Matt called after him.
"Hi," Dave Batista said with a sigh as he smiled at Lillian Garcia as soon as she opened the door.
"What do you want Dave?" Lillian immediately questioned, her eyebrow raising at the Animal now standing before her outside the Diva's Locker Room.
Lillian looked him up and down. It was clear that he'd just arrived at the building and didn't have the intention of warming up for his match anytime soon. He was sporting the usual, Lillian noted. The jeans, the black dress shoes, the black singlet and the black sunglasses he would usually have on, were folded up and resting on his chest, hanging from the neck of his singlet. It had been the first time she'd seen him since Hawaii, when she'd let him know exactly how she felt about him and his actions as of late.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Dave quietly asked, his brown eyes were soft as they looked into the brown eyes of the RAW ring announcer.
Lillian sighed as she looked at Dave up and down. Trying to read him and his intentions.
"Make it quick Dave," Lillian replied sharply and coldly "I have things to do."
Dave simply nodded, understanding completely that he must absolutely despise him right now. He was pretty much very lucky that she hadn't already slammed the large wooden door in his face. That was something he had fully expected, so he was pretty much making progress up until now. The Animal took a deep breath as he looked at his beautiful ex-girlfriend, standing there before him. She was still standing in the doorway to the Diva's locker room, the actual room being shielded by her petite body as she firmly held the edge of the door towards her. Her eyebrow was cocked as she simply stared at Dave awaiting his response.
"I'm sorry Lil," Dave finally spoke.
Randy Orton immediately turned around to find Matt Hardy standing there with the same smug look on his face and his arms folded across his chest. The Legend Killer wanted so badly to take him out with the two steel chairs that were sitting nearby – all ready and folded up even. It would have been perfect, had he not been responsible for his daughter.
"So it looks like Lita will be Women's Champion again at the Royal Rumble," Matt repeated himself, not taking his eyes off Randy so he could catch the other man's reaction "Maybe I should go and congratulate her in person."
"Don't you dare think about going anywhere near Li," Randy warned, his voice cold and stern as he stared down Matt "Do, and I will not hesitate to beat the living crap out of you."
"Whoah there Orton," Matt replied, throwing his hands up and in defense and letting a small chuckle escape his lips "Let me remind you that you don't control me and who I can and cannot see."
"Well let me remind you Hardy," Randy replied, adjusting Heidi in his arms "That you are one of the last people on this Earth that Lita wants to see right now. Especially after all the shit you put her through."
"All the shit I put her through?!" Matt suddenly exclaimed "May I remind you that it was YOU that got her pregnant in the first place making her have to have an abortion in the first place?!"
"You're sorry?" Lillian questioned, in disbelief at what she was hearing "You came here to tell me you're sorry? Is that it?"
"No!" Dave suddenly exclaimed, not wanting Lillian to shut the door in his face before he had to chance to say what he needed to say "I mean, no, that's not all I wanted to say."
"Well?" Lillian inquired, clearly not warming up to Dave the longer he was in her presence.
"Look Lil," Dave started immediately, taking a deep breath "I'm so sorry for everything that I did. There is nothing that can explain my actions and basically no reason for them either. I was stupid and selfish. I was only thinking of myself."
"You lied to her when she had an amnesia!" Randy exclaimed in his defense "You lied to her when she was sick and vulnerable and she had no choice but to believe your lies! You made her believe that she was in love with you to feed your own sick fantasy! You made her believe that Heidi was your baby!"
"SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY BABY!" Matt suddenly started screaming as he pointed at the baby in Randy's arms "THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY BABY!"
"True," Lillian nodded, agreeing with what Dave was saying.
"I'm so sorry Lil," Dave sighed, his head bowing in embarrassment "It was true that yes, I broke up with you because I thought I was in love with Lita. I really thought I did love her."
"Did you now?" Lillian inquired, testing the patience of the Animal as she verbally tormented him.
Dave took a deep breath, calming himself down before he continued to speak.
"Being in Hawaii and seeing Randy and Lita together made me realise I was wrong," Dave finally admitted, Lillian's eyes softening in confusion as she listened intently to him "I realised that I wasn't in love with Lita and I didn't want her. What I wanted what was what Randy and Lita had."
"Don't you dare speak about my daughter like that!" Randy exclaimed sternly, watching his volume as Heidi was so close to him.
"SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY BABY!" Matt repeated, still screaming.
"Lita never loved you!" Randy exclaimed in response, his breathing growing heavier and heavier as he became more and more angry with Hardy's words "She never loved you! When she went back to you she was still in love with me!"
"I wanted what Randy and Lita had," Dave continued to explain as Lillian remained completely silent "I wanted the love they have and the relationship they have, and I was such a fool. I was such an idiot."
"Why?" Lillian suddenly spoke, her voice soft and calm "What do you mean?"
"I was such an idiot because I had that with you Lil," Dave continued, wanting more than anything to just lean forward and embrace her small body in his arms "I had what Randy and Lita have. I had it all when I was with you Lil, and I was such a fool for not even realising it."
"You got her pregnant and then forced her to have an abortion because you were an asshole fucking anything in a skirt!" Matt exclaimed, completely changing the course of the conversation.
"She slept with me that night because she was drunk beyond oblivion because she needed to drown her sorrows because of what YOU DID TO HER!" Randy exclaimed in response, the truth ringing loud and clear to Matt "You cost her her job and you humiliated her infront of the world! You have been nothing but a complete an utter asshole the entire time you have had her!"
"You took advantage of a drunk innocent woman ASSHOLE!" Matt continued to exclaim, his hands were clenched so tight that all the veins in his hands were popping out in all directions.
"You didn't deserve any of this," Dave continued, his hands running through his short hair as his eyes wandered to the floor infront of him "You deserved the world and so much more from me than I gave you."
Lillian couldn't speak at all. Her throat was dry and her lips suddenly felt the same no matter how many times her tongue ventured out of her mouth to lick them. The blonde simply nodded, urging Dave Batista to continued with what he needed to say. She was definitely listening now.
"You are so amazing and you deserve to be with someone amazing," Dave continued, clearing his throat "You deserve so much more than me Lil. You deserve so much more than all this. I thought once that I deserved someone like you, but right now, I don't. I don't deserve even the smallest part of you."
"Dave...," Lillian suddenly spoke.
"Not that I need to justify myself to you Hardy!" Randy exclaimedin his own defense "But I was just as drunk as she was, maybe even more, and may I remind you yet again, that it was your fault in the first place that she was drunk to the state where she couldn't even register what she was doing. She practically didn't even know who she was! It all comes back to you Hardy and the way you treated that woman like shit!"
"I ALWAYS LOVED AND CARED FOR LITA!" Matt screamed, his rage hitting boiling point as he advanced closer to the Legend Killer.
Matt had droplets of sweat dripping down his forehead. His cheeks and face were red in frustration and anger as he narrowed his eyes at the Legend Killer. He could have looked down at that moment and came face to face with Heidi Maree Orton if he had just lowered his eye level, but instead Matt decided to keep his eyes fixed on the blue eyes of Randy Orton.
"I loved you Lil," Dave continued, almost as if he hadn't heard Lillian speak his name at all "I still do. I love you and I probably always will. You were, without a doubt, the first woman I ever gave all of myself to. The first woman I ever gave my heart to and everything I had. And it kills me that I lost you through every fault of my own. Of all the stupid things I'd done. This is probably the one that I'm going to regret the most."
Lillian couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd never heard Dave speak like this before. The content of his words and the tone in his voice. It was soft and meek, almost vulnerable. She'd never heard Dave Batista like she was hearing him right here and now today.
"Everyone deserves an apology from me for what I did," Dave continued, the words just free falling straight out of his mouth without a second thought "Randy, Lita, everyone deserves an apology from me. But I wanted to start here with you because you're the one that deserves an apology and the truth from me the most. I have thought about you day in and day out, and I've tried so hard to find the best way to apologise to you so you'd know that I wasn't trying to pull anything. So you'd know that I meant it with all my heart. That I truly was, and I truly am so sorry for everything that I put you through."
Randy Orton was no intimidated by how furious Matt Hardy looked at he looked at him from a closer point of view. He was not intimidated by the fury in Matt's eyes or the coldness he saw behind them.
"Li is the most amazing woman I have ever met...," Randy suddenly spoke, his voice settled and his volume had decreased significantly from the last time he had spoken to Matt Hardy.
"DON'T YOU THINK I FUCKING KNOW THAT!" Matt suddenly interrupted, still in full on rage as his breathing became faster and deeper and harder.
"You got her fired and you humiliated her infront of the world when instead of proposing to her, you broke up with her and broke her heart," Randy continued, maintaining his cool even as hard as it was "Instead of owning up to your mistakes like a man and apologising to her like you should have, and like she deserved, you just left her alone. What else was she supposed to do except try and drink her sorrows away?!"
"I could have brought you roses and chocolates and one of those fluffy white teddy bears I know you love so much," Dave continued "But I didn't want to bribe you. I didn't want to soften you up. I didn't want anything to help me apologise to you. Honestly, I didn't want to insult you by bringing any of that with me today. I thought you deserved a little more respect than that, especially from me. After everything we've been through, I didn't want to insult you like that."
Lillian simply nodded. It was exactly the right move on the Animal's part. Lillian hated to admit it, but he had gotten that right this time.
Matt Hardy opened his mouth and then shut it again, giving Randy enough time to continue what he wanted to say.
"You had a second chance with her, despite whether or not you deserved it," Randy continued, his eyes boring holes in Matt "And when she did exactly the same thing to you that you did to her, you felt the need to seek revenge and get her back despite the fact that she didn't want you."
"Because she couldn't see a good thing when she had," Matt suddenly spoke, smirking as the cockiness reaked in his tone.
"Bullshit!" Randy exclaimed forcefully in response.
"So what....," Matt started before Randy immediately cut him off.
"She realised that she didn't want to be with you and you had to be Hunter's little bitch and do his bidding just so you could force Li to be with you against her will!" Randy exclaimed, cocking an eyebrow at Matt Hardy.
"Dave," Lillian finally spoke again, bringing Dave's eyes to meet hers "You can't expect me to just... after everything... I."
"No of course not," Dave immediately replied, knowing exactly what she was trying to say "I didn't come here expecting, nor do I expect right now for you to just forgive me like that. I didn't expect that and nor do I want that because I know that right now I still don't deserve it and I know right now that's just not something you're ready to do."
Lillian
nodded in agreeance before letting Dave continue.
"I'm still
not sure if I want to forgive you at all," Lillian openly admitted.
"I am nobody's bitch!" Matt growled, his teeth grinding shut as he eyed Randy.
"You tricked a sick woman into believing some sick fantasy of yours," Randy continued, pretending he hadn't even heard Matt's last statement "You tricked her and then expected her to just want to be with you when she finally learnt the truth. How sick is that Hardy?! Who does that to someone they supposedly love?! Only a sick bastard like you would make a sick Lita believe that the baby that she was carrying was yours."
Matt suddenly couldn't speak. He just continued to breath heavily as he stared down Randy Orton. The truth was not only hurting his pride and his case in this argument, but it was ringing loud and true in his ears.
Dave couldn't say he wasn't a little disappointed by Lillian's reply but he simply nodded. It wasn't like he deserved anything more from the blonde Latina and he had anticipated that this would be the case.
"I expected that," Dave replied honestly "I couldn't just expect you to simply just forgive me for everything already. I mean I can't really expect you to forgive me at all really."
Lillian simply nodded, her head bowing as her eyes fell to the floor.
"I hope one day that we can at least be friends though," Dave added, drawing Lillian's eyes back up to him.
"You tried to make Lita believe that Heidi was your baby," Randy said, shaking his head in disgust at Matt "That is something you will never EVER be forgiven for. Not from me and not from Lita. We will never forgive you for trying to tear our family apart."
"You don't deserve to have Li and you certainly don't deserve a family with her," Matt coldly replied "You don't deserve to have this happily ever after you're living in."
"I honestly don't care what your opinion is on whether or not I deserve my girlfriend or my daughter," Randy replied immediately, again completely ignoring the words out of Matt's mouth "I don't care what your opinion is fullstop."
"Maybe," Dave added before Lillian could reply, and the blonde simply nodded again.
"I guess I just miss you Lil," Dave continued, his thumbs absentmindedly fiddling with the hem of his singlet "I miss having you around and being around you. You just bring a sparkle and a smile to everything you do. I miss hearing you laugh and I miss seeing you smile and being so happy. I miss being able to wake up every morning and you being right there beside me. You in my arms. I miss that perfume you always wear and the way your hair smells. I miss the way you always sing wherever you are, no matter where you are and no matter who you're with. I guess I just miss everything."
Lillian tried her hardest as she felt that familiar welling of tears in her eyes. Her tongue was stroking the top of her palette to try and stop those tears from free falling down her face but each progressive word out of Dave Batista's mouth made it increasingly harder. She opened her mouth to take a breath and without even realising it the honest words from her heart came tumbling out.
"I miss you too Dave," Lillian blurted out, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
"I will never forgive you for almost taking away the love of my life and my daughter," Randy continued, almost not even blinking as he spoke in complete seriousness "I almost lost both of them because of you. Because of you I almost lost both Li and Heidi because of you and I will never forget it."
"I deserve to have Lita just as much as you do," Matt said simply.
Randy took a deep breath, not quite believing that he had gone this long talking to Matt without punching his lights out.
"This may be a competition to you Hardy," Randy replied, gritting his teeth as he once again tried to calm himself down "But this is my life. Lita is not just some prize to me, she is my life. She and Heidi are my life now. Whether or not I deserve either of them I love them more than life itself."
Dave had to remind himself every second to not push his luck and try to advance even a little bit forwards to embrace his ex-girlfriend before him. He could see that single tear roll down her flawless cheek and he could see in her eyes that there were more to follow. He wanted more than anything to hold her and kiss her and make all those tears disappoint from her pretty face.
"I do miss you," Lillian suddenly added, the back of her hand hastily wiping at her eyes and tears "I loved you for 3 years of my life and I know that that isn't going to go away in a day or a week or even a month."
Dave simply stood still and silent as he just listened to what she had to say.
"I think I want it to go away though," Lillian sighed, looking Dave straight in the eyes.
"No matter what you or Hunter or Trish Stratus or whoever does to try and come between me and Li," Randy continued "No matter what you think you can do to tear apart my family, you will never be able to change the way I feel about Lita and you will never be able to change the way she feels about me. No matter what you do, we love each other and we will always find a way to be together for our sake and for Heidi's. I will never feel the way I do about Lita for anybody else and you and Hunter can't change that. You also can't change the fact that Lita doesn't love you and doesn't want to be with you. She doesn't want anything to do with you and it kills you that you that I have what you want."
"I can't trust you anymore Dave," Lillian explained before Dave could utter a single word "After what you pulled with me, and with Randy and Lita, I never expected anything like that from you. I never thought that you were capable of doing such a thing, especially to people I thought you cared about. I couldn't recognise you at all when you were that person. The person who was jealous of a relationship his best friend had so much so that he would break up with his girlfriend of 3 years and chase after his best friend's girl. That's not you Dave. That is not the man I fell in love with 3 years ago."
"It kills you that Li wants to be with me instead of you," Randy carried on, not quite finished with his rant directed at Matt Randy "Of all the people in the world, Lita was the last person in the world I expected to end up with and start a family with. If anything I would have thought she'd up with you after everything."
Matt didn't know what to say. It was like Orton knew exactly what he was thinking. Exactly how he felt weirdly enough. Matt had always thought in the back of his mind that Lita would be the girl he would end up with for the rest of his life.
"But that choice wasn't up to me or you," Randy continued, bringing Matt out of his thoughts "That choice was up to Lita and ultimately she chose me and whether or you like it that was her choice and not mine. You can blame me all you want but all I did was let Li know how I felt about her and the choice was entirely up to her. That's where me and you differ Hardy, because I knew that if she didn't want to I couldn't force Li to be with me. I couldn't trick her into loving me. Unfortunately you thought you could and look at how well that turned out for you."
"I could hold out for you to be the man I loved for 3 years of my life again," Lillian continued, another tear escaping her eyes as she bowed her head for a moment to hide it "I could wait for you and I could wait for me to be ready to trust you again, but that won't make me happy. I can't spend another moment wishing that things were different and that you hadn't done the things you have already done. I can't spend another moment living in the past and living in our relationship because whether or not I like it it's over. You said it yourself. We're over Dave. That is the God's honest truth right now. You removed yourself from my life when you broke my heart and left me. I'm not ready to let you back into my life because I can't trust that you won't just do the same to me again. I don't trust you anymore Dave and I don't know how long it will take, if ever, for you to earn back my trust and for me to let you back into my life again. Even as just a friend."
"Only you are capable of doing the heartless and truly selfish things you've done to just benefit yourself," Randy repeated himself "Only you could do such things and I will never forgive you for them. Li is a good person and maybe she'll forgive you, but she and I both will never forget what you did to us and our family. What you tried to put our innocent daughter through."
"That's the way it is now Dave," Lillian sighed "I'm sorry but that's how I feel and that's where I stand, and I know that if you meant everything you said when you came here tonight, you will respect my decision and you'll respect what I've said knowing full well that you've brought this entire situation upon yourself."
"I do respect you," Dave immediately replied, showing no signs of hesitation with his words "I do respect you and I respect your decision. This is entirely up to you. I just hope someday you'll want to talk to me again and I can be so lucky to be in even the smallest part of your life."
"And if you ever," Randy said, raising a finger at Matt "EVER come anywhere near my girlfriend or my daughter, I will not hesitate to make it the last thing you EVER do."
"I just want you to be happy," Dave summed up "Have a good show tonight. I know you will. See you around Lil."
Lillian simply nodded, not having anything else to say to him right now.
"Te amo," Dave finally said, turning and walking away straight in the direction of his locker room.
And with that Randy Orton gave the Hardy brother one last stare before he cradled Heidi close to his chest and turned heel. Without looking back, the Legend Killer and his daughter headed in the direction of his locker room. Planning to carry out the planned itinerary for the rest of the night, starting with watching the red headed diva, Lita, face up against Victoria.
Lillian couldn't believe what had just happened as she closed the door to the Diva's Locker room behind her as she stepped back into the room. The blonde diva sighed as she leant back against the wooden frame of the door. What had just happened.
Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!
Lillian jumped slightly as she felt her cell phone vibrating in the pocket of her skirt. Sucking in significantly as she trying to remove the cell phone from her skirt, Lillian checked the caller ID display before answering.
"Hey Vik," Lillian said, forcing a smile.
"Hey Lil," Victoria replied cheerfully on the other end "You at the arena?"
"Uh huh," Lillian replied, her mind and thoughts elsewhere as she kept replaying over and over in her head the confrontation that had just happened.
"You alright?" Victoria suddenly asked, in response to Lil's lack of enthusiasm and blank reply.
"Mmm," Lillian replied, her mind still distracted as she nonchalantly answered.
"Lil, what's wrong hun?" Victoria suddenly asked in a very concerned tone "What's happened? Are you OK?"
"Dave just came by," Lillian explained, softly, not quite believeing if what had just happened was real or not.
"What did that asshole want?" Victoria sharply asked, her tone immediately changing.
"He came to apologise," Lillian replied simply and honestly.
"What?" Victoria asked in disbelief at what she had just heard ""I have never heard Dave apologise to anyone before."
"Me neither," Lillian simply replied, her legs sliding to the ground as she maintained her contact with her wooden door frame.
"Dave never apologises to anyone," Victoria continued "I mean no one."
"I know," Lillian sighed as a single tear rolled down her cheek "I know Vik. I know."
A/N: Next chapter! Woop! Was very excited while I was writing this chapter because both of these confrontations were so exciting to write about and I hope it was the same while you were reading them! Hope the mix of normal and bold font made it a little easier to read – apologies if it wasn't, just wanted something to clearly distinguish between the two confrontations and it seemed the easiest way! Hope you all liked the chapter and look out for Chapter 53 – A Long Time Coming... any guesses to what has been a 'long time coming'? Any ideas people? READ AND REVIEW and tell me what your answer is along with what you thought of the chapter! I can't believe I've managed to keep this story going for 53 chapters crazy isn't it?! This story has been consuming my life for years now! Lol. But I love it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and check out the polls on my profile page about this fanfic and my other ones! God Bless, Mrs Bridget Orton xoxo
