Well peeps, I hope you enjoy these next two chapters better than the last one. I was only gonna post the one but I stayed up to finish 53 to make up for 51 being so short. The story is nearing it's end and there are lots of surprises to come. As always, Read, Enjoy, & Review!!
Chapter 52...
"Will you stop touching my hair?" Cory swatted her mother's hand away. She was trying to put on lip gloss and her mother kept messing with her hair.
"You've got this one piece that wont stay in place," Adelle frowned.
"It's not bothering me," Cory said, looking at herself in the mirror. "I don't even know what you're talking about."
"I know dear but it's bothering me," Adelle reached for her again.
"Mother," Cory leaned away, pointing at her. "Back up."
"Fine, fine," Adelle rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to help."
"Well can you help from over there?" Cory pointed to the couch. The Wrestlemania Press Conference was set to begin in 45 minutes and Cory couldn't concentrate on getting ready with her mother picking at her like a monkey.
There was a light knock on the door and then Jacinda leaned her head into the room, "Cory, you're needed for some pictures."
"Okay," Cory quickly finished her gloss and got up, exiting the room. As she walked she heard another set of heels clicking behind her. She stopped abruptly, not needing to turn around, "Mother? I did not ask you to come with me."
"You didn't ask me not to," Adelle smiled, standing in front of her.
"Driving me crazy is like a game to you isn't it?" Cory asked.
"Only sometimes," Adelle said. "You know, I've never been very fond of you in red, that's why I never let you wear it as a child."
Cory looked down at her red shirt and sighed, "Thanks. Good to know."
"Addie leave the poor girl alone."
"Oh thank God," Cory smiled, turning around and opening her arms. "Gram, you have impeccable timing."
Cory hugged her grandmother tightly. She hadn't expected to see her until the conference was over.
"Always have," Jeannette smiled, pulling back and looking at her, "And you look fantastic in red and any other color."
"Thank you," Cory smiled.
Jeannette turned, smiling at her daughter, "Addie, you look lovely this morning."
"Mother," Adelle smiled a tense smile. "You know I hate when you call me that."
"Yes I know," Jeannette smirked.
Cory could see Jacinda at the end of the hallway looking at her watch and she grabbed her grandmother's hand, "I've gotta take some pictures really quick, you should come watch."
Jeannette happily agreed, following Cory down the hall.
Cory could feel herself smiling from ear to ear. It was so nice having her grandmother around. Not only was she Cory's favorite person in the world, she was the only person who could get her mother to shut up.
"They just need you right over there," Jacinda pointed.
Cory stopped when she saw John. Jacinda was smart not to tell her he would be there. She definitely would have taken her time getting there for the pictures. He hadn't even called her after she embarrassed herself and broke down in front of him after the party. She should have known he wouldn't.
"So that's him, isn't it?" her grandmother asked.
"What?" Cory asked, looking over at her.
"The one that's got you tied up in knots," Jeannette smiled. "Seeing the look in your eyes, I'd bet everything I have that that's him."
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John paced as he waited for Jacinda to get Cory. Shane had informed him that they needed pictures of him and Cory for the website. He wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing her after the whole message thing but work was work. He heard female voices coming around the corner and he tensed up waiting for her to come into view. He saw Jacinda first and then after a few seconds he saw Cory. She looked as frustratingly beautiful as ever. She'd dyed her hair and it flowed in loose curls past her shoulders. She was wearing a tight, low cut red shirt and black pants with white pinstripes. She was holding hands with an older woman with dark brown hair in a dark green dress who, when they got a few feet closer, John could see looked like an older version of Cory. They were the same height with the same cheeks, nose, lips, everything. The only difference was their eyes. It took John a little while but he finally recognized her as Jeannette Spencer. His mother was a huge fan of her movies from the 50's. People called her the brunette Marilyn Monroe in her early career then as she got older she became a pretty serious actress. Behind them was a blonde woman in a tight gray suit who looked very irritated.
He could see Jeannette looking at him and saying something to Cory and he wondered what she'd already heard about him. He really didn't want to go over and talk to them but his mother would kill him for not at least saying hello. He took a deep breath and walked over, "Ladies."
"John," Cory smiled somewhat uncomfortably.
Jeannette nudged her and she laughed, "John, this is my grandmother-"
"Jeannette Spencer," John finished for her, smiling at the older woman. "My mother is a very big fan."
"Well tell her I appreciate that very much," Jeannette smiled. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," John smiled.
"And this is my mother," Cory's smile became much more tense. "Adelle Rutledge, this is John Cena."
"I've heard plenty about you from my daughter Regina," Adelle offered a small smile. He could tell from the way she held out her hand, she had a superiority complex. "Glad we could finally meet. I'm sorry to hear that you and my daughter are no longer seeing each other."
Cory's eyes widened in surprise and John couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't expecting anyone to bring that up.
"Yeah," John looked over at Cory. "So am I."
Cory looked confused and she cleared her throat, "So, we should get this started."
The photographer was waiting for them and she and John each pulled up a chair for her relatives before they walked away.
"Sorry about that," she said, not looking at him.
"It's okay," John said. "You've told me stories about your mother. I was expecting her to bite my head off and spit it out."
"She might later," Cory sighed. "After she's done ruining this weekend for me."
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Viveca checked her clothes one more time and then turned to face Matt.
"V, you look fine," Matt laughed. "Will you quit fussing around, they're gonna be here any minute."
"I know..that's why I'm fussing around as you so eloquently put it," she teased. She sighed, wringing her hands. "You think I'm crazy for being nervous, don't you?"
"I always think you're crazy V," Matt smirked. "But for this, no. A lot of people get a little antsy when they know their family's coming. You're probably just scared the rest of us will embarrass you."
"Good point," she laughed.
They heard loud laughter in the hall and Matt could see a huge smile take over Viveca's face. He stood up, prepared to be on his best behavior.
Jeff rounded the corner arm in arm with Viveca's mother.
"Look who I found," Jeff smiled, leading her into the room. They were followed by two very tall young men. One was tall and lanky with unruly black hair wearing a band t-shirt and jeans. The other was much more clean cut wearing a dark blue suit.
"Matt, this is my mother Lorraine," Viveca began the introductions. "This is Jeff's brother Matt Hardy."
The older woman smiled warmly, shaking his hand.
"Very nice to meet you," Lorraine smiled.
"You too," Matt smiled. "Glad you could make it."
"My brothers Liam and William," Viveca continued and he shook hands with each man.
"Where's Li?" Viveca frowned.
"She had to use the little girl's room," Lorraine explained.
"Thank you Mom, it was totally necessary for you to share that," the missing sibling entered the room.
Matt turned and hoped he didn't look too dumbfounded when he saw her.
"Matt, this is my sister Lianna," Viveca smiled.
This girl was gorgeous, plain and simple. She was slender but not stick thin, probably about 5'5", with dark brown hair. She wore a brown turtleneck and a short, khaki colored skirt with brown boots and a khaki knit cap on top of her long waves. Her eyes were big and green like Viveca's but they had an unusual rim of dark blue around them and she had thick dark lashes. She and Viveca looked alike but her nose was a little different and her lips were fuller.
He didn't realize how long he'd gone without saying anything until Jeff nudged him in the side.
"I'm Matt," he extended his hand to her. "Matt Hardy."
"I heard," she smile, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."
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Taylor yawned, her eyelids drooping as she typed in her email password. She was exhausted beyond belief but she still couldn't sleep. She couldn't think about it though, she had some work to do.
She went through some of the emails deleting the unimportant ones and taking down notes from the others. She had a few phone calls to make and then she promised Viveca she would go out to eat with her family. She was going to have to allow some time to try and make herself look less like a zombie.
She was about to close her email when a black box popped up. She assumed it was just some annoying and was ready to close it until a video began to play. It was a road, Taylor wasn't sure where. She frowned, trying to figure out what the hell it was. Then, she tensed when she recognized her rented truck. The view slowly zoomed in on her face and she could see her eyes going wide. Then, she saw herself swerving and then jumping the curb, hitting the fence. She could see the young man who'd run to the car to help her. She slammed the laptop shut, not wanting to see anymore. Who the hell shot that video? And how did they hack into her computer?
She couldn't take this anymore. This had to stop. She knew what she was going to have to do.
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Jessica was trying to decide if she wanted to hold her title belt in her hand or drape it over her shoulder when she walked out when she heard someone calling her name.
She turned around, smiling when she saw Viveca trailed by people who looked too much alike not to be her family. She'd told Viveca to make sure she introduced her. They'd been friends for a long time and she was excited to finally meet her relatives. Viveca was probably giving them a tour since she didn't have to be involved in the conference because she was 'kidnapped' on Smackdown and couldn't be seen in public until Sunday.
"Hey," she smiled, putting the belt down on the equipment trunk next to her and giving Viveca a quick hug.
"Everyone this is Jessica," Viveca smiled. "Jessie, this is my mother Lorraine, my sister Lianna, and my brothers William and Liam."
"Nice to meet all of you," Jessica smiled, shaking hands with each of them. She noticed that the oldest, William, didn't let go of her hand right away. He wasn't holding it too tightly but he wasn't dropping it either.
"Very nice to meet you," he smiled, looking into her eyes.
"Thank you," she laughed a little, feeling slightly self conscious under his gaze.
"You are absolutely beautiful," he marveled.
She laughed, "Thank you."
"William, I told you both the women are work with are off limits," Viveca pointed.
"I was just giving her a compliment V," William shrugged, smiling. "She didn't seem to mind. Do you Jessica?"
"No," she laughed, shaking her head. "Not at all."
Jessica couldn't say she had a problem with someone calling her beautiful. William was a good looking guy. Tall, lean, square jaw, very well dressed. Unfortunately, he wasn't her type. He looked a little too buttoned up. The guys she was usually interested in looked more like…
"Did someone forget to invite me to the party?"
Jessica smiled when she heard Hunter's voice. She turned, waving when she saw him walking over with his belt on his shoulder. It was good to see him, she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him in days.
"Just in time," Viveca smiled and introduced him to her family.
Hunter took off his sunglasses as he shook hands with the family, "Great to meet all of you."
They talked for a few minutes and then Viveca and her relatives left to continue their tour.
"You look nice," Hunter smiled at her.
"Thank you," she said, feeling an unfamiliar flutter in her stomach. Actually it wasn't that unfamiliar. Ever since she broke up with James, Hunter seemed to become more attractive every day. Cory had told her to figure out what she wanted and she was beginning to think she knew. Now she just had to tell him.
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Savannah watched him closely. She wanted desperately to just reach out and touch him. To say something to let him know she was there. It was only a few days. Only a few days before she set her plan in motion. When she first decided to carry it out, she thought that when the time came she might have some second thoughts but…she didn't. She was never more sure of anything. Except that she loved him. And he took her heart. He may as well have pulled it right out of her chest. She could find a way to forgive him. But first she had to show him how it felt.
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A Few Hours Later
Cory laughed as Hunter told her about he and Mark offering to arm wrestle to help the writers decide who would win their title match. They'd decided to go out for Chinese food for a late lunch so that Cory could get a little time away from Adelle.
"I think we both know Mark would have won," Cory smirked.
"Hey, I will have you know that I have beaten Mark in many a drunken contest," Hunter pointed at her with an egg roll.
"Mmhmm," she laughed.
"Just because you think he's a hero doesn't mean he cant be beaten," Hunter said.
"Whatever you say," she laughed, putting more fried rice on her plate.
"So..Your mother is um..interesting," Hunter said, taking a bite of the egg roll.
"That's very polite of you Hunter but she's not here, you can say what you want to say," Cory smiled. "She's completely insane..and quite possibly hitting on you."
Her mother had been showing Hunter an inordinate amount of attention and, in Cory's opinion, it was starting to get a little weird and, in a way, amusing.
"No way," Hunter laughed. "Your mother is not hitting on me."
"Oh yes, I believe she is," Cory laughed. "But don't worry, she's not trying to make you hubby number 7. She only beds the young hot ones, it's usually the old crotchety ones that she marries."
"That's not funny," Hunter tried not to laugh. "And did you just call me hot?"
"I might have," she laughed. "Anyway, back to my mom trying to get in your pants."
"Can you not word it that way?"
"But it's not funny if I word it any other way," Cory laughed. "And don't try to tell me that she's just trying to get you to let the agency represent you. This isn't her usual business flirting. This is different."
"You know, I think it's time for a subject change," Hunter laughed. "I heard you had to spend a little quality time with John this morning."
"We had to take some pictures before the conference," Cory shrugged, looking down at her food. "It wasn't anything big."
"And I can see by your expression that it went great," he said.
Cory rolled her eyes, "My grandmother could see the second she saw me look at him that there was something between us. Sometimes I feel like he's this amazing guy and other times I cant stand him. One second I feel like he cares about me, he sleeps on a couch with me because I'm upset and then the next second he seems indifferent."
"He's not indifferent," Hunter said. "That is the last word you could use to describe how John feels about you."
"Then why didn't he call?" she asked, frustrated. "He was the one who shut me down when I finally tried. If he cares, if he'd changed his mind, he would have said something, right?"
Hunter looked like he didn't know what to say. He was a good friend and she could tell he didn't want to hurt her feelings or disappoint her.
He shrugged, "I see what you're saying. And you would think that he would call or say something if he'd changed his mind but..I just don't think you should write him off. He's a good guy and he does like you. He's just as busy as you are not to mention just as confused. You have to admit you are a very hard person to figure out."
"But if you liked someone who was difficult like me, would you just give up because things didn't go your way right away?" she asked.
Hunter shook his head, "No. Not if she was worth it."
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Matt looked around the table, listening as everyone made fun of Viveca. Since she wasn't supposed to be seen in public before the show that night, she was sitting at the table wearing huge black sunglasses and her hair was tucked under one of Jeff's baseball caps.
"So..is Trish Stratus single?" Liam smiled.
"Don't worry about that," Viveca said. "You're too young for her."
"I've dated women her age," Liam said, a cocky smirk crossing his face.
"When?" Lorraine looked shocked.
"Don't worry about it Ma," Liam put an arm around her shoulders. "It's not important."
"I don't know Liam, I'm a little curious," Jeff laughed.
"Leave the boy to his delusions," Viveca smiled.
Matt could tell from being around them for a few days that Viveca's family had totally accepted Jeff. They all seemed comfortable laughing and joking with him. It was pretty obvious that Liam was already starting to look up to him. They all seemed very cool. Liam was a first year college student and an encyclopedia where obscure music was concerned. William was a corporate lawyer but surprisingly laid back and very funny. Lianna was..interesting. She was obviously intelligent and she had a very sarcastic sense of humor. But when he'd asked what she did she just shrugged and said 'nothing interesting'. Now that he'd gotten a good feel for the family and could see that they more than approved of his brother, he had an idea. He needed a little help figuring out what to do about Adam and he was pretty sure he knew who could help.
"Lianna?" he looked over at her.
"Yeah?" she looked up from her plate.
"Can I talk to you outside for just a second?" he asked.
She looked a little surprised but shrugged, standing up and picking up her coat, "Sure."
"Don't hit on my sister Matt," Viveca teased.
"Very funny V," he picked up his own coat. "We'll be back in just a second."
They walked outside and Matt sat down on a bench, patting the seat next to him. She sat beside him, zipping her coat.
"So..you seem to like my brother," Matt observed.
She nodded, "He's a good guy. He obviously loves my sister."
"He does," Matt agreed. "In fact..he's planning on asking her to marry him."
"He is?" she smiled. "That's great."
"It is. He got the ring and everything," Matt said. "But there's a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"The ring's gone," Matt said.
"Gone?" Lianna asked. "It was stolen?"
"I think so," Matt nodded. "See, Jeff was keeping the ring with him because V is such a big snoop."
She looked a little irritated when he called her sister a snoop but she didn't stop him.
"He had it in his bag at an arena one day," Matt sighed. "We were out of the locker room for a while, when he got back to the hotel, he couldn't find it."
"He put an expensive ring in a gym bag in a public area and he's shocked that it's gone?" she asked.
"He only put it there because your sister is so nosy," the words were out before he could stop them.
"Excuse me?" she stared.
"Okay look, we're getting off track," Matt put his hands up. "Did you meet Adam Copeland when V was showing you around yesterday?"
She nodded, "Yeah I remember meeting him. I didn't like him very much. He was trying a little too hard to impress us."
"He and Viveca are friends, very good friends," Matt said. "And there was a time when V wanted them to be more. Everybody knew Adam did too but he didn't want to ruin their friendship so he kept avoiding the subject whenever she tried to bring it up. He started pushing her to give Jeff a chance and eventually she did, that's how they ended up where they are now."
"And I'm guessing once Adam realized she was in love with Jeff, he decided he wanted her for himself," Lianna rolled her eyes.
"Very perceptive," Matt nodded.
"And you think that he's the one who took the ring?" she asked.
Matt nodded, "Right again."
"Well, there's only one way to know for sure," her eyes took on a mischievous glint. "You up for a little breaking and entering?"
Matt was surprised. He hadn't expected her to make that suggestion.
"I like the way you think."
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"I'm an idiot," John paced back and forth in Mark's room.
"And why are you an idiot?" Mark asked, slightly amused. John was usually such an easygoing, laid back guy. It was sort of funny to see him so tense. He knew something was up when his friend showed up at his door saying he needed to talk to him about Cory.
"I kept looking over at her during the press conference," John said. "I couldn't help it."
He certainly wasn't lying. Mark had noticed it when he was watching on the monitor. He wasn't involved until the end so for most of it he sat in the back. John and Cory had to sit next to each other and while he kept sneaking glances at her, she was doing her best not to look at him at all.
"It's fine, it works with the angle," Mark shrugged. "The fans think you have a thing for her anyway. I'm sure Vince loved it. Besides when it came time for you and Randy to talk, you were right on."
"It's not just that though," John shook his head. "You know, I have never in my entire life had this much trouble with a woman."
"Women are trouble," Mark smirked. "They're here to drive us crazy, to mess with our heads. That's part of what makes them so great though. Can you imagine what life would be like without any of them?"
"She's not average woman difficult," John stopped pacing, plopping down on the couch next to him. "She doesn't make any sense."
"You met her mother," Mark laughed. "She's entitled to be a little screwy."
"It's just..I tried," John said, frustration evident in his voice. "I told her point blank as clearly as possible that I was sorry for what I said and I wanted to try to work things out. I've told her before that I want to give this a shot and she never bites. Why do I keep trying? Why should I do all the work?"
Mark was about to tell him all the reasons that it was worth it. The list was on the tip of his tongue but then he thought about Dawn. He thought about how much it hurt him when he kept trying and trying and she just wouldn't give in. She wouldn't see his side and try to work things out. He sighed, looking over at his young friend, wondering if John was setting himself up to deal with the same pain. He had a feeling that at some point he would regret what he was about to say but that didn't stop him.
"You know John..maybe Cory's just..not ready right now. Maybe it's just time to let it go."
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