~ July, 2000 ~
The pain that welcomed me was excruciating. I opened my eyes slowly, taking in what happened. I felt the bandages on my head, and on my ribs. Sledgehammer shots, courtesy of Triple H. I took a deep and shaky breath. I had walked into a damn set-up.
"Good. About time you woke up. I was beginning to think that I had killed you or something. God forbid, right? Killing you on free TV wouldn't be fun at all. Pay-per-view material there."
"Bastard." I whispered, squinting slightly at Hunter. He laughed and stood up from his chair.
"What did you say? Did you just call me a bastard? How rude of you, Chris." He said. He sounded amused. I wanted to take one swing at him, wanted to feel that sting on my knuckles. But I could barely move. My vision began to clear, and I saw that we weren't alone. Stephanie was in the room.
Part of me wasn't surprised. Wherever he went, she wasn't far behind. I couldn't help but wonder if Stephanie had tagged along out of concern for me. I knew I shouldn't get my hopes high, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind either.
"See what happens when you mess with me, Jericho? You see what I'm capable of when you insult my wife..?" On and on. His voice came and went, with me hearing about half of what he was saying, and about half of that registering at all.
".. if you ever put your hands on my wife again .."
Oh, if only he knew.
".. I'll destroy you. Why? Because I'm Triple H .."
Stephanie came up beside him and embraced him in a tight hug, right in front of me. The cobwebs, as J.R. would say, left my head and I frowned at her. She just smirked at me. She knew what I was thinking.
"Let's leave, Hunter. I don't think we're appreciated here." Not a hint of concern in her voice. Her husband could have damn near killed me, yet she could've cared less. She said nothing while he gloated, while he rubbed it in. There was no sympathy in her steely eyes, which hurt more than the physical pain I was in.
"I think you're right, baby." Hunter walked to the door, but Stephanie stayed where she was. "Are you coming?"
"In a few minutes. I'll be right out, don't worry." She blew him a kiss seductively, while I started feeling sick to my stomach. He smiled and left. The stupid asshole.. I would get at him, eventually.
That left me alone with Stephanie.
"Filthy.. dirty.. disgusting.. you have a way with words, huh? You like insulting me, Chris?" She asked, as she walked up to my bedside. "Do you forget that I have a husband now to defend me? You think you can walk all over me, don't you? Well, you can't. And this is what happens when you try."
She ran her hands over the bandages on my stomach. I winced and she laughed.
"See? It hurts, right? I'm telling you, Chris. You need to watch what you say." She leaned close to me and smirked. "My husband doesn't like your nonsense."
I turned away from her. I didn't want to hear it anymore. I couldn't believe her. If the roles were reversed, I would never do the things she had done to me. I'd rather have Hunter beat the hell out of me all over again than listen to this.
"But at the same time." She said, pulling away from me. She sighed heavily.. dramatically. "I know why you do it. I know why you insult me on national television, in front of the whole world." She added, in a bitter tone. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. I felt as if she had my heart in the palm of her hand and was breaking it into a thousand pieces. Then again, that was what she was doing.
"Well?" She asked, after a while. "Aren't you going to ask why?"
I stayed quiet. I didn't want to risk the chance of showing her my feelings. I was already physically weak and vulnerable. I didn't want her to know that she was breaking me apart on the inside. I would never give her that satisfaction.
"Alright, if you want to act like a stubborn little boy, I'll tell you." She continued. "You do the things you do because deep inside your little heart.." She patted me on the chest. I bit my lip so hard, I could taste my own blood. ".. you still love me. I am SO flattered, Christopher. Truly. I am. But you must grow up and realize that.." She paused, but only for dramatic effect. "To put it bluntly, it's over, Chris. I will never go back to you, I don't want a damn thing to do with you.."
Why was it so easy for me to block out Hunter, but so hard to do the same for her? What did I do to deserve this torture?
".. because I never loved you anyways. Now that that's cleared up.." She stood up, while I pretended her words had no effect on me. It was hands down, the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. "I must go to my husband, who is waiting for me. Goodbye, Chris. Hope your ribs heal.. and for heaven's sake," She said, sarcastically, "Please watch your mouth. Wouldn't want my dearest Chris to end up in hospitals every week." She bent down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Byeeee.." She said, almost taunting me. Then she left.
I kept my eyes closed as her words rang in my head. Like a broken record, repeating, over and over.
"I never loved you anyways.."
'Bullshit!' My mind screamed out. 'What we had was real!'
"You like insulting me, Chris..?"
I let out the breath I was holding. I couldn't do it anymore. I had been running from a truth that was blinding me from the first moment I joined her father's company. That night, Stephanie rammed that truth down my throat and forced me to accept it. And so I did.. I accepted it on that night. I knew then that it was really over.
~ - ~
The ringing of my phone woke me up, very suddenly. I sat straight up, looking around. It was just a dream. I groaned and fell back on my bed, taking a deep breath. I always had dreams where I remembered things like that. Never failed..
"If you're hearing this, I'm not here. You're obviously important enough to have my number, so maybe you're important enough to have me call you back. Key word is maybe. Leave a message." My head was pounding from drinking beer earlier. I rolled over onto my side, away from the phone.
"Hey Chris.. it's Stephanie."
I opened my eyes, and for the first time, realized that I had tears staining my face. I had been crying in my sleep. I brushed them away impatiently.
"Just calling to say hi.. I really want to talk to you. Please, just give me a chance to talk to you. If you don't want to.. I understand. My cell phone's on. Call me, if you get the chance.. bye, Chris."
I wasn't going to call her. Was she out of her mind? I rolled over onto my back and gazed up at the ceiling. I laughed out loud in the empty room, ignoring the hurt that Stephanie's voice always brought to my chest. The alcohol that I drank didn't let me hear how bitter my laugh sounded. Chris Jericho, bad-ass, huh? Oh yeah. Definitely.
"Ask Triple H how bad-ass I am." I said out loud, before laughing again. I felt my head start to spin from my drinking. Slowly, I fell asleep again. It was restless, and it wasn't that long. I was aware of the phone ringing again, a number of times, but I didn't bother answering. Finally, when I couldn't take the noise anymore, I picked up the phone.
"What is it?" I said, groggily. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep.
"Oh, nothing. Just some people that actually worry about what the hell's happening with you. Not like you care." The voice was laced with sarcasm.
"It's late, Angle. What do you want?"
"Stephanie called me -"
I hung up. I didn't want to hear it. As soon as I hung up, the phone rang again. I didn't answer. The machine picked up, and soon, Kurt's voice came over the line.
"Jericho! You jerk! Pick up the freaking phone! What the hell's the matter with you?! I know you're there, Chris! ANSWER THE PHONE!!" He shouted, startling me. I frowned and snatched up the phone.
"Alright, alright! I'm here! Asshole!"
"Thank you." He said, happily. "Now then, as I was saying before you rudely hung up on me.. Stephanie called."
I went to slam the phone down when I heard him screaming on the other end. "DON'T HANG UP THE FREAKING PHONE JERICHO!!" I scowled and raised the phone back up to my ear.
"Fine. I won't. But what does that have to do with me?"
"Well maybe if you let me EXPLAIN, you'd KNOW, now wouldn't you?" I stayed quiet. For some reason, I just felt tired. "She wants to talk to you. She said she called like four times and you didn't pick up. She was starting to worry about you."
"Now she's worried, huh? Tell her to fuck off, Angle."
"Chris, man, what's wrong with you? Why don't you want to talk to her? Can't you see that she could help you?"
"Help me? Don't make me laugh. All she's ever done is hurt me, Angle. I don't need to deal with her shit anymore."
"Look Jericho. I don't know about your past with Stephanie. I probably never will. But it'll NEVER get better if you just ignore her. She's not going away, Chris. You need to talk to her so you can be okay again."
"I AM OKAY, JACKASS!"
"Listen to yourself."
"Shut the hell up." I mumbled, my head still pounding.
"Just talk to her, alright? No one's expecting much. She just wants to talk."
"Too bad, because I don't."
Kurt sighed on the other end. "Alright.. fine."
"Yeah, fine." I answered.
"Are you drunk?" He asked, his tone changing.
"No. I'm tired." I said. It wasn't a lie either. I wasn't drunk.
"Okay.. if you don't want to talk to Stephanie, then me and you could talk."
"I don't want to talk to -"
"You know what, Chris? Right now, I don't really care what you want to do, alright? I know that you've been drinking because it's obvious by hearing your voice. Tomorrow, we'll talk."
"Look, Angle -"
"I said, tomorrow, we'll talk." He said, firmly. I felt tired, and not in the mood to argue anymore, so I just stayed quiet. "You going by David's tomorrow?"
"I was thinking about it." I said, rubbing my forehead.
"You're going, and I'll give you a ride. We can talk there. Okay?"
"No, actually, it's not okay, because -"
"Okay. See you tomorrow." With that, he hung up on me. I threw the phone away from me, and heard it crash on the floor. Damn it. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Why couldn't ANYONE just leave me alone? I didn't realize then that Kurt was just trying to help me. All I knew was that I didn't want to talk to him. And I sure as hell didn't want to talk to Stephanie McMahon. It took a while after that night at the hospital, but it finally sunk in. Things were never the same, and they could never be the same again.
But why waste my time thinking about her? I was a champion. I was the king of the world. I was a strong person that was not about to let some woman ruin my life. I wasn't going to let her break me again. I was in control, dammit. Tomorrow was going to be a smooth day, and Stephanie was not going to be a part of it.
Or so I thought.
The pain that welcomed me was excruciating. I opened my eyes slowly, taking in what happened. I felt the bandages on my head, and on my ribs. Sledgehammer shots, courtesy of Triple H. I took a deep and shaky breath. I had walked into a damn set-up.
"Good. About time you woke up. I was beginning to think that I had killed you or something. God forbid, right? Killing you on free TV wouldn't be fun at all. Pay-per-view material there."
"Bastard." I whispered, squinting slightly at Hunter. He laughed and stood up from his chair.
"What did you say? Did you just call me a bastard? How rude of you, Chris." He said. He sounded amused. I wanted to take one swing at him, wanted to feel that sting on my knuckles. But I could barely move. My vision began to clear, and I saw that we weren't alone. Stephanie was in the room.
Part of me wasn't surprised. Wherever he went, she wasn't far behind. I couldn't help but wonder if Stephanie had tagged along out of concern for me. I knew I shouldn't get my hopes high, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind either.
"See what happens when you mess with me, Jericho? You see what I'm capable of when you insult my wife..?" On and on. His voice came and went, with me hearing about half of what he was saying, and about half of that registering at all.
".. if you ever put your hands on my wife again .."
Oh, if only he knew.
".. I'll destroy you. Why? Because I'm Triple H .."
Stephanie came up beside him and embraced him in a tight hug, right in front of me. The cobwebs, as J.R. would say, left my head and I frowned at her. She just smirked at me. She knew what I was thinking.
"Let's leave, Hunter. I don't think we're appreciated here." Not a hint of concern in her voice. Her husband could have damn near killed me, yet she could've cared less. She said nothing while he gloated, while he rubbed it in. There was no sympathy in her steely eyes, which hurt more than the physical pain I was in.
"I think you're right, baby." Hunter walked to the door, but Stephanie stayed where she was. "Are you coming?"
"In a few minutes. I'll be right out, don't worry." She blew him a kiss seductively, while I started feeling sick to my stomach. He smiled and left. The stupid asshole.. I would get at him, eventually.
That left me alone with Stephanie.
"Filthy.. dirty.. disgusting.. you have a way with words, huh? You like insulting me, Chris?" She asked, as she walked up to my bedside. "Do you forget that I have a husband now to defend me? You think you can walk all over me, don't you? Well, you can't. And this is what happens when you try."
She ran her hands over the bandages on my stomach. I winced and she laughed.
"See? It hurts, right? I'm telling you, Chris. You need to watch what you say." She leaned close to me and smirked. "My husband doesn't like your nonsense."
I turned away from her. I didn't want to hear it anymore. I couldn't believe her. If the roles were reversed, I would never do the things she had done to me. I'd rather have Hunter beat the hell out of me all over again than listen to this.
"But at the same time." She said, pulling away from me. She sighed heavily.. dramatically. "I know why you do it. I know why you insult me on national television, in front of the whole world." She added, in a bitter tone. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. I felt as if she had my heart in the palm of her hand and was breaking it into a thousand pieces. Then again, that was what she was doing.
"Well?" She asked, after a while. "Aren't you going to ask why?"
I stayed quiet. I didn't want to risk the chance of showing her my feelings. I was already physically weak and vulnerable. I didn't want her to know that she was breaking me apart on the inside. I would never give her that satisfaction.
"Alright, if you want to act like a stubborn little boy, I'll tell you." She continued. "You do the things you do because deep inside your little heart.." She patted me on the chest. I bit my lip so hard, I could taste my own blood. ".. you still love me. I am SO flattered, Christopher. Truly. I am. But you must grow up and realize that.." She paused, but only for dramatic effect. "To put it bluntly, it's over, Chris. I will never go back to you, I don't want a damn thing to do with you.."
Why was it so easy for me to block out Hunter, but so hard to do the same for her? What did I do to deserve this torture?
".. because I never loved you anyways. Now that that's cleared up.." She stood up, while I pretended her words had no effect on me. It was hands down, the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. "I must go to my husband, who is waiting for me. Goodbye, Chris. Hope your ribs heal.. and for heaven's sake," She said, sarcastically, "Please watch your mouth. Wouldn't want my dearest Chris to end up in hospitals every week." She bent down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Byeeee.." She said, almost taunting me. Then she left.
I kept my eyes closed as her words rang in my head. Like a broken record, repeating, over and over.
"I never loved you anyways.."
'Bullshit!' My mind screamed out. 'What we had was real!'
"You like insulting me, Chris..?"
I let out the breath I was holding. I couldn't do it anymore. I had been running from a truth that was blinding me from the first moment I joined her father's company. That night, Stephanie rammed that truth down my throat and forced me to accept it. And so I did.. I accepted it on that night. I knew then that it was really over.
~ - ~
The ringing of my phone woke me up, very suddenly. I sat straight up, looking around. It was just a dream. I groaned and fell back on my bed, taking a deep breath. I always had dreams where I remembered things like that. Never failed..
"If you're hearing this, I'm not here. You're obviously important enough to have my number, so maybe you're important enough to have me call you back. Key word is maybe. Leave a message." My head was pounding from drinking beer earlier. I rolled over onto my side, away from the phone.
"Hey Chris.. it's Stephanie."
I opened my eyes, and for the first time, realized that I had tears staining my face. I had been crying in my sleep. I brushed them away impatiently.
"Just calling to say hi.. I really want to talk to you. Please, just give me a chance to talk to you. If you don't want to.. I understand. My cell phone's on. Call me, if you get the chance.. bye, Chris."
I wasn't going to call her. Was she out of her mind? I rolled over onto my back and gazed up at the ceiling. I laughed out loud in the empty room, ignoring the hurt that Stephanie's voice always brought to my chest. The alcohol that I drank didn't let me hear how bitter my laugh sounded. Chris Jericho, bad-ass, huh? Oh yeah. Definitely.
"Ask Triple H how bad-ass I am." I said out loud, before laughing again. I felt my head start to spin from my drinking. Slowly, I fell asleep again. It was restless, and it wasn't that long. I was aware of the phone ringing again, a number of times, but I didn't bother answering. Finally, when I couldn't take the noise anymore, I picked up the phone.
"What is it?" I said, groggily. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep.
"Oh, nothing. Just some people that actually worry about what the hell's happening with you. Not like you care." The voice was laced with sarcasm.
"It's late, Angle. What do you want?"
"Stephanie called me -"
I hung up. I didn't want to hear it. As soon as I hung up, the phone rang again. I didn't answer. The machine picked up, and soon, Kurt's voice came over the line.
"Jericho! You jerk! Pick up the freaking phone! What the hell's the matter with you?! I know you're there, Chris! ANSWER THE PHONE!!" He shouted, startling me. I frowned and snatched up the phone.
"Alright, alright! I'm here! Asshole!"
"Thank you." He said, happily. "Now then, as I was saying before you rudely hung up on me.. Stephanie called."
I went to slam the phone down when I heard him screaming on the other end. "DON'T HANG UP THE FREAKING PHONE JERICHO!!" I scowled and raised the phone back up to my ear.
"Fine. I won't. But what does that have to do with me?"
"Well maybe if you let me EXPLAIN, you'd KNOW, now wouldn't you?" I stayed quiet. For some reason, I just felt tired. "She wants to talk to you. She said she called like four times and you didn't pick up. She was starting to worry about you."
"Now she's worried, huh? Tell her to fuck off, Angle."
"Chris, man, what's wrong with you? Why don't you want to talk to her? Can't you see that she could help you?"
"Help me? Don't make me laugh. All she's ever done is hurt me, Angle. I don't need to deal with her shit anymore."
"Look Jericho. I don't know about your past with Stephanie. I probably never will. But it'll NEVER get better if you just ignore her. She's not going away, Chris. You need to talk to her so you can be okay again."
"I AM OKAY, JACKASS!"
"Listen to yourself."
"Shut the hell up." I mumbled, my head still pounding.
"Just talk to her, alright? No one's expecting much. She just wants to talk."
"Too bad, because I don't."
Kurt sighed on the other end. "Alright.. fine."
"Yeah, fine." I answered.
"Are you drunk?" He asked, his tone changing.
"No. I'm tired." I said. It wasn't a lie either. I wasn't drunk.
"Okay.. if you don't want to talk to Stephanie, then me and you could talk."
"I don't want to talk to -"
"You know what, Chris? Right now, I don't really care what you want to do, alright? I know that you've been drinking because it's obvious by hearing your voice. Tomorrow, we'll talk."
"Look, Angle -"
"I said, tomorrow, we'll talk." He said, firmly. I felt tired, and not in the mood to argue anymore, so I just stayed quiet. "You going by David's tomorrow?"
"I was thinking about it." I said, rubbing my forehead.
"You're going, and I'll give you a ride. We can talk there. Okay?"
"No, actually, it's not okay, because -"
"Okay. See you tomorrow." With that, he hung up on me. I threw the phone away from me, and heard it crash on the floor. Damn it. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Why couldn't ANYONE just leave me alone? I didn't realize then that Kurt was just trying to help me. All I knew was that I didn't want to talk to him. And I sure as hell didn't want to talk to Stephanie McMahon. It took a while after that night at the hospital, but it finally sunk in. Things were never the same, and they could never be the same again.
But why waste my time thinking about her? I was a champion. I was the king of the world. I was a strong person that was not about to let some woman ruin my life. I wasn't going to let her break me again. I was in control, dammit. Tomorrow was going to be a smooth day, and Stephanie was not going to be a part of it.
Or so I thought.