God, this is going to be a long day. She turned on the hair dryer and flipped her hair over her head so it was hanging down. Too many things to do. And that party tonight—ugh, if Chris wasn't making me go, I probably wouldn't. She continued drying her hair until it was only slightly damp. She would let her hair dry the rest of the way. It was how she always did it. She put down the dryer and made sure the towel that was wrapped tightly against her stayed that way.
She jumped when she felt arms wrap around her. She tensed only a moment, then let herself fall against the body behind her. She knew who it was. It didn't take a rocket scientist. She smiled as she felt him rest his chin on the top of her head, which actually was hard because in truth they were almost the same height.
"Hello to you too." She laughed. In truth, she had no qualms with him being so close against her. She was getting used to being against him, hugging him, seeing him. The doubt she had in her mind about leaving Hunter for him was slowly diminishing with every embrace, with every kiss.
"Nice outfit." He grinned. She belted him a good one with her elbow into his stomach.
"Ow!" he let go of her, and she turned and faced him, a wiry grin on her face.
"You're such a romantic." She smirked, and he nodded.
"What? It is nice." He winked. "Yeesh, can't even pay a compliment these days without getting hit—"
"I'm getting dressed." She smirked, not even going to comment on his last statement. She walked past him, grabbed her clothes, and walked into the bathroom. He seemed to jokingly follow, so she slammed the door in his face.
"I think you broke my nose!" she heard him pout. She sighed and shook her head. He's worse then a 5 year old sometimes. She quickly pulled on the clothes she had laid out for herself, discarding the towel by throwing it to the side. She looked at herself in the mirror. She herself had noticed ever since she was with Chris, even just as his little valet that protected him from losing the title he STILL held, that she wasn't really inclined to wear the sexy almost distasteful clothing she had worn in the past.
She didn't
need too with Chris. Hunter, on the other hand, was a different story. She
winced at the memory—Hunter always did request that she look good for him. Good
to him made her look like a slut. But was she a slut? She was sleeping
with another person, wasn't she? No, I'm not one. There's a difference. I
don't love Hunter at all, and I don't think I ever did.
She had told Chris she told her dad, but that was an outright lie. She felt horrible for it, but she just kept getting nervous about it. She did love Chris, she knew that for a while now, and her dad shouldn't mean as much to her as he does—but in truth, he did mean that much to her. She had been lying for two days, and she had decided on this day that she was going to tell her father, to get it over with and to end the lies before it got back to Chris himself.
She didn't want him to think she wasn't overly happy and proud that she had gained that much of his feelings.
She was meeting her father in 10 minutes, at a little restaurant up the street. Honestly, her stomach was in knots. Still, she knew she would have to leave around the time it was, so she exited the bathroom into the main room of their little hotel room. Chris had sprawled himself out on the bed in the room, and was currently contently flipping the channels on the cheap TV they were given. She couldn't help but smile; sometimes she wondered how someone like him could just seem so downright innocent doing half the things he did.
"I'm going out for awhile." She said as she sat on the edge of the bed, a spot that he wasn't taking up. She felt him sit up as she put on her shoes.
"Where ya going?" he asked, raising a brow. He didn't sound suspicious, more like curious.
"I have to do a few things." She shrugged lightly. That wasn't a lie, after all, she did have to do things.
"Sounds fun." He chuckled. She turned and faced him. He had one of his dopey grins on his face.
"I'll be back soon." She informed him, then pulled him into a small kiss. The kiss seemed more or less an assurance that what she was doing was the right thing.
She left.
The walk was short, but it was a little hard because fresh snow had fallen in the area they were in. It was pretty cold, but then, it was the day before January. She shivered a little as she finally got to the destination. She didn't know if it was from the cold or from the increasing nervousness that was growing inside her.
"I have to do this." She reminded herself out loud, and finally walked into the warmth of the building in front of her.
"Um, is there a table for McMahon set up?" the cashier looked up at her. She raised a brow.
"Yes there is." She nodded. "That table is right over there." The girl gestured towards the right side of the restaurant, and she instantly saw him. He had all ready gotten coffee.
"Thank you." She nodded to the girl before walking towards her father. Her father nodded to her as she sat down. "Hello Daddy."
"Stephanie." He responded in greeting. She didn't know if she should start now or if she should wait. He answered it for her. "You had something to tell me?"
"Yes, Daddy." She nodded. She didn't know where to start. "You see, Dad, um—how was your Christmas?"
"Fine." He raised a brow. "Is that what you wanted to ask me?"
"No, just trying to make—conversation." She sighed. This wasn't worth it. It would be better if she just blurted it out. "Daddy, I love Chris." Vince looked at her squarely then. She couldn't read his face, though. That worried her.
"Jericho?" he sounded doubtful.
"Yes." She
nodded, feeling a little dumb. That was a little too abrupt. Jesus, I wish he
would just talk. He's just staring at me—it's creeping me out!
"And what about Hunter?" he asked calmly. Too calmly. Stephanie shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"You know how I feel about him." She sighed. She knew he knew she wanted a divorce.
"You realize how expensive a divorce could be, correct?" he asked. She bit her lip. Her father was so cold to her since she backstabbed him. She didn't blame him, but—
"Yes, I know Daddy but—" she paused. "I never wanted in on that marriage. It's long overdue that I end it. He doesn't love me, he just wants my money."
"And Chris doesn't?" he asked. Stephanie was a bit surprised at the accusation. "I don't know, Stephanie, only a year ago he was making fun of you horribly. I can't see how he suddenly had some change of heart. And if you get divorced and god forbid, remarried, that would just be a huge chunk out of my pocket to go into a identical situation."
"Are you insinuating that Chris just likes me for my money?" she asked, though she knew the answer.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." He responded without hesitation.
"How could you say that?" she asked, growing angry.
"Well I don't know, Stephanie, but he always seemed like a money grubber if you ask me." He paused. He must have saw the growing annoyance that was spreading across Stephanie's features. "Anyway, I can't let you anger Hunter right now. You have to understand, when he comes back, he's free to choose any side he damn well pleases to join. If you're by his side, he'll join our side. We need his help."
"What about Chris?" she asked, trying to control her temper. It wasn't working well.
"Chris is an excellent athlete, but we need Hunter right now more. We need someone who can stand up to Austin repeatedly. Hunter took him out of commission for a year, I think that constitutes him as the best man for the job." He explained. That finally burst the bubble.
"All you care about is your damn company!" she felt her hand slam against the table, gaining the attention of the nearby diners. "What about me, huh? I'm your daughter, for god's sake! Don't you care about me at all?"
"I care just as much as you did when you stabbed me in the back." He replied, his voice even but in truth she knew he was as angry as she was.
"That's not fair, Daddy." She responded, managing to curb her temper for a moment.
"Life isn't fair." He responded coldly. She felt like screaming, or crying, even. But she had indeed grown a little since she was helped by Chris. She stood up, calmly, though her shaking hands gave away how upset she was.
"Fine, Daddy." She sneered. "If you won't help me, I'll find another way. You're wrong. You're so wrong." She turned and walked out of the building.
She managed to get halfway to the hotel without crying, but when they did become to flow it was in a flood. She didn't want Chris to see her like this, but she didn't want to sit outside and make an even bigger spectacle. She sighed, hoping Chris had left somewhere. She got to the room, and felt her heart drop. She did hear him in there. Wiping away her tears, she tried to make it look like she wasn't crying, which was next to impossible.
She opened the door after staring at it for a few minutes. She thanked god she didn't wear a lot of make-up anymore. It would have been the first sign. She glanced around, and noticed the bathroom door was closed. She pulled off her shoes and went into the only safe haven in the room, the bed. She pulled the covers over her head, deciding to play sick until she got her feelings under control.
She heard the door open, and she hoped her acting skills weren't as bad as they usually were.
"Stephanie?" she didn't move at his voice, and soon felt him sit on the bed, crawling to where he could look at her better. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, muffled by the covers. "I think I'm getting sick." He didn't answer, and she was tempted to look over her shoulder at him.
"You're such a bad liar." He finally responded, and felt him pull the covers off her head. She didn't look at him, but he must have seen her cheek, which was most likely still tear stained, even after all the attempts to hid it.
"Are you crying?" he asked, looking down at her. She still didn't speak. "You're crying, aren't you?"
She knew she was caught. She sat up, her back to him. He paused again. She knew he had to be confused as hell.
"You know, I distinctly don't remember what I did to make you mad this time." He pointed out lightly. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Mind giving me a hint?"
"I lied to you, Chris." She finally said. He looked confused.
"You what? When?" he asked, interested.
"I told you I told my dad that we were together now—" she paused. "But I really didn't."
"That's what you're crying about?" he asked. "Steph, don't worry about it, it's not that bad—I told you, I don't care how long it takes you, when you're ready, you're ready. Hell, you don't have to—"
"I told him." She responded, cutting him off. He had a look of realization on his face seconds later.
"It didn't go well, did it?" he asked, frowning. She looked down, holding back the tears about to fall again.
"He said that you were just using me. He said he didn't want to lose Hunter, so he won't help me get the divorce." She whispered. Chris frowned as she stood up, her head still hanging. "I'm sorry, Chris. I don't know what to do now—he wouldn't even listen to me. All he cares about is his company." And then the tears fell again, and she suddenly felt him pull her into a tight hug. She cried into his shirt.
"Shh, it's all right." He tried to soothe her. It only made her just a little happier. "I promise, if you want to get that divorce—I'll figure out a way, all right? Don't cry." She pulled from him and stared at him. He gave her a smile, brush a stray tear from her eye. "There we go—no more tears."
She managed a very small smile. Her father just didn't know Chris like she did.