Chapter 31
There was plenty of guilt she felt over this.
Guilt over the fact she was pregnant with another man's baby that wasn't her husband's. Guilt over the fact she had lost Joseph's baby and was now pregnant by either Jon or Drew, a guy she didn't know that well. Jon, she did, but there was a connection with Drew she couldn't quite explain or comprehend. The Scotsman had cast a spell on her and, honestly, she enjoyed being with him this past month. Jon changed everything when he decided to ignore her and then came to her, drunk, and told her how he truly felt. That was why she no longer hung out with him because he needed space and made that clear to her. Nothing would ever be the same between them again. The guilt she felt…she had to push it down for the sake of her own sanity because, if she allowed it to swallow her whole, like she nearly did the grief, this baby would die just like the other one.
"You need to go get your hand checked out. And try not to freak out about bleeding or else they might send you to therapy." She cautioned quietly, knowing how much Jon had freaked out over a MINOR cut on his hand, shortly after his return to the ring. Jon had some outbursts at the house shows, never on television, thankfully, and Stephanie told him if he couldn't get his act together, they would send him to therapy.
Jon's response was to hold up his hand, looking bored. "I got over my issues, darlin'." Just one of those things he had taken time to get his head right for. He had been so focused on her that he hadn't taken the time for himself and now he was wondering what the hell his own deal was. Tressa had wanted him for sex and friendship, he had known that. He was questioning his taste in women. "I'll talk to you later, Tres." He did have to go get it wrapped and they definitely needed space between them.
He wasn't sure what he would do or say once he ran into McIntyre.
She didn't stop him, allowing him to walk back inside the arena first and finally letting the tears fall she'd been fighting back. Tressa didn't think she did anything wrong, but it felt like it was because she had shattered Jon. She hurt her best friend. She hurt the ONE person who stood beside her through everything, her best friend, and Tressa clutched her stomach almost to the point of being violent, her entire body shaking. Instead of going back inside, she slid between the two WWE equipment trucks and covered her mouth with her free hand, dropping to her knees and screaming into it. It was all muffled as she let her own anguish, pain, and guilt out in that scream, along with tears staining her cheeks.
Of course, he was coming in just as Drew fucking McIntyre was obviously preparing to go out. Did the man know Tressa was out there? Jon stopped, barring the exit as they both sized each other up. The tension was palpable and people walking by kept glancing back as they just stared each other down. Eventually, Jon snorted and sidestepped out of the way. This wasn't the time or the place, but there was no doubt in Drew's mind now, Jon knew about the pregnancy and Jon knew about him. He stepped out that door, looking around the darkness, and frowned.
"Tres?"
Tressa didn't hear anything because she was hunched over, still on her knees, on the asphalt, her hand still over her mouth. She hadn't moved from that spot, but had stopped screaming, not wanting to damage her vocal cords. Jumping when she felt a hand on her shoulder, Tressa's head snapped up while she continued hyperventilating. It had gone from screaming to hyperventilation and all she could do was stare up at Drew. Her eyes were red, swollen, and haunting, much like they'd been the night at the bar when he approached her, joining her for several drinks. She didn't rise from her knees and instead buried her face in her hands, the hyperventilation returning to tears and all she wanted to do was curl up in a tight ball, crawl into a dark hole somewhere, and never come out again.
This pregnancy had completely shattered her already broken world.
He didn't want to know what words had been exchanged between Jon and Tressa to put her in this state. Obviously, nothing good and he sighed, bending down to gently pull her up onto her feet. "Come on now, lass, ye going to make yeself sick." He said quietly but firmly, reaching into his pocket for a bandana, finally pulling it out, and began mopping up her face.
She looked broken again, like her entire world had been shattered. No doubt Jon had lost his mind on her and said some terrible, nasty things. Gently, Drew wrapped his arms around her, feeling those tears instantly soaking through his shirt, and sighed, letting his head rest on hers.
"I-I destroyed him. I completely d-destroyed him, Andrew…" Tressa spoke after she got her sobs and crying under control, her voice low and quiet.
Jon hadn't told her anything, but she could read his face, the emotions, all of it. She knew Jon for a long time and not very many people knew the man the way she did. Slowly, she pulled back to wipe her tears away, letting out a soft growl of annoyance – not at Drew, only herself for being put in this situation.
"I don't regret anything that's happened between us, Andrew. And even though I don't know if you're the father or he is, I don't regret this baby either." It was time to pull her big girl panties on and swallow her emotions down because they were at work.
When she was in her hotel room later that night, she could fall apart then.
"Nor should ye."
If she had destroyed Jon, it was because the man loved her, or at least loved some version of her he had created in his head. The way Drew figured it, if Jon loved her or valued their friendship, he would come around eventually. It was a hard thing, swallowing pride, and he bet hearing that he was one of two potential daddies had been a kick to the nads.
"It'll be fine, lass, ye ken. He's going to come around, eventually." Or he'd just disappear and hopefully not cause her any more tears. Drew was learning he didn't like seeing Tressa cry.
Why didn't she believe that? Jon was a very stubborn, bullheaded man and when he had his mind set on something, like the opinion of someone, it was almost impossible to change it. "I can't worry about if he does or not. He needs to figure out his own issues and I need to focus on taking care of myself and this baby."
Her priorities had definitely changed now that she was pregnant. This baby was the most important thing to her, regardless of who the father was. She pressed her hand on Drew's chest and let him draw her into another embrace, soaking in his comfort because that was what Tressa needed right now. This Scotsman was surely starting to make the walls around her heart crumble, this connection between them only growing stronger with each day that passed by.
"Come on." Drew was stroking her hair with his long, nimble fingers. "Let's get inside before someone sends out a search party." For her obviously, he wasn't that well-liked backstage and he was perfectly fine with that. Gently, he held her out at arm's length, his eyes searching her face in the dim lighting, and sighed. "Ye a beautiful mess, Tressa." Tear streaks and puffiness, anyone who saw her was going to ask questions. "Are ye feeling any better?" He was really hoping that this wasn't setting the tone for future nights because her having issues with Jon wasn't going to do anyone any favors.
"A little, yeah." She managed to crack a smile up at him, though it didn't reach her eyes, and slid her hands up his muscular arms. This man really was gigantic. "Thank you for being here."
Tressa would not be breaking down at work anymore over Jon. She told him what was going on, she was truthful and honest, so it wasn't her problem that he couldn't handle the fact she just didn't feel the same way he did. With Drew…Tressa didn't know how she felt, but it definitely was growing and building…and it scared her.
"You're right, we do need to head back inside, but first…come here."
He bent down, lowering his head to rest his forehead against hers and their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss. Since they were outside of the arena, between two trucks hidden, she didn't think they were showing PDA in front of coworkers or at work. It didn't count – it was a grey area. Tressa just needed to feel his lips against hers and felt Drew back her up to press against the truck, the kiss deepening a little more. Carefully, Drew lifted her up, feeling Tressa's legs wrapping around his muscular waist, and used one hand to support her beneath her luscious backside, the other wrapped around her.
"The things ye do to me, lass," He growled, once the kiss had broken, nipping gently on her lightly swollen bottom lip. "Come on, we best get inside." They both had work to get to and she was very distracting. "Do ye want company tonight?" Unlike Jon, he would never assume with her. He would always ask and check in regularly because he wanted to know where they stood.
She stroked his face with her fingertips, unable to deny him anything, and nodded. "Yeah, I'd love that." Drew was also distracting as he kissed her again, both getting lost in the moment and only pulling apart when they needed air to breathe. "I have your kilt ready if you want to swing by and get it when you have time." She informed him, sliding the pad of her thumb across his lips and rubbing her nose gently against his. "Set me down, we really do need to get to work."
Feeling the reluctance, her feet landed on the ground as Drew stole one more kiss from her and they walked out from behind the trucks to head inside, each going their separate ways. Tressa stopped at the bathroom to splash water on her face and tried to get the swelling of her eyes to go down a little more before returning to her table. Tabitha and Suzanne hadn't arrived yet, thankfully.
"Don't hurt her."
Well, that was not what Drew expected to hear. He had made it inside and to his gear, planning on getting ready and pushing everything out of his mind, so he could focus on work. In that ring was no place for personal drama, that was how accidents happened and careers ended. Sighing, he glanced over his shoulder at the other potential father of Tressa's baby.
"Dinnae plan on it." He wasn't getting into an argument or fight with Jon, not trusting the wildcard.
"Good." Jon had his issues, but at the end of the day, he did love her, and regardless of how their current relationship was, he still considered her his best friend. He walked away.
That went better than Drew thought it would.
It was a crisp, December morning, one week before Christmas and Tressa was a ball of nerves, sipping a cup of coffee. She was fine having one cup, it wouldn't hurt the baby and she honestly needed something to take the edge off her withdrawal. Alcoholism was no joke – addiction was no joke. She'd been addicted to Vodka without realizing it and cigarettes, so going through both of them at the same time…wasn't fun. It'd been three weeks since she discovered she was pregnant, which was still a whirlwind in itself. Drew had been very supportive while Jon left her alone, so she didn't bother telling him about her appointments or anything regarding the pregnancy. In her mind, Jon didn't want anything to do with the baby and it bothered her, but not as much as it probably should have.
Her appointment was scheduled for 10 AM, her first vaginal ultrasound, to finally hear the heartbeat and see the baby for the first time. She was a little over 7 weeks along and the morning sickness hadn't been too bad, but the Zofran had played a huge part in that. Her OBGYN assured her it was fine to use the Zofran and it wouldn't harm the baby, otherwise, she wouldn't have used it again. Setting her cup of coffee down, Tressa frowned when she heard the buzzer go off throughout her apartment, which told her someone was there. She walked over to the machine and pressed the button, glancing at the clock, which read 8:15 AM.
"Hello? Who's there?"
"It's me, Kitten." Came Jon's cheery voice, surprising the piss out of her for sure. He cocked an eyebrow when nothing except static came through the buzzer. "Tres, buzz me in, it's freezing out here!"
Living in Las Vegas had spoiled him on the temperature thing. He hadn't liked the cold in Ohio when he was a kid and as an adult, he avoided it when he could. When he heard the click of the door unlocking, he slid inside, stomping off snow, and shook himself out. He made his way up to her apartment, snorting when he spotted her in the open doorway.
"So, 10 huh?" His eyes dropped to her still flat stomach, betting she was wondering just how in the blue hell he knew that. "I smell coffee…got a cup to spare, darlin'?"
"Y-Yeah, inside…"
Tressa was in shock for a number of reasons. She hadn't told Jon when the appointment was and the only other person who DID know was Drew. Did Drew tell Jon about this? Why would he do that? The last she knew, the men despised each other. She shut the door behind Jon, once he stepped into her apartment, and moved to the kitchen to grab a mug from the cupboard.
"What are you doing here, Jon?" She finally asked, handing over the cup of coffee with a TON of sugar – just the way Jon preferred it, no creamer. Jon hadn't spoken to her since the night outside of the arena, three weeks ago. "And how did you know when my appointment was?"
"Scottie boy."
He and Andrew would NEVER be friends. Jon still thought it was all levels of messed up that, basically, as soon as she stopped sleeping with him, she had jumped into bed with the Scotsman. That just screamed rebound to him and he was sure those thoughts had crossed Drew's mind too.
"We've reached a mutual understanding, and I AM your friend, even if we don't always act like it." Not to mention, that was his maybe baby too and one thing Jon would never do was abandon a kid, ever.
He sipped his coffee, eyes surveying her thoughtfully.
