PART 59
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING
Adam drug himself through the hotel lobby and up the stairs. After a nine hour flight, he was absolutely exhausted. Not to mention the fact that he was extremely stressed. The whole plane ride back from England, his mind was filled with thoughts of guilt. He still couldn't get the thought out of his head that Brock Lesnar had committed suicide right in front of his girlfriend. In a way, he felt he should be relieved… after all, with Brock and Paul Levesque out of the picture, their problems would be coming to an end. But even if they were physically gone, it didn't mean that Stephanie and Britney weren't going to think about them, and that was going to be the hard part… making them forget. He sighed, stepping out of the door of the stairwell and walking to the room that Chris told him they were staying in. He shuddered as he passed Room 451, the room Chris had told him they were in when Brock arrived. Just the thought of Brock dying in that room gave him the chills. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he arrived at the room Chris and Britney were in. Reaching a hand up, he knocked on the door. A few moments later the door opened and Adam saw Chris standing in the doorway.
"Hi," he said, not really knowing what else there was to say.
"Yeah… hi," Chris said, stepping back and allowing him room to enter.
"Where is she?" Adam asked, referring to Britney. Chris yawned and pointed to the bedroom.
"She's asleep. She passed out about an hour ago. She… she kinda cried a lot today. I think she wore herself out," he replied tentatively. Adam frowned as he thought of his girlfriend, and the day she must have had.
"Oh," was all Adam managed to say. Chris looked down at the floor, yawning again before he continued speaking.
"I, uh… I booked another hotel room for myself so uh… I can just go there," he said, bringing his gaze back up to Adam.
"Chris, you didn't have to…"
"Adam, I just thought you'd want to be alone. God knows she's been through enough in the last… well, forever… and I'm sure she just wants to be left alone. It's okay, it's not like I'm sleeping out on the ground or anything," he said. Adam frowned as he eyed his friend. He had never seen Chris looking so upset or just plain exhausted before.
"Hey, are you okay? You can stay here if you don't think…"
"I'm fine, really. It's just been a really long day. I'll be okay… I just need to get some sleep," he replied, offering Adam a tiny smile. Adam nodded, watching Chris as he walked over to the couch and picked up his bag. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said tiredly.
"Okay, goodnight Chris," Adam said, waving as Chris exited the room, closing the door behind him.
Sighing loudly, Adam dropped his bags, heading towards the bedroom door. He quietly pressed the door open, wincing as it creaked a little. He peered inside the dark room, over to his sleeping girlfriend. She was curled up on the bed, blanket pulled over her and a crumpled tissue in her hand. Adam shivered as he stepped into the room… it was freezing, the air conditioner had to be on full blast. He over at the machine by the window, and then turned back to Britney. He could see from the part of her body that was uncovered that she was wearing one of his sweatshirts, so that would explain why she wasn't cold. He sighed sadly, walking over and sitting down next to her on the bed. He felt a pang of sadness in his heart as he saw the moisture on her cheeks. He hesitantly brought his hand up to her face, brushing away the tears that were dangling on her cheekbone. Figuring he'd better go and get ready for bed, he moved to stand up, but a hand stopped him. He looked down and met Britney's eyes, staring up at him as she grabbed him by the wrist.
"Don't go anywhere, please," she requested, her blue eyes refilling with tears already.
"I wasn't going to honey, I just was going to get ready to go to bed," he explained, brushing a stray hair out of her face.
"I know, but just… don't. Just stay here," she insisted, sliding over so he could have a little more room. He nodded, kicking his shoes off and sliding under the covers next to her. Wrapping his arm securely around her, he pulled her to him, kissing her on the top of her forehead.
"I'm really sorry about what happened," he said. She nodded, burying her face in his collarbone. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "H-how are you?"
"Numb," she replied, after hesitating for a moment. "I don't feel anything. I… I think that's best for me right now, to not feel anything. If I can't feel anything, nothing can hurt, right?" she asked, sniffling a little. Adam frowned at her statement… she just sounded so negative.
"It'll get better baby, I promise," he assured her, hugging her more tightly. Laughing dryly, Britney replied.
"Yeah, for how long? It always gets better Adam… it gets better, only to take a horrible turn for the worst a little while later. Think about it. Think of all we've lost. I've lost my ability to trust, you've lost your sanity, we lost our baby," she said. Adam couldn't argue with her, because he knew she was right. The past year or so had been full of ups and extremely low downs.
"I know Brit… but there's a big difference now. Brock and Paul are gone. They're all gone, and they can't hurt us anymore. There's no one to make us go through the bad stuff anymore," he pointed out. She nodded, thinking about what he said. It was true… even though what had happened today was horrible, it meant that Brock was gone. And there was no way he could ever come back to get her, at least not physically.
"You know what? You're right… they're gone," she said, a hint of optimism in her tone. Adam gave her a small smile.
"That's right. They're gone, and now we'll finally have a chance to move on with our lives," he said. Britney snuggled in more closely to him, listening to the slow beating of his heart. She sighed as she leaned against him. For the first time in awhile, everything that had happened seemed okay. She felt like this was officially the end of all her hardship. She wiped her eyes and smiled, looking up at Adam endearingly.
"Moving on… sounds like a plan."
THE NEXT DAYJay, Chris, Britney, Mark, Dawn, and Amy, spent nearly the entire morning talking to the police. Mark didn't understand why they needed to talk to every single one of them if they all were going to tell the same story. They gradually let them go, first allowing Amy and Dawn to leave. They talked to Britney, Jay, and Chris more than anyone, and they even asked Mark to leave, but the Dead Man refused. He wanted to make sure they didn't ask any dumb questions, specifically ones that were really going to bother Britney. That plan didn't work though, as the officers got annoyed with Mark stepping in on every question so they insisted on him leaving. Mark gave up, tossing his hands in the air and going out to sit with Adam.
"Hey man," he said, closing the door to the room they were using behind him. Looking up, Adam nodded hello to him.
"Hey."
"You okay?" Mark asked, eyeing the younger man with concern.
"Not really, but I will be soon enough," he said. Mark nodded, shifting his glance away from Adam. After an uncomfortable silence, Mark decided to jump start the conversation again.
"So… are you guys gonna take that time off?" he asked curiously. Earlier in the day, Vince had given Britney and Adam the option of taking a month off, to recuperate both physically and emotionally.
"Yeah, I think we are. We… we kinda need it," Adam replied.
"Yeah," Mark agreed. "Listen, I know you guys are kinda far away from me and Sara, but… if you think… well, if you need anything… while you guys are out I mean…" he continued uncomfortably. Adam almost smiled at him. Mark was so macho that he never even realized that he was a compassionate human being.
"Thanks Mark," Adam said knowingly. The two men sat in silence, only this time it was much more comfortable. Mark was satisfied… he'd managed to play the role of caring surrogate father without going too mushy on the Canadian. A few minutes later, Jay stepped out of the room, followed by Britney and Chris. Both Adam and Mark stood, greeting the three people.
"Hi," Adam said, as Britney stepped up to him. She gave him a half smile, pulling him into a hug.
"Can we go home now?" she asked, glancing up at him hopefully. Adam smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, we can. I'm going to go grab our stuff out of the locker room and then we can leave," he said, pulling away from her and heading down the hall. Britney turned back to the three men standing behind her. She smiled as she looked at the three of them… all of them had been like saviors to her.
"Okay guys, I know you don't want to get mushy, but I just have to say a couple things," she said, causing all of their heads to snap up in her direction. First she stepped up to Jay.
"You, Mr. Reso," she started. "Have been one of the best people in the world to me. For some reason, you always made me laugh, even when I wanted to die. I just want to thank you for that… and for taking care of Adam for me. He's crazy… I don't know how you put up with him for twenty years."
Laughing, Jay responded, "It's a very deep love." Grinning, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, hugging him tightly. Next, she moved over, pulling Mark away from Chris. She pulled him all the way down the hall, causing him to laugh as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Is there a reason you moved me all the way over here?" he asked.
"Don't want to ruin your reputation?" she offered, shrugging. He smiled and nodded, and she continued. "Now Mark, I know you *hate* mushy crap like this, but still… you knew it was going to come sooner or later. For some odd reason, whatever that may be, you've always hung around me. You're always there when I do something good… and you're really always there when I do something bad. You're one of the few people that has been there for me my entire life, and you have no idea how grateful I am for that." Mark looked away, feeling his cheeks flush. Britney grinned at his blushing.
"Well, I just… I did what I did because I… I care about you. You've been around since I got here, and I've watched you grow up. I guess I can't help but consider you a… well, a daughter. There, I said it, you're like my own kid… are you happy now?" he said, looking back up at her and grinning.
"Very," she replied, returning his grin.
"Oh, one more thing," he said before she turned away, catching her attention. "Since we're revealing so much today, I thought I might let you in on a little secret."
"Oh? What would that be?" she asked eagerly.
"You know how Shane always knew about everything going on with you? And you always said he had some big sources giving him his information?" Britney nodded.
"Yeah… so?"
"So… yours truly was the sources," he said, grinning widely at her. Shaking her head in disbelief, Britney punched him in the chest.
"Bastard," she said jokingly. Standing on her toes, she reached up and hugged him.
"Yeah, yeah… mushy shit is officially over. I'll see you in a month," he said, watching as she waved and walked away. He shook his head in amazement as he watched what had to be the strongest person he'd ever met walk away.
"Okay Chris, your turn," Britney said, tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around hesitantly, sending Britney a nervous smile. Britney frowned as she and Chris stepped off to the side and Jay went down to talk to Mark. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just… I don't know if I want to hear this," he said quietly, looking down at the floor.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Shaking his head, Chris replied, "Nothing, nothing. That came out wrong. I… you just… you bring out weird emotions in me Brit. I can't really explain it. I guess I just love you kid… I mean, I love you in that 'little sister who I must protect and kill anyone who tries to hurt you' way. I… oh okay, I'll shut up. Say what you wanted to say." Shaking her head, Britney looked up at him.
"Okay… all I was really going to say was that you need to touch up your hair color," she said, patting him on the head and walking away. Shaking his head and laugh, Chris grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back to him.
"You suck at lying, you know that," he said, gripping her arm tightly. Laughing, Britney placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Yes, I know. Okay, fine. I love you in that 'big brother who I like to tease and mess with even though I'm totally thankful to have you and would be nothing without you' way. Is that better?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Much," he said, sending her a satisfied smirk. The two of them looked up as they saw Adam coming back towards them, both his and Britney's bags in his hands. Turning back to Chris one last time, she kissed him on the cheek as well, hugging him.
"I'm sure I'll be seeing you this month, so I'm not even going to say goodbye."
"Good," he said, playful grin returning to his face. "I'll be on your doorstep at seven tomorrow morning asking for you to come play with me!" he called as she walked away. She shook her head, and both her and Adam waved. Linking her arm with Adam's, Britney looked up at him and grinned.
"Let's go home."
Okay, only one (possibly two) more part to go!!! I'm going to do my big 'thanking everyone' speech with the last part, so I'll keep this little note short. LOL, some of you are going to kill me, but you'll have to wait a little while for the last part. I'm going away until Tuesday so the next part won't be up till then or possibly Wednesday. I'm sorry to be leaving you like this with only one part to go, but that's the way it happened. LOL, there goes my 'brief' note. Let me know what you think, and I hope you guys are ready for the last part!!!
