PART 14
IN THE ARENA HALLWAY
Chris quickly ushered Stephanie into the nearest room he could find, which just so happened to be the women's bathroom. He decided that, at the moment, his main concern was the brunette crying in his arms, not having Trish Stratus walk in to find him in her bathroom. He led her over to the row of sinks, lifting her up and setting her down on it, his arms still wrapped securely around her.
"Shh," he said quietly, his fingers gently stroking her soft hair. He held her like that for a few minutes, cradling her until her sobs quieted down. Soon enough, they had been reduced to dull whimpers and the occasional sniffle, so Chris gently pushed her away from him, his hands resting on her shoulders. He wiped the remaining tears away, staring into her deep brown eyes.
"Tell me what happened," he requested. He knew that she had gone to Levesque's locker room with the intention of breaking up with him, and Chris was willing to bet that it didn't go over well.
"I-it's my father," she hiccupped softly, causing Chris to raise an eyebrow… her father?
"Your father?" he reiterated. "What did he do?" he asked, his hands coming off of her shoulders and settling themselves on her knees. Stephanie took a deep, shaky breath.
"H-he said that I h-have to marry Paul, that he had too much invested in it for me to back out. He said it like I'm some… some kind of fucking stock exchange. He just… he was such an asshole. He said all of this shit to me Chris… that he didn't love my mother, that I wasn't his daughter. In fact, he called me an obligation. He said his 'obligation' was to ensure that I got married on the 23rd, and that he had to do that because it would be good for business. *And*, he called me an ungrateful little bitch. What kind of father says those things to his daughter?" she asked, feeling the tears fill her eyes again. Chris frowned, knowing that he was unable to answer her question.
"I don't know Steph… your father is a unique man, I'll give him that. But you can't let him get to you. If he wants to be an asshole, fine… let him be like that. At some point, he will have no one left on the planet to care for him, and he'll end up rotting all alone," he offered, hoping to lift Stephanie's spirits at least a little.
"I can think whatever I want to Chris, but it isn't going to change anything. I'll still have to get married to Paul come October 23rd." Chris almost scowled… that was a date he was most certainly not looking forward to.
"I… I wish I could do something Steph," he said, looking away from her. He felt so helpless at the moment… and guilty. He should have never suggested her breaking up with Paul. In a way, he felt as though if he hadn't done so, her father wouldn't have barged in and Steph's feelings would not have been crushed. Stephanie was going to be forced into marrying someone that she didn't love, one who obviously didn't love her either, and all he could do was watch. Because Vince McMahon was so intent on this wedding going on, Chris was powerless in taking any action.
"Oh God, Chris, what am I going to do?" Stephanie asked woefully, the tears spilling down her cheeks yet again. Chris pulled her into a hug again.
As he rocked her back and forth, he quietly assured her, "Mark my words Steph, if I have anything to do with it, you will *not* being saying 'I do' on October 23rd." Stephanie sniffled, nodding as she buried her face in Chris's shoulder. Chris sighed… he had to break up the wedding…
The only problem with that was that he wasn't sure how.
LATER THAT NIGHTTrish sat outside, sitting on the curb behind the arena where the show was being held. She crumpled up the tissue that was in her hand, tossing it to the ground angrily. This was the second time she had allowed something Randy had done to bring her to tears. She couldn't believe how blind she had been throughout the course of their relationship. It was now obvious that Randy had cheated on her with three women: Gail Kim, Jackie Gayda, and this Christina Lee woman. Trish was willing to bet any amount of money that it didn't stop there either. She just didn't understand… why wasn't she good enough? What did all those women have that she didn't? Trish had never been the type of women to have a bunch of self confidence issues, but she was beginning to wonder. After all, if there wasn't anything wrong with her, Randy wouldn't feel the need to cheat on her right? Trish shook her head… she just didn't know. This breakup with Randy Orton shook her up more than she'd ever imagined it would. She was devastated. So many thoughts about what happened were running through her head at such a rapid pace that her vision was going blurry.
"Trish? You okay?" a male voice called, suddenly breaking the silence. Trish jumped, turning around slowly to see Jay Reso standing behind her. He had been so sick of all the noise in his locker room that he decided to step outside and walk around the back parking lot. All the fans were inside watching the show, so he knew he wouldn't run the risk of bumping into too many of them.
"I… not really Jay," she said, knowing full well that there was no way she could hide her tears from him. Slowly walking over to her, Jay took a seat next to her on the curb.
"You want to tell me what's going on?" he asked, studying her intently.
"I'm sure you know what's going on by now," she replied, laughing sardonically. Jay frowned… he should have known. He was actually a little surprised that this whole Randy thing was still bothering Trish. She was tough woman, and she usually didn't let things bug her for so long.
"I thought it might be about him, but you're not the type to cry over a guy like this, so I just thought I'd ask in case something else happened," he said honestly. It was the truth… in the three or four years he'd known Trish, he had never once seen her cry. She never shed a single tear in her whole WWE career.
"Well… something did kind of happen, but I don't really want to talk about it," she told him, staring out into the dark sky.
"Oh," Jay replied, a little disappointed. He really wanted to know what was going on, but he had to respect Trish's decision to not tell him. "That's fine… you don't have to tell me anything. Can I get someone for you to talk to? Like Amy, or Dawn, or… Adam?"
Trish's head shot up at the mention of Adam's name. If she talked to anyone about this, she wanted it to be him, but she couldn't help but feel like all she'd done to him for the past few weeks was gripe. She didn't want to bother anymore, out of fear that she might wear out her welcome with him. Then again, he *was* the one who listened to her the whole time, the one who let her get all her emotions out without trying to inject advice or suggestions. He did the one thing she needed most… he listened. If he had done it all those other times, what's to say he wouldn't do it again?
"I…" she started. "I… no, don't worry about it," she said quietly, disappointment riding in her tone. She just couldn't impose again. Jay frowned… he was really hoping that she would at least talk to someone… preferably Adam.
"Trish, you can't keep everything bottled up like this. One day it's going to come shooting out, and most likely at the wrong person," he told her firmly, hoping he would be able to get her to change her mind.
"I know that Jay, I just… I need some time to think, that's all," she insisted, sniffling again. She reached into the pocket of the sweatshirt she was wearing, pulling out another tissue and wiping her eyes, thinking of how her eyes probably looked like a mess from all the makeup running.
"Okay, I understand that. Just promise me that you'll talk to someone when you're ready, even if it's me," he requested, looking over at her again. Trish looked up at him and nodded.
"I will… thank you Jay," she said, pulling him to her and hugging him.
As Jay wrapped his arms around her, Randy Orton stepped back from the door he was standing behind. He had walked up a few minutes ago, planning on sitting outside and thinking about everything, until he saw Trish. He knew he should have left right then and there… it was obvious that she wouldn't want to see him… but for some reason, he stayed. He watched as Jay walked up and sat down with her, and when she turned to look at him, he could plainly see the tears in her chocolate brown eyes. He leaned against the wall, placing his hand over his forehead and sighing. He fucked up… there was no other way of describing it. All the women he'd gotten with, all the one night stands he had… it was all catching up on him. Because of the lifestyle he insisted on having, in a matter of two weeks he'd lost his girlfriend and been handed a paternity test from a woman that he didn't even remember sleeping with. Reality came crashing down on him, and Randy realized that he couldn't live this way forever…
"What am I going to do?"
Thank you so much for all the comments guys!! I can't believe how many reviews this story has been getting. Thank you so much!!! Keep them coming!!! **Britney