Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3. :)
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Chapter Fifteen
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"Tess, don't run off like that anymore, chick! You had us scared!" Amy said to her friend, giving her a hug. She and Chris had just arrived back at the arena. Tess offered her a small smile.
"I'm sorry. I just need some time alone, and some time to think. Took me all of the hour and a half I was gone to get over Rob. I decided that he wasn't worth my tears." Tess told Amy. Chris nodded, even though he knew that Tess was just telling Amy that ease her worries. Tess was really hurt by what Rob had done to her.
"I understand. Just tell us next time, okay?" Amy finished with a smile, before turning and walking off. Tess turned to Chris, looking up at him.
"Thank you for coming to find me." she said. "It means a lot to me that everyone was so worried, but it means so much more that you were the one to come and find me, after all the things I said to you." she finished with her head tilted down. Chris shook his head.
"Tess, I know that you really didn't mean those things. And as for me finding you...I just had to. I was so worried." he told her. She looked up at him with a small smile. He returned the smile and pulled her into a hug. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.
"I better go tell Dad I'm back. I'll come find you afterwards, okay?" she asked. He nodded, and she took off towards catering. Chris sighed and smiled slightly as he watched the small girl walk off.
'Damn,' he thought, watching as the last bit of her brown hair dissappeared around the corner. 'I think I'm falling for her.'
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"Hey." Tess heard a voice behind her speak up as she was walking towards her father's dressing room. She froze as she recognized the voice.
"What do you want?" she asked Rob without turning around.
"I wanted to apologize, baby...you know I never wanted to hurt you...it's just...she told me that you slept with Chris...and it made me see red." he said. She whipped around, glaring at him.
"You know what, Rob? I don't care! I don't care what you say about it! Sorry doesn't cut it! We are finished, Rob. Finished for good. You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Now, I need to go talk to my father, not stand here and yell at you." she finished before turning and walking into her father's dressing room, leaving a very stunned Rob standing there, looking after her. Tess grinned to herself as she closed the door behind her.
"Daddy?" she called out. She waited for a few moments before her father emerged from the showers.
"Tess, where did you run off to?" he asked, pulling his daughter into a hug.
"The beach. I needed some time to think." she told him. He nodded.
"Alright, that's reasonable. If you need to do it again sometime, though, just tell us, alright?" Tess nodded.
"I think I'm gonna go find Chris now, I told him I would after I talked to you." she said. Mark nodded and gave her another hug. She offered him a small smile before walking out of his dressing room. She went first to see if Chris was in his dressing room, but it was empty and locked.
'Maybe he's down at the ring,' she told herself. She walked through catering and was about to go down the ramp when she bumped right into someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry." she said, looking up into John Cena's crystal blue eyes. He smiled at his friend and helped her up.
"No problem, girl. Where's that pretty head of yours been lately?" he asked. She shrugged, offering him a smile.
"You know me, I'm kinda absent minded." she said. He shook his head with a laugh, before lightly squeezing her upper arm and walking off. She grinned and continued off to the arena, where the ring was still set up. The crew was busy moving out lights and other props, making the arena seem much dimmer than normal. She looked to the ring and spotted Chris's long blonde hair from where he was sitting on top of a turnbuckle. She made her way down the ramp towards the ring.
'It's really weird coming down here with no crowd...' she thought to herself as she approached the apron of the ring. She slid into the ring from underneath the bottom rope and looked up at Chris, who seemed to be lost in his own world. She just sat at the side of the ring, her knees pulled up to her chest, watching him with a slight smile on her face.
'He really is a gorgeous man...' she thought to herself with a smile.
"Hey." she said, finally breaking the silence. He snapped his head to the side and looked at her.
"Oh, hey." he replied, hopping down off of the turnbuckle. She stood up and walked over to him. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. She gasped with suprise before wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on the tips of her toes so he didn't have to bend down as much. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo mixed with the smell of the beach. He ran his fingertips over her back softly, not wanting to let her go. Eventually she pulled away from him, looking up at him with a smile.
"What was that for?" she asked, laughing a little. He grinned and shrugged.
"Just felt like hugging you. Relieved that you're here." he told her. He looked as if he was about to say something else when one of the crew members approached the ring.
"Chris, Tess, we need to get the ring down now." he told them. Chris nodded and took Tess's hand in his, helping her out of the ring. He didn't let go of her hand as they walked up the ramp in silence, and got back into the now empty catering, which only had a few bottles of water sitting in a cooler. Tess sat down and Chris reached into the chest, pulling out two bottles, before moving over to sit with her. He sat across from her at the small table and slid the water over to her. She uncapped it and took a sip before looking up at him.
"I was going to come back, later tonight. Hail a cab back to the hotel." she told him. He nodded.
"No one really thought you had run away, or anything...we were just scared that you were going to get hurt, or something. San Diego is a big place, and it's full of bad people."
"Like Rob...then again, where ever he goes is bound to be a bad place..." Tess said, mainly to herself. Chris reached across the table and took her hand in his. His hands were rough and calloused, but still had a soft feel to them. Tess looked up at him.
"He's not worth your time. You deserve someone better than him...much better. You deserve someone who will treat you like the princess you are. Not some sleazebag like Rob who'll go off and screw anything with a pulse behind your back. You need someone true to you and only you." Chris told her. She smiled slightly and stood up, moving over and sitting in the seat next to him.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked quietly. He nodded.
"Every word of what I just said is true." he said, patting her leg right above her knee. She smiled and rested her hand, which was much smaller than his, over the one on her leg.
"I really appreciate that, Chris. It means a lot to me." she told him, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. He smiled, almost to himself, as she sat back into her chair.
"Tess, I -" Chris started, but before he could say anything else the door burst open. Mark walked in.
"Hey, Tess, we need to get a move on. I have to be at the arena early tomorrow." the Deadman told his daughter. Tess nodded.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" she told Chris. He nodded and stood up, pulling the small girl into a hug.
"Altight." he said. She flashed him a small smile before walking off behind her father. Chris sighed.
'Smooth, Irvine.' he told himself. 'You get the courage to tell her and your moment is ruined. Go figure.'
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Tess was awake early the next morning. She glanced at the glowing numbers of the digital clock beside her, sighing when she read 4:02 a.m. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. She sat up in her bed and stretched, before tossing the covers back and getting up. She opened the pill bottle that was sitting on her bedside table and took one of the small tablets out. She made her way over to the small mini kitchen and took a bottle of water out of the refridgerator. She swallowed the pill and recapped the bottle.
'What am I supposed to do for two hours?' Tess asked herself. She knew that her father would be up by 6:15. 'I guess I'll take a bath.' she thought. The bathroom of their hotel room had a very large bathtub, so Tess figured she may as well use it. She grabbed a pair of light denim hip-huggers, a green t-shirt, and clean underwear before going into the bathroom and closng the door. She turned on the light and began running warm water into the tub. Looking through the medicine cabinent, she discovered a small bottle of peach bubble bath, and poured a healthy amount of it into the stream of running water. She grabbed her shampoo and conditioner out of the shower and undressed. She slid into the warm water with a sigh, resting her head against the tub. The bubbles engulfed her body as the water continued to rise. Tess eventually turned it off before it rose to the rim of the tub. She relaxed in the tub and almost fell asleep, until a buzzing noise snapped her out of her daze. She checked her watch and realized that it was six, and that was her father's wake up call. She hurridly washed her hair and shaved, before draining the water from the tub and slipping her clothes on. She pulled her long, brown hair up into a damp ponytail. She then walked out of the bathroom. Her father was sitting on the side of his bed, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Morning, Daddy." she said.
"Morning, Sweetie." he replied, before grabbing his clothes and retreating to the bathroom for a shower. Tess flipped the overhead lights on and applied a bit of foundation, some blush, silver eyeliner, a small amount of pink eyeshadow, and clear lipgloss. Then, she sat back on her bed and waiting for her father to get ready. He emerged about twenty minutes later, ready to go. Tess nodded and grabbed her purse and gym bag, in case she felt like training that day. Mark turned the lights off and locked the door behind them as they made their way to the rental. They arrived at the arena about fifteen minutes later, and Tess was suprised to see a large amount of news vans in the back parking lot, where the wrestlers parked. She got out of the car, both of her bags slung over her shoulder, and was instantly mobbed by reporters.
"Tess, we hear that you've been sick!" one reporter yelled, shoving a microphone into her face. She jerked her head back and pusehd the microphone away.
"She's got cancer!" another yelled.
"Tess, tell us how you're coping with your cancer!" another reporter yelled. Tess felt like her heart had frozen. Her legs turned to jelly and she stopped in her tracks. Mark grabbed her arm and continued to drag her until they were safely inside of the building. Tess's face was red with anger.
"Daddy, it was Rob who fucking told them!" she yelled. "It had to be him! I'll fucking kill him." she growled. "He's the only person that knows besides you, Chris, and Vince, and we iboth/i know that neither of them would tell." Tess was shaking she was so angry. She turned and began to quickly walk towards the woman's locker room, where she planned to sit and calm down. She burst through the door, and to her dismay, found Rob and Dawn Marie all over each other.
"Get the hell out of here binow/i/b." she hissed, pointing at Rob. He quirked a brow at her.
"Now, we don't need the hostile feelings, Tess..." Rob said, making a move to touch her arm.
"Touch me and I swear I will kick you so hard in the balls you will have to get them removed from your throat. Now get the fuck out." she pointed to the door. "You too." she pointed at Dawn Marie. Dawn immediately got up and walked out, grabbing Rob's hand and dragging him out with her. Tess threw her bags down and sat on one of the benches, resting her head in her hands.
'This day is already beginning and already it's shitty.' she thought.
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A/N: Wow! It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I'd really appreciate it if y'all reviewed and told me what you think of it, too! =)
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Chapter Fifteen
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"Tess, don't run off like that anymore, chick! You had us scared!" Amy said to her friend, giving her a hug. She and Chris had just arrived back at the arena. Tess offered her a small smile.
"I'm sorry. I just need some time alone, and some time to think. Took me all of the hour and a half I was gone to get over Rob. I decided that he wasn't worth my tears." Tess told Amy. Chris nodded, even though he knew that Tess was just telling Amy that ease her worries. Tess was really hurt by what Rob had done to her.
"I understand. Just tell us next time, okay?" Amy finished with a smile, before turning and walking off. Tess turned to Chris, looking up at him.
"Thank you for coming to find me." she said. "It means a lot to me that everyone was so worried, but it means so much more that you were the one to come and find me, after all the things I said to you." she finished with her head tilted down. Chris shook his head.
"Tess, I know that you really didn't mean those things. And as for me finding you...I just had to. I was so worried." he told her. She looked up at him with a small smile. He returned the smile and pulled her into a hug. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.
"I better go tell Dad I'm back. I'll come find you afterwards, okay?" she asked. He nodded, and she took off towards catering. Chris sighed and smiled slightly as he watched the small girl walk off.
'Damn,' he thought, watching as the last bit of her brown hair dissappeared around the corner. 'I think I'm falling for her.'
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"Hey." Tess heard a voice behind her speak up as she was walking towards her father's dressing room. She froze as she recognized the voice.
"What do you want?" she asked Rob without turning around.
"I wanted to apologize, baby...you know I never wanted to hurt you...it's just...she told me that you slept with Chris...and it made me see red." he said. She whipped around, glaring at him.
"You know what, Rob? I don't care! I don't care what you say about it! Sorry doesn't cut it! We are finished, Rob. Finished for good. You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Now, I need to go talk to my father, not stand here and yell at you." she finished before turning and walking into her father's dressing room, leaving a very stunned Rob standing there, looking after her. Tess grinned to herself as she closed the door behind her.
"Daddy?" she called out. She waited for a few moments before her father emerged from the showers.
"Tess, where did you run off to?" he asked, pulling his daughter into a hug.
"The beach. I needed some time to think." she told him. He nodded.
"Alright, that's reasonable. If you need to do it again sometime, though, just tell us, alright?" Tess nodded.
"I think I'm gonna go find Chris now, I told him I would after I talked to you." she said. Mark nodded and gave her another hug. She offered him a small smile before walking out of his dressing room. She went first to see if Chris was in his dressing room, but it was empty and locked.
'Maybe he's down at the ring,' she told herself. She walked through catering and was about to go down the ramp when she bumped right into someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry." she said, looking up into John Cena's crystal blue eyes. He smiled at his friend and helped her up.
"No problem, girl. Where's that pretty head of yours been lately?" he asked. She shrugged, offering him a smile.
"You know me, I'm kinda absent minded." she said. He shook his head with a laugh, before lightly squeezing her upper arm and walking off. She grinned and continued off to the arena, where the ring was still set up. The crew was busy moving out lights and other props, making the arena seem much dimmer than normal. She looked to the ring and spotted Chris's long blonde hair from where he was sitting on top of a turnbuckle. She made her way down the ramp towards the ring.
'It's really weird coming down here with no crowd...' she thought to herself as she approached the apron of the ring. She slid into the ring from underneath the bottom rope and looked up at Chris, who seemed to be lost in his own world. She just sat at the side of the ring, her knees pulled up to her chest, watching him with a slight smile on her face.
'He really is a gorgeous man...' she thought to herself with a smile.
"Hey." she said, finally breaking the silence. He snapped his head to the side and looked at her.
"Oh, hey." he replied, hopping down off of the turnbuckle. She stood up and walked over to him. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. She gasped with suprise before wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on the tips of her toes so he didn't have to bend down as much. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo mixed with the smell of the beach. He ran his fingertips over her back softly, not wanting to let her go. Eventually she pulled away from him, looking up at him with a smile.
"What was that for?" she asked, laughing a little. He grinned and shrugged.
"Just felt like hugging you. Relieved that you're here." he told her. He looked as if he was about to say something else when one of the crew members approached the ring.
"Chris, Tess, we need to get the ring down now." he told them. Chris nodded and took Tess's hand in his, helping her out of the ring. He didn't let go of her hand as they walked up the ramp in silence, and got back into the now empty catering, which only had a few bottles of water sitting in a cooler. Tess sat down and Chris reached into the chest, pulling out two bottles, before moving over to sit with her. He sat across from her at the small table and slid the water over to her. She uncapped it and took a sip before looking up at him.
"I was going to come back, later tonight. Hail a cab back to the hotel." she told him. He nodded.
"No one really thought you had run away, or anything...we were just scared that you were going to get hurt, or something. San Diego is a big place, and it's full of bad people."
"Like Rob...then again, where ever he goes is bound to be a bad place..." Tess said, mainly to herself. Chris reached across the table and took her hand in his. His hands were rough and calloused, but still had a soft feel to them. Tess looked up at him.
"He's not worth your time. You deserve someone better than him...much better. You deserve someone who will treat you like the princess you are. Not some sleazebag like Rob who'll go off and screw anything with a pulse behind your back. You need someone true to you and only you." Chris told her. She smiled slightly and stood up, moving over and sitting in the seat next to him.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked quietly. He nodded.
"Every word of what I just said is true." he said, patting her leg right above her knee. She smiled and rested her hand, which was much smaller than his, over the one on her leg.
"I really appreciate that, Chris. It means a lot to me." she told him, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. He smiled, almost to himself, as she sat back into her chair.
"Tess, I -" Chris started, but before he could say anything else the door burst open. Mark walked in.
"Hey, Tess, we need to get a move on. I have to be at the arena early tomorrow." the Deadman told his daughter. Tess nodded.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" she told Chris. He nodded and stood up, pulling the small girl into a hug.
"Altight." he said. She flashed him a small smile before walking off behind her father. Chris sighed.
'Smooth, Irvine.' he told himself. 'You get the courage to tell her and your moment is ruined. Go figure.'
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Tess was awake early the next morning. She glanced at the glowing numbers of the digital clock beside her, sighing when she read 4:02 a.m. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. She sat up in her bed and stretched, before tossing the covers back and getting up. She opened the pill bottle that was sitting on her bedside table and took one of the small tablets out. She made her way over to the small mini kitchen and took a bottle of water out of the refridgerator. She swallowed the pill and recapped the bottle.
'What am I supposed to do for two hours?' Tess asked herself. She knew that her father would be up by 6:15. 'I guess I'll take a bath.' she thought. The bathroom of their hotel room had a very large bathtub, so Tess figured she may as well use it. She grabbed a pair of light denim hip-huggers, a green t-shirt, and clean underwear before going into the bathroom and closng the door. She turned on the light and began running warm water into the tub. Looking through the medicine cabinent, she discovered a small bottle of peach bubble bath, and poured a healthy amount of it into the stream of running water. She grabbed her shampoo and conditioner out of the shower and undressed. She slid into the warm water with a sigh, resting her head against the tub. The bubbles engulfed her body as the water continued to rise. Tess eventually turned it off before it rose to the rim of the tub. She relaxed in the tub and almost fell asleep, until a buzzing noise snapped her out of her daze. She checked her watch and realized that it was six, and that was her father's wake up call. She hurridly washed her hair and shaved, before draining the water from the tub and slipping her clothes on. She pulled her long, brown hair up into a damp ponytail. She then walked out of the bathroom. Her father was sitting on the side of his bed, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Morning, Daddy." she said.
"Morning, Sweetie." he replied, before grabbing his clothes and retreating to the bathroom for a shower. Tess flipped the overhead lights on and applied a bit of foundation, some blush, silver eyeliner, a small amount of pink eyeshadow, and clear lipgloss. Then, she sat back on her bed and waiting for her father to get ready. He emerged about twenty minutes later, ready to go. Tess nodded and grabbed her purse and gym bag, in case she felt like training that day. Mark turned the lights off and locked the door behind them as they made their way to the rental. They arrived at the arena about fifteen minutes later, and Tess was suprised to see a large amount of news vans in the back parking lot, where the wrestlers parked. She got out of the car, both of her bags slung over her shoulder, and was instantly mobbed by reporters.
"Tess, we hear that you've been sick!" one reporter yelled, shoving a microphone into her face. She jerked her head back and pusehd the microphone away.
"She's got cancer!" another yelled.
"Tess, tell us how you're coping with your cancer!" another reporter yelled. Tess felt like her heart had frozen. Her legs turned to jelly and she stopped in her tracks. Mark grabbed her arm and continued to drag her until they were safely inside of the building. Tess's face was red with anger.
"Daddy, it was Rob who fucking told them!" she yelled. "It had to be him! I'll fucking kill him." she growled. "He's the only person that knows besides you, Chris, and Vince, and we iboth/i know that neither of them would tell." Tess was shaking she was so angry. She turned and began to quickly walk towards the woman's locker room, where she planned to sit and calm down. She burst through the door, and to her dismay, found Rob and Dawn Marie all over each other.
"Get the hell out of here binow/i/b." she hissed, pointing at Rob. He quirked a brow at her.
"Now, we don't need the hostile feelings, Tess..." Rob said, making a move to touch her arm.
"Touch me and I swear I will kick you so hard in the balls you will have to get them removed from your throat. Now get the fuck out." she pointed to the door. "You too." she pointed at Dawn Marie. Dawn immediately got up and walked out, grabbing Rob's hand and dragging him out with her. Tess threw her bags down and sat on one of the benches, resting her head in her hands.
'This day is already beginning and already it's shitty.' she thought.
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A/N: Wow! It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I'd really appreciate it if y'all reviewed and told me what you think of it, too! =)