Notes: This is going to be a little darker than we've gone into so far.
Athena's POV:
I locked myself in the room I'd been staying in and cried. How could she do this? How could she betray my family like that? Didn't she care that everything with my family fell apart after my Dad's 'Death'? Didn't she care that my Uncle Bret and my mother were absolutely destroyed by it?
I heard a knock on the door.
"Athena?" It was Tammy.
"Go Away!" I shouted through my sobs.
"Athena? Please honey, I know we need to talk? Please open the door?" Tammy Lynn's voice pleaded through the other side of the door.
Reluctantly, I opened the door. "Talk."
"I know your mad at me - " Tammy started to say.
"Mad! Try betrayed!" I shouted to her face having the pleasure of seeing her flinch.
Tammy sighed. "Please sit down and I'll explain. Everything."
I didn't know quite what Tammy meant by that, but I sat as she asked. Figured I might as well hear her out before I kick her ass again.
Tammy shut the door and sat down next to me.
She took a deep breath and let it out nervously.
"First off," she began, "I didn't know your dad was alive when I attended his funeral. I didn't find out until several years later, not long after everybody, me included, thought Danny's dad had 'died.' Right when I was getting involved with Michael.
"What do you mean 'When you were getting involved with Michael?' Whatever happened to your last husband, Chris?" I asked derisively. In 2002, she married a guy named Chris Candido. I was a flower girl at the wedding. I was six at the time. From what little I remember, the marriage rather disintegrated a couple years later. Nobody would tell Oje or me why saying we were too young to understand.
"That's why I need to tell you this story from the beginning. Because there are something's you weren't old enough to know and I'm still not sure how you're going to be able to handle them, but you need to know," Tammy said haltingly, looking more and more jittery.
"What do you remember me spending the night at your Mom's when you were 8?"
I nodded. "Mom wouldn't let me or Oje see you but she said you were there and Mom's not one for lies, so I didn't have any reason to not believe her. Um, something else. I overheard her, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Bret talking that night and something about 'how Chris could do that to you and how it was unfair of him to do that do you.' When I asked Mom later, she said that it was none of my business and that I was too young to understand.
"She's right Athey," Tammy replied, calling me by my childhood nickname. "You could never understand what that bastard did to me, but now it's necessary to know what he did, so you can understand how I got involved in this mess and met my guardian angel all at the same time."
"Me and Chris' relationship started going downhill even before we got married. I stupidly thought that being married would magically fix things. I couldn't have been more wrong."
"Me and Chris got married in 2002, and for awhile things were just like they used to be between the two of us. But then Chris started getting back heavily into drugs and wanting to have a baby. I didn't want to bring one into that environment. After a couple years of being married, I realized that Chris and me were just no longer compatible and I told him I was leaving him. To say that he didn't take the news well would be an understatement.
"He threw things at me. Calling me every name in the book and accusing me of sleeping with every name in the book. He then pinned me down and abused me. Physically, and sexually. He stopped after awhile and I called Bret since we were visiting Canada when I told Chris I was leaving. He came back before Bret or anybody else could get there."
"The last thing I remember before I woke up in the hospital was Chris standing over me with a brick in his hands."
"I woke up in immense pain, especially in my pelvic area. That was when the doctors told me that Chris had crushed my vaginal area and doctors had to perform a hysterectomy to save my life."
I stared at Tammy in shock, I knew that the relationship had gone badly but I didn't think it had ended that badly. Up until then, I don't think I hated anybody worse than I hated Chris Candido. Despite my own anger, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Tammy as she told her story.
"Ironic isn't it? The man wanted me to give him a child so much, but yet he took it from me," Tammy snorted bitterly as she let years of pain and sorrow show on her features. "Then again if he hadn't destroyed me so bad I'd have never met Michael."
"I had a restraining order against Chris while the trial was going on for his trying to kill me. Michael was one of the agents that helped in force it. We were very cordial, very professional with each other at first. After a few months, we developed a friendship. One night he took me out to dinner to celebrate my divorce from Chris and, that was when it started to turn something more. He was sweet and caring and everything Chris had, looking back never been. We started dating and after a couple months, he proposed to me. I kind of got scared given my romantic past and asked if I could think about. Wonderfully he did, but at a cost."
He started becoming a little more distant spending more and more of his time incommunicado. So one day I learned he was in Kentucky. I stupidly thought he was seeing someone else. So I tracked him down in a small town not far from her and I followed him all the way to the cabin. I was surprised to say the least."
I thought of a hundred different scenarios for what I would find when he went to the door of the cabin and I prepared for all of them. I never thought I'd see Owen Hart walking out the door and talk to Michael. Surprised was an understatement. I think they were both surprised to see me running up to them asking 'What the fuck is going on!' The looks on their faces was priceless."
"They ushered me inside and finally told me pretty much all they knew. Shocked the fucking hell out of me. Further shocked when Eddy came through the door with Chris Benoit. I agreed to help them because, truth be told I really had no love for Vince after Montreal when he screwed your Uncle Bret."
Tammy took a deep breath. "So that's how I got involved in this mess. I'm so sorry, for keeping this for you. I don't know how to make it up to you."
"Yeah, me too" I said, choking back tears of both anger and sorrow. Hearing Tammy's story made me feel sorry for her, but it didn't quite make up for the fact that she kept this from me. Didn't help ease the hurt of betrayal of her keeping the fact that my dad alive all this time from my family. My family lost so much in the last 19 years would really have been so bad to reveal that my Dad was alive?
"I think we better get back downstairs before everybody thinks you killed me or something," Tammy suggested wiping some tears in her eyes. She shot me a puzzled look.
"Where did you learn to spear and throw punches like that?" she asked.
"Um, well, I'm kind of training at OVW," I stammered out. Why was it so hard to admit that I was training? Maybe because up until today NOBODY who knew me from my family had known about it.
"Your what?" Tammy exclaimed. "Bret and your Mom know about this?"
"No, and please don't tell them? I wanna do it in my own time." I pleaded.
"Well, it's been awhile since me and Bret talked. Your secret is safe with me," she said.
Taking a deep breath, I stood up. "Let's go downstairs." I said.
Tammy and me got up and left the room reeling from the tragic tale told.
Athena's POV:
I locked myself in the room I'd been staying in and cried. How could she do this? How could she betray my family like that? Didn't she care that everything with my family fell apart after my Dad's 'Death'? Didn't she care that my Uncle Bret and my mother were absolutely destroyed by it?
I heard a knock on the door.
"Athena?" It was Tammy.
"Go Away!" I shouted through my sobs.
"Athena? Please honey, I know we need to talk? Please open the door?" Tammy Lynn's voice pleaded through the other side of the door.
Reluctantly, I opened the door. "Talk."
"I know your mad at me - " Tammy started to say.
"Mad! Try betrayed!" I shouted to her face having the pleasure of seeing her flinch.
Tammy sighed. "Please sit down and I'll explain. Everything."
I didn't know quite what Tammy meant by that, but I sat as she asked. Figured I might as well hear her out before I kick her ass again.
Tammy shut the door and sat down next to me.
She took a deep breath and let it out nervously.
"First off," she began, "I didn't know your dad was alive when I attended his funeral. I didn't find out until several years later, not long after everybody, me included, thought Danny's dad had 'died.' Right when I was getting involved with Michael.
"What do you mean 'When you were getting involved with Michael?' Whatever happened to your last husband, Chris?" I asked derisively. In 2002, she married a guy named Chris Candido. I was a flower girl at the wedding. I was six at the time. From what little I remember, the marriage rather disintegrated a couple years later. Nobody would tell Oje or me why saying we were too young to understand.
"That's why I need to tell you this story from the beginning. Because there are something's you weren't old enough to know and I'm still not sure how you're going to be able to handle them, but you need to know," Tammy said haltingly, looking more and more jittery.
"What do you remember me spending the night at your Mom's when you were 8?"
I nodded. "Mom wouldn't let me or Oje see you but she said you were there and Mom's not one for lies, so I didn't have any reason to not believe her. Um, something else. I overheard her, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Bret talking that night and something about 'how Chris could do that to you and how it was unfair of him to do that do you.' When I asked Mom later, she said that it was none of my business and that I was too young to understand.
"She's right Athey," Tammy replied, calling me by my childhood nickname. "You could never understand what that bastard did to me, but now it's necessary to know what he did, so you can understand how I got involved in this mess and met my guardian angel all at the same time."
"Me and Chris' relationship started going downhill even before we got married. I stupidly thought that being married would magically fix things. I couldn't have been more wrong."
"Me and Chris got married in 2002, and for awhile things were just like they used to be between the two of us. But then Chris started getting back heavily into drugs and wanting to have a baby. I didn't want to bring one into that environment. After a couple years of being married, I realized that Chris and me were just no longer compatible and I told him I was leaving him. To say that he didn't take the news well would be an understatement.
"He threw things at me. Calling me every name in the book and accusing me of sleeping with every name in the book. He then pinned me down and abused me. Physically, and sexually. He stopped after awhile and I called Bret since we were visiting Canada when I told Chris I was leaving. He came back before Bret or anybody else could get there."
"The last thing I remember before I woke up in the hospital was Chris standing over me with a brick in his hands."
"I woke up in immense pain, especially in my pelvic area. That was when the doctors told me that Chris had crushed my vaginal area and doctors had to perform a hysterectomy to save my life."
I stared at Tammy in shock, I knew that the relationship had gone badly but I didn't think it had ended that badly. Up until then, I don't think I hated anybody worse than I hated Chris Candido. Despite my own anger, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Tammy as she told her story.
"Ironic isn't it? The man wanted me to give him a child so much, but yet he took it from me," Tammy snorted bitterly as she let years of pain and sorrow show on her features. "Then again if he hadn't destroyed me so bad I'd have never met Michael."
"I had a restraining order against Chris while the trial was going on for his trying to kill me. Michael was one of the agents that helped in force it. We were very cordial, very professional with each other at first. After a few months, we developed a friendship. One night he took me out to dinner to celebrate my divorce from Chris and, that was when it started to turn something more. He was sweet and caring and everything Chris had, looking back never been. We started dating and after a couple months, he proposed to me. I kind of got scared given my romantic past and asked if I could think about. Wonderfully he did, but at a cost."
He started becoming a little more distant spending more and more of his time incommunicado. So one day I learned he was in Kentucky. I stupidly thought he was seeing someone else. So I tracked him down in a small town not far from her and I followed him all the way to the cabin. I was surprised to say the least."
I thought of a hundred different scenarios for what I would find when he went to the door of the cabin and I prepared for all of them. I never thought I'd see Owen Hart walking out the door and talk to Michael. Surprised was an understatement. I think they were both surprised to see me running up to them asking 'What the fuck is going on!' The looks on their faces was priceless."
"They ushered me inside and finally told me pretty much all they knew. Shocked the fucking hell out of me. Further shocked when Eddy came through the door with Chris Benoit. I agreed to help them because, truth be told I really had no love for Vince after Montreal when he screwed your Uncle Bret."
Tammy took a deep breath. "So that's how I got involved in this mess. I'm so sorry, for keeping this for you. I don't know how to make it up to you."
"Yeah, me too" I said, choking back tears of both anger and sorrow. Hearing Tammy's story made me feel sorry for her, but it didn't quite make up for the fact that she kept this from me. Didn't help ease the hurt of betrayal of her keeping the fact that my dad alive all this time from my family. My family lost so much in the last 19 years would really have been so bad to reveal that my Dad was alive?
"I think we better get back downstairs before everybody thinks you killed me or something," Tammy suggested wiping some tears in her eyes. She shot me a puzzled look.
"Where did you learn to spear and throw punches like that?" she asked.
"Um, well, I'm kind of training at OVW," I stammered out. Why was it so hard to admit that I was training? Maybe because up until today NOBODY who knew me from my family had known about it.
"Your what?" Tammy exclaimed. "Bret and your Mom know about this?"
"No, and please don't tell them? I wanna do it in my own time." I pleaded.
"Well, it's been awhile since me and Bret talked. Your secret is safe with me," she said.
Taking a deep breath, I stood up. "Let's go downstairs." I said.
Tammy and me got up and left the room reeling from the tragic tale told.