I closed my eyes tight and balled up my fists, trying to remember my probation. I could hear Kai crying in her room directly above me. I looked in the driveway to see my mother's car gone. 'It's Monday, she's at work' I reminded my self. I could feel the presence of Rome and Leon behind me. Words didn't need to be said, I knew if it came down to it, they had my back.
"What, no smile? No 'Hey, good to see you dad!'? What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he said, trying to coax me into hitting him. Suddenly, I felt a small hand grab mine. I felt for the ring, and I knew Ari was trying to keep me calm.
"Get…out." I said, trying to keep my voice calm and even so he didn't know how much he was getting to me. I felt Ari squeeze my hand tight, to keep me from fighting him. The next thing I know, she was in front of me, face to face with him.
"And who is this? You got women fighting you battles for you now?" I know this ain't my Kaire, so who is she?" He said, doing the one thing she hated; looking down at her, and talking with a baby voice. I could feel her stiffen up as he talked, and I grabbed her right hand quickly, because I knew she was going to try to hit him.
"Don't do it baby," I muttered in her ear. She closed her eyes tight, and started shaking her right leg really fast; a sure-fire sign that she either needed a punching bag, or you would become one for her.
"Ari, go in the house." I said, trying to get her in the house before she killed someone. She struggled against me, and I had to get help before she got away. "Rome," I gasped. "Grab her." Rome got her into the house, and he closed the door to keep her from getting back out. 'Good, that's one crisis out of the way. That's all I need is for John, Randy, DeWayne, Matt, Mark, Eddie, and just about the whole roster to kick my ass because I let her get hurt beating my dad's ass.' I thought, taking a deep breath and opening my eyes and looking at my dad, if you could call him that.
"So, who's that?" he said, still trying to get a rise out of me.
"Why you always gotta fuck with me Craig?" I said, struggling to keep my voice clear of anger, hurt and fear.
"What are you talking about boy?"
"I'm not a boy, I'm a man, a lot more of a man then you'll ever be. And I know what's going through your head. Get me to hit you so you can sue and get all of my money and send me to jail. Well, it ain't gonna happen man, not at all, not by a long shot.
"What do you mean, oh son of mine?" he said, sarcastically.
"I'm not your son. I don't have a father. I have a mother and a grandmother, but not a dad. Name one time you've even stayed at this house for more than three days, ONE!" I said, letting go of all restraints on my emotions; he needed to see how much of what he did hurt. I turned around and opened the door a crack. "Rome, get Kai, tell her she needs to be out here."
"Alright. Leon, go get her." Leon left, and then Rome spoke again. "Ireland is shook up man, she ain't never seen you like this. She thinks you're gonna hit him," he laughed. I could hear Ari in the living room pacing, trying to vent her anger with out throwing anything. "Tell her, everything's fine. I'm not going to hit him…but I'm not saying you or Leon won't." I said, winking at him, aware that Craig could hear every word we said.
"True, too damn true. So, tell her to sit her little ass down?"
"Yeah, tell her to sit her little ass down." I laughed. Rome could always get anyone out of a bad mood; that was why he was my favorite cousin.
"Her name is Ireland? What the hell kind of name is Ireland?" he said laughing. I closed my eyes at his words. I hate when people do that; they can't get at me, so they attack people I love.
"She's kind of small, she one of Kai's friends?" I kept silent. I wasn't going to even talk about Ari.
"Oh, silence. I take that as a no. What you do boy, bring home a kid or something? Naw, see, you ain't dumb like me, you ain't gonna bring no kids into this world so your baby's mama's can hound you for all kinds of child support and shit…no, I'll hand it to you young brother, you a lot smarter than I ever was. You ain't brought no kids into this world yet; I know that much."
"If I brought a kid into this world, I'd be a lot better father than you ever were!" I shouted, cutting him off.
"Don't interrupt me! Didn't your mother ever tell you to respect your elders boy?" he said, trying to get 'fatherly' me.
"Nope, she said that was a father's job to discipline his son. That she couldn't teach a boy to be a man. So I taught myself. I can't wait to have kids…I'd never do them the way you did me and Kai!" I screamed, near tears.
"Shell…" a little voice came from the doorway. I turned around to see Kai, her usual brown eyes red and blood-shot, her little brown face tear-streaked.
"Come here Kai." I said, my tone changing instantly. She came over to me, and I put my arm over her shoulder. Her arms went around my waist, and she buried her face in my side, never looking at him. "So, Craig, why don't you explain it to her, since I really don't get it? Can you tell her where you were at her First birthday? What about her Fifth? What about pre-school graduation? Or Kindergarten? Where the hell were you when she broke her arm playing foot ball with me and Leon? What about when she got her first kiss? When she went to her first school dance? Christmas? Thanksgiving? What about me? You weren't even there for my graduation from high school. I don't remember you being at one track meet, wrestling match, basketball game, baseball game, football game, NOT ONE!" I said, getting louder with every word, finally shedding a tear; actually crying like I hadn't since I was 13 years old and my grandfather died. Crying like I had when Kara told me about being raped. Crying like I did when I was 7 my mom told me that my dad didn't want me or Kai. Kai was still holding on to me, and she was the only thing keeping me from hitting the man who stood in front of me, scowling.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out just as easy." He said slowly. I knew what I'd said got to him, even if he didn't want to show it.
"Oh really, mom used that one on me and Kai almost everyday when we would act up. But I'm not afraid of you man, not even a little bit. You can hit on my moms and my sister, but you won't hit on a nigga your size, now will you?" I said, balling my fists up and ignoring the moans of my little sister telling me to just walk away and go in the house.
"Shelton, just stop, let's just go in the house. Please, just let's go in the house. Come on Shell, he's not worth it." Kai said, sounding like it wasn't her asking me, but more like a prayer. "He's not a real dad anyway." She said finally looking at him with her last sentence.
"Oh I'm not huh Kaire? And what would have made me a batter daddy, huh? Coming to your little ballet recitals? Buying presents for you? Your mother really spoiled you. You're almost as big of a bitch as she is, and you're only 14."
"I'm 16!" she screamed. "I turned 16 last April; you would know that though, if you were ever around. I had a huge sweet 16 party and everything. I was supposed to go to the Cinderella ball, where every girl gets introduced to society escorted by her father. Uncle Ronnie escorted me. Every birthday, I made the same wish until I was 14: To have a real father, not a check every two weeks. You know what makes you a real father Craig? Telling your daughter you love her. REMEMBERING WHEN SHE TURNS FUCKING 16!" she screamed. Then she ran back into the house.
"Oh I'm gonna get you, I'll get you back for this one boy, mark my words. Turning my baby girl against me. You can't be here forever, and once you leave, I'll be back, bet on it." He said, stepping back out of my face.
"Oh, I won't be here, but they will." I said, looking back at the house. The front door opened, and out came Rome and Leon, both of whom are taller than me, but Leon's a little scrawny, and Rome's built a little bit better than I am. (A/N: come on people, Tyrese is WAY better built than Shelton Benjamin, we all know this…if you disagree, look up a picture of Tyrese Gibson, then look up a pic of my Shelly, and Compare!) Rome cracked his knuckles, and Leon tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck loudly.
"I'm gonna get you for this one boy, you're a real man, huh? I got 7 others, and all of them are disappointments, just like you and your little sister! Crying like a little bitch, and you a man! You'll treat your kids WAY better than I treated you and your sister? Come on now Shelton, you'll be there 24/7 for them, huh?" He said, getting into his car.
"YOU DAMN RIGHT I'LL BE A BETTER MAN AND FATHER THEN YOU EVER WAS OR EVER WILL BE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "I'll be there for my kid. I'll do more than send 200 bucks every week. I'll come play games with him and treat her like the little princess she is. I really want to have kids, so I could be a better father than you were to us. I want to be a dad more than anything in the world, so I can show my mom that she did raise a man, and that we didn't need you. I'd tuck my son or daughter in and tell them I loved them every night, just so they didn't forget it. I don't think I ever remember you telling me or Kai that you loved us. Mom and big mama did every day, but you didn't say it once. That's what I'll do for my kids: love them."
"We'll see about that. We'll fucking see!" He gave me the finger and pulled off. I picked up a brick on the side walk and threw it as hard as I could. It hit the back window of his car and broke it. He kept driving, knowing if he came back, Rome and Leon were waiting.
"Thanks for having my back ya'll." I said, wiping my eyes and nose before going back into the house. I knew he had something up his sleeve, I just didn't know what.
I was scared. Not for me, or for Kai, but for Shelton. I knew he could handle himself, but that was the part that scared me. What if Shelton hit him? What if Rome or Leon couldn't get outside in time? What if He got sent to jail for 10 years? All of these questions went through my head as I sat with Kaire in the living room. Kaire had her head in my lap, and she was crying. I just sat and stroked her hair while she cried. We heard glass shattering, and we ran to the window. We saw Shelton outside, wiping his eyes, like he'd been crying. He walked in and went into his room; we heard the door lock behind him. We all looked at each other for about ten minutes before any of us said anything.
"So what happens now?" I said, suddenly feeling small and helpless; a feeling I hated.
"We wait. Shelton does this every time he shows up. He won't talk to anyone for a couple of hours, and he'll lock himself in his room to think. He'll come back out by dinner." Rome said, kissing my forehead. I needed time to think myself. I went out back to the trampoline and sat in the middle of it. I noticed I was still in my PJ's which consisted of Shelton's boxers and one of my tank tops, but I didn't care.
"Kaire," I called back into the house.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you could get my cell for me? It's in Shelton's room, but I really don't want to go in there right now." I didn't want to admit it, but he was scaring me right now; a lot.
"Uh, yeah. I'll be back." She said, and I heard her run up the stairs. I lay back on the trampoline and looked at the sky. It was a clear azure blue, but it didn't feel right to me. Something wasn't right, I felt like someone was hiding something from me still. I felt like EVERYONE was hiding something from me, especially Shelton. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I was going to find out.
"Ireland, here you go." A voice said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned around to see Rome standing there with my phone.
"Romie, how'd you end up with my phone?" I said, taking it from him. He smirked and climbed on the trampoline with me. He lay down in the middle, and I lay down too, our bodies making a 'T' with my head on his stomach as we looked up. He started playing with my hair and we started to talk.
"Shelton broke down again." He said, taking a deep breath.
"What do you mean, broke down?" I said, sitting up and looking at Rome in his eyes.
"I mean, he's up there snapping out. In his closet, is a punching bag, a huge one. You can't see it because it's behind the clothes hanger. He built it there when he bought this house for his mom."
"He bought this for his mom?"
"Yep, Big Mama's house too…they were the first things he ever bought with his money from the WWE. He bought his mom and big mama a house, his mom the car, and he set up the basement for Kai. He even pays for her ballet classes."
I thought to myself for a second. 'Shelton is an Angel. He's so special, and no one even notices. I have to do something special for him on his birthday…but WHAT?'
"Wow, he does all of these things, and still somehow has time in his day to think about me. How does he do it Rome?"
"I don't know Ireland, Leon calls him Superman sometimes, cause it seems like he can do anything. I mean, his heart is so big, you know?"
"I do know, that's what I first noticed about him…" I said. 'Among other things,' I thought to my self, remembering when I first saw him. He was wearing denim shorts and wrestling boots…nothing more or less. I smiled to myself, thinking about him. I must have gone into a daze, because I could feel Rome's eyes on me as he was laughing.
"What?" I said, hearing him laugh.
"You really love my cousin, huh?" he said, smirking.
"Yeah, I do Rome. I only love my parents and Mattie more. He's been with me through so much. He helped me get over being molested and raped… and I was able to talk to my mom and be at peace with everything that happened before being adopted. He's my rock when Matt's not around and he's my everything. He's my angel Rome." I said, lying back on his stomach and looking up at the sky again.
"Raped? When Ari?" he said suddenly. He didn't know about that chapter of my life.
"Remember that night we didn't come home when we'd run away from the orphanage?"
"Yeah, they tried to beat it out of me where you'd gone, but I never told them you went to the park."
"That night, we were with Dad and Mom…well, they weren't mom and dad yet. They promised to adopt us, and they gave us their cell phone numbers to call them if we needed anything. We kept those numbers, and we called them everyday faithfully."
"Get to the point Ariel, when did this happen?" Rome said stiffly. I could tell he wanted to know, but I was still touchy about re-visiting the area.
"Do you remember Mr. Arnold?"
"Yeah, you were his favorite. He used to give you extra food and junk. He was cool as hell."
"Well, about a month after you left the orphanage, he started raping me every night. Each night, he would come in the girl's room and take me out of bed. He'd beat me unconscious, and rape me. I'd come to in a pool of my own blood on the floor of the supply closet near the girl's room every morning before dawn and I'd clean myself up and get back into bed. After about the fourth week, I started trying to sleep in Matt's bed in the boy's room, even though it wasn't allowed. Then, he started beating Matt for letting me in his bed at night to hide." I could feel Rome tensing up as I told my story. I started to cry as I continued.
"He started threatening to split us up if Matt told anyone about it. Matt called dad and told him they were trying to split us up. He told us not to worry, that we were coming home with him soon enough. That night, I hid in Matt's bed again. Mr. Arnold came in and beat Matt real bad. Mr. Arnold dragged me into the Supply Closet, and raped me again; this time, he didn't beat me unconscious, I was wide awake the whole time. I passed out when he was done, and I woke up in the hospital, looking at my dad's, mom's and Uncle Wayne's faces. I had three broken ribs, a broken wrist, and my ankle was severely sprained. Matt had a shoulder broken in three places, a broken humorous, and his collar bone was split in two. He had to go to rehab for two years to get his arm back in full use."
"Baby Girl, you've been through so much shit. How do you get through your life with what you've been through?"
"One day at a time Rome, that's the only way I can get through it." I said, kissing his cheek and getting up.
"I'm going to make a phone call real quick. I'll be back later Rome."
"Alright, but don't go far little girl."
"I'm not that little." I said, wiping my eyes and laughing at him.
"Whatever baby girl, just be careful."
I rolled my eyes and walked around the house to sit on the front porch to use the phone. I dialed the familiar number and called the one person I truly needed to talk to.
"Hello?" the soothing voice said on the phone, instantly making me feel better.
"Hey daddy." I said, sniffing a little.
"Hey baby doll, haven't heard from you since Christmas. Are you okay?'
"Uh, yeah and no. I mean I'm fine physically, but I just told Rome, you know, the guy I grew up with that Shelton's family adopted, about what happened after he left."
"Still shook up about it huh?"
"A little."
"He got ten years in a maximum security prison for what he did to you Ari…that's not even enough, but he paid for what he did to you, and he'll never find you baby, I promise."
"Okay dad." I said, sighing.
"There's more isn't it?" he said, knowing that I was too quiet.
"Yeah, there is." I told him the story of what happened from when we had woken up to my conversation with Rome a couple of minutes before. "So I don't know if I should try to talk to him or not, you know?"
"Yeah Ari, but I know Shelton, he hides his emotions as best he can, a lot like Matt does. He thinks that showing them makes him less of a man, so he locks himself in his room, and lets them out."
"But…I mean, he's scaring the hell out of me daddy…what am I supposed to do?"
"Just give him some time Ari, he'll come around. Trust me."
"Thanks, I love you dad."
"Anytime short stuff. I love you too. Now, make sure you bring your little ass home with my Christmas present."
"Sure thing dad…make sure all my stuff's still there." I laughed.
"Fine, I won't steal the makeup and jewelry the girls gave you." He sighed, sarcastically. I could practically hear him smiling through the phone.
"Hey" a voice said. I looked behind me to see Shelton standing in the doorway, a half-smile on his face.
"Uh, dad, I gotta go, "
"Let me guess, Shelton?"
"No, nothing like that, I just want to go put on some clothes that aren't Pajamas." I said quickly.
"Ari, you're still a really shitty liar."
"I know, I tried though….didn't want you to think I was ditching you pop," I laughed.
"It's okay. Love ya Princess."
"Love you too Doc."
"Bye"
"See ya tomorrow." I hung up the phone and turned to face Shelton. I put my arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as I could. He did the same, wrapping me in his big arms and holding me close.
"You okay?" I said after a while, looking up at him.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm fine sweetie. Are you alright? My window was open, and I kind of heard your conversation with Rome earlier."
"I'm okay now, I just needed to talk to dad about it. It's still kind of hard talking about it, you know? I hate bringing it up, but Rome needed to know. He knows me better than anyone, besides Matt, and he never knew…he looks at me like family…his long lost little sister, you know?"
He nodded, turning me around so my back was to him. We took a couple of steps forward, and sat down on the steps. Shelton was a step above me, his arms draped over my shoulders.
"Shelton?" I said after a long silence.
"Hmm?" he said, looking down at me.
"I get this weird feeling that you're hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is."
Shelton stiffened up, and looked away. "It's nothing like what you're thinking baby…I mean, it's a secret, but you'll find out when the time is right. I promise."
"Shelton, remember, no secrets?"
"This time it's different baby. I'm telling you…I'll tell you when the time is right."
"What the hell, Shelton? Come on, I mean, we said, no secrets…but you're keeping something from me. I don't understand you at all these days!" I said, standing up. I walked into the house and went upstairs. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a Batista t-shirt along with boxers and a bra. I went into the bathroom, and took an hour long hot bath to relax. I got dressed, and came out. I walked over to Kai's room to talk to her for a while. We got up to get something to eat, but stopped when heard Shelton, Rome and Leon talking in Shelton's room with the door cracked open.
"I can't tell you guys. End of story." Shelton's voice came.
"Shell, what did you say to her man? She's pissed." Leon said.
"Yeah man, and I love Ireland like a little sister…I don't want her crying and pissed off. She's been through enough." Rome's voice came.
"I won't tell her this secret. There's another Christmas present waiting for her at her dad's house. I can't tell her about it, because she'll get what it is out of me before we get to Boston." He said.
"What's the gift?"
"Well, it's not just from me; It's from me, John, Randy, Hardy, and pretty much the whole WWE family pitched in on this gift. I'm telling you guys, it's awesome."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you guys, I can't tell anyone. She might hear me."
"I won't tell her."
"Me neither." Rome said. I heard the bed shift, and someone cross the room. I'm guessing that Shelton must have whispered the gift to the two of them, because the next thing I heard was a chorus of 'Damn's' go through the room.
"That's a good ass gift." Leon said.
"I knew you loved the girl, but DAMN!" Rome laughed.
"It was my idea, but the rest of them did the work, especially Mark and Eddie. But most of the credit goes to her best friends Amy, Jeff, and Matt, cause they did an awesome job on the…" he stopped and got really quiet. The next thing I knew, the door opened, and I fell into the room, Kaire toppling in right behind me.
"Well, well, well boys, what do we got here? A couple of snoops!" Shelton said, amused.
"Well, at least we know what he's hiding from you Ari," Kai said, smirking. Shelton looked down at me and I just grinned sheepishly. He smirked and picked me up.
"Happy now?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Sorry, but I heard you being secretive, and I couldn't resist."
"You're forgiven," he said, kissing my forehead. I smirked at him, and Kaire and I walked out of the room giggling like teenage girls. (Well, technically, we were teenage girls. I was 17, and she was 16.)
"We were SO busted!" I laughed.
"I know! Did you see his face when he opened the door?" Kai gasped, holding on to me as she tried to catch her breath. We went down the stairs and into the kitchen, looking for something to eat.
"Well, there's leftover pizza, some chicken my mom made a couple of nights ago, uh, some Christmas ham, and some candied yams. What do you want?" Kaire said, smirking.
"Well, dearest Kaire, I want some of that Christmas ham and some yams. Let's hurry up before Roman comes down here." I said, taking the ham out of the fridge while she got the yams. We ended up eating the rest of it before the boys came down. When we finished, Shelton and I went to visit with his grandmother for a while, since we were leaving the next day. He told her about what had happened that morning, and she told him not to worry about Craig's threats, that he was full of hot air, and he had nothing to worry about.
"Thanks, Big Mama, I needed that." He said, hugging her.
"Any time, baby. Take care of that girl of yours, she's something special." She said, eyeing me. Shelton looked at me, smiling.
"I will. She special to me Big Mama, very special."
A/N: Sorry about the long wait people, my computer crashed, and it took me a while to recover all of my files. R&R please!
