Unfinished Business – Part 2

The Troubles in Between

It was a clear, bright sunny morning, and Alex Hardy was feeling unimaginably excited. This was the best she had felt in years. She was 21 today. High school had been rough for her, and college was a major issue in her household. She often recalled the night she talked to her parents about it, and shuddered at the mere memory.

"Alex, dinner is ready!" Matt called. Amy was in the kitchen, wiping off 5 year old Sammy's hands. A year after the fight at the sleepover, Amy had another little boy, Sam. Alex absolutely adored him, and insisted on taking him almost everywhere she went. It looked as though Sam belonged to her, and not Amy.

Once the table was set, and everyone was sitting down, Alex decided to break the news.

"Mom, Dad, I have some news to tell you…And you aren't going to like it…" She said rather slowly.

"Go ahead Lex…How bad can it be? As long as you're not pregnant or dying, then I am happy…" Matt said. Amy and Sam chuckled a little bit.

"It's serious…I…I'm not going to college." There. It was said.

"Wait…What?" Amy said is disbelief. The room was dead quiet.

"Alexis Christine Hardy, what the hell are you thinking?" Matt demanded.

"Daddy, please. Don't make a big deal over this! Okay?" Alex screamed.

"Sam, please go up to your room…" Amy said quietly.

"But…"

"NOW, Sam…" The little boy frowned and walked up the stairs to his room, well…more like to the top of the stairs so he could still hear.

"Mommy, tell him! Tell him it is my decision, and that is that!" She pleaded. Amy kept quiet.

"Alex, don't go to your mother for help. Now, why is it that you don't want to go?"

"I don't have good grades, I…"

"You have all B's and one C!"

"That's not good enough! I want to be a wrestler, just like you! I don't want to keep going to school! I hate school! I want to travel, and be in the WWE!" More silence.

"Alex, just because that is what we do doesn't mean you have to do it too. In the WWE, you get hurt. Sometimes really bad. Yes, it is staged, but there can be instances where things go wrong, and we don't want you to be doing those things…" Amy said.

"Mom, I respect that, but I am not listening to what either one of you say! I AM going to be in the WWE, and I am NOT going to college."

"If you aren't going to listen to us, then fine. Don't. But as long as you are living under this roof, you go by our rules. You don't like them, then get the hell out." Matt said sternly. A gasp came from the stairs, and the Hardy family realized Sammy had heard all of it.

With tears in her eyes, Alex stood up. "Fine. I'll be out by the weekend." And that was that.

Three days after that spaghetti dinner, Alex was officially out. Haylie Orton, Alex's best friend, was the one who helped Alex through it all. She offered Alex a place to stay, seeing as though they were in the same school district, and Haylie had a big place. She still lived with her parents, but that was only because she was still in her last year of high school.

The Orton's were a little hesitant at first, because they already had 4 kids, (Tyler was born shortly after the sleepover). But the end result was welcoming her with open arms. Alex had to pay rent, of course, so they could use the money for groceries and such, but Alex didn't mind. She visited her mom often, and took her little brother with her everywhere but school, but not for weeks did she see her dad again.

After high school, Randy Orton, Haylie's dad, helped the two girls get signed with the WWE. It took a long time, and the girls trained for 3 years, traveling, training, getting in shape, and working side jobs to save up money. Alex realized within the years that it was way harder than she thought, and seeked her mom for guidance.

If anyone were to help her, Amy was the one. In her book she described the troubles, and obstacles she had to pass before getting signed to the WWE. Haylie and Alex stuck together through it all, and then, everything changed…

"Hey Haylie! It's me. I am just calling to ask where you are, I tried calling earlier, but you didn't answer. I haven't talked to you since this morning, girl! I am at the apartment now…so…Give me a call when you get this message!" Alex then hung up, with a frown on her face. It wasn't like her to not answer her phone, and it also wasn't like Haylie to not tell Alex where she was going.

Immediately Alex thought Haylie just didn't have her phone with her, or had it on silent. Time will tell, she thought.

The last time Alex called Haylie, it was 1:09 a.m. At this point, Alex knew Haylie too well to believe she was okay. She shuddered at the thought of Haylie getting hurt. We are almost there, she thought. We are almost into the WWE!

At 6:55 a.m. Alex got the phone call that changed her life.

She was trying to sleep, but couldn't. She was too busy worrying about Haylie. Then, the got the phone call.

"Ms. Hardy?"

"Um…yes, who is this?"

"I am sorry to call you so late, or early, depends on how you look at it…But anyway, this is Dr. Charles Nixon, and I am calling about your friend, Haylie Orton."

"Thank god! What is wrong? Is she okay? Please tell me she isn't hurt!" Alex was close to crying.

"I think you should come in, but she is okay. I think you should know the details."

"Okay…So, how long does it take to get there from Crystal Lakes Apartments?"

"About 10 minutes."

"Okay, see you then." Once she hung up, without even changing into her clothes, she grabbed her cars keys and her jacket, and headed out the door. She even forgot her shoes.

The car ride there was dead quiet. It was if someone had just aimed at her car, and pressed mute on a remote control. Other than the raspy sound of her breathing, she heard nothing else. She got to the hospital in 5 minutes.

Running into the emergency room, and already out of breath, she spotted Stacy, Randy, Kimmie, Carly, and Tyler. They all looked like they were crying except for Randy, who looked like he was going to start pretty soon.

She immediately ran over, and enveloped Stacy in a hug. The twins followed, and Randy just held Tyler in his lap.

"What happened?" Alex whispered in Stacy's ear desperately.

"She was in an accident." Randy said solemnly. The girls stopped hugging and turned to him. He began again.

"My little Haylie was hit by a drunk driver at a stop light. She was stopped, like a good driver, around 11, and the drunk driver came from the right, turned and hit her passenger side. That knocked her into the car next to her, and she was basically stuck in the middle…It took them 3 hours to get her out, both of her legs are broken, she has one broken arm, a collapsed lung, and they revived her twice. The doctors say she might be paralyzed from the waist down, if she doesn't improve." After those words were spoken, everyone began to cry once again, and this time, Randy joined them.

The day Alex turned 21, was the day Haylie walked for the first time in a year.

When Alex was walking that bright sunny morning in May, she was walking into the MCI Center in Washington D.C., where she was about to sign a WWE contract. She was going to do what her father had forbidden, and it made her feel unusually good. She was supposed to meet both her parents for lunch afterwards, to make up, and it made her feel so excited that she was finally achieving her dream. She nonchalantly made her way inside the arena, and a security guard led her to Vince McMahon's temporary office.

The plane ride over there was so long in her mind. It only took 4 hours, but it seemed like a lifetime. After she got off the plane, the day before her birthday, she called her mom, and Stacy to check in. Stacy told her there was some improvement in Haylie, but not much. Her mom told her she was meeting her for lunch the next day, and that Stacy offered to watch Sam, so he could play with Tyler so he wouldn't worry about Haylie. This meant that her dad was coming too.

At 7:00, on May 25, Stacy woke Alex up by calling her cell. Before Alex could say hello, Stacy screeched, "She walked," over and over again. Alex began to cry, and wanted to speak with Haylie.

"Allie?"

"Leelee! Oh my god!"

"I walked, Alex. I actually walked. It was only three steps, but I walked!"

"Why today? Why when I couldn't be there?"

"It's your birthday Alex. Whether you were gone or not, I think it was a pretty good present!"

"Me too, I just wish I was there! What made you walk?"

"Well, I asked my mom when you would be back, after all, today is your birthday, and my mom said if everything goes well with Vince McMahon, then in a few days. Then I remembered I never even knew why you left! No one told me, and I never asked. All I knew was that you were going to D.C. and I guess I got so excited I stood up to grab the phone to call you. I didn't even realize I was standing up out of a wheelchair! My mom gasped and that is when I realized I was doing it! I walked two steps, almost fell, but my mom was there.

"I wish you were here, Alex. So you could have gotten your birthday wish!"

Alex was crying, but composed herself enough to reply. "Me too. But if I get a contract, then I will be living my dream. Then, when you can walk again, you will join me, and we'll be doing what we have always wanted to do, together, just like we said we would. We are NOT going to let a drunk driver stand in the way of that. Ever."

They said their heartfelt goodbyes, and after hanging up, Alex showered, got dressed, grabbed herself some breakfast in the hotel lobby, and made her way outside, with her gorgeous smile radiating from her gorgeous face.

"Mr. McMahon, it is a pleasure to meet you!" Alex said in a business-like manner.

"Let me guess: Alex Hardy?"

"Yes, sir."

"I didn't even have to look at your resume. I could tell it was you! You definitely are your mother's daughter!" The both chuckled.

"I may be pretty old, but I can tell a pretty face when I see one." Alex blushed.

"I heard this is one of your last years before you hand the company over to your son?"

"Yes, he really wants the 'family business' job. Listen, I have just one more person to go find, so why don't you have a seat in my office, and wait for me to get back. There is another aspiring diva in there…"

Alex nodded, and made her way inside the door, as Vince McMahon stepped out. Sitting in an office chair was none other than Taryn Stratus, looking almost as surprised as Alex did.