"Hey."
Though his voice was soft and gentle, the little woman still jumped.
She hated the way she felt around men. And though there was no way Rob Van Dam
could have known about her previous relationship with John, it didn't mean that
she wouldn't be nervous around him, even if they were in a crowded hallway
bustling with last minute show preparations.
"Hi," Lilian finally replied, managing a small smile for Rob.
Gesturing to the empty space next to her, Lilian pulled her knees up to her
chest, wrapping her slender arms around them. Lilian was glad that her long
sleeves and rounded collar of the shirt she wore covered the bruises John had
left only two days ago. She didn't need the fans to start rumors as to why she
had bruises on her arms and shoulders. Lilian was also happy that Rob and
Stephanie had found her earlier after she had taken off and explained that he
hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. Still, Lilian felt a little bad running off
without listening to Rob. She really didn't want him to think of her only as an
overemotional female.
"How are you doing? Nervous?" Rob asked, taking a seat next to
Lilian.
"Yeah. I am. Very. I mean. how are the fans going to react when I am
the one who walks out of the curtain to be your manager? Will they even remember
me?" Lilian asked, frowning slightly.
"If they can remember pretty faces then I am sure they will remember
you," Rob said softly, not surprised when the little brunette blushed and ducked
her head. Smiling slightly, Rob reached over and grabbed Lilian's hand,
squeezing it gently. "You will do fine, Lilian. They are going to love you to
pieces," Rob continued.
"I sure hope so." Lilian said, her voice trailing off. Rob looked at
her patiently, still holding her hand in his, wanting her to continue. "I mean.
it seemed so perfect, Rob, to just walk back into the Titan Towers and be
employed again. But now the fear I have settling in my stomach is just
unbearable. I came back here. I wanted to escape the fear but I just went
headfirst into it once again," Lilian said with a sigh.
"What fear is that, Lilian?" Rob asked, his light eyes searching
hers.
"The fear of not being accepted. The fear that you will never do
anything right." Lilian looked at Rob, tears welling in her eyes.
"Lily. The fans loved you before and they will love you now," Rob
said, brushing a tear from her cheek. "After you left, I heard a lot of fans
asking about you, about what had happened to you and why you left so suddenly.
No one ever knew why. We all suspected that it had to do with John, but we would
never say anything about you. Mostly out of not knowing, but we didn't want to
disrespect you."
"Thank you for that. I need someone to tell me that I am loved and
it's good that people actually cared for me. It's not really for the fans to
know," Lilian murmured. She gave a weak smile to Rob before continuing, "Though
sometimes I wish people had known what John did to me."
"What did he do to you?" Rob asked gently, more out of curiosity
than nosiness.
Lilian sighed, drawing her eyes away from Rob's again. "I'm not
ready," she said after a long pause. "I can't. I don't."
"It's okay," Rob said softly, squeezing her hand once more before
letting go. "Let's talk about tonight's angle."
"Okay," Lilian said, relieved that Rob had dropped the issue so
quickly.
"It's set as me going out and saying that I deserve a shot at the
title. However, with Team Angle at Kurt's side, the fight isn't fair, blah blah
blah." Lilian smiled at how calm Rob seemed, and he continued, "That's when you
make your entrance. The crowd is pleased, and you say you can be in my corner to
keep Angle's squad out of the way. Angle's music will hit, we jaw at each other
for a bit, and then Steph comes out and orders the RVD/Angle match for the next
Pay-Per-View, which is four weeks away. Then she will make the Benoit/RVD and
Angle/Lesnar match for tonight."
Lilian nodded, smiling slightly. She had been through this earlier
with Stephanie but it didn't hurt to have a little refresher, something that she
had learned a long time ago. She was finally starting to feel excited about her
debut. or redebut. or whatever it was. However, the butterflies stirred up again
when a man stepped in front of the two.
"Lilian, Rob, you two are up."
Though his voice was soft and gentle, the little woman still jumped.
She hated the way she felt around men. And though there was no way Rob Van Dam
could have known about her previous relationship with John, it didn't mean that
she wouldn't be nervous around him, even if they were in a crowded hallway
bustling with last minute show preparations.
"Hi," Lilian finally replied, managing a small smile for Rob.
Gesturing to the empty space next to her, Lilian pulled her knees up to her
chest, wrapping her slender arms around them. Lilian was glad that her long
sleeves and rounded collar of the shirt she wore covered the bruises John had
left only two days ago. She didn't need the fans to start rumors as to why she
had bruises on her arms and shoulders. Lilian was also happy that Rob and
Stephanie had found her earlier after she had taken off and explained that he
hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. Still, Lilian felt a little bad running off
without listening to Rob. She really didn't want him to think of her only as an
overemotional female.
"How are you doing? Nervous?" Rob asked, taking a seat next to
Lilian.
"Yeah. I am. Very. I mean. how are the fans going to react when I am
the one who walks out of the curtain to be your manager? Will they even remember
me?" Lilian asked, frowning slightly.
"If they can remember pretty faces then I am sure they will remember
you," Rob said softly, not surprised when the little brunette blushed and ducked
her head. Smiling slightly, Rob reached over and grabbed Lilian's hand,
squeezing it gently. "You will do fine, Lilian. They are going to love you to
pieces," Rob continued.
"I sure hope so." Lilian said, her voice trailing off. Rob looked at
her patiently, still holding her hand in his, wanting her to continue. "I mean.
it seemed so perfect, Rob, to just walk back into the Titan Towers and be
employed again. But now the fear I have settling in my stomach is just
unbearable. I came back here. I wanted to escape the fear but I just went
headfirst into it once again," Lilian said with a sigh.
"What fear is that, Lilian?" Rob asked, his light eyes searching
hers.
"The fear of not being accepted. The fear that you will never do
anything right." Lilian looked at Rob, tears welling in her eyes.
"Lily. The fans loved you before and they will love you now," Rob
said, brushing a tear from her cheek. "After you left, I heard a lot of fans
asking about you, about what had happened to you and why you left so suddenly.
No one ever knew why. We all suspected that it had to do with John, but we would
never say anything about you. Mostly out of not knowing, but we didn't want to
disrespect you."
"Thank you for that. I need someone to tell me that I am loved and
it's good that people actually cared for me. It's not really for the fans to
know," Lilian murmured. She gave a weak smile to Rob before continuing, "Though
sometimes I wish people had known what John did to me."
"What did he do to you?" Rob asked gently, more out of curiosity
than nosiness.
Lilian sighed, drawing her eyes away from Rob's again. "I'm not
ready," she said after a long pause. "I can't. I don't."
"It's okay," Rob said softly, squeezing her hand once more before
letting go. "Let's talk about tonight's angle."
"Okay," Lilian said, relieved that Rob had dropped the issue so
quickly.
"It's set as me going out and saying that I deserve a shot at the
title. However, with Team Angle at Kurt's side, the fight isn't fair, blah blah
blah." Lilian smiled at how calm Rob seemed, and he continued, "That's when you
make your entrance. The crowd is pleased, and you say you can be in my corner to
keep Angle's squad out of the way. Angle's music will hit, we jaw at each other
for a bit, and then Steph comes out and orders the RVD/Angle match for the next
Pay-Per-View, which is four weeks away. Then she will make the Benoit/RVD and
Angle/Lesnar match for tonight."
Lilian nodded, smiling slightly. She had been through this earlier
with Stephanie but it didn't hurt to have a little refresher, something that she
had learned a long time ago. She was finally starting to feel excited about her
debut. or redebut. or whatever it was. However, the butterflies stirred up again
when a man stepped in front of the two.
"Lilian, Rob, you two are up."