Lilian swallowed, willing the tears that welled up in her eyes away. "Hey," she whispered, smiling weakly at Trish and Lita.
Trish and Lita stared at Lilian for a few moments, still shocked that she was
actually there. Trish was the first to move, stepping forward and hesitantly
touching Lilian's hair.
"You dyed your hair," Trish whispered, stroking the soft strands. She trailed
her hand down to rest on Lilian's shoulder. As Trish ran her eyes up and down
Lilian's slender body, she added, "You've lost weight."
Lilian nodded, afraid to speak out of fear of bursting into tears.
"Why?" Lita whispered, stepping forward as well. She reached out, touching
Lilian's arm, as if making sure that she was really there and not a figment of her imagination.
"What?" Lilian asked, confused.
"Why did you leave?"
"It's a long, painful, and difficult story to explain," Lilian murmured.
"Believe me, I hated walking out on this business. It hurt me so bad but John
gave me no choice."
"What about him? Is he here?" Trish asked sharply. She never did like Lilian's husband, especially the way he treated her, but she did support her best friend.
"No," Lilian whispered. "He's gone. We're finished."
"Did he hurt you?" Lita asked quietly.
"I don't want to talk about that." Lilian bit her lip, willing the memories of her husband to go away.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Lita murmured, wrapping Lilian in a hug. The brunette rested her forehead against Lita's shoulder, closing her eyes to stop the tears that were welling. The choked up feeling didn't stop when Trish wrapped her arms around Lilian as well, holding her friend closely.
"God, I've missed you so much," Trish murmured. "You have no clue how happy you being here makes me."
"The feeling's definitely mutual, Trish," Lilian replied with a sigh. "I'm so
glad to be home."
Lita pulled back, smiling at Lilian. "You okay, honey?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"So… uh, what are you doing tonight?" Trish asked.
"Nothing. It's been a long few days. I'm probably just going to crash at the
hotel."
"Why don't you come get some drinks with us? If you're up for it, that is."
"Who all's going to be there?" Lilian asked somewhat warily.
"Probably Steph, Torrie, Benoit, Bubba, Shawn, Billy, and us. We're a pretty
tight group."
"Oh, I don't want to intrude…" Lilian hesitated.
"Aw, come on," Trish pleaded. "It's been so long since we've hung out! Invite
Rob too."
"It'll be fun," Lita said, nudging Lilian gently in the ribs.
"I'll think about it," Lilian replied. "I'm not promising anything, though."
"Oh, I knew you'd say yes!" Trish giggled. Lilian shook her head, amused. Trish certainly hadn't changed in five years.
Lilian glanced at her watch, and said, "Look, guys, I need to go find Rob. We
have a match in twenty minutes and I want to go over everything with him and
Chris."
"All right," Lita agreed. "Good luck out there. Though I doubt you'll need it."
"Thanks," Lilian answered with a tiny grin.
"See you later," Trish chimed in. Lilian nodded toward the two, and Trish added, "Lil? It's really good to have you back. We've both missed you. A lot of people have."
Lilian nodded again, fighting the tears that were threatening once again.
"Later," she said, turning and walking down the hall.
"I'm not sure I really want to be here," Lilian fretted to Rob as they stood at the entrance of the dim bar.
"Hey, we don't have to go in," Rob shrugged, wrapping an arm across Lilian's
shoulders. He felt her tense up, and he quickly removed his arm. "Sorry," he
apologized, feeling bad immediately.
"It's not you," Lilian sighed. "Plus, I need to get out. I spent too many nights cooped up thanks to John."
"Hey," Rob said softly, taking her arm gently. "If you need to talk, I'm here. Not only as a partner but as a friend."
Lilian nodded, hugging Rob quickly. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
Rob smiled, then said, "I think I see them over there. You okay?"
"Yeah," Lilian replied. She smiled at Rob, the first true smile in awhile.
"Let's go have some fun."
"And then Bubba and I-"
"Okay, Trish, that's more than enough info!" Torrie declared, holding up her
Martini glass.
"Aw, come on, don't you want to hear about the sex swing?" Bubba interjected,
the large man swaying slightly in his chair as he leaned over to wrap his arm
around Trish.
"No!" Stephanie, Torrie, and Lita exclaimed at the same time. The guys and
Lilian all shook their heads. Lilian couldn't help but think what a good time
she was having. Even with the nagging thoughts of John in her head she was happy to be with her real family.
"So, Steph, how is your sex life with Christopher?" Trish slurred, nearly
dumping her Sangria on Lilian as she leaned over to harass the owner.
"That's none of your business, Patricia," Steph said, raising an eyebrow, though her tone was somewhat playful.
"Man, I never thought I'd see Chris Benoit blush," Lilian remarked, taking a sip of her Pepsi. Benoit ducked his head in response, but not before scratching the side of his nose with his middle finger in Lilian's direction, sending peals of laughter around the table.
"You're tanked, aren't you Trish?" Shawn asked, shaking his head.
"I'm not sure," Trish replied, thinking. "What does the ocean have to do with
anything?"
"I take that as a yes," Rob remarked, taking a sip of his water.
"You guys are so boring," Trish remarked, realizing that Lilian and Rob were the only two not drinking alcohol. "Here I thought Billy was the boring one."
Kidman protested Trish remarks, and Lilian glanced at Rob. He was watching her closely, making sure she was comfortable. Lilian nodded slightly to show Rob she was okay, and he glanced away quickly, turning his attention to Lita and Shawn.
"So, Lita, Shawn, how are the wedding plans going?" Rob asked.
"You're getting married?" Lilian squealed. "I didn't even notice!"
"I don't wear a ring," Lita replied, holding up her finger. "I don't want to
lose it and Shawn's love is enough for me."
"That's so sweet. And romantic," Stephanie sighed.
"What are you talking about? You love diamonds," Benoit pointed out.
"I didn't say it was sweet and romantic for me," Steph said with a huge grin.
"I think that was a hint, dude," Rob said.
"Yeah, me too," Shawn added.
"Someday, I'm sure," Benoit said, glancing at Stephanie, love filling his eyes. Lilian hid a smile. It was obvious Chris loved Stephanie. Still, Lilian felt a tiny twinge of jealousy. Hopefully one day she would be able to love someone again.
"Are you getting married?" Lita all but shrieked, nearly falling out of her
chair.
"One day, hopefully," Stephanie answered, squeezing Chris' hand.
"Who's ready for another round?" Billy asked.
"Me! Me! Me!" Trish squealed. "I want a… a… a… Martirini… I mean, a Martirita… uh… Sangarita… uh…"
"Sweetie… I think you've had enough," Bubba chuckled.
"You're so boring, Peanut," Trish pouted. Lita and Stephanie exchanged a
confused look at Trish's nickname for Bubba, though they knew they could use it as blackmail later. Trish glanced at Lilian, her eyes lighting up. "Hey! Lilian, you're Spanish right?"
"Uh… yeah," Lilian replied, wary.
"I just realized… if you add an 'S' to your name and mix the letters around, you get 'Gracias!' G-R-C… I mean, A… uh…" Trish mumbled, thinking hard.
"You are so drunk, Trish," Shawn pointed out, amused, shaking his head.
Trish nodded sheepishly in agreement.
"On that note, I think I'll take her up to bed," Bubba said, helping Trish to
stand.
"Yeah, Torrie looks kind of tired too," Billy said, nodding towards his wife,
who was resting her forehead against the table.
"Chris, you ready for bed?" Steph asked her boyfriend, standing up and
stretching.
"I bet he is," Lita giggled, causing Chris to blush again.
"Lita doesn't usually talk like this," Shawn told Lilian, "So it's time to put her to bed too."
"What am I, a baby?" Lita grumbled, though she leaned heavily on Shawn when he helped her to stand.
"Well, I guess the party poopers are leaving too," Rob said with a shrug,
standing as he yawned widely. Lilian stood as well, stifling a yawn as well.
"Who's paying for all this?" Trish asked, staring at the numerous glasses that were on the table.
"Steph. She's the owner," Lita giggled, stumbling into Shawn.
Stephanie shook her head, grumbling as she tossed her Visa card on the table.
"You all owe me big time!" she growled towards Lita and Trish.
Seconds later their waiter returned with the receipt, wishing them a good night. The group walked out the door, or in some cases, staggered. "Well, good night all," Lilian told them, heading up to her room. She smiled to herself, glad that she actually had a good time rather than brooding over her ex-husband all night.
Lilian entered her single hotel room, tossing her purse aside and stripping off her shirt. Noticing she had a message on the answering machine, she sat on the edge of her bed, pressing the play button. She froze when she heard the voice fill the room.
"I know where you are, Lilian. You think you can escape me but I'll always be
there in your mind. I'll be at every show to torment you. I don't even have to lift a finger to hurt you. I'll always be in your head."
"Oh, God!" Lilian gasped, picking her shirt up off the floor and hastily pulling it over her head. She ran out of the hotel room, barely remembering to lock the door behind her. She ran down the hall, relieved when she found her destination yet panicked enough to pound on the door.
Rob opened the door quickly, grabbing Lilian by the arm and pulling her in. She was breathing hard as Rob asked, "Lilian! What's wrong?"
Lilian breathed hard as Rob gently led her to the bed, helping her to sit. "I… I…" she stammered, shivering even though the room was fairly warm.
Rob grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed, wrapping Lilian in it carefully. "Lilian, it's okay, sweetie. Just tell me what happened."
Lilian took a deep breath, willing her pounding heart to slow. "I got back to
the hotel room and there was a message. John knows where I am, Rob. He said he's always going to be in my mind."
Rob listened silently as Lilian sobbed, pulling her close to him. He gritted his teeth, stroking her back gently.
Lilian's ex-husband was going to pay.
End Part 6