This chapter talks about rape...reader discretion is advised!
Chapter 21
Chase stood outside of Jeff's hospital room impatiently with Christina. It shouldn't have taken that long to get x-rays; unless something was wrong. She watched as nurses, doctors and even the cleaning man walked in and out of his room, but no one stopped to talk to her. She was tired of waiting; they had been there for over an hour without so much as one word as to his condition.
Without thinking, she walked in the room, warding off the nurses warning that she couldn't go in there. "Is he ok?" She asked the doctor who was writing something on a chart. She looked past her and saw Jeff, sleeping. His cheek was badly bruised, he had an IV in his arm and that little oxygen thing in his nose. He looked like he was fine, minus the face, so why wouldn't they come out and tell her?
"I was on my way to talk to you." The doctor said putting down the chart. "He got pretty banged up...but he should be alright." The doctor's smile was anything but convincing. "Do you mind if I ask...what happened?"
Chase looked down at Jeff again and in a small voice talked to the doctor. "My father... did this to him."
The doctor formed her mouth into an "o" and moved closer to Chase. "Well, he's got 3 broken ribs and a punctured lung. We have him sedated right now, because we had to put in a chest tube. But as soon as the fluid drains clear, we should be able to take that out. He's lucky we didn't have to intebate him; he should be out of here in a few days."
Chase's head was spinning. Everything that happened tonight was like something out of a bad movie. She reached for Jeff's hand. "Can I sit with him?"
The doctor nodded. "He'll be ok honey. He's going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up, but he'll pull through."
Just before the doctor walked out of the room, Chase followed. "Um...he had a drug problem…before. That stuff you gave him...to help him sleep..."
The doctor knew what she was getting at and placed her hand on Chase's shoulder. "Don't worry. We're monitoring him, it shouldn't be a setback."
Relieved, Chase went back to Jeff's bedside and held his hand. She didn't even notice the tears falling from her eyes, until she saw them wetting his arm. She picked his hand up to her mouth and kissed it. "I'm not going anywhere." She said before she rested her head on his stomach.
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Britain saw X in the waiting room, after getting her hand examined. Her hand hurt like a bitch! It wasn't like she had never been in a fight before, she and Croix fought all the time when they were younger; but this was different...she was actually trying to hurt Hunter when she hit him. Without saying anything she walked up to her best friend and embraced her tightly, letting all of the pain in her heart out on X's shoulder.
"Mami, your face...what happened?" X whispered to her friend. Britain couldn't even get the words out. X led her to a seat in the lobby and looked over Britain. She noticed the ace bandage wrapped tightly around her wrist, the bright red bruise on her face and small welt that was starting to form on the other cheek.
"It's over, Chris. He lied to me." Britain tried to straighten herself up, as she told X everything that happened.
"That fucking calbrone!" X yelled before getting looks by some of the nurses nearby. "He fucking hit you? And Dave...I don't believe that shit." To her Britain and Dave had been the last bastion of hope that true love really did exist. She had never seen two people happier, that actually really fit together. "He couldn't have meant that. He loves you." It didn't make sense...she had seen them together...if anyone knew what bullshitting that you cared about someone looked like, it was X. She practically invented it.
Britain wiped her nose and gave a weak smile. "I thought so too."
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Chase heard the door open up slowly behind her. She turned around to see Britain walk in. "How's he doing?" Britain asked, not coming too close to the bed.
Chase shrugged and tried to keep from crying. She walked over to Britain and looked at her face. "Did he...did my father...?" She refused to believe that he would or could be so cruel, but then again, he had just put Jeff in the hospital; he could be capable of anything.
"No, he didn't do this. I don't want to talk about it." Britain said walking over to Jeff's bedside. Britain sat down and touched Jeff's hand. "I'm sorry this happened to you." She whispered. She looked over at Chase, who could hardly contain her emotions.
"Is he here? Did you bring him?" She asked trying to hold back her tears.
Britain shook her head at the younger girl. "We're not...we broke up." She finally got it out. It was harder to say than she imagined it would be. She felt like the air was being squeezed out of her lungs.
Chase started to ask her why, but when she saw Britain's eyes well with tears and the way that Britain turned quickly to look at Jeff before they fell; she knew it wasn't something that she wanted to talk about.
"Can you sit with him...just for a minute? I need to call his brother." Chase said pulling out her cell phone. Britain agreed and Chase walked out into the hall to make the call. She listened to Shannon's phone ring continuously. She had to call him, because she didn't know Matt's number.
Finally after five rings, Shannon answered laughing. "What up?" He said almost yelling into the phone.
"Shannon? Is Matt with you?" Chase asked not knowing how she was going to break the news.
"Who is this?" Shannon asked annoyed, thinking it was a fan that had somehow gotten his cell number again. Chase drew in a breath and blurted it out.
"It's Chase...Shannon, Jeff's been hurt." Before she could finish, she heard Shannon telling Matt that something was wrong with Jeff and then heard Matt's anxious voice on the line.
"Chase? I saw the match, what's wrong with Jeff?"
Chase tried to talk, but her voice gave out to the sobs that she hadn't yet been able to release. "It was real, Matt. My father...Dave attacked him." He wasn't her father anymore; she had to keep reminding herself. Her father would never do something like this. "He's in the hospital. He's got a punctured lung." She wasn't sure what Matt did, because the line went dead. She stood in the hall and cried, before Shannon called her back.
"Chase, what hospital? We're in Oregon now, we can be there in a few hours."
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"Ma? Mamita?" Britain yelled through her parents' house. She had removed her dark sunglasses with her bandaged hand, only for a moment as she entered the living room. She saw her mother waving to her and X from the patio and she walked outside. She had stayed the night at X's house, not yet ready to face her family and still not ready to go back to the hotel for her things. In fact, she had waited in the car when X went to check out of the hotel. It was just stuff, she could replace it; what she couldn't replace was her dignity and seeing John or Randy or Ric or God forbid Dave...well that just wouldn't do.
This was not the way she had planned on spending her mom's birthday. All she wanted was to cry to her mother, tell her everything that happened; but she couldn't... she couldn't tell her about her humiliation in front of all of them, she couldn't ruin her special day. Especially not while her grandparents were visiting from Baltimore, and her brother, Croix, had his new girlfriend over to celebrate.
Although she tried to act as normal as possible, smiling at everyone as soon as she was through the patio doors, as soon as her father noticed, the large black bruise on her cheek that was made when her face hit the floor, all hell broke lose. The large sunglasses she wore covered some of it, but it was still quite noticeable. The swollen red handprint was still quite visible on the other side of her face, as was the small cut from where her tooth made contact with the sensitive skin creating a nasty red mark on her cream colored lips.
Johan immediately walked over to his daughter and held her. He removed her sunglasses and looked at her bruised beautiful face. "Gott im Himmel, was geschah dir?" 'God in heaven, what happened to you?' She tried to smile, but the tears were starting to build behind her eyes; just feeling safe in her father's arms made her feel weak. "I'm ok, Vati." She said trying her best to put on a brave face for him.
"War es David, das dich verletzte?" 'Was it David that hurt you?' he asked pulling her close again.
She looked at her father's eyes, so full of worry. "Not to my face...but he hurt my heart." She couldn't stop the tears from falling. She wept against his embrace. She felt her brother's hand touch her back. Even Croix knew how much she was in love with Dave. He couldn't stop his heart from breaking as he saw his sister weep. Croix whispered soft words of encouragement in Britain's ear to which she cried harder.
Johan released his daughter. "He is at his hotel now?" His eyes had change to a dark shade of blue. She knew he was upset; her eyes turned the same color when she was. When she nodded, he walked into the house silently and grabbed his keys.
Mia ran after him telling him that he should not interfere, but Johan was the father of a daughter who was hurting; there was no reasoning with him. "What would you like me to do, hmmm? Sit here; when she's hurting? No. I go and I come back. You'll see." He kissed his wife's head and started for the door. He didn't turn around when he heard Britain screaming after him to stop. He got in his car and headed for the hotel in Anaheim.
Britain casually walked over to her grandparents and forced the fakest smile she could. " Abuelita...Grampy." She regarded them.
Her grandmother squeezed her jaws and inspected her face. She didn't ask any questions. "I get something for that face." She said walking into the kitchen.
"Abuelita...I'm fine." Britain called out to her, but the older woman threw up her hand and started rummaging through the freezer for something cold to stop the bruising.
Mia walked up to Britain and wrapped her in a tight hug. Britain smiled and put her head in the crook of her neck. Before she could stop it, the tears started to fall again. "Oh God, Ma... it was a lie; it was all a lie."
Mia rocked her weeping daughter in her arms. What could she say to make it better? Her daughter was heartbroken and she couldn't think of one thing to make it better. That's what mother's did, right? They kiss the boo-boos and make everything better. But there was no magic Band-aid for a broken heart. "I know he loves you, and you love him. You both just have to work it out." She cupped Britain's face in her hand. She smoothed her hair and tried to smile.
"He said all he wanted from me was sex...that's all I was to him, an easy lay." She never used that language around her parents, but right now she didn't care. "Am I that stupid?"
Mia poked out her lip at her daughter and shook her head. "You're not stupid at all, baby. You're in love."
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Jeff's hand stroked Chase's hair causing her to open her eyes. He gave her a faint smile, through is parched lips. "You're here." He said in a faint voice.
She smiled at him, inspecting his green eyes to make sure he was really all there. "Where else would I be?" She touched the bruise on his cheek and lightly ran her thumb over it. Jeff breathed deeply, but the pain that caused made him cough.
How did things get so fucked up? He was sure that when he woke up, she would be long gone. She knew about Kelly now, and yet she stayed...why? Maybe because she didn't know the whole story and she was just sticking around to find out. Either way, he knew that he would have to tell her, even if it meant losing her. Then there was Dave; he knew he didn't want Chase there and if she were that could only mean one thing...
"Where's your father?" He asked trying to shift his weight in the bed.
Chase's eyes dropped and she held his hand tighter. "I don't have a father...not anymore."
Jeff's eyes closed. This is not what he wanted. It was one thing to sneak around behind Dave's back, but for her to completely disown him was something different entirely. "Yes you do...and he loves you. He just wants to protect you." He watched as she shook her head.
"If he loved me, he wouldn't have hurt you." She listened silently as Jeff tried to explain to her that she was wrong and that she shouldn't let him come between her and her family. She placed her finger over his lips. "Shhh. You need your rest." Still keeping her finger on his mouth, she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on them. "We can argue about this when you're feeling better."
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Dave let the warm spray of the shower wash away his agony. Still, he couldn't stop thinking about the way he fucked up. First there was Chase; he knew that she would come around...after she realized what type of person Jeff really was. With any luck, after this little revelation, she would be long gone from him. It would be only be a matter of time before Jeff started using again, and then she would see...and when she did, he wouldn't rub her nose in it. No, he would forgive her, because that's what fathers do. You're not my real father... what the fuck did that mean? He was the only father she knew, the only father that wanted her. He gave up everything to be her father; he was 21 when he adopted her. 21 for Christ sake! He was a child himself, just barely old enough to buy a beer without getting carded and here he was the new father of 2 year old, not to mention the husband of a woman that didn't know her ass from a whole in the ground. But he did it... out of love. If Chase couldn't understand that his job was to protect her...well, she would; sooner or later, she would.
Then there was Britain. He knew her, knew her temper...she would never forgive him; not after this. He tried to call her at least a thousand times, but what could he say to her? There was no excuse or explanation he could give; not after the way he hurt her. He could still see the hurt in her eyes. He knew what he did was wrong, not because of what he said, but because of how hard it was for her to trust his love.
He thought back to the time when he first told her he loved her. The look of fear and pain in her eyes was enough to break his heart right then and there.
He had been dating her for a little over six months, when he tore his triceps. It wasn't the first time he'd done it and the surgery that followed was long and the recovery was hard. He heard her talking on the phone to her agent, in between his lucid moments. "That's right...I don't care, they can get someone else to do it...I know, but it's only 3 weeks. I know, Pierre'll be pissed, but I'm sure Heidi or someone else can fit it in...no, I'm taking 3 weeks; someone needs me." When she came back in his bedroom, she told him that he was stuck with her for 3 weeks and she was going to take care of him.
His last girlfriend wouldn't have done that. She was so stuck on herself and more concerned about what he could do for her. She would have high-tailed it out of there so fast, that he wouldn't be able to see her leave for the dust she would have kicked up. Yet, Britain didn't do that...she actually took time off to stay with him.
When he awoke sometime later, Maddy was sitting with him. He had the feeling that Britain had left; but was surprised when Maddy said it was only to go shopping. She promised to take care of him, but she'd left him to left him to shop? He was quickly embarrassed to find out that it was for food and DVDs so they would have something to do while he got better.
He let a smile tickle his face as he thought about how she looked in the kitchen teaching Maddy how to dance to Otis Reading, playing on the stereo. "You gotta move slow...and your hips let 'em sway. You can only dance like this to Otis, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gay." Maddy soaked up the advice although the 14 year old had no idea who these artist were. In fact he was surprise that someone who was 25 would appreciate the great ones.
"This is baby making music." She laughed twirling his young daughter around the kitchen. "One day, you'll fall in love and you'll know exactly what I mean by that." He saw the look on her face, when she realized that he had been watching them.
"She's never getting older, nor falling in love...and she will never know the meaning of baby making music!" He laughed startling the two girls dancing.
Britain turned to him and gave him a firm "talking to" about being out of bed. But he couldn't concentrate on that, because his house smelled like heaven, love and laughter...like soul food. He peeked around her and noticed, pots steaming the oven on and something else brewing on the stove. "What's for dinner?" He asked taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"Fried chicken, string beans, cannied yams and corn bread." She smiled, knowing that he would have a fit because nothing on that menu was healthy. She never understood why a man that big ate the healthy crap he did, where she was more inclined to have a feast at McDonalds. "You won't be able to work out for awhile, so you need some food that'll stick to your ribs." She laughed.
He licked his lips at the prospect. He only allowed himself to indulge on food like that every once in a blue moon. But that night, the moon must have been cobalt.
"How come you don't measure anything?" Maddy asked handing Britain the milk. He watched as she shrugged and explained that when you cook from the heart, you just know how much to add. He also noticed that she didn't cook by recipe either...she just knew what she was doing. It was something about seeing her so domestic that made his heart do summersaults. When Emily came for Maddy, Britain hugged her and told her to practice dancing to Otis; because she would need it do it sooner or later.
He shifted uncomfortably in the shower as he felt the sting of fresh tears come to his eyes with more of the memory. The way her back stiffened up when he told her, the way her head dropped down...
She was taking the corn bread out of the oven, She was singing "Try A Little Tenderness" paying him no attention at all. He couldn't take his eyes off her long hair, which was hanging in a low pony tail, showing her elegant long neck. He couldn't place the color of her skin, not bronze like his, but more of a cream, touched with hazel. It wasn't until he met her mother that he understood just where that color came from. Her hands moved gracefully and expertly over the pots as she stirred the food and he let his eyes roam lower. Her soft black hair looked like waves of raven curtaining down her back, stopping just a few inches from her tail bone...that is before she took 6 inches off several weeks later; something he was pissed about. The tank top she was wearing, stopped about two inches before her jeans, giving him just the slightest hint of the small of her back. Her was waist so small... and even lower, a round, firm backside that he had to resist the urge to run his hand over. She stood barefoot, cooking; she looked comfortable...at home.
She turned around, startled by how intensely he stared. "What's that goofy grin for?" She asked, smiling back at him.
He couldn't deny it anymore...he loved her. It was something in that moment, just watching her, not doing anything seductive or sexual, but just cooking him dinner, that made him realized that he needed her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Before he noticed, the words were already out of his mouth. "I love you." He said it with a goofy love sick smile.
The look on her face was not exactly something he was expecting...maybe for her to return the sentiment, but not a look of anger. He watched as her smile slowly dropped and her back tightened. Her eyes fell to the floor and she whipped around toward the sink, throwing the dish towel down. She shook her head and spoke to him with her back turned. "Don't say things you don't mean."
He was shocked. What the hell did that mean? He just told her he loved her and he managed to make her angry? How did that happen?
Painfully, he arose from the chair; his cursed arm rendered immobile, bandaged tightly to his body to restrict movement...still every movement he made he could feel as the muscle contracted. He walked over to her and stood behind her. He breathed in her hair...coconut. "I love you. I love everything about you." With his left arm, he moved her hair over to one shoulder and gently placed a kiss just below her ear. "I love your hair, the color of your eyes, your smile...I love the way you are with my girls, the way you want to take care of me." He turned her around to face him. He noticed the glassy color her eyes took on; that's when he knew. "And I love the fact that you're in love with me too." He gave her a tender smile, before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
"I think you've had too much pain medicine." She tried to laugh and managed to wiggle away from him, making herself unavailable to continue the conversation because she had to fix their plates.
As he ate he watched her play with her food. He had gotten to her...found out her secret, and he knew it.
It wasn't until later that night, when she climbed in bed next to him, did he tell her again. She had just settled next to him, putting her arm across his chest as she closed her eyes to sleep. "I love you." He said titling her face towards him. He saw that look again, the one that he couldn't quite place. "What are you afraid of?" She'd told him before about her past, but it was more than that...there was something else.
"I don't want to get hurt." She said quietly, causing a smile to cross his lips.
My God, she thinks I'm going to hurt her, when she's got me in the palm of her hands, he thought. Although he too was unsure of where their future was headed, he knew that no matter where it was, he wanted her by his side. "I'll never hurt you." His words came out a whisper as he felt her lips brush over his. He wanted to make love to her, to consummate their relationship; but that damned arm forbade it. Arm bandaged or not, his body responded when he felt her hand travel past the bandages on his chest, over his stomach onto his groin. A small gasp escaped from him as he watched her crawl down and kneel on the bed before him to pay homage to his manhood.
He knew that this was something she didn't take lightly, for she had never done it to him before. What he didn't know is it was something she hadn't done in years...not since she was 18 and wanted to go backstage to meet Soundgarden. There had been a random bouncer, who wouldn't let her go back. He was cute, young...but he pulled her hair, he shoved himself so far into her mouth that she thought she would be sick. No, this was not something she'd done in a long time because she felt degraded and worthless afterward.
He let his eyes shut feeling the soft and warm of her mouth surround him, but soon opened them when he felt her stare.
"I love you too." She whispered before taking him again.
He couldn't hold back as he began to protest that she move because he couldn't stop. But she didn't move, she took him...all of him, his very essence...his soul. She crawled back up to his lips and kissed him softly. "Now you're mine forever." His words made her smile as he laid beside her, stroking her face.
Damn that arm! It stood in the way of showing her, just how much he loved her; but he watched as she let her own hands trail down her body until they found that part of her that needed them the most. He watched her, never taking his eyes off hers for more than an instant so he could watch her hands. He saw her face explode with pleasure as she neared release. He kissed her, trying to soak up as much of her impending climax as he could. He rolled sorely on his bad arm so he take her breast into his mouth...adding to her state of urgency. It was the most beautiful thing he had experienced with her so far. A gentle whisper of "I love you" sent her over the edge, causing her to say his name, for in her mind, it had been his hands...his body making her feel that way.
Now he was without it. He was without her warmth, her smile, the coconut scent of her hair...but more importantly he was without her love. This wouldn't do, he had no idea what would...but this definitely would not.
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"We must talk." Dave was stunned out of his melancholy by a strong German accent. He had no idea how long Johan had been waiting for him in the lobby, but the look on his face said that he wasn't going anywhere. Dave pushed his hands in his pockets and followed Johan into the bar of the hotel. It was ironic to see her father sitting there...waiting...bruiting...planning his massacre, for he was on his way to find her and he was going to start at Johan's house.
He wanted to ask her father a million different questions; he just needed to know if she were alright. But he couldn't get past the look on his face, a look that he could understand. He was a father too, and if had been one of his girls that were hurt...let's just say that he wouldn't have had to put under the jail. "Is she ok?" Dave's voice was low as the guilt seeped through with every word.
"You hurt her heart and you let someone else put zer hands on her? Would you be ok?" Johan's gaze squeezed the air out of Dave's lungs.
How could he just stand by and let Hunter hit her? He should have stopped her when he saw her charging after him. They all knew how Hunter could be, but he couldn't even force himself to apologize.
Dave lowered his eyes and tried to explain how and why everything transpired. He told Johan about Chase and Jeff and more importantly Jeff's past. He told him that he was upset that Britain didn't trust him enough to let him handle his daughter's relationship.
Johan sat back and shook his head. He had heard enough of Dave's excuses. If it was not for the fact that Britain was in love with him, he would have treated him with the same disrespect that he treated Jeff. "So all you did was to protect your daughter? Do you understand zat everything you wanted to save your Chase from, you did to my Britain?"
Dave's heart sank, he hadn't thought of it, not like that. Everything he didn't want to happen to Chase, humiliation, hurt, violation...he had done to Britain in a few short sentences. He had taken all of the trust that she had in him and spit on it, he had used the fact that she was in love with him to break her heart...he did it on purpose. Even if he didn't use those exact words, he knew her well enough to know that's what she heard. Then there was her temper to contend with. When she had her mind made up, there was no changing it; she held a grudge. There was no such thing as forgive and forget with her, she simply cut people out of her life. "How can I make this right?" He looked to Johan as a father, being that his own died when he was so young. What could he say to change her mind? At this point, if she wanted him to sleep on a bed of nails, he would, just to prove that he did love her.
"Come. You must talk to her." Johan stood up and escorted Dave to the parking lot.
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"Tell me about Kelly." Chase said after Matt had left Jeff's hospital room. He was going to stay in California until Jeff was well enough to leave the hospital, then he would be taking Jeff home to Cameron to finish his recovery. Although Jeff didn't want to go home, he knew that he couldn't take care of himself, and with Chase being in school...at least in Cameron, his dad could look out for him.
Jeff sighed. He knew that she was going to ask about Kelly sooner or later. If there relationship was going to survive, she had to know, he just wished it hadn't come down to this. He sat upright against his pillows and took in a deep breath. There was no way to sugar coat the story; Dave was right, Kelly got hurt and it was his fault. Now how could he make Chase see that without losing her?
"I didn't really know her...she was this fan, she won some radio contest in Raleigh, 'win a date with your favorite WWF superstar' or something like that." He tried to choose his words carefully, trying to leave out the most gruesome parts of the story.
"How old was she?" Chase asked, trying to steady her breaths. She had let her imagination run wild since she had heard the little piece of the story that Dave had given her the day before.
Jeff could feel the tears start in the back of his eyes. He tried so hard never to think about Kelly or that night. Every time he did, he felt sick...he wanted to cry...he wanted to hurt himself, like they had hurt her. "She just turned 16...she won that stupid contest on her birthday." He closed his eyes. He could see the little dark haired girl, she was young all giggly and screamed at everything. She was like those typical teenage fans that faint at the sight of boy bands. She was cute, real cute...if she had been a little bit older, he would have considered taking her out. He could still see the little white Oxford shirt, tied up at the waist and the plaid skirt she wore, with the socks that stopped just above her knee and the black and white saddle shoes. She had that trashy Catholic school girl look down to perfection. She had short black hair, that was cut in a boyish style, but it looked really cute on her. She even had a little diamond stud in her nose, he remembered because he could see the way it sparkled every time they moved her.
Chase noticed that Jeff was somewhere else. "What happened, Jeff?" She watched as his licked his lips and opened his eyes. She saw the tears rolling on the rims of his eyelids, as he tried to choke them back.
"It wasn't supposed to happen. She told me she was my biggest fan." How could he tell Chase? She was going to hate him forever, but the look in her eyes told him that if he didn't tell her she would hate him more. "She brought all these pictures of her room...she had all these posters of me and Matt all over her walls. She even had some of just me with hearts drawn around them." He smiled at the thought; this little girl was infatuated with him. It was supposed to be a simple dinner, then he would take her home. That's what the contracted rules for the contest were, that's what her parents agreed to; she didn't deserve what happened...no one did.
"That was the same night that D-Von was leaving and we had this big party for him; even your dad came to it." He watched as Chase pursed her lips at the mention of Dave. "She didn't wanna go home after we had dinner; she was actually kinda fun to talk to. If I would have just taken her home..." If he would have just taken her home, none of this would have happened. She would still have been a little girl with stories to tell her friends about how Jeff Hardy took her to dinner and how sweet he had been to her. But, no, he had to make a stop first...he had to pick up his friends. They were all going to the party after he dropped Kelly home. But that would mean taking her home then going all the way across town to pick them up, only to drive past her house again to get to the party. Besides, he knew that Joe had coke and he hadn't gotten high since before he picked her up.
He sighed again, thinking about how much bigger his five friends were than her; how she was squished in the front seat of his truck between him and Joe, just so the others could fit in the back. But she didn't seem to mind, she was practically on Jeff Hardy's lap and it was just fine with her. "My friends were real nice to her. They didn't want her to leave; hell she didn't want to go home. They told her about this party we were goin' to and she heard that some of the guys would be there...she was so excited to meet more wrestlers. She begged me...she fuckin' begged me, Chase." The tears were freely flowing at by now. He couldn't stop them, if he wanted to. He had never told anybody about that night, not even Matt. Although everybody knew what happened, he never talked about it.
"She stuck to me when we got there, because she didn't know nobody else. I tried to get rid of her so I could do a few lines, but she came in the room. I had some 'shrooms before I went in, but they were takin' too long to kick in. I just needed somethin' to take the edge off...it was suppose to be just a few lines." But he had to have a few beers too. Not to mention all of the shit his friends were doing and had done before he came to get them.
He looked over at Chase and noticed that she was crying too. She could almost imagine how it went down, what terror was about to strike this little girl and was almost horrified to know that Jeff had been anywhere near it. "God, it was so dark and cold in that room, but it was the only place we could go so no one would know we were back there gettin' ripped. There were all these boxes on the floor, from deliveries and stuff...and there was table, with this light above it; like the ones you see in those old movies with the police interrogations." He trailed off again, remembering how that light bounced off the small ring in her nose. The thought made him want to vomit.
"She wanted to try it. You know, see what gettin' high was like. I was so fucked up, by then, that I handed her the plate." He could still hear the snorting sounds she made as she tried her first line, then the louder sound with her second. "She didn't feel nothin' at first, so she did some more... her nose started bleedin'." It was Jeff that suggested that she take off her shirt and hold it up to her nose. It was his fault that she enticed the others. "She had on a white bra with a little pink flower in the front, it was actually kinda sweet. She started sweatin' real bad. Joe gave her beer to cool her off and XTC to calm her down." She had never gotten high before. If Jeff were in his right mind, he would have stopped them, told them there were too many things in her system. But he couldn't stop laughing; it was funny to see her try to handle her first high.
He put his hand on his forehead, to try to relieve the pressure in his brow, but the tension wasn't going away. It should have been cathartic to talk about it, but it was more painful than even he remembered. "Chuck, wanted to dance with her. We could here the music in the other room...but she was weak and needed to sit down. He put her on the table so she could rest. By the time the plate was passed back to me, her skirt was bunched up at her waist and Chuck was on top of her. I could hear her calling my name...she was screaming it, Chase. But I couldn't move...I had to finish my line. He hit her so hard. I remember seeing the blood on her face and it made all these weird shapes and it was different shades of red." Jeff, please...! The sound was like nails on a chalkboard to him. It took months before he could get her screams out of his head. "Jimmy was next. He put his...he made her...She fuckin' wore braces...every time they scraped him, he'd hit her." He could hear the choking sounds she made as this bigger man kept her shoulders pinned to the table with his knees. He could hear his other friends laugh and chant 'swallow, swallow, swallow...'
"By the time Max got to her, she only had a little fight left in her. It was 5 of them Chase. Five guys all bigger and stronger and high out of their minds. And Max is a big boy, 250 pounds of fat. He hit her and kept on until she stopped screaming...she stopped moving all together. I still don't know if she passed out or if he knocked her out; but they all had a turn. I just sat there, looking at the blood, looking at the way the light shined on ring in her nose make all sparkles on the wall."
Chase didn't want to hear anymore, but she couldn't tell him to stop. She had to know it all; it was like watching an accident on the highway...you don't want to look, but you have to.
"Somebody had to use the bathroom, but they came in the wrong door. They saw us in there, with her...Dave was the one, who picked her up off the table and covered her up. He held her until the police came. I swear I saw him cryin'... I might just be makin' that up. I was so high I didn't know what happened until the next day. Even Matt wouldn't talk to me. I got charged with possession, contributin' to the delinquency of a minor, giving a controlled substance to a minor and child endangerment. But I was lucky, because me and Matt had the money for a good lawyer. I only got rehab and 1000 hours community service. Chuck and them at 10 years." He had lost just about everything at that point...his friends, the respect his family had in the community, his job at WWF. "She was in the hospital for weeks; she couldn't have babies no more. I don't know what was worse, what they did to her or the way she looked at me at the trial." He neverously licked his lips. "You're dad was right about me. You're too good to be with me. But I swear on my mother's grave...if I could have said somethin' at the trial, I would have told her how sorry I was and everythin' that happened that night was my fault...I sent her family money afterward, to help pay for the medical bills. But the checks all came back." He studied the threads on his blanket, afraid to make eye contact. "I tried to make it right, Chase. I tried." And finally looking over at Chase, he told her the rest of the story. "She killed herself." That admission made Chase's eyes close and her head shake involuntarily.
Chase reached out to wipe his tears. "I never meant for her to get hurt, Chase. I'm so sorry that she did...I'm so sorry." He finally broke down into a sob; the sob that he needed to get out for the past 3 years. And finally when it was over, he watched Chase walk out of the room.
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Hunter woke up slowly, trying desperately to open his eyes that had been beaten shut. He could hear breathing in the room, but whenever he spoke no one answered. It wasn't until he heard the scraping of the chair against the floor; he knew for sure he was not alone.
"Why?" He recognized the voice immediately. He felt a sigh a relief that was Ric and not Dave to finish the job. He sighed and turned toward the voice only seeing a shade of the man himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but his swollen lip made speaking hard.
"What's my damage?" He asked, avoiding the question.
Ric sighed. "You'll live. You got a fractured cheek bone, bruised kidney and some other bumps...but you'll go on to terrorize someone else's life."
Hunter laughed, although it hurt.
"Why did you hit her?" Ric asked glaring at Hunter. Now, he had been one to argue with women, call them out of their names...but to lay hands on one that was out of the question.
"That bitch got what she deserved."
It was at that moment that he heard a gasp, a very distinct high pitched gasp...belonging to a woman. "You're not the man I married." She said before running out of the room.
Hunter slammed his fist down on the bed. Had he known she was there, he would have made up some excuse as to why he let his anger get the best of him. "Steph!" he yelled out, but she was gone. It was not until he noticed the silence of the room, did he realize that Ric had left after her.
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Britain's heart stopped beating as she watched him walk in the door behind her father. Never taking her eyes off him, she spoke to her father so that he wouldn't understand. "Warum ist er hier?" 'Why is he here?'
Her father walked up to her and hugged her. "Because you must talk." He turned toward Dave, who stood by the front door with his head down.
"Ich möchte nicht mit ihm sprechen." 'I don't want to talk to him.' She said trying not to cry. Her father kissed her head and walked into the kitchen, trying to stop Mia from running interference. "Vati, please!" She pleaded, but to no avail.
Britain watched him walk away, she would deal with him later. She turned back to Dave and looked in the eye. "What do you want?" She was so cold, he had never heard her speak to anyone like that before; not even Hunter. Oh, this definitely went beyond getting yelled at for not taking out the trash.
He noticed her face, the bruises that were there...evidence that last night hadn't been just a really bad dream. He walked to her and touched her cheek. "Baby...your face..."
She moved her head away from his hand. How dare he try to touch her? He had lost that privilege! "My face is fine...what do you want?" If he would just say what he wanted and leave, she might actually be able to make it through the day without crying again. But he was just standing there, entirely too close for her liking...looking at her, with those eyes. No matter how hard a front she put on the outside, she was dying on the inside.
"I want to talk to you." He said in a voice that was soft and full of every ounce of love he had for her.
She laughed. "I think you've said enough already."
He let out a breath; he had his work cut out for him. He pleaded with her eyes, looking for some sign of forgiveness. "I was angry and I tried to hurt you. But I didn't mean it...I didn't mean anything I said."
"Which part was a lie, David?" She asked crossing her arms. "The part when you told me that you loved me...or was it when you promised you'd never hurt me...or how about when you asked me to marry you?" This was not the way it was suppose to go. She was supposed to understand. "You're good at lying aren't you? You should quit wrestling and start acting...you do it so well."
He could hear by her voice that she was on the verge of crying. He promised never to make her cry and up until this point he had kept his word.
"Do you know why I never told you about Chase and Jeff."
What? Did she just admit to keeping this from him? "You knew?"
His voice was suddenly louder, making Mia practically run out of the kitchen to kick his ass for raising his voice at her. Thankfully, Johan stopped her.
"Of course I knew. You didn't think it was strange I'd ask Chase to house sit? Have I ever needed a house-sitter before?"
Dave turned around and ran his fingers through his hair. Here he was trying to apologize when she was keeping shit this serious from him. She had crossed the line.
"I didn't tell you because I was happy for her. I wished that she would be lucky enough to find at least a fraction of what I thought we had." Her words hit him hard. He turned to her to see tears slowly crawling down her face.
He reached out to touch them but she moved away. "Baby...I'm sorry. I love you." He whispered close to her face.
Britain's mouth dropped open as the tears started to flow faster. "My God...you're still trying to get me in bed, aren't you?" How could she think that? Because he told her that's how he got her there in the first place! "I've had a lot of guys treat me like shit...but at least I knew where I stood. But I have never felt like a whore until now."
"Babe." He couldn't steady his voice. He wished he could go back in time and change what he'd said to her.
"What do you want from me, David? You've had your fun; got your laughs...you've fucked me...what's left?"
He couldn't leave, not until this was settled. "Babe...please?" He could only whisper by now, because if he spoke any louder he would cry.
"Leave, David. Just go." She whispered back. It would be so much easier when he was gone.
"Britain...don't do this." He cursed the tears starting to fall from his eyes.
"Leave." She said feeling the strength of her anger, hurt and humiliation guide her.
He shook his head...he would not leave, because if he did, he knew that they were truly over. "I love you and you love me too...you can't tell me you don't love me." He knew she didn't lie and she would be a damned liar if she did.
"I don't love you. Now get out." The anger in her face didn't suit her beauty. It was raw and real, but he couldn't make his feet move. "Get out! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She yelled pushing him in the chest.
He grabbed her and held her close to him, apologizing repeatedly. It was not until her grandfather touched her arm did she get out of Dave's tight embrace.
She wept on her Grampy's shoulder as he looked at Dave. "You need to go." Grampy said in a deep voice, showing Dave that no matter how big he was or what he meant to Britain, he was not welcomed.
Dave turned and left unable to stop his heart from crying. He sat in his car for a few minutes until he was able to drive to the airport.
This wasn't over.