Chapter 7 – Stop Crying Your Heart Out
They flew into Hartford, Connecticut for Monday Night Raw. After Raw Vince was having his Halloween Party. Robert didn't mind going but he knew Mackenzie was on the fence about the whole thing. She loved Halloween costume parties and never turned one down, but tonight was definitely going to be interesting.
Mackenzie felt very uncomfortable. She could already fill the anxiety filling her body. The nearly skin tight black dress she wore was the perfect match to the black pinstripe suit that Robert had on. She guessed if she was going to go to this party with anyone it would be Robert. He would help keep her grounded and keep her anxiety down…hopefully.
Robert looked down at their costumes. "What possessed you to dress us up as Morticia and Gomez Addams?" He asked with a chuckle.
Mackenzie laughed as she took his offered elbow and fell in step with Robert to the back door of the arena. "They are a classic couple. I don't know anyone who didn't love watching the Addam's Family growing up." She pointed out as Robert opened the door and they stepped through. "Robert, promise me something before we keep going."
"Anything Kenz."
"Don't let me fall in here." Mackenzie requested. She watched as Robert nodded. He already knew what she was talking about so there was no need to explain any further.
Roman couldn't believe he was going to this stupid Halloween party that Vince decided to throw after Raw. But then again everyone in WWE knew the old man loved his company parties. He pulled on jeans and a shit t-shirt, before pulling a black hoodie over his head. He'd pulled his hair back into a tight bun at the nap of his neck to keep it out of his face. As he stood he grabbed the hockey mask and the fake plastic machete.
Roman just about died laughing as his twin cousins came walking into his locker room. "What the fuck are you two supposed to be?"
Jimmy and Jey were dressed in identical blue skirts with pink pleats and pink belts, and blue long sleeved half shirts with white cuffs around their wrists and white collars around their neck each showing off their torsos; around their neck was a pink blue and white British flag tie. They each had a black and red streaked wig on with their hair in pig tails and pink pom-poms in their hair. They had pink thigh highs on with white knee high go-go boots.
Jimmy chuckled as he and Jey turned around and they had on matching white and grey backpacks Jimmy's said Fook Yu and Jey's said Fook Mi.
And just to make things even funnier Charisma walked into the locker room in a blue velvet suit, with a white dress shirt under the blue velvet jacket and a fluffy, ruffle filled dickey around her neck. Her hair was shoved up under a dirty blonde men's wig and thick black rimmed glasses on her face. She did a couple of pelvis thrusts. "Yeah Baby!"
Roman was practically rolling on the floor. He couldn't stay standing up as he plopped back down into a metal fold up chair. "Good God you three are insane. And you two…" He pointed at his cousins. "You two are going to give me nightmares for the rest of the week…maybe even the rest of my life. I haven't decided yet."
Charisma gave Roman the finger. "I worked very hard on this costume and so did your cousins." Charisma strutted around the locker room a little as she moved her pelvis again.
Roman couldn't stop the laughter. A few minutes later and he watched as Dean and Jenaya walked into his locker room as well. Dean had on a dark blue and grey plaid suit complete with a matching buttoned vest and white dress shirt and dark blue tie. A white fedora hat with a dark blue accent ribbon around it was on top of his head and pulled down slightly to hide his mischievous eyes. Jenaya was in a black pencil skirt that stopped mid-calf and a white short-sleeve blouse that went down over her hips with a black belt around the shirt to accent her waist, a black and white scarf around her neck and a black beret on her head. Both of them were holding two fake Thompson machine guns as well.
Roman shook his head as he stood up. "Between those three doing a gender switch and you two roughians whipping out the Bonnie and Clyde costumes. I swear I'm going to end up at Bellevue's Mental Hospital in New York. Jenaya, has Dean really been that bad of an influence on you that you've become Bonnie and Clyde?" He joked.
Jenaya smirked. "Well we were going to be Joker and Harley Quinn but we did that last year and we figured Bonnie and Clyde could do more damage with Tommy guns."
Roman chuckled a little more. "Okay y'all we need to get to that damn Party for Vince starts sending people for us; afterwards I need to talk with you all about Mackenzie once more. I made a trip out to Sacramento and spoke with Dain. I really need to tell you all what I found out, but we don't have time right now; so later we'll talk."
Everyone nodded in agreement that they would meet at the hotel after the party as they filed out of Roman's locker room and went down to catering where the Halloween party was already underway.
"Well-Well if it isn't little miss back from the dead."
Mackenzie recognized that snarky tone anywhere as she turned and her deep sea blue eyes watched as Charisma was walking over to her. She could already see the unshed tears in Charisma's eyes as she smiled softly and handed her a napkin.
"Char…I…I'm so sorry." Mackenzie whimpered out. She barely got to finish her sentence before Charisma jerked her into her arms and hugged her so tightly; Mackenzie was sure Charisma was going to squeeze her until her ribs broke through her lungs and out of her chest. "Char…Charisma, babe I need to breathe." She patted her friend on the back softly.
Charisma took a deep breath as she stepped back. "Roman told us you were alive. I know he explained everything, but I know with his temper he wasn't getting the full explanation, but I don't give a shit what the excuse is. I'm just glad you're alive. My daughter can have her God mother back."
"Wait, what?"
"You have an almost 3 year old God Daughter named Kenia. Your picture was tapped to her crib from the second Jimmy and I brought her home. Everyone was really good about telling her stories about you…even Roman." Charisma explained with a watery smile. "I don't know how to explain how you came alive…maybe I'll tell her you were living overseas and then we can give her the real explanation when she's older to understand."
Mackenzie watched as Jimmy and Jey walked up and couldn't help as she started to laugh about as hard as she possibly could. To see them in matching Fook Yu and Fook Mi outfits was just about the BEST thing she'd seen in a long, LONG time. She literally couldn't stop the giggles as they held hands and skipped in a circle around Mackenzie and Charisma.
When they finally stopped; Mackenzie pushed up on her toes and kissed Jimmy's cheek before hugging him and doing the same to Jey. "You two never cease to amaze me; though I don't remember the twins on Austin Powers having furry faces." She reached up and pulled on both of their goatees at the same time.
Jey laughed. "Yea well Austin Powers ain't got nothin' on us. We are far better looking than the twins in the movie. Mike Myers should've picked us."
Mackenzie's eyes turned towards Jey's other twin half. "And you…I understand I should be calling you daddy now." She addressed Jimmy.
Jimmy smiled widely. "Just call me big poppa."
Charisma shook her head. "Fool you did NOT just say that."
Mackenzie laughed; not missing the eye roll from Charisma. "The more things change the more they stay the same."
"They never change…they just stay the same." Charisma said in a snarky tone.
"Hey, listen we know how hard headed Uce can be, but I don't believe for a second you guys can't mend shit." Jimmy stated honestly.
Jey nodded as he hugged Mackenzie once more. "You just have to remember how stubborn his Samoan ass really is."
"If it happens-it happens. You guys know no one can force Roman to do anything but Roman." Mackenzie reasoned with the twins.
She literally missed him with every beat of her heart, but after his parts words the last time they saw each other; she wasn't really sure what was to come of them.
And she wasn't holding her breath for anything.
Roman's brown eyes zeroed in on his twin cousins as soon as they started skipping around in a circle and acting foolish. He chuckled deeply at their silliness. All laughs stopped when they parted and he saw Mackenzie standing there in a long curve hugging black dress. She had straightened her hair for the costume obviously, but it was her. He'd notice those deep sea blue eyes anywhere.
He knew he needed to talk to her and give her more than an apology for accusing her of lying and Jesus Christ for calling her a selfish bitch. He knew that comment was going to come back and bite him on the ass.
And it did.
Roman licked his top lip as his bottom lip rolled under his tongue and wet it as well before he sighed heavily and decided he needed to talk to her. His feet started moving as he walked across the floor in catering and around the catering tables and up to the twins, Charisma and Mackenzie.
All laughing stopped.
Roman pushed his hands into his front pockets feeling every bit the asshole of the group right now. "Mackenzie, can we talk?" He asked.
Jey cleared his throat. "Ugh, is it safe for you two to be left alone?"
Roman threw a glare at his cousin who just held up his hands in defense; before his eyes went back to Mackenzie. "What do you say Kenzie?"
Mackenzie narrowed her eyes at Roman. So he was back to calling her by her nickname? She couldn't only imagine what made that change in his brain especially after the way shit was left between them last time they saw each other. "Sure, you lead the way I'll follow you." She was giving him an olive branch; though she wasn't sure it would help.
Mackenzie watched as Roman turned on his heels and walked out of catering and down the hallway. They walked into a room and Roman closed the door.
"How have you been Kenzie?" Roman's deep voice asked.
"Oh you know me, I'm fabulous; and yourself?" She asked in return.
"I'm ugh – I'm doing ok." Roman stated.
"Great, so can we skip the niceties and get down to what you wanted to talk to me about." Mackenzie insisted. She was already tired of the back and forth.
"I could probably come up with something better if I wasn't feeling like such an asshole right now." Roman admitted. "I fucked up Kenzie. I fucked up and I'm not really sure I can unsay the things I've said to you. But I would like a chance to make it up to you."
"So what in the last two weeks since the last time you saw me you suddenly started to believe what I said; why the change in heart Roman?" Mackenzie asked honestly.
Roman cleared his throat. "I've had some time to think about things. I know I wasn't so receptive when I first heard what you had to say. And I know I was a straight up asshole the second time I heard you out." Roman moved around the room. "When I lost you almost 3 years ago; I never expected to see you again. You have to admit for anyone it would've been a shock to the system to see their dead girlfriend pop up out of nowhere. And then I showed up to your apartment in Chicago and was snarky the whole time as you explained everything. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. None of it made sense and I couldn't understand it." Roman explained in a soft tone.
"If memory serves me correct you didn't believe me the second time either." Mackenzie stated as a matter of fact.
Roman shook his head negatively. "I was being a snarky prick and you were doing the same thing back to me which clearly was pissing me off and I said things I shouldn't have."
"What's the difference between the first two times and tonight?" Mackenzie asked.
"There is no difference. I just had a chance to think about it all."
It was Mackenzie's turn to shake her head. "No, you don't just change your mind in 2 weeks Roman. You've been stubborn and digging your heels in since the first time you showed up at my apartment. What's the difference?" She pushed a little more.
"It's been a couple of months since that first time. I've literally had a lot of time on my hands between visits to think about the things you said. I'm sorry for the things I said to you and the way I behaved. I should have believed you when you told me the first time. It shouldn't have taken more than one visit with you to get it through my thick skull." Roman was back pedaling and he already knew Mackenzie would be able to see right through it.
"You're right you should have believed me the first time. But I want to know what made you change your mind. I want to know Roman. What made you think I was lying for the last few months and suddenly two weeks after your second visit you'll believe anything that comes out of my mouth?" Mackenzie was pushing harder now.
Roman sighed heavily as he looked down at his sneakers before he slowly lifted his head and locked eyes with her. "I went to see Dain."
"So had you not gone and seen Dain you still wouldn't believe me." Mackenzie looked at the ground and then back up. "I fought for weeks to get out of the shell; Jeff Walker spent years shoving me into for you. I wanted to get past being scared of guys bigger than me because of you. I didn't want to be some weak little girl because you made me stronger in every way possible. And I loved you so much that I gave up my life with you to protect you and our friends from monsters that you couldn't have stopped on your own and yet it took you going to see my brother in law and him giving you the SAME story I did for you to FINALLY believe me."
"It wasn't like that…" Roman urged.
"It wasn't?" She countered as she watched him take a step towards her before she backed up and held up her hands to keep him from grabbing her physically.
"Mackenzie…"
She shook her head. "Fuck you Roman."
She turned and left the locker room and made her way back down the hallway to catering. She looked over and saw Robert standing with a few of the other wrestlers as she nodded her head towards the exit letting him know she was ready to go. He'd told her before they even got there to give him a sign when she was done.
She turned to walk out the door for catering to meet Robert at the back door when she stopped in her tracks. Jenaya and Dean were standing in front of her. "Jenaya…I'm sor…" Before she could get the words out Jenaya reared back and slapped her across the face.
"You're sorry? Do you have any idea what all of us went through when we thought you were dead? Do you have ANY fuckin clue you bitch?!" Jenaya growled out.
Dean wrapped his arm around her waist. "Whoa hell cat, calm down she is still one of your best friends." Dean had to remind her; they still hadn't gotten the full story from Roman and now she had struck her friend.
Mackenzie rubbed her already swelling cheek as her eyes danced between Jenaya and Dean. "I'm sorry. I know it's not enough and I hope eventually you will let me explain. Or don't – Roman seems to have all the answers now so if you've got questions you can ask him."
Mackenzie stepped around Jenaya and Dean as the tears finally slipped past her eyelids and down her cheeks as she walked out the back door of the arena into the parking garage. Robert hit the button to unlock the rental. Things were quiet as they made their way back to the hotel.
Robert looked at Mackenzie. "Are you ok?"
"No." Mackenzie answered as she continued to look out the window of the rental as tears slid down. "Eventually I'll stop crying my heart out."