Chapter 39
"Momma, Santa isn't real, you know that, right?"
Neela broke her heart every time she said those words because Nyla didn't want that last vestige of her childhood gone. "Sweetheart…"
Some douchebag kids at her school had pulled her aside, when she was 7, and told her there was no such thing as Santa Claus. It was disheartening to hear 7-year-olds didn't believe in magic like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or anything like that anymore. Neela was extremely smart for her age, 9 going on 19 it seemed. Where had her little angel gone? Neela was a great kid, for the most part, though she had her temper tantrum moments like every normal child.
"You may not believe in him, but I do, so blah." Nyla stuck her tongue out at her daughter and continued stirring the mashed potatoes.
It was Christmas Eve.
Roman and Dean would be home any minute and Nyla wanted dinner ready and waiting for them. Roman's entire family would be here for the holidays, so the house would be full of laughter. Nyla had tried to contact Macaria several times, after Roman told her what happened, wanting to make sure she was all right. She couldn't believe Seth actually struck her and the company simply fined him. Those assholes would do anything to protect themselves and their golden boy. It wasn't a surprise to hear Macaria would not be joining them for the festivities, though it hadn't saddened Nyla any less. She was looking forward to having her friend spend Christmas with them and felt her heartbreak at the thought of Macaria being alone.
"Mom, someone's at the door!" Neela squealed out, rushing to the front door to open it and looked up at the very tall men in front of her. "Hi, Roman! Hi, complete stranger! Merry Christmas!"
Roman chuckled, lowering himself to one knee in front of her to be eye-level and took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Merry Christmas, Neela. Where's your Mom?" He smiled when she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, pointing toward the kitchen. "You know what to do, man. Make yourself comfortable, this is your home too."
Nodding, Dean hadn't said much the past few nights and just wanted to drown himself in hard liquor. Christmas wouldn't be the same without Macaria here and he'd been looking forward to it. Now, not so much. He went to the room designated for him and dropped his bag by the wall, ripping his leather jacket off. It was somewhat chilly in Pensacola, enough to wear a jacket. It never lowered past 60 degrees though, but Dean wasn't good with cold weather ever since moving out of the Midwest and Philadelphia.
Not talking to Macaria was extremely hard to do. She hadn't contacted him once either. It felt weird and Dean didn't know why since they didn't know each other that long. He was worried about her being alone for the holidays. He was concerned about her bruised cheek since she refused to go get an x-ray done. What if her cheekbone was cracked? What if there was more damage than she realized from Seth's backhand? Grunting, he dropped down on the bed on his back and stared up at the ceiling, hearing faint giggling from downstairs. Roman could be happy with his new family, but Dean wanted to be completely alone to wallow in his misery.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Roman was tickling Neela mercilessly and finally stopped, sending her into the living room to watch cartoons. "Where are your parents?" He asked, placing his hand on her hips while she checked the green bean casserole in the oven.
Wanting to look nice for Christmas, Nyla had a red short-sleeved wrap dress on with a green and red sash, her feet bare. Her dark brown hair was up in curls on top of her head, pinned, thanks to her mother. Her parents were currently out finishing their Christmas shopping and Roman's family would be here in about 2 hours. It was just after 2 PM and dinner wouldn't be until 4-4:30 PM. Neela was in a deep blue that matched her eyes perfectly and it shimmered silver, going to her knees. Roman had noticed the attire and thought both looked beautiful, especially Nyla. That wrap dress looked delectable on her and he wanted to peel it off with his teeth. That would have to wait until later tonight if she was willing to go to the next level with him.
"How is he?" Nyla asked quietly, turning to look up into his eyes and Roman shook his head, making her frown. "That bad, huh?"
"She broke his heart. It's gonna take time for him to get over it. I don't know what's gonna happen between them, but she fucked him up pretty good. And he didn't even do anything." Roman pulled Nyla gently in his arms, not wanting to muse her up in any way and softly captured her lips. "Mmm, I missed you…"
"You did, huh?" Nyla still couldn't believe they were together and caressed his polo shirt covered chest. "Did you tell your parents the change of plans with her?"
Roman nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. She's worried about Dean, but nothing can be done. He said he doesn't wanna participate in anything tonight with opening presents and shit. I'm gonna try to convince him to, but I won't push him either."
"If you want, I can try to talk to him?" Nyla offered, not surprised when Roman declined and told her he'd handle it.
"Need some help with cooking?"
"No, you've been working your ass off. The least I can do is make dinner since I'm well-rested. Go sit down and watch football or something."
Roman was also down because Joelle wouldn't be spending Christmas with him this year. It was her mother's year, they swapped Joelle every other year so, unfortunately, Roman wouldn't see her until he was off again sometime in the new year. He kissed Nyla again and headed into the living room, seeing Neela occupying the television watching cartoons. Not wanting to bother her, Roman grabbed his bag and went to his room, passing by Dean's in the process. The door was shut, but he didn't hear any snoring, so Roman knew he wasn't sleeping yet. Deciding to leave his brother alone, for the time being, Roman went to his room to unpack his things since he had 5 days off.
Lisa and Sika arrived exactly 2 hours later, carrying their own food into the house to add to the meal. June and Benjamin were already back and stood up to finally meet Roman's parents reluctantly. Lisa could tell June wasn't happy about this situation and simply smiled at the woman, shaking her hand before moving to Benjamin. Her husband was very loving and would've hugged them, but Roman warned them how standoffish and tense Nyla's parents were. Roman and Nyla both breathed silent sighs of relief, standing together with Neela in front of her.
"This is my daughter, Neela Miller. Neela, this is Roman's parents, Lisa and Sika." Nyla introduced, gesturing to each person with a soft smile and Sika lowered to one knee, just like Roman did, taking the little girl by the hand. There were a lot of similarities between Roman and his father, for sure.
"Hello, little one. It's nice to meet you." Sika had a warm, loving, low voice that could soothe the pants off anyone.
Neela felt more comfortable, less timid and smiled brightly at the older man. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Sika."
"Just Sika, little one." The man chuckled, patting her head and stood back up to allow his wife to hug her next.
It was possibly the sweetest thing Nyla had ever witnessed in her life. For these people to embrace them with open arms amazed her. They didn't have to do it, but that was how accepting and warm Roman's family was. His brother and sisters arrived shortly after, all in town for the holiday. Roman hugged them all, introducing the newest woman in his life with her gorgeous daughter. Neela really was the star of the show, the main attraction, and Roman only wished his daughter could join them. His family was used to the set up him and his ex-girlfriend had ever since they split when she was just 2 years old. Lisa hugged her son closely, whispering words of love in his ear and then went into the kitchen to start setting up the food with June and Nyla.
"So, how long have you and Roman been together?" Lisa inquired, a lot friendlier about this than June had been. She didn't know what the woman had gone through though and wouldn't judge. "He seems very happy with you…"
"Umm…" This was really embarrassing because Lisa already knew the real reasoning for her and her family being here in Roman's house. "Not long." She really did not want to tell Roman's mother it hadn't even been a week, feeling her cheeks flush.
"Oh honey, don't be embarrassed over it. Love is love and when you know, you know." Lisa grinned at the woman's gaping face and winked, seeing June roll her eyes. "You don't think they're in love, June?"
"No, I don't," June answered in a clipped tone, not wanting to think about her daughter falling for another wrestler's tricks. "I understand we're only here for protection and nothing more…"
"But they're together in a relationship." Lisa pointed out, blinking when June swept out of the room without a backward glance. "Was it something I said?"
Nyla couldn't believe the way her mother was acting, her heart breaking into a million pieces. "No June, it's okay. She's just…overprotective of me…" That was the excuse she kept coming up with for her mother, but honestly, Nyla was getting a little tired of the attitude. "Excuse me."
Whatever was going on between Nyla and her mother, they could handle it. Lisa did not want to be involved in that family drama and continued putting food in the various serving bowls. Nyla caught up with her mother, who was outside and shut the door behind her to make sure they were alone.
"Mom, that was uncalled for."
"What was? I was only telling the truth. We're only here to be protected by your bosses and nothing more. When they're finally subdued, we'll go back home and you can finally get away from this wrestling shit…" June couldn't wait to get out of here and go back home, missing her house and bed.
It was Christmas Eve and she didn't want to ruin her daughter's holiday. However, there came a time when a daughter had to stick up for herself against her mother. "No Mom, that's what you don't understand." Roman had talked to her about this while on the road and they still had more talking to do, but both wanted the same thing. "I-I'm not going home with you when this is all said and done. Neither is Neela."
June slowly turned her head with an arched brow, eyes wide. "What are you saying, Nyla Elizabeth?"
This really was a horrible time to tell her mother what she'd decided. "Roman asked me if I would move in here with Neela. And I said yes."
"YOU WHAT?!"
"Mom, you were right. I've burdened you and Dad for far too long and forced you to raise my child because I wouldn't give up my dream job. But I also wanted to protect Neela from her biological father. And I love you and Dad so much for that. I need to find my own way, though. I need to try this with Roman because…I've been in love with him since he debuted on the main roster in WWE. Since I met him a little over 2 years ago." Nyla confessed, explaining her feelings the best she could and felt tears streak down her cheeks at her mother's disapproving mien. "I love him."
"You don't know what love is, Nyla. Do you know why? Because you don't understand what it means to be in a COMMITTED relationship! You go off and have these flings, get pregnant and expect your parents to pick up the pieces! No! No more! I won't let you take my granddaughter away from me! I've raised her since she was a baby and I'll be DAMNED if I let you rip her away from the only environment she's ever known for a FLING!" June snapped, not believing this was happening and what her daughter just told her. What she was going to do! "You are being so selfish and inconsiderate! I didn't raise you like that! Neela has friends she's known for years and you just wanna rip her away from all of it to move here on what may or may NOT be a working relationship! You've lost your damn mind, girl!"
"MOTHER! Are you standing here telling me you'll fight me for custody of my child?!" Nyla covered her mouth with her hand at her mother's emphatic nod. "No! Neela belongs to me and it's because of ME you have that beautiful house you're obsessed with and want to be in right now! I provide for her every single damn day of my life to give her everything you didn't! You will not rip my child away from me! I'll make sure of it!"
"So you'll fight me and your Daddy in court? You're really going to be that selfish?" June couldn't look at her daughter another second, already heading back into the house. "We'll see who wins in the end, Nyla Elizabeth." They were packing up and heading home first thing in the morning, providing they could get a flight on Christmas Day.
Roman heard doors slamming throughout his house and saw the front door was open, heading out to see Nyla in tears. "What happened, baby girl?" He pulled her into his arms, cradling her head in his strong hand as her tears beat down and soaked through the polo he had on. "Nyla, talk to me, please…" Her tears were going to kill him.
"M-My Mom…I-I told her. I had to. She just doesn't see how much you mean to me and…" Nyla couldn't talk or form a coherent sentence, sobbing and could feel Roman's body tense up. "What a fucked up Christmas this turned out to be!"
"Shhh, it's okay, baby girl. I don't care what she says or thinks and you shouldn't either. What matters is what you feel inside and you already know how I feel about you." If everything he'd done up to this point wasn't obvious, the woman was blind or stupid. He pulled back, staring down into her eyes and wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumbs. "I love you, Nyla. I know it's really fast and you don't have to-" She cut him off, bringing his mouth down on hers to passionately kiss him.
Maybe it wasn't such a bad Christmas after all.
Upstairs, Dean flipped his phone to the side repeatedly, contemplating if he should at least send a text message to wish Macaria a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or something. Hell, he didn't even know what she believed in and didn't want to upset her. She didn't seem to mind it being called Merry Christmas, but then again, Dean didn't have a lot of Christmases to be thankful for.
"Fuck, just do it. Just do it and be done with it." Before he could stop himself, he pulled up Macaria's number and sent the quick text, closing his eyes hoping she at least read it.
Macaria saw her phone go off, almost 14 sheets to the wind with a bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand and blurrily looked at the screen, fresh tears falling from her eyes.
Merry Christmas, Maca.
It was Dean. Didn't she tell him not to contact her? Sniffling, she read the message repeatedly for 10 minutes straight and finally responded back.
Dean's heart nearly jumped in his throat his phone went off and there was a new text message from her.
Merry Christmas, Deano.
He closed his eyes, clutching the phone to his chest and decided right then and there he would not give up on her.
They still had hope, they could still find their way back to each other in 5 ½ months.
