Chapter 26
"Alyssa, come here please!" Nicoya called out to her daughter, who just turned eleven, not believing it'd been two years since she'd left the WWE behind. Left everything behind. Left Mark behind. It hurt at first, she wasn't denying it, but as time passed by, it got a little easier. Her nightmares vanished as soon as she left that life and now here she was with her beautiful little girl, who was growing up fast. They lived on the Atlantic Ocean in a beach house that was secluded and covered by trees. She smiled as Alyssa played in the sand with their golden retriever, Harley. Alyssa had named him and even though he was still a puppy, he was big.
"Mom! Harley's found something!" Alyssa laughed, wrinkling her nose as she squatted down to dig alongside him. Her hair tousled from the breeze, her skin tanned due to living outside all the time, and she was getting tall. Knocked knees and all. "Oh! Hey! Look at this one!" She exclaimed, holding up a giant conch shell. "How do you think it got here?"
"Wow, no idea, but that's definitely one we can add to our collection." She smiled down at her daughter, rubbing her hair with her hands, and kissed her forehead before petting Harley's head.
Alyssa had started collecting conch shells, after getting over the fact that she would never see Mark again. That had been truly difficult for the little, but Nicoya did what she thought was right and hadn't regretted it. She explained to Alyssa that Mark's life and her uncle's could be in danger if they stayed with the WWE and that's why she left. Also, she was terrified of Mark and the feelings she'd gained for him. Though she would never admit that to her daughter.
Alyssa smiled, turning to look out over the water, for a moment her thoughts straying to her uncle and to Mark. While she let her mother think whatever she thought, Alyssa never forgot about either of them. She spent a lot of time down here on the beach wondering if they missed her. If they thought about her at all and the thought of them not doing it forced her heart to clench in her chest painfully. She understood why her mother ran away, but at the same time, she wanted to smack her for being so stupid. Her thoughts were jolted when she heard a voice behind her and felt her eyes widen as she whipped around, not believing who was there.
"Do you have any damn idea how hard it was findin' ya?"
Nicoya heard that voice and instantly whipped around along with her daughter, her midnight blue eyes widened in shock, and her jaw dropped to the sand below. There was her brother, Steve, standing before her. He had a pair of tight blue jean shorts on with a black muscle shirt and black shades over his eyes. That goatee never left and he had a gold chain around his neck with white tennis shoes on. Harley immediately started growling, standing before Nicoya while Alyssa just gawked in shock just like her mother. They had identical expressions on their faces.
Alyssa stopped Harley before the puppy could attack, crouching down to pet him, her eyes on her uncle. Finally, she stood up, looking something like an ungainly colt, already growing tall thanks in part of her other genetic donor's genes. "Uncle Steve!" She finally shrieked, tossing herself into his arms.
Steve laughed, catching her in his arms and spun around on the sand with her, finally setting her down and looking at her. "Damn Aly, ya look just like yer momma did at that age, only taller." He hugged her again tightly, missing his niece like crazy. "I missed ya, gal!"
Nicoya could only blink repeatedly, not believing her brother had found them. She'd even gone so far as to make sure this house wasn't even on the map or in any of the phone books! "Harley, calm down girl." She cooed to the dog, bending down to pet her head, and finally managed to stand up, her knees shaking. She was wearing a blue and white halter top that wrapped around her neck and back, leaving her shoulders bare with a pair of blue jeans. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?" She finally managed to ask, her voice harsh with emotion.
Steve arched an eyebrow up at his sister. "Well…after persuadin' Vince to finally confess ya resigned instead of the on vacation crap he was tryin' to feed everyone, I started huntin' ya down. Couldn't get nothin' from yer folks, guessin' they didn't know, and finally hired a P.I. Two years later, I finally hit pay dirt." He stared at her, his arm still wrapped around Alyssa's shoulder, explaining everything he'd gone through as if it'd been nothing. "Why'd ya run?"
"Why?" Nicoya echoed, her voice and tone laced with anger, and glared back at him. "For your goddamn protection, you stubborn asshole!" She snapped, trembling from how much emotion was coursing through her veins, and couldn't take it. She walked off the beach and up to her two story home she had built, Harley following.
Steve shook his head, smiling down at Alyssa. His protection? He wasn't in any danger. It was Nicoya who was in danger. John didn't care about Alyssa. He never had. I was Nicoya he wanted to hurt. "So honey bear, how ya likin' it here?" He asked, dropping down onto the sand with his niece, about to catch up, not going t let his sister run him off.
"It's alright, different to be in one place all the time, but I'm used to it now." Alyssa replied, shifting her fingers through the sand deep in thought. "Mom is mad."
No, Mom wasn't mad. Mom was INFURIATED! Nicoya could NOT believe her brother actually tracked them down like the stubborn man he was, and sighed heavily. She was in the kitchen, slamming cabinets, and dragging out pots and pans. She had to be domesticated for her daughter, not minding it too much, and fed Harley. She knew Alyssa was thrilled to see her uncle again, but it made Nicoya wonder if Steve would tell Mark where they were. "If he does, I'm going to kill him." She vowed darkly and began slicing up vegetables harshly.
"She'll get over it." Steve replied, smiling when she giggled. "Yeah honey bear, he misses you." He added when he seen the hesitant look on her face. "Here." Steve looked behind him, snatching a bag he'd dropped up, and handed it to her. "He asked me to give this to ya if I ever found ya."
Alyssa opened it curiously, pulling out that Harley replica model that Mark had made for her and started bawling, wrapping her arms around her uncle's neck. "I miss him so much, Uncle Steve! I miss you both!"
After chopping up the vegetables, Nicoya finally stopped, throwing the knife in the sink, and stormed out of the kitchen. She didn't feel like cooking right now. She just wanted to lie down and hide from the world forever. She couldn't believe her brother was here, disturbing their peaceful life, and felt the tears already pouring down her cheeks. She slammed her bedroom door shut behind her, the ocean breeze blowing through her window, and laid down on her bed. Curling up in a ball tight and buried her face in her pillow.
When Alyssa finally stopped crying, they just sat there, looking out over the ocean, both content to sit there in silence. She snuggled up against him, his arm around her, smiling as the sun began to set. "Momma's probably going to come out here hollering for me." She sighed reluctantly, hating how overprotective her mother was of her.
"Let her holler. What's she gonna do? Whoop my ass fer seein' my niece?" Steve retorted, his blue eyes flashing dangerously for a minute, refusing to have his time cut short with Alyssa.
Nicoya knew her daughter was in good hands with Steve and they were out in the middle of nowhere so she wasn't concerned. She was trying to get her heart to stop shattering repeatedly as she cried harder in her pillow. She spent many nights tear staining it and tonight would be no exception. She knew she loved Mark. She knew she should've have left him without saying goodbye or something, but she had to do what was right for her and Alyssa. John was dangerous and would use Alyssa as leverage to hurt her. She sniffled a little, breathing raggedly, and swallowed hard as she watched the sun descend on the horizon. She finally managed to pull herself out of bed, walking over, and stared out her window, wrapping her arms around herself and allowed the silent tears to pour down her cheeks.
"Come on, let's walk a bit, darlin'." Steve murmured, pulling Alyssa up from the sand. He led her by the hand and started walking down the beach, steering clear of the incoming tide.
"Where are we going?" Alyssa asked curiously, looking up at her uncle, trusting him with her life.
"Just fer a walkabout. I'm not gonna whisk ya off, honey bear." He assured her, though he was tempted too just so Nicoya couldn't deny him seeing her.
It wasn't the fact that Nicoya didn't want to be with Mark because that wasn't the case at all. It was the fact that as long as he was apart of her life, his was in danger because of John. The lunatic was still wrestling for the WWE after having his charges mysteriously dropped. She'd found out from Ashley, who she kept in contact with privately, not even telling Alyssa. Nicoya knew this was killing her daughter, but she was doing what she thought was best for both of them. Mark and Steve were in danger as long as they were apart of her life, but she couldn't deny her brother. She could deny Mark, even though it killed her to do it, but she wouldn't do it to Steve. She just hoped he kept his mouth shut about their whereabouts because if Mark came back in the picture, their lives would be turned upside down again.
After walking for a few hours, Alyssa fell asleep and Steve carried her back to the house. He didn't bother looking around too much, just enough to navigate himself to her room and gently laid her down on her bed. Placing the Harley model on her nightstand so she'd see it when she woke up. Steve then looked for Nicoya's room, knocking when he found it and stepped in, staring down at his sister. So many questions ran through his mind along with so many emotions, but he somehow suppressed them.
"What do you want, Steve?" She asked hoarsely, staring out of her window, having been standing there for awhile now, and wiped her tears away. She knew what he was going to say. How stupid she was for leaving and running away like a coward. She'd heard it before and didn't feel like hearing it again, especially from her brother.
"I heard what ya said bout protectin' me and whatnot earlier, Coya, but…" Steve sighed, running a hand over his bald head, and trailed his words off. "You ever think maybe Mark and I oughta have had some say in that, honey? We both love you and Alyssa very much, you know we'd of done anythin' to be with ya both."
"Don't say his name, Steve." She ordered in a low voice, sniffling a little more, and didn't turn around to face him. She knew deep down he was right, but she was doing what she thought was right at the time and there was no going back now. She'd made a mistake and she'd live with it. Like she had for the past two years. "I did what I thought was best for all of us and that was taking my daughter far away from the WWE where he could have easy access to her. He's still on the prowl and you being here isn't a good thing. He could've followed you or something." She sighed heavily, dropping her head forward, and started crying silently.
"Not likely. Mark was keepin' him occupied when I left." Steve replied gravely, no remorse in his voice. "Let's just say at the moment, Cena is probably still in the hospital. And I'll say his damned name all I want, you ripped that man's heart out and didn't even leave a damned note! Hell, you ripped out mine, but I'm the forgivin' type so it don't matter that much to me." Steve shrugged, meaning every word he said. "And no, nobody followed me so stop growin' them grays."
"Screw you, Steve!" Nicoya shouted at her brother, finally turning around to face him, and wanted to poke his eyes out with a pitchfork. "If you can't respect my wishes and NOT mention his name, then you can leave my fucking house! We were getting along fine until you came along! You know Alyssa's heart is probably torn apart again now because of your arrival! I know she misses him! I know that, but goddamn it, I did it for her own good!"
"Torn apart by me comin', huh? I'd say her heart never healed, Nicoya!" Steve shot back, anger and hurt evident in his tone. "Her own damn good? You shoulda stuck around and pressed on with the damn case, put his ass away! Instead, you panicked and ran, which is WHY John got off just incase you didn't know! Not many do, but he was slapped on the wrists when nobody could find yer ass to come testify!"
"Why the fuck are you here? Is it to berate me for making horrible decisions in my life? Why the fuck are you even here, Steve?" She questioned, wrapping her arms around herself, and wished they would understand. Even if John was locked up, he wouldn't have stopped, no matter what. He would've hired someone to kill her because that's just how demented the man was, especially after finding out that Alyssa was his. She was doing it to protect them because John would hurt ANYONE who was close to her just to hurt her, including her own daughter.
"Because I missed my niece and my sister." Steve said simply. "I didn't come here with the intentions of fightin' with ya, honey. I just missed you both is all." He sighed sadly, his heart breaking at her tears. "I'll go Coya, alright?"
"You don't understand!" She cried, burying her face in her hands, and felt her entire body trembling violently. "I didn't want to leave! I didn't want too, but after he attacked me that night, I got scared! I was petrified and I knew I would end up pushing Mark away in the end because of it! Because of my demons! I didn't want to hurt him! I didn't want to hurt you! I just figured if I disappeared, he would move on with his life and find someone who deserves him." She got quiet, sniffling a little as the tears kept pouring down her cheeks, and sat down on her bed with a plop, wishing she knew what to do.