Chapter 30
Alyssa was panicking instantly, though she remained a lot calmer then her mother about it. "Mom, what happened? Mom, quit crying. Mom-MOM!" Alyssa gently tried worming away, her breathing hampered slightly. Nicoya had literally squeezed the life out of her and she was finding it hard to breathe. She smiled when her mother loosened her grip a little and stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?" She repeated, glancing at her uncle for the answer.
Mark was wondering the same damn thing, staring down at the woman who'd broke his heart two years ago, his green eyes carefully neutral before looking at his friend. "Cena?" He asked, already knowing the answer and clarified it when Steve nodded in response.
"Momma's fine now that she seen you were okay. I had to see with my own eyes that you were okay. I don't want to go into detail about what happened, but…God I'm just so glad you're safe." She whispered, pressing her forehead to Alyssa's, and kissed her forehead as she took a deep, ragged breath before standing up. "We're going back to the hotel. I don't want to be here anymore, not after what just happened." She announced, staring back at her brother, who had full understanding in his blue eyes, and looked down at her daughter. "If you want to stay with Mark, you can baby girl." She just wanted to make her daughter happy and knew this man did it. Even if her own heart was shattering in her chest.
"I'll come with you." Alyssa said instantly, remembering what had happened the last time her mother had been at the hotel by herself. Not about to let that happen again. As if an eleven year old could do anything, but she wasn't thinking about her limitations. "Uncle Steve are you coming?"
Steve nodded, looking over at Mark. "I'll be there as soon as possible, honey bear. I got to do somethin' fer work first." He sounded reluctant to let them go alone.
"I'll take them." Mark said gravely, not about to let anything happen to either if he could help it. Not about to lose Alyssa again.
Nicoya didn't say anything, the tone of Mark's voice telling her that no matter what she said or did, she wouldn't be able to change his mind. She just stood up on shaky legs, still trembling from what happened, and smiled reassuringly down at her daughter when Alyssa frowned. "I'm fine. Momma's just a little shook up." She walked over to her brother, hugging him around the neck, and kissed his cheek before staring into his blue eyes. "Please be careful." She didn't even have to turn around as Alyssa came to her side and swallowed hard before heading out of the dressing room. "I need to stop at my dressing room really fast to grab my things."
"Take care of them." Steve sad, catching Mark by the arm.
Mark nodded, lowering his shades down to cover his eyes. "Handle yer business." He said in a clam voice, having a pretty good idea what Steve was going to do. Steve smirked, kind of, he didn't take too well to being attacked, especially from the back and had every intention of putting that pipe to use. Though, after he'd calmed down enough, he'd change his mind and probably go about it the legal way. This was just another thing to tack to John's record, proving he was a dangerous man.
After grabbing her things from her office, Nicoya looked up from her desk and immediately paled at the sight of the lead pipe that John used earlier. Shivers of fear coursed throughout her body as she sniffled, tears burning her eyes, but blinked them back and gave her daughter a brave smile. She took her hand, Mark behind them, and walked out into the parking lot, sighing heavily when she realized she'd come with Steve. Mark didn't say a word, just walked in front of them and silently, Nicoya followed him with Alyssa in tow. It was another truck as she put her daughter in the middle before sliding in, buckling herself, and kissed Alyssa's forehead before staring out the window. She couldn't believe she was in a truck with the man she'd run out on and broke his heart, but that wasn't her main concern. What was her main concern was not breaking down in front of her daughter, not wanting to scare her again.
Mark glanced over to find Alyssa staring at her mother and sighed, placing his shades on his face before pulling out of the parking lot. He couldn't bear the silence and turned on the radio, sighing in relief when Alyssa started singing along to the country music that played. Glad she was taking her mind off the situation. Wishing he could take his mind off of it. It was awkward to say the least, Nicoya right here with him. Though that wasn't his concern. His concern was what John would try doing next, vowing to protect Alyssa and her mother at all costs.
The song 'Alyssa Lies' came playing through the speakers of the truck, causing Nicoya to close her eyes, and took a deep breath. She finally couldn't take it anymore, the song too sad, and reached over, turning it on a different station. Only to hear Madonna and groaned, "Christ…" She muttered when Alyssa squealed and started singing along to her, shaking her head, and continued staring out the window. The last thing she wanted to listen to was about a song that was about a little girl named Alyssa who died. That was NOT a good omen or sign to say the least.
Mark groaned inwardly when he heard the song though he smiled when he heard how excited Alyssa got over the song and dealt with it. He understood why Nicoya had changed the song. Didn't blame her either. He probably would have if she didn't. Mark glanced over at her, turning into the hotel's back parking lot. "You got yer room booked?" He asked, cutting off the ignition, hearing the words to that song replaying in his head.
"Yes." Nicoya simply answered, the song that was playing on the radio causing her heart to break even more, and slid out of the truck. She helped Alyssa out, taking her hand, and raked a hand through her black hair, thrusting her black bag over her shoulder. She already knew Mark was going to follow them up to the room and would probably stay until Steve arrived. Unless Alyssa wanted him to stay longer. She didn't mind it. As long as it made her daughter happy, Nicoya smiled down at her as they all three ventured into the hotel, using the staircase.
Mark trailed up the stairs behind the pair, leaning against the hallway wall as Nicoya fumbled with her bag, searching for her key card. A second later, all three of them were inside and Alyssa was instantly scanning the menu. "Still eatin' like yer hollow, angel?" He asked, watching her amusedly.
"I can't help it, I'm hungry all the time." Alyssa replied, shrugging her shoulders good-naturedly. "Besides, I'm trying to get fat." She looked down at her rail thin scrawny body and frowned.
"Yer just tall, angel, you'll grow into it." Mark assured her gently, still not believing how big she'd gotten over the past two years.
"You're not fat for the final time, Aly." Nicoya stated exasperatedly, shaking her head at her daughter, and cracked a small smile. "If you don't mind, momma isn't gonna order anything, but order whatever you want." She kissed her forehead before sitting down on the bed, taking her heels off, and threw them in the corner gently before resting her elbows on her knees, and just stared at the wall. Her mind on John and what his next move was going to entail.
Mark blinked, listening as Alyssa got onto the phone and placed her order. Wondering just how in the Hell the kid managed to stay so scrawny if she actually ate like this on a normal basis. Chuckling when he heard her order his own favorite meal. She was sharp as a whip with the memory to match. That was for sure.
Alyssa hung up the phone and settled down on the bed, her sandals sliding off her feet before tucking her legs underneath her. "Mom, what happened tonight?" She asked softly, not wanting to press, but she was worried.
Sighing heavily, Nicoya knew her daughter was going to ask her that, and finally allowed a few tears to slip down her cheeks. "John attacked the bodyguards your Uncle hired to watch over me and him with a lead pipe. He then shot threats at me and then left, didn't lay a hand on me, but he hurt your Uncle." Nicoya wasn't about to keep anything from her, not wanting to make that mistake again, and pulled her on her lap as she held her tightly. "I'm just so glad that you were with Mark when it happened." She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing heavily, not believing what a mess her life had become.
"Well I figured he did something to Uncle Steve, especially since he didn't have them stitches in his head earlier." Alyssa said calmly, pointing out the obvious, allowing her mother to hold her. Even though she was going through a 'don't coddle me' phase, knowing now was not the time to be touchy. "So what're we going to do now? Stay or run?"
"I'm staying this time, Alyssa. I can't run from this anymore. I have to face him and end this once and for all. Last time was a mistake. A huge mistake, but this time, that doofus isn't getting the best of me." She sighed, knowing Alyssa was going through a phase where she didn't feel like being held, and released her as she kissed her forehead, tapping her nose gently. "We'll beat him, baby girl, I promise. He won't come near you unless it's over my dead body."
Alyssa didn't like that thought. She could actually picture John killing her mother and shivered, forcing a smile on her face and leaned forward to kiss her mother's cheek. "I love you." She said, fear in her eyes for a brief second before bouncing away, moving to rifle through the DVD's she'd brought. Mark was leaning against he wall, studying the pair intently. His green eyes following Alyssa before slowly, reluctantly moving onto Nicoya. Wondering what the Hell to say to her after all this time.
Nicoya sighed heavily as she shook her head, burying her face in her hands, and shook it back and forth, trembling a little. She looked up at Mark briefly before standing up and walked into the kitchen, needing a drink. She needed one after all the shit she'd been through on her first night back with the WWE. Pouring herself a glass of wine, Nicoya walked back into the front room, looking over at her daughter, who was sifting through her DVD's. Nicoya's thoughts went to Mark as she tried to push it out of her mind, but she couldn't and the guilt was gnawing at her insides. What could she say to him after all that had happened?
"Thank you for bringing us back here, Mark." She finally found herself saying and walked over to the bed, sitting down again, and raked a hand through her hair. The ice had to be broken somehow as she took a long swig of her wine, hoping it would calm her down.
Mark nodded, opening his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by room service. Sighing, he answered the door, pulled in the trolley and tipped the server. He turned around in time to see Alyssa attacking the food, watching her devour her plate. "Angel, try breathin'. "He advised playfully.
Alyssa grinned at him after swallowing her mouthful, carrying her two food filled plates to the table and setting down. "You gonna eat?" She asked, seeing he hadn't touched his food.
"Maybe later sweetheart, I'm not all that hungry." Mark admitted, moving to sit down on the edge of the bed, looking at Nicoya. "And yer welcome, darlin'." He said in a soft, husky voice.
Just hearing his voice caused the tears to silently flow down her cheeks as she took another long sip of her wine, breathing out shakily. She smiled over at her daughter tearfully as she devoured her plate. She shook her head, knowing she got her appetite from her sperm donor, and crossed her leg over the other before wiping her tears away. She had to get her head in the game and figure out what John was planning next. If she knew the man, he would try to coax her into either sleeping with him, which wasn't happening, or attack Mark next since Alyssa was so close to him. Both options blew, but she knew John's frame of mind and it was very unstable right now. Though then again, her brother was probably extracting some sort of revenge on her ex at that moment, which made her smile a little more.
"Aly, you're going to get another stomach ache if you eat too fast." She warned softly, raising an eyebrow at her daughter, who just stuck her tongue out in response.
"I eat like this every night." Alyssa explained, seeing the questioning look on Mark's face. "And every night Mom tells me to slow down." She exaggerated her movements, slowly raising her fork to her mouth and taking slowly chewing it, looking like she was going in slow motion.
Mark snorted, shaking his head, not believing how much more comedic and cute this kid had gotten over the past two years. "She's getting' quite the personality, ain't she?" He asked, deciding to be civil.
"Unfortunately." Nicoya muttered good-naturedly, sticking her tongue back out at her daughter, and ran the pad of her thumb around the rim of the wine glass, deep in thought. "She's growing so fast." She said softly, sounding saddened by it, and took another sip of her wine to keep her emotions in check. She refused to completely breakdown until Mark was gone. She didn't want his sympathy because she didn't deserve it. She was shocked he'd actually offered to take them back to the hotel, but knew he did it for Alyssa. Not her. That was fine with Nicoya. What did she honestly expect after leaving him without notice and breaking his heart?
"Kids do." Mark sounded sad himself, sorry that he had missed it.
He had missed Alyssa these past two years. Missed her more then he would've thought possible. Going out of his mind worrying about her and then wondering how she was. If she looked the same. If he would even recognize her on the street if he seen her. He had also wondered about Nicoya. Wanting to know why she had just taken off the way she did. Wondering if maybe she thought he couldn't protect her. Or himself. Wishing she had at least given him a chance to assuage whatever fears had driven her away.
"I'm going to bed." Alyssa announced, pushing away from the table, and making a great show of being tired. "Night Mom, night Mark." She blew kisses at them both before disappearing into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
"She won't even allow to be tucked in anymore." Nicoya said softly, sighing heavily, and stood up from the bed, walking over to fill her glass of wine, and wrapped her arms around herself as she took a long swig of it. Swallowing it slowly and set it on the nightstand. She just stared at the wall and dropped her head forward, sniffling a little, and wondered how she was going to get through this without completely losing it. She hated this. She hated feeling like this. Hated the fact that John could put the fear inside of her and make her angry at the same time. 'He's not scaring me away again. I'm staying, even if I end up dying in the end.' She thought defiantly and actually downed the rest of her wine before walking into the kitchen.