Chapter 34
Alyssa and Steve were eating breakfast at the table the following morning, both bathed and dressed for the day when Nicoya and Mark walked in. Steve grunted at them, sipping his coffee and reading the morning paper. Alyssa halted, her scrambled eggs and French toast completely forgotten. "Where've ya been?" She asked curiously, her blue eyes taking in the way they were holding hands.
Steve folded his paper and turned in his seat to look at the pair as he asked, "Hell, yer both glowin', get a facial?"
Nicoya couldn't stop smiling even if her life depended on it, leaning against Mark, their fingers entwined together, and looked up at Mark before staring back at her daughter. "Alyssa, we have something very important to tell you, sweetheart…" She paused briefly, licking her lips nervously, and swallowed hard. Loving how Mark was there for her as he squeezed her hand in encouragement and nodded up at him.
"What's that?" Alyssa said suspiciously, shooting her uncle a curious look, shaking her head when he just shrugged, looking as clueless as her.
Mark bent down to kiss the top of Nicoya's head, staring Alyssa in her beautiful blue eyes. "Yer momma and I are getting' married." He said softly, gauging her for her reaction. "And I'd like to adopt ya, if ya don't mind."
Alyssa's eyes widened, a radiant smile lighting her face up, looking like she was going to get up and hug them both, but extended a hand to Steve instead and stated, "Pony up."
Groaning, Steve reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, whipping out a fifty dollar bill and handing it to her. "How the Hell did ya know?" Steve demanded and shook his bald head in disbelief.
"I'm brilliant of course." Alyssa replied smugly, slipping it into her Capri pocket with a grin on her face.
Nicoya's jaw dropped to the floor at what her daughter and brother did, not believing this, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Excuse me? You made your future father and I a bet?" She demanded, her mouth still somewhat open, and looked up at Mark, who was shaking his head with a grin on his face. A look that said that was his little girl and he was proud of her.
"Well…yeah." Alyssa said slowly, returning to her French toast, her appetite not put off in the slightest. "Mom, close your mouth, flies are gonna get in."
"Honey bear here said somethin' bout ya'll hookin' up this mornin' and it kinda went from there." Steve explained, smiling sheepishly, not believing he'd just lost fifty dollar, not believing he'd just lost fifty dollars to his eleven year old niece.
"Hell…I think you just had yer ass handed to ya, Steve. I'd quit gamblin' and find somethin' yer good at." Mark advised, sheer amusement shining in his emerald green eyes, and chuckled from low in the back of his throat at Alyssa's grin.
"Like sitting there and looking pretty, cue ball." Alyssa informed her uncle, the smugness in her voice evident and clear as the blue sky outside.
Nicoya tried really hard not to laugh, but her face was turning beat red, and she finally couldn't take it anymore. She burst out laughing, holding her stomach, and had to lean against Mark for support because he was doing the same thing. "Cue ball?" Nicoya rasped out, tears streaming down her cheeks, not believing what her daughter just called her precious Uncle Steve. "Oh my god, I wish I had a damned camera at the look on my brother's face right now!"
Steve blinked, staring at his niece wide eyed, not believing himself she'd just said that. Growling when he heard Mark's deep laughter booming throughout the room. "Shut up, Rigamortis!" He snapped.
Mark didn't flinch and asked, "Sayin' I'm stiff?" Steve just folded his arms over his chest, blue eyes narrowed to slits. "I'd have to agree." Mark smirked, holding Nicoya up, his green eyes sparkling amusedly. He'd been stiff all night.
"Marcus!" Nicoya exclaimed, elbowing him hard in the stomach, causing him to groan as she shook her head at him disapprovingly. "OUR daughter is in the room right now!"
"Busted." Steve snorted, turning back to his coffee and paper.
Alyssa was studying them all curiously. "Someone wanna fill me in on the joke?" She demanded, having no clue what was going on, wondering why her mother had elbowed her future father in the stomach.
"Nothing, Alyssa Marie. Eat your food." She ordered, glaring over at her brother and then at her fiancé, shaking her head, and walked over to the table. She popped a sausage link in her mouth, after dipping it in syrup, and shook her head at her family. "You two are something else." She grunted before looking over to her laptop, sitting on the bed, and looked over her work from the previous night before going to Mark's room.
"What?" Steve asked curiously, exchanging confused looks with Alyssa before they both shrugged.
"Mom, didn't you get that finished last night?" Alyssa demanded, sounding thoroughly shocked. It wasn't like her mother to put off work unless something drastic happened. Steve started sniggering, seeing the look on Mark's face, and busted out laughing, not able to hold it in.
"No, I got…distracted." Nicoya managed to say, trying not to turn red as Mark stared at her with those intense, smoldering green eyes, and felt a shiver run down her spine before she lowered her head and began typing.
"By what?" Alyssa asked promptly, now wondering what could be so distracting. Mark had to step into the kitchen, the look on Nicoya's face both amusing and making him take pity on her. Not believing how persistent Alyssa still was.
"What is this? Twenty-one questions?" Steve shot back, raising an eyebrow at his niece, and saved Nicoya's ass.
"None of your business, young lady. Now finish your breakfast and stop asking questions." Nicoya ordered her daughter, not tearing her eyes from the screen for fear of turning into a strawberry in front of her daughter. She snagged another sausage link from the table and snapped her head up when there was a knock on the door. Causing her to look at both her brother and Mark, the redness gone from her face, and replaced with fear. 'Who could it be?' She thought, furrowing her eyebrows together.
Mark and Steve were apparently having the same thoughts because they shot each other looks. Steve finally got up and gestured for Alyssa to go sit with her mother on the bed. He waited until Mark was standing behind the door before walking over, peering out of the peephole and frowned, slowly, cautiously opening the door. "Mom, what's going on?" Alyssa asked softly, a worried tone etched in her tone.
"Hello sir, I assume you're Mr. Williams?" The police officer asked, causing Steve to nod his head once, and crossed his arms in front of his chest, wondering what was going on. Mark heard the voices from behind the door, but didn't say anything, just waited incase it was a trap while Alyssa sat with her mother. "Sir, I am Officer Bogard and this is Polom. We're here to inform you that as of nine-thirty last night, John Cena was found dead in his hotel room. The authorities are investigating it now, but we found this in his room. It is said he shot himself." Officer Polom was silent, handing over an envelope that had bloody handprints on it, and Steve hesitantly took it. After talking for a few minutes with the gentlemen, they finally left, leaving Mark standing there stunned into silence.
Steve closed the door quietly shut, walking over to put the envelope down on the table, staring at it like it was poison before looking up at his sister. Then at Mark, wondering if this was a trap of some kind. "Someone wanna tell me what's going on?" Alyssa demanded, not liking being left out in the cold.
"Angel, go pack." Mark instructed quietly, not surprised when she obeyed his command.
Nicoya looked at her fiancé, the tone of his voice completely serious, and then looked at her brother, the fear engulfing her even more. When Steve didn't say a word and just handed her the envelope, Nicoya swallowed hard, seeing the blood on it, and seen it had her name written on the front. COYA. It looked like it was written in blood, which made her feel even sicker to her stomach. She knew she had to open it though and ripped it open hastily, pulling it out, and began reading the wording on the paper. Tears filled her eyes as she read it and covered her mouth with her hand as she allowed a few to slip down her cheeks.
Coya~
By the time you read this, I will no longer be living on this earth. I've made a lot of decisions in my life, one of them being hurting you. I understand that you probably will never forgive me and for that, I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry for everything I put you and your family through, including our little girl. I still can't believe you kept her from me for eight years, but in a way, I understand. I was an asshole. A deceitful prick that only cared about my needs and happiness instead of yours. I will never be able to live with myself, especially after getting my ass handed to me tonight in the ring by your brother, which I fully deserved. I don't know how to live my life anymore so I've decided to end it. I put two bullets in my head. One for you and one for Alyssa, my daughter. Our daughter. For all the pain and misery I've caused you both, I'm deeply sorry. I just wanted to be with you, but never got the chance to express myself because you would never give me the chance too. Who could blame you though, right?
In closing, take care of our little girl. She's beautiful, smart and I know she'll carry on the Cena bloodline with honor once she finds out her daddy is dead and gone from her life. I don't' care what you say or feel. I will ALWAYS be her father, no matter what or who you're with in life.
I love you, Nicoya Harris and I'm sorry for ruining your life.
Goodbye.
~John
Mark stared at his fiancée, frowning when he seen the tears, wondering what was in that letter. "Darlin'?" He murmured softly, taking a step towards her.
"Coya honey, what's wrong? What is that?" Steve asked, concern in his tone, and glued his eyes on the piece of paper she'd been staring at for the past five minutes straight.
Nicoya dropped the letter on the ground, the tears pouring freely down he cheeks, and bolted off the bed, rushing into the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before emptying the contents of her stomach, holding it tightly, and started crying hysterically, not believing the words she just read. She knew it was from John and he wrote it. He had handwriting unlike no other and it made her physically sick to know that he'd shot himself because of her. "God why?" She whispered to herself, trembling from head to toe, and began to sob violently.
Steve frowned, hearing his sister throwing up and decided he was going to know what the Hell that thing said. He walked over to the bed and picked the letter up, quickly reading it. He was tempted to crumple the damned thing in his hand, wondering if this was some trick of John's. If it wasn't that son of a bitch had done a really damned good job of getting to Nicoya from his freshly dug grave. Mark hadn't given two fucks about that letter. He was more concerned about Nicoya and followed her into the bathroom, kneeling down next to her. Offering her comfort if she wanted it.
Nicoya vomited more, the words running through her mind as the tears coursed down her cheeks, gripping the side of it for dear life as she sobbed harder. Her chest was heaving and she felt like she couldn't breathe. "He…killed himself…because of ME!" She cried out, throwing up more, and felt Mark hold her hair back for her, which she greatly appreciated. She hadn't meant to make John kill himself, just wanted him to stop with his antics and to leave her to live her life in peace. How could she do that now after finding out he'd shot himself because of her and her daughter?
"John killed himself because he couldn't deal with whatever demons haunted him, Nico. It's not yer fault." Mark said quietly. "Suicide is never the answer, it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem." He honestly felt nothing about this besides sorrow at seeing how upset she was. John could have sought out counseling, done something. This was the wrong answer.
She finally stopped throwing up, her face tear streaked, but she couldn't move. She was too weak to do anything, especially after reading that letter, and sighed heavily. She wiped her mouth off with a towel that Mark handed her and stood up on shaky legs, stumbling over to the sink, and turned the faucet on. She splashed cold water on her face and then rinsed her mouth out, not liking the taste of vomit in it, but she couldn't stop crying. How was she going to explain this to her daughter? She sighed heavily and stumbled out of the bathroom, gripping the wall for leverage, and seen the television was on. Nicoya dropped to her knees and cried out painfully when it showed a picture of John dead in his hotel room. She instantly bolted back into the bathroom, spewing the rest of the contents that were in her stomach.
"I'll do it." Steve said, seeing the expression on Mark's face, tearing his eyes away from the television and heading into the bathroom to tend to his sister. Knowing she was probably feeling like this was all her fault. Fuck Cena! Steve hoped the bastard rotted in Hell. It was unbelievable how the man still had a hold on Nicoya and he was dead!
Nicoya finally stopped throwing up, having nothing left, and cried her heart out, not believing what was happening. John shot himself and he wrote her a letter that specifically told her that it was because of her and Alyssa. She felt like dying along with him at that moment and shakily stood up, seeing Steve was with her, and couldn't stop crying. She walked past Mark and into Alyssa's bedroom, crying harder and sat on the bed. Pulling her into her arms and began rocking her as she buried her face in her hair. She just wanted to comfort her daughter, already knowing Alyssa had seen the television. They all had and she knew Alyssa was probably more confused than ever at that moment. How could she explain this without making it sound like it was their fault that this happened?
"Mom, why are you crying?" Alyssa asked softly. In her eleven year old mind, she couldn't help, but see this as a good thing. Yeah, she knew it was wrong of her, but she couldn't help but be glad that the scary man who'd repeatedly hurt her mother was gone. He'd never be able to hurt either of them ever again. They didn't have to hide or be afraid anymore as Alyssa wrapped her arms around her mother.
Nicoya didn't answer her daughter right away, knowing Alyssa didn't see the letter, and made sure she never would. She kissed the top of her head, finally calming down, and sniffled a little as she stood up from the bed. "Finish packing, angel." She instructed softly before walking out, wrapping her arms around herself, and felt sick at the sight of the letter on the bed. "Get rid of it. I don't care which one of you does it, but I don't want to ever see it again. Burn it, rip it up, do what you must, but I don't want Alyssa to EVER see those words." She quietly stated, meaning every word that came out of her mouth, and wiped the remaining tears away from her eyes before going to pack up her laptop.
Steve did the honors gladly, taking the blood covered letter and envelope to the kitchen, setting them on fire before laying them in the sink. Watching as they burnt to ash before drawing water over the ashes. "Darlin', maybe you should head on home… yer not in any condition to be workin'." Mark said softly, not even sure what was going on in Nicoya's mind right now. Wishing he had an idea so he could help her besides it was her fault thing.
"No, I'm fine. I wouldn't have a heart if I didn't mourn for his death, Mark." She responded softly, sniffling a little, and sighed when her cell phone rang. She walked over and answered it, pleasantly surprised to hear her boss's voice on the other line. She talked for about thirty seconds before hanging up, sighing heavily, and raked her hands through her hair, throwing her phone on the bed. "Vince has ordered me to take the next two weeks off. He said if I come to the arena, I'll lose my job." She couldn't believe this and felt like ringing his neck.
Mark arched an eyebrow. That was a particularly nice gesture on Vince's part, especially since Nicoya had yet to finish the scripts and the poor bastard would be stuck with his shitty writers. Mark already had every intention of telling Vince he was taking time off, not about to lose Nicoya and Alyssa again. Especially not leaving them alone after this predicament. "Darlin', where would ya like to go?" He asked softly, thinking this time off thing was for the best.
Sighing heavily, Nicoya didn't even know how to answer that. She raked her hand through her hair and looked into his emerald green eyes, seeing the fear in them, and knew he was scared that she'd run again. She walked over and took his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to his, and whispered. "I'm not running away from you. I love you, Mark." She kissed him softly before wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
Mark wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him tightly. "Darlin', I wouldn't let ya run." He whispered, meaning that, he'd of followed her to the ends of the earth. "Wherever you and angel go, I'm comin' with ya."
Nicoya sighed against him with relief, needing him more than ever now, and kissed his neck as she nodded. "Then I want to go to your place…if you don't mind." She pulled back, her hands on his broad shoulders, and stared up into his eyes, searching them with her own. "If we're going to get married then I need to see what my future home is going to look like as well as Alyssa."
Mark grinned, the thought of having Nicoya and Alyssa running around his ranch, his property, was a pretty good one. "Ain't near no ocean." He cautioned her. "I live in Texas, darlin'. Can you and Aly handle that kinda dry weather?"
"Do you have a pool?" She asked promptly and when he nodded, Nicoya grinned as she kissed his lips softly. "Then we can handle the dry weather." She ran her fingers through his goatee before hugging him again, her head resting on his chest, and sighed shakily. "I'm sorry for…reacting that way. I know it's not our fault for what he did. I'm just glad it's over with, even if he had to take his own life in order to do it."
"Don't be sorry for how you feel, Nico. It's who ya are and yer a better person for it." He whispered soothingly, stroking her back gently. "The important thing is you and Alyssa are safe now. Ya won't be lookin' over yer shoulder anymore."
Nodding, Nicoya smiled up at him, stroking his face with the back of her hand, and kissed his lip softly just as Alyssa walked out. "Sweetheart, guess where we're going for the next two weeks?" She asked, her midnight blue eyes shining, even though they were still bloodshot and swollen from crying.
Alyssa stared suspiciously at her mother, knowing she was in a different state of mind at the moment, and rubbed her arms hesitantly. Hoping they weren't about to disappear off the face of the planet again and whispered, "Where?"
"Texas with Mark and Uncle Steve." Nicoya answered softly and smiled tearfully when Alyssa jumped into her arms, causing her to hug her tightly. She laughed when Alyssa bolted into her uncle's arms and turned around to face the love of her life. "I love you, Mark." She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly, feeling right where she belonged.
"I love you too, darlin'." He bent his head down to gently kiss her. "You bout ready to go? You got me itchin' to get on home now." He smirked when she blushed and held her closer in his strong, massive arms.
On the plane ride to Texas, all Nicoya could think about was her life and how drastically the WWE had changed it. She'd met her soul mate, the man she was always destined to be with, and hadn't even realized it. He'd been under her nose the entire time and she'd been too blind in her hate to notice anything around her. Being in Mark's arms gave her a sense of comfort and love she'd been desperate to find all along. "Feels like home." She whispered to herself, a contented smile on her face, and closed her eyes while Mark squeezed her hand gently, knowing this was where she belonged and this is where she was going to stay.
The End.