Staring at him in shock, Fallyn couldn't believe what she was seeing. From the look on his face, she could tell he was thinking the exact same thing. Neither of them had seen each other since the day he'd asked her to marry him and she'd said no. And to be honest, they'd have been content with that.
"Oh god…" She gasped out before turning on her heels and hurrying out the hotel doors. The sudden feeling of the walls closing in on her had made her feel claustrophobic, and she knew she had to get away from the situation. Her breathing was labored as the warm summer air hit her, and she inhaled deeply before taking off down the road. She needed to calm her nerves, to have a few minutes to think, so she started looking for the nearest coffee shop.
Back in the hotel, the group of wrestlers was exchanging looks of both shock and worry. They might not have known Fallyn for very long, but each and every one of them knew that wasn't a normal behavior for her. Confusion clearly showing on his face, John turned to Ryan and asked,
"How do you know Fallyn?"
"It's a long story… and I can't really go into it without her permission. It wouldn't be right." Was his answer, his gray eyes reflecting a small amount of sadness that the women in the group were quick to pick up on. Glancing back at the door, Dawn turned to Jackie and Torrie and said,
"We should go look for her. She's obviously not in the right state of mind to be wandering the streets by herself, especially not in a strange city." Nodding her agreement, Jackie turned to her husband,
"We'll call you when we find her and know what's going on."
"Alright, now go on and get out of here. The sooner you three find her the better." Charlie said, but his words were wasted as the three divas were already halfway to the entrance doors of the hotel, eager to find their friend.
As they stepped out into the bright D.C. sunlight, they began looking up and down the street immediately, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fallyn's reddish blonde head. When they didn't have any luck, they decided to split up, Torrie and Dawn going one way and Jackie heading in the opposite direction agreeing to call when and if they found her. Twenty minutes later, Jackie was ready to call Dawn and Torrie to see if they'd had any luck when the squealing of tires brought her back to reality. Looking in the direction the noise had come from; she couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw the girl she'd been looking for in the first place, darting across the street, not seeming to care about the oncoming cars. Shaking her head as she watched Fallyn disappear into a small café, she made her way to the nearest crosswalk muttering to herself,
"One day that girl is going to get herself killed…" Waiting for the light to change, signaling that she could cross, she was glad that it didn't take very long. Walking into the café that she'd seen Fallyn enter, she waited until she'd ordered her drink before coming up behind her hand tapping her on the shoulder. Whipping around, Fallyn was wide-eyed until she realized who it was, and let out a breath she wasn't even aware she'd been holding while saying,
"My god Jackie, I thought you were Ryan."
"Well I was going to ease into that topic, but since you brought it up…" The blonde trailed off, raising an eyebrow at the shorter woman, indicating that she wanted her to continue. Sighing, Fallyn knew she was going to have to tell her, not that she really minded anyway. She needed to talk to someone about it, and Jackie was one of her better friends seeing as they spent so much time together. Telling the blonde to grab them a table, she waited near the counter for her coffee, thankful for the few minutes it provided her to think about how to approach the topic. Up until now the only person who had been fully aware of all the details of their break up, besides the two of them of course, had been Shannan and she still wasn't entirely comfortable telling anyone else, but she'd said she would and fully intended on doing so.
Far sooner than she'd have liked, her mocha was in her hands and she was making her way towards the small table in the back where Jackie was sitting, waiting for her. Sighing as she sat down, she took a sip from the cardboard cup in her hands. Glancing at Jackie, who was watching her as though she was waiting for her to bolt, she couldn't help but smile a little. It just showed how much she had really bonded with the woman sitting across from her in the few short months she'd been with the WWE. With a deep breath she finally looked Jackie in the eye and began,
"It's kinda long story…"
"We got nothing but time Lyn." Jackie said, giving her a small reassuring smile. Nodding, Fallyn went into full story mode, telling it from beginning to end. She was careful not to leave anything out, sure that if she did it would be something vital. When she'd finally finished Jackie could only sit there, absorbing everything that had been said. When she finally managed to find her voice again, she shook her head in disbelief and asked,
"How long ago did all this happen?"
"About two years. This is the first time that I've seen him since." Fallyn said miserably, cradling her chin in her hand and closing her eyes. She knew it was a lot to take in and wasn't at all surprised when Jackie said what she did next.
"So you just told him no and sent him off to fight in a war. That's a hell of a way to reject a proposal Fallyn."
"I know… believe me I do. But it's not like he left me much of a choice. He asked me five minutes before he had to be on a plane to leave."
"Do you regret it?"
"Sometimes I wish I did…but I don't. I really think it was the right decision. Not the best time… but the right decision." Fallyn said after a moment or two of silence in which she seriously thought about her answer. It was a question she hadn't asked herself in a really long time and it was somewhat comforting the come to the realization that even after all the time that had passed, the answer was still the same. Nodding, Jackie was just about to say something else when her cell phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID, she shook her head and grinned a little before answering it with a simple,
"Hello Dawn." Hearing that name, Fallyn just smiled a little, grateful that she had such good friends even though she was so far away from home. Ignoring the conversation that Jackie was having she looked around the coffee shop they were in. It was bustling with activity and everyone inside seemed to be bursting with energy. That she contributed to the large amounts of caffeine being both produced and consumed by those inside. That's what she loved about coffee houses; they were always so full of life that it was easy to forget about your problems. Sometimes that's what she needed, to forget about her problems. She was quickly pulled from her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"The guys are officially freaking out back at the hotel. Dawn and Torrie have been back there for a good twenty minutes already." Jackie said, trying desperately to conceal the large grin fighting its way onto her face. Biting her lip to keep from laughing, Fallyn just shook her head and asked,
"Think we should head back then?"
"Might be a wise thing to do." Jackie answered, waiting for her friend to get up before heading for the doorway.
The entire way back to the hotel Fallyn literally drug her feet, wanting to take as long as she possibly could. There was no hiding the fact that she didn't want to go back. In all honesty, if she hadn't been needed in D.C. for the pay-per-view she'd have probably collected her things from the hotel and left to avoid Ryan that much longer. Jackie didn't say a word finding it all more than just a little humorous how childish Fallyn could be at times. Much sooner than she'd have liked they stood in front of the hotel and with a sigh Fallyn muttered sarcastically,
"This should be fun."
"Oh suck it up. You can't run from the past forever." Jackie said, rolling her eyes at the shorter woman beside her as she pushed her forward.
"Of course not… that'd make life easy." And without another word, she pushed the door to the hotel open, ready to face the one part of her past she'd thought she'd never have to again.
A/N: Okay… so I know that it's been… years… quite literally in fact, since this story has seen an update. Well here it is. I can't promise that there will be updates here very often because I've recently started two more that are my main focus as of right now. But I am going to try my hardest. I find it helpful when people write good fics and I become addicted to them. You're able to bribe me with the promise of updates. Heh… anyway, hope you enjoyed this and if you have the time would you please check out the round robin I'm now working on called Counterfeit Language. Its under the penname Not So Fictional and can be found in my Favorite Authors section on my profile page. Thanks again for reading… til the next time. -Jess