Chapter Fourteen
I disclaim
Dave placed Leila on her feet and she backed away instantly. She grabbed her clothes and began getting dressed. What the fuck, Dave? "Leila, baby…"
"No. Don't say shit like that." Her voice cracking with emotion, she ran from the room running right into Michelle. Shit, I forgot everyone was here and I don't even have a shirt on. Michelle looked at her with concern and when Leila's eyes met hers she hugged her. Dave came out and was glad someone caught Leila before she left. She felt Dave behind her and refused to look at him. She went back into his bedroom to find a shirt to wear home.
"What happened, Dave, what did you do?" Michelle stood there accusingly and Dave hung his head. She pulled him to the guest room and they sat on the bed.
"I blurted out 'marry me' and she flipped." He confessed. Michelle laughed. "What's so fucking funny?"
"You did that right after sex? Idiot." Michelle rolled her eyes. "You can't let your dick speak, Dave."
"What makes you think we had sex?" As if it wasn't obvious.
"You have no shirt, you're in your boxers and Leila's shirt was in her hands." Michelle looked at him sympathetically.
"Fuck, Michelle, why doesn't my head work when she's around?" He plopped back on the bed and covered his eyes with his hands.
"Do you want to marry her?" She asked softly as Leila stood outside the door. She was saying goodbye to Michelle when she heard Dave's voice.
"I don't know. I mean, I want to be with her everyday, I want the world to know how much I love her, but Michelle I suck at marriage." Dave wanted to kick his own ass.
"No, Dave, you don't suck at marriage. Angie knew what she was getting into when you got together. She knew what your dreams were, she knew about the wrestling schedule. She messed up that marriage, not you." Michelle was firm with him. "You and I don't count. We were too young and we're better friends, we always were and we crossed that line. But I would never change that, I have two great kids and I wouldn't if it weren't for you."
"Yeah. Damn it." Dave sat up and looked at the floor.
"Dave, if you let her walk out that door it'll be the biggest mistake you'll ever make. You need to really think if you want to marry her and have a family. These are things she wants. These are things you'll have to do to keep her. Well, you can talk about the kids thing, but you need to do something to hang onto her." She held his hands and made him look at her. "Stop changing your mind. It's confusing. You say you want to be with her everyday for the rest of your life but you aren't sure about marriage. You say you're willing to do anything to make her dreams come true but you're not sure about kids. One minute you're freaking out and the next you're throwing her on the bed. You say you should have been more gentle and taken time with her but you fuck her 10 minutes later."
"I know! When I'm around her I can't think right. It's not just sex, it's not fucking. It's beyond that." Dave stood and began pacing with his hands on his hips. "How do I explain to her what I really mean? I can't look at her, those eyes distract me and when I look away she'll lick her bottom lip or run her tongue along it and I have to, you know. I can't look into those eyes or look at those lips without thinking I want to kiss her or touch her." I sound like a fucking girl.
"Dave. Think about what you just said. Is your attraction to her nothing but physical? Please tell me it's not." Michelle was shocked to hear these things from him.
"The physical attraction to her is undeniable. Look at her; she's incredible. She's also amazing with the girls, she's a great friend, she's so much fun in and out of bed, she's astonishingly smart. Did you see where she went to school? She's a freakin genius. I know without a doubt I want to be with her, but marriage scares me. The thought of having kids scares me. I could die in this business, be seriously hurt and leave her with kids to raise by herself. I can't ask her to be a single mother because I travel all the time. I'll miss so much and how will my kids even know me?" He was rubbing his head again, his usual habit when his brain was in overdrive. Leila couldn't listen anymore; her heart was breaking. She left his house silently and drove home.
Michelle looked at him and smiled. "Stop talking yourself out of this. Do you want to just live together forever, never really giving her that full commitment?"
"It's a fucking piece of paper, Michelle. Nobody even takes those things seriously anymore. Love, honor and cherish –those words don't mean shit. A wedding ring doesn't mean anything anymore its just jewelry. People cheat all the time and then call their wives or husbands from the hotel room of their lover. So why marry someone anyway?"
"Are you kidding me?" Michelle stood and got in his face. "Are you fucking kidding me? You're a damn fool. Don't punish Leila because Angie didn't follow her vows. Don't compare you and Leila to some cheap slut who fucks the locker room because her husbands not there everyday. Do you think you'd cheat on her? Is this about your trust in her or hers in you?" She held Dave's face in her hands. "I dare you to marry her. I dare you to do it and prove yourself wrong. I have a gut feeling that says Leila would take a bullet to the head rather than sleep with anyone but you. Can you say the same?" She left Dave ponder her words and left the room.
Dave wasn't sure how long he stood there but when he snapped out of it he went to his bedroom. Leila wasn't in there and he couldn't find her anywhere in the house. Her car wasn't outside either. Great she left. He looked at his watch and it was the middle of the night. Should I go over there anyway or wait until morning? He walked around his house and noticed everyone had gone to bed. He laid on the couch in the family room and thought about the past few months.
He woke to the sounds of laughter and loud voices. His head was pounding and his arm was killing him. Leila. Need to hurry and get to her house. He said good morning to everyone and went upstairs to shower. When he came down Paul and Steph were in the kitchen having breakfast with his family. "Is Leila with you?" He asked as he looked around.
Steph and Paul looked at Michelle and they all looked at Dave. "We thought she was with you." Paul said softly.
"She didn't go to her house last night?" He began to panic and so did Steph. She grabbed her cell and speed dialed Leila. Voicemail. She tried to sound cheery and upbeat for her to call back but inside she was freaking out. Michelle had given them the sugar-coated version of last night's events but nobody thought Leila was missing until now. Dave grabbed his keys and ran out the door with Steph, Paul and Michelle hot on his heels. Michelle jumped I with Dave and Paul and Steph followed him back to Leila's. Bursting through the door they began calling for her and got nothing. Dave ran through the house checking every single corner and still nothing. When he looked in her closet most of her clothes were gone and so was her favorite suitcase.
Dave collapsed to the carpeted floor of the closet and sat there with his face buried in his hands. Stephanie came in with Michelle. It was blatantly obvious Leila was gone. Steph sat in the chair Leila had in the closet and Michelle sat by Dave. Paul came in with a note. "I found a note in her desk." He handed it to Steph.
"'My dearest friend. Please accept my apologies for leaving in the middle of the night. I need to get away from everything and refocus on my life. Please call me when the baby arrives as I will certainly be there. As of now I do not know where I'm going only that I need space. Give my love to Abby and Maggie. I love you and I'll call soon.'" They sat in silence thinking about Leila's words.
"It's my fault." Was all Dave said as he got up leaving the room. They silently went back to Dave's house and sat in the family room. Unsure of what happened, Tim volunteered to take everyone sight seeing. Michelle thanked him and sat with Dave. They sat for an hour before Paul asked what happened. No fairy version, the truth.
Three days had gone by before Steph heard from Leila. She received a letter from a courier and Leila stated she was in Africa, no cell phone service. She was going to Italy after and would call her from there. She quickly told Paul who passed word to Dave. He wanted on the first plane but Paul stopped him. "You have to give her space. Let her do this on her own." Dave called Michelle and she agreed. When Leila's ready she'll call or come home.
When Dave went back to work nobody had heard from Leila. It was showing in his face and body. He had lost weight and was a little slower. It was blamed on the surgery and 'need to get back into it' but those close to Dave knew his heart was broken. He wasn't giving the Batista bomb like he used too, his opponents were slipping off him and having to help him hold them in position. Again blamed on the injury and being out of the ring for seven months. He put on a brave face and hoped Leila was watching and could see it on him that he missed her terribly. He hadn't' seen her or heard her voice in two months. Word had gotten out that Dave was single and everyone thought it was Angie and he let them. Nobody knew Dave and Angie had been separated for over a year. Girls were lining up to be with the Animal, but he had nothing. His thoughts were consumed with Leila and nobody was changing that.
Paul called early Monday morning and said Stephanie was in labor. He jumped out of bed and speed showered. As usual his first thoughts in the morning were of her. Three months and nothing. He jumped on the first flight to Connecticut and went straight to the airport. When he changed planes in NYC he caught up with Shawn Michaels, they were on the same flight to Connecticut. He tried distracting him but it wasn't working, Dave was excited that Leila would be there; she told Steph she would be there.
When they arrived in Steph's room he flew in as if she'd be standing there. It was visible to everyone what he was thinking and even more obvious when his shoulders slumped. Paul walked over to him. "We called her big man. All you can do is wait and see." He patted Dave on the back and they all talked about baby names. As he watched the scene before him and Paul's interaction with Steph, all his fears fell. He wanted this again. He wanted to be the man in the room standing over his wife waiting for the birth of their first child. He swallowed several lumps in his throat fighting the urge to run out looking for her. He could wait at the airport for all international flights. No, that would freak her out. Don't be a stalker.
Shawn and Dave stepped out for coffee and he called Rebecca. They went to the cafeteria and sat by the window. Was the sun actually less bright? Were there actually more clouds? Did the stars seem dimmer? It was like the light in his heart was burning out and he couldn't relight it without the fire that put it there. Shawn just shook his head at Dave. He wasn't going to let him sit there and be miserable so he forced Dave to head back to the room. He knew he was no fun to be with but he just couldn't think of anything but Leila and how he fucked it up.
Shawn walked in first followed by Dave. He looked into the most brilliant eyes he'd ever seen. "Leila."
Her eyes wide with shock, nobody told her Dave was here. Fuckers. She spun and grabbed her purse kissing Steph before attempting to bail. Dave stopped her reaching his hand to hers. She pulled back and looked around the floor as if she dropped something. In reality she didn't know what to do. She wasn't ready to see him, it was too soon and she still hurt like it just happened.
"Leila, hear him out." She turned to look at the man who had been her father for 17 years. "Please." Vince gave her a soft smile. She slowly turned and looked up at Dave. Her chin quivered and the tears fell down her cheeks. He reached to wipe them but she flinched and stepped back.
"I can't. I'm not ready." Leila stepped into the hallway trying to get away as fast s she could.