Chapter 2: Secret
A/N: In this chapter, you'll learn a little bit more about Preston and a secret he's been keeping from his best friend. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
After meeting with his best friend, Preston headed to his mother's house. On the way there, he thought about his friendship with Phil and how guilty he felt about not telling him everything. He knew that sooner or later, he'd have to tell Phil about his son and how he had all the responsibility for him now. That was one of the reasons his dream was put on hold, and now he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go ahead with it.
As he pulled into his mother's driveway, he saw Ryan waiting for him at the window. He got out of the car and headed to the door.
"Daddy!" Ryan yelled as he ran to his father. His dad scooped him up in a big hug.
"Hey, kiddo, what did you and Grandma do today?" he asked his son.
"We played on the Wii, and I beat her at wrestling," Ryan reported.
"Hey, you only beat me twice," his grandmother contradicted. "I beat you at least once." She turned to her son and gave him a hug and kiss. "How was your time with Phil?"
"Great," Preston said. "We talked, and he said he thinks he can get me a job."
His mother looked shocked but tried to hide it from Ryan. "Ryan, why don't you go upstairs and clean up your mess," she suggested. "Then you can get your coat so your daddy can take you home."
"Okay, Grandma," Ryan said. After his father put him down, Ryan hurried upstairs to do as his grandmother said.
When he was out of earshot, Preston's mother turned to him. "Preston, are you serious?" she demanded.
Preston nodded. "Yeah, he said he could hook me up," he replied. "Think about it, Mama. I could make more money in the WWE than I do at my regular job. That means I can get Ryan stuff he needs. You know it's always been my dream to be a wrestler."
"Yeah, I know, but there's one drawback," she replied. "You'd have to leave Ryan here with me. He can't go travelin' with you and leave school. He needs an education, and he won't be able to get it if you keep goin' from city to city."
"I know that, Mama, but I don't have a choice," Preston told her. "I'm barely making it by as it is. It'll be hard to be away from him, but this is somethin' I gotta do for his sake. You know I wanna be the best dad I can be for him. At least I'll be doin' somethin' for him unlike that other deadbeat who calls himself Ryan's father or that woman who calls herself his mother."
"That's true," Mary Quimby said. "I will say, Preston, you do take good care of that boy. I just know that he'll be sad if you go away for a long time."
"I'll call him every day," Preston answered. "Besides, if I explain it to him, he might be okay with it. You know he loves wrestlin' as much as I do. I think he'd be thrilled to learn his daddy's gonna be a wrestler."
"That might be so," she said. "But don't tell him just yet until you get in. Just tell him that you've got an opportunity to get a new job and leave it at that."
"Well, I was plannin' on havin' him meet Phil," Preston announced. "He wants to hang out tomorrow, and I thought it would be cool to introduce Ryan to him."
"I don't know if that's a good idea, son," she warned. "It might cause some trouble."
"Why do you say that?" Preston asked her.
"Preston, I can't believe you forgot that your son's a John Cena fan," Mary reminded him. "He may not like meetin' the man who defeated him at Money in the Bank."
Preston laughed. "I think it'll be okay, Mama," he assured her. "Ryan's nine years old, not three. He knows wrestlin's fake."
Before Mary could say anything else, Ryan came bounding down the stairs. "Okay, Daddy, I'm ready to go," he announced.
"Great," Preston replied. "Give Grandma a kiss goodbye."
Ryan made a face but did as he was told. "'Bye, Grandma," he said. "Love you."
"Goodbye, Sugar," Mary said as she returned his kiss. "I'll be seein' you soon."
Preston made sure Ryan was buckled safely in the backseat and headed for his own home. Ryan kept chattering about his day with Grandma and seemed really happy. "So, what did you do today, Daddy?" he asked.
"I visited with a friend," replied Preston. "You're gonna meet him tomorrow. Would you like that?"
"Yeah, I would," answered Ryan. "Is he cool?"
"He's really cool," responded Preston. "I think you'll really like him."
"Awesome," Ryan said.
Preston laughed. "I thought you didn't like The Miz," he teased.
"I don't," said Ryan. "He's kinda mean. John Cena's way better. I really wish he hadn't lost to CM Punk. Sometimes, Punk can be mean, too."
"You know it's all an act, son," Preston reminded him. "They ain't really like that."
"I know, but I like to pretend they are," his son told him. "It's more fun that way."
Preston laughed again and thought about what Ryan would say when he met Phil. Although he knew Ryan would have fun meeting a WWE Superstar, he knew that it probably would have been better if he'd been friends with John Cena, seeing as how Punk wasn't Ryan's favorite person right now. Still, he owed it to Phil and to Ryan to talk about this. His father had always told him that he had to face his fears head on. Now was the time for him to come clean and tell Phil everything.
When they got home, Ryan put his coat away and sat down to do his homework. He didn't have school tomorrow due to the teachers having meetings, but he knew he had to get it done for Monday. Preston helped him when he had trouble with math, which made Ryan feel better. When he was finished with his homework, he went into the living room to watch TV. Preston decided to go take a shower and change his clothes.
The shower felt good on his skin and gave him some relief. He felt like his problems were washed away, though he knew it would only be temporary. He stepped out, dried himself, and put on his pajamas. He looked in the mirror and tried to imagine himself as a wrestler. Did he really have it in him to be a WWE Superstar? Would women really see him as some sort of romantic fantasy the way they did with other Superstars? He never thought of himself as handsome, but he didn't think he was ugly either. He was just an average African-American male with no distinguishing features to set him apart from others. His shoulders were broad, but he wasn't obese despite this. He was 5'2" and 222 pounds. Maybe someone could find him attractive. Then again, he wasn't really ready for that yet. He still had a lot of healing to do from Sandy's departure.
He headed downstairs and saw that Ryan was still watching TV. "Hey, Ry, what do you want for dinner?" he asked.
Ryan shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe chicken noodle soup."
"Okay, that sounds good to me," Preston replied. He got out a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup and started boiling the water. He was always grateful that he knew how to cook, otherwise he and Ryan would probably have to survive on fast food. Mary was the one who had taught Preston about cooking and how to make certain recipes.
When the soup was done, he put it in two bowls and set them on the table. "Dinner's ready!" he called.
Ryan ran into the kitchen and settled himself at his place at the table. He blew on the soup to cool it and ate it all up. "That was some good soup, Dad," he said when he was finished.
Preston smiled. "I'm glad you liked it," he said. "So, what do you want to do before bed?"
"Let's watch a wrestling DVD," suggested Ryan.
"Okay, you get to pick it out," Preston told him.
Ryan rifled through the DVDs until he picked out one of his John Cena ones. "How about this one?" he asked his dad.
"Sure," his father agreed even though they'd watched that particular DV at least seven times.
As the DVD progressed, Preston marveled at how his son reacted to John Cena's matches. He reminded Preston of how he was at Ryan's age and how he'd been fascinated with wrestling, too. He couldn't wait to see his son cheering him on at events and telling everyone that his father was a WWE Superstar. He knew Ryan would love that. He was doing the right thing for his son, no matter what his mother said.
When it was time for Ryan's bedtime, Preston shut off the DVD and took Ryan to bed, despite his son's protests that he wasn't tired. Ryan put on his pajamas and settled into his bed with the WWE sheets and bedspread. Preston put the John Cena teddy bear beside Ryan and kissed him goodnight. "See you in the mornin', son," he said. "Love you."
"Love you too, Daddy," said Ryan. "'Night."
Preston left his son's room and got ready for bed himself. He was still nervous about tomorrow and what Phil's reaction would be, but he would take whatever Phil threw at him. Even if Phil refused to be his friend anymore, then Preston would accept it. He'd deserve it after not telling Phil the truth. He decided to stop worrying and just let the chips fall where they may. That was the only thing he could do. With that last thought in his head, Preston fell asleep.
22222
The next day, Preston got up early and got ready to meet Phil. He made sure Ryan was also ready and headed out. He had butterflies in his stomach and kept muttering to himself all the way there. "Calm down, Pres," he said to himself. "You gotta do this."
"Daddy, are you okay?" asked Ryan.
"I'm fine, Ry," he said. "Just givin' myself a pep talk."
Phil was waiting for them outside a local restaurant. He smiled when he saw Preston but seemed shocked at the sight of Ryan.
Ryan's mouth hung open as he spotted Phil. "Dad, that's CM Punk!" he whispered. "Do you know him?"
"Yeah, he's my best friend," Preston replied. He led Ryan over to Phil. "Hey, Phil, how you doin'?"
"Good," Phil answered. "And who might this young man be?"
Preston took a deep breath. "He's my son," he said.
Phil looked shocked. "Your son?" he repeated. "You never told me you had a kid."
"Well, technically, he's Sandy's," Preston explained. "She didn't want anythin' to do with him, so she left him in my care."
Phil let out a low whistle. "Wow," was all he could say. Then realizing that he hadn't talked to Ryan yet, he got down to the child's level. "Hi, Ryan, I'm Phil," he said.
"You're CM Punk," said Ryan. "I've seen you on TV."
"Yes, I am," he said. "Pres, you never told me he was a fan of mine."
"I'm not," replied Ryan. "I like John Cena better."
"Ryan, that's not very nice," Preston chastised.
"Hey, it's okay, Pres," Phil told him. "He's just being honest."
"I mean, you play a good bad guy though," commented Ryan. "I just don't like the character sometimes."
"Well, that's good," Phil told him. "That means I'm doing a good job. Do you think your dad could be a Superstar like me?"
Ryan nodded. "I think he could," he said. "Could you make him a Superstar?"
"I hope so," Phil answered. "Hey, Pres, do you have the tape for me?"
Preston nodded and gave his friend the tape of his recent match. "Look, I'm sorry about not tellin' you about Ryan," he said. "I just didn't want to bring all of that up with your recent troubles."
Phil punched Preston playfully in the shoulder. "It's okay, man," he said. "Don't sweat it. We're cool."
"Cool," Preston replied. "Let's just cross our fingers that the top people at WWE think I'm good."
"If they don't pick you, Daddy, they're stupid," Ryan declared.
Phil and Preston looked at each other and laughed at Ryan's statement. He definitely was a smart kid.
"So, what do you think of Phil?" Preston asked Ryan when they were on their way home. They'd had a fun day at the zoo, and Phil had even promised Ryan that he'd get to meet John Cena one day. That had made Ryan happy, and he reminded Phil to make sure he told him when he'd be able to meet his favorite wrestler. Phil had assured him he would and had reminded Ryan to stay in school and to keep his grades up.
"He's cool," Ryan responded. "I think he's my second favorite wrestler now."
"Really?" Preston was surprised by that. He never thought that his son would go from disliking Punk to actually liking him.
Ryan nodded. "Yep," he said. "Punk's just plain awesome."
"Well, I'm glad you like him," Preston said. It was a relief that Punk hadn't been angry about the secret and had actually been more accepting of it than Preston thought he would. Now, he just had to see if WWE would give him a shot. It was the only way he could support his son and make a name for himself. "So, what do you think of me becomin' a WWE Superstar?"
"I'd love it," said Ryan. "I know you'd have to be away from me, but I know you're doing it for me. You should follow your dreams, Daddy."
"Thanks, kiddo," Preston said. "That means a lot to me." Looking in his son's eyes really made Preston appreciate what he had. He knew his son had confidence in him, and for his sake, Preston wasn't going to give up. Even if he had to go to WWE Headquarters himself and plead his case, he'd do it. He'd do it for himself and for the little boy he called his own.
A/N: Wow. I can't believe this is ten pages long! So now you know more about Preston and Ryan. What did you think of Ryan? Did you like him, or hate him? Please feel free to leave a review after you've finished reading. Have a shelltastic day.