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~ Chapter 4 – Choices ~

You think about the losses and the rewards, about your past and future, about life and death, rights and wrongs. They all work together and define who you are as a person. You look back at your past and find what you did wrong, which will help you deal with the rights and wrongs. Those rights and wrongs will help determine the losses and rewards, leading up to your future. Death will hold you back, which will govern how you live your life. Once you are able to sort out all of that … it will then be decided if you are strong enough to fight or weak enough to hide.

-x- -x- -x- -x- -x-

Sitting back on the couch with a Diet Pepsi in his hand, Phillip Brooks closed his eyes and leaned his head back, a smug look on his face. If there was one thing the Straight Edge Saviour was good at, it was manipulation. He was exceptional at it and he knew it, too. Evan Bourne was Phil's current conquest and his personal favourite at the moment. There was just something about the chase that excited him, his blood flowing rapidly as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. His little conquest was just too much fun, the confusion and turmoil of thoughts swimming around in his head, leaving him prone for more mind games that Phil couldn't get enough of.

The sound of cabinet doors opening and closing resonated from the kitchen, gaining the Straight Edge Saviour's attention. He couldn't help but chuckle some. Little Evan Bourne had been in the kitchen all day. He always cooked when he was having conflicting thoughts to sort out. Of course, that was exactly what Phil wanted. With Evan confused, it was that much easier for Brooks to pull him in deeper. Setting his Diet Pepsi on the mahogany side table, the Straight Edge Saviour stood up and made his way into the kitchen, sauntering over and wrapping his arms around his confused lover who immediately tensed in his grasp.

Closing his eyes, Evan tried to relax in the hold, tried to think back to a much happier time with Phil. It didn't work, though. Every time he tried, Phil only morphed into something much worse, shaking the smaller man to the very core. Mumbling a quick excuse – something about having to start dinner – Evan pulled himself from out of Phil's arms and walked over to the other side of the kitchen, placing his hands firmly on the countertops in an attempt to gain some type of control as he tried to calm his racing heart.

Smiling inwardly, loving how he was practically driving Evan closer and closer to his breaking point, the Straight Edge Saviour faked a concerned look. "Are you alright, Evy?"

He hated the little nicknames; he hated how untrue the compassion was. Evan just hated everything about his life and how miserable and tired he felt every single day. He didn't know if it was even worth it anymore. Having to go through such a troublesome ordeal every day was getting to be too much. Phillip Brooks didn't care about him, didn't give a damn what he was doing to the man, so why not just … end it?

"No … not really, no," Evan finally answered, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to control the shaking. God, he just felt like shit – so worthless and pathetic, just some nobody that couldn't attribute anything to the world.

"What's wrong?"

"What the fuck do you think is wrong!" Evan suddenly snapped, whirling around, his brown eyes blazing as he glared at his boyfriend.

"I know you're still angry with me. You have every right to be," Phil replied, his voice still as soft and as light as it was before. He knew that Evan was going to lose it, knew that it was only a matter of time before he cracked. Good. That was exactly what Phil wanted, too. He knew that losing – mentally losing – Evan would be the only way to truly keep him. "I just want you to know how sorry I am. I've made the same mistake over and over, and it seems like I can never get it right. I don't deserve you, but here you are, still by my side," Phil smiled and stood before Evan, reaching up to run a finger down the side of his face, loving how his boy flinched and realized that he was stuck between the counter and the Straight Edge Saviour. "That just proves how much stronger you are then I am … how much you love me."

"I don't even think I do anymore," Evan said, catching Phil off guard. He pushed past him, not at all liking the claustrophobic feel whenever he was in close proximities with Brooks. Shaking his head, Evan looked back over to Phil who was still staring at where he once stood. "How do you honestly expect things to go back to what they used to be after all that you've done? You must really be full of yourself if so, because things will never be the same way they were. You've destroyed every hope of that ever happening."

"I made a mistake …" Phil stated. He knew Evan was strong, he knew that there was a lot of spunk left in him, but how much fight was left till he simply lied down? Clearing his throat, Phil made sure to keep his voice controlled. "I know it's hard for you to trust me-"

"I don't trust you at all," Evan interrupted, giving Phil an incredulous look. "I don't trust you; I don't feel comfortable being around you, leaving you alone. Hell, I'm afraid to even come back here, because I have no idea what I'm about to walk into!"

The more he talked, the angrier he became. Looking at Phil, seeing how slick the man thought he was, and seeing how different he was now than how he was years ago, Evan knew that it was permanent. He loved the old Phillip Brooks, not this new one. This new one was foreign to him. He was cold and calculative, a schemer. It got to the point where Bourne couldn't even tell truth from lie whenever it involved the Straight Edge Saviour, and that was something Evan couldn't tolerate. He did and had for a while now, but he couldn't anymore. He just had it.

"Ev, I-"

"Just stop," Evan put a hand up, ending whatever it was that Phil was going to say in his defense. He didn't deserve to defend himself after all the damage he inflicted. "I just … I've been thinking about this for a while now and I think we should just end things."

"Come again?" Phil demanded, feeling the hold he had on Evan slowly slipping. Whoever the hell was putting ideas in his head would pay dearly for it – Phil would make sure of that.

"You heard me," Evan responded, his voice almost tired-like. He turned around and started walking out of the kitchen. "I'm leaving. I'm not coming back. I'm just done."

He didn't know why he did it, why he snapped the way he did and reacted so harshly. All Phil knew was that one second he was just glaring at the back of Evan's retreating form, and the next, staring down at Bourne's unconscious body with a small cutting board in his hand. Taking a few steps back, Phil dropped the board onto the floor and leaned back against the wall, his mind going a million miles a minute. Did he regret it? No. Did he have a plan? Yes.

If Evan didn't want to be with him willingly then Phil was just going to have to convince him in a different way. It wouldn't be that hard, after all, Phil was the master of manipulation. He would easily be able to shift the 'crime scene' a bit to make it look as though Evan snapped and went crazy …

Smirking, Phil chuckled and pushed himself off the wall, walking back into the kitchen, whistling a tune as he started creating a whole new scene.

"I don't … I don't understand what you're trying to tell me here, Ted …" Unsure of what to say or think about the current situation, Randy Orton remained silent as his brother paced back and forth in front of him, a confusion look plastered across his countenance. The visit had been unexpected and – quite frankly – unwanted, but Randy found that, no matter how much he tried to push his family away, they pushed back that much harder. "I'm not a part of the mob – he has no control over me."

"You may not be a part of the mob anymore, but you are still his son and he is still your father, so stop being a fucking snob and stop ignoring his calls. He wants to see you," Ted said, his voice full of the patience he was more definitely lacking. Randy Orton was a very stubborn man and he was definitely getting tired of having to explain everything in great detail, give three reasons why he should do or act a certain way, and practically beg for him to actually do it. Sometimes it was all for nothing, but sometimes – on those rare days where the stars and planets all seemed to align – Randy would actually grant him the pleasure of doing it.

"Why?" The eldest brother demanded, shaking his head in annoyance. Clearly patience was something the two sons weren't gifted with as they glared at each other. "Why should I do shit for him when all he's done for me is piss me off. What part of 'I don't want anything to do with you or this family' doesn't he get?"

"You're blood, you're family. And a part from pissing you off, he raised your ass."

"Why do you jump to defend him? Ted, he treats you like shit and you still lick it off his ass," Randy shook his head and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. They were still standing in the foyer, Ted only stepping in and closing the door before giving Orton the lecture. "He doesn't care about you. The only thing he's concerned about is me getting on the 'right' path after I left, and that's only because I'm not taking his shit anymore."

For a moment, Ted said absolutely nothing. A part of him really wanted to just hall back and rain his fist down on his brother's face, but what would that solve other than more pent up rage and frustration between them? He loved his brother dearly and hated that this was all happening to him, but whether he liked to admit it to himself or not, Ted DiBiase Sr. gave him attention – granted, it wasn't the attention he wanted, but it was attention nonetheless. Randy on the other hand … well, he just pushed him away, wanting to keep his past as far away from him as possible.

"Do you think you're better than us, than me?"

"Oh, God, here we go," Randy groaned, rolling his eyes at the question.

"No, I want to know the truth," Ted demanded, taking a step forward, getting deeper into the house and closer to Randy. "I want to know what you really and truly think of me and the rest of the family."

"What do you think happened to our mum, Ted? Honestly," Randy shook his head once more, unable to understand why his brother couldn't see what was right there in front of him. "Our father – if that's what you want to call him – is a killer. He is a cold-blooded killer who has no right being a parent. And you … I'm still trying to figure you out."

"And you're doing so much better than we are? Look at you – you think you're so high and mighty now that you are a fucking doctor. You drive a nice car and you're able to buy expensive things, make a new life, a new family whenever you fucking choose. You're pathetic, is what you are!"

Ignoring the insults being shot his way, Randy took a step forward, as well, throwing his hands up in emphasis as he expressed what you had been trying to tell his brother all along. "You can have all of those things, too, Ted! You don't have to do this! You don't have to follow that man around like you're a lost puppy! God, why can't you see what he's doing to you? You're smart, Teddy – you have to see this."

"You know dad wanted me to take you tonight?" Ted blurted, watching as the desperate look on his brother's face shifted to that of wariness. It should have been a good feeling, knowing that his older brother, someone he looked up to and believed in, was afraid of him, cautious of him. It should have felt great knowing that Randy was afraid, because deep down, he knew that if their father wanted it done, Ted would make sure it got done. He didn't feel that way, though. No, instead, Ted felt his heart drop. He was a conflicted man, not really knowing what was right or wrong anymore, but just going with whatever was told of him, whether it was from his father or Jason Reso. "He told me that if you resisted coming on your own then to drag you out of the house kicking and screaming if I had to. He's fed up of your games and he's reached his point."

"Yeah," Randy slowly took a step back and shook his head, his icy blue eyes staring down at the wood floors below his feet, trying to think of a way out of the predicament. His brother was too far gone. He would attempt to take him to their father. Randy knew that much. Of course, he wasn't going to allow that to happen. No, Randy would most definitely kick Ted DiBiase Jr. right out of his house before he even thought of putting his hands on him. Decision made up, Orton looked up at his little brother. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to let you go."

That definitely caught Randy's attention. He blinked a few times before opening his mouth to speak, but Ted merely shook his head and raised a hand, cutting off whatever it was that Randy was going to attempt to say. The six words definitely knocked the fight out of him.

"You're on call tonight, right? At the hospital, you're on call?" Ted asked. When Randy furrowed his brow and slowly nodded his head, Ted continued. "I never found you at home and you were in surgery at the hospital, so there was no way I could take you. You're safe for the night."

Randy didn't say anything for a moment, simply stared at Ted – his Teddy – trying to figure out what was going on, what he was playing at, and if he should be worried for anymore threats from him. Staring into his cerulean eyes, all Randy found was the truth.

He shook his head. "What are you doing, Teddy?"

"I'm giving you time to think," Ted answered, turning his gaze down to the floor. "I know you aren't listening to me, I know you think you can take care of yourself and remain hidden forever, but clearly you're going to have to find out on your own that that's not going to happen. Dad will find you and he will make you pay for all the shit you're putting him through. It's only a matter of time before that happens. Either you humour him and see him for an hour or so, or you get dragged out of your home and put before him. And you and I both know he's not going to be nice about it, either."

Turning on his heal, the youngest DiBiase son made his way to the door, his fingers wrapping around the handle before he paused, looking back at the man he secretly looked up to. "I know you hate him. I don't know what you feel about me … a part of me really doesn't want to know, but … if you do give a damn about me at all, you'll do this one thing for me. I ask a lot of you, but I'd really appreciate this one. You know … only if you care."

And it was with that did Ted turn around and yank the door open, disappearing behind it, leaving behind a confused and conflicted Orton with one hell of a choice to make.

Wade Barrett had absolutely no idea why he stopped in front of the KB Crystal Ball Readings store in the lower part of Saints Ville. He had no idea why he was actually considering going inside to get a reading, knowing full and well that whatever answer he got – if he decided to go in, of course – was going to be a complete lie. That or he'd actually start believing it and do whatever he could to change it or make sure it happened. Either way, the last thing Barrett wanted was to get confused or filled with false hope. Still … his feet just weren't cooperating with the mental commands his brain was sending out, which only allowed him with more time to think about going in, which made those commands – the commands that just weren't reaching his feet – to grow more frantic when they started to realize that the decision was already made.

Slowly, his feet started to move down the sidewalk towards the dingy looking store, his eyes staring at it warily, as if waiting for something crazy to pop out – that or get mugged. Really, he was in such a horrible part of town, he had no idea what he was doing there. The whole thing with Michelle was really starting to bug him, which was why he called in sick and just stayed home from work, choosing instead to take a nice long walk in the hopes of figuring something out. That still didn't explain why he ended up at a place like that.

Right before he got to the porch, the door opened and a man walked out, his face filled with gratitude, the smile huge on his face as he continuously turned around to give whoever it was inside a huge grin.

"Thank you so much! Thank you!"

"Don't worry about it, darling," The woman's voice – an English voice, Wade caught onto – rang out from the darkness of the room. "Just remember what I told you and everything should be fine."

"Thank you, thank you!"

Wade followed the man's movements as he rushed down the steps, barely giving him the time of day as he brushed past him and down the sidewalk, practically jumping in his step. He wondered what must have happened inside to make him so happy, but he didn't have to wait long for an explanation, because the women spoke.

"The poor fool. His marriage is as good as gone."

Catching his attention, Wade turned around to face the woman, seeing her almost knocking the air out of him. He didn't really know what he was expecting from the crystal ball reader, but beauty was not one of them. She had pale skin, her eyes dark along with her hair, streaked with gray and red highlights. She wore all black with some red places here and there, but other than that, she looked almost like a vampire – of course, that was probably her intent. They were all the same, always wanting to create an air of mystery.

"What?"

"The man," She motioned with her head as she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her eyes watching the man retreat further down the road. "He came to get advice on his marriage, which was falling apart. It doesn't matter what he does, though. The woman is cheating on him with every Tom, Dick, and Harry that walks around and is willing."

"And you lied to him?"

That caught the woman's attention. Her gaze slowly shifting to him, those dark brown eyes staring into his soul, it felt like. Wade fidgeted under the weight of it, but he never looked away. He wasn't going to allow the creepiness to take control of his logic. The dark look on the woman's face contorted into a smile. She pushed herself off the doorframe and slowly walked back inside the store, knowing that Wade would follow behind.

"Come now, isn't it obvious?" The woman walked deeper into the house, all too aware of Wade's slow stride as he followed her, his eyes taking in every detail of her humble abode after he closed the door quietly. "No one comes to me to hear the truth. No one wants to hear the truth. The truth is what they are hoping isn't. They want false hope; they want something to look forward to, to save."

"That's ridiculous," Wade shook his head, a disgusted look on his face when the woman sat down at a table where – shockingly – a crystal ball sat. "No one wastes their hard-earned money to get lied to by someone who is practically stealing from them."

Instead of taking offense of what Barrett just said, the pretty brown eyed woman simply smiled and cocked her head. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Well, I …" Stumbling over his words, Wade blinked a few times, adverting his gaze to the floor as his brain quickly wracked over all the things he could say to the woman. Of course, at the moment, nothing came to mind. He could feel his face growing a bit red, the embarrassment at being caught up grinding at his ego. How could he have allowed that to happen?

"My name is Katie Lea Burchill and I run a business," The now revealed woman said, standing up and walking over to Wade, putting her hand on his shoulder for a moment before taking a few steps past him, pulling the red curtain closed, shielding them from the rest of her store. "Whether it's the type of business that you what or like, Mr. Barrett … well, that's up for you to decide. It isn't going to stop the flow of customers I have coming in here every day to hear what they want to hear. That's just facts."

"Yes, well, it's still wrong and you ..." He trailed off then, his own name registering in his head. What the hell? "How did you know my name?"

"You can find out a lot by looking at the contents in a man's wallet," And with that, Katie Lea lifted up Wade's wallet, a sly grin on her face as she watched the look of shock grow on the Englishman's face. "Before you say anything, relax. I'm not a thief … well, besides taking people's money to give lies as you so nicely put it."

"How did you get my wallet?"

"It was rather easy – I reached into your pocket when I touched you and took it."

"Give it here," Wade demanded walking the distance between them in three easy strides, his hand extended waiting for the wallet to be placed in his hand. Thankfully, he didn't have to do much more than that before the wallet was back where it belonged. With his dark green eyes stuck on the woman, Barrett thrusted the wallet deep into his pocket. "Now I don't know what you are playing at, but that is not funny and that better not happen again or I will be calling the authorities."

"Now that the pleasantries are behind us, you have yet to answer my question, Mr. Barrett," Katie Lea said, walking past Wade, taking her seat behind the crystal ball. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finally take a seat. When he didn't, though, she continued. "What are you looking for?"

Shifting from foot to foot, hating the way she was looking at him, Wade sighed, still unsure of what to think of the woman who was throwing him over a loop. She was so confusing, so mysterious, so everything Wade hated, but at the same time, he found that he couldn't leave, didn't want to leave. She was out of the norm and that was exactly what he had been craving.

"I don't know," It was the truth … or half of the truth. He knew what he wanted, but at the same time, he could never do it. Not only was he too weak, but there was too much history.

Leaning forward, her arms resting on the table before her, Katie Lea shook her head. "You look like a caged tiger ready to break free," When silence was all that she got, Katie Lea took the time to study over the man before her, taking in his appearance. The tattoo on his arm was a clear indicator that it was a spur of the moment decision. He looked too sophisticated to have such a permanent thing. The grease in his hair and the way he was dress showed that he was a businessman, someone of importance. And that was all she really needed. "Someone's trapped in a life they don't want."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please, let's not start the denial. You and I both know that that's what the problem here is. There's no point in starting all of this nonsense when the answer is staring us both in the face. Come now, tell me."

Wade sighed once more and looked irritably at the Rolex that was on his wrist. Before he even had the chance to stop himself, he opened his mouth and let it out, finding that it felt very good to just let loose and not give a damn about the consequences for once. "I'm married and I'm not happy."

"So why not just leave?"

"I still love her. She's my best friend."

"That, my friend, is your mistake."

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, no one marries their best friend and expects things to be perfect for them. Honestly, where did you think it'll go? Let me guess – you were both wild and spontaneous, you did everything together, regardless of the decisions you had or the chaos that ensued because of it. You were free to do what you want and you both fell in love, because of it. Correct?"

It was becoming a habit of his, but once again, his mouth fell open, staring at the woman in complete shock, unable to believe that she had gotten what he had been trying to get his wife to realize in minutes. And she was stranger, no doubt! It was bizarre, but Wade found himself slowly walking towards the vacant chair adjacent her, waiting for her to continue – needing her to continue.

"You thought that you would grow old with this woman the same way, but the second you got hitched, things slowly changed. The job came first then the friends. Of course there is plenty of quality time, but it's not at all what you want. You want to be that same spontaneous guy she fell in love with and the other way around, but that's obviously not happening. She wants to play house while you want to live."

"How were you able to get all of that?" Wade finally asked his mouth still wide open in shock.

"It's not that hard to figure out, Mr. Barrett, especially with your gaping. "

"What am I supposed to do?"

She smirked, leaning back in her seat, her arms crossing as she shrugged. "Why should I be the one to answer your questions? I'm nothing but a thief, remember?"

Rolling his eyes, Wade leaned in closer, the annoyance clear in his voice. "Just tell me what I need to do to be happy."

"You want to find a way to stay with the woman and be spontaneous, to regain your old self in some fashion. We'll start now," Katie stood up and leaned over the crystal ball, her cleavage on full display for Wade. "Stand up, Mr. Barrett, and kiss me."

Wow, I really suck for not updating this in a month! I'm really sorry about that, guys!

I've put a poll on my profile, so please go and vote for me! The question is self-explanatory, so it's all up to you!