Chapter 26
She was restless, Lexi decided as she fumbled through the tour bus's tiny kitchen, looking for something to munch on, despite not really being all that hungry. Her back was killing her, yet she could feel a nervous energy coursing through her. The need to expel it overwhelmed her. What she wanted to do was clean, but Roman would tie her to the bed if he caught her lifting a finger beyond washing the occasional dish.
She'd read until she was cross eyed, worked Sudoku and word search puzzles until her brain hurt. The perverse side of her even indulged her curiosity and she'd watched some youtube videos on C-section births, then wished she hadn't. Neither way, she'd decided was all that appealing as she'd end up facing pain either way.
Still, if her back continued to hurt the way it had been, she'd almost welcome the idea of going under the knife. For the last three days she'd suffered with a nagging back ache that seemed to come and go as it pleased. Last night it bothered her to the point where it interrupted her sleep and the result was her feeling cranky and irritable today.
She'd toyed with the idea that maybe it had something to do with weather, but since it had only started to seriously rain within the last few hours, she doubted that was it. Whatever the reason for the ache she hoped it would pass soon.
To make matters worse, since earlier that morning she'd suddenly been plagued with stomach issues. It also seemed to not be all that serious and also appeared to come and go as it pleased.
More irritated than concerned by the nagging symptoms, she'd consulted her pregnancy book and discovered, much to her chagrin, that everything she was experiencing was nothing more than normal late term symptoms. As far as she was concerned, being pregnant had officially moved out of the fun stage and become real work.
It was probably best, Lexi considered, that her last day on the road would be Tuesday's taping of Smackdown. With only a month left in her pregnancy she need to shift gears anyway and mentally prepare for her life to completely change.
She could handle another month, especially if it meant having a healthy happy baby. Despite feeling miserable, a small smile tipped her lips and she placed a gentle hand over her belly. "Not too much longer, peanut," she whispered. "Then you're getting evicted."
The tour bus door opened and Roman burst up the steps into the room. Dripping wet, he shook his hair, spraying water in all directions and Lexi took a step back to avoid getting wet. "It's really coming down out there."
She turned and stared out the window. "It sure is. And people are still pulling into the arena parking lot…amazing."
Roman nodded. "I know. It's crazy. Seth said that the weather bureau is still tracking hurricane Desiree. She's now off the coast of Florida and is supposedly still expected to turn and head out to sea." He shook his head. "Though, if this rain is any indication, we're going to get drenched before that happens."
Awareness danced along Lexi's skin as concern slowly surfaced. The bus wasn't designed to survive a hurricane. "I can't believe they're still going forward with the house show," she said. "Shouldn't everyone be taking cover?"
He caught her by the shoulders, held her in place. "I don't think there is anything to worry about, sweetheart. We're getting smacked with the outer bands of rain, but she's supposed to turn and head out to sea soon. We'll do our house show tonight, head up the coast for the house show in Summerville and then layover for RAW on Monday in Charleston. It's all good."
It wasn't all good, Lexi thought as the group piled onto the tour bus after the show. The moment Roman returned back to the small arena, she'd turned on the news. Within an hour of her tuning in the announcement was made that the hurricane had turned alright, but it had turned the wrong direction and was now on a direct path toward Charleston.
"So what do we do?" Amber asked as she sat at the table across from Lexi. "Do we make a run for it or hunker down here and wait it out?"
Dean shook his head. "Management hasn't called off the shows for tomorrow and Monday yet. We need to proceed just as we would if there wasn't a storm brewing."
"But," Zoe argued. "That puts us right in the middle of it."
"We should be safe enough if we can make it to the hotel," Seth offered. "It's well inland."
Lexi wasn't so sure, but at this point what choice did they have? They couldn't bolt like they wanted and risk the wrath of management if for some reason the hurricane changed directions again and missed the coast. She also knew the McMahon's well enough to understand that they wouldn't cancel or even reschedule an event unless it was absolutely necessary. "We head for the hotel," she said, resolved to their fate.
The next three stressful hours seemed to creep by as Roman steered the bus through crushing interstate traffic toward their destination. It seemed that everyone in the area was racing for higher ground, moving farther inland to escape the powerful winds the storm would bring.
Lexi tried to relax as rain beat on the bus roof and the occasional gust of wind sent it shaking from side to side, but right now relaxation was beyond her abilities.
She couldn't remember being more grateful to see the hotel than when they pulled up the long drive. She was even more thankful when she spotted the other busses belonging to Punk, Daniel Bryan, Big Show and John Cena parked together in the back corner of the lot. Several of the rental cars she spotted in the parking lot she knew also belonged to their crew. It appeared everyone made it in one piece.
Roman pulled the bus to a stop in front of the building, turned and looked at Lexi. "You go in with the girls and Seth. Dean and I will secure the bus then be in."
Nodding, she grabbed her bag, only to have Seth pulled it away from her. "You're carrying enough right now," he scolded. She really didn't feel like arguing with him and instead returned to the bedroom to retrieve her pregnancy pillow before departing the bus with Seth and the girls.
Once inside she waited until Zoe had checked them in and added Lexi and Roman to the suite they'd reserved. Then they headed up to their suite. She was standing in the common room when Roman and Dean finally arrived.
"So we've been down this road before," Amber offered. "Who gets the room with the king bed and who is taking the room with the two queens?"
"I don't know if it matters to any of you or not," Lexi began, "But with the baby all but sitting on my bladder, I now get up a couple times a night to pee and I haven't been sleeping all that well lately."
Amber and Zoe exchanged looks and Lexi watched as a silent agreement passed between them. "Roman and Lexi can have the king bed," Amber announced.
They'd only been in bed about an hour when Lexi hauled herself to her feet and headed for the common room. Sleep seemed to elude her and her back still hurt something fierce. Thankful they still had power, she found an outlet for her heating pad, then settled back on the couch with the hopes that this time it might actually work and relieve some of her pain.
Except for the patter of the rain on the window and the occasional howl of gusting wind, the room was silent. An uneasy feeling slid through her as she watched out the window while the light pole outside shook and flickered from a particularly strong gust. Were they far enough inland to be safe?
She was pondering that thought when she noticed how her belly tightened beneath her hand and she waited with an odd curiosity until about a minute later it softened again.
Braxton Hicks contraction? She rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust at the thought of having to deal with one more issue. Alyssa assured her that Braxton Hicks contractions were harmless, relatively painless, and were her body's way of practicing for childbirth. So hopefully, it was nothing to worry about. In the meantime she'd try to sleep.