Sorry for the snail's pace with the update..My job is slowly taking over my entire life, the boyfriend cant quit the bitching, and its like an ex boyfriend parade around here, they're popping up all over the place. Can you say tension? But anyway, Hope ya like the chapter, there should be an update soon, I've got the next part all planned out. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

Chapter 23...

Sunday

Raquel walked out of the hotel lobby, dropping her compact in her purse and pulling the bag up onto her shoulder. She didn't need to look around for Sabrina. She was directly in front of the doors, leaning against a red Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder with the top down that was undoubtedly purchased for her by her newest sucker. She wore a very short, strapless white dress that looked so tight she probably couldn't breathe and her blonde waves were pushed back by a pair of sunglasses. Raquel frowned, trying to remember what Sabrina looked like the first time she met her. She'd been a brunette, that much Raquel knew. In the years she knew her Sabrina's hair had gone from brown to red to black to blonde back to brown, and she wasn't counting the different shades she tried of each. Her lips were noticeably larger than the last time she saw her and her breasts were at least a cup size bigger. At 27, she'd had more work done than most people ever would. She'd been through two noses, four seats of breasts, cheek implants, she had liposuction twice and various other less invasive procedures like Botox and Restalyne. Raquel didn't have anything against plastic surgery, if she'd needed it, she would have gotten it too but she believed that there was a point where one really needed to stop.

Sabrina spotted her and smiled, rushing over. Raquel took a deep breath and braced herself.

"Hello darling," Sabrina smiled, pulling away, her hands still on Raquel's arms as she looked her up and down, "Have you gained weight?"

Raquel smiled, "I've actually lost some..maybe your new cheeks are leaking into your eyes and making it hard to see."

"Oh how I've missed your wit," Sabrina beamed, walking around to the driver's side of the car. "Get in, I figure we'll put the top up after we get our hair done."

"So," Raquel opened her door and got in. "Who'd you have to sleep with to get the car?"

"Alan Truman," Sabrina smiled, starting the Lamborghini. "I didn't mention that my new boyfriend owns seven luxury car dealerships nationwide?"

"No, you didn't," Raquel sighed.

"This was my birthday present," Sabrina smiled. "What did your man get you?"

Raquel rolled her eyes, knowing there was no point in lying. Knowing Sabrina she had already talked to the few mutual friends they had and found out the answer to that question.

"I didn't have one on my birthday," she said.

"That's a shame," Sabrina shook her head. "What about now?"

"I'm not seeing anyone right now," Raquel answered.

"When was the last time you were?"

"I don't really like relationships," Raquel shrugged, trying not to be snippy, that was what Sabrina was fishing for. "I'm not good at commitment."

"You know, I read in Cosmo that that's what women say when they can't get a man," Sabrina said. "Not saying that I think you would do that. I'm just telling you what I read."

Raquel rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond. She just looked out the window. This was going to be an interesting day.

---------------------

"I just don't know what to do doctor," Brianna said, lying on the couch in the therapist's office. "I've been so confused. Everything was fine with Nick before John came along and now…Now I just don't know."

She looked over at the desk where the therapist sat. To her surprise, she saw her sister Raquel leaning back in the chair, her feet up on the desk, hands folded in her lap. She was wearing a white dress shirt under a bulky brown sweater, black trousers, loafers, and black rimmed glasses, a pipe in her hand, "Come on now Brianna, you're making this much harder than it needs to be…John's more attractive, he's got a better personality, he makes more money…stop me when I get to something negative."

"But it's not that easy doctor," Bri shook her head. "I've been with Nick for a while. I love him."

"Yes you do."

She looked up again when she heard a male voice. Raquel was gone and Nick was in her place, sitting in the same chair, in the exact same outfit. He was sitting up straight, his hands crossed on the desk, "And you should be with Nick. He's what's best for you. And if you lose Nick..You lose Maya..Do you really want that to happen?"

"Of course I don't want that to happen," Brianna shook her head. "But I cant ignore what I feel for John. And there's so much history between us."

"That's true."

She frowned, hearing a completely unfamiliar, high pitched voice. She looked over at the desk again, sitting straight up when she spotted Louie, her pale blue childhood teddy bear sitting in the chair, once again in the same outfit. Louie took off his glasses, cleaned them on his sweater and then put them back on, "John was a big part of your life for years. But the past isn't everything."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that it seems to me that you're falling for John all over again…Like if you two had never known each other and just happened to meet a few months ago, you would still have this conflict…That should tell you something?"

Brianna put her head in her hands, taking a deep breath. This wasn't helping. She was getting so frustrated she could feel tears in her eyes, "It should tell me what?"

She felt hands on her knees and she moved her hands out of her face, surprised to see John kneeling in front of her, thankfully he was dressed in his normal clothes.

"It should tell you that I'm the one you really wanna be with," he said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"But-"

"But nothing," he stood, taking her hand and pulling her up with him. "I want to be with you, and you want to be with me. There's nothing to be confused about."

Brianna looked up at him and he smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too."

He leaned down and just when she thought he was about to kiss her, he grabbed her shoulders and starting shaking her back and forth.

Brianna's eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, looking around the guest bedroom.

Maya jumped away from the bed, looking guilty, "I'm sorry. You told me to wake you up when it was time to make lunch."

"It's okay sweetheart," Brianna laughed as she looked over in the corner of the room and saw Louie sitting on a stool. "I was just having a really weird dream."

"About what?"

Bri shook her head, "Nothing…Let's go make lunch."

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John pulled his keys out of his pocket as he walked down the hall toward his apartment. He spent the night at a hotel, knowing that if he went back, he would just argue with Paula. Hopefully now she was out shopping or something. He stopped walking when a strange scent hit his nostrils. It smelled like burnt bacon. And it was coming from his apartment.

"Shit," he rushed to the door, opening it quickly. Paula was in the kitchen, using the Patriots oven mitts his dad bought him to fan a smoking pan. The entire kitchen was a mess.

"Paula, what the hell are you doing?" he asked, dropping his keys.

"I was trying to make you breakfast," she glared, dropping the mitts.

"You cant cook," he reminded her, turning on the ventilation fan above the stove. "And it's lunchtime."

"I was trying to do something nice for you," she said angrily.

"By burning my house down?" he asked.

"You don't appreciate anything I do for you," she glared.

"Paula, I honestly think this is the first thing you've ever tried to do for me," he almost laughed. She was acting like she showered him with gifts or something.

"That's beside the point," she said. "If I were Brianna you would probably think it was cute that I cant cook."

"She's a great cook," John smirked. "Maybe you should have called her before you tried this."

"Are you trying to be an asshole?" she fumed.

John shrugged, "Not really. Maybe it's the smoke."

"Why are you being so mean to me?" she asked.

"I'm not being mean to you," John said.

"Yes you are," she said. "You don't appreciate me."

"I don't appreciate you?" he asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am," she nodded.

"What the hell do you do that I don't appreciate?" he asked, losing his temper. "Seriously Paula..what do you do for me?"

She didn't say anything.

"Remember when I got food poisoning a few months ago?" he asked. "What did you do?"

"That wasn't food poisoning," she argued. "You just had a bad stomach ache."

"I was throwing up for a week, I couldn't even sleep and I had a fever," he said.

She was quiet.

"But when you needed money, your greedy ass was right in my face, asking where my wallet was," John said.

"Don't talk to me like that," she said.

"You know, I hate to agree with Randy," John laughed. "But sometimes a woman really can make a man look like a complete idiot if he's not careful."

"What are you saying?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm saying that I'm done being an idiot," John shrugged. "I'm done with you."

"Excuse me?" Paula stared.

"You heard me," John said. "Now I'm going to take a shower, don't bother cleaning up the kitchen, I'll get it after you leave."

---------------------

"I would say, we did a very good job," Brianna said as she and Maya sat on stools at the kitchen island, eating their sandwiches.

"I want another one," Maya smiled.

"You haven't even finished that one," Brianna laughed as Maya picked up the second half of her sandwich.

"But I know I'm still gonna be hungry," Maya laughed.

"Whatever," Brianna laughed, getting up and mussing the young girl's hair before walking over to get them some napkins. "We'll see."

She turned around to hand Maya's hers, stopping when Nick came into the kitchen. As usual, he looked like he was in a bad mood.

"Maya, you really need to finish packing," Nick said. "You need to have everything ready early tomorrow morning."

"Okay daddy," Maya said softly.

Brianna looked down at her, seeing that the mention of her leaving brought tears to her eyes.

"Come on munchkin," Bri lifted her off of the stool, setting her down on the floor, her bunny slippers making a squeaking noise. "Let's go upstairs and see how much you have left to do."

"Okay," Maya said, walking ahead of her.

Brianna followed and Nick tried to grab her arm but she stepped out of the way, not in the mood to deal with his bitching and ultimatums.

"Brianna," he called after her.

"Not now!"

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"I told you he was the best," Sabrina said as they walked back to the car.

Raquel had to admit, though she loved her own stylist, Sabrina's stylist Andre had made her hair looking amazing.

"He's alright," she shrugged. "Where are we going now?"

"I was thinking we'd go shopping," Sabrina suggested. "Alan added me as an authorized user on all of his cards so we've got plenty of money to burn."

Raquel smiled, she wouldn't let her close friends buy her things because she cared too much to use them, but Sabrina was a different story.

"You know, I should call Alan and ask if he's got any friends that would be good for you," Sabrina said.

"How old is Alan again?" Raquel frowned.

"56," Sabrina said.

"I think I'll pass," Raquel laughed.

"Oh come on," Sabrina said. "I'm sure he knows someone who likes short girls."

---------------------

Brianna looked over as Maya came out of her walk in closet, one of her favorite dresses draped over her arm. The day started off on a good note but Maya had seemed a little sullen and withdrawn since Nick brought up her trip.

"Come here kid," Brianna sat on the bed, patting the spot next to her. Maya put her dress down on the foot of the bed, climbing up to sit next to her. Maya leaned on her and Bri put her arm around her.

"You're not too excited to go to Grandma Helen, huh?"

Maya shook her head, "Why do I have to go?"

"Because she's your family too," Brianna tried to sound convincing. "And she wants to see you."

"But I wanna stay here."

"I know," Bri sighed. "But you wont be gone too long."

Maya sighed, "I know."

Brianna hugged her tightly, "You know I love you a whole lot, right?"

Maya nodded, "I love you too."

"And I am gonna miss you like crazy," Bri said. "And whenever I get the chance, I'm gonna come see you."

"You promise?" Maya looked up at her.

"I promise," Bri brushed her hair off of her forehead. "And you know that whenever you need me, no matter when it is, even if it's in the middle of the night or really, really early in the morning, you can call me, right?"

"Right," Maya nodded.

"And if it gets bad there and you don't wanna be there anymore," Brianna said. "You call me and no matter where I am…I'll come get you, okay?"

"Okay," Maya nodded, looking a little relieved.

"Now," Brianna got up and offered Maya her hand, helping her off the bed. "I think we're almost done."

Bri knelt beside the bed, smiling, "But wait…what's this under here?"

Brianna pulled out a new, colorful Dooney & Bourke rolling trunk. She knew Nick would be aggravated that she spent 300 dollars on a suitcase for a six year old but frankly she didn't care. And it wasn't the most expensive one she looked at, it just happened to be the one she thought Maya would like the most.

Maya smiled excitedly, "When did you put that there?"

"While you were sleeping this morning," Brianna laughed as Maya hugged tightly. "You know, you sleep like a log sometimes kid."

"Thank you so much," Maya gushed.

"You're welcome," Bri put the trunk up on the bed, opening it. "Wow, that's a lot of space, huh?"

Maya nodded.

"How are we gonna fill it?" Bri raised an eyebrow.

Maya shrugged, "I don't know."

"Well," Bri sighed. "I guess we're just gonna have to go shopping and buy whatever we can to fill this thing up."

"Really?" Maya lit up. If there was one thing Maya seemed to get from her, it was a love of shopping.

"That's right," Bri nodded. "You better get dressed."

Maya smiled excitedly, rushing toward her closet. She stopped before she got to the door, turning, "Brianna?"

"What's up?"

"Can John come with us?"

Bri was a little surprised. She knew how much Maya liked John but she hadn't really brought him up since she got back from Miami.

"I don't think he's back in town yet," she said.

"Yeah he is," Maya informed her. "I heard him on the answering machine when you were working this morning."

"Oh," Brianna said. "Well, you get dressed and I'll see what I can do."

"Okay."

Brianna left the room and walked down the stairs. The only time the answering ever picked up was when Z was up on the table and walked over the phone, turning it on.

"Crazy dog," she laughed, as she reached the bottom of the stairs and he jumped around her feet. She picked him up, walking over to the machine. Sure enough, the light was flashing. She pressed the button the play the message.

"Hey Bri, it's John..I guess I was just calling to say I'm back home for the weekend and I wanted to see what you were up to since I hadn't talked to you in a few days..Um..just call me back when you get a chance. Bye."

She picked up the phone, dialing his number.

"Hello?" he answered after a few rings, sounding a little groggy.

---------------------

John held the phone to his ear, eyes still closed. Paula was gone when he got out of the shower, though most of her things were still there. He cleaned up the kitchen and then practically passed out. He barely slept the night before. Whoever was calling him better have a good reason.

"John?"

"Hey," he slowly sat up when he heard Brianna's voice. He figured Nick would erase his message before she got it.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked.

"A little," he, leaning against the headboard. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, sounding like she felt guilty. "You wanna go back to sleep?"

"No," he said. "I just fell asleep a few minutes ago, it's not a big deal."

"You sure?" she asked. "I feel bad now."

"Brianna, if I didn't wanna talk to you, I wouldn't have answered the phone," he laughed. Of course he didn't know it was her when he picked up but he wasn't lying. He definitely would have answered for her.

"Okay," she laughed. "So I have something kind of random to ask you."

"What's that?" he waited.

"Well, you know Maya's leaving tomorrow," she said. "And I've been doing something with her every day and today I'm taking her shopping."

"Mmhmm," he nodded.

"And I know you hate shopping and you probably wouldn't wanna go," she said. "And you probably totally get mobbed in public places like that anyway but-"

"I'd love to go," he smiled, cutting her off. If allowed, Brianna would talk in circles for hours.

"You would?" she sounded surprised.

"I would," he said. "You two ready yet?"

"Not yet," she said. "Give us a little bit."

"Okay," he said. "I'll pick you up in an hour."

"Great," she said. "I'll see you then."

---------------------

Maria stepped off of the elevator but was tempted to jump back on when she saw Victor. He was on his phone hopefully he didn't notice her. If she could just slip past him..

"Maria!"

Damn!

"Hi Victor," she turned around, smiling. "How are you?"

"Good," he nodded. "How are you?"

"Not bad," she said, praying someone came along to save her soon.

"I was wondering, is there something wrong with Raquel's phone?" he asked.

Maria almost said no but she caught herself, "You know..I think there is..I haven't seen her on it in days. I'm pretty sure she's buying a new one."

"Ah," he nodded. "Do you know where she is now?"

"No," Maria lied, shaking her head. "You should ask Trish, Trish always knows."

"I'll try that," Victor nodded. "I wont keep you any longer, thanks for the tip."

"No problem," Maria waved, turning and quickly walking away. Trish was probably gonna kill her but that was the only thing she could think of to get Victor off her back. She pulled her phone out of her purse, quickly dialing Raquel's number.

"Hello?"

"Remember the other day when we were out with Randy and you said that you were gonna let Victor down easy?" Maria asked.

"Yeah," Raquel waited.

"Well when were you planning on doing that?" Maria asked. "Because he's looking for you and you know I'm not a very good liar."

"I'll do it soon," Raquel said. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Maybe?"

"I'll do it tomorrow," Raquel promised.

"Thank you," Maria said. "So how's the day with Sabrina going?"

"Absolutely dreadful," Raquel said.

"Sounds like a dream," Maria laughed. "Let me know if you need me to save you."

"I will."

"Bye."

Maria ended the call with Raquel and then dialed Trish's number.

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"So are you ever gonna tell me what you and Raquel were talking about the other day?" Matt asked.

"When?" Jeff asked, starting the car.

"When we were in Miami at the video set," Matt explained. "When I came up, you two looked..I don't know, not like you and Raquel."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked. He couldn't understand why his brother was so nosy sometimes. And he didn't forget anything. Something tiny could happen and he would bring it up a month later and ask a thousand questions.

"I mean it looked kinda like you were flirting," Matt said.

"We weren't," Jeff said quickly.

"Getting awfully defensive," Matt smirked.

"I'm not defensive, I just know we weren't flirting," Jeff said.

"Then what were you talking about?"

"Why is it important?" Jeff asked. "Jesus Matt, sometimes you act like a 14 year old girl."

"Sorry man," Matt put his hands up. "Wont bring it up again."

"Thank you."

---------------------

"That was fun," Brianna smiled as she and John walked away from the crowd of people. It was a mix of fans of her show and WWE fans but they all seemed to be willing to take an autograph from either of them.

"I need a bodyguard when I'm out with you," he smirked.

"Oh whatever, most of them were there for you," she laughed. "And you are a body guard."

"And a bag carrier," Maya laughed. Brianna was holding two bags and a smoothie and Maya had a smoothie and a small pink bag, Gia, who had just gotten off the phone, had two bags. John was loaded down with more bags than he could count and only one of them contained something he bought, a pair of gym shoes.

"Yeah, how did I get this job?" he laughed.

"I don't know but you're just so good at it," she laughed, pinching his cheek.

"Oh now you wanna suck up."

"Just a little," Brianna laughed.

"Can we get some ice cream?" Maya asked.

"Not until you eat some actual food first," Bri said. "Maybe we should take the bags out to the car and go eat."

"Okay," Maya smiled.

Brianna looked up at John, "Is that okay with you?"

"Put down all these bags and eat? John smiled. "Did you even have to ask?"

"We'll take 'em," Gia offered, grabbing most of the bags from John's hands. Maya grabbed the last two.

"You sure?" John asked.

"We're sure," Gia smiled. "Come on Maya."

"Okay," Maya said, following Gia.

Brianna turned to John as they walked away, "Thanks again for coming with us."

"You're welcome," John said, not quite looking at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, trying to figure out what he was staring at.

"I think those kids over there are taking pictures of us," John laughed.

She looked in the direction he nodded and saw four teenagers, all holding their cell phones up in their direction.

"They're probably cutting me out and just taking pictures of you," she smiled.

"I don't know, you look too good for them to cut you out," he smirked.

Brianna smiled. He'd been making comments like that all day. She didn't mind his flirting, it was a nice change from getting angry looks from Nick.

"How much money have you spent today?" John laughed, looking down at his red hands.

"You know I never keep track," she laughed.

"I can see you're rubbing off on Maya," John laughed. "I've never seen a six year old that knows their designers like that."

"I teach what I know," Bri shrugged.

"So you're teaching her to be a shopaholic?"

"Basically," Brianna nodded.

"So you're starting on the road tomorrow, right?" he asked.

She nodded, "We're doing auditions for a few days. I put in some calls to some people I know and I talked to Shane and he put an open call announcement on so hopefully there's a good turnout."

"I'm sure there will be," John said. "You think we should go find a place to eat and just have them meet us there?"

"That works," she shrugged.

"Come on," John said, taking her hands. "I think I know of a good place, it's down this way."

---------------------

"How's this?" The hostess looked back at Raquel and Sabrina as she stopped at a table. Sabrina looked up, more than likely checking out the lighting.

"It's fine, thank you," Raquel answered. The young woman put their menus down on the table and they took their seats.

"Your server will be with you in…"

The young blonde trailed off, her eyes focused on Sabrina's hand.

"Wow," she finally spoke.

"Are you okay?" Raquel asked, a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry for staring I just..that ring is gorgeous," the hostess gushed. "Is it real?"

Sabrina smiled, looking down at the large diamond, "It is…Alan bought it for me on a whim."

"Wow, I want a husband like that," the hostess laughed.

"Oh he's not my husband yet," Sabrina smiled. "I cant blame you for wanting one of your own. Most women do. Don't you think so Raquel?"

"Of course," Raquel pasted on a smile, taking a sip of her water.

Sabrina smiled down at her hand, "If this is his idea of a random gift, I cant wait to see the rock when he proposes."

If he can stand you long enough to propose

"Well when he does, come back in and show me," the hostess laughed before walking away.

"I liked her," Sabrina smiled.

"You like anyone who envies you," Raquel looked down into her purse, trying to find her cell phone. She'd thought she heard her voicemail alert a few seconds before.

"This is true," Sabrina laughed.

"You know I really cant wait for Alan to propose," Sabrina said. "I mean, he's not exactly a dream boat but he makes up for it in other areas."

"Like his wallet?" Raquel suggested, finally locating her phone.

"Exactly."

Raquel rolled her eyes. She wanted a rich man just as much as the next girl but Sabrina made it seem so..obnoxious.

"But if Alan looked like that..my life would be absolutely perfect."

Raquel looked up to see what the other woman was talking about and she was quite surprised by what she saw. Sabrina was looking over her shoulder toward the entrance, her eyes fixed on none other than Jeff Hardy.

---------------------

Jeff followed the hostess as she led him and Matt into the restaurant. It was a nice place, almost everything in it was stark white and he guessed the portions were tiny and an appetizer cost more than his shirt. He hated places like this. He liked to be comfortable when he ate, he didn't want to be worrying about spilling something. He looked over at his brother, slowing his pace so the hostess wouldn't hear, "Why did we have to come here?"

"Because Adam told me the food here is great," Matt explained. "I'll pay if you can go the whole meal without bitching."

"I cant promise you that," Jeff laughed.

"Hey," Matt stopped, staring at something. "Look who's here?"

Jeff followed his gaze, spotting Raquel sitting with some blonde. Running into Raquel wasn't exactly expected but the real surprise was the look on her face when she saw him. If Jeff didn't know any better he would say that she actually looked..happy to see him.

"Dude," Jeff looked over at Matt, confused. "Why is she looking at me like that?"

Matt laughed, "I think that's called smiling..and it's not necessarily directed at you."

Jeff didn't want to argue but he was pretty sure Raquel was looking at him. She put down her cell phone, waving them over.

"Come on," Matt said, ignoring the confused hostess standing next to an empty table.

"Do we have to?" Jeff asked.

"Why don't you want to?"

"Because she scares me when she looks like that," Jeff said. "It's like the calm before the storm. If I sit next to her I'll probably end up with a fork in my leg."

"Just come on," Matt laughed, pushing his brother ahead of him.

Raquel stood as they approached. Matt gave her a quick hug and then, just to further his confusion, Raquel smiled at him and stood on her toes, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Isn't it a little early to be drunk? She's gotta be drunk or something..right?

"Gentlemen, this is Sabrina Reid," Raquel introduced, her hand on Jeff's arm.

Jeff gave her a nod then focused his attention on her hand. She wasn't trying to dig her nails into him or anything..this wasn't the Raquel he was used to.

"Sabrina, this is Matt Hardy and this is Jeff Hardy."

"Nice to meet you," the blonde smiled, standing up and shaking Matt's hand. Jeff's focus was on Raquel's hand on his wrist. He couldn't say he had a problem with her touching him he just couldn't understand it. She had to be up to something. She was buttering him up. For what, he didn't know, but that was the only explanation.

"Jeff," she squeezed his wrist gently.

"Hm?" he looked into her eyes, trying to figure her out.

"I think Sabrina's waiting," she nodded toward her friend.

Jeff turned, feeling sheepish when he saw Sabrina's outstretched hand. He shook her hand lightly, "Nice to meet you."

"Why don't you two join us?" Sabrina suggested. "We've got room."

Jeff looked over at Raquel. She smiled up at him encouragingly. Then, he looked over at Matt, who was already taking a seat.

He shrugged, "Why not?"

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