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When You're Around

Chapter 18

"Hey mom, dad, it's me!" Chloe yelled as she walked into her parents home a few days later. She'd been mentally prepping herself for this conversation. She knew her dad would probably be concerned but would ultimately trust her to make her own decisions. But her mom…that was another story. She was going to especially be concerned that she hadn't met Randy yet and that maybe he didn't have the best of intentions. Chloe knew she was just going to have to come up with a way to get her mom to understand that this would be a good opportunity for her. She slipped her purse off her shoulder, setting it down on the floor next to the door. She received no answer. "Mom? Dad? Anyone home?" She asked as she walked further into the house. She looked in the dining room and the living room before going into the kitchen. She looked out the window that was in the kitchen to the backyard and smiled when she finally found her parents. They were sitting at their outdoor dining set playing cards as they took in the sun. She walked outside to greet them. "Hello?" She sung as she walked toward them. Both her parents looked around in surprise, not expecting any visitors.

"Chloe! What are you doing here? Dinner is Sunday right?" Her mom asked as she stood up and embraced her daughter.

Chloe laughed. "Nope, you're right, dinner is Sunday. I just thought I'd stop by."

"Well this is a nice surprise." Her dad said happily as he too gave his daughter a hug. "Take a seat, we were just playing gin rummy, want us to deal you in?" He asked as everyone sat down.

"No, I'm fine," She took a breath before exhaling. "I actually came over here because there's something I need to tell you."

"You're pregnant!" Her mom exclaimed. Chloe's eyes widened at the assumption. The scary thing was, she couldn't tell if her mom was excited or horrified.

"No! No, mom, I am definitely not pregnant!" She quickly said to set the record straight. Her dad chuckled at his wife. "I came to tell you that I've got a job."

"Already? That was so fast, congratulations!" Her dad said, patting her hand lovingly.

"Yes dear, that is great news! Where at?" Her mom asked.

Chloe took a deep breath. "Well, it is with the WWE." She paused and cringed at her parents blank expressions. "Have you heard of it? World Wrestling Entertainment?"

Her dad nodded. "Yes, I've heard of it. I'm a little confused how you came across this job. What will you be doing anyway?" He asked, slightly scared his daughter would be wrestling.

"Well, it's a paid internship with the creative department," She said then continued nervously when she received no response. "I'd be writing the scripts of what the wrestlers say and set up storylines. So I'd finally put that journalism minor to some use."

Her mother was still silent so her father spoke up. "And…how'd you find this…internship."

"Randy…he works there and-" She began but was interrupted.

"Randy, the man you're dating?" Her mother finally spoke. "He works there? As…?"

"As a wrestler." She said then clenched her teeth together nervously. "I didn't mention that?"

"No, you definitely left that part out." Her father said sternly, obviously not pleased his daughter was dating a professional wrestler.

"Sorry. But yeah, he works there and heard about the internship and thought it would be perfect for me, so he pulled some strings and it's mine."

"I don't even know where to start," Her mother said. "You're dating a professional athlete? They do not have the best reputations Chloe."

She shrugged. "It's not like I was looking to start a relationship with him. Our paths just crossed."

"But this…internship…are you sure this is what you want to do?" Her dad asked.

"Yeah, it'd be a good learning experience."

"But what about teaching? I thought that was your passion!" Her mom exclaimed, obviously not pleased with this news. "You're going to give up your passion for some…man?"

Chloe shook her head. "I'm not giving up teaching. This internship is just for a couple of months over the summer, just in time for the new school year." She said and then remembered her mom's last comment. "And I'm not taking this because of Randy. I am very glad he told me about this but I'm doing this because like I said, it's a good experience. Plus it'd be nice to see the country over the summer and make a living at the same time."

Her dad shook his head, unsure. "Chloe…I just don't know if this is best for you. I mean, what does this entail?"

Ah, the hard part. The traveling. "Well, it would involve me to travel at least four days a week with the roster. But, Randy said sometimes it can be up to a couple weeks at a time." She explained.

"A couple weeks?" Her mom asked. "But…our dinners…"

She smiled sadly. "I know mom but he said that's only sometimes. I'll be here every week for dinner still, except a week here and there."

She watched as her parents look at one another across the table as the tried to gage each others reactions on the situation. Her dad was the first to speak. "While I am worried that this may not be the best path for you…it is your life and I trust your judgment. I do think this will be a very good opportunity for you that I don't think you can pass up."

"Joe!" Her mom said surprised to her father. "You are okay with her traveling with a bunch of professional athletes every week? Who knows what could happen to her!"

"Mom, it's not like I'll be alone. Randy is there and Rachel might be getting a job with creative." She added. Her mom loved Rachel, so she was hoping that bringing her up would help her mom accept what she was doing.

It worked. Her mom definitely wavered. "Rachel will be there?"

She nodded. "If she get's the job."

Her mom went silent again and looked at her husband for help. "Jean, she is a grown woman. Whether we like it or not, this is what she has chosen for herself. Nothing we say can change her mind."

Her mom nodded. "Okay. I am not happy with it but your father is right, you are making your own decisions and I need to trust you." She turned to her daughter and smiled. "But that doesn't mean I won't miss you."

She laughed. "Mom, I'll miss you too, of course!"

Randy knocked on Sam's front door, waiting for her to open it so he could pick up Lindsey and head back to his house. Ever since the last time he'd seen Sam, he's been dreading every time he'll have to see his ex. He knew it was only a matter of time before she brought the subject of Chloe back up again.

"Hey dad!" Lindsey yelled as she threw open the door. Randy crouched down with a smile as he hugged his little girl.

"Hey baby, miss me?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes!" She said dramatically. He laughed as he stood back up and grabbed her hand, allowing her to drag him into the kitchen. "Mommy just made me lunch." She said as she sat down at the table, dishing off the already half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Randy looked over the counter and saw Sam wiping down some dishes. "Hello," He said politely.

Sam looked at him and nodded. "Linds, why don't you head on upstairs and finishing packing your things. I need to speak to daddy."

Lindsey nodded and quickly stuffed the rest of her sandwich in her mouth before getting up and running off. Randy walked over the counter and leaned his elbows on it. "What's up?" He asked, wondering what she wanted to talk to him about.

She glared at him. "I told you to stay away from Lindsey's teacher." She said angrily. Randy didn't say anything, just rolled his eyes, which pissed her off even more. "I told you to stay away from her, and what do you do? You hang out with her."

"What, are you spying on me?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest, now angry himself.

She pursed her lips. "No, but Lindsey let me know that she came over to your place the other night while our daughter was there." She narrowed her eyes at her former boyfriend.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh so you're having our daughter do your spying for you?"

She closed her eyes to try to hold back her anger. "You know what Randy?" She asked, opening her eyes and looking at him. "I'm telling you right now, if you don't quit doing whatever you're doing with her, I am going to do something about it."

Randy rolled his eyes and smiled at her. "What are you going to do Sam?"

She raised a brow. "Don't tempt me Randy." She warned.

"Listen Sam, I'm not going to quit seeing Chloe. Do whatever you feel you need to do." He said before walking out of the kitchen. "Lindsey!" He yelled up the stairs. "Daddy's gotta get going, let's go sweetheart!" He waited by the front door for his daughter to come down. When she did, she quickly said bye to her mom before leading her dad out to his car.

Chloe walked into her apartment with a feeling of relief. She was glad she'd finally told her parents about her internship. It took a load off her shoulders and all she wanted to do now was lie in bed, watching TV while she relaxed. She walked further into the living room and stopped in her tracks when she saw Josh sitting on the couch watching TV. "Hey Josh, you waiting for Jessica?" She asked, getting his attention.

Her turned to look at her and smiled. "Yeah, you know how she is," He chuckled with a shrug. Chloe nodded. It was weird because the Josh Chloe saw was a sweet, funny, ambitious guy. But hearing the things Jess went through with him, it seemed he was quite the opposite.

"Yes I do," She paused as she sat down on the floor with her the suitcase that she'd borrowed form her parents for her traveling. "So how's the job search going?" She asked, though from what Jess told her, Josh barely even bothered searching. He had been fired from his job a little over six months ago and hadn't found anything.

He shrugged. "It's tough out there. Not much hiring going on. But I'm trying."

She smiled. "Yeah, that's good. You just gotta keep at it."

He nodded. "Yeah but I hear that you got a job for the summer? With the WWE?" He asked, sounding surprised. It was obvious that Jess hadn't told Josh about Randy, which she wasn't exactly mad about. It was a relief not having to go into detail about her relationship with Randy. Lately, it felt like all she was doing was analyzing their relationship.

"Yeah, I'm excited." She said as she unzipped the zippers, checking to see if there was anything her parents had accidently left in the pockets.

"That's a pretty sweet job. If there are any openings, let me know." He said with a laugh and she laughed back to be polite but she knew that if there were any job openings, Josh wouldn't be right for any of them.

"I will," She said before excusing herself and grabbing the luggage to pull it behind her as she entered her room. She walked back out a couple minutes later and smiled when she saw her friend standing outside her bedroom door that was next the couch. She was wearing a beautiful black dress and looked at Josh, almost willing him to turn around and tell her how beautiful she looked. But his eyes were firmly locked on the TV. "Hey Jess, you look great!" Chloe said, trying to give Josh a hint.

Jess smiled at her friend as Josh turned to see his girlfriend. "Ready?" He asked simply. Jessica's smile faultered a bit but she tried to hide it as she nodded.

"Bye Chlo, I'll see you later." Jess said as she passed by. Chloe watched her friend leave with a frown. Jess definitely deserved better than that, that was for sure. It was only a matter time before she came to her senses.

A/N: This chapter's a little longer than most so I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks again for all your fantastic reviews! :)