Here we go with a new chapter!
ShannonTheAwesomeOne, thanks for some great ideas which I used for this one :)
I hope you all like it!
Enjoy and review! :)
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Chapter 7: Is it too late now?
It was only a few minutes later that Seth and Roman entered the garden again, followed by Shannon and Karo who had fed their babies which were now sleeping again peacefully.
But peaceful was something Maxine definitely wasn't in that very moment.
"I'm going to bed," she mumbled when Seth sat down next to her again, moving her head away when he wanted to kiss her lips.
"Babe, are you okay?" he asked confused, staring at her when she stood up. "Hey, I told you it was okay to tell the others about the dream. No big deal."
"Yeah, no big deal. But what is the fucking definition of a big deal then, huh?" she snapped, immediately breaking the eye contact with him before turning to the others. "Good night."
Karolina didn't miss that she was the only one that wasn't addressed by Maxine's salutation, the death glare the slightly older woman had given her not remaining unnoticed.
"Maxine, is everything alright?" Karo asked concerned, not understanding the sudden change of mood of Seth's girlfriend.
"Oh, I'm fine, Karolina. I hope you are as well," she scoffed, finally turning around to go into the house, leaving the others back with confusion written all over their faces.
"Uhm…okay…what happened?" Seth wondered, directing his question to Dean who was the only one who could know.
"Well…uh…I dunno. That's kinda weird. Just a few minutes ago she was joking with me but once the conversation became a little more serious, she started acting strange," he explained, shrugging his shoulders innocently, not knowing that what he did was a huge mistake.
"You were having a serious conversation with her? How is that even possible if you can't have one with me?" Shannon asked dumbfounded.
"Dunno. God, stop interrogating me. I'm not a criminal. For once I was being honest with someone and every time I am, I'm doing something wrong," Dean grumped, rolling his eyes in annoyance when all of his friends were staring at him. "What?"
"What did you guys talk about, Dean?" Roman asked, his voice quiet and very calm.
"Well, I told her I thought she was a pretty cool chick. Especially with everything that happened between Seth and Karo," he said nonchalantly, frowning when Seth got up so hastily that his chair fell back.
"YOU WHAT?" he yelled, about to jump over the table to grab Dean by the collar of his shirt but Roman held him back just in time. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"What is it, dude? She said she knew. Why are you freaking out now?" he asked, still not understanding that he had fucked up big time.
"Of course she DIDN'T know, you fucking idiot," Seth screamed, trying to get out of Roman's grip but the Samoan was a lot stronger than he was.
"Uhm…no?" he asked puzzled, scratching the back of his head, feeling slightly uncomfortable right now. "Man, I had no idea. She acted as if she did. Fuck...I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? YOU'RE FUCKING SORRY? Are you kidding me?" the two-toned man yelled furiously, once again trying to get to Dean but Roman held him back with both of his arms.
"Shut up now. You're not making this any better," Roman said through gritted teeth, annoyed that Dean once again couldn't keep his mouth shut when for once he should have. "Let's go inside. You need to calm down."
The Samoan dragged his friend into the house, shoving him into the living room and almost making him tumble.
"Sit down," he roared when Seth wanted to get up again immediately. "You need to relax now."
"I need to talk to my girl. Or is this also forbidden now? I think I have a right to put things straight after one of my so-called best friends betrayed me," he scoffed, seething with anger when once again Roman pushed him back onto the couch.
"He didn't do it on purpose and you know that," he replied, sitting down on the arm rest of the couch, right next to Seth.
"So what? It doesn't matter. The girl I love is up there, probably about to plan on leaving me because of things that don't even mean anything anymore," he huffed, burying his face into his hands, sighing heavily.
"You…love her?" Roman asked surprised, taken aback by this open confession. He knew Maxine meant a lot to Seth but he had no idea it was THAT much already.
"Yes…I do…with all my heart. She doesn't know. I haven't told her yet. Maybe I should have because right now it might be too late," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper.
"No. It's not too late. Let me handle this. I'm gonna talk to her now," Roman said, slowly getting up and facing his friend again. "Promise me to stay in here. Don't freak out and beat the living shit out of Dean. I know you want to but that doesn't make things better."
"Oh, I'm sure I would feel great after knocking him out though," he answered, holding up his hands in defence when Roman looked at him warningly. "Fine…I'll stay here."
He watched as his friend walked up the stairs, fear running through his veins. Fear of losing the love of his life. He could only hope that Roman would be able to reach her with his words, knowing that his Samoan friend had a way with words that nobody else had.
"Seth?" a small voice asked a few moments later, interrupting his thoughts and immediately bringing him back to reality.
Seth lifted his head and turned his attention to where the voice was coming from, seeing an insecure Karolina standing in the doorframe, her hands stuffed in the front pockets of her jeans.
"Come in," he said, motioning with his head to the place next to him, not wanting her to feel scared of him.
She carefully made her way towards him, not sure if he was still angry or not. She had seen him like that before but the way he had acted in front of Dean just a few minutes ago had even shocked her.
"I'm so sorry, Seth," she mumbled after sitting down next to him, her eyes fixed on her hands which were folded in her lap.
"You don't have to apologize, sweetie. It's not your fault," he tried to soothe her, but it seemed as if Karo had already made up her mind, taking all the blame for what was happening.
"Yes, it is. If it wasn't for me, all of this wouldn't have happened," she insisted, running a hand over her face, sighing heavily. "Maybe we should really stay away from each other more from now on."
"What? What are you even talking about?" he asked confused, trying to take her hand into his but she quickly snapped it away. "Karolina, cut the crap. I'm serious. This isn't your fault, it's Dean's."
"It is neither Dean's fault nor anybody else's," somebody suddenly said, startling both Karo and Seth.
They both turned their heads to see Shannon making her way over to them, a stern expression on her face. "Seth, sooner or later she would have found out anyways. Maybe it would have been better if you told her, and not Dean. But maybe it's a good thing it's out there now."
"How is this supposed to be a good thing? She's fucking mad at me right now," he grumbled, looking at Shannon expectantly when she sat down on the floor in front of them.
"If she loves you, then she will forgive you. It's not as if you need to feel guilty for anything though. These are things that happened in the past. Way before you even knew she existed," she explained, looking first at Seth and then Karo. "Either she accepts your friendship or she doesn't. Quite frankly, dump her if she doesn't."
"But…," Seth started but was cut off mid-sentence instantly.
"I would say bros before hoes but that doesn't really make sense in my case. But seriously, if she can't get along with your friends, friends that I know you consider family, then I'm not sure if she's the right woman for you," she continued, looking at Seth expectantly, knowing that she addressed a sensitive subject.
"I just want you all to get along. Is that too much to ask for?" he mumbled, running a shaky hand through his hair before finally grabbing one of Karo's, intertwining their fingers. "I wouldn't mind kicking Dean's ass though."
"Oh well, I already threw him into the pool. Maybe that makes you feel a little better for now," she stated, giggling when both her friends looked at her wide-eyed. "What? He needed a little cooling down anyways."
Seth nodded his head and gave her a weak smile, her words echoing through his head over and over again. Shannon was right though. Together with Karo, Roman, Dean and the babies, he considered her family. Without them he wouldn't be complete. And although he loved Maxine with every fibre of his body, he needed her to understand and accept this.
"I love you girls. I hope you both know that," he said, quickly turning his head towards Karo who was staring at the ground, a sad expression on her face. "You know you mean the world to me, right sweetheart? Don't ever forget that."
Despite feeling that she was trying to retreat, he pulled her close and kissed her cheek softly, once again whispering into her ear that it wasn't her fault. He hated seeing her like that. So heartbroken and insecure. He knew that it was in her nature but this time there was no need to feel the way she did. At least he hoped so.
It was up to Roman to find out why exactly Maxine reacted the way she had, knowing how important it was to Seth to have her in his life. It had somehow opened his own eyes when his younger friend confessed his love to Maxine in front of him just a few minutes ago. It was always the biggest step to admit to yourself that you are indeed in love with someone. And Seth had taken that step. And that wasn't only important to him but Roman as well.
Meanwhile Maxine was sitting in one of Roman and Karo's guestrooms, a room she was supposed to share with Seth but she wasn't too sure about that anymore, having the feeling that she needed to get away from him and his friends as fast as she could.
She was hurt that she had been lied to, even if he probably didn't do it on purpose. To her all of this seemed to be something that had affected them all as a group and she had hoped that Seth would always be honest with her. She was wrong though.
All her life she had been lied to. She had been cheated on, hurt, put off…you name it. For once she was sure she could trust someone but all her hopes and dreams have been destroyed the minute she heard of a past her boyfriend had seemingly shared with his best friend.
She didn't let Seth wait for so long for no reason. After having her heart broken by her former boyfriend, who had not only hurt her verbally but physically as well, she had promised herself to take her time and not fall in love anymore. Not that fast at least. Seth had been the first man after Matt that she was willing to give her heart to. Maybe she shouldn't have done it though.
She had accepted the job at the WWE to escape everything. She didn't want to stay back in Santa Monica and be reminded of her pathetic life each and every single day she would come back home to her apartment. No, she wanted to start a new life. A life away from her fears and concerns, a life on the road where she could be herself again. Finally. And now she was once again stuck somewhere because she fell for the wrong guy.
She always appeared to be a strong and self-confident young woman. A woman that knew what she wanted and that set a goal only to succeed in the end. Maybe it was some kind of façade. A façade she had perfected over the years. But she knew that once she was in a relationship with another man, it would eventually crumble.
She needed a strong man by her side. But right now it seemed as if Seth was anything but that.
"Maxine, it's Roman. Can I come in?" Roman asked after knocking on the door quietly, not sure if she wanted company or not.
It was an understatement to say that Maxine was startled. She had been so deep in thought that she completely forgot about the world around her.
It felt like an eternity until finally she opened the door, just a crack though, looking at Roman with tears in her eyes. "Are you alone?"
"Yes, it's just me. The others are downstairs. Please…let me in. I need to talk to you," he pleaded, his heart breaking in his chest when he saw just how hurt she seemed to be.
She slowly opened the door further, just enough so that Roman could enter the guest room, immediately making her way over to the bed where she collected several used tissues, throwing them into a trash can.
"May I sit down?" he asked politely, confused when she chuckled.
"It's your house, you don't have to ask me," she said mockingly, trying her hardest to choke down the tears that were threatening to escape her eyes once again.
She didn't know Roman all that well. This was about the second time she had met him and they'd never had any kind of serious conversation with each other. Could she even trust him? Should she even be in that room with him right now when she felt like she wanted to pack her things and take off as soon as possible?
"Maxine, I need you to listen to me right now," he started, his voice as deep and calm as always.
"I don't even know if I want to hear what you have to tell me. I don't even understand how you can come here and be that calm. I would freak out if I were you," she scoffed, keeping a safe distance to him, not sure if she could indeed trust him.
"Fine, okay. You know what? I'll listen to you for now. You tell me what Dean said and then you let me know how you feel or what's going through your mind," he offered, kicking off his shoes and sitting on the bed opposite of her.
"How do I know I can confide in you? I don't know you and you don't know me. You already have chosen sides and this is just not fair," she grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Who the hell is talking about taking sides? Look, this is not some kind of war, ok? I'm here to clarify things. That is if you want to know the truth. I'm sure that with Dean's generic statements, you made up your own story, believing that it's true when in reality you have no idea what really happened," he somehow admonished her, honestly feeling strange for defending something that had once broken his heart.
Maxine looked at him shyly, knowing that he probably was right but it felt so easy to accept a truth she came up with herself.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them. But Roman wouldn't be the one to start talking again. The ball was in her court now and she was the one that needed to decide if she wanted to talk or listen to what he had to say.
She didn't even have the guts to look into his eyes anymore. Although Roman seemed to be a very friendly and calm person, there was something about his appearance that intimated her.
"Dean told me that Seth and Karo almost had sex with each other when she was pregnant with your baby," she said quietly, breaking the silence between them after endless minutes. "He said something about a boy…and death."
Roman swallowed hard when he was reminded about his son who he wished was there with him right now, the feeling of missing him not getting better with each day that was passing by.
"Yeah…that's right. Unfortunately," he sighed, rubbing his eyes with one of his hands. "You wanna know the full story?"
Maxine stared at him for a few moments, the devastated expression on his face worrying her. Did she really want to know the truth? Was she ready to hear the story? A story that seemingly had changed all of their lives forever? But when she nodded her head yes, she knew that she needed to know what happened in order to know if she had a future with Seth at all.
"A few years ago, only after several months of being with Karo, she told me she was pregnant. It was quite surprising, as you can imagine. I just don't like to call it an accident though. Well, she had to stop wrestling immediately, and after a few more months, she had to stay home. Around the same time, Seth injured his knee and was out of action for half a year. I thought it was a good idea to have them spend time together here in our house, so that neither one of them was alone while I was on the road," he started to explain, nodding his head when she raised her finger.
"And that's when it happened?" she asked, more than just a little curious right now.
"Well, I still don't know today how long Seth had these feelings for Karo, and I'm not sure I really wanna know, but in these few months that they had been here alone, something developed between them," he said defeated, the pain he had been feeling back then resurfacing.
"Something called…love?" she asked surprised, not sure she liked where he was going with this.
"Love is such an alterable term, don't you think?" he asked, no one in particular though. "I don't want to come to Karo's defence, she's just as responsible for this as he is, but maybe her hormones were playing a trick on her. Seth has admitted that he tried everything in his power to sweet-talk her into bed. But not because he wanted to fuck her, if I can be that blunt about it, but because he fell in love with her."
Maxine just nodded her head, seeing how much this was hurting Roman and she couldn't really blame him. He had to go through this back then, whereas she only had to handle this today where – hopefully – all of this belonged into the past.
"It went that far that they ended up making out, heavily as far as I understand, and almost had sex…," he stated, licking his suddenly very dry lips nervously.
"On the kitchen counter…," she finished his sentence, swallowing hard when he confirmed. "But what happened then?" she asked curiously, the question of what happened to Karo's baby still in the back of her head.
"Dean told me about it, without really wanting it. Just like he did today. I immediately went back home and kicked Seth out. I did everything in my power to keep them apart. And I somehow succeeded. But Karo suffered so much after the whole drama that she went into early labor. I don't really want to go into detail right now but Joshua, our son, didn't make it. He died right after birth," he explained quietly, trying his hardest to suppress the tears that were building in his eyes.
"Oh my God, that's horrible," she gasped, covering her mouth with one of her hands in shock. "And you blame Seth for all of this?"
"I did. In the past. But one day I realized that this was nobody's fault. That this could have had a million different reasons. It took me ages to forgive him, and to forgive Karo. Honestly, I think I only forgave him fully a few months ago. When you came into the picture," he said truthfully, smiling when she pointed a finger to herself.
"Yes, it is because of you that I can handle their closeness to each other again. Seth doesn't love Karo anymore. Not in that way at least. You mean the world to him, Maxine. And you need to trust him. I know you can do it if I can," he encouraged her, he himself feeling convinced that things between Seth and Karo were really over.
"But how can you accept them…being so damn close again? Right now I can't imagine letting him spend alone-time with her after everything that has happened in the past," she said unsure, running a shaky hand through her auburn hair.
"It was difficult for me the first few times, but I trust my wife. I know she would never do anything like that again. Ever. And if you want to be with Seth, then you need to trust him as well. That's all it takes," he exemplified, a small smile on his face when she nodded her head in agreement.
"I guess I should talk to him right now, right?" she wondered, sighing heavily when he shrugged his shoulders.
"I hope he hasn't killed Dean yet. But I'm sure that both Shannon and Karo were able to hold him back. Those girls are strong," he chuckled, remembering how Karo almost wrestled Dean to the ground a short while ago.
"Uhm…speaking of…I guess I need to apologize to your wife as well," Maxine mumbled, feeling horrible for barking at Karo earlier that evening.
"I'll let her know you're sorry. You go and take care of my boy down there. He's afraid of losing you," Roman said, slowly getting off of the bed before slipping on his shoes again. "I'll send him up."
The Samoan was about to leave the room when she stopped him mid-movement. "Roman?"
He turned around to face her again, surprised to see that she made her way towards him, wrapping her arms around his midsection shyly. "Thank you. For everything."
"No need to thank me. I just want you and Seth to work out, that is all," he said, surprising her by kissing the top of her head, but that was just who Roman was.
After gently letting go of her, a smile on his face, he turned around and eventually exited the room, quickly making his way downstairs to see Seth who was surrounded by his two favourite girls, apart from his daughter of course.
"So? What did she say? Is she going to leave? Does she want to break up? Can I finally kick Dean's ass?" Seth asked, throwing dozens of questions at Roman who didn't know which one to answer first.
"Whoa, dude, relax," he chuckled, laughing even harder when his friend looked at him confused. "She's expecting you now. And she's not going to leave. I'll take care of Dean now though 'cause I…"
"No need to. He went for a swim," Shannon interrupted, together with Karo giggling when Roman looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
They didn't even realize that Seth already took off, almost flying up the stairs to be with his girlfriend as fast as he could, wanting to wrap his arms around her and show her how much she meant to him.
He carefully opened the door and their eyes immediately met, light green ones looking into chocolate brown ones, both of them getting lost into each other's stare. So much that for several long moments they both remained silent, enjoying the other person's presence.
"You should have told me that you were in love with her, Seth. Then all of this wouldn't have happened," she stated, breaking the silence between them and looking at him expectantly.
Without saying a word, he made his way over to where she was sitting in the middle of the bed, joining her by jumping onto it to take the seat next to her.
"I didn't think it would have made any difference today. I don't love her anymore. Not in a romantically way, at least. You're the only person I..." he started but trailed off when he realized what he was about to say.
"The only person you...?" she asked, her heart beating fast in her chest, not sure if he was really going to tell her now or not.
"Maxine," he hummed and hawed, taking her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. "I've been thinking about telling you for quite some time now. But I was afraid it would be too soon, now, after all that happened today, I have the feeling it's about damn time."
He finally was able to look into her eyes again, his breath shallow, his hands sweaty. She looked just as tense as he was, probably knowing what he was about to tell her and that was all he needed to decide to go for it.
"I love you, Maxine. With all my heart," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. "I want to be with you. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. I know all of this might be surprising, it might even seem as if I was rushing things. But I really don't wanna scare you off and I don't expect you to say it back to me, but I…"
"I love you, too," she bubbled out all of a sudden, the smile that was spreading on Seth's face contagious. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have…"
"Shhh, don't. Let's forget about it," he insisted, letting go of her hand and cupping her face with both of his hands. "I love you, I love you, I love you."
She giggled when he started nibbling at her earlobe, all of a sudden feeling as if everything in the world was right and just how they wanted it to be.
They were in love. And not even Karolina could change that, not that she wanted to though. All they had to do was trust each other. Because without trust, no relationship had a future.
"I need to apologize to Karo though. Although Roman said I didn't have to," she announced, stopping Seth who was about to gently bite her neck.
"Hmm, you can do it later," he mumbled against her skin, wanting to take that next step with her right now. After all they had already confessed their love to each other.
"Seth, baby, not here, not now. I wanna be alone with you if we do it," she whispered into his ear, giggling when he sighed in frustration.
"Next week?" he asked hopefully, looking at her with his typical puppy eyes.
"Next week," she confirmed, pecking his lips sweetly.
Now hopefully things were moving into the right direction. For good.