Chapter 22

Three months passed since Layne and Randy admitted their feelings and got everything out in the open. It was like Randy was destined to be with Layne, that she was meant to meet him. They fit perfectly and Randy was getting closer to Reed. Her daughter absolutely adored Randy and not just because of wrestling, but looked at him as a father figure.

For Reed's eleventh birthday party, Randy surprised Reed by having her party in an empty arena with the ring set up, all of the WWE Superstars invited. It had truly been the highlight of the little girl's life, something she'd always treasure, and Layne fell even more in love with him. Cody had finally accepted her and Randy being together and was actually happy for them, much to Layne and Randy's relief. Ted had finally stopped flirting and thought of Layne as a little sister since he was older than her, Reed his adopted niece. They were one big happy family and everything seemed as though they'd have a happily ever after.

Nothing could ever be this perfect however.

It was a late Friday night and Layne came back to the hotel with Reed early, not feeling very well, knowing she was coming down with something. She sighed and ordered Reed some food before popping in a movie, raising an eyebrow when she heard ringing coming from the corner in Randy's bag. He forgot his cell phone again, Layne didn't know what she was going to do with that man and walked over, picking it up and seen the caller ID, raising a slow eyebrow. Who the hell was Samantha? She flipped it open and answered it against better judgment.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" Came a slightly irritated voice. "Is Randy there?" Samantha sounded more than irritated, annoyed by the hesitant pause. "Look, ring rat, put him on the phone. Let him know his WIFE is calling and says he needs to stuff his dick back in his pants."

The phone dropped to the carpeted floor as if in slow motion, tears swelling in Layne's eyes as she stood there, the phone closing of its own accord. She blinked and felt the hot tears slide down her cheeks, covering her mouth with her hand, the feeling in her legs completely giving out. Her heart was cracking little by little until it finally shattered, causing her to bend over and clutch her stomach tightly.

Wife? He had a WIFE? He was MARRIED? Layne had been fucking a married man? This was too much as she quickly stood up and began packing their things, knowing Randy wouldn't be back for at least another hour.

"Mom, what's wrong? What are you doing? Why are you packing?" Reed demanded, walking out of her room to see what was going on, arching an eyebrow and planted her hands on her hips. "Mom, why are you crying? Who do I have to kill?" A new phrase she had picked up from Ted.

"Reed, you need to pack your things sweetie. We're leaving. We're going to see grandpa." She stated, her voice leaving no room for argument and changed out of her cotton shorts and tank top, sliding on a pair of blue jeans with a black hooded sweatshirt and black tennis shoes.

Layne didn't care if her hair wasn't brushed, fresh out of the shower, and finished packing their things before looking in the mirror. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop crying and ripped the necklace off of her neck, placing it on the dresser along with his cell phone that kept ringing. Within a half an hour, against Reed's wishes and questions, Layne was out of the hotel and in the cab heading to the nearest airport, knowing her father wouldn't mind them showing up unexpected.

~!~

"Oh man, that's not right Codes." Randy groaned as they walked into the suite, exhausted beyond belief. "Massage, I need a massage..."

"Just keep it down man; I don't need to hear anything nasty."

"That's what Beth said-" Ted grunted when he walked into Cody, who had walked into Randy. "What the fuck, man?"

Randy's sharp eyes had taken in the fact that there were things missing.

"Lay?" Cody called, his eyes narrowing as he looked around the room, raking a hand through his hair, feeling something wasn't right. "Reed?" He walked into the joining room, his heart pounding a furious tattoo in his chest, seeing their things were missing. "LAY!" His voice was rising in panic as he rushed out, stopping when he seen Randy staring down at the dresser with wide eyes. "What the-"

Ted held his hand up, shaking his head, both of them slowly backing up because it looked like Randy's head was going to explode and take half of Oklahoma with them.

In one hand, Randy was holding the necklace; in the other was his cell phone. He flipped it open, his blue eyes narrowing when he seen the number of missed calls and voicemails, all from the same person. "Samantha called." He said, his voice low, almost a hiss, knowing Layne must have answered, not entirely sure why she would take off, feeling anger beginning to build in him.

"Oh fuck."

"Samantha...your ex-wife?" Cody blinked, wondering what the hell that bitch wanted. When Samantha came to Randy over a year ago and said she was pregnant with his child, Randy decided to do a DNA test after the baby was born; only to find out the baby wasn't his to begin with. That's what made the divorce proceedings go a LOT faster and they hadn't spoken since.

Ted had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that whatever Samantha said caused Layne to take Reed and bolt, shaking his head. "Where the hell would she go?" He sighed resignedly, looking up at Cody and then back at a pissed off Randy.

"We should look in Vegas first. After that, I have no idea."

Randy was staring at the cell, finally dialing Layne's number. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when he got her voicemail and groaned, squeezing the phone in his hand. And then it ringed. "What did you say to her?" He demanded when he answered.

"Your ring whore? I just told her to put you on the phone so your WIFE could talk to you."

"My...WHAT?"

"You heard me Randy!" Samantha snapped, not happy in the slightest, rolling her eyes. "We're still married, or didn't you know?"

Ted and Cody actually FLEW out of the room when Randy began screaming at the top of his lungs, their eyes widening. "He's still married?" His jaw dropped while Cody looked like he was either going to cry or kill someone.

"No wonder she left..."

"NO, OBVIOUSLY I DIDN'T FUCKING KNOW OR ELSE I WOULD HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM AS SOON AS I FUCKING DID KNOW YOU STUPID BITCH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DIVORCED!" Randy was PISSED.

"I'm going to go try Lay again..."

Samantha giggled wickedly as she took another sip of her wine, rolling her eyes, the baby sleeping peacefully upstairs. "If you would've taken two seconds to talk to your lawyer, he would've told you that I fought against the divorce and claimed abandonment." Granted, she'd committed adultery, but that was only because Randy wasn't around to feed her cravings like a regular husband should've. "So we're still married sweet cheeks."

Ted groaned when Cody got Layne's voicemail again, holding his ears when Randy exploded again.

"ABAN- BITCH, YOU FUCKING CHEATED ON ME, NO SHIT!" Randy was pacing a hole in the carpet, his face a brilliant shade of red. "HOW IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S FUCKING HOLY DID YOU GET IT STOPPED ON GROUNDS OF- YOU'RE NOTHING, BUT A CHEATING WHORE, THERE'S NO FUCKING WAY-" He was beginning to get so pissed off he couldn't finish a sentence.

"I cheated on you because you weren't here to give me what I needed!" Samantha retorted heatedly, eyes narrowing as she set her glass of wine down on the coffee table, and stood up. "I really hope your little whore knows her place now, Randy, because if you even THINK about fighting me on this divorce, I will take you for every DIME you are WORTH! Now come home so we can work our marriage out." She wasn't backing down and she wasn't giving up on them. There was hope, she could feel it. "You left me with a child, abandonment."

Randy accepted the bottle of water Ted passed him, draining it all at once, forcing himself to calm down. He was a smart man, there was always a way through shit. Samantha however knew which buttons to push, which in turn pissed him off to no end. Nobody, absolutely NOBODY, pissed him off like this bitch did.

"That kid isn't mine, Samantha." He said calmly. "Therefore, good LUCK getting ANYTHING from me, BUT that divorce." He hung up.

Ted was smarter than people gave him credit for and didn't say a single word, seeing just how pissed Randy was. In all the time they'd spent together, Ted had NEVER seen his leader THIS angry. His eyes were iced over, shooting blue daggers at anyone and anything while clutching the necklace tightly in his hand. Cody walked in a few minutes later and Ted held his hand up, slowly shaking his head when Cody went to say something. If the man was smart, he would keep his mouth shut and try to find his sister and niece.

Cody cleared his throat, then thought twice about speaking when he seen the expression on Randy's face. Randy was his best friend, him and Ted, but he could see at this moment Randy wouldn't think twice about destroying someone. Randy just walked into his bedroom, the room he HAD been sharing with Layne. Cody and Ted both cringed when they heard something smash.

~!~

It was well in the late morning hours when Layne and Reed's plane landed in Austin, Texas, needing to make the hour drive to her father's house. He lived in the country though Layne knew this area like the back of her hand. She carried a sleeping, exhausted Reed tightly in her arms, their bags over her shoulder, and rented an Escalade before heading on the road.

Reed had screamed and carried on at her until she could no longer do it before Layne finally broke down, telling her daughter what happened. Randy was married and they didn't belong together. Reed was shocked to say the least and hadn't said another word, much to Layne's relief. They arrived around nine o'clock and Layne could see her father's car was in the driveway as she pulled in, taking a deep breath and shut the rental off. She'd called Vince, requesting sometime off for personal reasons, and looked over at Reed who was staring out the window.

"Come on sweetheart." She whispered, sliding out with her daughter just as Dusty came to the door, their eyes locking. Layne blinked and felt the tears cascade down her cheeks, lowering her head while Reed just looked heartbroken.

Dusty pushed open the screen door and held it open for them, his eyes taking in the expression on his granddaughter's face and the tears on his daughter's, sighing heavily. "Come on." He murmured, leading the way in the house, which had hardly changed in the eleven years she had been gone. The only changes were the pictures. Now they showed his children grown up, even one of her in the ring he had gotten from Cody.

"Daddy..." Layne whispered softly and felt him pull her into his strong arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and began to cry while Reed went to get something to drink. "Daddy, I'm sorry..."

She felt broken and alone, needing his comfort more than anything at the moment, knowing if she went back to Vegas, Legacy would just follow her there. Her cell phone was off and Layne was keeping it that way as Dusty guided her inside, wiping her tears away, and went to make sure her daughter was alright. She still couldn't believe she'd been fucking and had fallen in love with a MARRIED man.

Dusty guided Layne to a couch, sitting her down alongside him and shifted so he was facing her, pulling her back into his arms. He ran a hand up and down her back soothingly, letting her cry against him. "What happened, baby girl?" He asked softly, hearing Reed in the kitchen and smiled somewhat, even though the reasons were obviously bad, he was glad to have them home.

Through heart breaking sobs and scorching tears, Layne told her father everything that happened with Randy. How, for the past three months, he'd made her the happiest woman in the world and Reed loved him, even considered him her father. Then the phone call from Randy's wife on his cell that she answered...Layne barely got through the explanation before breaking down against her father, her tears coating his chest while gripping his shirt.

The subject of Reed came up and Layne finally came clean, telling her father about the rape with Damien. How she was scared, terrified, especially since Damien threatened her if she told anyone about it he would kill her. By the time Layne was done, she was exhausted and cried herself to sleep on Dusty, knowing she didn't deserve this and was blessed to have such an understanding and loving father in her life.

Dusty let her sleep on him, talking quietly to Reed when she came to sit in his huge recliner, letting her watch the television. He would wait for Layne to wake up before talking to her again. He was a thoughtful man, which had earned him the respect of his peers over and over again. And he knew Randy a little bit, the boy seemed nice enough. Sighing, he just stroked her back, staring at the TV without really watching it.

Layne ended up sleeping through the night and wasn't surprised when she woke up in her old bedroom, though the bed was bigger. Her father had upgraded it, but kept everything else the same, causing her to smile. Posters of her favorite bands adorned the walls and her clothes were still in the closet. Layne sniffled as she slowly slid from her bed and went to take a shower, the phone call running through her mind over and over again, making her cry harder.

How could she be so stupid to fall for someone like that?

Cody had been right, she should've left Randy alone. Then another question popped into Layne's mind...did Cody and Ted know all along that he was married, that he was already taken? The thought made her chest tighten and constrict with pain as she dropped to her knees in the shower, the sprays pounding on her and just sobbed her broken heart out.