"You're sending who to come pick me up?" Chris asked angrily over the phone.
"Look no one else can come get you besides Candice and Kelly. Just resist temptation." Vince stated plainly.
"Yes because that worked out so well for me in the past…"Chris ranted.
"Don't get snippy with me Chris. Be thankful that you're leaving early. I'll be seeing you tomorrow in Stanford in my office to re-negotiate a new contract for you. Ten in the morning, okay?" Vince reminded Chris.
"Yeah. Got it." Chris replied with a sigh.
Chris hung up on his boss and shoved his phone in his pocket. He didn't mind Kelly so much anymore. She had been supportive of him ever since he entered rehab. Candice on the other hand wasn't the best supporter. She was as tempting as she use to be. He'd have to work hard to resist her.
"Can you believe it. By tomorrow Denise is gonna be gone. It won't be the same." A nurse gossiped to one of her co-workers.
"What did she even do to get fired like that?" One of the nurses asked.
"You don't wanna know." The other nurse said with a wink.
"WHAT?!" Chris shouted.
The two nurses turned around to face Chris. He let his bags drop to the ground next to him. Denise did get fired. Did Ms. Banks even consider what Chris said? One of the nurses grabbed Chris's arm and led him to a bench.
"Please sit down Mr. Irvine. Take deep breaths." The nurse instructed.
"She can't be gone. No. She can't be going. It's not right. Its…it's…." Chris trailed off, not able to finish his sentence.
"Janet, get him some water." The nurse told her friend.
"I gotta go see her." Chris said, pushing past the nurse.
Chris burst back through the Promises doors in pursuit to Denise's office. He couldn't leave without talking to her one last time. But how could she have been fired? What was she going to do now? Chris ran down the hallways to Denise's office. His breath got heavier the faster he ran. Chris approached her hallway to see that her door was open. Chris sprinted down the hallway and took a sharp turn into her office. He ran his side into the edge of her desk. Chris bent over in pain as he clutched his side. Someone tapped him on his left shoulder. Chris looked back to see Denise holding a Tylenol and a glass of water.
"Take it." She ordered.
Chris took the medicine out of her hand and swallowed it dry. He waved the glass of water away. Denise set the glass on the desk and continued to pack things in a box. She lingered on a certain picture for a while. A small smile appeared on her face.
"My first picture here. Jane was talking through the whole picture about how excited she was to finally have a woman therapist in the building. Aiken was…well he was Aiken. And the person who took the picture? Your perky little nurse. God she was such a ditz." Denise reminisced.
"She still is." Chris added.
Denise let out a giggle and set the picture in the box. She cleared off the rest of her desk and looked around the room. She opened her cabinet and pulled out a black garbage bag.
"I believe that this is yours." Denise stated as she put it in front of him.
"What is it?" Chris asked.
"Everything we confiscated your first day here." She told him.
"Why are you giving me everything back?" Chris asked confused.
"At the end of every one of my patients time here I give them back all their past addictions. I give them the choice on what to do with them. Either they can toss them out and leave them in the past for good, or they can go back to what they once relied on." Denise explained.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll turn back to all these things? My drinking? My drugs? Endless one night stands?" Chris stated.
"Of course I am Chris. I'm worried for you. But if your as strong as you have me believing, you'll be able to throw all this out." Denise told him.
"I'm only this strong because you made me this strong." Chris admitted.
"I didn't make you into anything Chris. I just helped you." Denise told him.
"If it wasn't for you Denise I'd be sitting in Aiken's office taking shots of Jack Daniels. So yes, you made me strong." Chris told her.
"Is there anything else you need to say to me Chris? Cause there's two bimbos waiting out by your luggage." Denise said while looking out the window.
Chris looked out to see Kelly and Candice attempting to move his suitcases into the cab. Candice's skirt was too short for her so she tried not to bend down so far to get things. Kelly tripped over one of his bags and fell into the grass. Chris laughed to himself as he shook his head. The girls hadn't changed a bit. He turned back to Denise and closed his eyes.
"Well, is there?" Denise asked once more.
Should he tell her how he felt? Could he tell her? He never had this kind of problem with a woman before. He use to always be able to tell a woman how he felt about anything. Why was this any harder?
"No…there isn't." Chris ended up saying.
Denise sighed as she picked up her box. That wasn't the answer that she was looking for. Now she knew that she would never get that answer out of him. Denise grabbed the box from the sides and started to walk out of her old office. She turned toward Chris and gave him a weak smile.
"Good luck Chris." Was all she managed to say.
Denise walked out of the room and disappeared around the corner. Chris smacked himself on the forehead and cursed out loud. Why couldn't he tell her how he truly felt? For all he knew it would be his last chance to ever see her again. Chris ran out of the room and raced down the hallway. He ran back outside to see Kelly stuffing the last of his bags in the back seat.
"Chris!" Candice called out to him.
Candice started to run toward him, making sure not to fall in her heels. Chris ignored her call and instead looked around for Denise. She must have come out this way if she was leaving. Candice's arms were instantly wrapped around him and the smell of Clinique Happy filled the air around him. His eyes closed as he started to get lost in her. Relapse was normal, right?
"Chris lets go." Kelly told him pulling at his arm.
Chris looked up to see Kelly standing next to him. He smiled at her as he started to walk toward the cab. Candice kept her arms wrapped around him as they all walked toward the cab. Kelly opened the passenger door and Chris stepped in. Candice tried going in after him to sit on his lap but Kelly pulled her into the back seat.
"Oh Chris we missed you! It's not the same backstage without you there." Candice said smiling sweetly.
"I missed wrestling too Candice." Chris replied.
"But did you miss me?" Candice asked, leaning in toward him.
"That's enough Candice." Kelly told her.
Candice huffed as she sat back in her seat. She folded her arms across her chest and looked out the window. Chris looked out of his to see Denise driving away in her car. He pressed his hand against the window and followed her car out of the parking lot. She took a sharp right turn and sped down the road. Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He would just have to forget about her, that's all.
But it's not too easy to forget about an obsession.
xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Being on a Phantom high at 3:15 in the morning can do weird things to you. Mine has me wanting to write since I need to update anyways. So, please review!
LAST CHAPTER: We fast forward six months. How is Chris holding up since Promises? Keep reading!
