Disclaimer: I only own Evie & her family.
A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, I love you all! Well, we have long update and its packed with emotions. Flashback is italicized. I hope you guys enjoy! Read & review!
"Is a family function really the best place for you to talk about the wedding?" John asked.
"I've been trying to talk to my parents about it for weeks, but they're ignoring me." Evie shrugged. "I know my dad is still ticked off and my mom is just going along with it. We're getting married and he's just going to have to accept it. My mom did right away. My brother and sister even came around."
"You're positive you want to do this." He looked at her, trying to find any hint of doubt. "Usually you aren't this decided on things."
Ever since her and Ted had spent the day together a few weeks ago her mindset had become completely different. No longer was she unsure or relying on anybody. Her wedding was approaching fast and there was no more time for being undecided. She and John were getting married. Ted and Kristen were together. Life was going the way it was meant to be and that was final.
"I am, John. Time is running out. Everyone else in my family will be there, I just want to know if my parents will."
"Your mom will be there." John reassured her.
"No, she won't. I know how my parents work. If my dad disagrees with something, she says nothing, but goes along with it. Dad doesn't show up, then mom doesn't show up." She said, choking back her tears. "Just a fact of my life."
He gently laced his hands with hers. "They'll be there."
"I don't care. The wedding is going on with or without them." Evie wiped away the tears with her free hand. "Let's head inside. I can see my nephew peaking out at us from the window."
John only sighed as he watched her step out the car and walk up towards the house. He wondered how she could still want to be with her family. From the little tidbits he had heard from her, things didn't sound all too pleasant. If his family was anything like hers, then he would have made it a point to stay away. Then he realized something that he hadn't noticed about her before. Regardless of what anyone has put her through, Evie will always love that person.
"Its gonna be a long weekend." He muttered to himself, running his hand over his face.
X
"Don't let dad get you down, Evie." Her brother tried to comfort his little sister. "You know how he is. If he doesn't like something then he won't go through with it."
"This isn't another day at the courthouse, Mark." She retorted. "He isn't making a plea deal. His youngest daughter is getting married, he should be happy. Not trying to make any negotiations."
Mandy pushed her older brother aside, making her presence known to her little sister. "You're going to be a beautiful bride. From the very little I know about John, he's going to be a great husband. You're one lucky girl, Evie. You're about to enter a beautiful marriage and you're career is starting to take off. Life is set. With the way you have things going right now, you'll be happy for the rest of your days. Don't let dad ruin that for you."
"Shouldn't parents be happy for their kids? He doesn't like me wrestling and he's not too fond of John, but I'm happy wrestling and I'm in love with John. I'm happy. Because I'm happy, he should be happy too!" Evie exclaimed, holding back her tears. "I just don't understand what I ever did to him. He was never like this with you and Mark."
John watched as her two siblings exchanged glances. He could tell that they didn't know what else to say to her. Sighing, he walked over to them and asked if they could leave them alone. He promised to try and calm her down and be back for the family gathering.
"You and I are going for a walk." John said, helping her off the settee. "Please wipe away your tears and let me see your beautiful smile."
She kept her head down and silently left the house. She ignored family that was coming in, while John would greet them. Finally, after what felt like hours they were finally outside and at the end of the driveway.
Feeling a little bit relaxed, she wiped away her tears and made eye contact with John. Evie weakly smiled in his direction when she saw the concerned look on his face.
"Don't-"
"Shh, John. We'll talk when we get away from the house and my family." She cut him off, lacing her hands with his. "They're going to pretend that they don't see us or hear us, but in reality they're listening. I swear I have some real nosey relatives."
Nodding, he allowed her to lead the way. Silently, they walked to her secret hiding spot. At least there they would be able to get privacy.
"This place is even more serene the second time around." John commented, looking around. Sitting down, he pulled Evie onto his lap and held her. "Now, that I've beat around the bush, we can talk about everything."
"John-"
He pressed his finger to her lips. It was him who was cutting her off now. Knowing what she was going to say, he decided to beat her to the punch. Nothing was fine, it was written all over her face. She was distraught by her father's reaction. He would never say this to her, but fuck what her dad said or thought. If he was going to be like that, then it wasn't worth crying over. As he noticed earlier, Evie would always care. Despite, what she said or did.
"You can tell me that you don't care until you're blue in the face, but I won't believe you. Despite, what your dad has done, you still care about him." John started, choosing his words carefully. "I understand that he is your father and you're going to love him, but you can't beat yourself up about it. He doesn't approve, then so what. No matter the circumstances we're going to be together. Let's just move on from this and have a happy wedding."
Evie thought about what he said and she knew that he was right. Still the part of her that cared, the part she wanted to hide, made her hurt. Her own father was just hurting her in every way possible. Sighing, she looked at her fiance and knew that it was time to snap out of it.
"You're right. All of you are. The drama isn't worth it." Evie whispered. "Whether or not he's there, you and I will still be together. I'll be happy no matter what."
"You still care, don't you?"
"I do. But, I'm not going to let it affect me anymore." She promised. "At least try not to anyway."
"There's my girl." John smiled. "Should we go back?"
Getting off his lap, Evie nodded her head. Surely people had noticed them missing. Her family was quite curious to see about her and the man she was going to marry. Because nobody had mentioned much about Evie or her relationship with John, most of her family had turned up for the family event. Something that displeased her to no end.
X
The rest of the day was spent showing John off to her family. Many of her family members were quick to welcome him. Some had even warmed up to him quite fast. It made Evie feel good and even helped her forget about her troubles. At least some of her family were interested.
However, there were some who aggravated her. For example, the fake relatives she didn't really care for. Their smiles were fake and she could hear them forcing the sweetness in their tone of voice. It took all of Evie's energy to resist the urge to vomit.
"Hi again John!"
She cringed when she heard that voice. Its haunted her for most of her life and it still sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Swallowing back her true feelings, Evie turned on her heel and went to go join John and Kristen.
"Evie!" Kristen hugged her the second she came into a view. "Its been such a long time since we've talked. I didn't know you were engaged. You know, I'm surprised we don't talk more considering Ted and John work at the same company."
Noticing the frustrated look on her face, John wrapped his arms around Evie. "Relax." He whispered in her ear. "Don't let her be the cause of your frustrations anymore. That's all she's trying to accomplish here."
She nodded her head, knowing that John's words were true. Leaning into John's embrace, she smiled at her cousin. "You know how it is. I'm busy with work. Now with the move and planning the wedding I've been extra busy."
"Move?"
"John and I are moving after the wedding." She smiled. "We both figured it was time for a change in scenery."
Kristen couldn't believe that Evie was being so calm. She was really hoping that Evie would be angry or fly off the handle. Now, that she had Ted and knew that he wasn't going to go anywhere, she could turn all of her attention to making Evie's life hell.
"That's great." She looked past Evie and John to see Ted coming towards them. "Teddy, we're over here!"
A fake smile plastered across his face as he joined everyone. "How's everything going?"
John decided to be civil and not make a scene. They were all adults and could act like it. Besides, Ted wasn't the only one at fault for anything that happened. It had taken two to tango and while it would take a while, he knew he would be able to get past everything.
"Its going good."
Her heart started racing. She nearly burst at the seams when she saw Kristen push herself into Ted's arms. Inwardly sighing, she reminded herself that they were only friends now and that's how they would stay. John was who she was in love with and who she was marrying.
"I didn't know you were going to be here." Evie stated, ignoring Kristen's presence.
"I had no idea this was going on." Ted admitted. "Kristen was the one who kept talking about visiting family back home. When she said that I had no idea she meant everyone."
"That sounds like her." She broke away from John when she spotted Paul across the yard. "I'll be back in a minute guys. In the mean time, catch up or something."
Ted and John watched as she walked away, while Kristen just rolled her eyes. How was it that she could have both men drooling over her? Ted still stared at her the way they did when they were younger and John was looking at her like that too. Scoffing, she walked off, leaving the two men alone.
"She's been through a lot, Cena." Ted said, not taking his eyes off her. "When you look at her you can tell the difference between her smiles. When she's genuinely happy, her eyes are shining and you can see all her teeth from how wide her smile is. If she's feigning happiness, her eyes are dark and she gives you a non toothy smile."
"How do you know?" John wondered.
"I know that you know everything." Ted replied, his eyes still locked on Evie. A small smile played at his lips when he saw her laugh. "I've put her through enough to know when her smiles are fake and genuine. When we were younger I was a selfish jackass, I'll admit that you. John, I can sit here and lie to you, but I won't. I'll always love her, but I've lost my chance. Take care of her, Cena. With the kind of life she's had, she deserves happiness."
John only nodded his head. Ted's admission of him still loving Evie had terrified him. Out of instinct he picked his guards back up. He would remain civil, but also keep a watchful eye on Ted. Like he said before, he trusted Evie not Ted.
"I may not know as much as you do, DiBiase, but I've always intended on making her happy. Never have I hurt her since we've met."
"That's good." Ted broke his focus on Evie, turning to face John for the first time. "Because of that she'll love you even more."
John was tempted to tell Ted what he had figured out earlier that day, but he quickly decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was give the younger wrestler any ideas. He had his chance with Evie and he lost it.
"She's in good hands."
Ted only nodded his head. It was better if he left some things unsaid. There's a lot that John would find out on his own. Life with Evie was both exciting and exhausting. Good times would always be there, but she could be hard headed sometimes. That's where the trouble would come from.
"John, I'll be back." Evie came up behind Ted. "I just needed to talk to Ted about something. Will you be okay here?"
"I'll be fine, Evie. I'll go find your brother and Paul." John responded, gripping his beer bottle a little tighter. "Come and find me when you get back."
She nodded her head, slightly confused. While, his facial expression didn't show any signs of being annoyed, his voice showed it all. Shrugging to herself, she tugged on Ted's shoulder, leading him away from the party.
Sighing, John watched as they walked off. When they disappeared through the fence he went in search of Mark and Paul.
Meanwhile, Kristen had seen Ted and Evie walk off. She glared as she watched them walk off. While, she didn't hear what he had said to her, Evie's laugh annoyed her. No, she wasn't going to get away with anything that easy. Evie wanted to leave with her boyfriend, then fine. But, she would make her pay.
Grumbling something underneath her breath, Kristen turned in the direction of the house. That was where she last saw her aunt and uncle. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for what she was about to do.
X
"You still remember this place?" Ted asked amazed. "I didn't think you did."
"I take it you remember." Evie replied, looking over at him.
He nodded his head. All of the memories they had their together flashed before his eyes. This was the place where he first held her hand and where he first kissed her. He brought her here on one of their dates and they spent the night gazing up at the stars, just talking. This was also the place where he first told her he loved her and then showed her.
"Its embedded in my memory."
Silence fell between them as they both looked at their surrounding. The field that they were standing in looked very much the same. As Ted and Evie grew, this place stayed frozen in time.
"I remember when we found this place." She laughed at the memory. "We were both a little drunk and decided to take a walk."
"Some walk." Ted smirked. "We got to the school and when we realized where we were, we kept walking. Low and behold we found a field."
"I think its kind of random that we found a field."
Ted only shrugged, not really knowing or caring why they found a field. All that mattered was that they shared some special moments there and he wouldn't trade them for the world. The field held such a special place in his heart that he never brought anyone else there. To him, it was theirs.
"I never brought anybody here after we broke up." Ted whispered, lowering himself to the ground. "It would have been too painful for me."
"Why?"
"Because this was our place. It wouldn't have been right to bring anyone else here."
Sitting down across from him, Evie folded her legs to the side and locked eyes with Ted. "When you brought me here and said you loved me, did you mean it?"
"I meant every word of it." He admitted. "I know it sounds like I'm lying, but I'm telling you the truth. Back then I could be a real douche bag to you when I wanted, but despite that I loved you. There was this sort of pull that you had on me and I couldn't deny being with you. Whenever we weren't together I went crazy. I literally counted the hours or whatever amount of time there was until I saw you."
The tears started to blur her eyes. "Why did you deny the baby?"
"Like I told you before I was afraid." Ted leaned over, grabbing her face with his hands. "I will always regret what I did, but nothing can be done about it now."
"I know." She cried. "It just hurts to know all of that and then have you leave me."
"I'll never leave you again."
"Its too late, Ted."
Inching his face closer to hers, he looked her directly in the eyes. "It will never be too late. I'll always be in your life, Eves. I love you."
"You love Kristen."
"That doesn't mean I love you any less."
Nodding her head, she removed his hands from the side of her face. Instead of letting them go, she held his hands, wanting to hold onto him forever. "Never forget me, please?"
"All the money in the world wouldn't make me forget about you." He replied. "You're unforgettable."
Evie slightly smiled. "There was a reason why I wanted to come here."
"It wasn't to seduce me, was it?" Ted joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Damn it!" She cursed playfully. "You're not as dumb as you look butt head."
"I take offense to that."
He couldn't help but smile when she did. It was contagious when you were with her. What made his heart pound excitedly was that it was a genuine smile. Her eyes were bright and he could see all of her teeth.
"There was a reason why I brought you here." Her smiled disappeared and she quickly turned serious. "Have you ever felt like you were making a big mistake?"
It was on the tip of his tongue to say yes, but he changed his mind. The thought of knowing that he did mess up, hurt him everyday.
"Where's this coming from?"
Evie sighed, getting up. "Forget I said anything." She replied, dusting her butt of any dirt or weeds. "It was just something I wanted to know out of curiosity."
"You don't regret saying yes to John do you?" He questioned, getting up himself. "Evie?"
She looked up at him, trying to decide if she should go any further on the subject. Her mouth was getting ready to form words when something stopped her. A sudden memory made her change her mind.
"Are you guys together?"
"No." Evie shook her head.
"Then you haven't hurt him. As long as you two aren't in a relationship, then its nothing. He wasn't hurt and you weren't hurt. It only counts as something big if you were actually his girlfriend or something."
Evie nervously played wit her hands as she thought about what he said. She didn't want to believe that he was right, she wanted to believe it was all a load of crock. But, she couldn't. Evie knew he was right. She hadn't hurt anybody. It was strange to her that she was agreeing with him. What was wrong with her?
"What now?" She asked the age old question. The one question a lot of people want to avoid, but can't.
Ted's heart was practically in his throat. This was his chance to tell her. But, he didn't. He couldn't. Even if he did love her, he could see what John meant to her. Judging by the fact that she was beating herself up about everything, he knew John meant a lot to her.
"We stay as friends. This stays between you and I." Ted said and then added, "And Cody too."
She felt a stab in her heart.
"We could do that." Evie whispered unsure of herself.
"Then its settled. We forget about this and move on." Ted believed that this is what she wanted. However, he had missed the flash of pain and confusion in her eyes.
Bringing herself out of her reverie she changed her mind. It was nothing. She was doing the right thing in marrying John.
"No, I was just wondering is all." Evie walked off, leaving him confused as ever.
X
"Evelyn, can we please speak to you in the kitchen?"
Ted and Evie exchanged confused looks. She was a grown woman, not a child.
"What is it, mom?" Evie wondered, following her mother inside the house.
"Ted, could you please be a dear and go rejoin everyone in the backyard?" Nicole asked sweetly. "There's something I wanted to talk to Evie about alone."
"No problem Mrs. J." Ted replied, a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
When Ted was gone, Evie followed her mother in the kitchen to find her father, brother, sister, Kristen, and Paul all sitting around the kitchen table. A sinking feeling had hit her and she suddenly wasn't feeling good.
"Sit down, Evelyn." Her father pointed to an empty seat at the table. "We've been waiting for you."
"What's up guys?" She asked, unsure. "Everyone else is outside."
"They can wait." Mark replied.
"What is it?" Evie wondered, her heart thumping against her chest.
"You were pregnant and miscarried earlier this year." Her mother whispered. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Evie nearly fell out of her chair. Her hands quickly gripped the edge of the table to keep herself from crashing down. Blinking back her tears, she looked over at Kristen. Suddenly, she was filled with a new feeling. One of rage. Getting up, she walked over to her cousin and smacked her.
A/N: I leave you here. What do you think is going to happen?