Disclaimer: I only own Evie and her family.
A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, I love you all! Its been one year to the day that I've been writing this story. To everyone who has read and reviewed, I appreciate it! Heads up, this chapter skips around. The first part is the family gathering & the second part is three weeks before the wedding. Enjoy! Read & review!
"You bitch!" Evie screamed, pulling Kristen out of the chair and knocking her to the ground. "You just couldn't leave well enough alone? Kristen always has to have her way. Always has to make my life a living hell. Whatever I had you always had to have too. I can't fucking breathe with you around! Now, you go around telling everyone my private business. Something you were to know nothing about."
Evie kept hammering her cousin with left and rights. Everything that had slowly built up was slowly coming out. She had completely blacked out, forgetting where she was or who was there. Her anger had gotten the best of her and she was losing total control. Screams and curses were flying from both people.
"Grab her Paul!" Mark commanded. "She'll kill her."
Paul was quick to pull Evie off Kristen. "Calm down!" He shouted, pulling her across the room. "Relax, Evie. This isn't good for you or her."
"Let go of me!" Evie kicked and screamed. "She's done this for the last time!"
"Evelyn Grace James, your cousin is not to blame for your mistakes." Her father said, walking over to them. "This is all your fault and that neanderthal you're marrying."
She stopped screaming and glared at her father. Her face was red with anger and her heart was pounding. Clear thoughts weren't running through her head. All that was making itself known in her mind was beating on Kristen some more.
"Why are you taking her side? I'm your daughter!" Evie screamed. "It was always like this. Everyone else was put before me! You never cared for me like you did everyone else."
Richard stared at this youngest daughter, not really caring about her feelings. His concerns were that she was making a fool of herself. First, being pregnant and then miscarrying. Then, getting engaged to John. Now, attacking her cousin for no reason. All she was doing was looking out for her.
"She was looking out for you."
"No, she's a conniving little bitch!" Evie shouted. She tried to go after her again, but Paul was holding her back. "All she's ever done was to do everything in her power to make me look bad. Well, the psycho has succeeded again."
"Evie, relax." Mandy broke into the conversation. "All we wanted to do was talk to you about this. What would make you think we wouldn't care enough to hear about this? We're you're family and we love you. Everyone just has a different way of showing it."
She stood in silence, trying to gather her thoughts. Taking a few deep breaths, she felt herself relax. "Let me go, Paul. I'm fine now. I promise I won't lay my hands on anyone."
"Are you sure, Evie?" He questioned, genuinely worried about his cousin. "If you want, I can go get John and you guys can go."
"Just let me go. I'm not going until I get everything out in the open."
The remaining family members watched as Paul let her go. When she took one step towards them, everyone was quick to cover Kristen. She was shaking with fear and in tears.
All Evie could do was smirk. They were all behaving so stupidly. If anything she had deserved more than what she got. Kristen should be lucky Paul was there to pull her off. Sighing, she turned to Paul and nodded her head, silently thanking him.
He smirked back, saying he really didn't care. Its not like he had close relationship with his sister anyway. If anything, he thought she was completely unbalanced.
"If anyone ever cared for me or loved me like they say they do, then dad would be supportive of my career and who I'm marrying. Mom would be showing up to the wedding and you guys wouldn't be sitting there trying to tell me to move on." Evie replied cooly. "Then this bitch tells you something private and you all try to gang up on me. No, not happening. I'm not seven years old anymore. I'm a grown woman and I can handle myself."
"You can handle yourself? Evie, you attacked your cousin." Her mother pointed out. "Family doesn't act like this towards each other."
"Clearly, you weren't listening to a thing I just said. Not, like I should be surprised though." Evie shrugged. "The fact that you are taking her side is completely insane. None of you have heard my version of events. None of you have lived in my shoes."
"You're always playing the victim!" Richard exclaimed.
"And you're always an asshole!" Evie shot back with. "I'm sick and tired of this. I'm sick of not being able to visit my family on a regular basis because of all this fighting. I love you all to death, but I can't tolerate being treated like this anymore."
"What are you saying?" Nicole nervously asked.
"I'm saying that I'm not going to chase after you guys anymore." She whispered, looking at her family. "If you want anything to do with me then you'll accept me for who I am."
"We do, Evie." Mark jumped in.
"It doesn't feel like it."
The entire family grew silent as they digested everything she said. No one dared say a word because in some sense she was right. They couldn't disagree with her and just found themselves staring at her.
"If you excuse me, I have to go find John. We'll get our things together and we're going home." Evie started out the kitchen, but quickly turned around, her sights set on Kristen. "Stay out of my life and don't come to my wedding. I don't ever want to fucking see you again."
X
The wedding was drawing nearer and Ted was getting anxious. While, Kristen had been getting underneath Evie's skin, she was still nowhere near being his. It also helped that she hadn't been anywhere near Evie since the blow up back home.
"There's got to be another way." Ted muttered to himself.
"What's the problem, Teddy?" Cody questioned, meeting his friend halfway down the hall. "You seem real down today."
"Its nothing." Ted replied, keeping his head down.
"The plan is failing miserably, isn't it?"
"That about sums everything up."
Cody stopped in the middle of the hall, standing in front of Ted. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Ted looked at his long time friend, debating on wether or not he should go into the details of the situation. Things surely got out of hand a couple of months ago. Sighing, he decided that he needed to talk to someone who was impartial to the entire situation.
"Yeah, I do actually. Let's get going."
Fifteen minutes later the two friends were sitting in a nearby diner. After ordering their food and drinks, the two men got down to a very serious and important conversation. Time was running out and Ted was still where he had started months ago.
"She uninvited her from the wedding?" Cody was astonished. "I don't blame her for doing that. If I were in Evie's position I would have done the same thing."
"I'm still going to the wedding." Ted remarked, playing with silverware that was on the table.
"Is that really so smart? That's self imposed torture on your part." Cody pointed out. "The best thing you can do is not show up to the wedding. It'll save your heart from a world of pain. Not to mention, you won't have to lie to Kristen."
"Evie is one of the very few people I'm close too. I'm going to her wedding to support her and show her that I'm happy she's happy."
"You're really going to do that?"
Ted slowly nodded his head. "I'm going to try to do that. With everything she has been through, she deserves happiness. Who am I to get in the way of that?"
"What are you going to do about Kristen?"
"End things with her. This whole thing was a waste of my time." Ted whispered. "I should have listened when Leah told me this wouldn't work. She was right. I was just too stubborn to listen to her."
Cody listened as his friend kept rambling on. Something told the Georgia native that despite what he was saying, Ted would do something. The man was too in love with Evie to let her go so easily.
"That's it, you're done? Evie is going to marry John and you're going to sit there and let it happen."
"I don't deserve her." Ted replied, dropping money on the table. "I've got to get going. There are a few things I need to do today."
With his head down and his shoulders slumped, Ted left the diner. Defeat had taken over him and he didn't care anymore. He had his chance with her and he let it slip through his fingers. Regardless, she would still be in his life and that made him happy. Or so he thought.
X
"Three weeks until the big day." Maryse smiled. "Are you excited?"
Despite all the drama with her family and the quick planning of a wedding, she was more than excited. In just three weeks time she was set to start a whole new life. She would have the love of her life next to her every step of the way. Life couldn't have been any better for her.
"Excited doesn't even being to describe how I'm feeling. The wedding is all set. Church is reserved and the house is finished. Family is coming from every direction of the world and I couldn't be thrilled. Not to mention, I just have one more dress fitting and we're completely done."
"No pre-wedding jitters?" The blonde questioned. "Everything is good."
"None at all." Evie smiled. "For once I'm happy and nothing could ever bring me down from this high. I love John and that's all there is to it."
Maryse smiled at how happy her friend looked. It was the first time in days that she had seen a genuine smile appear on her face. It seemed like after her visit with her family that Evie had thrown herself even further into her wrestling. Her training with Ted had finally finished and Evie was throwing herself into the confines of ring time and appearances. She was even set to have a title match at the Royal Rumble.
"That's good to hear." Maryse smiled. "Are you excited for your title match next month?"
"I'm practically bursting at the seams." She laughed. "It always made me sad that I lost my first push because of my injury, but I'm happy to know that I'm getting another one. Win or lose I'll be happy and waiting for my next one."
"You'll be happy that you lost? Where's the badass bitch we've been seeing every week?" Maryse wondered. "I hope you didn't lose her in all this wedding planning."
"Nah, she's right here." Evie pointed to her heart. "Moving on, does your bridesmaid gown fit well?"
"Perfect." She smiled. "I must say, you are the first bride to pick out pretty dresses."
"That's only because my wedding dress is so badass, you guys will look gross in anything." Evie joked.
"There's the bitch." Maryse pointed at her friend, laughing in the process. "I've to to get going. We'll get that stuff in the morning?"
Evie got up and walked her to the door. "Everything is set for tomorrow. John is working out with Randy, so he won't be the least bit suspicious."
"Great." Maryse hugged her friend. "I'll see you later. Call me if you need anything."
They said their goodbyes and soon Evie was all on her own again. John was out with some of the guys and she was free to do what she wanted. Sighing, she walked over to her things and started to rummage through them until she found what she wanted. When she did, she plucked it out and held it in her hands.
"Just about everything is done." She whispered to herself, looking over the list. "Just one final dress alteration and finding someone to walk me down the aisle. Dad won't be there so I need someone else."
The idea of walking alone had dawned on her, but she didn't feel right. As she walked down the aisle she would have felt like something was missing for the rest of her life. She wanted her wedding to be perfect and in order for that to be accomplished, she needed someone there. Just that one little gesture alone meant the world to her.
Meanwhile, Ted had just gotten off the phone after a long and excruciating conversation with Kristen. Everything was done and he was now forever alone. No use in putting himself through the hell of being with her. Evie was going to marry John. It was a done deal and the most he could do was accept that.
"I want to get over her, but something won't let me." Ted spoke to himself. "Its all over. Leave my heart Evie."
Blowing out a deep breath, he grabbed his phone and sent a quick text message to her. The best way to get rid of thoughts of her was to confront her. He just needed to admit everything and be done with it. More importantly, he had to tell her he wasn't coming to the wedding. Cody's words had been stuck in his head all day and Ted ultimately decided that he was right. Putting himself through that torture was unnecessary.
"Ted!" Evie knocked on the door. "Open the door."
The text message he had sent her scared Evie to death. Forgetting about her wedding dilemma she dropped everything and rushed over to his room. Everything else could wait. Right now, Ted was her top priority.
"I'm coming." He sighed, getting up and opening the door.
When he opened the door she automatically went inside. She turned around so that she was facing him. Her worry doubled when she saw the look on his face. His lips were turned down in a frown, his eyes looked sad, and his scruff looked untamed. Forgetting everything, she pulled him into a hug.
"What's the matter, butthead?"
He pulled away from her. The worried look on her features broke what was left of his heart. "We need to talk."
"I'm listening."
"Sit down." He pointed to the bed. "You'll be here for a while and I don't want you on your feet."
When she sat down he kneeled in front of her, his hands resting on her thighs. A spark ran through his body and he looked up at her to see that she felt the same thing. Sighing, he ignored it and went on with what he wanted to tell her.
"I ended things with Kristen."
"I'm sorry, Teddy." Evie apologized, though on the inside she was jumping with excitement. "What happened?"
"That's not important." He said, then looked up at her smiling. "Like you're sorry I ended things with her. You don't care."
"I don't care about her, but I care about you." She cupped the side of his face with her hands. "Just please don't let her get you down."
Ted gently peeled her hand away from his face. She was mistaking his feelings for sorrow of breaking up with Kristen. In reality, that wasn't the case. He was upset about his most recent decisions to give Evie up and to not show up to her wedding.
"I won't let her get me down. Believe me-" He cut himself off. "Forget about her. There's something else I want to tell you, Evie."
"What is it?" Her heart started pounding into overtime. "Tell me, Teddy."
The words were heavy on his heart and his tongue. He felt like if he told her than a huge boulder would be placed on his shoulders, instead of the other way around. Knowing that he broke her heart when he told her that he wasn't coming would shatter his heart to pieces. Seeing her marry another man would kill him.
"I'm not coming to your wedding." He said it fast.
It felt like all time had stopped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The tears were starting to burn underneath her eye lids and her heart had just shattered into a million pieces. Evie thought she felt horrible when her parents said they weren't showing up. Ted not showing up even worse. It felt like a stab to her heart.
"Why not?"
"I can't tell you why."
"Like hell you can't!" She shouted, getting up. "I deserve a reason."
"I'm not coming and that's it." Ted repeated himself. "I don't have to give you a reason."
"Why the hell not?" She pleaded with him. "We've been through a lot and I at least deserve this. Its my wedding and you being there is important to me. More important than my parents."
"I just don't want to go!"
"Give me one good reason and I'll leave."
"Just leave, Evie!" He screamed.
"No!" She shouted back. "One reason, Ted. Just one reason and I'll leave you alone! What's the big deal, Ted? Tell-"
"I STILL FUCKING LOVE YOU! I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU EVIE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, placing his hands on her shoulders, he pulled her closer to him. "I'm in love with you and watching you marry John will kill me."
His sudden outburst had startled her. She wasn't expecting that. Actually, Evie was half expecting to come up with some lame half assed reason that she wouldn't ever believe.
"What?"
"I love you." He whispered, pressing his lips to hers.
A/N: Turbulence ahead? There's just a few chapters left.