Chapter 5
"Ready to go?"
Zelia nodded, walking toward Glen in the hotel lobby with bags in hand, ready to hit the road. She changed into a pair of tiger striped fleece pajama pants –Tigers were her favorite animal- and a long sleeved black top, a black hooded sweatshirt over it. Snow began falling shortly after arriving at the hotel, so Zelia knew she had to bundle up for the trip. Her black hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, black gloves on her hands and her feet were encased in black fuzzy moccasin boots.
"Are you sure you want to drive?" Zelia asked, feeling guilty she extended his invitation to Glen and sighed when he nodded. "You don't have to…"
"Yes I do. You need to sleep and I'm still wide awake. It's not that far of a drive." Glen assured her, his attire simple black sweatpants with a long sleeved grey sweater, his hair pulled back in a low tail. "Now stop tryin' to change my mind, woman. It's not gonna work."
Rolling her eyes, Zelia walked past him out the door and yelped when Glen smacked her backside, shooting him a playful glare. "I'm not into foreplay with a married man, Jacobs." She smirked, hearing him growl and laughed, dodging another smack. "Now what would Crystal have to say about this?"
"You're askin' for it." Glen grunted, opening the passenger door for her and took her bags, tossing them in the backseat along with his.
"Always."
A few minutes later, they were on the road heading toward the I-95 North toward Bridgeport, Connecticut. Glen waited until the temperature gauge in the SUV to move before turning the heat on, not wanting cold air blasted on him. He sighed at the warm air flowing through the vents and Zelia positioned the seat back, curling up against it. Once her hands didn't feel like ice cubes anymore, Zelia took them off and stared out the window, her thoughts shifting to Jon.
What was she going to do about him? Zelia couldn't run from him forever unless she left the WWE altogether. There was no way she'd ever give her job up, not for anyone or anything in the world. Her problem was she was afraid of rejection because she missed Jon so much. It physically hurt her every time she watched him on the monitor or caught a glance of him in the cafeteria or hallways. Zelia was scared and didn't know if she could handle Jon walking away from her, frowning at the possibility.
"So, somethin' interestin' happened tonight after the show." Glen said, breaking the silence between them as the radio played very softly through the speakers.
"Like what?" She asked quietly, turning her head to look at Glen with curiosity swirling in her jade eyes.
"Well, you know who the Shield is right?" Glen decided to play dumb for the moment to see how long it took Zelia to come clean about Jon. "Two of the guys in that group came to my dressing room."
Slowly sitting up straight, Zelia shifted to fully face him and folded her arms in front of her chest. "What about them?" Her tone was blunt and even, lips pursed tightly together.
"One of them in particular asked about you. The blonde, Jon I believe his name is? He asked if you were okay because he'd heard about the attack with Orton. I told him you were fine and to leave you alone tonight since you had work to do. Seems like he knew you, care to explain?" He kept his tone calm and soft, feeling the tension fill the SUV.
Zelia breathed a little easier and lowered her eyes from Glen to her lap, closing her eyes briefly. "Do I have to?" She murmured, wrapping her hands together nervously.
"No, but I do admit I'm intrigued. I wasn't aware you knew any of the new blood."
"Jon and I go way back." Zelia admitted, figuring it wouldn't hurt to tell Glen about her past with Jon because maybe he could give her advice on what to do.
"So what happened?"
For the next hour, Zelia explained everything about Jonathan Good. From the time she first met him in HWA to when she'd been released due to the harsh economy. Glen asked a question every couple minutes during the explanation, mostly the same thing Valisa had asked her when she first found out. The sparkle and life in Zelia's eyes was something Glen had never seen in all the years he'd known Zelia and knew it had to do with Jonathan Good. She was in love with the man and it seemed as though Jon felt the same way about her because of how worried he was about Zelia earlier that night.
When Zelia finished her explanation and stories, Glen remained quiet for a little while, letting everything he heard sink in. "So, let me see if I've got this right and you can interrupt me if I say somethin' wrong. You got fired from Heartland Wrestling Association because of a bad economy supposedly and then left without sayin' a word to anyone, includin' Jon? And now you're terrified of what the consequences will be once you finally tell him the reason you left because you think he hates you, correct?"
"In a nutshell, yes."
Glen shook his hand and reached over, grabbing her hand squeezing tightly. "Zel, what makes you think that man hates you? What happened wasn't your fault. Granted, it was shitty that you left him high and dry without an explanation, but it was a bad situation back then. He has no idea why you left and, until you tell him, you'll never be at peace with yourself. And for the record, he doesn't hate you."
"How can you be so sure?" Zelia blinked as huge tears slid down her cheeks, looking down at their clasped hands and sniffled, wiping them away.
"Because you didn't see the amount of worry in the man's eyes tonight when he came to check on you. He cares about you, Zelia." Glen said truthfully, being completely honest with her and felt his chest tighten at her tears. "Please don't cry, you know what that does to me. I can't handle you cryin'. Tears me up."
"Sorry." Zelia mumbled, pulling her hand out of Glen's to wipe her tears away with the sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt. "So you think I should talk to him?"
"Yes, runnin' away isn't gonna solve your problems. Just talk to him and make it clear that, if he hurts you, he'll have to deal with me personally." Glen had to add that stipulation in there, acting like the protective big brother Zelia needed in her life. "That goes for Valisa too with the other one."
"Ah yes, Joe I think his name is. I'll be sure to relay the message to her, Big Red." She winked, trying to ease the tension in the SUV and squeezed his hand this time. "Thanks for your help. I knew you'd help me see the light. I'll give it a couple more days and then track him down."
Unbeknownst to Zelia, Glen knew about Valisa's planned surprise meeting with Jon and Joe later that day. That's why he wanted to try softening the blow as much as possible without giving anything away. He succeeded and managed to get the full story as well regarding Jon and Zelia's past, mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done. Glen would have to thank his best friend, Mark Calaway, the next time they saw each other, which would be soon since WrestleMania season was upon them.
45 minutes later, they arrived at the hotel and Glen wasn't surprised to see Zelia had fallen asleep. Crying always wore her out. He couldn't remember the last time he saw this woman cry since she was usually so full of life and fire. Sighing, he made a quick decision and grabbed their bags from the backseat before carefully maneuvering her into his arms. It wasn't the first time Zelia bunked with him and Glen knew it wouldn't be the last as he carried her inside the hotel, retrieving his keycard from the front desk.
Later that day, Zelia woke up to the sound of her blaring cell phone and groaned, putting a pillow over her head. When it kept ringing, Zelia growled and slowly pushed herself up from the bed, letting out a long yawn. Her blurred vision cleared and Zelia could smell the coffee brewing, wondering what time it was. She flipped her phone open and saw it just turned noon, the missing calls being from Valisa naturally. Glancing around the room, Zelia spotted a few things sprawled around the room and it dawned on her she'd stayed in Glen's room. She didn't remember falling asleep in the SUV, but apparently it happened.
"Not mad at me are you?" Glen asked, walking out of the bathroom with a pair of blue jeans on, brushing his teeth.
"No not at all." Zelia stretched her arms in the air and let out another yawn, standing to walk over to the mini kitchen where the brewing coffee called to her. "I officially love you for having coffee ready for me."
Glen smirked, kissing the top of her head. "I figured you'd need it since you have to shop with Valisa today. I'm glad I'm not you."
Zelia chuckled, filling the cup halfway with sugar before adding the black liquid, the smell pure heaven. "What?" She demanded when Glen just quirked a brow down at her.
"Don't you think that's a little too much sugar?"
"No, I like a little coffee in my sugar, Big Red." Winking, Zelia sipped her coffee and sat back down on the bed, flipping her phone open again to call Valisa back.
"Where the hell have you been?" Valisa demanded, sounding a little out of breath. "Are you in Bridgeport? Because the hotel doesn't have you in their system since you didn't check-in this morning. Did you decide to go back to the hotel in Newark?"
"Woman, one question at a time." Zelia grumbled, already feeling a headache approaching and smiled when Glen handed her a bottle of aspirin. 'Thank you.' She mouthed, popping two Ibuprofen and downed them with some coffee. "I stayed with Glen last night."
"She fell asleep and I didn't want to wake her up!" Glen called loud enough so Valisa could clearly hear him through the phone, pulling a red shirt on.
Zelia put Valisa on speaker phone, trying not to look amused as Valisa scolded Glen angrily. "Well thanks for telling me, Big Red. I thought something happened and Orton got his hands on her again! You could've at least sent me a text message letting me know you two made it safely. I barely got any sleep because of this!"
Glen sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sorry Valisa." He muttered, walking around the bed to grab his shoes.
"You should've known I was safe since I was with Big Red anyway, Vali." Zelia added with a smirk, leaning back against the bed trying to wake up a little more. "So I take it you arrived?"
"Yeah, I drove last night." There was no way Valisa could tell Zelia about her ride with Joe and Jon. "It wasn't that long of a drive and I didn't want to miss our opportunity to shop today."
"Fine, come up to Glen's room because I just woke up and I still have to get ready. We can order breakfast and then head out." Zelia suggested, making it sound more like an order than anything since she wasn't nowhere ready to go out in public at the moment.
"382." Glen said helpfully, squeezing Zelia's shoulder briefly. "Order whatever you want and put it on my tab. No arguments."
"You don't have to…"
"I want too." Glen cut her off, holding up his hand with a smile. "I'm goin' out for my workout. I got the keycard to your room if you want it or you can stay here again tonight. But you are not drivin' after the show tonight. Don't think about it. Your choice." He walked out with gym bag in hand, heading out to meet Bryan for their workout and to talk about work.
Zelia sighed, standing up with her coffee to walk over to stare out the balcony window. "He can be such an ass at times."
Valisa giggled, already on her way up to Glen's room since she was on the floor below them. "Yeah, he means well though and he's worried about you. We all are, sweetie."
"I know, I'm gonna stop running from Jon. I just need to find the right time to talk to him. Maybe in a few more days." Zelia hoped, drawing her eyebrows together worriedly.
Valisa knew today while they shopped would be the right time due to her surprise plan. Jon was tired of Zelia running away from him and Valisa was putting a stop to it. She just hoped Zelia forgave her for conspiring with Jon to get her to talk to him and realized she was only trying to help. Glen agreed with the plan because he didn't want Zelia driving at night anymore, not with how tired she'd been earlier that morning when they left Newark. If she'd been driving, Glen was sure she would've crashed and that scared Valisa more than words could say.
"I'm here, now open the door."
Snapping her cell phone shut, Zelia walked over to open the door for her friend and accepted a small embrace. "I'm finishing this and then hopping in the shower to wake up more. You can just order me the usual breakfast special they have, no sausage though. Get whatever you want. And I'm paying for it whether Glen likes it or not." Zelia hated having stuff paid for her, feeling like a charity case and gestured toward the small kitchen. "There's coffee if you want some too."
"Oh good! Now get moving, I want to get busy since we have a lot of places to go and not much time."
"One of them is Yankee Candle right?"
Valisa nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Absolutely. Now go."
Smiling, Zelia closed the bathroom door behind her and turned the shower sprays on, shedding her clothes. The hot water instantly cascaded down her body as she looked at her upper arms, seeing the fingerprint bruises from Randy the previous night. She could've killed him for marring her skin, scowling and proceeded to scrub every inch of her body until it felt raw. The feeling of that bastard anywhere on her body made Zelia feel physically ill. If he made another move toward her and didn't maintain his distance, he would lose his balls next time.
An hour later, dressed in a pair of dark grey pants with a dark grey and black long sleeved top, Zelia was ready for the shopping trip. She wore black steel toed knee high boots with the pants over them, refusing to slip and crack her backside on the ice outside. She left her black hair down, curling it at the ends for style and outlined her jade orbs with thin black eyeliner, clear gloss painting her lips. Zelia grabbed her black winter coat and gloves, slipping them on while walking out of the hotel, purse in hand.
"First stop, Target." Valisa announced, putting the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot, deciding to make Yankee Candle their last stop so they at least got most of the Christmas shopping done.
Valisa could only hope she did the right thing by helping Jonathan Good, not wanting her friendship with Zelia wrecked over this.