Chapter 7

After Target, Bath & Body Works, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart and some clothing stores, Valisa and Zelia finally made it to the Yankee Candle store around 4 PM. They actually arrived just minutes before Jon and Joe, which Valisa was thankful for. It would've been awkward to walk into the store and run into the guys. The back of their car was filled with bags from every store, both women having no idea how they were supposed to send it all to their respective families.

Valisa stood beside Zelia while they both tested scents on various candles, trying to decide what to buy their loved ones. "Ooo this one is making me hungry." She stated, holding it up to Zelia's nose.

"Christ, what is that?" Zelia snatched it from her and saw it was a sugar cookie scented candle. "That's Christmas related right?"

"If you can't add sugar cookies to the holidays, hell has officially frozen over." Valisa joked, both girls sharing a laugh. "Have you found any scents?"

"Yeah, I really like this Christmas tree scented one. I think my Mom will like it." She held it up to Valisa, giggling when the woman started gagging and rolled her eyes, placing it in the basket draped on her arm. "I'm also getting a pumpkin pie scented one for me since I love it."

"I prefer cinnamon." She held up a box of tea light candles to emphasize her point, cinnamon scented naturally.

"Not surprising." Zelia snorted, turning her back to the double doors to look at another candle that caught her eye.

The bell dung overhead as Jon and Joe stepped inside the store, both scanning it for the women. Joe spotted Valisa instantly and squeezed Jon's shoulder briefly before heading in her direction with a smile. Valisa looked up and felt her eyes widen, looking at the watch on her wrist. They were 5 minutes early. Her ocean blues looked past Joe and spotted Jon, swallowing hard as he started heading toward Zelia.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea…" Valisa whispered, chewing her bottom lip and headed toward the checkout line with Joe on her heels.

"Little late to back out now, don't you think?" Joe retorted, his mouth right by her ear as they both watched the scene unfold between Jon and Zelia.

Zelia opened the lid on the Merry Christmas scented candle, a special Yankee always had whenever the holidays rolled around and frowned, immediately putting it back on the shelf. She had no idea who stood behind her, too engrossed in the candles and picked up another one, sniffing it. Her sister was very hard to shop for when it came to candles because her taste constantly changed. Shaking her head, Zelia placed it back on the shelf and went on to the next one, wondering if she'd have to delve into the more traditional scents.

"Try this one."

Every part of Zelia's body froze as soon as she heard that voice behind her. It was a good thing she wasn't holding a candle or else it would've shattered to the floor at her feet. What the hell was Jon doing here? Her breathing turned somewhat labored and Zelia shut her eyes, the unmistakable musky scent of Jon surrounding her. Swallowing past the lump suddenly forming in her throat, Zelia knew she couldn't bolt from the store and would have to face him. Zelia slowly turned until jade locked with bluish grey eyes, the most unique shade she'd ever seen on a man and felt the breath temporarily leave her body. He looked amazing with the same boyish haphazard hair and handsome features.

"What scent is it?" She asked quietly, taking it from him and sniffed, reading the candle. "Hmm red apple wreath? That's interesting…" Zelia added it to her basket and could feel the butterflies swarming her stomach, heart pounding vigorously. "What are you doing here, Jon?"

"Got tired of you giving me the slip and decided to hunt you down." Jon replied nonchalantly, hiding the pain and hurt in his eyes. "We really need to talk, Zelia."

"I know…" Zelia whispered, lowering her eyes from his and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing nervously.

Jon stepped forward, reaching out to lift her chin until tear-filled jade eyes met his again, sucking in a sharp breath. "Go pay for the candles and meet me outside." He released her abruptly, not giving her a chance to say anything else and walked out of the store, needing air.

Frowning, Zelia wasn't ready to talk to him and didn't know what to do, knowing this place had no idea back entrance. Glancing over at the checkout line, Zelia spotted Valisa and the Shield guy talking, jade eyes narrowing. Did she have something to do with them being here? Zelia stalked over to where they stood and set the basket on the counter, folding her arms in front of her chest looking positively livid.

"Excuse us." She ordered the big man gravely, eyes never leaving a sheepish looking Valisa.

"I'll be out in a minute." Valisa assured Joe, keeping her voice quiet and hoped Zelia wasn't about to embarrass her in the store.

Joe nodded, kissing the top of her head and walked out without a word, standing beside Jon.

"What are they doing here?" Zelia demanded in a deceptively low tone while the cashier busied with other customers.

Valisa couldn't meet Zelia's eyes. "I was worried about you…"

"So you help the man I've been avoiding?" Zelia refused to make a scene and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Vali, I'm not ready to talk to him yet. Don't you get that? I'm not ready…"

"Will you ever be ready, Zelia?" Valisa shot back, ocean blues icing over slightly. "I mean, you've been putting your safety in jeopardy by leaving to travel to the next town the company goes to just to get away from him. Glen told me you were dead on your feet last night and, if you drove here alone, you would've crashed your car. I refuse to stand by and let you torture yourself like this just because you can't talk to a man. It's not happening anymore. You need to talk to him and settle things once and for all. Because whether you like it or not, you two are stuck in the same company and I have a feeling he's going to be around for a very long time with Joe and their other Shield comrade. They are here to stay."

Blinking, tears slid down Zelia's cheeks as she looked away and swiped them hastily. "I just hoped for a few more days. He'll never forgive me for what I did…" She muttered, feeling Valisa's arm wrap around her shoulders and leaned against her, sighing heavily. "No more running?"

"No more running." Valisa conceded softly, nodding and squeezed her again. "Joe is gonna take me out for a quick bite to eat. You can take the car with Jon so you two can have this talk somewhere privately." She slid the keys into Zelia's hand and closed her fingers around them. "Just give him a chance."

Nodding, Zelia stepped up to the counter and paid for her candles, watching the cashier wrap them up in paper so they didn't break. She got some information on how to package them safely since they were Christmas gifts for her family. Once she wrote everything down on a small pad of paper, Zelia slid it in her purse and took her bag of candles, stepping to the side while Valisa paid for her items. She couldn't walk outside without her friend and noticed Jon had a cigarette lit, fighting back a smile. Some things truly never changed, not even after nearly 7 years.

"Let's go." Valisa took her bag and looped her arm through Zelia's, just in case the woman decided to become a flight risk.

Once they were outside, Valisa left Zelia's side and took Joe's extended hand, both of them walking away toward his rental SUV. Zelia felt like a regular fish out of water as she stood there with Jon, both of them not having a clue what to say to the other. Jon took the final drag of his cigarette and flicked it in the parking lot, the smoke filtering out of his nose and mouth. Zelia's eyes snapped down to the keys in her hand as soon as Jon turned to look at her, clearing her throat.

"Valisa gave me the keys to her rental. And this isn't the type of conversation to have outside of a store." Zelia said quietly, her black hair fanned all around her as the wind picked up slightly.

"Lead the way." His voice remained low and soft as Jon followed Zelia to the rental car, admiring how the dark grey pants hugged her lower half perfectly.

Once both were inside the car, Zelia set the bag carefully in the backseat and started the ignition, turning the heat on. "Where do you wanna go?" She asked, buckling up while he sat there, leaning back against the seat getting as comfortable as he could.

"Depends, how bad is this talk gonna be, Zelia?" Jon looked at her, noticing she kept avoiding eye contact with him and suddenly had his answer. "Just go back to the hotel. We can talk in my room if you want."

"Are you sure?"

Jon nodded, waving his hand at her to drive and turned his eyes to stare out the window. Zelia did as she was told and arrived at the hotel faster than she would've liked. Before she knew it, they stood outside of Jon's hotel room and he unlocked the door, waiting for her to enter first. He wasn't taking any chances, knowing she could bolt away from him at any given moment. Zelia stepped inside without hesitation and looked around the suite, tensing as the sound of the door closing behind her echoed ominously around the room.

"Nice room." She commented, slipping her purse from her shoulder and set it on the dresser, avoiding the bed at all costs.

"It works." Jon shrugged, sounding indifferent and could feel the anxiety seeping from Zelia, eyebrows furrowing together. "Zelia, there's no reason to be nervous. It's Jon, the guy you once thought of as one of your closest friends. Do you remember that? Or have you shut those memories out?"

"I deserve that." Zelia knew Jon was never one to sugarcoat anything he said, one of the many things she loved about him. "Jon, I'm sorry…"

"No, I don't wanna hear that shit. Not anymore." Jon stated, letting some of the hurt and anger percolate into his tone. "I want an explanation. I wanna know why you gave me your damn number and didn't answer the phone when I called. I wanna know why you left HWA without a fucking word, not even a letter. I wanna know why you cut off all communication with me and made me think you disappeared off the face of the fucking earth. I wanna know why you're working for the WWE and didn't even have the balls to tell me about it. I want the truth, Zelia, and we're not leaving here until I get it."

Zelia cringed, already feeling tears sting her eyes and felt Jon standing right beside her, breathing down her neck. "I was scared to talk to you." She admitted, staring straight ahead and felt him press her against the glass balcony door.

"Why?"

"Because of what I did." She replied, finally meeting his eyes and felt a few tears slip from the corners of her eyes.

"Tell you what? Why don't you tell me what you THINK you did and I'll let you know if it's worth feeling scared or not?" Jon suggested, feeling the urge to light up a cigarette and didn't pull away from her, not for a second. "Why is it so hard for you to talk to me? Me of all people, Zelia? We used to be able to talk about every damn thing on the planet and now suddenly you're this cowardly shell of a woman I used to know. Stop running away from me. Start from the beginning and tell me what the hell happened."

"Y-You have to understand, I didn't want to leave…" Zelia stammered, breathing heavily because of how close Jon was and could only stand there while he pressed against her, feeling the heat radiating from him. "I didn't want to leave you."

"But you did." Jon pointed out, running his fingers down her shirt clad arm. "And I wanna know why."

Feeling her mouth go dry, Zelia couldn't deny him anything and took a deep breath. "The night you had that brutal match and I helped you back to the hotel, you were completely out of it. You didn't realize I was supposed to stay at the arena and help take the set down." She pushed away from him, feeling the anger filing her body at what happened. "There's a reason I went back to the hotel with you, Jon. There's a reason I was waiting for you after your match, it wasn't coincidental."

"Go on." Jon ordered, feeling the tick in his jaw tighten slightly.

Zelia started laughing, the sound full of bitterness. "Isn't it obvious? Those assholes called me into the office earlier that day and claimed that because of how shitty the economy was, they had to let me go. They fired me, Jon, and I had no idea how to tell you. I tried to when I took care of you that night and made sure you got back to the hotel safely, but I couldn't. Do you understand that? It was too painful to say goodbye, especially to you."

"Those mother fuckers…" Jon hissed, bluish grey eyes turning stormy with barely contained rage as he lit up a cigarette, not caring what the hotel policy was at the moment. "No wonder I couldn't get any answers from anyone."

"A few weeks after HWA released me, I got a call from Jim Ross with the WWE and they offered me a spot on their ring crew. I have no idea how it happened since I'd never talked to anyone in the company. They got an anonymous source that called in telling them how talented I was and what an asset I was to HWA. To this day, I still have no idea who it was." It was a mystery that would forever remain unsolved, at least in Zelia's eyes, because she had no idea who would stick their neck out for her, who had enough stroke to pull it off.

Jon remained quiet for a little while puffing on his cigarette, digesting everything he heard and flicked ash in a nearby tray. "That's all well and fine, I get it, but it doesn't explain why you cut off all communication with me. Did you think I hated you for getting a job with the WWE or something? Did you think I wouldn't want to be your friend anymore just because those fuckheads let you go? You were my best friend, Zelia. Sure, you couldn't say goodbye and I get that, but there wasn't a reason TO say it because I still would've been your friend and supported whatever decision you made. Being fired wasn't your fault and yet you act like it was. I don't understand that."

"I don't either." Zelia replied honestly, standing up from the bed and tore a hand through her long black hair, looking back at him sorrowfully. "I made a mistake and I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Jon. I just want you to know that and hopefully we can somehow rekindle our friendship."

Jon blew smoke out and stubbed his cigarette out harshly, his eyes never leaving her. "What makes you think I want friendship with you, Zelia?" He retorted, fighting back a smirk when her jade eyes shot open.

"I…" Zelia felt Jon press a finger to her lips, silencing her and didn't understand what he meant by that.

A second later, Jon replaced his finger against her lips with his mouth, deciding actions spoke volumes more than words.