The young Diva pulled in to the hotel parking lot after thirty minutes of driving. Her phone began to ring as soon as she put the car into park. She took her phone out and saw Bradshaw's name flash across the screen. She sighed in frustration as she let the call go to voicemail. Knowing that this was going to be an ongoing problem she turned off her phone and placed it back into her pocket. She made her way to the hotel room to pack her belongings. Once she finished. She grabbed her bag about to head out when she spotted Bradshaw's shirt on the bed. She grabbed it and brought it to her nose. The scent of his cologne filled her nose as the tears threatened to start again. She quickly put the shirt down, grabbed her bag and left. She didn't want to risk being here when Bradshaw came in. It would just be too awkward for her to handle. He had hurt her too badly to even consider staying in a relationship with him. Maybe some would argue that he didn't mean it, but if it was going to be a pattern, it was better to break the relationship to avoid any further heartache. She made her way to the front desk where a very pretty, cheery woman greeted her,
"Good evening Ma'am, how may I help you?" Krystina plastered a smile,
"Good evening to you as well. I am Krystina Jolene Benoit I was in room 222. I am ready to check out." The woman looked at the list,
"Ah yes Ms. Benoit here you are on the list!" She frowned, "But it says here that you're checking out tomorrow…"
"Unforeseen Circumstances are having me leave earlier." The woman nodded,
"Ah! I understand! Will Mr. Layfield be leaving with you as well?" Krystina felt her insides tighten at the mention of Bradshaw,
"No. He will not be joining me. He will leave tomorrow morning." The woman nodded,
"I see. " There was silence between the two women as the desk clerk finished checking Krystina out. After a few moments the woman smiled and looked up at her,
"Thank you for your patience Ms. Benoit. You are successfully checked out. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Krystina smiled a genuine smile this time,
"No, that will be all. I appreciate your help." The woman nodded,
"It was a pleasure Ms. Benoit. May you have a safe trip." Krystina smiled and said her goodbyes. She walked off to her car. Once she loaded her bag into her car, she jumped in and took off towards the next destination. As she was driving, the silence in the car was driving her insane. She turned on the radio to help her relax.
Bradshaw and Farooq pulled into the hotel parking lot and parked. They had tried to call her various times during the drive, but all they got was her voicemail. They rushed into the hotel up to Bradshaw's room. Bradshaw was saying a silent prayer that he would find her in the room, asleep and not on the road like her father claimed she was. When they opened the door, they saw that the room was unoccupied. Bradshaw looked over to where they bags were and saw that only his was left. He grit his teeth as he realized that Krystina had already left,
"Fuck, we're too late!" Bradshaw shouted. He felt like punching a hole in the wall but he didn't want to pay for damages. Farooq put his hands on each of Bradshaw's shoulders,
"I'm sorry man, we tried. Look, she just needs some space. I'm pretty sure she'll come back." He squeezed his shoulders, "Come on, how about you and me hit the bars and get some drinks?" Bradshaw shook his head,
"I don't want to go out. I'm too tired…" He lied. Farooq knew he was lying but didn't want to upset him further,
"If you change your mind, you've got my number." Bradshaw smiled a weak smile,
"Thanks man. You're a good friend." Farooq cocked an eyebrow,
"I'm your only friend." Bradshaw laughed,
"You may be right on that one." He heard his phone go off and hurriedly grabbed the phone. He flipped open his phone hoping that it was Krystina,
"Hello?"
"John? It's me Felicity. Listen, I just tried calling Krystina but it went straight to voicemail. I'm really worried. She's never turned off her phone before…" Bradshaw sighed,
"I'm worried too. Farooq and I are in the hotel room and her bags are gone. I don't know how long ago she left so I'm assuming that she's too far to catch up with now. When we head there in the morning we'll find her and talk to her. Just try to get some sleep, ok? I'll talk to you later." Bradshaw hung up and sighed. He turned to his friend,
"Either Krystina shut off her phone or she's in an area that doesn't have any service because it's going straight to voicemail." Bradshaw ran his hand through his hair in frustration. That woman was going to be the end of him or was going to drive him to madness. He snapped back to his senses,
"Hey, man I'll be ok. Go ahead with your plans. I'm really tired so I'm just going to go to sleep." Farooq seemed hesitant to go, but Bradshaw convinced him to go. Once the door closed Bradshaw sank down in the bed, feeling defeated. His mind kept traveling back to the happier times the two of them had. He couldn't help himself but think of her smile, her touch, and the touch of her lips against his. He closed his eyes as the memories of her tears, and her running away came flooding back. His hands subconsciously gripped the bed sheets tightly, "Oh for fuck's sake!" He grabbed his phone and dialed her number again. Once he got the voicemail, instead of hanging up, he waited until her voicemail message to come on,
"Hi!" He heard Krystina's voice come on the phone, "You've reached Tina Benoit. I'm sorry I'm unavailable to take your call but if you leave your name number and a brief message, I'll get back to you as soon as possible! Thank you and have a nice day!" The machine then beeped as Bradshaw opened his mouth to start leaving a message, but as soon as the beep sounded the words died in his throat. He sighed and hung up the phone. Pausing for a moment, he got up and dialed the phone again, this time dialing his friend,
"Hey, I changed my mind. I'm going to the bar. We are you guys at?" He got the name of the bar and called a taxi to take him there.
After hours of driving Krystina finally saw the sign of the hotel the wrestlers were assigned to stay at. Relieved that she made it, she pulled into the parking lot and parked her car. She went to the front desk to check herself in. The young desk clerk was very friendly as he was checking her in,
"Ms. Benoit, will this room be occupied by one or two guests?"
"Tw-I meant to say that only one guest will stay in the room." She corrected herself. Inwardly she kicked herself. The young man gave her the room key and thanked her for staying at the hotel. Krystina nodded and walked off, dragging her suitcase behind her. Once she got to her room, she quickly got herself ready for bed. She was exhausted from traveling such a long distance. She looked at the clock and realized that it was three in the morning. Luckily she had the day off and would not have to perform until tomorrow. Then once the show was over she would be flying home to Georgia to see her Mom and little brother. She fell asleep dreaming of her lost love and wondering what he was doing at that very moment.
Bradshaw stumbled into his room, drunk. He had partied hard with his friends and fellow wrestlers until the wee hours of the morning. It was a miracle that he had not brought a ring rat to the hotel room. There were countless girls who were hitting on him at the bar but he really wasn't up for it especially with the current situation that was going on. He successfully stumbled his way to bed when an idea came to him. He pulled out the phone and dialed Krystina's number. Once the machine picked up he waited patiently for the beep. Once they beep came he started to talk, and once he did, he could not stop talking. Once he finished, the alcohol took its effect and he passed out in a deep sleep. He started tossing and turning on the bed until he opened his eyes and saw deep blue eyes staring back at him. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, "Tina?" He called out in astonishment. There was the six foot diva lying in bed with him. He couldn't believe his eyes,
"Baby, I can't believe you're here. I thought you went to South Carolina." She shook her head,
"I almost did. But I couldn't stay away from you. I'm sorry I made you worry." He shook his head as he brought her to him,
"It's okay baby, you're here now that's all that matters," He tilted her chin up and he looked into her eyes,
"Tina, I love you." He leaned in to kiss her. She slowly moved in to kiss him,
"I love you too John, but you need to wake up."
He sat up violently as his alarm clock brought him to the real world. Panicked, he turned to look at the bed next to him and to his disappointment he saw that it was unoccupied. He slammed his fist into the bed,
"God damn it woman, the things you're doing to me!"