Tuesday 19th November

''Everything around me seems so much different than where I'm from

And at this rate I think my fate's been sealed

This life's so unpredictable

We'll go continue to live a life that no one knows

Where's this gonna go?''

Keeping her eyes on the road, Alexa reached across and skipped to the next song. Happy when something more light-hearted started playing, her hand returned to the wheel and she tapped along to the dulcet tones of Dave Grohl.

"I like that song!" Colby piped up from the back, scowling at her in the mirror.

"Driver picks the music, man."

Colby shut up at that, the four of them knowing that was one of the unspoken rules of the road. And he also didn't want to risk pissing her off, not after the foul mood she'd been in last night on the ride to Atlanta. Like a few people, he too had noticed a slight change in her demeanor of late, just small things, the argument he'd heard after the show had just confirmed that something was going on with her.

He had been tempted to ask her what was going on, but after he'd mentioned it to Jon, he was told in no uncertain terms to 'back off'. Which was fine, he could do that. But she was his friend, he cared about her and he wouldn't hesitate to say something should things get worse.

Jon glanced at Alexa before turning to his Shield teammate in the back. "Hey, are you guys still heading to Salem on Saturday?"

"Friday."

Colby scoffed at the quick correction. "Yeah, Friday. The nerd up front wants to make sure we have enough time to see everything."

"Shut up, man, you want to go just as bad as me."

The gang were headed to Boston for Survivor Series that Sunday, but Alexa had never been to Salem so she wanted to make the most of the opportunity while they were in the area.

"What's everyone's plans for Thanksgiving?" Joe questioned from the back.

"Me and Leigh are probably going to stay home, spend it there. Maybe go see my parents in the evening or something." Colby replied. "What about you big man?"

"Yeah, same, man. Me, 'Lina and Jo will spend the day with my family, then go see hers in the evening." He looked over the pair in the front. "What about you guys, staying in Vegas?"

Jon shot a sideways glance at his girlfriend, who's jaw visibly clenched at the question, before replying slowly. "I'm headed to Philly, spending it with my buddy Devon."

"You going too, Lex?"

She met the Samoan's eye in the mirror briefly, giving a shake of her head. "I don't know yet."

Colby leaned forward. "Don't you usually spend it with Vickie and gang?"

"Not this year." She snapped.

"Why n-"

"Uh... you were thinking of going to Saraya's, right?" Jon spoke quickly, cutting the other man off and trying to ease the tension before it got any worse. "So she's not all alone?"

"Yeah... Maybe. I don't know."

She glanced into the mirror, catching Colby and Joe share a look, the former muttering softly to the other before his eyes met hers in the reflection. The car quickly descended into an awkward silence, with Alexa finally reaching forward to turn the volume up, wishing that the journey to the arena went quickly.

"What was that?"

That was the first thing Alexa heard as she stepped through the curtain. Another taping, another run in to cost The Shield their match. Only this time, she was so in her head about recent events, that she missed her cue and almost messed the final few spots up.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, reluctantly meeting the confused gaze of one Dean Malenko, agent for the match that night.

"Lex, what the hell happened?" Oscar asked, stepping through the curtain behind her, closely followed by the Uso brothers.

"She already said she was sorry." Jon piped up, striding over from where he'd been deep in discussion with Joe and Colby. "Back off, man."

"Hey, come on. I wasn't..." He looked away from Jon, trying to meet Alexa's eyes instead. "I'm just worried about you."

"Worried about me?" She let out a derisive snort. "Are you fucking with me right now?"

Sensing things were about more than just a missed cue, Jon and Jey quietly took their leave, while Dean stepped closer, aiming to get this situation under control before it spiralled.

"I don't know what's going on here, but everyone needs to calm it down, alright?"

"I'll calm it down when he drops the concerned friend act."

"I don't thin-"

"Dean." Oscar shook his head at his old friend, silently asking him to stay out of it, before he turned back to Alexa, speaking softly. "Look, you're upset, I get it. And I'm sorry, I really am. But here is not the place to be acting like a child, alright?"

Jon could tell she was close to losing it, and knew she'd regret it later if she blew up at work, so he gently laid his hands on her shoulders, speaking quietly in her ear. "Come on, babe. He's right, let's go..."

Shrugging his hands off, she turned to him with an incredulous look. He of all people knew how she had been feeling recently, yet there he was, taking Oscar's side.

Jon mentally kicked himself, knowing how it sounded. "Lex-"

She stepped back as he reached for her again, looking around to see everyone either looking at her wih concern or, in Dean's case, confusion. Her eyes met Oscar's one last time before she stormed off.

I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it like that - Jon.

What's this I hear about you going off on Malenko tonight? - Phil.

Where are you? - Jon.

Where the fuck are you? We're worried! - Colby.

Babe - Jon.

Hey, Jon rang me asking if I've heard from you, everything okay? - Chris.

Alexa stopped scrolling through her messages after that, even though she could see there were several more worried ones from Jon. Which probably made her the biggest asshole ever, but she was beyond caring at that point. All the alcohol had probably been a contributing factor to that.

Right after the mini-confrontation at Smackdown, she'd marched back to the locker room, grabbed her gear and headed back to the hotel. Then she'd proceeded to pack up all her stuff from her and Jon's hotel room, left, and checked into a hotel room down the street. He'd understandably be pissed, but she just needed to be alone right now and she hoped he'd understand that.

The barman in the hotel bar had been eyeing her since she'd walked over, and she wasn't sure if it was because he recognized her, or because he was worried about the woman necking vodka on a Tuesday evening. Whatever it was, she was just thankful he hadn't refused to serve her.

A buzz from the counter in front of her alerted her to another text, from Oscar this time, which she steadily ignore and took another swig of her drink instead.

Deep down, she knew she was acting like a brat. It wasn't Oscar's fault that any of this had happened, but she couldn't help feeling so... betrayed. Not just by him, but by everyone. It was made worse by the fact that the two people she was most angry at, her dad and Eddie, weren't around to explain themselves. And they never would be. It wasn't something she could see herself ever getting over and she didn't know how to handle things. Hence, the alcohol.

"Hey." She called, louder than she intended, to get the barman's attention. "Do you do food this time of night, or?"

The man shook his head, offering her an apologetic smile. "We stopped serving food a few hours ago."

"Well that fucking sucks..." Grumbling to herself, she lifted the glass to her lips to take another swig, almost choking on the liquid as she felt someone give her a light clap on the back. Spluttering, she turned around to find April standing behind her with a shit-eating grin on her face. "What the fuck, Ape, I could have died."

The small woman snorted, hopping up onto the bar stool next to her. "Hardly."

"What are you doing here?"

"They double booked my room at the other hotel, I had to book in here. I was just coming down to get some ice, then I saw you. Figured I'd come over and grace you with my presence." It wasn't a complete lie. She had happened upon her by chance. The rumors making the rounds backstage about Alexa having lost it in Gorilla that night just made her more inclined to check up on her friend. "You doing okay?"

"Never better."

"Well, that's clearly bullshit." April replied, eyeing the glass in front of her with disdain.

"Hey, if you were me, you'd be drinking too." She shot back bitterly. "Trust me."

The other woman remained silent for a while, churning the words over in her head before finally speaking. "Lex, you know me, I'm not one to judge, or to tell anyone else how to live their life. But, whatever's going on with you, just know that you've got a lot of people around who love and care about you. Don't shut those people out."

Alexa knew she meant well, but that was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. "That's kinda hard when the people who are supposed to love and care about you are the ones who caused all this shit."

April shook her head. "I don't-"

"I..." It was on the tip of her tongue. She was so close to letting it out, but telling someone other than Jon felt like a big step. One she wasn't quite ready to make yet. "... it doesn't matter."

As if she was reading her mind, April asked; "Where's Jon?"

"I'm guessing he's back at our hotel room, wondering where the fuck I am." She replied nonchalantly, reaching forward to grab her drink, a scowl crossing her features when April moved it out of her reach. "Hey!"

"You're done." She said firmly, pulling her cell from her pocket and scrolling through to find Jon's number. "I'm texting Jon to let him know you're safe, then we're getting you back to your room and you're sleeping this off."

"Bu-"

"No buts."