CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TRIXIE

They'd landed back in the States late the night before, but Trixie wasn't much of a sleeper. Since she was up early, she decided to work out and then go get something to eat. She spotted Brandon at the restaurant.

"Hey!" He called, waving her over.

Trixie walked over to him. "Welcome back. How are you doing?" Brandon asked, pulling her into a warm, tight hug.

Trixie felt calm in his arms. Her body finally seemed to register that she was home. She allowed herself to linger there for an extra moment before pulling away and saying, "I'm okay, I guess. It was hard being there without my Grandmum, but I got to see everyone else, and that helped."

"Let me buy you breakfast."

"Oh, no, I couldn't-"

"Come on. You've had a hard week. The least I can do is feed you."

Trixie smiled at him. "Thanks, Brandon. Really."

"Anytime."

They ordered their food and made pleasant small talk. Trixie was really starting to enjoy hanging out with him. Everything seemed a little better when Brandon was around. When the conversation turned back to her family, Trixie started to feel a little overwhelmed.

"My mum is doing okay, but her dad... It's bad, Brandon. He put on a great show, but I know him. He's drinking his troubles away, but eventually, they'll start to swim," she said.

Brandon automatically reached across the table to hold her hands in his own. They were warm, strong hands and Trixie liked how they felt. She was so drawn to him, and just this simple touch was comforting.

"He'll be okay, Trixie," Brandon said gently. "He's a strong man. It's just going to take time."

She knew that was true. Her grandfather was the strongest man she knew. She nodded. Then she sent the conversation down a less depressing path. They talked for over an hour more before Brandon finally paid for their breakfast. He stood and helped Trixie to her feet. He stayed very close as they walked back toward her hotel.

Before leaving, Brandon hesitated. He leaned down and gave her a very shy, very sweet kiss on her lips before quickly pulling back. Then he stared at his feet while Trixie blushed.

Oh my God! Trixie thought. She'd kissed a couple of boys before and she'd even kissed Molly once out of curiosity, but she'd never felt... that. Whatever it was, she kind of wanted to feel it again.

"I'm sorry..." Brandon told his shoes. "I have awful timing. That was totally inappropriate..."

What would Molly do? Trixie wondered. Pull him into the room, strip him, and mount him. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't try to be Molly... It's kind of impossible to follow her lead when I'm still a virgin. Try again, Trixie...

"I understand if you don't want to talk to me," Brandon said. He started to walk away, embarrassment plain on his face.

"No, wait!" Trixie said quickly. Then she did the craziest thing she'd ever done. She grabbed Brandon and pulled him back toward her, kissing him harder than she'd ever kissed anyone before. He was stunned for a moment, but soon he was kissing her back. She'd never felt anything quite so right before.

When she finally pulled away, she looked into his eyes shyly. "Does that mean you like me?" She asked playfully.

Brandon laughed. "Yeah... Yeah, I'd say that I do." He pulled her against him, and she was relieved. She liked feeling his warmth against her body. "And you, Trixie?"

"Oh, you're alright, I guess," she teased him with a casual shrug. Brandon looked like he might pout until she laughed. "What does this make us, Brandon? I mean... How does this work?"

"Well, if you're interested... I mean, we could... You know..." He paused and shook his head. "I'm so lame. Let me try again. Trixie, would you like to go out with me?"

"I'd really like that."

He smiled. "Then it's settled." He kissed her again and Trixie decided she could get used to that.

MOLLY

Sami and Jess had dragged her to every random, weird place between New Jersey and Boston, where WWE was currently set up. As it turned out, that amounted to a lot of places. It had taken an entire extra day to make it there, and Molly was feeling much better.

"Thanks, guys," she said as they arrived at the hotel her father was staying at.

"For what?" Jess asked.

"Distracting me."

"No problem, Molly. It was fun," Sami said.

She spotted her father watching from nearby. He tried to hide the concern on his face, but she knew him too well. "I'm sorry, Sire," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to stress you out."

He hugged her tightly. "It's okay, Offspring," he said. "All that matters is that you're okay."

"I will be," Molly promised. "Going home helped. So did seeing these two goons."

"Mox!" Sami proclaimed. Molly moved aside so he could hug her father.

"Thanks for bringing her back to me," her father said.

"It was our pleasure," Jess replied.

"Stay for lunch?" Molly asked them.

"Food? You don't have to ask me twice!" Sami said. Molly relaxed in the company of her real family and tried to push her mother out of her mind completely.

NICKY

There were not enough hours in the day. Between work, traveling, training, parties he was expected to attend, and his schoolwork, Nicky didn't have any time to truly relax. In fact, he'd pretty much stopped sleeping entirely.

He downed some more coffee as he continued trying to work on a research paper for his psychology 101 class. The words were starting to blend together, their meanings lost in his head as he struggled to stay conscious.

A text message made him jump. He looked at it. Training started ten minutes ago. Where the hell are you? It was Keith.

Nicky checked the time and cursed. He'd been up all night and lost track of time. It was after two already. He pulled on his sneakers and grabbed his gear bag before heading out of the hotel. He made it to the arena in record time and hurried to change into his workout clothes. The match booked for the night was him, Keith, and Lucas against the Shield. It was literally terrifying to think they were going to fight such legends, but that was why Colby had suggested a practice session.

"Nice of you to join us, Nicky," Keith said with an eyeroll.

"Sorry. I had a paper due and lost track of time," Nicky said.

"That's okay. School should come first," Colby said.

"Ah, fuck that," Dean argued. "You're a WWE Superstar. I'm sure they'll understand a late assignment or two."

"Don't be a bad influence," Joe warned. "Corri will kick your ass."

"My Offspring just returned from a slight nervous breakdown but I'm here on time," Dean retorted. "Step it up, Nicky."

"Come on, guys. Let's get going on this," Keith said. Nicky could tell his brother was feeling the adrenaline already.

Things started off well enough. The Shield eased them into things. Then, Joe went for a Superman Punch on Keith, who hit him with an RKO instead. It was beautifully executed. Lucas hit Colby with the "Running Bo-Dog" his father was famous for. Nicky was left to face Dean. He climbed up onto the top rope and jumped into the air, but he got light-headed and instead of doing a phoenix splash onto Dean, he began falling down without any control, hitting his neck and head on the hardest part of the ring.

Nicky didn't move. He'd been hurt before, but this pain was worse than what he was used to. He was seeing stars.

Keith immediately ran to his side, followed very closely by Dean. "Shit, you okay, Kiddo?" Dean asked, his earlier annoyance replaced with fear.

Nicky wanted to reply, but the words had been knocked right out of him. "Colby, get a trainer!" Dean yelled.

Joe pulled Keith backward. "Don't touch him, Keith," he said calmly. It was obvious he was forcing himself to sound calm so Keith didn't panic. Someone needed to take charge, and it seemed natural that it would be Joe. "He hit his neck. It's dangerous to move him until we know he's okay."

"Nicky... Nick, come on, Man... Talk to me," Keith begged.

Nicky looked at Keith. He took a deep breath. "Ouch," he said softly. "That really freaking hurt!"

Dean and Joe looked visibly relieved. "What happened, Nicky? You can do that move in your sleep," Keith said. He was unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

"I had a dizzy spell," Nicky said.

"When's the last time you got any sleep?" Lucas asked.

"Not last night," Nicky admitted.

Colby returned with a trainer and Paul. Nicky blushed in embarrassment. Together, the trainer, Paul, and Joe helped move Nicky carefully onto a stretcher.

"Guys, I'm fine," Nicky insisted.

"You hit your neck. We aren't taking any chances. You're getting an MRI," Paul said firmly.

"But the match tonight-"

"Gabe will sub in. Roman, you okay with beating up your cousin's kid?"

Joe laughed. "Sure, we can make that work," he said.

Nicky was depressed. Not only had he just lost his chance at an amazing match, but it was because he'd botched a move he'd perfected when he was fourteen. This wasn't fair.

That's what you get, Loser, he thought bitterly. You had their respect and now they're going to treat you like the baby again. He had to make sure he didn't screw up like this again. Somehow, he needed more energy so he could handle work, school, and everything in-between. He vowed to find a way to juggle it all, no matter what it took.