CHAPTER FOURTEEN

RANDY

They came home to find out Nicky was in the hospital. Corri nervously paced the waiting room while Randy tried not to assume the worst. Paul had left, and taken the Shield boys and Lucas with him, but Keith had stayed to wait for answers. Molly stood beside him trying to comfort him.

A nurse approached them and put a hand up to stop their questions. "He's fine," she said quickly. "He needs to stay out of the ring for a few days, but it could have been much worse."

"Thank God," Corri mumbled as she exhaled.

"A few things do concern us, though... He's physically exhausted. We gave him something to help him sleep, but he's very stressed. I believe he is pushing himself too hard. Also... Um... May I just speak to the family, please?"

"We're all his family," Corri said firmly. "I'm his mother. Whatever you need to say, you can say to all of us."

"Very well... Nicky's blood alcohol levels were elevated. I know he's under twenty-one, so I thought you might want to know your son has been drinking."

Corri reacted first. "Impossible," she said firmly. "Nicky's straightedge. He doesn't drink."

Randy caught the guilty look that flashed across Molly's face. "What do you know, Molly?" He asked.

"Um... Well, he kind of does drink... At least lately. I don't think he started until we debuted on the main roster, though," Molly admitted. "He got pretty plastered that night. I figured it was harmless, so I didn't say anything... I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Randy said quickly. "It wasn't your job to tell us."

Keith's face fell. "I... um... I sort of knew, too, but I thought it was a one-time thing," he said. "I mean, everyone drinks when they're eighteen..."

"It's not your fault," Corri said quickly. "I need some air." She walked away. Randy stayed long enough to make sure Nicky was taken care of before he went after her. He found her in the parking lot visibly shaken up, but she was on her phone, so he gave her space.

CORRI

As soon as she got outside, she pulled out her cell phone. Cayla picked up immediately. "What's wrong?" Cayla asked without preamble. Their twin bond had struck again.

"Nicky's in the hospital," Corri said. She quickly explained his injury before adding, "He's been drinking, Cay. Enough that the doctors found it in his blood."

"Corri-" Cayla tried to reply, but Corri wasn't done.

"This is my fault!" She cried out.

"Corri, no! You didn't cause this-"

"Yes I did! I got our dad's fucked up genes and passed them on to Nicky!"

"You don't know that's what's happening. He's eighteen. It was just alcohol, and he only just started drinking. You can make sure he doesn't get out of control."

"I started with just drinking, too, Cayla... And I turned into such an addict, I overdosed and nearly died in poor Baby Buck's arms. I fucked everything up."

"And you got it together. You got help and you're not that person anymore."

"But I don't want Nicky to go through all of that."

"So don't let him. Be there for him and show him he doesn't have to go down that path. He'll be okay, Corri. He has a great support system."

Corri tried to take comfort in that, but she was still worried. It terrified her to see Nicky, her baby boy, the sweet, quiet one going down this path. If either of her sons seemed likely to be wild and out of control, it was Keith. She hadn't seen this coming.

When she hung up, she turned and spotted Randy. She ran to him, allowing him to wrap her in his arms. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" Randy asked.

"For passing on addict genes to our baby..." She started to cry, something she rarely did.

"Corri... Baby, you didn't cause this. It just happens. Besides, Nicky is young, and this is a new problem. We can stop it before it gets worse."

She wanted to believe him, but she had a sinking feeling Nicky might be much more like her than she thought. She tried not to panic as she rested her head against Randy's chest.

TRIXIE

Trixie saw Ginny standing with Gabe, who looked furious. She had never seen him look anything other than happy and laid-back, so this worried her. She walked over to them. Brandon was across the room, and he also headed that way.

"Trix! Brandon! Help me hide a body?" Gabe greeted them.

"Gabe, just let it go, please-" Ginny begged.

"No! He needs to pay, Gin!"

"What's going on?" Brandon asked.

"What's going on is Luke Harper is a rapist and he needs to die!" Gabe declared.

"Hold on, what?" Trixie asked.

Ginny sighed. "Harper's been fired. Gabe overheard Danielle telling his mother that she admitted he raped her to help get him fired because a kid had been attacked and couldn't prove it... And Gabe thinks getting fired is too good for him," she explained.

"Rape is literally the worst thing you can do to someone short of killing them and one of his victims was a kid! A kid! Can you imagine how fucked up that poor girl must be?" Gabe replied. "And all he gets is a slap on the wrist?!"

"Maybe that's better than nothing!" Ginny shouted. Everyone stared at her. "Maybe that girl just wants to put this all behind her and she's just relieved he isn't here anymore!"

"Ginny..." Trixie whispered, realizing what her outburst meant.

Ginny started to cry. "Oh, shit... Shit, Ginny, I didn't know-" Gabe started.

"It doesn't matter. It's over now," Ginny said softly. "I didn't want anyone to know... I felt like it made me disgusting and pathetic,"

Brandon pulled her into a tight hug. "What he did makes him disgusting and pathetic, not you," he said firmly. "We'll never judge you, Ginny. We're your friends."

Ginny pulled herself together. "We won't tell anyone," Trixie promised.

"I don't care. It may as well come out now," Ginny said. "But only to people I trust." She turned to Gabe. "I guess you don't think I'm so attractive anymore, right?"

"Are you kidding?" Gabe looked deep into her eyes. "You survived all that and you're still a badass! Virginia Runnels, I would follow you to the ends of the earth, pining and ignored for eternity, just to bask in your glory!" He dropped to his knees and kissed her hand.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Get up, you goon," she said, but Trixie could tell his grand gesture meant a lot to her.

When Ginny seemed calmer, Brandon guided Trixie away. "Do you think she'll be alright?" Trixie asked.

"I hope so," Brandon said.

"Brandon... I can't even imagine what she's going through. I mean, my moms were super protective of me. They taught me how to fight back if anyone ever tried anything like that on me, and Mom never really let me out of her sight. She was kind of paranoid about something happening because of her own history."

"Well, it makes sense. I mean, your mom is a serious badass. She successfully fought off Brock Lesnar, but my mom says it still almost wasn't enough-"

Trixie stared at him. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

Brandon looked confused. "She never told you? I just figured you knew. My mom said it was a huge deal, and that even though she's not your mom's biggest fan, she respects her as a woman because of it."

Trixie's head was spinning. A wrestler had tried to rape her mother and she'd somehow escaped? How could she hide that from her? Lesnar was a huge deal in WWE before getting arrested, and he was an MMA guy. Trixie knew all that. She even knew that the WWE had struggled with whether or not to induct the "one in twenty-one-and-one" into the Hall of Fame because of whatever he'd been arrested for. Ultimately, they had done it after his death a few years back. Her mother had been upset and her aunt Corri had to talk her out of walking away from WWE entirely. Corri had informed her that if she quit, they'd win, but Trixie had no idea what they were talking about. Now, it all made sense.

"Oh my God, Mom," Trixie whispered.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, Trixie," Brandon said. "I didn't mean to just drop that on you."

"It's okay... It kind of makes everything make sense now. Mom told me someone hurt her as a kid, but... She never mentioned this."

"Your mom's really strong." He had genuine respect in his voice.

"Yeah... She is." Strong hardly covered that. Trixie had seen photos of Brock Lesnar and had even seen some of his old matches online. Her mother escaping someone like that put her in superhero territory in Trixie's book.

Trixie leaned against Brandon as she said, "Speaking of our parents... When do we tell them about... um... us?" It was still strange to use that phrase. Their relationship was so new, it hardly seemed real.

Brandon smiled down at her nervously. "We might as well rip that band-aid off. I'm ready whenever you are."

They decided to call their parents and ask them to meet them. Cayla and Saraya showed up fifteen minutes later. Shortly after, Bryan and Brie arrived.

"What's going on?" Saraya asked suspiciously.

"Um... So... We wanted to talk to you guys," Trixie began.

Bryan looked like he already knew where this was going. "We're dating," Brandon added quickly.

Rip that band-aid off, Trixie repeated to herself.

"What?!" Brie and Saraya shouted in unison.

"That's great!" Bryan said at the same time. Everyone stared at him.

"Great?!" Brie demanded.

"Yes, my love," Bryan said patiently. "Trixie's a great girl, and look how happy they look."

"But her mothers-"

"Aren't dating our son. Therefore, they aren't a factor."

"But... But, Bryan, I..." Brie looked at Bryan in frustration. He shook his head and motioned toward their son as Brandon stood protectively beside Trixie.

"Damnit... I hate you right now," Brie mumbled to her husband.

Bryan grinned. "Congratulations, kids!" He said.

"No way! Unacceptable!" Saraya declared at his words.

"Saraya-" Cayla began.

"No! She's our mortal enemy, Cayla! For fuck's sake, I'm a cool mum, Trixie! I have only one rule: Thou shalt not date the spawn of a Bella!"

Trixie's face fell. "Mum... I love him," she said.

Brandon looked stunned at her words. Trixie was stunned she'd said them, but the more she got to know him, the more she knew it was true. Every day, she fell for him more.

"What did you put in her head?" Saraya demanded of Brandon. "You are a child! You don't know love-"

"Saraya, stop it," Cayla said as Trixie cowered in Brandon's arms. He automatically stroked her hair soothingly. She hated that her mum was angry, but she felt safe in his arms.

"Cayla-"

"No. I mean it. You're upsetting our daughter."

"She upset me!"

"This one's not about you, honey. Trixie and Brandon can't control how they feel about each other any more than you and I can."

"This is different!"

"How? They love each other. They didn't choose it. Neither did we. That's not how love works."

"I don't approve of this-"

"I know," Trixie said suddenly. "And I'm sorry if I've disappointed you, Mum, but I'm eighteen. This is my heart I'm following... You always told me to do that."

"Damnit," Saraya mumbled. "I hate it when she uses my words against me."

"Do you hate me, Mum?" She was afraid of the answer, but she had to ask.

"What? Of course not, Luv!" Saraya sighed. "You're just growing up faster than I expected and falling in love with inappropriate people so early... Just like me, actually." Saraya hugged her. "I don't want the Bellas for in-laws, but I do want you to be happy. I suppose I'll have to deal and hope it's a phase."

"It's not."

"Leave me my bubble of hope, Luv." She hugged her before walking away. Cayla looked over her shoulder at Bryan, who winked at her. He led Brie away after giving Brandon a thumbs up.

"Well," Brandon said, "that could have gone worse."

"At least the truth's out now," Trixie replied.

"Indeed, my Juliet..." Brandon pulled her closer to him. He looked down at her and said, "And now that we're alone and it's less awkward, I'd just like to add... I love you, too."

He kissed her before she could respond, which was probably better because she didn't have any words.