Hello, my loves! Quick shout out to my loves wwechristina, Tm12Brady and GoldenGirl1920 for your positive feedback and support! Love you all!
How about that last chapter? The villains are heinous and reprehensible! Well, let's see what happens when our heroes arrive at the dinner for Drew and Cherry and what dastardly plan those two assholes have for Drew and Cherry! Enjoy!
Angels In Scotland: Part 5 - Parasites
Five Years Earlier - Holly Mountain, North Carolina
Leslie looked on with horror and relief as she gazed at both the full wine bottle in her hand and the fallen body of her lover, her abuser, Phil Rumsfeld. She started to panic, screaming to herself, "Oh shit! What have I done? All I wanted was my freedom! Christ, did I kill him? What am I gonna do?" She looked at Phil laying on the ground. Her confusion and terror gave way to another emotion: happiness. She started laughing at him as he laid on the ground with blood pooling from the side of his head.
She screamed at her fallen foe, "You motherfucker! You will NEVER control me or manipulate me ever again, you bastard! You hear that, you prick? NEVER!" She was coming down off the high of saving herself from another beating and knew she had to act fast. If she didn't kill him, she had to get out of there. She had to finally escape the horror show she had been living in since the age of sixteen. This was her chance to leave his sorry ass and never look back. It was the point of no return.
Leslie ran to the bedroom and gathered as many clothes and shoes as she could bundle in her arms and threw them into the backseat of her old Dodge Neon, making three trips. She grabbed her toiletry bag from the bathroom and got her most prized possession, the box of keepsakes from her mom that included pictures and her mom's possessions. She took one last look at him lying on the floor. She had felt a pang of guilt about hitting him and leaving him there, possibly to bleed out.
But then, all the past incidents of mental, verbal, physical and sexual abuse flooded into her mind. She knew this was her opportunity to run and she better take it. She feared he was going to pop up like some boogeyman in a bad horror movie and grab her to drag her to hell with him. But he didn't, and she dashed to her car with her last set of belongings and screeched out of the dirt driveway. Whatever happened to that fucker was no longer her concern. She was free to live her own life and make her own way in the world, leaving behind her miserable existence in that little town just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.
As she drove, she knew she had to formulate a plan. She couldn't just go on existing as Leslie. He would find her and make her pay. This time, the results could be fatal for her if he caught up to her or if she didn't make some drastic changes to herself both physically and mentally. She talked to herself, "Where am I going to go? I could go all the way to out to California. Wait! I got it! Nashville! I've always wanted to live there!"
With her destination in mind, she knew as soon as she arrived, she would have to completely change her identity. Her name, her hair, her style, her car…everything of her former life had to go. She had to be smart about it so he couldn't be notified of her whereabouts. She also knew she had to stop for the night. She was exhausted and she had to start making the changes immediately, so she didn't walk into her new city in any guise of her former life. She looked at the signs along I-40, "I'm close to Knoxville. I'll stop there for the night."
Her iPod shuffled and one of her favorite songs started blaring on the speakers. "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways and its killer first chorus caused her to take a long look in the rearview mirror. With this, she got a vision of who she wanted to become. Who she was meant to be all along. She narrowed her eyes and smirked as she took the next exit after spying a twenty-four-hour Walmart from the interstate. She walked in and grabbed snacks, drinks, and a pair of scissors before stopping in the Hair Care aisle. Looking at the hair dye, she spotted her future in the form of a box of cherry red.
When she got to the motel, paying with the card from the secret checking account she had been squirreling money into for six months, she put her long, jet black hair up into a ponytail. With one last look, she took the scissors and cut her hair up to the close hair tie. She shaped her newly shortened hair into a cute uneven bob style, then coated her hair in the hair dye.
As she waited the thirty minutes for this to process, she took a long sleeve red top she owned, cut the sleeves and shredded the front and back into straps. Setting it to the side with her favorite satin red bra. She grabbed a long, conservative red and black tartan skirt she had always despised wearing. Phil always wanted her dressing as conventional as possible. Anger fueled her as she took the scissors that had sheared her long hair and cut the skirt super short, laying it with the top and bra.
She rinsed and dried her hair, put on her pajamas and fell asleep. For the first time in ages, she slumbered knowing she was safe from verbal attacks and physical violence when she woke up. When the alarm went off the following morning, she put on her makeup, finishing the look with another purchase from the following night: cherry red liquid lipstick. She looked at this person in the mirror and, for the first time since she was sixteen, she truly loved what she saw. The future was bright and full of promise as she gazed at this person. Right there, she declared with a smile, "Leslie is dead. I have killed her. She no longer exists. Well…hello there, Cherry! Nice to meet you!"
Present Day - Ayr, Scotland
Drew gently shook Cherry's shoulders, "My Love, we're almost at the restaurant. Time ta wake up, sleeping beauty." Cherry startled herself as she woke. She must've fallen asleep on the car ride. She stretched and looked around, "Oh my! I must be more tired than I realized. I'm so sorry!" Drew cupped her cheek, "No need ta apologize ta me fer that, Love. Our babies are draining yer energy."
With that, he rubbed her tummy. She smiled, knowing that Drew was already in love with their children. She kissed him on his whiskered cheek and said, "That must be it. They're wearing me out. Just like their Daddy." He laughed, "Well, I assure ya I'll wear ya out later, my Love.", wagging his eyebrows with a self-satisfying look on his face. Andy, driving and overhearing this, chuckled and said, "That's my boy, Andrew!"
They pulled into the back parking lot of the restaurant alongside the van carrying the rest of the team. As Drew helped Cherry out of the car, a swarm of reporters and paparazzi photographers rushed them from out of nowhere, sticking their microphones and cameras in their faces. Drew tried to shield Cherry for the aggressive parasites as they screamed, "Drew! Is it true you're engaged?" "When is the big day?" "Smile for the camera, Cherry!"
As the rest of the gang tried to head off the horde, with Kevin taking charge of questions, Drew ushered Cherry and Andy into the lobby, followed by all except Kevin. Drew was visibly angry as he bellowed, "What the fuck was that about? How the hell did these assholes find out about our engagement? If they stick another camera in her face, I'll break their bloody arms!" Christine shook her head, "I don't know, Drew. Hopefully, Kevin can do some damage control."
Lady rubbed Cherry's arms and said softly, "Sweetie, are you OK? That looked really scary." Cherry was shaken and disturbed but tried to put on a brave face, "Yeah, Ladybug. I'm fine." Drew yelled, "Nah, yer not fine, Love! Those maggots! If I find out who tipped them off, I'll beat their ass!" Sheamus tried to reason with him, "Mate, let's stay calm. Let's just put it behind us and celebrate."
Drew eyes still blazed with fury, "Did ya see that, brother? They were more vicious than normal! And no one outside of our circle knew about this trip, much less our engagement! Did one of ya talk to the press or anyone else?" He looked over at Jack, who shrugged, "Don't look at me, mate! No one in this room would ever betray ya like that." Cherry grabbed Drew's hand, "He's right, Drew. Look at me. Please don't let them spoil this night. It's been such a beautiful day so far."
Drew started to protest, but she cut him off, "No. This night is for you. Who cares if they know? You once told me you wanted the world to know you my man, right?" He growled, "But not like this! Not those assholes shoving a camera in yer face, Love!" She took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes, "I'm a big girl. I can take frivolous bullshit like that. What I can't take is you letting this night be ruined by thinking about them. John and Jane put together this lovely celebration for you, Drew. Baby, please don't dwell on this little hiccup. I love you."
She kissed him gently on the lips and he immediately softened his rigid and angry posture. He sighed, "You're right. As always." Christine said, "Wow! You admitted you're wrong, McInfart! Did someone get that on video?" Drew rolled his eyes at her as Kevin rushed back in. He said, "I gave them a formal statement, letting them know you are indeed engaged to try and get them off our case. They persisted on trying to get pictures until I reminded them that they're on private property and I'm sure the Waterfront's owner will have no problem arresting them."
Lady put her hand in his arm and said, "I love it when you take control, Kevin!" Drew nodded, "Thanks mate." Jane and John rushed in and took turns hugging Drew and Cherry. After being told the extra happy news of her pregnancy, they were delighted, with Jane starting to cry with joy for her stepson and future daughter-in-law. John gave his brother a mighty hug and said, "Welcome to tha Dad Club, brother!" They rushed the two of them and Andy into the party where many of Drew's friends and family waited to welcome them.
The rest of the gang stayed behind for a moment at Kevin's insistence. He made sure Drew and Cherry were out of earshot when he said lowly, "One of the reporters is an old friend. He told me they were all tipped off by some guy in the States. He never got a name. But it's clear someone is spying on us again, and I'm afraid we know who it is." Christine's ire was stoked as she said, "That bitch! But how did she hear about it?" Kevin nodded, "I finally got my phone working and now I'm seeing all the press coverage! Drew and Cherry are all over the tabloids and social media!" Jack asked, "Does it mention her pregnancy?" Kevin shook his head, "No, just the engagement and the "speculation" they're in Scotland ta get married."
Lady wondered, "Did you guys discuss the trip plans outside of HQ?" Sheamus said, "Only when we were sure no one else was around. But someone obviously heard something. Damn it!" Jack said, "Don't beat yerself up, mate. We need to go in there and support Drew and his lovely lady." Christine nodded but looked irritated, "Jack's right, but I have a terrible feeling something bad is gonna happen." Sheamus hugged her and said, "Let's try not ta think on that, Lass. C'mon! Let's go celebrate Cherry and the Muppet! I don't know about ya fellas, but I'm starving!" Kevin rolled his eyes, "When are ya not?"
They walked into the private dining room to quite the sight of Drew's aunts fawning over him and Cherry, talking about the plans for the wedding. Sheamus and Jack walked over to the display table, and both had to refrain from letting tears roll down their handsome faces. They were several family antiques and artifacts, including the crest rescued by Christine and an heirloom Claymore sword from the Galloway family. But in the middle of the table sat a lovely picture of Angela Anne Galloway, Drew's beloved mother.
Sheamus sniffed, "Gods, I loved that dear woman." Jack agreed, "She treated me like her own son. When she was sick and Drew was in America not able ta come home, I would come go ta tha house and check on her. Seeing that strong woman go through such hell was sa painful, mate." Sheamus nodded, "I never knew a tougher or more loving woman than Ma Angela. But I know she's sa proud of Drew. She's proud of all of us, mate." Jack clasped Sheamus on the shoulder and said, "Aye."
Andy called the entire group over to the head of the table. He started, "Everyone, thank ya all fer being her on this incredible occasion! This started as a simple Welcome Home celebration fer our boy, Drew. But now, there is sa much more ta celebrate. First of all, we are sa happy ta announce that Drew and Cherry are engaged and we're having a wedding here as soon as we can get the plans ta fall together!"
The party gasped, cheered and cried, with many rushing to hug both Drew and Cherry and welcoming her into the Galloway family. In the throng, Drew grabbed Cherry's hand. She looked into his eyes, and he gave her that heart stopping smile and wink as he said, "I love ya, beautiful." She was getting ready to reciprocate when Andy continued, "But we have more news. Even happier news! My son and his future wife are…"
He didn't get a chance to finish when a commotion started with two people rushing in the room. Cherry looked and couldn't believe her eyes, "Denise! Girl, what's going on? Why are you here in Scotland?" Drew's stare was a deadly one. He set eyes on his rival and former captor and his blood started boiling. After the intrusion of the press earlier, he was already on the edge. Seeing his face went him over it, "Randy Orton, what tha fuck are ya doing here?"