Mercifully, the amount of stress Erin was having to cope with had decreased somewhat. Instead, she felt frustrated. She was waiting to take over WWE, and in the meantime hoping to do a deal with Clementine that would see her stay with WWE. But, nearly two weeks after they had sat down together, Clem hadn't given any kind of feedback or made a decision.
Jay had gotten his elbow surgery a few days earlier. The procedure had been a success, but that still meant he would spend at least two months on the injured list. Erin knew it might end up being a race against time to get him ready to compete in January's Royal Rumble event. It wasn't ideal that she hadn't been with him for the surgery, but the doctor that WWE used was down in Florida, and Jay had expressly forbidden her from taking time off to go down there with him when she was already so busy. She hadn't liked it, but she had gone along with his wishes.
A few days after returning home, feeling down about being on the shelf and bored with not being able to work, Jay had suggested taking a weekend trip to Chicago to spend a day there. By his standards that was impulsive, so Erin had agreed, figuring a couple of days away from her daily routine would be nice. She wanted to continue making the most of whatever free time she could get before she became Chairwoman. When that happened, free time would be hard to come by, even at weekends.
"Here's the Uber," Jay said. They were standing outside of the hotel where they were staying in Chicago.
"Good. But you still haven't told me where we're going."
"You'll see when we get there."
Fair enough, Erin thought. She got into the Uber with him and tried to enjoy the ride. Jay didn't seem to want to say much, so she looked out of the window and took in the city.
"Anywhere here is good," Jay said to the driver about ten minutes later.
"Here?" Erin asked as the driver parked up. They were in what looked to be quite a seedy, run down area. With her privileged background, she didn't think she had set foot anywhere like it before. Realising it was likely to be somewhere that was important to Jay from his childhood, she cautioned herself not to say something that might offend him.
"That's right. I want to show you something," Jay said.
They both thanked the driver and got out, Jay moving carefully with his injured arm bandaged and in a sling. Erin took a look around. She felt glad that she had a leather jacket and gloves on, and not because of any kind of sexual excitement. She was glad that her Rolex was covered up, feeling that this was the kind of place that someone might mug her for it if they caught sight of it.
"This way," Jay said, heading for a small side street. "Don't worry, nothing's going to happen."
"I'm not worried," Erin lied, convincingly, she thought.
Jay laughed. "You say that as though I'm not looking at you. You're a terrible liar. Trust me, it's fine."
"Okay, I trust you," she said, taking his hand. That was not a lie.
Walking with him down the side road, Erin noted that Jay looked a little overwhelmed. This was definitely somewhere from his childhood, probably where he had grown up. She stayed silent, waiting for him to show her whatever he wanted her to see, or tell her whatever he wanted to say. A man walked past them who was obviously homeless. He smelled of piss and cheap alcohol.
They reached the end of the side street and took a left turn. As soon as they did, Jay stopped in his tracks, looking at an apartment building across and further along the street.
"It's... gone," he choked out.
Erin looked at him. "What's gone, honey?"
"I grew up in an apartment building right there. But not that one. It must have been knocked down and rebuilt."
The building that was there now was maybe ten years old, Erin guessed. It looked older due to poor maintenance. What mattered though was that Jay's childhood home was gone.
"I'm sorry, Jay," she said, gently squeezing his hand.
"Don't be," he replied, swallowing hard. "I only wish I could have burned it down before they knocked it down."
The way he said it told her a lot about how awful his childhood had been. She knew it had been bad, abusive, but she still didn't have any details. Was that why he had brought her here? So that he might be able to start talking to her about it?
"It was that bad?" she asked softly.
Jay stood there looking at her for a long moment, seeming like he might burst into tears. When he spoke, the words came out with great difficulty.
"I'm trying, Erin. I'm trying to talk to you about it. I want to. It's just... I can't."
"It's okay," Erin said, hugging him tightly. "Bringing me here was a big step, even if where you lived is gone. This was very hard for you wasn't it?"
"Yes," he croaked, before taking a very deep breath.
"Do you want to go? Or is there more you want to show me?"
"I want to get out of here. And I never want to come back."
"You'll never have to," she promised him.
Twenty minutes later, they were back in the hotel room. Jay had said that was where he wanted to go, and of course Erin hadn't objected. It was obvious that he was still upset by the time they got there, and she understood that he wanted to away from everyone but her while he tried to deal with it. It was her job to be there for him, to talk if he wanted to, or not to if he didn't.
"Now you see why I've always felt like I'm out of your league – why I'm never comfortable at your dad's place, and all the rest of it. You've seen the dump I grew up in. How can I deserve..."
He had been pacing around the room, agitated. But Erin stepped up to him and touched a finger to his lips. "Sshhh," she whispered, trying to calm him. "Stop, Jay. You're very worked up. Come sit with me, please."
Jay allowed her to take his hand and lead him over to the bed, where they sat down beside each other after he took his sling off, dropping it on the bed.
"Please don't get back onto all that feeling you're beneath me nonsense," Erin implored him, holding his hand in her lap. "You know damn well I don't think like that. Taking me to where you grew up was a big step towards... you know, talking about what happened to you. I'm so proud of you."
"Proud of me? Why? I want to talk to you about it and I can't. That's the opposite of something to be proud of."
"You're getting closer. That's something to be very proud of. You've never talked to anyone about it before, so it's bound to be tough. I don't want to ask questions, so..."
"Maybe that might help me," he said quietly.
"Me asking questions? Really? You think it might?" Erin asked, surprised.
"Maybe."
Erin decided to give it a shot. It was obvious he wanted to talk to her, and doing so might do him a lot of good if he could manage it. She knew she had to tread carefully, so she spoke with a tender voice. "You've said your parents were alcoholics, and that you were beaten. Was there ever anything… sexual?" She suspected she knew that answer.
Rather than maintaining eye contact with her, Jay looked down at the floor. "Yes," he managed to say, sounding ashamed of himself, which hurt Erin greatly. Even though she had suspected it, the confirmation made her furious. She wished she could get her hands on whichever of his parents had abused him and tear them limb from limb. It was no wonder he struggled so much after enduring that kind of abuse at a young age, and at the hands of a parent, or maybe even both parents. Frankly, she considered it a miracle that he wasn't in a much worse state mentally. That kind of abuse literally ruined people's lives. She didn't want to push him to say more, but he kept talking on his own.
"My dad always said I was his favourite. He would bathe me, and I mean get in the tub with me. He would touch me and have me touch him. At first I was so young that I didn't know there was anything wrong, but as time went on I became really uncomfortable with it. But he would still do it. And he would sometimes walk into the bathroom when I was using the toilet and he wouldn't let me leave until he had… touched me. I think about it every day and ask myself what I did to deserve it."
"Come here," Erin said. Seeing tears rolling down his cheeks, she pulled him close to her and held him, loving him. All she could do was try to console him. "You did nothing to deserve it. You did nothing wrong at all. Your dad is the piece of shit who was in the wrong to treat you like that. I'm so sorry you went through it. You're with me now though, and that means no one will ever hurt you again, ever."
"That doesn't stop the memories. Or the pain."
"I know, honey. I know," Erin said lovingly. "There's nothing I can do to change what happened to you. All I can do is be here for you now and promise that I always will be. If there was more that I could do, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
Jay held her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. It muffled his voice, but she could tell what he said. "I know you would. There's nothing else I need you to do. Just never leave me. And I'll never leave you."
"Never," she vowed, gently kissing the top of his head.
A/N: Jay made some shocking revelations about his past, but has it made the bond between him and Erin even stronger?