"She did what?" Mike asks, barely able to wrap his mind around what he's hearing. "No, no, what?" He notices out of the corner of his eye as AJ looks up, a perplexed expression on her face as she plays with Sara Louisa. The three of them are still at Tamina's house, the woman slowly gaining back some mobility and strength following her surgery. He bites his lip, pinches his nose and groans. "Yeah. Great. Thanks for letting me know, Alicia. I'll... tell Ricardo I'll call in a couple of days, we'll talk. Yeah. Bye."
He puts the phone down and buries his face in his hands, biting down curses as AJ lifts Sara up and walks over to him. "What was that about?" she demands, settling their daughter in his lap. He instinctively grips at the baby and holds her close as she fusses and snuggles into him, waving her tiny fists around until she's steady and comfortable.
Mike purses his lips, cradling Sara close with one hand while he uses the other to operate his phone, finding the things Alicia had told him of. Once found, he holds the device out to AJ and watches as she gapes at it, eyes darkening. "Paige is with Del Rio now, apparently," he says, closing his eyes and kissing the top of Sara's head.
AJ gapes at it. Stares at Mike. "Didn't Ricardo just propose to her?"
"Yes."
"And she said yes?"
"Yes."
AJ mouths a couple of certain curses before lifting Sara up once more and giving Mike his phone back. "What is Ricardo doing now?"
"He's staying with Alicia," Mike breathes out. "Hell, he left Del Rio's mansion again and... I don't even know. Paige told me he was going through some stuff a couple of weeks ago, I wonder... I wonder if this has to do with it." His eyes are troubled as he plays with his phone. "I would call him but it sounds like he needs time, and I don't want to push him. Besides, there isn't a whole lot I can do for him while I'm on the other side of the country... but oh, boy, when I see Del Rio again..." He works his tongue around inside of his mouth. "It probably won't be pretty. And Paige! God, they're all a bunch of hypocrits!"
AJ makes a shushing noise as Sara starts to whimper, frightened by Mike's words growing in volume. "It's ok, sweetie," she whispers, half-smiling as Mike looks guilty and reaches up to pat the baby's stomach in an attempt to soothe her. "Daddy's just passionate, you wait until you're older, he's going to be like this towards your boyfriends too."
"She's not dating, ever," he declares. "I won't let anyone hurt her like this."
AJ's smile is a little wistful and amused all at the same time.
-x
It's dumb, leaving Washington behind and re-submersing himself in this Maryse drama, but Mike does it. He also watches as things just continue to get worse and worse because of this situation brewing with Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Cesaro. He knows there's a very good chance he'll lose the IC title this coming Sunday, considering there's three of them and, even with Maryse in his corner, it'll be near impossible to keep his eyes on every moving part. Maryse is trying to say something to him when he spots them.
Paige and Del Rio, together, heads bowed close together, talking in a very intimate fashion. Mike swallows, seeing red, and he almost wishes this was some random bar so he could go, punch Del Rio around a bit, and have it out of his system like he did after Del Rio first betrayed Ricardo back in 2013, but this isn't. It's WWE, in the middle of a hallway, and Mike has to be careful or risk a suspension or worse. With Maryse tagging along behind him, he approaches them, jaw tense and hands curled up into fists. "Well, if it isn't the adorable couple now," he spits out.
Both tense and Alberto spits out something in Spanish, though Paige looks like she's ready and willing to take any punishment Mike has to dish out. "Mind your own business, perro!" Alberto snaps at him.
Mike scoffs, ignoring him. Turns to Paige. "So do you have anything else to say to Maryse and I? Or maybe you thought our act looked like so much fun that you would try it out in reality? Or is this another way for you to hold onto your career via Total Divas? Does fame and fortune mean so much more to you than Ricardo, that you would degrade yourself by getting involved with him?" He jerks his head towards Alberto, sneering as the Mexican grips him by the collar and pushes him away bodily.
"Get away from her," Alberto snaps at him. "You don't understand a damn thing."
Mike stares down at Alberto, peering over at Paige. "You know what," he snaps, breaking Alberto's grip on him and stepping backwards. "I don't want to. You were never a good friend to Ricardo, not now, not in the past, not ever. He's better off without either of you. Hopefully now he won't be having random emotional breakdowns and feeling the need to run off to India for peace." He squares his shoulders, makes sure Paige feels the full weight of his words, before turning and storming down the hall to commentate Zayn vs Cesaro, Maryse following closely behind.