Chapter 1
The tears fell from her eyes like the rain that was pouring from the dark sky
above her as she stood beside the six foot hole that had been dug up for her
husband. She still couldn’t believe he was gone as she wiped a few of her stray
tears away from her eyes, wishing he was there with her at that moment. She
missed him more than words could say and to say that the past week had been hard
for her would be an understatement. Night after night she would sit up looking
through old pictures of them together and cry her heart out to the silence of
their two story house. It was so lonely and quiet, too quiet as far as Jaslyn
was concerned.
As the burial came to a close, Jaslyn finally lost it as she dropped to her
knees, and began crying on the ground. Sobs racked throughout her entire body as
her brother helped her up and she immediately stood up and hugged him around the
neck tightly. Paul sighed deeply as he held his baby sister close to his body,
hating to feel the pain that was coursing through her body, and simply shook his
head in shame. He knew this was going to be hard for her, but what he didn’t
realize was how badly she had been hurt by this. Not that he could say he blamed
her because Jaslyn and Joseph were the two most passionate people he knew and
they were so much in love.
“I miss him so much, Paul…” Jaslyn sobbed into her big brother’s neck, the tears
coating his jacket and dress shirt, and sniffled.
Paul sighed as he rubbed his sister’s back gently and sighed deeply to himself,
wishing he knew what to say to make her feel better, but knew nothing would. He
wouldn’t know what he would do if Stephanie ever passed away and didn’t even
want to think about that. She was seven months pregnant and at home as
instructed by her doctor’s since it was so close to the pregnancy and told Paul
to send her condolences about Joseph’s untimely death.
“I know you do, baby doll. I know you do.” Paul replied softly and looked at the
minister who had orchestrated the visitation and burial at his church and
cemetery. Paul pulled away from his sister and stared down into her bloodshot,
hazel colored eyes and gently suggested, “Why don’t we head out and go back to
mom and dads? They’re having a little family together with the family
afterwards.”
Jaslyn shook her head and turned back around to stare at her husband’s coffin,
seeing the cemetery crew was already there, and knew it was time to leave, but
she couldn’t. Her feet were stuck to the ground and the tears just flowed down
her cheeks like two unstoppable streams. She gently placed her hand on the
coffin and closed her eyes, wishing there was someway to bring her husband back,
but it was no use. He was gone, out of her life forever, and Jaslyn wondered if
she’d ever be able to heal from this tragedy.
After standing outside for an hour and getting soaked by the rain, Paul finally
couldn’t take anymore of his sister’s grieving and walked over to where she was
sitting. He pushed the wet strands of her waist length dirty blonde hair from
her face and stated, “Jas, it’s been an hour. Let’s go to mom and dads. You’re
going to catch pneumonia if you don’t get out of the rain and into a warm
atmosphere.”
Sniffling gently and wiping away the tears from her eyes, Jaslyn finally nodded
and walked over to the six feet deep hole that the guys were burying her
husband’s body under, and took something out of her purse. It was his purple
heart he’d received after his death and Jaslyn knew he’d want to be buried with
it. After all, the army was his passion and Jaslyn knew he could go to heaven
with it. She kissed the Purple Heart and cried harder as she said, “I love you
so much, Joseph. You showed me how to love and cherish all the memories in life.
You were my best friend, my companion, the person I came to when I had a
problem, no matter how small it was. Even though most of our marriage was mostly
through email and phone, I still loved you with everything in me and I’ll never
forget you. Good bye, my love and rest in peace.” Jaslyn tossed the Purple Heart
medal in the grave and walked away, immediately breaking down as soon as she was
in her brother’s arms.
The whole ride to their parent’s house was made in silence as Jaslyn simply
stared out the window, letting silent tears pour down her cheeks, and didn’t
care if she lived or died anymore. She would never tell her brother that though
because he’d freak out on her and probably disown her. Paul and Jaslyn were
extremely close and did everything together. They were only two years apart so
growing up together; they had a lot of the same friends and hung out a lot
together. They got into the normal brother sister fights like every family has,
but always managed to work out their issues. Paul was thirty seven and Jaslyn
was thirty five now.
Her thoughts suddenly went to how she and Joseph met and a small smile came to
her lips at that memory. It was her freshman year of college and he was a
junior. They met at a local bar and ended up dancing the night away together.
She then disappeared with her friends and they met in the courtyard later on
that night and she ran up, hugging him tightly. That started off their
relationship and they were married after both of them graduated college. They
had rocky points and even broke up for three years, but she couldn’t forget him
and finally went to find him. They were married in the winter time in an outdoor
wedding with just close family and friends. Paul actually walked her down the
aisle since he was closer to her than her own father.
Paul SR and Patricia Levesque came out the door as soon as their son pulled up
with their daughter. Patricia immediately ran to the car and took her trembling
daughter in her arms, her own tears pooled in her eyes, and softly whispered in
her ear, “I’m so sorry about Joseph, baby.”
“Momma, he’s gone. Joe is gone…” Jaslyn cried on her mother’s shoulders and
began to sob even more, not caring what anyone else thought. Her father cleared
his throat and Jaslyn simply stared at him, knowing he never really liked Joseph
to begin with, and stated heatedly, “I know you didn’t like him, dad, but can
you at least show some type of compassion?” Before Paul SR could even respond to
his daughter, she walked over to her brother and they walked into the house
together, her head on his shoulder.
The small get together with their family was small and short with Jaslyn crying
most of the time. She couldn’t stop the tears even if her life depended on it
and she didn’t want to in all honesty. The fact that her father wouldn’t even
say he was sorry for Joseph’s death showed Jaslyn just how cold hearted he
really was, like he’d always been. Ever since her wedding to Joseph, Paul SR had
been very distant from his daughter and Jaslyn wondered if it was because she
wanted her brother Paul to walk her down the aisle instead of her own father.
Jaslyn didn’t care or regret it either.
When the final family member left that wasn’t Paul or Jaslyn, she finally
decided it was time to go back to her and Joseph’s house. It was a few counties
from her parent’s place so she had a good drive ahead of her. Paul seen his baby
sister out the door of their parent’s house, after saying goodbye to Patricia,
and immediately followed her out. An idea was forming in his mind and hoped that
his sister took without arguing.
“Jaslyn! Jaslyn wait!” Paul shouted as she walked to her car and finally caught
up with her.
“What do you want, Paul?” Jaslyn asked, sounding defeated and drained. All she
wanted to do was go home, soak in a nice hot bubble bath, and cry herself to
sleep.
Running a hand through his hair, Paul stared at his sister and sighed heavily as
he replied, “I don’t want you to go home by yourself tonight. Come back on the
road with me instead.” There was so much pleading in his eyes that it actually
caused Jaslyn to tear up.
Her eyes adverted from his gaze and went to the wet, squishy ground, and sighed
deeply as she said, “I don’t know. I just want to go home and cry myself to
sleep.” She was in no mood to be flying and sleeping in a hotel room that
probably stunk to high heavens.
“Fine, I’m coming home with you.” Paul defiantly replied, crossing his massive
arms in front of his chest and Jaslyn simply looked at him with a glare in her
eyes.
“No, absolutely not, Paul! Stephanie needs you right now what with the baby
coming soon and everything. Besides, I need to go pick up Imogen.” Jaslyn
informed him and ran a hand through her damp hair that had gotten wet from the
pouring rain at her husband’s funeral that day.
Imogen was Jaslyn’s ten year old daughter. She had Joseph’s incredible blue eyes
with Jaslyn’s dishwater blonde hair and she was very smart for her age. Jaslyn
had her when she was twenty five years old, a few months before her and Joseph
reconciled after their nasty breakup in college. Paul sighed heavily as he
thought about his niece and wondered if she was alright. He knew she understood
about Joseph’s death, but how she was taking it was what he was concerned about.
“Where is she?” Paul asked his sister, who sighed heavily and ran a hand through
her hair, tears burning her eyes at the thought of how her daughter reacted when
Jaslyn tried telling her about Joseph’s death.
“Emily’s.” Jaslyn replied and looked into her brother’s eyes, seeing the
uncertainty swimming through them, and sighed when Paul demanded he was going
with. ‘Not like I can’t stop him.’ Jaslyn thought as he forced her to get in the
passenger seat of the car while he drove, knowing his sister was in no condition
to drive.
Emily was one of Jaslyn’s best friends and they’d known each other through
college. She had actually been the matron of honor at Jaslyn’s wedding. Emily
was also the godmother of Imogen so she always went over there whenever Jaslyn
needed someone to watch her. As Paul drove down the interstate highway toward
Emily’s place, which was right down the street from Jaslyn’s, he kept thinking
about his little niece. She was the prettiest little girl he’d ever seen and
spoiled her rotten, but now that her father was gone, he was going to have to
make up extra time for that. He was going to become the father to Emily that
Joseph could never be, especially with his choice in career.
The ride was made in silence, each person in their own thoughts, and within an
hour, Paul pulled up to Emily’s house. Emily had seen the headlights shining in
her windows and walked out onto her porch, tears instantly sliding down her
cheeks as she ran over and took her best friend in her arms. Both girls started
crying as they held each other and Emily smoothed down Jaslyn’s hair as she
pulled away and looked in her eyes before saying, “I’m so sorry about Joe,
sweetheart.”
Nodding and patting Emily on the shoulder, Jaslyn looked toward the house and
then back at Emily as she asked, “How’s my daughter?”
“She’s actually sleeping on the couch. She fell asleep watching a movie.” Emily
informed Jaslyn, who simply nodded, and looked over at Paul with knowing eyes.
Paul nodded, not having to be told twice, and walked inside to retrieve Imogen.
Once he as fully inside the house, Jaslyn sighed deeply as she leaned against
the car and said, “The funeral was really hard and we went to my parents
afterwards for a get together with the family…” She couldn’t even continue as
more tears spilled down her cheeks and Emily immediately took her in his arms,
trying to soothe her fragile soul, but knew it wouldn’t do any good.
“You two are always welcomed to stay here, Jas.” Emily stated as she stroked
Jaslyn’s back gently, wishing there was some way to take her best friend’s pain
away and pulled back to wipe Jaslyn’s tears away. “I don’t want Imogen to see
you crying if she wakes up.”
Smiling thoughtfully at her best friend, Jaslyn quickly wiped her tears away
just as the screen door opened and there stood her pride and joy. Jaslyn threw
on a fake smile as she extended her arms and held her daughter once Imogen
walked into them. She willed the tears to stay in her eyes, not wanting to upset
Imogen, and looked up at her brother with knowing eyes. She pulled back from her
daughter after a few brief moments and said, “Baby, momma’s got a question to
ask you.”
“What is it?” Imogen’s soft voice asked and let out a small yawn, showing
everyone that she was still very much tired.
Taking her daughter’s hands in hers and bending down to be eye level with the
little girl, Jaslyn took a deep breath and said, “Uncle Paulie invited you and
momma to come on the road with him so my question to you is, do you wanna go,
baby?” Her voice was very kind and soft, not wanting to show any sign to her
daughter that she was upset, even though her bloodshot eyes gave it away.
“Emily is welcome to come as well.” Paul chipped in, making Emily’s eyes bug out
at him, and looked at her best friend with questioning eyes while Jaslyn was
looking up at her brother in shock.
“If Auntie Emily comes then I want to go.” Emily replied after contemplating it
a few minutes in her little head. She loved Emily dearly and would never want to
be away from her, especially since they were extremely close.
Looking over at her goddaughter and then back at Jaslyn, Emily smiled softly at
both of them and simply asked, “When do we leave?”
Chapter 2
The following day, Jaslyn, Imogen, Emily, and Paul walked off the plane and
through the terminal, toward the exit. They didn’t get far though because a few
wrestling fans had spotted Paul and immediately mobbed him for autographs. Emily
and Jaslyn stood off to the side and couldn’t help, but laugh as the women tried
to tear Paul’s clothes off. They had been far enough away to where no harm would
come and Imogen just shook her head, watching her uncle being manhandled by at
least twenty wrestling fans and they were all women.
Paul finally managed to get them off long enough by pointing his finger and
shouted, “Isn’t that the Undertaker over there?” As soon as the girls turned
their attention from Paul to where he’d pointed, Paul took that opportunity to
bolt and shouted at his family, “RUN!”
It felt like a stampede was going through the airport as the women ran after
Paul, who was running behind his family, and picked up Imogen by the waist
because she wasn’t running fast enough. They ran all the way out through
security and the guards immediately stopped the fan crazed women from tearing
Paul completely apart. None of them stopped until they arrived at the car and
Paul placed Imogen down on her feet.
Imogen just stared at her uncle and then up at her mom before commenting, “I
think Uncle Paulie needs a new shirt.”
Jaslyn looked down at her daughter and then up at her brother, covered her mouth
with her hand, and couldn’t help, but laugh at him. Paul sneered at his sister
and looked down at the torn piece of material that used to be his shirt, shaking
his head. He was used to being mobbed by fans and having his clothes practically
ripped off of him, but in front of his family was another story. He looked at
his sister and couldn’t believe she was actually laughing at him. Her laughter
was music to his ears as he smiled himself and started laughing at what just
happened.
“You all get in the damn car before I tear your asses up.” Paul growled at them
playfully and looked down as he winked at Imogen.
“SHOTGUN!” Imogen shouted and hopped up into her uncle’s black and yellow hummer
he rented from the airport in the front seat. Jaslyn crossed her arms in front
of her chest and simply stared at her daughter as she started to say something,
but Paul stopped her.
“The little lady called it first, sis. You can sit in the back with Emily.” Paul
suggested with a smile as he winked at his niece, who giggled, and buckled her
in before walking around to the driver’s side of the hummer. He turned the key
in the ignition and looked in his rearview mirror, sighing when he seen tears
pooling in his sister’s eyes.
‘This is going to be a long, grueling healing process.’ Paul thought sadly as he
drove down the road toward the
Imogen was excited as she pointed out the window of the hummer and shouted, “I
know what that is! We learned about it in school! It’s huge!”
Paul chuckled softly at his niece as he leaned over and kissed the top of her
head, knowing this was a learning experience of a lifetime for her, and asked,
“Yeah, and what’s that over there behind it?”
Imogen looked through her uncle’s window and gasped when she saw what it was. It
was the
After a short tour through
As soon as Paul disappeared in the arena, Emily turned to her best friend, took
her hands in hers, and softly asked, “What’s wrong, beautiful?” That was one of
three nicknames Emily called her and in turn, Jaslyn called her whatever came to
mind, but Angelface was the most popular.
Staring at her best friend, Jaslyn couldn’t hold the tears in her eyes any
longer as they slid down her cheeks freely. Emily sighed as she pulled Jaslyn in
her arms and held her, rocking her body gently, and wished she could take the
pain away. “I just miss him so much…” Jaslyn sobbed out, burying her face in
Emily’s neck, and started sobbing violently against her.
“I know, sweetheart, I know. I just wish there was something I could do to make
the pain easier.” Emily replied and closed her eyes, a few tears leaking from
them, and sighed deeply as her best friend poured her broken heart out to her.
Meanwhile, in the arena, Imogen was looking around, amazed by the size the place
gave off, and smiled up at her beloved uncle. She had always thought of Paul as
a second father to her because every time he’d come off the road, he’d bring her
something. Her father was always overseas so it was difficult for her to get
close to her father. Imogen’s huge, blue eyes widened when she seen a huge
person coming towards them and immediately hid behind Paul’s leg, causing him to
chuckle softly down at her.
David walked up and smiled at Paul, shaking his hand, and pulled him into a
brotherly hug as he whispered, “I’m sorry about the loss of Joseph, man.”
Paul smiled as he hugged David back, patting the big man, and looked down as he
said, “Imogen, you remember David, right? He used to visit your mom on more than
one occasion.”
Her eyes scaled up the length of this man and finally squealed before jumping
into his arms, causing David to laugh as he lifted her up in his arms, and
twirled her around. They pressed their foreheads together and said in unison, “I
missed you.”
“I missed you too, Gen.” David called her, which was Imogen’s nickname David had
given her. He looked at her in the eyes, seeing the trouble through them, and
looked toward the arena door. “Where’s your mom?”
Biting her bottom lip, Imogen sighed heavily as she replied in a low tone of
voice, “She’s outside with Emmy, Brownie.” Imogen replied smiling at the
nickname she’d produced for David because of his eyes. She loved the color of
his eyes because brownies were her favorite dessert.
David chuckled as he nodded; knowing this was extremely hard for Jaslyn, and
decided to give her the space he knew she needed. David and Jaslyn had been best
friends ever since he debuted in the WWE. They met through Paul when Jaslyn came
on the road with him a few years back. They were in a group called Evolution. It
involved her brother, David, Ric Flair, and the cocky, arrogant Randy Orton.
Jaslyn could not stand to be around Randy, especially when he’d tried hitting on
her the first night she’d came on the road with Paul. Paul immediately warned
the rookie not to fuck with his sister and Randy had listened.
From the moment David laid eyes on Jaslyn, he wanted her, but when he found out
she was married, he instantly backed off. He was in a rough marriage with his
now ex-wife Angie and she had two daughters Emily and Gracie. They were both in
middle school now and were two years apart. David had a daughter from his first
marriage and her name was Nicole. She was nineteen and in her freshmen year of
college. David was extremely proud of her and visited her and the other two
girls when he had the time off from the road.
Imogen was another love of his life. From the moment that little girl’s bright
blue eyes locked on his, David knew he was going to have a special bond with
her. She had her mother’s attitude and was incredibly smart for her age. He
couldn’t believe he’d known her for almost three years. Jaslyn he’d known a
little longer since him and Paul had become fast friends when Paul scouted him
in the OVW in
David’s thoughts were broken in half when the arena back doors opened and closed
and turned around, with Imogen in his arms, and locked eyes on Jaslyn. Her
gorgeous, flowing hair pooled down her back in luscious waves and her amber
colored eyes locked onto his for the first time in five months. That was the
last time she’d been on the road with Paul because there was a book convention
in the same city the WWE was performing. Jaslyn was a fiction writer and already
had multiple books on the New York Best Sellers list.
Setting the little girl down on the floor, David immediately ran to Jaslyn and
looked into her eyes as he said, “Hey feisty.”
That was all it took as Jaslyn broke down again in tears, causing David to sigh
heavily as he took her in his arms, and lifted her up in them. He knew she
wouldn’t be able to walk and could feel the sobs ripping through her body once
again. David tried to soothe her by whispering words in her ear, but all Jaslyn
did was cry harder, clinging to her best male friend. They had grown extremely
close over the past three years that he was in the business and Jaslyn could
trust him as much as her brother, which was a ton.
“I love him so much, David….” Jaslyn sobbed out as she buried her face in the
crook of his neck, causing his heart to shatter into a million pieces.
“Let’s get you to my dressing room so you can lie down. Then we’ll talk about
what happened, okay?” David suggested and all Jaslyn could do was nod her head,
too choked up to speak at the moment.
Paul sighed heavily as he watched David carry Jaslyn down the hallway toward his
dressing room and looked down at Imogen. His heart broke when he seen the huge
tears slowly sliding down her little face and lifted her up in his arms, causing
her legs to wrap around his waist. Her arms went around his neck as she buried
her face in his neck and cried her little heart out.
He wasn’t going to be an easy road, but Paul knew they would both heal in time.
After all, time heals all wounds, right?
Chapter 3
After Jaslyn calmed down enough to fall asleep, David decided to take Imogen for
a little walk around the arena. He didn’t want Imogen to see her mother in the
state she was in at the moment and knew Imogen wanted to see one of her best
buddies, Jeff Hardy. Jeff was best friends with Jaslyn and the moment Imogen
laid eyes on him, he was immediately known as Uncle Jeffy. David couldn’t help,
but laugh when Imogen told him the nickname she’d came up with for Jeff and
teased him about it.
Jeff was busy talking to Maria, one of the RAW Divas, when the sound of the
sweetest voice in the world sounded in his ear. He smiled widely and excused
himself from Maria’s presence before turning around and there she was. His
precious angel with her baby blue eyes and long, flowing dishwater blonde hair
like her mother. She looked just like Jaslyn except the eyes. Jeff smiled when
Imogen broke David’s grasp on her hand and ran to him, causing him to scoop her
up in his arms, and spun her around in circles.
A squeal came from Imogen’s lips as she started laughing and pressed her
forehead to his before stating, “I missed you, Uncle Jeffy.”
“I missed you too, angel.” Jeff replied as he hugged her close, knowing it was
going to be a hard road for Imogen to heal from the loss of her father. He was
going to do everything in his power to make sure this little girl laughed every
day she was on the road with them. Knowing Jaslyn and the state she was in, it
was going to be a while before they headed back home.
“Hey now, I thought you were my angel?” David piped in as he walked over to
them, winking at Jeff secretly, and Imogen just giggled as she shook her head in
response.
“Nope, I’m Uncle Jeffy’s angel. I’m your Gen.” Imogen corrected, causing David
to smirk as he took her from Jeff’s arms and spun her around before setting her
down on her feet.
David smiled down at her, loving the sound of her laughter, and looked up at
Jeff as he suggested, “Why don’t we go down to the ring?”
Imogen squealed with delight as she jumped up and down before running down the
hallway. Jeff and David immediately went after her, keeping their eye on her the
best they could, and finally stopped when they reached the cafeteria. Imogen had
gone in to get a bottle of water because she was thirsty and had an extra dollar
in her pocket. Before she could slide it in, David came up and pushed her hand
away before hitting the side of the machine and watched as a water bottle came
barreling out of the machine. Imogen smiled as David handed her the bottle of
water, after opening it to her, and took a long swig of it.
She popped the cap back on it and kissed David’s cheek before saying, “Thanks
Brownie.”
“Welcome, Gen.” David replied and winked down at her before lifting her up in
his huge arms once again. Jeff shook his head as he pouted at Imogen, who simply
giggled at him, and opened her water bottle as she squirted him with some.
David couldn’t help, but start laughing as he shook his head, staring at this
little girl in disbelief, and Jeff had his mouth open like a fish in shock. He
wiped the water from his face and looked at David before taking Imogen away from
him, laughing when she started screaming, and David held her down as they poured
some water over her delicate head. Imogen kicked and screamed as they did this
and when the finally let her go, her entire head was soaked. David and Jeff
stared down at the little angel of Jaslyn’s with their arms crossed in front of
their chests and sighed with great relief when she started laughing about it.
Suddenly becoming worried about Jaslyn, David sighed as he looked at Jeff and
quietly asked him while Imogen was ringing the water out of her hair, “Will you
watch Gen for a bit? I’m gonna go check on Jas to make sure she’s okay.”
“Yeah sure man. No problem. Just cell me when you’re done.” Jeff replied as he
looked down at the little girl and decided he’d take her down to the ring and
show her what his job involved. He would be extremely careful as always because
he knew if he wasn’t and Imogen got hurt in any way, shape or form that Jaslyn
would take her size nine foot and shove it up his ass.
David nodded his thanks and bent down to be eye level with Imogen. He took her
tiny hand in his much larger one and said, “Gen, I want you to go with Jeff
'cause I have a few things I need to take care of. I’ll be back to get you
though okay?” He wanted to make sure it was fine with Imogen before he left her
in Jeff’s care.
Sighing heavily and running a hand through her now soaked hair, Imogen took her
hand out of David’s and crossed her arms over her chest as she stated, “I know
you’re goin’ to see mommy, Brownie. You don’t have to keep it from me.”
David smiled and shook his head, not believing how well this little girl could
read him, and sighed as he nodded, “Okay you got me there. I’m just worried
about her, Gen and I don’t want you to be around her when she’s upset. Its bad
enough seeing her upset, but it kills me when I see you crying too.” David was
being one hundred percent honest with this little girl and knew she understood.
Biting her bottom lip, Imogen wrapped her arms around David’s neck and finally
let the tears flow down her cheeks. David sighed heavily as he held the little
girl against his strong body, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, and
rubbed her back gently. He knew this was extremely hard for Imogen because she
knew exactly what had happened to her father. Nothing was ever kept from Imogen
because Jaslyn wanted to treat her like a human being and not a porcelain doll.
She wasn’t going to do that to her daughter, especially when her mother and
father had done it to her, which is why Jaslyn was so emotionally unstable.
“I miss my daddy, Brownie.” Imogen whispered out after having herself a good cry
and David could feel his heart breaking in a million pieces when he heard her
sniffling.
It killed him, absolutely slaughtered him inside, when he seen any girl crying,
no matter the age. His own daughters could rip his heart out and stomp on it
when they cried because David hated saying goodbye to his girls every time he
spoke to them on the phone in their weekly calls. Imogen was just a like a
daughter to him and that would never change. Ever since Jaslyn had first brought
her on the road when she was two years old, David had fallen in fatherly love
with this little girl and would always be there for her whenever he possibly
could. Especially now with Joseph’s death and the fact that Jaslyn wasn’t in the
mental stability to watch her daughter around the arena.
“I know, Gen. I know you do, baby girl and I wish I could take your pain away.”
David replied as he held the little girl close to him and looked up at Jeff,
seeing the tears stinging his own eyes. Imogen was like a daughter to Jeff as
well so it killed him when she cried almost as much as it did David.
Jeff walked over to Imogen and lifted her up in his arms, causing Imogen to bury
her face in his neck, and wrapped her little legs around his waist. Jeff looked
at David with a sad look on his face and David mouthed to him, ‘Don’t cry in
front of her. I’ll be back.’ He then walked down the hallway after patting
Imogen on the back one final time and wondered how Jaslyn was holding up.
He walked into his dressing room a few moments later and sighed heavily when he
seen Jaslyn was up. She was sitting on the couch with her knees bent and her
head was buried in them with her arms wrapped around her legs. Jaslyn looked
like she was a little girl again in that position and it broke David’s heart to
hear her sobs echo off the walls of his dressing room. Taking a deep breath,
David made his way over to her and sat down on the couch, his elbows resting on
his knees, and waited for Jaslyn to acknowledge is presence.
Feeling the couch dip beside her, Jaslyn’s head slowly rose up as she looked
over at David, her eyes bloodshot from crying so much, and wiped them away
frantically as she asked, “When did you walk in?”
“A few moments ago.” David replied in a low, soft tone of voice, staring down at
the floor, and took another deep breath. He finally looked up into Jaslyn’s
piercing eyes, not caring if they were bloodshot or not, and reached a hand up
as he wiped away a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. “Are you okay?”
David asked softly, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was, and
sighed when she shook her head and burst out crying once more.
“No I’m not. Goddamn it, why did this have to happen to me and Imogen?! Is this
punishment from God for my sins in the past?!” Jaslyn exclaimed, the tears
pouring down her cheeks, and she actually winced 'cause her cheeks were so raw
from crying so much.
David immediately pulled the woman in his arms and cradled her in his arms,
seeing she was getting worked up, and whispered in her ear soothingly, “This
isn’t God’s fault or anyone’s Jaslyn. It was just his time…”
Jaslyn heard that and immediately shot up from David’s lap, glaring down at him,
and stated heatedly, “No it wasn’t! It wasn’t his time to fuckin’ go! He had a
family who loved him and a daughter to raise! This was NOT his time to go!!” Her
voice had risen from a shout to a scream as she dropped to her knees in front of
David, throwing her face in her hands, and screamed out to him, “WHY? WHY DID I
HAVE TO LOSE HIM?! WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE?!”
Deciding to just let her vent to him, David sat there as he stared down at her
with saddened eyes, wincing at the sound of her screaming voice, and replied in
a whisper, “I don’t know, Jas. I honestly don’t know.”
Jaslyn pounded her fists on the cement arena floor in pure anger, finally
letting it loose, and stood up as she started hitting David in the chest as hard
as she could. It wasn’t effecting him any so he didn’t mind as he held her arms
firmly and just let her pound her little heart out on him. Jaslyn finally got
tired after a few minutes before collapsing against him and David caught her in
his arms before she fell to the floor.
Her body completely sagged against his chest and David sighed, knowing she had
physically cried herself into exhaustion. He hated seeing her like this, but
knew it would be a long time before she was the same Jaslyn again. Gently
placing her back on the couch and covering her up with one of the spare blankets
he always brought with him to the arenas, David kissed her forehead and walked
out the door. He knew she had to rest her body because she hadn’t slept in days,
ever since she’d first found out the death of Joseph.
David remembered when she called him and revealed the tragic news about his
death. Her sobs over the phone broke him down and he actually cried after he got
off the phone with her. Joseph and he had been great friends throughout the
years that Jaslyn had been married to him and couldn’t believe he was gone.
David sighed heavily as he closed his eyes as he kept walking down the hallway
of the arena, remembering what Joseph had asked of him. He would never forget
the conversation as long as he lived.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was the last night before Joseph was departing from the United States and
going overseas in Iraq to join the war once again. He’d been home for a month
and was already going back so Jaslyn decided to throw him a going away party.
David was invited along with his three girls and everyone had a blast. Joseph
had pulled David aside while sipping on his beer and said he needed to talk to
him about something. Thinking it was nothing big; David smiled at the man as he
patted him on the back and shouted over to Jaslyn that he’d be right back with
her husband. Jaslyn stuck her tongue out at him before going back to play the
hostess while David and Joseph took a walk.
“So what’s this all about, man?” David asked once they were out of earshot of
the party.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Joseph looked up at him and said, “Listen; if I
don’t make it back from this war, I want you to have a beer for me. Don’t waste
your tears on me and make sure you take care of my family.”
Looking at this man who David considered one of his best friends, he shook his
head and replied, “Man don’t even think like that. I know you, you’ll pull
through without a scratch and when you get back, we’re gonna throw you a huge
coming home party and hopefully, it’ll be for good this time.”
“I’m serious, David. I want you to promise me that if anything happens to me,
that you’ll look after my family after I’m gone. If the good Lord calls me home,
I want to make sure that my family is in good hands and you’re the only one I
fully trust with them.” Joseph stated as he took a long swig of his beer and
David finally nodded his head as they shook hands, sealing the deal.
After the party was over later on that night, David was driving home from the
party, and felt the tears sting his eyes when a song came on the radio. He
wasn’t one to listen to country music, but this particular song tugged at his
heart strings as he blasted it and rolled down all four of his windows. The cool
night air blew throughout the car as he sped down the road, letting a few tears
slide down his face and couldn’t believe how well the lyrics mirrored the
conversation him and Joseph had earlier on that day at the party.
We went out for beers and a couple laughs
Knowin’ full well that every bad joke that Jimmy told
Might be his last
So we laughed like the world wasn’t at war
Said things to him we’d never said before
And he teared up as he held up his glass
He said, boys, if I don’t make it back
Have a beer for me; don’t waste no tears on me
On Friday night sit on the visitor’s side
And cheer for the home team
Drive my Camero, 90 miles an hour down Red Rock Road
With ‘Born to Run’ blastin’ on the radio
And find someone good enough for Amy
Who will love her like I would have,
If I don’t make it back
We said, hey, man that ain’t gonna happen
Don’t even think like that
If we know you, you’ll pull through without a scratch
He pulled me aside in the parkin’ lot
Said, Amy and me we’re gonna tie the knot
You’re my best man, just wanted you know that
Just in case if I don’t make it back
Have a beer for me, don’t waste no tears on me
On Friday night sit on the visitor’s side
And cheer for the home team
Drive my Camero, 90 miles an hour down Red Rock Road
With ‘Born to Run’ blastin’ on the radio
And find someone good enough for Amy
Who will love her like I would have
If I don’t make it back
If the good Lord calls me home
I’d like to think my friends
Will think about me when I’m gone
Well, Miller Lite ain’t my brand
But I drink one every now and then, in his honor
And we ain’t missed a home game yet
Had that Camero at a 110 on Red Rock Road
When the speakers blew
And I introduced Amy to a friend of mine from Monroe
He’s a good ol’ boy
But you know, she just ain’t ready
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The vision left David as he looked around, seeing he had arrived outside of the
arena and looked up at the clear, starry sky. He closed his eyes as the gentle
breeze blew through his hair and would never forget that song. He listened to it
religiously since Joseph died and knew he’d have to keep his promise to his best
friend.
He was gone now.
Joseph was gone and it was up to David to take over and protect Jaslyn and
Imogen at all costs.
Even if it meant giving up his very own life.
Chapter 4
A few weeks later, Jaslyn was sitting in her brother’s dressing room reading a
book, and keeping mostly to herself. She hadn’t spoke three words to her brother
and was thankful Paul was keeping her daughter company. Not to say Jeff and
David weren’t either, along with some of the other guys, but those were mainly
the three. Tears burned her eyes as Jaslyn came to a tragic part in the book and
she had to stop reading it, not wanting to think about her husband’s death. It
had been three weeks since his burial and Jaslyn spent countless hours crying
herself to sleep at night, wishing to be held in his arms one last time.
She craved to feel his warm touch and strong embrace, but knew it would never
happen until they met again in heaven. She knew that’s where he went because
he’d served his country well and went down fighting like a true hero. Joseph was
her hero and always would be, no matter what life threw her way. The new movie
World Trade Center with Nicolas Cage had recently came out in theaters and
Jaslyn refused to see it because what happened on September 11, 2001 would
remain in her heart and mind forever. It was also the reason why her husband was
overseas and died fighting for his country.
Closing her eyes and letting a few silent tears slide down her cheeks, Jaslyn
sighed deeply and knew she was being selfish in her thinking. So many lives were
destroyed that fateful day in New York and Pennsylvania and all Jaslyn could
think was how someone could do such a horrible thing to human beings. It was all
for a stupid, worthless culture that someone invented long ago and now the
country was paying for it. Jaslyn didn’t understand it and she didn’t want to in
all honesty because she’d lost her husband over it, the love of her life, and
she would never see him again.
Jaslyn’s thoughts were cut in half when she looked up at the clock in her
brother’s dressing room and seen it was close to the show ending. She sighed
deeply, wishing she had enough mental strength to go back to her and Joseph’s
house, but it was no use. She wasn’t strong enough yet and wouldn’t even attempt
to try because she knew if it backfired on her, she’d probably end up doing
something she’d regret later. It was bad enough she had to get up at four
o’clock in the morning to catch a flight to New York for the annual memorial
service of 911 victims. Her husband was apart of that group and knew she
couldn’t miss it.
What was nice to know was that she wouldn’t be alone going because David had
volunteered to go with her. At first, Jaslyn declined his offer, not wanting him
to miss anymore work than what he already had with his divorce from his ex-wife
Angela. David wouldn’t take no for an answer and eventually, Jaslyn had no
alternative, but to cave under his pleading. Those soft, light brown eyes that
sparkled with a hint of honey in them were impossible to decline to. After David
made her promise not to go without him that following morning, Jaslyn shook her
head at him and told him if he made her promise one more time, after the
twentieth time of doing so, he wouldn’t be going.
Just the thought of David sent a tingle throughout Jaslyn’s body and made her
smile. She couldn’t help it. Those eyes and the way the man carried himself
would make any woman drool. He dripped sexuality, especially with that soul
patch he had on his chin. It didn’t bother Jaslyn that he had both of his ears,
his belly button, or even his tongue pierced either. The man was not only
gorgeous, but he was funny, sweet, and had a real heart. They’d been best
friends for close to three years now and she couldn’t have been more close to a
man, besides her brother of course.
A knock on the door broke Jaslyn out of her thoughts about David and she looked
at it before calling out, “Come in.”
A very luscious and handsome looking David walked in, wearing sheer white suit
with a white beater underneath and black dress shoes. His hair was spiked up and
Jaslyn had to swallow hard to keep from gawking at him. The smell of his cologne
lingered in the air and filled his nostrils, causing her to bite back a soft
moan, and simply smiled up at him. She didn’t want him to worry about her, but
knew that was impossible to do. David smiled back at her as he winked and looked
at her, not believing how beautiful the woman looked in just a pair of blue
jeans and a Triple H t-shirt.
“Hello, beautiful.” David’s low voice echoed in her ear and smiled softly as he
walked over to her, grabbing her hands in his, and pulled her up from the couch.
Jaslyn immediately went in his arms, not even thinking twice about it, and
breathed in his wonderful scent as her head rested on his chest.
After a few moments of silence between them, Jaslyn finally managed to pull
herself out of David’s arms and took a deep breath before staring up in his eyes
and said, “I wanted to thank you for coming with me tomorrow. I honestly can’t
tell you how appreciative I am that you’d willingly come with me, especially
when its such a sad day for the country.”
“It’s for Joseph and besides, I didn’t want you to be alone. You’re shouldn’t be
alone right now period.” David replied, causing Jaslyn to run a hand through her
hair, and bit her bottom lip. He thought she was so cute whenever she did that
motion because it told him she had more to say.
“Still, you’re giving up an entire weekend that you could go and see your girls
with, but instead, you’re coming with me and I can’t tell you enough how
grateful I am.” Jaslyn stated, wanting him to know just how much it meant to her
that he was going with her. David was right, she shouldn’t be alone right now
and he was the only one who could help her start the healing process.
Chuckling softly at her and nodding, David took her hand in his and softly
brushed his lips across the top of her hand. He stared deep into her eyes,
seeing how red her cheeks were becoming, and smirked before saying, “My
pleasure, Jas.”
At that moment, Paul decided to walk in, sweaty from his match up against his
father-in-law and the owner of the WWE, Vince McMahon, and looked at the two
before him. He smiled softly at his sister, seeing the flushed look on her
cheeks, and ran a hand through his hair as he said, “I need to talk to my sister
alone, David.”
Jaslyn looked at her brother with a quirked eyebrow raised, wondering what her
brother had to talk to her about, and nodded as she said, “David, I’ll meet you
in the hotel room after I have a talk with Paul.”
“Excuse me? Did I just step into some unparallel universe?” Paul questioned,
staring at both his sister and one of his best friends with a quirked eyebrow.
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Jaslyn cleared her throat before
stating heatedly at her brother, “For your information, Paul, David is going
with me to New York tomorrow morning for the ceremony so we’re going to share a
double bedroom suite at the hotel tonight.”
“What about Imogen?” Paul asked immediately, worried about his niece, and
couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about the ceremony that his sister had to go to.
It was mandatory of her since her husband died in battle overseas in Iraq.
“She’s going to stay with Emily while we’re gone. It’s only going to be for a
few hours and Emily has seemed to fit right in the WWE. Her and Glenn Jacobs are
dating.” Jaslyn informed her brother, causing Paul to nod in understanding, and
felt bad that he wasn’t going with his sister to New York.
Paul ran a hand through his hair and replied, “I’m sorry. I completely forgot
about the ceremony, Jas. You know I’d go with you, but Stephanie’s last doctor’s
appointment is tomorrow afternoon and I can’t miss it and…”
To stop his blabbing, Jaslyn cut him off as she smiled at her brother and said,
“Don’t worry about it, Paulie. I understand fully that your wife comes first and
besides, David will be there. He’s one of our best friends after all.”
Paul nodded and David finally excused himself, kissing the top of Jaslyn’s head,
and promised to meet her in the hotel room after his photo shoot. When David was
fully out of the room, Paul turned around to stare at his sister and crossed his
arms in front of his chest, peering at her. Jaslyn hated it when her brother got
that look in his eyes because she knew he was assuming something was going on
between her and David. It happened with every boyfriend she had, especially with
Joseph.
“Don’t even go there, Paulie. There’s nothing going on between David and I and
there never will be. It’s too soon for me to even think about moving on from
Joseph…” Jaslyn stated before her brother could even accuse her and the tears
burned in her eyes at the mention of his name.
Shooting his hands up in defense, Paul looked at her and said, “I didn’t say
anything, Jas. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”
“Then what is it?” Jaslyn questioned, crossing her arms in front of her chest,
and Paul sighed when he sensed that certain tone in her voice that was one step
away from crying.
Before Paul could even utter another word, his heart broke in two pieces when he
seen the huge tears streak down his sisters cheeks. He immediately pulled her in
his arms and held her close, rubbing her back in circles, and wished he could
take her pain away. He knew this was extremely hard for her and the past three
weeks had probably felt like a nightmare. He couldn’t even comprehend what he’d
do if he ever lost Stephanie and shook his head immediately, not wanting to
think about the possibility. After letting his sister have a good, decent cry on
him, Paul finally pulled away from her and allowed her to sit down on the couch.
Jaslyn wiped away the remainder of her tears from her eyes and started to
apologize, when her brother stopped her, “Don’t even think about apologizing,
Jas. You have every right to cry. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about
something Vince mentioned to me.”
“What is it?” She softly asked in that vulnerable voice and Paul smiled at her
widely, hoping she didn’t completely blow up when he told her exactly what Vince
had suggested to him.
Taking a deep breath, Paul took his sister’s hands in his and looked into her
hazel colored eyes as he asked, “How would you like to be the new lead script
writer for Smackdown!?”
Chapter 5
Pure shock adorned her face as Jaslyn stared at her brother, looking like a
regular fish out of water, and didn’t know what to say. Her mouth was open in
the shape of an O and Paul was pretty sure he saw a few flies enter her mouth.
He chuckled softly at her, making Jaslyn blink a little, and the shock finally
wore off. She ran a hand through her waist length hair and chewed on her
thumbnail, not believing Vince McMahon actually wanted her to work for his
company. It was impossible.
Jaslyn playfully shoved her brother in the shoulder and said, “Come on Paulie,
what’s this really about?” She refused to believe that her brother’s
father-in-law was actually offering her a job. She was apart of the McMahon
family, but Jaslyn never felt like she was apart of them. Jaslyn was happy for
her brother, but she just didn’t feel like apart of the McMahon family legacy
and probably never would.
“Jas, Vince came to me with a job opening for the lead script writer position on
Smackdown!. I told him how good you write and showed him the website you’ve made
online and he was impressed and wants to offer you the job.” Paul explained, his
eyes sparkling back at his sister, and laughed when Jaslyn stared at him with
widened orbs.
“You’re s-serious. You’re not making this up. Vince really wants to offer me a
job?” Jaslyn asked in disbelief, running a hand through her hair, and let out a
squeal of delight when Paul confirmed her question to be true. She stood up from
the couch and started jumping around, not believing her dream was going to come
true, and then suddenly stopped when her daughter Imogen suddenly entered her
mind. “No, no I can’t do it, Paulie. I can’t make Imogen travel all over the
world with the WWE. I’m sorry, but…” Before she could say a word, Paul held his
hand up to silence her.
He stood up from the couch and hugged his sister close, loving the sound of her
voice being cheerful again, and pulled back as he stared into her eyes, “Jaslyn,
Imogen can be home schooled on the road and I’ll personally pay for her
teachings. She’s a smart kid and I know she’d love to travel with her family.”
“I just don’t know, Paulie. Can I have a few days to think about it?” Jaslyn
asked softly, making Paul nod at her in response.
He stood up, stretching his sore muscles, and groaned out a little as he looked
down at his sister, “Listen Jas, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go jump in the
shower really fast. I smell like a garbage disposal right now.”
Jaslyn couldn’t help, but laugh at her brother’s statement and shook her head,
plugging her nose with her hand, and stated, “Ewww go take a shower, stink ass!”
Paul smirked as he came toward his sister and hugged her, causing her to scream
out at him, and laughed while grinning, “Now we both smell like a garbage
disposal.” He stated, causing Jaslyn to glare at him spitefully, and Paul
laughed when she called him a muscle bound testosterone.
After packing her brother’s things and leaving him a quick note, Jaslyn walked
out of the dressing room and outside of the arena. She popped the trunk on her
car and placed her bag in it, shutting it, and got in her car as she stared
straight ahead. The air was crisp and cool so Jaslyn decided she’d leave the
windows down while she drove back to the hotel. For some reason, Jaslyn wanted
to hear some Toby Keith so she popped in the first CD she got her hands on of
his and turned it to track three. Tears instantly filled her eyes when the song
‘American Soldier’ started blasting through the speakers of the car and Jaslyn
drove down the road.
The tears scorched her cheeks as she sped up a little, the words flowing through
her like wine, and couldn’t help, but think how well the words mirrored her
deceased husband.
I’m just trying to be a father
Raise a daughter and a son
Be a lover to their mother
Everything to everyone
Up and at’em, bright and early
I’m all business in my suit
Yeah, I’m dressed up for success
From my head down to my boots
I don’t do it for the money
There’s bills that I can’t pay
I don’t do it for the glory
I just do it anyway
Providing for our future’s my responsibility
Yeah I’m real good under pressure
Being all that I can be
And I can’t call in sick on Mondays
When the weekends been too strong
I just work straight through the holidays
And sometimes all night long
You can bet that I stand ready, when the wolf growls at the door
Hey, I’m solid, hey I’m steady, hey, I’m true down to the core
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price
I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh, and I don’t want to die for you
But if dyin’s asked of me
I’ll bear that cross with honor
‘cause from freedom don’t come free
I’m an American soldier, an American
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand
When Liberty’s in jeopardy, I will always do what’s right
I’m out here on the front line
Sleep in peace tonight
American soldier, I’m an American soldier
Yeah, an American soldier, an American
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand
When Liberty’s in jeopardy I will always do what’s right
I’m out here on the front line
So sleep in peace tonight
American soldier, I’m an American
An American, an American soldier
Jaslyn walked into the hotel room, the tears still pouring down her cheeks, and
David didn’t have to think twice. He walked over to her and took her in his
arms, wrapping her up in his warmth and comfort. It broke his heart when
Jaslyn’s sobs started to tear through her body and wondered what had set her
off. David ran his fingers through her hair and let her cry on him, knowing it’s
what she needed.
When he felt her calm down a little, David pulled back a little and stared down
into her eyes before asking, “What happened?”
“It’s stupid.” Jaslyn replied as she wiped the stray tears from her eyes, but
didn’t release her grip on David. He felt so good and warm and all she wanted
was to feel loved by somebody again.
Looking deep into her bloodshot hazel colored eyes, David smiled as he stated,
“Nothing you say or do is ever stupid, Jaslyn. Now tell me what happened and
what set you off.”
Sighing deeply, Jaslyn smiled weakly up at her best friend and said, “I was
listening to a song on the way over here from the arena and it reminded me of
Joseph.”
Nodding in response and smiled softly, running his finger down her cheek, and
gently said, “That’s not stupid, Jaslyn. It’s natural to cry over someone you’ve
lost, no matter how long it takes. Crying is actually a great release.”
“Thanks, David. I needed to hear that right now. Listen, I’m gonna go take a
quick shower and then head to bed. You should do the same since we have a flight
at six A.M.”
“I will, but I want you to take your time in the shower. I’ll wait as long as it
takes.”
Nodding and kissing his cheek softly, Jaslyn thanked him before walking into the
bathroom to take a shower. She did as David said and took her time in there,
letting the hot water calm her body down. An hour later, she stepped out,
wearing a pair of black sleeping shorts and matching spaghetti strapped tank
top. David had to breathe in and out slowly at the sight of her, not believing
how beautifully shaped her body was in that outfit she was in. She was the most
gorgeous woman he’d ever laid eyes on and David was suddenly having a problem in
his pants.
He shot up from the bed and smiled at her nervously before quickly saying, “My
turn!” He then slammed the door behind him and closed his eyes, trying to get
himself somewhat under control, and silently thanked the man upstairs for
causing him to wear workout pants instead of jeans.
David quickly discarded his clothes and turned on the shower, feeling the ice
cold water on his hand, and knew he had to take one to calm himself down. He
looked down at his problem and sighed heavily, knowing it was going to be really
difficult to control himself since he was sleeping in the same bed as Jaslyn. He
knew he was falling in love with her, but also knew he couldn’t move in on her
so soon. It wouldn’t be right, even though that’s what Joseph had forced him to
promise at his going away party. David sighed heavily as he stepped inside the
shower groaning as the ice cold water poured down his rock hard body and just
put his head in the cold sprays.
After taking an hour shower, David finally stepped out, relieving himself of his
passion for Jaslyn, and towel dried his hair before slipping into his boxers
he’d brought with him. He walked out, seeing Jaslyn was standing by the balcony
door, and walked over to her as his arms wrapped around her waist. He couldn’t
help it. She was crying again and he couldn’t stand it. Jaslyn turned around and
buried her head in his chest, causing David to sigh as he felt her body shaking
against his, and looked out the window.
“It’s time for bed, honey.” David whispered in her ear and lifted her up in his
arms, gently placing her on her side of the bed, and covered her up with the
comforter. He kissed her forehead gently and crawled on his side of the bed,
deciding to stay above the covers, and groaned inwardly when she rolled over and
snuggled against his chiseled chest.
David sighed as he looked down at her, stroking her hair gently, and flipped
through the channels before falling into a deep sleep.
The following morning, Jaslyn slowly got up from bed, feeling like she’d gotten
hit by a Mack truck, and sighed deeply as she stumbled into the bathroom. She
looked in the mirror, seeing a former shell of the person she used to be staring
back at her, and shook her head. She turned the faucet on, splashing some water
on her face to wake her up, and then walked back out to wake David up. He looked
so peaceful to her that Jaslyn couldn’t help, but smile a little down at him.
She hated to have to wake him up, but unfortunately, they had a flight to catch.
Sitting down beside him, Jaslyn looked down at him and shook him a little as she
said, “David, David come on, you gotta get up.”
He wouldn’t move and Jaslyn knew she wouldn’t wake him up this way. A slow smirk
crossed her lips when she figured out how she could get him up so she leaned
down and pressed her lips softly to his, causing David to instantly wake up as
he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her on top of him. Jaslyn had
every intention of pushing him away, but when she felt his tongue enter her
mouth, she couldn’t help, but start kissing him back. The amount of passion she
felt in her body was enough to light the Sears tower on fire. David groaned as
he dueled his tongue with her, his bar bell tongue ring making the moment even
more intimate, and started to run his hands up her tank top.
Jaslyn heard alarms going off in her head as she quickly tore away from the kiss
and looked down at David, not believing what just happened between them, and
hopped off of him instantly. She ran a hand through her hair and bit her bottom
lip, her entire body trembling from head to toe, and felt the tears slowly
sliding down her cheeks. David looked at her, finally getting a clear head, and
quirked his eyebrow up at Jaslyn, wondering what had just happened. No words
were spoken between them as David and Jaslyn packed their things and drove to
the airport in silence.
An hour later, they were on a flight to New York City for the September 11th
ceremony that was taking place. Jaslyn didn’t want to go, but she had no choice
considering her husband had died in battle for the war against terrorism. The
entire flight there, Jaslyn didn’t speak one word to David, not knowing exactly
how to explain what had transpired back in the hotel room. She hadn’t meant to
kiss him and have it turn into something more, but it did and it frightened her
to say the least. David was thinking the same thing, except he was wondering why
she had kissed him in the first place. David made a vow that once they got back
from this ceremony in New York City that Jaslyn and him would sit down and have
a talk about what had happened.
Chapter 6
David held Jaslyn close to his body as he watched five jets speed through the
sky and the military started marching out. They were standing in front of the
huge statue that had all the victims names who had lost their lives in the World
Trade Center engraved on it. Tears streamed freely down Jaslyn’s cheeks and
covered her ears when the soldiers of the ceremony chanted and then pulled the
triggers on their rifles. They did nine times one way and then eleven times the
other and then the President of the United States, George Bush, made a speech
about the tragic events of September 11th. By the time the ceremony had ended,
the sun was going down over the horizon and Jaslyn was beat.
Over the next five months, things had started heating up between David and
Jaslyn. He never left her side for one second and both girls were very grateful
for it. Jaslyn wanted to cry her heart and soul out the first time Imogen
accidentally called David dad. She knew her little girl was missing her father
and David had been a father figure to her. Jaslyn felt close to David and she
even agreed to share a hotel room with him. They had started sharing the same
bed because Jaslyn didn’t want to be alone and sleeping in his arms wasn’t
exactly a bad thing.
Jaslyn and David arrived back at the hotel one night and Jaslyn had a long hot
shower on her list. It had been a stressful and emotional day for her because
that day marked the sixth month that her husband had been deceased and all she
wanted to do was shower and go to bed. Imogen was saying with Emily for the
night in Glenn’s hotel room. They had recently started dating and Jaslyn was
more than happy for her best friend.
The shower was put on hold because David had other plans as he walked inside the
bathroom, seeing Jaslyn still had her robe on, and wrapped his arms around her
waist from behind. She instantly melted into his body and arms, needing to feel
his warmth at that moment, and closed her eyes. Running his fingers through her
hair, David kissed her neck softly before reaching over and shutting the shower
faucet off.
Jaslyn turned around in his arms, staring up into his light, brown eyes that
were filled with nothing, but love for her, and sighed as she asked, “What are
you doing?”
“I want you to relax tonight so I’m going to make you a nice, hot bubble bath
and if you’d like, I’ll share it with you. I promise, I won’t try anything, Jas,
but I know you need to feel love and comfort after today.” David explained,
being completely honest with her, and hoped she didn’t object to the bath idea.
He also wanted to talk with her about where they’re relationship was going.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Jaslyn nodded in agreement and softly
replied, “That sounds wonderful. Do you want me to wait out in the bedroom or…?”
She trailed off and David smiled at her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I’ll call you in when its ready.” He replied in a low, soft voice, and Jaslyn
nodded before walking out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Fifteen minutes later, David finally walked out of the bathroom, a towel draped
around his waist, and smiled at the beauty before him. He extended his hand
toward her and Jaslyn took it without hesitation. Pulling her in his arms, David
started kissing down her neck while his arms were wrapped around her waist, and
Jaslyn immediately fell under his spell. She knew that it was wrong to do this
with David so soon after her husband’s death, but Jaslyn was tired of hurting.
She wanted to be loved and knew David could make her feel that way, even for one
night.
He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes, seeing the admiration and desire
coursing through them, and lead her into the bathroom. The light was off, but
before her stood the most beautiful scenery. There were at least twenty white
candles lit all over the bathroom and the tub was filled with water and bubbles.
Jaslyn covered her mouth with her hand, not expecting this from David, and bit
her bottom lip when she felt his hot breath on her ear. Without his help, Jaslyn
slowly untied her robe and let it slide from her shoulders and pooled down at
her feet in a pile, revealing her beautiful naked form to David’s eyes.
David had to swallow hard and use everything in his big body to restrain himself
from taking her in his arms, pinning her against the nearest wall, and taking
her as his own. That wasn’t the type of person he was though and tonight, he
wanted to make Jaslyn completely relax with him. David let the towel slide from
his waist and Jaslyn gasped when she felt his apparent erection press against
her backside. Staring straight ahead, Jaslyn closed her eyes before allowing
David to lead her toward the tub, and he got in first. Her eyes met his as he
guided her into the hot water, the steam rising all around them, and David sat
down first, the water rising a little more with his weight.
Sitting down between his thighs in the tub, Jaslyn winced at how hot the water
was, but felt her body melt against David. She leaned back against him, smiling
softly, and closed her eyes as the soothing water calmed her tormented soul.
“Thank you for everything, David.” She finally whispered out after a few moments
of silence between them.
“My pleasure, sweetheart.” David replied and grabbed the washcloth, pouring the
jasmine scented body wash on it, and rubbed it together a little as it foamed
up. He then started running it over her arms, back up them, and then down her
chest as he incorporated the water into it. “Can I ask you something, Jaslyn?”
David whispered in her ear as he continued to massage her body with the
washcloth.
“You can ask me anything, David. You should know that.” She replied, no
hesitation in her voice, and ran a hand through her hair as it pooled down and
scrunched up in the middle of her back in the water and on David’s chest.
Taking a deep breath, David sat up a little more in the tub, and dropped the
washcloth in the water as he started massaging Jaslyn’s shoulders with his
strong hands. He was trying to get all of his thoughts in order and finally
asked, “I don’t want to push you or anything, but where is this relationship
going between us?”
Jaslyn bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, the feel of his lips still on
hers, and rubbed the back of her neck as she replied, “I’m not sure, David. I
really haven’t thought about it. I’m still so vulnerable from Joseph’s death,
but you’ve been so wonderful toward me and my daughter. I just…I just need some
time to heal.” She was being completely honest with him, but her feelings for
David were growing stronger and faster. That morning five months ago, when David
wouldn’t get up and Jaslyn had kissed him to wake him, something sparked inside
of Jaslyn’s heart that she thought had died along with Joseph.
“If you feel something for me then why should you hide it, Jaslyn?” David softly
asked, wanting to get inside her mind and figure out exactly what was going on
up there. David knew there was more to it and wanted to know the mystery behind
her words.
Sighing deeply and running a hand down her face, Jaslyn looked straight at the
shower wall ahead of her and said, “I just want to feel loved again by someone.
You’ve been so great with me and Imogen. I miss Joseph, don’t get me wrong, but
I’ve always felt something for you, David. I can’t explain it.”
“I see.” David answered and wrapped his arms around her waist, wanting to take
her pain away, and closed his eyes as he held her closer to his big, strong
body.
The rest of the bath was made in silence, each person in their own thoughts, and
Jaslyn was falling asleep against David’s chest. David smiled down at her
sweetly and stood up, her in his arms, and stepped out of the bubbly suds.
Jaslyn was asleep against his chest as David wrapped a towel around her body
after setting her down on the feet. He then lifted her back up in his arms and
carried out to the bedroom, laying her gently on the bed, and kissed her
forehead gently before drying himself off with another towel.
David grabbed Jaslyn’s bag and fished out a pair of panties and nightgown for
her and slowly pulled them both on her body. He didn’t want her to wake up the
following morning thinking something happened between them that she didn’t
remember. David then slipped on a pair of boxers and lifted her up in his arms
again, pulling the comforter back, and laid her gently back down before pulling
the comforter up to cover her body. He didn’t want her getting sick, even though
the hotel room they were in was warm.
After brushing his teeth and doing a few other things before bed, David finally
climbed in beside Jaslyn, who looked like an angel when she slept. He smiled
down at her, running his finger down her cheek, and wrapped his arms around her
body, pulling her tight against his chest. He couldn’t believe they had slept
this way for the past six months and hoped that her heart healed enough to allow
him in. He wanted to fulfill Joseph’s promise and was doing so, but David wasn’t
sure that Joseph would approve him falling in love with her.
Closing his eyes and holding her tighter, David sighed deeply as the revelation
crashed over him harder than a tsunami wave. He was in love with her and David
could only hope and pray that Jaslyn felt the same way. With that thought
process in mind, David finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, with
the love of his life in his arms.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, a couple of hotel rooms down, Glenn was giving Emily the romp of her
life. His hands caressed her soft, smooth skin with his strong hands, and both
were keeping it down, not wanting to wake Imogen up. The poor little girl had
cried herself to sleep with Emily holding her tightly and that caused Emily to
cry after Imogen had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Glenn seen this and
immediately pulled her in his arms, causing her to cry on his chest, and let her
release her emotions all over him. Emily had looked up into his soft eyes and
Glenn didn’t think twice about it as his lips descended on hers.
“Oh Glenn…” Emily moaned out in a whisper, running her hands over his bald head,
and arched her back against his strong body as he thrusted in and out of her a
little harder and faster.
Their breathing started to quicken as Emily’s legs wrapped around his waist,
causing him to groan because that made his cock go deeper inside of her dripping
wet sex. Emily pulled Glenn down, their lips crashing together, silencing their
cries of passion with each other. They had been dating for three months and
hadn’t had sex yet so this was definitely a special moment between both of them.
“Emily…Baby, you’re so tight, girl…You ready to feel my pain, baby?” Glenn
groaned out against her lips, rocking his hips harder as theirs crashed
together, getting caught up in the passion that swirled around them.
“Mmm harder, Glenn…Pound me, please. Bring me pain beyond my wildest dreams!”
Emily moaned back in response, wrapping her arms around his neck, and allowed
him to go even deeper inside of her. She still couldn’t believe she was making
love to a wrestler, but then again, fate had a funny way of twisting up your
life and bringing you to the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your
life with.
Within seconds, Emily’s orgasm hit her hard, not being able to take anymore of
Glenn’s torturous thrusts, and covered her mouth with her hand as she screamed
out his name in pure ecstasy. Glenn’s orgasm tore through him as hers triggered
his and sank his cock deep inside of her with one final, hard thrust, and
exploded his seed, letting his semen splash against her walls. Emily cried out
again, but Glenn muffled it with his mouth, and groaned against her lips as he
felt his cock become limp inside of her. Their breathing was extremely ragged as
Glenn collapsed on top of her, but quickly rolled to the side, not wanting to
crush her body. Emily’s chest was rising up and down at a fast pace, trying to
get her breathing under control, and finally managed to slow her heartbeat.
Glenn stared deep into her eyes and smiled softly as he whispered against her
lips, “I love you, Emily. I know its really sudden, but I’ve never felt as close
to anyone as I do you.”
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes as Glenn’s words touched Emily, filling
her heart with hope and love, and kissed his lips softly. The tears poured down
her cheeks as she broke the kiss and whispered back, “I love you too, Glenn.”
They ended up making love quietly one final time that night before falling
asleep in each other’s arms. Neither person could’ve expected to fall in love so
easily with the other, but it was absolutely perfect timing. As Emily fell
asleep in Glenn’s arms, she couldn’t help, but picture her future as Mrs. Glenn
Jacobs.
Chapter 7
Weeks and months passed by and David knew he was falling in love with Jaslyn.
Every single thing about her was perfect in his eyes and nobody would change his
mind about it. Imogen was growing up to be a beautiful little girl and before
David knew it, two years had passed. Jaslyn was working as the lead script
writer for the Smackdown! brand while her brother was on RAW. They talked, but
soon drifted apart because of how hectic their schedules were. David was the
only solid rock in Jaslyn’s life and Paul was perfectly fine with it.
Imogen was eight years old now and taking home school courses that Paul had
promised to pay for. She was a smart cookie so Jaslyn knew she would have no
problem graduating high school. Imogen had succeeded so much that her on the
road teacher had told Jaslyn she could skip ahead a couple of grades if she
wanted. When Jaslyn asked her daughter, Imogen refused, wanting to be a normal
little girl and go through all twelve grades normally.
Jaslyn knew she was falling in love with David. It was obvious and there was no
doubting it. The man was so sweet to her and made her feel loved and special in
every way. It was almost as if the world stopped whenever they were together and
Jaslyn loved every second of it. He made it a special ritual to have at least
one bath together with her a week while Imogen stayed with Emily and Glenn in
their hotel room, which she didn’t mind.
Glenn had proposed to Emily one year after they were together and she couldn’t
turn him down even if her life depended on it. They were married two months
later in a small ceremony with Jaslyn as her matron of honor and Mark Callaway
as Glenn’s best man. Mark Callaway played the character of the Undertaker on the
Smackdown! roster, but he was only part time. He had two little girls at home by
the names of Chasey and Gracie along with his wife Sara. Mark and Glenn had
basically grown together in the business and were like brothers, even though
they played brothers on television. Glenn was the character Kane and Kane was
the Undertaker’s little brother.
Of course, Emily wasn’t about to get married without Imogen being her beautiful
flower girl. Mark’s girls were flower girls as well, but Imogen walked in front
of them and was proud of it. She looked so amazing in her flower girl wedding
dress, which matched Emily’s, and afterwards, they had a small reception with
close friends, family, and relatives. Glenn took Emily on a romantic three week
cruise across the Pacific ocean and all of Hawaii, including the islands. Emily
couldn’t have been happier and she profusely thanked Paul and Jaslyn for
allowing her to come on the road with them.
After the wedding, David started doing more things with Jaslyn, wanting to prove
his life to her. Romantic dinners on the verandas of their beach hotel rooms
that David booked with his own money whenever they were staying by the ocean for
a few days; walking hand and hand down the beach, their fingers entwined
together watching the sunset over the horizon of the oceans; sitting on the
beaches in the sand late at night, underneath the glistening stars, just
enjoying each other’s company. David’s favorite thing to do with Jaslyn would
have to be taking those special baths with her. It wasn’t a sexual thing either.
He enjoyed washing her body and making her completely relaxed.
One night, Jaslyn and David finished having their ritual bath together and had
fallen asleep, but she couldn’t for some reason. Jaslyn slowly slipped out of
the bed, careful not to wake David, and slipped her robe on as she walked over
to the balcony door, seeing it was raining out, and sighed. Her head leaned
against the wall as the rain slowly slid down the windows of the balcony doors
and started thinking about the past two years of her life. Joseph’s death had
hit her harder than anything in the world and Jaslyn knew if David hadn’t been
there for her and Imogen, she probably would never have recuperated from it.
Her thoughts suddenly turned to Joseph and smiled as his face entered her mind.
She looked down at her left hand, seeing the ring that she once wore was gone,
and sighed in contentment. She could finally let go and heal her heart, without
a worry in the world. Joseph was gone and he would remain in her heart forever,
but Jaslyn had already given her heart to someone else.
That someone else was her prince charming, the one who had taken her on dinners,
walks, and spent all of his waking moments with her. He was the one who had
slept with her and held her tightly in his arms every night for the past two
years. He was the one who had been there when she finally had the courage to go
back to her and Joseph’s house and gave her the strength she needed to go
through her late husband’s things. He was there when she had to reluctantly sign
the divorce papers from her deceased husband and let her cry on his shoulder
throughout the entire process. He was the one she loved with all her heart and
soul, the one she couldn’t get enough of, and the one who she wanted to spend
the rest of her life with.
Imogen called him dad by mistake at first, but then as time rolled by, she
started calling him dad fully. Every time she’d see him, she’d always call him
daddy. Jaslyn didn’t like it at first, not wanting Imogen to get the wrong idea,
and actually had a talk with her daughter about it. She’d asked her daughter why
she was calling David her father and Imogen smiled at her.
“He reminds me so much of daddy that I can’t help, but call him that, mom.” Was
her response and Jaslyn ended up breaking down at her daughter’s answer. She
knew Imogen was right and that started part of the healing of her heart.
Her thoughts were cut in half as Jaslyn closed her eyes, feeling those familiar
arms wrap around her waist, and leaned back against his strong chest. He was
always there for her, day or night, whenever she needed him. Turning around in
his arms and staring up in his eyes, Jaslyn smiled softly up at him and
whispered gently, “What are you doing up?”
“I should ask you the same thing.” David murmured softly in her ear, sending
shivers of desire down her spine, and Jaslyn bit her bottom lip as she ran her
fingers down his strong chest.
David rubbed her back gently with his hands, smiling softly down at her, and bit
back a groan when her hands started caressing his chest. He loved feeling her
touch and couldn’t get enough of it. Jaslyn looked up into his soft, light brown
eyes that were filled with so much love for her and she couldn’t take it
anymore. She took a step back, never breaking eye contact with him, and had him
sit on the bed. David couldn’t help, but wonder what was on Jaslyn’s mind and
nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared him for what was about to come out of her
mouth.
Taking her robe and sliding it off, revealing her dark maroon matching bra and
panties, and walked over to him as she slid on his lap, straddling him. David
was about to protest to what she was doing, but Jaslyn quickly pressed her
finger to his lips, silencing him. She stared deeper into his eyes as her hands
caressed his face lovingly, and whispered with tears in her eyes, “I need to
tell you something before I lose my nerve.”
Kissing her finger that was pressed against his lips, David smiled, wrapping his
strong arms around her waist, and replied softly, “What is it, Jas?”
“I’m in love with you, David.” She finally breathed out after a few moments of
silence between them and pressed her lips to his in a soft, sensual kiss filled
with nothing, but love.
The amount of resistance that David had been holding back for the past two years
finally came crashing down as he kissed her back, needing to feel her touch and
body against his. His hands gently trailed up and down her back, feeling her
soft skin against his fingertips, and groaned when she opened her mouth and
granted access for his tongue. It was the first real kiss they’d had and David
was immediately addicted to the taste of her sweet mouth. She was the most
beautiful, intelligent, and vibrant woman he’d ever laid his eyes on and David
wasn’t about to lose her for anything or anyone.
They just sat there on the bed, kissing each other like it was going to be the
last time, and David finally broke it, completely breathless. He looked deep
into Jaslyn’s eyes, seeing the hazel color was now a deep green with a hint of
blue mixed, and tried to regain his composure. That kiss sent shocks of
electricity all throughout his body and David wanted to feel that way for the
rest of his life. Jaslyn smiled back as she caressed his face, feeling her heart
finally opening up and flooding with love for this man who had been there for
her and her daughter for the past two years. She wasn’t going to hold back this
time because somehow, someway, she knew that if Joseph wanted her to move on
with anyone, it would be David.
“Jaslyn…” David whispered out, running his thumb along her bottom lip, and
couldn’t find anything more to say. Her name was the only thing that kept racing
through his mind and heart.
“Make love to me, David.” She commanded in a soft whisper, her breathing ragged
from the intense kiss they’d shared, and smiled softly into his eyes.
David ran a hand through his hair as he looked into her eyes, seeing all the
love pouring out in them, and took a deep breath. He didn’t want her to do this
because of Joseph as he gently stood up, her in his arms, and sat back down on
the bed with her sitting beside him after he’d set her down. The words of Joseph
echoed in David’s mind and it was making his heart hurt because he didn’t want
Jaslyn to think he’d done this just because it was Joseph’s last request to him.
He knew he had to be honest with her and that’s exactly what he was going to do
on this night.
“David…?” Jaslyn started to question him, wondering why he wouldn’t make love to
her, and bit her bottom lip as she lowered her eyes to the floor, feeling like a
complete idiot.
“Jaslyn, there’s something I need to tell you before you make any decisions
about us.” David cut her off, not meaning to, but he had to get this out as he
stood up from the bed, his entire body trembling from fear of losing her, but
knew this was the right time to tell her.
Wrapping her arms around herself and stretching out to get her robe from the
floor, she slipped it back on and looked over at him as she asked, “What is it?”
Her voice was filled with nothing, but hurt and regret, which David picked up,
and it literally tore his heart in half.
Raking a hand through his short, dark hair, David started pacing back and forth
in front of her, not knowing how he was going to tell her about this. A few
minutes passed between them and he finally looked over at her and asked, “Do you
remember the party you threw for Joseph before he went back overseas?”
“What about it?” Jaslyn nodded and questioned, wondering where David was coming
from with this, and felt her heart start to break in half at the look in his
eyes. “What happened, David?”
“Joseph and I went for that walk and…he started talking about how he could die
in the war and everything. I told him to shut up and not to talk like that, but
he was dead serious. He made me promise him something.” David finally got to the
point after blabbing and looked out into the rainy night sky, wishing he didn’t
have to do this, but there was no other alternative.
If Jaslyn was going to love him for the rest of her life, he wanted to be
completely honest with her. He loved Jaslyn more than anything in the world,
more than his own life, and would give his right arm to see her happy. He loved
watching her smile because it lit up the world whenever she did. Her eyes
sparkled whenever she laughed and it was intoxicating to him. Everything was
perfect with her and David wanted to spend the rest of his life loving her, but
in order to do that, he had to tell her about Joseph’s request of him.
“What did he make you promise?” Jaslyn slowly asked and stood up from the bed,
tears burning her eyes as she looked at the man who had stolen her heart, and
felt her stomach start to do flip flops.
Sighing heavily, David closed his eyes, remembering the conversation like it was
yesterday, and finally answered, “He made me promise to look after you and
Imogen if and when he passed and to have a beer for him and not to cry over
him…” David trailed off, the tears pouring down his cheeks, and quickly wiped
them away. The raw emotion he was feeling at that moment was enough to make
anyone’s heart break and Jaslyn’s was doing just that as she looked simply
looked at him. “He made me promise to find someone to love you and take care of
you because he didn’t want you to be alone. Jaslyn, I’m going to tell you right
now, I…” Before David could even utter another word, she had walked over and
stood right in front of him.
Before he could tell what was happening, the stinging pain in his cheek radiated
throughout his body as he felt her hand slap his cheek as hard as she could. He
held his cheek in shock, staring at her with an open mouth, and went to say
something, but she cut him off. “I understand perfectly! You don’t love me and
you never have! You were just pitying us and doing what Joseph wanted! That’s
really low, David! Do me a favor and stay away from me and my daughter, you
asshole!” She shouted and gathered her things while David just watched her, too
stunned to do anything else.
Within minutes, Jaslyn was out of his hotel room and out of his life. David
finally came out of the shock his body was in and immediately crumbled to the
floor, wishing she would’ve let him tell her the rest of what he was going to
say. He was in love with her! That was the whole purpose of telling her about
Joseph’s request. He was in love with her and he would prove it to her if he was
the last thing he ever did in his life.
Chapter 8
Tears streamed down Jaslyn’s cheeks as she ran down the hallway of the hotel her
and David were staying at, desperately searching for Emily and Glenn’s room. She
still couldn’t believe what David said and it was breaking her heart into pieces
once again. All she wanted was to take her daughter in her arms and hold her
tightly, needing to feel the love and comfort from her blood. Jaslyn finally
arrived in front of the hotel suite that was number 2449 and knocked on it
harshly. She didn’t want anyone seeing her in the condition she was currently in
so she had to get into the hotel suite immediately.
Emily heard the harsh knocking on their hotel room door and slowly slid out of
bed, knowing Glenn could sleep through a monsoon if he wanted to, and laughed
softly at that thought. She slipped on her robe and walked out of the bedroom of
the suite, tying it as she went, and wondered who could be at her door this late
at night. It was around three in the morning and they had a flight at noon that
same day. Emily yawned tiredly as she looked through the peephole of the door
and immediately opened it upon seeing Jaslyn’s tear streaked face. A sobbing
Jaslyn immediately tumbled into her arms and Emily closed her eyes, wondering
what had happened.
The sobs tore through her body like a tornado as Jaslyn held her best friend,
crying her heart and soul out, and Emily didn’t know what to think or say. She
just rubbed her best friend’s back soothingly, wondering what had happened, and
knew it wasn’t about Joseph. Jaslyn had quit crying over him months ago so Emily
wondered if it had something to do with David. What could David have possibly
done to her? Emily sighed heavily as she pulled out of the embrace Jaslyn had on
her and lead her over to the couch before they both sat down on it.
“What happened, sweetie?” Emily softly asked, hoping they didn’t disturb Imogen
or Glenn’s restful slumbers.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Jaslyn looked at her best friend
and replied, “I told him I loved him and he…he told me the REAL reason why he
was taking care of me and Gen.” Her voice was low and quiet, full of heartbreak
and deceit.
Emily quirked her eyebrow up at Jaslyn, wondering what she meant by that, and
touched her hand as she asked, “What exactly did he say to you, honey?”
“He said that when he and Joseph went for a walk at Joseph’s last going away
party I threw for him that Joseph made him promise something.” Jaslyn answered
halfway, the tears already pooling in her eyes again, and as soon as Emily
lifted her chin to meet eyes, the tears slid down Jaslyn’s cheeks freely.
“What did he make David promise?” Emily pried, wanting to know the whole story
before she went down to David’s hotel room and gave him a piece of her mind.
The memory overtook Jaslyn as she started crying harder, throwing her face in
her hands, and sobbed out, “He…He said that…that Joseph made him promise…promise
to take care of us if he passed away and…and to find me someone else to love
because he didn’t…didn’t want me to be alone.” Her voice was shaky and the
hiccups had started because of how hard she was crying.
Emily gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand, not believing Joseph would
make David promise something like that, and shook her head sadly. “Is that all
David said to you, sweetie?” She asked and sighed heavily when Jaslyn just
nodded in response.
“He never cared about me or wanted to be with me. He was only doing it out of
pity for me and Gen. I told him I was in love with him and wanted him to make
love to me and that’s what brought out his confession of his promise to Joseph.”
Jaslyn explained, calming down a little more, but her heart was shattering into
a million pieces. The shocked expression on Emily’s face made Jaslyn sigh
heavily as she ran a hand through her long, waist length hair. She hadn’t told
anyone how she was feeling about David because she wasn’t even sure herself if
the feelings were real, until tonight. Jaslyn touched Emily’s hand with her own
and whispered softly, “I’m sorry, Em. I wanted to tell you how I felt about him,
but…I wasn’t even sure myself.”
Emily finally blinked after a few moments of silence between them and managed to
ask, “You…You’re in LOVE with him?!”
Jaslyn nodded and put her head in her hands, crying harder than she ever had
before, even with Joseph’s death. Emily consoled her friend the best she could,
rubbing her back gently, and shook her head, not believing the term of events
that went on. What Emily didn’t want to tell Jaslyn was she knew David was in
love with her because he’d told Glenn on more than one occasion and in turn,
Glenn told her. David made them both swear not to tell Jaslyn because he wanted
to be the one to do it, but Emily never knew about the pact that Joseph and
David had made. She was starting to wonder herself if David was just saying he
was in love with her to fulfill his promise in finding someone for Jaslyn to
love because that was part of the promise that David made to Joseph.
Their thoughts were cut in half when the bedroom door opened behind them,
causing both women to turn around, and there stood Glenn. He was wearing a pair
of black boxers as he stretched his sore muscles and walked over, immediately
becoming concerned when he seen Jaslyn crying. He looked over at his lovely wife
and asked softly, “What happened?”
Emily sighed heavily as she looked down at her friend, seeing she was half
asleep, and looked up at her husband as she said, “Let me get her settled in and
then we’ll discuss this in the bedroom.”
Glenn nodded as he dropped a quick kiss on her lips before venturing back inside
the bedroom of the suite. He slipped under the comforter of the bed and waited
patiently for his wife to return, wanting to know why Jaslyn was in their hotel
suite at three o’clock in the morning crying her eyes out. Glenn knew it had
something to do with David and also knew Emily would tell him everything. They
never kept anything from each other and that’s what made their marriage that
much stronger.
After Emily got Jaslyn situated in the bedroom, the one Imogen was sleeping in;
she walked back into her and Glenn’s bedroom and sighed with a heavy heart.
Glenn seen how emotionally distraught his wife was and extended his arms to her,
making her smile, and walked over to him. Glenn pulled her in his arms, her body
landing on top of his, and kissed her lips softly. Emily moaned gently against
his lips and broke the kiss, leaning her forehead against his, wanting this
moment to last forever. The man had always found a way to brighten her spirits
up, no matter how down she was, and Emily was grateful to him for that.
They kissed a couple more times before Glenn finally asked, “So, what is your
best friend doing in our hotel suite at three in the morning?”
Taking a deep breath, Emily began explaining to Glenn what had happened between
Jaslyn and David, even telling him about Jaslyn telling the man how she felt. It
took about a half an hour to explain everything and Glenn was speechless. Jaslyn
was in love with David?! He ran a hand over his half bald head and sighed,
shaking his head, and finally managed to speak, “That’s really fucked up. How
could David do something that stupid, especially after she told him she loved
him?” He was speaking to himself more than his wife, the question just flying
out of his mouth freely.
“I know it is. We both know how David really feels about her so why would he go
and reveal to her Joseph’s last wish to him?” Emily questioned, running her
fingers through her hair, and bit her bottom lip gently.
Glenn shook his head and replied, “I don’t know, sweetheart. The only logical
explanation that I can come up with is maybe he didn’t want her to know how he
felt until all the secrets were spilled out, but that’s just my opinion.”
Nodding in agreement, Emily sighed along with her husband; his arm wrapped
around her body, and softly said, “Maybe that is it. I think maybe its time I go
down and half a heart to heart with David. I know he’s not sleeping.”
“Honey, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” Glenn trailed off, not wanting
his wife to be wandering the halls in the middle of the night, especially in a
hotel.
“I won’t be long, I promise, Glenn. Please let me go. I need to find out what’s
going on so maybe I can reconcile my friends.” Emily pleaded with her husband,
her big green eyes sparkling back at him, and smiled when Glenn finally caved
in.
He kissed her lips softly and stated, “Hurry back. I’m not going to bed without
you in my arms.”
Emily smiled back at him as she nodded and slid out of bed, pulling on a pair of
jeans and a tank top, and hurried out of the suite barefooted. She didn’t have
any time to waste as she ran down the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible
with her long red hair floating behind her as it moved back and forth. Five
minutes later, she arrived outside of David’s hotel room door and knocked on it
harshly. She wasn’t in the mood to be nice, especially after what David pulled
tonight on Jaslyn.
David growled under his breath when he heard the knocking on his door and didn’t
really want to talk to anyone at that moment. All he wanted to do was be alone
and think about how he was going to win Jaslyn’s heart back. He still couldn’t
believe she was in love with him. He was in love with her too, but he couldn’t
be with someone he was holding a secret from. That just wasn’t the type of
person he was. He had fulfilled his promises to Joseph and would continue to do
so for the rest of Jaslyn and Imogen’s lives. David loved both girls
unconditionally and would find someway to prove that to Jaslyn.
The question was how.
“David, I know you’re in there!” Emily stated, not raising her voice too loud
because she didn’t want to disturb the others around her.
As soon as David heard Emily’s voice, he immediately ran toward the door and
opened it, staring down into her angry green eyes, and held his hands up as he
stated, “I can explain…”
“Explain in the room. I don’t want to talk to you about this out in the
hallway.” Emily cut him off and walked past him inside the hotel room. She
turned around and folded her arms in front of her chest as she asked in a rather
heated tone of voice, “What happened, David?”
“Where is she?” David asked after closing the door behind him, needing to know
where Jaslyn was so he could go patch things up with her. However, he had to get
past her best friend first and that was going to be an obstacle in itself.
Emily shook her head at him and defiantly stated, “I’m not telling you anything
until you tell me what happened.”
David sighed and ran a hand through his short, dark hair, knowing he had to tell
Emily the truth. He started pacing in front of her, explaining in full depth
what had happened, and finally got the part that Emily hadn’t heard yet. “I had
no choice, Emily. After she told me she was in love with me, I knew I had to
tell her what Joseph had promised me to do after his died. I wasn’t about to be
with her for the rest of our lives with that over my head and on my conscience.”
Sighing heavily, Emily now understood why David had done it. Her husband had
pinpointed it and hit the nail on the head. After a few moments of silence
between them, Emily finally said, “Just answer me one question, David.”
“What?” He asked gruffly, feeling like his heart was being ripped to shreds
inside his chest. All he wanted to do was see her. To be with her and to feel
her touch against his.
Locking her green eyes on his light brown ones, Emily took a deep breath and
asked, “Do you love her?”
“More than anything in the world.” David replied without hesitation, bringing a
smile to Emily’s face, and walked over as she patted him on the shoulder.
“We’ll figure something out, David I promise.” Emily said in a softer voice,
running a hand through her red hair, and bit her bottom lip in thought. “David…”
Emily spoke after a few minutes of silence between them. “If you love her like
you say you do, then why didn’t you just tell her?” She asked, suddenly getting
the feeling that David wasn’t telling her everything.
Sighing heavily, David plopped down on the edge of the bed and put his head in
his hands as he replied, “I tried to. After I told her the pact between me and
Joseph, she didn’t even let me finish. She cut me off, saying I never loved her
and I was only with her and Imogen out of pity for them. I don’t feel that way
at all, Emily! I fuckin’ love her!” David was getting angry now as he started
raising his voice, frustrated and heart broken all at once, and that was never a
good combination for anyone.
The final piece of the puzzle was finally into place as Emily nodded, finally
understanding what was going on now, and decided to head back to her room. She
was going to have a long talk with her husband when she returned and then
together, they were going to figure out someway to get Jaslyn and David back
together again. As David watched Emily walk out of his hotel room, he could only
hope and pray she found someway to get Jaslyn to talk to him. ‘Just one minute.
All I need is one minute with her and she’ll see how I truly feel.’ David
thought as he walked over to the balcony window and continued to watch the rain,
wishing she was back in his arms at that moment, and closed his eyes.
Chapter 9
After finding out how David truly felt about her, Jaslyn decided she needed
sometime to recollect her thoughts. Stephanie was back on the road with her
husband and their precious little girl, Aurora Rose, so she couldn’t go to her
brother. He was doing really well in the business, being the Game, and doing his
thing in the ring. Jaslyn didn’t want to bother him with her measly problems and
didn’t want Imogen to find out about her fight with David. She had left without
a word, leaving a quick note for Emily, letting her know she just had to get
away. Nobody knew where she was going with Imogen and that’s the way she wanted
it.
‘Forgive me, Em. Forgive me.’ Jaslyn thought sadly as she looked out of her
window on the plane and looked over at her daughter, sighing deeply. Imogen had
tears pouring down her cheeks in silence and Jaslyn wished there some other way
to handle this, but at the time, she couldn’t think of anything else. “It’s
going to be okay, baby girl, I promise.” Jaslyn reassured her daughter, who
simply shrugged and curled up in her seat in a tight ball, and proceeded to cry
herself to sleep.
When Emily awoke that morning, which was about a week since her talk with David,
after finding out the truth from him, she immediately shot up in bed. Glenn
grumbled as he slowly opened his eyes and looked up at his wife, seeing the
tears in her eyes, and sat up instantly as he asked, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Emily didn’t say a word as she handed the note to Glenn and ran a hand through
her long red hair, not believing Jaslyn would do something like this. She didn’t
understand what her best friend was thinking or feeling because Jaslyn refused
to discuss David with her after that night she came crying to her. She didn’t
want to hear anything that Emily had to say because it was all lies that David
told her. Emily knew Jaslyn was hurting, but for her to run away like this was
wrong and stupid.
“I have to call Paul and David. They’re going to be worried sick when they find
out she’s gone and took Imogen with them.” Emily stated, making Glenn sigh
heavily as he nodded, and shook his head. He couldn’t believe Jaslyn would just
leave like the way she had too.
David groaned in his sleep, his head pounding in his ears, and sighed heavily
when he heard his cell phone ringing off the hook. Slowly sitting up in bed,
David rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he hadn’t drank that much the night
before, and reached over as he flipped open his cell phone, seeing it was Emily.
He pressed the talk button and asked, “What’s goin’ on?”
“How did you know it was me?” Emily asked, running a hand through her hair and
pacing back and forth in front of Glenn, who felt helpless at the time. He knew
there was no way to calm his wife down, especially when it came to Jaslyn. They
were sisters and blood ties didn’t matter to either woman.
“I have caller ID. What’s up?” David answered and repeated, running a hand
through his musty short dark hair, and had a gut feeling it was bad because he
heard Emily sigh heavily on the other end. “What happened, Emily?”
Tears were already pooled in her eyes, sniffling a little, staring down at the
note that was lying on the bed crumpled, and said, “She left.”
David shot up off of his bed, his eyes widened with both fear and surprise, and
quickly shouted, “WHAT?! What do you mean she left?! Where did she go?!” He was
beside himself with worry, especially when Emily said she didn’t know. “I’m
coming down there. Give me a few minutes to get my shit together.” David stated
angrily and shut the lid of his cell phone; not believing Jaslyn would leave
like this, and sighed heavily.
A shower would take too long so David just threw on a white beater and black
workout pants as he walked into the bathroom, seeing the dark circles under his
eyes, and they were bloodshot. He definitely drank too much the previous night,
but he couldn’t help it. He was completely heart broken over the fact that he
hadn’t spoken to Jaslyn in a week. All he needed was five minutes to finish what
he wanted to say to her, but she wasn’t letting him and it was frustrating as
Hell. David sighed as he quickly ran some water through his hair and then
brushed his teeth three times, wanting to get the stench of alcohol off his
breath.
Within fifteen minutes, David was out the door of his hotel room, his keycard
and bag in hand, and knocked on Glenn and Emily’s room. He sighed when she
answered and see the tears pouring down her cheeks, immediately pulling her into
his arms. He knew this was tearing Emily apart inside and out because her sister
was missing. David seen Glenn sitting on the couch and looked down at Emily,
wiping away her stray tears, and silently told her that everything was going to
be fine. Emily nodded; understanding the look David gave her, and walked over to
her husband for comfort.
“Did you call Paul yet?” David asked as he set his bag down in the corner and
sighed when Emily shook her head in response.
“I’m so scared too, David. Paul is VERY protective of his baby sister and if he
found out about what happened between you…” Emily trailed off and started crying
harder, wrapping her arms around Glenn’s neck, wishing Jaslyn was back with them
at that moment.
David sighed as he ran a hand through his damp hair and replied vaguely, “You
let me worry about Paul. Call him and tell him to get here so we can rack each
other brains and figure out where she went.” David didn’t care about what Paul’s
reaction would be. All he wanted was to hold Jaslyn in his arms and never let
her go again. Same with his little angel he’d grown to love like a daughter in
Imogen.
Emily sighed heavily as she looked at her husband, pleading with him silently to
make the call, but Glenn declined. “Angel, you have to do this. She’s your
sister.” His low, soft voice stated, kissing her cheeks and then her lips before
standing up and walking over to get something to drink from the kitchen.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Emily was trembling as she reluctantly dialed
Paul’s cell phone number and closed her eyes when he answered, “Paul, its
Emily.”
Paul was sleeping peacefully in bed, Stephanie curled up against him, and their
baby girl was in between them. She was a year and a half now, going on two in
just a few short months, and looked more and more like Stephanie every day. A
low growl sounded from his lips when he heard his cell phone blaring on the
nightstand, and popped his hazel eyes open. Whoever was calling him this early
in the morning was going to pay dearly if it wasn’t a life or death situation!
Flipping his cell phone lid up, Paul brought it to his ear and growled out
angrily, “This BETTER be important.” His tone instantly calmed down when he
heard a trembling Emily on the other end and sighed heavily, running a hand
through his hair, and slowly stood up from bed, not wanting to wake his family.
“I’m sorry, Em. I’m not exactly a great morning person.” Paul apologized as soon
as he closed the bedroom door of his hotel suite and walked over to the balcony
window.
“That’s okay, Paul. I understand completely, but we don’t have time to make
small chatter.” Emily stated, alarm evident in her voice, and Paul immediately
became alert as he stepped outside on the balcony.
“What’s going on, Emily?” Paul asked immediately as soon as he shut the balcony
door behind him and looked out into the beautiful sunrise that was peeking over
the horizon. They were in Denver, Colorado so the scenery was always
breathtaking. Paul was wearing a sweatshirt he’d slipped on and a pair of
sweatpants along with his slippers. It was snowing in Colorado and Paul couldn’t
afford to get sick so he was prepared.
Closing her eyes and letting a few tears spill from her eyes, Emily managed to
choke out, “She’s gone, Paul. She left this morning.”
Paul’s eyebrows immediately went up, his heart tightening a little in his chest,
and closed his eyes as he retorted, “Do I dare ask who you’re talking about or
do I already know?”
“You already know I think.” Emily replied softly, her voice getting more choked
up by the second, and Paul could hear it as he sighed heavily.
He ran a hand through his long, dishwater blonde locks, not believing his sister
would do something like this without telling him, and stated, “I’ll be down
there in a second. What room are you in?” He asked, not knowing the precise
number of their hotel room.
Biting her bottom lip, Emily told Paul to hold on as she looked up at her
husband and asked shakily, “What is our room number, sweetie?”
“3429.” Glenn answered as he went back to having a private conversation with
David while Emily finished up her phone conversation with Paul. “Yes I
understand, Paul. I hope she’s alright too. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Emily ended the call as she looked up at her husband and stood up, running a
shaky hand through her hair, and said, “I’m gonna go put something a little
warmer on.”
“Go for it, angel.” Glenn replied, hating to see his wife this distraught, but
he couldn’t do anything to help her. All he could do was be there for her
through this difficult time and hoped Jaslyn was alright. He looked back at
David and asked simply, “Why didn’t you tell her sooner, David? Don’t ya think
this would’ve ended up better if ya did?” His southern accent was coming out
more than usual because he was tired and David sighed heavily, shaking his head
in response.
“I wanted to wait for the right time, man. I’ve always loved her, even when she
was with Joe, but I couldn’t very well move in after his death. That would be
taking advantage of her vulnerability and pushing her into something she clearly
wasn’t ready for.” David explained, making Glenn nod as he stroked his chin in
thought, and shook his head after a few moments of silence.
They talked for a few more minutes before a knock sounded at the door and Emily
stepped out. She was wearing a simple, red velvet sweat outfit with a white
t-shirt underneath the jacket part of it. On her feet were a pair of pirate
slippers that she absolutely adored because Glenn had bought them for her on
their first date. Her hair was down, pouring down her back in waves that curled
at the ends, but her eyes held a sense of fear. Glenn sighed heavily as he
watched her walk over to the door and answered it, allowing Paul, Stephanie, and
their daughter to pour in the room. The moment Paul seen David in the room, he
lost all sense of reality and charged after him.
Paul grabbed David by the throat, pure anger in his eyes, and stated as he
slammed David's body against the nearest wall after putting his forearm against
David’s throat, “If you’ve done ONE THING to MY sister that forced her to run
away like this, I’ll cut your heart out!”
“Paul!” Stephanie shouted at him, holding her daughter close to her, and looked
over at Emily with pleading eyes. This entire situation was the last thing she
wanted Aurora to witness and the little girl was yawning loudly, clearly wanting
to go back to bed.
“There’s a spare bedroom next to ours if you want to take her in there and let
her go back to sleep.” Emily informed her, making Stephanie smile at her
appreciatively, and glared back at her husband before guiding her daughter into
the spare bedroom.
David was trying to suck in some air, but it wasn’t happening because Paul was
cutting off his air supply with his huge forearm. Closing his eyes, David
managed to growl out, “I…didn’t…do…anything…!”
“Glenn, do something!” Emily shouted at her husband and Glenn sighed heavily as
he walked over, pulling Paul away from David by the arms, and Emily was
overwhelmed with both fear and emotion. “Stop the fighting both of you!”
David coughed out harshly, feeling the air go back into his lungs, and glared up
at Paul as he stated in a clearer tone of voice, “I didn’t do shit to your
sister!”
“Then why the fuck would she leave without telling any of us?!” Paul growled
back at him, feeling like David had something to do with his sister’s leaving,
and just the look in David’s eyes proved him right. He started charging after
the man again, but Glenn held him back, not believing what was happening in his
hotel suite.
“KNOCK IT OFF BOTH OF YOU RIGHT FUCKIN’ NOW!” Glenn bellowed out, shoving Paul
so hard, he landed on the couch and shoved David back against the wall harshly.
He was sick of the fighting and didn’t want his wife to miscarry their unborn
child. She had found out a few days prior to this moment that she was two months
pregnant and the last thing she needed was this amount of stress in her life.
Glaring back at Paul, David held his throat still, and ran a hand through his
hair as he answered Paul’s question, “Something happened in our hotel room a
week ago, but that’s not what’s important. Do you know ANY place on the globe
where your sister would go to hide?” David asked, wanting to get down to
business in finding Jaslyn and Imogen. That’s all he cared about.
Starting to think about it, his chest still heaving up and down angrily, Paul
finally leaned forward, putting his head in his hands, and said, “I can’t think
of a place other than back home, but that would be too obvious to any of us. My
sister is too smart for that.”
“Then I suggest we put our heads together and figure out where she could’ve
gone.” Emily piped in, seeing they were finally starting to come together as a
team, and could only pray that her friend was safe and sound, along with her
goddaughter.
What a morning this turned out to be!
Chapter 10
The sky was amazing, painted in blues, purples, pinks, reds, oranges, yellows,
and indigo. She’d never seen anything like it in her life and the sunset was
even more gorgeous. It radiated off the water of the Atlantic Ocean, giving it a
special golden glow, and lit up the sky even more. The cool breeze blew through
her hair as Jaslyn stood on the beach, her arms folded across her chest, and
tears were streaming down her face. Imogen was sleeping in her room, where she’d
confined herself for the past month, and Jaslyn was running out of options on
what to do.
After working for the company for the last two and a half years, Jaslyn had
saved up enough money to buy her dream home. It was a two story, Victorian style
house that was right on the beach. It had a full porch that wrapped all the way
around the house with a pool in the back and went out twenty feet. The wood of
the porch was dark cherry and lit up the house even more with life. It had to be
the most beautiful house Jaslyn had ever seen and she had to have it. She bought
it with half the money she had saved up and with the other half, half of that
went into the bank for savings and the other bought a black 2006 Lexus.
Before Jaslyn went back to her beach house that she’d purchased without anyone
knowing, she had to make a stop. She stood in front of the thick, granite stone
that was pure black and had his name engraved in it. Tears flowed down her
cheeks as Jaslyn reached out and touched it, running her fingers over the words,
and wiped her tears away, but they kept coming. Imogen was standing beside her,
silent tears running down her cheeks, and her little arm was wrapped around her
mother’s waist. She wiped her tears away and bent down, picking up some dirt,
and gently let it pour out of her hand.
“Hi daddy, it’s your Geni.” She laughed softly, calling herself by what Joseph
used to call her, and continued. “I miss you so much, daddy and I love you to
pieces. Mom has been doing well. I just hope you never forget your little Geni.”
Imogen trailed off, wrapping her arms around herself, and sighed heavily as she
looked up at her mom. “I’m gonna go wait in the car. I’m a little chilly.”
Jaslyn nodded at her and smiled, kissing the top of her head and allowed her to
go to the car to wait for her.
Taking a deep breath, it was Jaslyn’s turn to talk. She bit her bottom lip, so
many emotions running through her, and sighed heavily as she said, “Gen’s been a
great help to me ever since you’ve been gone, but I know she’s been hurting
inside, just like me. Joe, why didn’t you tell me about your pact with David?
Don’t you think I deserved to know the truth about that? I know you were only
trying to protect us, but in the process, I’ve done something that’s
inexcusable. I’ve fallen in love with David and I don’t know what to do with all
these feelings. He doesn’t feel the same way about me and he’s fulfilled your
wishes. You got your wish about me finding someone else, Joe, but there’s only
one problem. He doesn’t feel the same way about me. I love you and will always
love you, but I can’t believe that you would force someone like that to do such
a thing. Goodbye, Joe.” She then walked away, not kissing the tombstone, and got
in her car, driving away from her past and going toward her future.
It’s been six months and Jaslyn wasn’t happy at all. In fact, she was miserable
because every waking moment was spent thinking about David. She longed to be in
his arms and to feel his touch. She couldn’t take a bath without thinking about
him so Jaslyn decided to take straight showers. It was too painful for her to
take a bath and Jaslyn knew she’d gone from pathetic to lower than pathetic.
Imogen was now thirteen years old, a teenager, and blossoming like a summer
flower. Her hair was long, flowing down her back to her waist, and hugging it
just like her mother’s. Her bright blue eyes shined as she’d come home from
school every day, do her homework, and was a really great daughter. There were a
few spats between mother and daughter, but they always made amends. Jaslyn
couldn’t believe how fast her daughter was growing up and knew she was losing
her little girl.
“Mom!!!” Imogen’s sweet voice shouted as she ran up the steps one day from
school, making Jaslyn plow out of the screen door as she stared at her daughter
with widened eyes.
“What’s wrong, Gen?” Jaslyn asked out of her breath, staring at her daughter
with worry in her eyes, and sighed when she seen the biggest smile adorned on
her daughter’s lips. “What happened, baby?”
Imogen was filled with such excitement that she couldn’t contain it and shouted,
“I got asked to the homecoming dance!” She was smarter than the average thirteen
year old and had skipped two years in school. She was the youngest freshman in
her class, but everyone adored her.
Smiling softly at her daughter, Jaslyn pulled her daughter into her arms, kissed
her forehead gently, and said, “Looks like we have to go shopping then.” Imogen
squealed with delight as she hopped up and down, true happiness shining in her
blue eyes.
That night on the beach, after Imogen was fast asleep, Jaslyn laid out a blanket
on the sand and sat down on it. It was a little chilly so Jaslyn pulled on a
black sweatshirt along with her jeans and a pair of tennis shoes. She loved
sitting on the beach at night just staring out at the ocean waves. It was one of
the most rewarding and peaceful times she’d ever experienced in her life. Her
thoughts suddenly went to David and wondered what he was doing. She knew he’d
probably moved on and sighed sadly, wishing he’d felt the same way she did that
night in the hotel room six months ago.
Footsteps from behind her brought Jaslyn out of her thoughts as she turned
around, her jaw dropping to the sand below, and couldn’t believe who was
standing in front of her.
It was David.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Paul did everything in his power to find out where his sister was, but all the
private investigators did was come up short. It had been six months since the
sudden departure of Jaslyn and Imogen and nobody knew where they were. Paul
stayed up countless hours, wishing his sister would call him, and felt his heart
shattering more and more. Aurora was two years old now and Stephanie was the
president of the creative team on both rosters. Paul loved his wife and daughter
more than anything in the world, but he felt like apart of him was missing
without his sister in his life.
David barged into Paul’s hotel room one night and started pacing back and forth
as he stated, “I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about her. I love her.
Goddamn it, where is she?!”
“I know, man, but you can’t spin out of control right now. Jaslyn is out there
somewhere; we just have to find out where she is.” Paul pointed out, making
David sigh heavily, and plopped down on the couch dejectedly.
“How can I not spin out of control when she’s out there somewhere with Imogen?”
David countered and Paul sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, wishing he
knew the answer to that question, and shook his head.
Paul was about to say something to David when there was a knock on his door. He
looked at the clock, seeing it was way past midnight, and wondered who was at
his door at this time of night. Stephanie had went back home for a few days,
wanting to revamp her mind for the creative team, and took Aurora with her. The
little girl had gotten sick and wasn’t getting any better so Stephanie wanted to
take her to her doctor near their home in Connecticut.
Walking over and opening it, Paul cracked a smile at Emily and asked, “What’s
up, Em?”
“I think I know where Jaslyn is.” Emily announced, making David’s ears instantly
perk up and he stood up, ran over to the door, and dragged the tiny woman in the
room by her wrist.
David placed his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes, and asked
softly, “Where? Where is she?” His voice held a sense of hope and need, making
Emily sigh heavily, and looked at them.
She ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath as she said, “I started
thinking about where Jaslyn could go; somewhere she could escape, and remembered
her saying something about always wanting to go to North Carolina by the ocean.
I know she went to Joseph’s grave first because your private investigator found
that out, but then I started thinking. Did you have him check out the airlines
near her house in Connecticut?” Emily asked, her mind spinning with questions,
and hoped that this could lead them to Jaslyn’s whereabouts.
Snapping his fingers, Paul nodded and immediately whipped out his cell phone,
not believing he hadn’t thought of this sooner. “You are a genius, Em!” He
stated quickly before getting the airlines on the phone and started asking
questions. It took nearly fifteen minutes, but when Paul closed the lid on his
cell phone, a big smile adorned his face. “We found her!”
David stared at him in shock as he ran over, acting like an excited five year
old, and stated, “Where?! Where is she?!”
“Just as suspected, Emily was right. Jas went to Joseph’s gravesite and then
took a flight to Brunswick County Airport and the closest city that’s by the
ocean is called Carolina Beach.” Paul informed them and Emily nodded, staring up
at David, who had pure determination in his face.
“How do we find out where she’s located?” David asked, running a hand through
his hair, and Emily started thinking along with Paul.
“There’s only one thing to do. We’ll have to take a tour of all the beach houses
in Carolina Beach until we find her. She’s living on the beach, I just know it.”
Emily stated, making both David and Paul nod in agreement. If there was any
chance of finding Jaslyn, they were going to have to put their heads together
and be a team.
Flipping the lid up on his cell phone, Paul dialed the airline that was closest
to them and ordered three first class tickets to Brunswick County airport. There
was only one airline that flew there from Anaheim, California, where WWE was
located currently at. He nodded when the airlines told him the price and hung up
a few seconds later while Emily was calling Glenn to inform him of her plans.
Glenn wished her well and they hung up after sharing their love for each other
and Emily walked over to the group. Within an hour, all three individuals were
on their way to the airport and heading toward Carolina Beach.
They arrived ten hours later, after switching three different airlines, and by
the time the party arrived, they were all too tired to go hunting for Jaslyn.
David was lying in his hotel room in Carolina Beach, hearing the ocean waves
crashing against the shore, and couldn’t sleep to save his life. It was around
eight o’clock at night so he decided to go for a ride. Paul and Emily were fast
asleep in their own beds so he wasn’t going to disturb them and grabbed the car
keys to the rental and his key card to the hotel room before walking out.
Getting in the car and staring straight ahead, all David kept thinking was how
he was going to find her.
After three hours of driving nonstop, David sighed heavily and was about to go
back to the hotel, when he seen a house up ahead. It was a huge, two story
Victorian house with a cone shaped top. It was beautiful and for some reason,
David felt connected to that house in some form or fashion. What got David the
most was the fact that it was right by the ocean and knew that it could be where
Jaslyn had been hiding for the past six months!
Without thinking about it, David pulled on the side of the road and stepped out,
feeling his heart pounding harshly in and out of his chest, and locked the car
up. He walked the mile and a half down the road, the house become clearer and
closer to him, and took a deep breath when he stood outside the house. David
walked around the side of the house; feeling like a magnetic force was pulling
him toward the ocean, and stopped dead in his tracks at who was before him. The
long hair that pooled down her back, the blanket he’d gotten for her at a
carnival he’d taken her to while on the road. There was no doubt in his mind
about it.
It was Jaslyn.
Chapter 11
Amber locked with light brown as their eyes locked together, not being able to
tear away from the other. They were both too shocked to speak as Jaslyn's feet
were glued to the sand below her feet. No matter how many times she tried to
move them, they wouldn't budge, and felt her entire body go into shock. She
couldn't believe David had found her and wondered if her brother was with him.
David was the same way, not able to move from his spot, and felt the tears
burning his eyes when he realized she was safe and sound. Somehow, he knew
Imogen was in the house sleeping was thankful for it.
They stood there, a few feet away from each other, for what seemed like ages,
but were only a few minutes, and David finally broke away from his shocked
state. Jaslyn seen him coming towards her and couldn't believe her feet weren't
moving away from him. It was like a magnet was underneath her feet and was
keeping her from moving from the spot she was standing in. David finally ended
up right in front of her and reached out; tucking a strand of hair behind her
ear, and that touch was all she could take.
A stream of tears started sliding down her cheeks as Jaslyn stared into his
eyes, missing him more than anything, but her heart was still broken. He didn't
feel the same way about her and knew he never would. However, his eyes told her
something completely different and Jaslyn was confused beyond all recognition.
"What are you doing here?" She finally managed to speak, the ocean breeze
swirling around them.
"I came here for you. Why did you leave, Jaslyn?" David answered and asked,
hoping she came clean with him on what she was feeling, and seen the hesitation
swimming in her hazel orbs.
Jaslyn had finally found some strength in her body as she pulled away from him,
running a shaky hand through her hair, and stated, "I left because of you." She
then walked away from him and down further on the beach, knowing he would follow
her. She just hoped Imogen wasn't disturbed by the fight they were about to
have.
David wasn't about to let her go that easily and quickly went after her, seeing
she was going further down the beach, and shouted at her, "I didn't do anything
though!"
Shaking her head at him and turning around to face him, Jaslyn crossed her arms
in front of her chest and asked heatedly, "Why didn't you tell me about yours
and Joseph's pact?"
"He made me promise not to tell you or anyone else about it. The man is dead so
I at least owed him that much, Jas." David truthfully answered, knowing it was
wrong to keep that secret from her, but he had no alternative in the matter.
"I know he's dead! You don't have to remind me!" Jaslyn shouted at him, tears
spilling down her cheeks, not believing David would actually say something like
that to her.
Looking down at the floor and sighing deeply, David took a step forward and said
apologetically, “I’m sorry, Jaslyn. That was wrong of me to say. I just…I want
to talk about what happened that night in the hotel room before you left.”
“I heard all I needed to hear that night, David.” Jaslyn shot back, her voice
filled with nothing, but heartache and hurt.
David shook his head and growled out in pure frustration, “Would you just shut
up and listen to me for TWO seconds? You are so damn stubborn!” He added and
racked a hand through his hair.
Jaslyn glared at him as she placed her hands on her hips and growled back, “What
the fuck is that supposed to mean, you arrogant son of a bitch?”
“I’m not a son of a bitch, Jaslyn. My mother is anything, but a bitch.” David
retorted in smartass comment, causing Jaslyn to roll her eyes at him.
“This isn’t a game! You know what? Fuck this, just leave and go back on the road
to the WWE.” Jaslyn stated heatedly as she started walking back up the beach,
but David wasn’t about to let her walk away from this.
He ran over her and grabbed her by the arm, making her whip around to stare up
in his eyes, and stated in a serious tone of voice, “I’m not going anywhere
until you hear what I have to say.”
Trying to yank her arm out his grip, Jaslyn stared into his eyes with hatred
swimming in her own and shot back through gritted teeth, “What makes you think I
give a flying fuck what you have to say? You said all you needed to that night
in the hotel room and, quite frankly, I don’t have an interest in anything that
comes out of your mouth!”
“Stop being stubborn, Jas!” David shouted back at her, getting fed up with her
attitude toward him, and sighed as he released her arm, shaking his head. “Fine,
go back into your house and I’ll leave you alone, but there’s something you
should know…” David dejectedly added as he ran a hand through his hair and
trailed his words off, wishing she’d just listen to him for two seconds.
Jaslyn rubbed her arm from where he had gripped her so hard and crossed her arms
in front of her chest as she spat back, “What is that, Mr. Batista?”
David looked up at her with tears stinging in his light brown eyes, taking
Jaslyn by total surprise, and stated with pure heartache and hurt in his voice,
“I love you.”
“You’re lying! You don’t love me and you never did! I was just a pity case to
you because of Joseph! Stop lying to me, David!” Jaslyn shouted at him, not
believing what just came out of his mouth, and felt her heart shattering in a
million pieces in her chest.
“Believe whatever the fuck you want, Jaslyn, but I’m not lying! You’re right; I
did keep that secret from you because that was Joe’s wish! I wasn’t about to
betray my best friend who is dead now! He told me to find you somebody who would
love you as much as he did and guess what, I did. IT’S ME! I love you more than
I’ve ever loved anybody in my entire life! YOU are the person I wake up and go
to sleep thinking about! YOU are the person I want to spend the rest of my
life!” David shouted at her, pouring out his heart and soul, and revealing all
of his true feelings to the woman he had been without for the past six months.
If she was going to walk away from him then he was going to make sure she did it
after hearing everything he had to say.
More tears flowed down her cheeks, like two nonstop streams, and Jaslyn didn’t
know what to do or say to what David had just told her. She ran a hand through
her hair and looked at him as she asked in a softer voice, “If you feel all of
that for me then why did you tell me in the hotel that night that you were doing
all of this for me and Imogen because of Joseph?”
“I didn’t want to make love to you until you knew everything. If we were going
to start a relationship, I wanted to start with absolutely no secrets between
us. You didn’t give me a chance to finish what I wanted to say to you that
night.” David replied, blinking his tears away, and rubbed the back of his neck,
trying to get some of the tension out of it.
“So what else did you have to say that night?” Jaslyn asked, her memory going
back to that night, and sighed when she realized she did cut him off. She
couldn’t help it though! She’d been so mad at Joseph, she couldn’t think
straight.
“I just told you the rest of it.” David answered in a gruff tone of voice,
sighing heavily, and looked down at the sand.
A hand came out and lifted David’s chin up, making him stare in her eyes, and
Jaslyn whispered softly, “You love me.”
David nodded as he closed his eyes at her touch and opened them back up as he
whispered softly, “And you love me too.”
Jaslyn nodded, her face scrunched up from trying not to cry, but it wasn’t
happening as she wrapped her arms around his neck. David looked down into her
eyes and didn’t think twice about it as he took her lips in his, wrapping his
arms around her waist, and pressed her tightly against his body. The tears
slowly rolled down her cheeks as she kissed the man she was supposed to be with
all along, breaking the kiss. They stared into each others eyes and David
smiled, lifting her up off the sand, and twirled her around in circles. Jaslyn
held onto him tightly as her laughter echoed in the night and was finally set
down on her feet again in front of him.
“Come with me.” Jaslyn gently commanded, staring into his hypnotic light brown
eyes, and could stare into them forever.
“Where?” He asked softly, amusement in his voice, and smiled when she took his
hand in hers.
Not answering him, Jaslyn smiled as she led him to the front porch of her house
and then opened the screen door, allowing him access. David had to stop and
admire the inside of her house, not believing how beautiful it was, but then
again, Jaslyn always had great taste in style. The living room had silver
colored carpeting with midnight blue furniture and dark cherry wood for the
coffee tables. A big screen TV was hooked on the wall that faced the furniture
and a stand was underneath it that held a DVD player, VCR, DVR, and her DSL box.
She had Comcast for her phone, cable, and internet.
David looked further into the area after the living room and into the dining
room. The floor beneath the carpets was dark cherry wood that shined with the
light hitting it. There was a simple midnight blue carpet underneath the silver
edged, glass dining table, which was standing in the middle of the room. Against
the wall at an angle, there was a dark cherry wood china cabinet that had
sparkling china glasses and plates with bowls and silverware in it. In the other
corner was a mini bar with little glass bottles of liquor in them and shot
glasses on a cherry wood bar table. It was truly beautiful and the house was
breathtakingly huge.
“Your house is absolutely…wow.” David managed to say, impressed with the
artistry the house brought forth, and smiled gently.
“You haven’t seen nothing yet, big guy.” Jaslyn replied as she walked in front
of him and turned around, crooking her finger at him beckoningly, and David
smirked as he walked toward her, wondering what she had up her sleeve.
Jaslyn ended up leading David up the winding staircase, which lead him to the
second floor, and looked around his surroundings. He wasn’t worried about that
however when Jaslyn walked into a specific door and crooked her finger at him
once more. David smirked and walked toward her and into the room, spotted the
huge king sized four poster bed before him, and smiled when she sat down on it.
‘This is her bedroom.’ He thought and closed the door behind him before walking
over to her, locking his eyes with her own.
The room was decked out in the colors of amber and red. The carpet was a deep
maroon with the walls painted the color of amber. The comforter of the bed was
maroon with shiny amber patterns on it along with the pillows and there was a
medium sized screened TV adorned on the wall, right in front of the bed. It was
the same set up as the living room had except the colors and furniture were
different. The dresser and nightstand were made of cherry wood and the bedroom
had its own bathroom to the left. David wasn’t worried about that as he fixated
his eyes on the woman he loved more than life itself, and landed right in front
of her.
“Let me try this again…” Jaslyn trailed off as she brought his lips down on
hers, caressing his face in her hands, and broke the kiss as she stared in her
eyes. “Make love to me, David.”
Smiling softly back at her as he ran his thumb over her lips and whispered
against them, “Whatever you want, baby.” He then kissed her lips and led her
down on the bed, finally back where he truly belonged.
However, their moment of love was disturbed when David’s cell phone started
blaring in his pocket. He growled out in frustration as he shook his head and
smiled down at Jaslyn, holding his finger up, and motioned for her to hold on
one second. He flipped it open and asked, “What’s up?”
Paul was shaking from head to toe as he stood outside the hospital, looking
around at his surroundings, and hoped everything went okay with what was about
to happen. Taking a deep breath upon hearing David’s voice, Paul stated quickly,
“Emily is in labor! Get to the hospital ASAP!”
Chapter 12
Closing the lid on his cell phone, David stared down at a very luscious and
beautiful looking Jaslyn, and buried his nose in her hair. He wanted to make
love to her more than anything in the world, but also knew once he told her
about Emily’s condition; she would want to go to the hospital. David sighed
heavily as he looked into her eyes, seeing how clouded over they were and
reluctantly moved himself off of her. Jaslyn sat up on the bed, confusion
swimming through her orbs, and David ran a hand through his hair, not believing
this was happening.
“That was your brother. Emily is in labor.” David informed her, causing Jaslyn’s
eyes to bug out of her head, and hopped up from the bed as she quickly ran out
of the room and down to Imogen’s.
Imogen was sleeping in her bed when her mother barged in her room and started
shaking her awake. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she sat up in bed, rubbing
the sleep out of her eyes, and softly asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Baby, I need you to get up and get dressed. We have to go to the hospital.”
Jaslyn stated, turning on the light to Imogen’s room, and sighed when her
daughter started groaning that the light was too bright for her eyes. “Mom, shut
the light off!”
“Gen, you gotta get up! We have to go to the hospital!” Jaslyn stated a little
louder, causing Imogen to growl as she threw the comforter off of her body, and
screamed when a man entered her room, making her immediately cover back up.
David’s eyes bugged out of his head when he walked in the room to check on
Jaslyn and completely forgot that Imogen was there. He covered his eyes and
sighed heavily, not believing he’d just walked in on her, and started
apologizing in a mumble. Imogen peeked up from underneath her comforter and
looked at the man standing in front of her, tears instantly welling up in her
eyes, and whispered softly, “Brownie?”
His light brown eyes filled with tears upon staring at Imogen, not believing how
beautiful she was, and nodded as he let a small tear slide down his cheek. “It’s
me, Gen.” Imogen didn’t think twice about it as she hopped off of her bed and
ran into his arms, tears pouring down her face, and wrapped her arms around his
neck as she began to cry harder than ever.
Jaslyn touched her chest with her hand, tears burning in her own eyes, and
couldn’t believe how much her daughter had missed David. “I missed you so much,
Brownie.” She whispered in his ear and David held her closer to him, his heart
twisting in knots because he couldn’t stand to see his little girl cry. It was
music to his ears to be called that nickname again.
“Ditto, sweetie, ditto.” David whispered back, not wanting to let her go, but
knew he had to. He looked down into her bloodshot eyes and wiped her tears away
with his thumbs as he said, “Emily’s having a baby.”
“WHAT?!” Jaslyn’s voice shouted from behind, her eyes grown as big as potatoes,
and her heart started pounding in her chest. The tears burned her eyes as they
scorched her cheeks, not believing what she just heard David say. Emily was
pregnant?!
David sighed heavily as he nodded, running a hand through his dark hair, and
turned around as he stared at Jaslyn, “She found out she was two months pregnant
a few days prior to your disappearance. She was going to tell you, but you’d
already left and…” Before David could finish, Jaslyn finally realized how far
along Emily was and started to tremble.
“She’s eight months pregnant. That means she’s having a premature birth. We have
to go NOW!” Jaslyn stated emphatically, causing both David and Imogen to nod at
her in agreement, and within five minutes, they were all piled into Jaslyn’s
black Lexus and on their way to the hospital.
The entire ride to the hospital was made in silence as Jaslyn broke record
speeds, trying to get to the hospital as fast as possible, with getting into a
car accident. She also didn’t want to get a ticket from the police and knew the
area pretty well so she took some back roads. “Did Paul tell you what hospital
she was at?” Jaslyn finally asked as she entered Carolina Beach and knew there
were at least five hospitals around the area. They didn’t have the time to go to
each one and find Paul so Jaslyn hoped that Paul had told David which hospital
Emily was giving birth in.
“No he didn’t. I’ll call him.” David replied regretfully, not believing Paul
forgot to tell him which hospital she was in, and whipped out his cell phone as
he dialed the number.
Paul was shaking in his seat in the lobby, hoping Glenn got there soon, and
sighed with great relief when the big guy ran through the lobby toward him. Paul
stood up as he looked at Glenn and asked frantically, “Where’s my wife?!” So
much fear was swimming through Glenn’s eyes that it actually caused Paul’s heart
to go out to him.
“She’s in the delivery room. She’s been in labor for the past four hours. How
did you get here so fast?” Paul curiously asked, not believing the man had
gotten to the hospital in the time that he had.
“The RAW roster is in Greensboro so I drove the four hours from there to here. I
hate to cut this short, but Emily needs me.” Glenn quickly answered and
apologized before running to the nurse’s station and was escorted to a room to
change into some blue scrubs. He put the white mask over his mouth and nose
before the doctor came and escorted him to the room Emily was giving birth in.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at who walked through the door and
immediately reached her hand out to her husband. He never let her down and
that’s what she loved most about him. Glenn smiled down at her as he kissed her
lips softly and whispered, “Sorry I’m late.”
“Better late than never, right?” Emily joked softly, laughing a little, and
started squeezing his hand when another contraction started ripping through her
body. “I’m so scared, Glenn. It’s too soon. What if the baby…”
“Don’t worry about that right now, angel. Just focus on pushing and bringing our
baby into the world.” Glenn replied, cutting her off, and stroked her forehead
with his hand while she chewed on some ice. She was still in labor and for some
reason; the baby wasn’t ready to come out yet so she had to endure the painful
labor pains that ripped throughout her body.
Back in the waiting lobby, Paul felt his cell phone vibrating against his side
and sighed as he picked it up. He flipped the lid open and pressed it to his ear
as he said, “Paul here…”
“Man, you hung up on me without telling me what hospital you were at?!” David
shouted at him through the cell, causing Paul to sigh heavily, and rolled his
eyes.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, man. It’s the hospital across the street
from the hotel. I can’t remember the name…” Paul answered and hung up with David
as he turned to Jaslyn, relaying the information to her.
In ten minutes, Jaslyn pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and shut the
ignition off, and ran into the hospital with Imogen and David behind her. Jaslyn
looked down the hallway to the right and seen nothing, but when she looked down
the left, she seen her brother standing by a window. She ran down to him and
stopped just a few feet from him as she asked frantically, “How’s Emily?”
Paul whipped around when he heard his sister’s voice and slowly turned around,
tears burning in his hazel colored eyes, and didn’t know what to say. He didn’t
know if he wanted to take her in his arms and squeeze the life out of her or
scream at her for leaving without an explanation. Apparently, Paul’s mouth
opened before he could stop himself and retorted, “What the fuck do you care?”
The amount of coldness in his voice caused Jaslyn to take a few more steps back,
not believing how heartless her brother was being toward her, and shot back,
“Maybe because she’s my best friend and I love her and I want to make sure she’s
okay?”
“You never cared before so why should you now? Just go home, Jaslyn. Nobody
wants you here.” Paul stated back at her, his eyes lowered to narrowed slits,
and Jaslyn put her hands on her hips, not believing what an asshole her brother
was being toward her.
David stepped forward, knowing Paul was upset with his sister for leaving
without a word to anyone six months ago, but that wasn’t important right now. He
stood beside her and stated, “Lay off, Paul.”
“Paul, I’d LOVE to continue this wonderful reunion, but there’s more important
things going on right now. Now what’s going on with Emily?!” Jaslyn demanded,
causing Imogen to cross her arms in front of her chest like her mother, and
stared at her uncle with disdain in her eyes.
“Stop being such an asshole, Uncle Paul and tell us what’s going on with Em.”
Imogen spoke up, causing both Jaslyn and David to stare at her with opened
mouths, while Paul just glared at his niece.
Rage evident in his eyes, Paul started to stalk toward his niece, when David
stood in front of her and stated heatedly, “If you touch my daughter, I’ll rip
your throat out.”
Shaking his head, Paul stepped back from her, and glared at his sister with
hatred burning in his eyes as he stated harshly, “You need to put soap in your
daughter’s mouth and teach her to respect her elders.”
Imogen looked up at David and smiled, tears in her eyes, and hugged him around
the waist as she whispered, “Thanks…dad.” David smiled down at her and lifted
her up in his arms, hugging her close, and couldn’t believe what she’d just
called him.
“Well maybe I would if you would treat her AND her mother the say way.” Jaslyn
shot back, not about to back down from her brother, and was gritting her teeth
with David and Imogen standing behind her. “You have no idea why I left, Paul
and you never will. You will never understand how much pain I was feeling inside
and what went down that night in the hotel room between David and I. I left
because I had to get away and heal the rest of my broken heart, but you don’t
understand that and you never will. David healed me and showed me how to love
again! But do you care? NO! All you fuckin’ care about is how you can put me
down and criticize me as a parent! I’ve raised my daughter to who she is today
and I’m DAMN proud of her! She only said that because you were treating her
mother like garbage, Paul!”
Raking a hand through his hair, Paul shook his head at his sister and looked
into her eyes, showing her how much hurt and worry was in them, and stated, “You
had no right to leave without telling your own BROTHER where you were going! I
wouldn’t tell anyone where you were, Jaslyn, but you couldn’t have the decency
to tell your own brother, the man who was there for you after Joseph died, that
you were leaving! You couldn’t even pick up a phone and call me and made me
worry constantly about you and almost lose my fuckin’ wife in the process
because of it! Why couldn’t you have just called and let me know you were
alright?”
Jaslyn bit her bottom lip as she looked down at the hospital tiled floor, not
knowing how to answer that question, and was about to say something, when Glenn
came out. She immediately ran from her brother and up to Glenn, who stared down
at her with a heavy heart, and couldn’t believe she was there. He wanted to
yell, scream, berate Jaslyn for running away the way she had, but now wasn’t the
time. David arrived beside Jaslyn as he stared at Glenn, holding Imogen in his
arms still, and Paul stood on the other side of Jaslyn as they awaited the news
of the birth. Just by the look in his eyes, Jaslyn knew this wasn’t good, but
tried in vain to stop the tears from brimming in her eyes.
“I only got to hold him for a second before the nurse took him away. They had to
perform an emergency c-section to get the baby out because it wasn’t coming out.
They had to put him in the ICU for infants and…he’s just so small.” Glenn choked
out that last part of the explanation and Jaslyn couldn’t help it as she wrapped
her arms around his neck. Imogen buried her face in David’s neck as he held her
close, beginning to cry, and couldn’t believe the news Glenn had delivered to
them.
The only question now was if the baby was going to live or die.
Chapter 13
A few days later, after Glenn had to break the news to his wife about their
child, both parents sat in the prenatal ICU and stared at their baby in the
incubator. He was so small and they didn’t know what to do. The doctor had
informed them that the baby wasn’t breathing on his own so that’s why they had
to take him away. Emily still hadn’t thought up of a name for her beautiful baby
boy, too worried about his well being, and sat in the rocking chair, looking
defeated. Glenn was walking around the incubator, his hands clasped together,
praying that his son lived to see another day so he could watch him grow.
The doctor came in that had been administering some antibiotics to the baby and
walked over to Glenn and Emily, a man walking in behind her. Glenn stood up
along with Emily, with some support from her husband, and said, “How’s our baby
doing?”
“Emily, Glenn, this is Doctor Reeves. He’s going to be taking over for me from
now on.” Doctor Marian introduced and informed the worried parents, seeing the
questions in their eyes, and sighed deeply.
“You’re not going to be our doctor anymore?” Emily asked, tears welling up in
her eyes as she glanced back at the incubator, and then stared back at their
doctor.
Doctor Marian sighed heavily and replied, “Emily, there’s nothing more I can do
at this point. Doctor Reeves is more experienced in this field than I am. I
promise you, you’re in good hands.” She assured them before walking out of the
room, leaving the baby boy’s life in Doctor Reeve’s hands.
Raising his clasped hands up to rest against his nose, Glenn sighed as he asked
softly, “Is our baby going to die?”
“No.” Emily quickly stated and tried to blink back her tears when the doctor
remained quiet for a few moments.
“I don’t know.” Doctor Reeves answered the father’s question and looked down at
the incubator.
“So when can we take him home?” Emily asked, sick and tired of this waiting
around for her son, and wanted to hold him in her arms for the rest of her life.
Glenn sighed as he pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her
waist, kissing the side of her neck, whispering soothing words in her ear.
“He’s got a respiratory infection because of the early loss of amniotic fluids.
We’re going to administer a new antibiotic over the next ten days.” Doctor
Reeves informed them, finally telling them exactly what was wrong with their
baby. Doctor Marian hadn’t been able to so this was all new information to the
parents.
“And then we can take him home.” Emily stated, making Glenn sigh as he leaned
his head on her shoulder, and knew she was anxious to take their baby home.
Doctor Reeves looked at her and sighed, his hands resting on top of the
incubator, and looked down at the baby before back up at Emily as he said,
“Then, we’ll see where we are. It’s all up to him now so the best we can do is
hope and pray. Talking to him might help as well.”
Glenn and Emily nodded as they both stared down at their little boy, silent
tears running down her face, and sniffled a little as she closed her eyes,
praying for a miracle. She absolutely couldn’t stand seeing her baby boy in this
kind of pain and agony with so many different medicines being pumped in his
little body. She knew the hospital was trying to do everything in their power to
help them, but all she wanted was to take her baby home. Glenn pulled his wife
in his arms and sighed heavily, rubbing her back gently, and tried to soothe her
tormented soul. All Glenn wanted to do was holding his baby in his arms, without
having to wear plastic gloves that hardly felt his touch on his baby boy.
In the lobby area, Jaslyn lay on one of the couches in the waiting room with her
eyes closed. She hadn’t seen the baby yet, but she had reconciled with Emily.
Imogen was laying next to her, curled up against her, and had called off the
next few days of school because of a family emergency. Emily was apart of her
family because she was her godmother so this was legitimate to the school’s
rules. Jaslyn hadn’t left the waiting room ever since she found out Emily was in
labor and wished the baby would get better so they could take him home. It also
pissed her off because the doctor hadn’t told them what exactly what was wrong
with the baby. All they had said was the little boy wasn’t breathing on its own
and Jaslyn figured it was some sort of organ that hadn’t grown in fully yet,
considering he was premature to begin with.
Jaslyn slowly opened her eyes and smiled, seeing David was sitting in the chair
beside her, his head leaned back against the wall. They had slept in the
hospital lobby for the past few days, not about to leave Glenn and Emily’s side
for anything. Paul had left, saying he needed to get back on the road, but
Jaslyn knew the real reason behind it. Her brother was ashamed of her for
running away the way she had. ‘If only he knew.’ She thought, a few tears slowly
sliding down her cheeks, and quickly wiped them away with her hand. It hurt that
her brother wouldn’t even hear her out, especially since he had no idea what
she’d been feeling ever since Joseph’s death.
More tears slipped down her cheeks as Jaslyn sniffled quietly, not wanting to
wake her daughter or David up, and carefully got off the couch. She needed some
air as she walked out of the lobby and outside, the cool night air hitting her
face instantly, and sighed in contentment. Paul had been cruel to her and said
some pretty rotten things that Jaslyn wouldn’t forget or forgive easily. He had
called her David’s whore before he left, stating that David had lied to him
about her whereabouts the entire time she’d been gone. David couldn’t stop
himself if he wanted to and decked Paul right in the face, knocking him on his
ass, and told him to stay away from his family.
“Jaslyn…” A voice sounded behind her, making her eyes close as more tears fell
from the, and knew exactly who it was. His arms slowly wrapped around her waist,
pulling her tight against his rock hard body, and rested his chin on her
shoulder.
He kissed her ear gently and asked, “What are you doing out here?”
“Just thinking.” She replied, raking a hand through her hair, and quickly wiped
her eyes with the back of her hand.
“About what?” David pried, wanting Jaslyn to open up to him and sighed when she
turned around, burying her face in his chest. David rubbed her back with his
hands, holding her close to his body, and buried his nose in her hair. He knew
she was crying because of what Paul had said to her and David wanted to strangle
him. To call his sister a whore was not only wrong, but it was cowardly and
pathetic.
Jaslyn sniffled a little, soaking the front of David’s shirt, and sobbed out,
“Why did he have to be so mean to me? We’ve never gotten into a fight this bad.
Why does he hate me so much for wanting to make my life better by leaving the
road?” The questions spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them, not
understanding why her brother was so cruel towards her. Was it because she was
with his best friend David?
“I don’t know, Jas. I wish I knew the answers to your questions and I wish I
could take your pain away, but unfortunately, I can’t in this case.” David
soothingly replied, being completely honest with her, and knew she appreciated
it.
Shaking her head, Jaslyn felt more violent sobs shake the foundation of her body
and collapsed in David’s arms, not able to handle it. David lifted her in his
arms and just held her, not bothered by it since she weighed less than her
purse, and leaned his head against hers. The tears just kept flowing down her
cheeks, nonstop, like a raging river turning into a deadly waterfall. David
absolutely hated to see Jaslyn in this much pain, but he also knew she needed
this release. So much had happened in the past couple of years and David knew
she was trying to be strong for her daughter’s sake, but sometimes in life, a
person just needed to cry.
“I can’t lose him, David. I can’t lose another part of my heart.” Jaslyn choked
out between her sobs, coughing a little because her chest was heaving so badly,
and David’s heart was shattering for her.
How could Paul treat his sister like this, especially after losing the best
thing that ever happened to her? David didn’t understand it as he decided to
carry her back into the hospital, hoping she calmed down a little, and sighed
even heavier when he saw Imogen was up. Emily and Glenn, along with Doctor
Reeves, had just walked through the doors and were coming toward them. Emily
immediately went to Jaslyn, pushing her hair out of her face, and looked up at
David with questions shining in her eyes. They hadn’t told Emily and Glenn what
Paul had said to Jaslyn before he left earlier on that day.
“Hey guys…” Glenn greeted in a low voice, tiredness evident in it, and trailed
off, wondering why Jaslyn was in the state that she was. “This is Doctor
Reeves.” He introduced and Jaslyn finally looked up, her bloodshot eyes staring
at the man in the white coat, and started to cry harder as she held David
tighter than ever.
Emily was becoming really scared by now as she looked up at David and asked
frantically, “What happened to her?!”
Glenn didn’t want Emily getting emotional, especially with the baby situation
and everything that had happened, and walked over to her. He placed his hands on
her shoulders and silently told David with his eyes not to upset her or there
would be Hell to pay. David nodded back at him without Emily or anyone else
seeing it, understanding fully where the man was coming from, and simply stared
down at Emily as he lied through his teeth, “She’s just overemotional right now
what with the baby and everything.” He quietly said, hating to lie, but knew it
was the right thing to do. David quickly changed the subject as he sat down with
a distraught Jaslyn sitting in his lap, and asked softly, “How’s the baby?”
“The baby hasn’t responded to any of the treatments yet, but there is still
hope.” Glenn responded, holding his wife against his chest, and looked down at
her as he whispered in her ear, “Do you want to tell them or should I?”
“We’ve decided on the name Joshua Gabriel Jacobs…Gabriel because it means he who
protects all.” Emily announced proudly, a tear in her eye, and looked down as
she started to break down again. “My…beautiful…baby boy…” She breathed out
before turning around and burying her face in her husband’s chest, praying that
God didn’t take her little boy away from her.
Jaslyn stood up from David’s lap and walked over, taking her best friend from
her husband, and wrapped her arms around Emily’s body. She couldn’t believe what
had transpired with her best friend and Jaslyn vowed to be there for Emily, no
matter the outcome of Joshua’s life. “It’s a beautiful name, angelface.” Jaslyn
whispered in her ear and Emily just cried harder, her entire body shaking from
head to toe, and Jaslyn closed her eyes tightly.
Closing his eyes and lowering his head to the floor, Glenn whispered quietly to
Doctor Reeves, “Thank ya for sittin’ with us for the past three hours. Ya don’t
know how much it means to me and my wife.”
“It’s no problem, Mr. Jacobs. I completely understand and I honestly don’t know
what I would do if I was in the same predicament.” Doctor Reeves replied
honestly and ran a hand through his blonde hair that had just a touch of gray in
it.
David looked at both men and ran a hand through his short dark hair, walking
over to them, and softly replied, “I really hope this all comes to an end
shortly before it tears those two women up completely.”
“What happened with Jaslyn earlier, David?” Glenn asked, truly curious and
concerned for Emily’s best friend. Since he had married Emily, Jaslyn became
apart of Glenn’s family and became Imogen’s godfather. Imogen didn’t have one so
Jaslyn said Glenn was her godfather when she reconciled with her best friend a
few days prior to this moment.
Rubbing the back of his head and glancing over at the love of his life and his
daughter, who was hugging her mom and godmother around the waist, David looked
back at Glenn and said, “Paul broke her heart.”
Chapter 14
A week had passed and still no change was made for baby Joshua. Emily and Glenn
were starting to lose hope and Jaslyn finally allowed Imogen to go back to
school. She had missed over a week and that wasn’t good, considering she was a
freshman in high school. Jaslyn had convinced her daughter to go back to school,
promising to call her if there was any change in the baby’s condition. Emily
sighed heavily as she talked to Doctor Reeves once again and nodded,
understanding what he said, and walked out to the waiting room.
Jaslyn was sitting by the window, staring out it, and smiled as she seen the
leaves start to flow all around in different colors. Golds, ambers, reds,
greens, and yellows swirled around in a beautiful dance of autumn. She sipped
her cup of Starbucks coffee she’d walked down the street to get and ran a hand
through her hair as her thoughts went to her brother. They hadn’t spoken to each
other in over a week and Jaslyn was starting to wonder if she’d ever speak to
Paul again. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she wiped it away and smiled
softly when she heard her best friend’s voice behind her.
She turned around and stared at her best friend, seeing the tears in her eyes,
and set her coffee down before walking over, hugging Emily tightly. Emily hugged
Jaslyn back and pulled away, staring into Jaslyn’s heart broken eyes, and asked
softly, “How are you feeling, beautiful?”
“Don’t even worry about me, Em. I’m fine. What did the doctor say?” Jaslyn
asked, more concerned about her godson than anything at that moment, even her
brother.
“Doctor Reeves said that it might be a good idea if you and a few other family
members go in to talk to him. He said it might help.” Emily softly replied and
looked down, leaning against one of the waiting room chairs, and cleared her
throat. “I wanted to thank you for sticking by me through this, Jaslyn. I don’t
know if I’d be able to do it without my best friend.”
Jaslyn hugged Emily close to her again and pulled back, staring into her eyes,
and stated, “I’ll always be there for you whenever you and Joshua need me.”
Emily was about to say something back when Imogen came walking down the hallway,
her book bag over her shoulder, and smiled as she hugged her mother around the
waist. David had went to get them something to eat, knowing his daughter was
getting off of school soon, and like clock work, he came walking in with a bag
of Arby’s in his hands a few moments later.
“Dad gave me a ride home from the bus stop. How’s Josh?” Imogen asked, staring
up at her godmother, and Emily smiled down at her as she brushed a strand of
hair from the girl’s face.
“The doctor said it would be a good idea if you, your mom, and David would go in
to talk to him. It might help.” Emily replied and Imogen bit her bottom lip as
she looked up at her mother.
“Can I, mom?” She asked softly and Jaslyn smiled down at her daughter, hugging
her close to her side, and nodded.
“Yeah, come on, let’s all go in together and visit him.” Jaslyn said and looked
over at David, who was setting the food down, and followed them into the back to
put scrubs on. It was mandatory before anyone entered the prenatal ICU.
The four individuals entered the room, all in their light blue scrubs, and
Imogen instantly felt the tears come to her eyes at the small individual in the
incubator. She quickly went to her mother’s side, trying so hard not to try, and
blinked back her tears as she whispered softly, “My God…He’s so helpless.” She
touched her heart with her hand before turning her face away and hugged David
around the waist for support.
David smiled down at his daughter, knowing this was hard for her, and walked
over with her attached to his side as he looked down in the incubator. “Hey
Josh, my name is David. I’m your new godfather and I already love you very much.
I want you to get better. Do it for your mom and dad. They love more than
anything in the world. Come on, kid. Come on God.” David whispered out that last
phrase as he looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, squeezing his
daughter’s shoulder.
Clearing her throat and feeling the support from her father, Imogen slowly
looked in at the baby and smiled softly, a tear in her eye, and said, “Hey Josh.
Look you have to let the medicine make you better, okay? You have a lot of
people who really love you. Get better, Josh, please.” She stepped back and
buried her head in her father’s chest as she began to silently cry.
Jaslyn took a step forward and sighed heavily, closing her eyes, and remembered
the last time she was in the hospital. It was a few days before Joseph passed
away and she had visited him in the hospital. He had told her he loved her and
he’s watch over her always and that was it. Jaslyn cleared her throat, trying to
get the cracking out of her voice, and walked over to the incubator as she said,
“Hey Josh, I’m Jaslyn, your godmother. Look, this is the first time I’ve been in
a hospital since my husband’s death so I want you to listen to me. I went away
for awhile and left everyone that I ever cared about. My friends, my family
because I was in a very bad way. And I came in here because I want to tell you
something. Don’t go out of town. Life is here with this family, my family. We
want you to get better so we can watch you grow and see you change. I love you,
Joshua so get better, baby.”
After they stayed in there for a few more minutes, Jaslyn, Imogen, and David
left the room, giving Emily and Glenn some privacy with their son. Before Imogen
could arrive in the waiting room, she burst into tears, shaking her head
uncontrollably, and dropped in the nearest chair as she put her face in her
hands. Jaslyn sighed deeply as she walked over to her daughter, her own tears
sliding down her cheeks, and hugged her daughter close to her as they started
crying together. “He’s so helpless, mom! I want him to get better!” Imogen cried
out, causing Jaslyn and David’s hearts to break instantly, hating to see their
daughter crying for any reason. They knew this was a good reason though,
especially when it was for a beautiful baby boy who was fighting for his life.
“I know, baby I know. I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened.” Jaslyn
whispered in her daughter’s ear, trying to soothe her tormented soul, and
smoothed her hair back.
Imogen pulled away from her mom and wiped her tears away as she stated, “I’m not
going to homecoming.”
“Aww Gen! Why not, baby?” Jaslyn asked disappointedly, not wanting her daughter
to feel she had to be at the hospital every single second because she was just a
teenager.
“Gen, you shouldn’t miss your homecoming dance, sweetheart.” David complied,
agreeing with Jaslyn one hundred percent, and Imogen sighed deeply.
“No, I need to be here for Emily in case the baby gets better!” Imogen argued
with her parents, folding her arms in front of her chest, and sat there
defiantly.
“I got something that will solve this problem…” David trailed off as he pulled
out his wallet and took out a credit card, handing it to his daughter, and
stated, “I want you to go shopping with your mother and pick out the most
beautiful dress you can find. I don’t care what it costs because it doesn’t
matter to me. Just go with your mother and find that special dress.” David
demanded softly, making Imogen’s eyes bug out of her head, and tears instantly
welled up in her eyes as she looked up at her father.
“Dad…” She softly replied and trailed off, not believing what David had done for
her, and slowly took the credit card from his hand as she shook her head. “No,
no I can’t. It’s too much.” She quickly added, trying to push the credit card
back at him, but David shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest
defiantly.
Jaslyn seen that look in David’s eyes and smiled, knowing there was no changing
his mind, and stood up as she extended her hand to her daughter, “Come on, baby.
Let’s just go see what’s out there and see if you change your mind.”
Staring up at her father and then back at her mother, Imogen knew she couldn’t
change their minds as she reluctantly took her mother’s hand in hers and stood
up. She walked over to her dad and stood up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms
around his neck, and whispered in his ear, “Thanks, daddy.” She kissed his cheek
before breaking the hug and walking away with her mother out of the hospital.
Jaslyn laughed as she watched her daughter change in and out of at least one
hundred dresses, knowing she didn’t like any of them, and shook her head as she
said, “Those just don’t fit you, baby. Come on, let’s go try another store.”
Imogen groaned as she stomped over to her mother and stated, “I’m not going to
find the dress, mom. I don’t even want to go anymore.”
“What about your date that asked you to the dance?” Her mother questioned,
raising her eyebrow up at her daughter, and Imogen sighed as she ran a hand
through her hair.
“He came up to me yesterday in school and said he couldn’t wait to take me to
homecoming. Before I could tell him I wasn’t going, he had already walked away.”
Imogen explained and Jaslyn smiled, knowing it was fate throwing her daughter a
curve ball.
Jaslyn wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulders, hugging her close, and
said, “Tell ya what? The night before your homecoming, I want you to invite him
over for dinner at the house. I want to meet him and I promise, I’ll make David
be on his BEST behavior.”
Giggling softly at her mother’s promise and shaking her head, Imogen laughed
softly as she retorted, “Mom, you know how protective dad is of me…” She trailed
off when she didn’t hear her mother start laughing with her and sighed heavily
as she raked a hand through her hair. “Does it bother you that I call David dad,
mom?” She asked bluntly, wanting to get this conversation over with, and Jaslyn
shook her head as tears formed in her eyes.
“Not at all, baby. It warms my heart every time I hear that word come out of
your mouth. Come on, we still have a TONS more shopping to do!” Jaslyn stated
excitedly and dragged her daughter behind her, not having a great time like this
with Imogen in ages and it was all thanks to David’s generosity.
After three more hours of looking, Imogen and Jaslyn finally walked into the
hospital, bags in hand, and David smiled at them. He could see the happiness
shining in his daughter’s eyes and stood up, hugging her close to him, and asked
softly, “So, did you change your mind?”
Imogen couldn’t contain her excitement anymore as she pulled out her dress and
David whistled, knowing she’d look beautiful on her homecoming night. It was a
long, purple spaghetti strapped dress with a sweetheart neckline and had a
jeweled embellishment on the chest. It was simple, but absolutely beautiful and
the color fit Imogen perfectly. Along with the dress came sparkling shoes that
had two inch heels on them and had straps on the heels, a small tiara for after
her hair was done professionally, and diamond jewelry that consisted of a
necklace, bracelet, ankle bracelet, ring, and earrings.
“Thank you so much, daddy!” Imogen hugged him as she squealed, not believing the
night had gotten better, and smiled up at her parents as she hugged them both.
She could only hope the dinner her mother was planning with her date the night
before their dance went well.
Another week later, one night before Imogen’s homecoming, Glenn stood outside
the window of the Prenatal ICU, and sighed deeply to himself. A tear was in his
eye when he seen the nurse rip the name off of the incubator his son had laid in
for the past two and a half weeks and silently started to pray. “Glenn, what are
you doing?” His wife’s beautiful voice sounded behind him, and Glenn turned
around as he looked at her.
“Sayin’ a prayer for everybody who has to be in there.” Glenn replied as he
walked over to his wife and looked down at his beautiful baby boy in his wife’s
arms, smiling when he started to cry. “Well, Joshua Gabriel…Let’s go home.” He
added, kissing Emily’s lips again, and walked down the hallway and out into the
waiting room where Jaslyn, David, and Imogen clapped for them, not believing
this little miracle had happened.
Together, all six individuals walked out of the hospital and headed back to
Jaslyn’s beach house, where Emily would be staying until Joshua was two months
old.
Chapter 15
After getting Emily, Glenn, and Joshua settled into her house, Jaslyn went
downstairs to prepare dinner. Imogen was in her room, trying to decide on what
to wear, and had informed Marc at school a week prior to this night about her
mother’s dinner invitation. He smiled at her and accepted, promising to be there
at seven o’clock the night before homecoming. Imogen sighed as she tried outfit
after outfit on, not being able to find anything, and plopped down on her bed
with a heavy sigh. A knock sounded at her door as her head turned to see who was
walking in her room and smiled when she seen it was David.
“Hi daddy.” She greeted softly and bit her bottom lip when David’s eyes started
staring at all the clothes that were lying on his daughter’s bedroom floor.
“Gen, did a hurricane come through your room that we didn’t know about?” David
asked, not believing how destroyed his daughter’s room was, and smirked when she
smacked him on the arm lightly.
“That is SOOO not funny, dad.” She stated, crossing her arms in front of her
chest, still wearing her lilac purple robe that went to mid-thigh, and ran a
hand through her hair.
David chuckled as he sat down on the bed beside her, pulling her in his arms,
and said, “I know, I’m sorry for making fun of you. Now what’s this all about?”
He asked, referring to the clothes that were lying on the floor.
“I don’t know what to wear tonight. I want to impress Marc and nothing I have
is…pretty enough.” She admitted, biting her bottom lip, and tucked a strand of
hair behind her ear.
Taking her hand in his, David made Imogen look up into his eyes and stated, “No
matter what you wear, you’re always going to be beautiful, Gen. You shouldn’t
have to feel you have to impress this boy. Obviously he sees something in you if
he asked you to the dance, right?”
Imogen chewed on her bottom lip, listening to her father’s words of
encouragement, and smiled as she finally nodded and said, “Yeah, you’re right.
Thanks Brownie.” She added, kissing his cheek, and stood up as she started
picking up her clothes off the floor.
David smiled as he nodded, kissed the top of her head, and whispered as he
walked out of her bedroom door, “You’re welcome, Gen.”
Emily and David decided to stay in their room with the baby, not wanting to
bother anyone with the important dinner, and Jaslyn protested against it.
However, Emily assured her it was fine and that they would eat when the boy
left. “You are apart of this family, Em. I want you down there with us.” She
scolded gently, touching her best friend’s hand with her own, and Glenn smiled
at Jaslyn thoughtfully.
“We’ll be fine up here, Jas. No worries. Besides, I want to spend some quality
time with my wife.” Glenn huskily replied and that caused Emily to turn four
shades of red.
“Glenn Thomas Jacobs! Good Lord! You know the rules, mister! The doctor said to
wait six weeks before we engage in any activity!” Emily scolded her husband and
that just made Glenn chuckle as he pulled her in his arms while the baby slept
in his bassinet at the foot of their bed peacefully.
Dinner was served at precisely five minutes to seven and Imogen was sitting on
the couch, a nervous wreck. Imogen had decided on wearing a black skirt that
frayed at the ends and went just above her knee with a purple top that had a V
shaped neckline, but it didn’t show off anything and it was short sleeved. She
continuously chewed on her thumbnail and stared at the door, hoping Marc didn’t
disappoint her. At exactly seven o’clock, the doorbell rang and Imogen shot up
off the couch, trying to calm her racing heart, and took a few deep breaths
before walking over to the door. She opened it and smiled at the sight of Marc.
He was wearing a red polo shirt with Khaki pants. His short, black hair was
spiked up with gel and he smelled good.
Marc just looked at Imogen, not believing how beautiful she looked, and smiled
back as he handed her the bouquet of lilies as he said, “These are for you. I
remember you saying something about liking lilies.”
Imogen smiled as she took them from him, held them up to her nose, and inhaled
the sweet scent. “They’re beautiful. Come on in, dinner is ready in the dining
room.” Imogen said, allowing him access to her home, and bit her bottom lip as
she smelled the flowers again while shutting the door gently.
Jaslyn had a tear in her eye at the sight of her daughter receiving flowers from
the boy who was taking her to homecoming and smiled when David wrapped his arms
around her waist from behind. “He seems nice.” He commented in her ear, making
Jaslyn nod as she wiped the tear that had slid down her cheek, and knew her baby
girl was growing up.
“Yeah he does. Will you grab the garlic bread while I bring the pot of sauce out
there?” Jaslyn asked gently and David nodded, happy to help her in any way he
could, and kissed her cheek as he walked out, smiling at his daughter and the
boy.
He set the basket of garlic bread down on the table and extended his hand, a
sweet smile on his face, “Hello, I’m David, Imogen’s father.”
Marc’s eyes bugged out of his head when he seen none other than the Animal David
Batista in his eyesight and felt really small. He shakily stuck his hand out and
shook it with David’s as he stuttered out, “N-Nice to m-meet you too, s-sir.”
Imogen looked at Marc and then back at David, smiling when she remembered why he
was so star struck. She had completely forgot he was a wrestling fan and cleared
her throat as she said, “Marc is a huge wrestling fan and he must recognize
you…dad.” She giggled at the look on Marc’s face and nudged him to get him out
of his daze.
“I just…Wow this is incredible! I’m a HUGE fan of yours, sir.” Marc stated, a
grin plastered on his face, watched as a woman as beautiful as Imogen came
walking out of the kitchen, holding a pot in her hands, and set it on the table.
Marc cleared his throat and extended his hand as he said, “I’m Marc Labels,
ma’am.”
Jaslyn smiled at the manners this kid had and took his hand as she shook it and
replied, “I’m Jaslyn, Imogen’s mother. Please sit down.”
Dinner went very well to say the least. Marc was asking David a bunch of
questions about the ring and Imogen just shook her head, laughing at the look on
her mother’s face. She looked kind of skeptical of Marc and cleared her throat
as she stood up and said, “I’ll go get dessert. Baby, will you help me?” She
looked at her daughter while David and Marc continued their conversation, and
once they were out of earshot, Jaslyn turned to face her daughter. “Imogen, I
don’t like that Marc knows about David being your father. Did you tell him that
before he asked you to the dance?” She asked bluntly, not wanting anyone to use
her daughter just to get close to a WWE Superstar.
“No mom, I didn’t. He told me he was a huge wrestling fan and I just said that
was cool and that I didn’t watch it very much. We then talked about music and
movies and before I knew it, he asked me to the dance.” Imogen explained
quietly, not wanting Marc to overhear their conversation, and smiled when she
seen the relief shining in her mother’s eyes. “Don’t worry, mom. I would never
let someone take advantage of that way.” She assured her mother, making Jaslyn
smile widely at her daughter, and they hugged before bringing out dessert. It
was a chocolate cream pie.
“So Marc, what kind of plans do you and Imogen have for the dance?” Jaslyn asked
as she cut slices for each party, grinning when David licked his lips, and knew
it was his favorite.
Marc took a sip of his Pepsi that was in the glass and set it back down before
answering, “I’m going to rent us a limo for the night and take her out to dinner
and then after the dance, I’ll bring her home no later than what her parents
allow.”
David smirked at this kid and nodded, liking this kid more and more, and cleared
his throat as he said, “That’s very commendable of you, son. Imogen knows when
her curfew is so we’ll expect her to follow it.”
“Of course, daddy.” She replied and smiled, taking a bite of the pie, and
groaned at how good it was. “Mom, this is spectacular!” She exclaimed and
started digging in, making Jaslyn smile as she thanked her daughter for the
compliment.
The rest of the dinner went well and pretty soon, it was nearing ten o’clock.
Marc stood up from the dinner table and said, “Thank you for the hospitality you
all have shown me tonight. I really appreciate it, but I have to get goin’ back
home. My curfew is at eleven so I don’t want to upset my parents.” Marc informed
them gently and Imogen stood up with him as she looked at her parents.
David shook his hand and Jaslyn gave him a hug, liking this boy, and watched as
Imogen escorted him outside of the house, closing the door behind her. David
started to go for the window, but Jaslyn shook her head as she stated, “Give
them their privacy, David. Come on, you can help me do dishes.” She commanded
gently and laughed when he started groaning in protest.
“I had a great time tonight, Imogen. I want you to know that I didn’t ask you
out because of who your father is. I didn’t even know until I seen him tonight.”
Marc stated, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his Khaki pants, and
Imogen smiled sweetly back at him.
“I know, Marc. I’m so glad this dinner went great. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
She questioned, making sure he wasn’t backing out on the dance, and Marc smiled
sweetly back at her as he nodded, taking her hand, and pressing a soft kiss to
the back of it.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He whispered softly and kissed her forehead
as he added, “Good night, Imogen.” He then walked away down the driveway and
Imogen just stood there, touching her hand to her heart, and closed her eyes.
“Good night, Marc.” She whispered back before walking back inside the house and
couldn’t wait for her dance that following night.
David was pacing back and forth, waiting for his daughter to walk down the
staircase of the two story house, not believing Jaslyn had pushed him out of the
room. He was really nervous about allowing Marc to take his little girl to this
dance, but deep down, he knew he could trust the boy. He was too stupid to try
something with his daughter, especially now that he knew who her father was.
David smirked as he remembered the look on Marc’s face the previous night and
chuckled to himself. The boy looked like he either wanted to pass out or piss
himself and that made David chuckle even harder.
Glenn was sitting on the couch, holding his baby boy in his arms, and couldn’t
believe how much he was growing. It had only been two days since he’d been out
of the hospital, but in Glenn’s eyes, he was still growing too fast. He looked
up when David started to chuckle and asked, “What’s so funny, man?”
“Oh nothing, just thinking about the dinner last night. You should’ve seen the
kid’s face when he seen me last night, man. He looked like he was either going
to pass out or piss himself.” David informed Glenn, who started chuckling, and
shook his head in response.
Glenn was about to say something when something else got the attention of David.
The doorbell was ringing as he walked over and answered it, smiling at the crisp
and snappy suit Marc was wearing, and let him in as he greeted “Hello again,
Marc.” He was wearing the same color of shirt that Imogen’s dress was, which was
long sleeved, and buttoned up the front and it was silk along with a pair of
black dress pants and black dress shoes.
“Hello, sir. Is she ready?” He asked excitedly, holding a black box in his hand,
and David wondered what it was.
Before David could answer him, the door opened and the most beautiful creature
walked down the stairs. The dress fit her perfectly and her hair was down,
curled in long banana curls, and two clips were on each side of her head. The
makeup was very natural, bringing out her blue eyes that she inherited from
Joseph. She had black eyeliner to outline them and just a touch of purple eye
shadow along with clear gloss on her lips. She looked absolutely stunning and
both Jaslyn and Emily stood behind her, grinning from ear to ear. Marc had to
swallow at the sight of her, not believing how gorgeous she was, and smiled
widely when she finally arrived in front of him.
Marc held out the box to her and softly said, “This is for you.”
“Thanks.” She softly replied, not able to wipe the smile off of her face, and
opened it, gasping at what it was. It was a lilac corsage and Imogen was shaking
so hard as tears welled up in her eyes. “It’s beautiful, Marc!” She exclaimed
gently and blinked back her tears as he took it out and slipped it on her right
wrist.
Jaslyn had tears streaming down her face at the sight and took a dozen pictures
before the kids finally walked out of the house. David informed them to be back
at a decent hour before telling them to have a great time and shut the door
behind him, seeing Jaslyn crying harder. “My little girl looks so beautiful.”
She sobbed out, not believing how fast her daughter had grown up, and David
chuckled as he took her in his arms.
“Come on, sweetie. Let’s go have a bath together.” David asked, staring down
into her eyes, showing her how clouded over they were, and Jaslyn bit her bottom
lip as she nodded, allowing him to guide her up the stairs. They both said good
night to Glenn and Jaslyn, who were kissing on the couch, and knew they would be
fine.
Tonight, David was going to show Jaslyn just how much he loved and missed her
over the past nine months.
Chapter 16
Smiling from ear to ear, David guided Jaslyn into her master bedroom, and shut
the door behind him. Jaslyn bit her bottom lip as she sucked in a breath,
especially once she felt David’s lips descend on her neck, and instantly melted
in his arms. His tongue snaked out, sucking on her soft flesh tenderly, and ran
his strong hands down her sides as he whispered in her ear, “So, where were we
before all the shit happened?”
“Mmmm right about here…” She rasped back, her breathing becoming extremely
ragged, and bit her bottom lip as her entire body began to light on fire.
David smirked as he ran his hands up and down her sides, underneath her shirt,
and began to caress her flesh with his thumbs. Just the touch of this man’s
hands anywhere on her body was enough to drive Jaslyn into madness. She leaned
her head against his body, on his shoulder, her hair pouring down her back and
over David’s shoulder as he continued this torment on her body. Jaslyn was in
heaven as she closed her eyes, wondering if heaven was supposed to feel this
good, and bit her bottom lip when David pulled away. She grumbled in protest and
turned around, staring up in his eyes, and started to say something, but David
pressed his finger to her lips to silence her.
“Stay out here while I go get the bath ready.” David commanded gently, running
his finger down her arm, and Jaslyn shivered at his touch. Who could say no to
that sexy husky voice David possessed?
As soon as Jaslyn seen the bathroom door close, she collapsed on her bed on her
back, breathing incredibly heavily. She knew this was the night they would
finally be together and to be honest, she was incredibly nervous. Ever since
Joseph’s death, Jaslyn hadn’t been with anyone in that aspect and wondered if
she would remember how to do it. Jaslyn closed her eyes and started thinking
about what David had planned for them, knowing her daughter was in good hands,
and sighed deeply. ‘He better take care of her or I’ll rip that punk’s throat
out.’ Jaslyn vowed silently and immediately sat up when the bathroom door
opened.
Extending his hand to her, David smiled softly at the beauty in front of him, a
single towel wrapped around his waist, and softly said, “It’s ready.”
Jaslyn took a deep, shaky breath as she slipped her hand in his and allowed him
to pull her off the bed into the bathroom. David smiled as he pulled her to
stand in front of him and shut the light off, making Jaslyn gasp at the sight
before her. There were at least fifty white candles all over the place, giving
off a luminous glow, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. “David…” She
whispered out, covering her mouth with her hand and then held her heart, not
believing how beautiful the bathroom was.
He didn’t say a word as he closed the door behind him and walked over behind
her, running his hands down her arms, and snaked them around her waist. Jaslyn
closed her eyes as his hands went underneath the front of her shirt, pulling it
up and over her head, and dropped it to the floor along with the towel. David
smirked as he leaned down, taking the clips of her bra in his mouth, and
unsnapped one by one, holding a firm arm around her waist, and slipped the sexy
material from her shoulders, down her arms, and to the floor. He then turned her
around, staring down into her eyes, and passionately kissed her lips, causing a
soft moan to immediately erupt from Jaslyn’s mouth. After breaking the kiss,
David stared into her eyes, seeing they had gone from hazel colored eyes were
now a deep green with a hint of brown in them clouded over with desire.
David growled, loving it when she got that look in her eyes, and pressed himself
against her jean covered crotch, causing Jaslyn to suck in a breath. He was
already hard as a rock and Jaslyn could already feel her panties soiling just by
this man’s intense gaze on her. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he
got down on his knees, and smirked as he took the button of her jeans in his
mouth. Unsnapping them with ease, David took the zipper of her jeans between his
teeth and tongue, and slowly slid it down, causing his throbbing cock to pulsate
from the sound of the zipper. He smiled when Jaslyn stepped out of them
immediately as he stood back up, hooked his thumbs in her panties, and slid them
down as well, kicking all the clothes to the side, and took her back in his arms
as he scorched her lips with another hot kiss.
Gripping her hips firmly in his hands, Jaslyn gasped when David lifted her up
with ease, like she weighed nothing, and placed her in the huge Jacuzzi tub
filled with bubbles. The aroma of the bubbles invaded her nose as she inhaled
deeply, loving the smell of jasmine, and smiled when David slipped in the water
after her. He looked into her eyes as he crawled over to her, since the tub
could fit six people of his size, and pulled her against him, staring down in
her eyes. No words needed to be spoken as they started kissing, lighting each
other’s bodies on fire. Just one kiss from this man sent Jaslyn’s senses reeling
and spiraling out of control as she tilted her head to the side, deepening the
kiss even more, and moaned in his mouth.
Pulling her tighter against his chest when she deepened the kiss, David felt her
mouth open for invitation and he took without a second thought. He slowly snaked
his tongue between her lips and inside her mouth, groaning at how sweet she
tasted, and never wanted to break the kiss. Her mouth was sweeter than honey as
he leaned against the edge of the tub, pulling her on top of him, and never
broke the kiss. David groaned when he felt Jaslyn’s hands start to explore him,
touching, feeling, just becoming acquainted with his body. He had absolutely no
problem with it because they had all the time in the world and nobody was going
to disturb them this time.
Jaslyn broke the kiss, needing to come up for air, and looked down into David’s
eyes, which turned a dark brown, and straddled him as she dropped a quick kiss
on his lips and began her exploration. Her lips went from his to his soul patch,
running her chin against it, and then kissed her way over to the left side of
his neck, loving how soft his skin was against her tongue. David’s eyes drifted
shut as he started running his hands up and down her back, loving what this
woman was doing to him. His cock was bulging in the water, but David didn’t care
because she found his neck spot and he was putty in her hands. Jaslyn smirked as
she started nipping and nibbling on his spot, which was right behind his ear,
and grinned when David’s breathing became labored.
Her lips traveled from his spot after a few minutes and sucked on his earlobe,
tracing the rest of his ear with her tongue, and David was in pure heaven. She
smirked as she traveled from his ear and down his neck, licking, kissing her way
down further, and finally reached his Adam’s apple. David’s hands started
roaming, having a mind of their own, and gripped her ass in the water, causing
Jaslyn to bite her bottom lip, and started getting a little more animalistic
with him. She arrived at his left nipple and started flicking her tongue over it
repeatedly, getting some pretty throaty groans from David, and knew he was
enjoying this. She pulled back a little and blew cold air on it, making goose
bumps break out all over David’s body, even though they were in hot water, and
did a full body shiver when she proceeded to do the same thing to his right
nipple.
Her mouth traveled further down and smirked when she spotted his sun tattoo that
encircled his belly button. Licking her lips, Jaslyn smirked wickedly as she
looked up at David, who was writhing beneath her, and snaked her tongue out as
she started tracing the tattoo, causing David to growl out in pure ecstasy. This
woman was driving him completely insane and Jaslyn knew it. She smirked as she
continued the tortuous motions on his body and finally sat up, running her hand
through her hair, and looked into his eyes as she leaned down and kissed his
lips softly. Tonight was all about Jaslyn’s wishes so David just laid back and
ran his hand up her stomach to the valley of her breasts.
Jaslyn’s head whipped back when David took both of her nipples between his fore
finger and thumbs on each hand and started rolling them. Her hands went down,
raking her nails down his rock hard chest, and felt his muscles ripple beneath
her touch. Deep moans escaped her lips as her nipples perked up to be as hard as
little pebbles and Jaslyn’s breathing was incredibly ragged from the
administrations David had performed on her body. He smirked at her as she looked
down into his eyes, making them kiss, and then it was David’s turn to have some
fun before the real fun began. Jaslyn gasped softly when David switched roles,
having her laying in the tub, and he hovered over her, making her breathing
quicken just at the look in his eyes.
David’s head dipped low, dropping a quick kiss on her lips, and then traveled
over to the side of her neck, causing Jaslyn to do a full body shiver, and
arched her neck further into his mouth. In no time, he had found that one spot
that made her melt into his body and surrender completely to him. David slid his
tongue over and over against, causing her breathing to become ragged, and knew
she wouldn’t last long if he kept this up. He slowly pulled away and traveled
further down her neck with his mouth while his hand had other intentions in
mind. It slid down her slender stomach, caressing her smooth flesh, and finally
cupped her dripping wet sex underneath the hot water. Jaslyn gasped at the
contact and bit her bottom lip, feeling her body begin to tremble, and gripped
the side of the tub when David’s finger slowly started sliding deep inside of
her.
The walls of her pussy instantly caved in around his finger and Jaslyn was in
pure heaven as she arched her hips into his finger, wanting him to move it in
and out of her. David smirked down at her, knowing exactly what she wanted, but
he wasn’t going to do it just yet. He wanted her to adjust to the size of his
finger before he continued, knowing she hadn’t had sex in over four years.
David’s mouth traveled further down her neck and his long, slick wet tongue
snaked out, sliding all the way down the valley of her breasts while beginning
to move his finger in and out of her. Her heartbeat quickened at these
administrations and Jaslyn knew her orgasm was already building deep inside of
her. She could feel it and leaned her head back, moaning at how wonderful David
was making her feel.
His finger started thrusting in and out of her at a slow pace, causing Jaslyn to
go crazy insane with desire for him, and began to beg him to go faster. David
shook his head as he leaned his head down, taking her right rosy nipple in his
mouth, swirling it around in his saliva, and groaned when it instantly hardened.
His finger had started thrusting harder and faster inside of her, not able to
contain the amount of passion he was feeling for her, and ventured over as he
took her other nipple in his mouth, doing the same administrations as he’d done
the first one, and released it when it hardened once again. David looked up at
her, seeing her face was a make of sheer ecstasy, and he could already feel his
cock start to react to her look. Her eyes had drifted shut and the candles light
illuminated her face, making her look like an angel.
With a few more deep thrusts of his finger, David finally rose her lower regions
out of the hot water, slid his finger out, and licked them clean with his mouth.
Jaslyn licked her lips hungrily, wanting this man more than she’d ever wanted
anyone in her entire life, and she wasn’t going to be disappointed. David didn’t
even have to hear what she wanted because the look in her eyes told the entire
story. He leaned down, locking eyes with her for a split second, and took her
lips in his in a rough, passionate kiss. He groaned in her mouth when her
fingers lost their way in his short, dark hair, gripping it a little, and pulled
away as he seen her eyes were now a deep golden brown. She was definitely ready
for him to take her and wasn’t about to waste time.
David lay back against the tub, in the hot water again, and pulled Jaslyn on top
of him as he kissed her lips softly. He then sat up a little as she straddled
him, wrapping her legs completely around his waist, and gasped when his cock
started to push past her wet lips. David captured her lips in his as his cock
slid inside of her, filling her up to the core, and didn’t stop until he was
fully sheathed inside her wet sex. He could feel it throbbing against his cock
and that wasn’t helping considering he was ready to explode at any second.
Jaslyn slid her tongue inside David’s mouth, moaning a little louder at the
feeling of him inside of her. She couldn’t explain it because it was
indescribable and incredible.
They kissed for a good five minutes, just enjoying finally being joined
together, and finally broke their kiss as their foreheads pressed together,
their breathing incredibly ragged, and their hearts were beating as one. Their
souls had finally joined and Jaslyn never wanted this moment to end. Once the
burning sensation her walls gave off desinigrated, David started to slowly
thrust in and out of her, causing Jaslyn to moan louder and louder with each
movement his cock made in and out of her body. David gripped her hips with his
huge, muscular hands, not wanting to take her hard and fast, but the passion
between them was so thick, it couldn’t be cut with a knife. He looked into her
eyes, seeing how much she wanted him to just take her, and wasn’t about to
disappoint her.
Gripping her hips in his hands, David started thrusting in and out of her body
like a wild man who hadn’t had sex in years. Jaslyn cried out in pleasure as she
raked her nails down his back and arms, the feeling too overwhelming, but she
was enjoying every millisecond of it. David captured her lips in his as his hips
started crashing against her, neither caring if they left marks or not, and
Jaslyn started meeting him thrust for thrust. The hot water of the bath only
made the sensations heighten that much more as David ripped his lips away from
hers and started biting on her neck, gently sucking, and Jaslyn hissed out as
she gripped his hair in her fingers while the thrusting continued.
After a few minutes of this passion filled session between the two, Jaslyn
finally started to feel her orgasm building and knew David’s was close as well.
They were going so fast and the feelings were so great that they both nearly
lost their heads as David’s cock drove itself deeper, harder, and faster inside
of her, grazing her back wall, and hitting her g-spot repeatedly. Jaslyn finally
couldn’t take it anymore and whipped her head back, her hair pooling in the
water of the bath, and felt her orgasm tear through her body like a tornado. Her
walls clamped down around David, making his thrusts even more powerful, and
finally released her hot juices to soak his throbbing cock, screaming out his
name in sheer ecstasy and pleasure.
Jaslyn’s release triggered David’s as he tried to breathe, but the feeling of
her walls wrapping around his sheathed cock and milking him for all he was worth
was too much for him to take. With one final deep, hard thrust, David sunk his
cock all the way inside of her dripping wet sex and exploded his seed as it
splashed against her inner walls. Perspiration had formed on both of their
bodies as they breathing was erratic and their hearts felt like they were about
to jump out of their chests. Jaslyn cried out yet again as she felt his seed
completely fill her up and held onto him tightly for dear life, shaking the
entire foundation of her body to the core, and trembled against his body while
he held her close. David couldn’t believe how intense their session was and knew
Jaslyn was trembling because of the intensity it gave off.
Once he managed to find the feeling back in his legs, David lifted Jaslyn into
his arms, whispering soothing words in her ear, and carried her out of the
bathroom of her master bedroom. He walked over to the bed, pulled the comforter
up, and laid her down on it gently before climbing in himself. David pulled her
body tight against his, kissing her neck softly, and whispered in her ear, “I
love you, Jaslyn and I’ll be there for you and Imogen always.”
Turning over so she was facing him, tears spilled down her cheeks freely as
Jaslyn whispered back, “I love you too, David.” She pressed her forehead against
his, letting all her emotions come out to him, and knew he would understand.
“Marry me, Jaslyn.” David gently commanded, entwining their fingers together,
and had locked eyes with hers before asking her that question. Before she could
even reply to his command, David had pulled out a black velvet box and handed it
to her.
Jaslyn’s trembling hands took it from him and opened it, covering her mouth with
her hands, and started to cry so hard, sobs tore throughout her body. It was the
most beautiful ring she’d ever seen in all her life. It was a three stoned ring
with the middle stone being a Alexandrite and cut in the shape of a heart. On
each side of the Alexandrite was a ruby on the left side and a garnet on the
right and they were cut in the shapes of hearts as well. The granite stone
signified David’s birthstone while the Alexandrite signified Imogen’s. The ruby
was for Jaslyn and it was encrusted on a silver ring band. Jaslyn looked up into
David’s light brown eyes that were filled with so much love for her and couldn’t
even speak as she looked back down at the breathtaking ring before her. She
finally got fed up with trying to speak and passionately kissed his lips and
nodded her head yes, making David the happiest man alive, and slipped the ring
on her left ring finger, not believing they were finally together and engaged.
It was truly a remarkable night as Jaslyn and David ended up falling asleep in
each other’s arms, promising to always be there for each other, no matter what
life threw at them.
Chapter 17
~Two Months Later~
“You be sure to call me as soon as the plane lands you hear me?” Jaslyn
chastised her best friend, who was getting Joshua situated in the car seat, and
then turned around to hug her.
“I will, Jas. I promise…” Emily replied and placed her hands on her shoulders,
looking into Jaslyn’s eyes, and added, “You just need to be happy with David and
plan that beautiful wedding.”
A tear slowly slid down Jaslyn’s cheek as she nodded, hugging Emily one final
time, and pulled away as she stated, “You’re my Matron of Honor so you better be
there with Joshua.”
Smiling softly at her best friend, the girls hugged again, and Emily whispered
in her ear, “I will, you can count on it. Thank you for everything.”
“Don’t even thank me. It was my pleasure.” Jaslyn replied just as Glenn came
walking out, carrying their final bag of luggage, and walked over to hug him.
“You take care of yourself and Emily.”
“I will, Jaslyn. Thanks for the hospitality.” Glenn replied, hugging her close,
and then looked at his wife as he asked, “You ready, baby? It’s a long drive
back to Nashville.”
Emily nodded as she hugged Jaslyn one final time and then Imogen, who had just
ran up the driveway from getting off of school, and kissed her forehead as she
stated, “Don’t give your mom and dad too much grief.”
Imogen giggled at her godmother and nodded, trying so hard not to cry, and
opened the door as she kissed Joshua’s forehead gently. She looked at the baby
for a minute before pulling away and then shut the car door again, standing next
to her mother, and watched as the Jacob’s took off. Once they were out of sight,
Imogen immediately buried her head in her mother’s stomach, making Jaslyn sigh
heavily as she hugged her daughter close, and they walked up the steps of the
beach house. David had gone back on the road, after Vince called and chewed him
out about being gone so long, and reluctantly he went. Imogen had cried, not
wanting her father to go, but knew he had to.
Later on that night, Jaslyn was sitting on the couch, flipping through channel
after channel on her TV, a million thoughts running through her mind, when there
was a knock on her door. It was close to midnight so Jaslyn couldn’t imagine who
was there at this time of night. She had gotten the call from Emily a few hours
prior to this moment, letting her know they made it safe and sound in Nashville,
so it couldn’t be them. Jaslyn decided to play it safe as she slowly snaked over
and grabbed a baseball bat out of the closet before slowly walking over to the
door. It was Imogen’s soft ball bat because she played it in school. Jaslyn put
her hand on the handle, holding the bat in place, and yanked the door open,
coming face to face with her brother.
Jaslyn dropped the bat on the floor, not believing who was staring her in the
face, and her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she stated heatedly, “What are
you doing here, Paul?”
“I came here to talk to you.” Paul answered, shoving his hands in the front of
his jeans, and hoped his sister didn’t slam the door in his face. He wouldn’t
blame her one bit if she did though.
“I think you said enough at the hospital.” Jaslyn stated in a cold tone of
voice, crossing her arms in front of her chest, and already felt the tears
welling up in her eyes.
Paul sighed heavily as he lowered his head to the porch of her house and said,
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Running a hand through her hair and being extremely skeptical about this
situation, Jaslyn remained standing in the doorway as she asked, “How did you
find out where I lived?”
“David.” Paul answered as he looked up into her eyes, seeing all the questions
through her eyes. “He wanted us to reconcile before you got married…”
‘I’m going to kill him!’ Jaslyn thought angrily as she shook her head, staring
down at the beautiful ring on her left ring finger, and then back up at her
brother. “I don’t need you at my wedding, especially the hateful things you said
to me at the hospital, Paul.” She spat at him, not able to show any sign of
forgiveness in her voice. How could she forgive her brother after he had the
audacity to call her David’s whore?
“Jas, can I at least come in and explain my actions? I don’t want to lose the
relationship we had.” Paul pleaded with her, meaning every word he said. It
would kill him if he missed his only sister’s wedding.
Not saying a word to him, Jaslyn walked away from the door, leaving it open, and
walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. She was going to need it to get
through this conversation with her brother. After putting the cork back on the
bottle, Jaslyn walked back over and sat on the couch, holding it in her hands,
and sighed deeply as she ran her thumb over the edge of it. Paul knew she wasn’t
going to start the conversation as he took a seat in the chair that was near the
couch, and sighed deeply, not even knowing where to begin. Jaslyn stared back at
her brother and took a sip of her wine before setting it down on the coffee
table, waiting to hear what he had to say to her.
After a few moments of silence, Paul finally spoke up and said, “We were doing
another super show in Anaheim, California so David came up to me and told me how
much you were hurting. I tried to tell him to go fuck off and he decked me in
the face, threw me against the wall, and told me to stop being fuckin’ stubborn
and go talk to you. He gave me your address and booked the flight and told me to
go so I did.”
“Why would he do that?” Jaslyn asked softly, clasping her hands together, not
wanting to look up at her brother because she could already feel the tears
burning her eyes.
“Because he didn’t want you to get married without your big brother there to
walk you down the aisle.” Paul answered and Jaslyn finally looked up with huge
tears sliding down her cheeks.
Paul sighed and started to get up, but Jaslyn didn’t want his comfort. She
scooted farther away from him on the couch and wiped her tears away from her
cheeks, but they kept coming. “He’s right, but I don’t want a brother at my
wedding who thinks of me as nothing, but a whore.”
“I don’t think of you that way, Jas…” Paul started to say, wanting to apologize
for ever calling his sister something like that, but Jaslyn wasn’t hearing it.
“If you didn’t think of me like that you wouldn’t have called me David’s whore,
Paul. Do you know HOW long it took for my heart to finally heal after Joseph’s
death? It took a long fuckin’ time and when I FINALLY found someone who
completes me the way Joseph did, someone who loves me AND Imogen
unconditionally, you want to come out and call me a whore!” Jaslyn shouted at
him, knowing Imogen wouldn’t be able to hear them because her room was on the
far left of the second floor and she had great instillation in her room.
“I was confused and everything was happening so fast, Jaslyn! I mean, come on! I
don’t hear from you for fuckin’ six months and then you show up at the hospital
with David! What was I supposed to think?!” Paul shot back, getting defensive
now that his sister was being stubborn, and wished she would just listen to
reason.
Raking a hand through her hair and taking a swig of her wine, Jaslyn stared at
her brother with a glare and stated, “Maybe you should’ve ASKED what happened
before you fuckin’ jumped to conclusions!”
Paul growled out in frustration as he sighed deeply, knowing she was right about
that, and nodded as he replied, “I agree with you on that and that’s why I’m
here. I wanted to say that I’m really sorry for calling you what I did and
everything I said to you. I love you, Jaslyn. You’re my only sister and I was so
worried about you. When you left, I immediately went after David because I knew
he had something to do with it. I want us to be as close as we once were.” Paul
was pouring his heart and soul out to his sister, telling her what he really
wanted to, and sighed heavily when he seen her shake her head at him.
“So you think coming here is going to fix everything and take away all the pain
you’ve caused me to feel? You must be really brain dead if you think that way
because I’m not going to forgive just like that, Paul. Get out of my house, this
discussion is over.” Jaslyn stated in a cold tone of voice before standing up
and walking into her kitchen to put her empty glass of wine in the sink.
Throwing his hands up in frustration and standing up from the chair, Paul walked
into the kitchen and took his sister by the arm, spinning her around to face him
as he stated, “People deserve second chances in life, Jaslyn. God gave you a
second chance at love after he took Joseph away from you so why the fuck can’t
you give me a second chance?”
“Because in all the years we’ve known each other, you never ONCE called me what
you did at the hospital and I’m going to need some time to truly forgive you.”
Jaslyn answered without hesitation and Paul was about to say something back to
her when the screen door slammed shut.
Both Paul and Jaslyn looked toward it and she immediately yanked her arm out his
Paul’s grasp as she shouted at him, “How could you do this to me, David!?”
David sighed heavily as he dropped his bag on the floor by the door and walked
over to her as he said, “You were so unhappy, Jaslyn. I know you want your
brother at our wedding…”
“You son of a bitch! Don’t you dare tell me what I want or don’t want in my
life! As far as I’m concerned, you both can go square to Hell!” Jaslyn shouted
as she stormed up the stairs and toward her bedroom, not wanting to look at
either one of them at this point in time.
Raking a hand through his short, dark hair, David stared at Paul, who was
rubbing his neck, and stated, “See how much you hurt her, man. Look, just give
me some time and I’ll call you when she’s ready to talk to you again, but right
now, I have to go up there and make sure she still wants to marry my ass.”
Paul nodded and sighed heavily, knowing David was right, and said, “I’ll go back
on the road and just call me when she’s ready.”
David nodded and watched as Paul walked dejectedly out of the house, shutting
the door gently behind him, and David sighed heavily as he looked up the stairs.
Taking a deep breath, he made his way up them and stood outside of Jaslyn’s
bedroom. He pressed his ear to the door and sighed when he heard her crying,
which tore his heart out of his chest. ‘I never meant to make her cry.’ He
thought sadly and dropped his head, wondering if he should go in there or not.
‘I’ll leave her alone for the night and sleep on the couch.’ He finally decided
after a few minutes of thinking and then walked back down the stairs, after
grabbing a blanket and pillow out of the closet. He set up the couch the way he
wanted it and slid his pants and shirt off before sliding underneath the
comforter.
When he couldn’t fall asleep, David grabbed the remote off the coffee table, and
started flipping through channels on the TV, but his mind was on the woman who
was crying upstairs in her room. He sighed heavily and shook his head before
finding a movie and started to watch it. He kept the volume down so he wouldn’t
disturb Imogen, since she had school that day, and finally fell asleep around
four o’clock in the morning. Jaslyn had walked down the stairs, wanting to see
if David had left, and felt the tears slide down her cheeks when she seen him
sleeping on the couch. She walked over and slid underneath the comforter,
sighing in contentment when David’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her
tight against his chest. Closing her eyes, Jaslyn finally fell asleep just as
the clock hit six A.M.
Chapter 18
Staring in the full length mirror before her, Jaslyn couldn’t help, but start to
tear up at the dress she was wearing. Today was the day and she couldn’t believe
it was finally happening. It had taken her this long to find the true love of
her life and Jaslyn started to think about everything she had been through in
the past almost four years. The wedding plans had taken a year to plan
thoroughly and Jaslyn couldn’t believe it had finally arrived. She looked down
at her dress, which was a satin A-line with a lace embroidered cap sleeves, side
draping, and had beaded metallic embroidery on the bodice of the dress and
chapel train. Her hair was down, curled at the ends, two pins held up her hair
on the sides as they framed her face perfectly. A tiara rested on top of her
head, which is what held the veil up, and she looked like an absolute angel.
Tears welled up in Emily’s eyes at the sight of her best friend, not believing
today was the day she was getting married, and hoped this marriage lasted for
all eternity. Jaslyn deserved to be happy, especially after all the shit that
had happened to her, and ran a hand through her hair, which was down and curled
at the bottoms. Glenn had Joshua and was in the other room, where the groom and
groomsmen were in, and David was a nervous wreck to say the least. Imogen had
just walked into the room and Emily started crying at the sight of her.
The bridesmaids were all wearing midnight blue shimmer A-line tieback halter
with pleated neckline dresses. They flowed down to their feet and without
wearing two inch heels, the dresses would flow on the ground. Imogen’s was the
exact same dress except it was white because she was her mother’s matron of
honor. No matter how old she was, Jaslyn loved nobody more than her own daughter
and wouldn’t be settled with making someone else the matron of honor. Jaslyn
turned around and tears instantly slid down her cheeks as she hugged her
daughter close, kissing the top of her head and forehead, and smiled when Imogen
wiped her tears away for her.
“You look so beautiful, baby.” Jaslyn whispered softly, running her hand down
Imogen’s arm, and sighed deeply as she looked back in the mirror.
Imogen grinned at her mother and walked up behind her, wrapping her arm around
her mother’s waist, and replied, “So do you, mom. You and dad are going to have
a great wedding.”
“Speaking of that…” Emily trailed off as she picked up the bouquet of flowers
and handed them to her best friend. “It’s time, Jaslyn.”
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Jaslyn smoothed out her dress as she nodded, just
as there was a knock on the door. Imogen and Emily both looked at each other
knowingly, hoping Jaslyn didn’t get angry at what they, along with David,
planned. Jaslyn didn’t turn around, too busy looking in the full length mirror,
and closed her eyes as she started praying, asking Joseph to send her a sign
that this was the right thing to do. When her eyes opened, the reflection of her
brother stared back at her and Jaslyn felt the anger instantly welling up in her
body. ‘Some sign, Joseph.’ She thought bitterly and slowly turned around as she
asked instantly, “What are you doing here?”
Paul sighed deeply as he stared back at his sister, seeing how breathtaking she
looked in her dress, and stood before her in his own tux. It was a black with a
midnight blue shirt underneath, which were the colors of her wedding. They were
actually silver and midnight and her father was supposed to have the midnight
blue dress shirt along with David while the groomsmen had silver ones. Paul’s
long blonde locks were pulled back in a low ponytail and he had his silver Rolex
on his right wrist along with black dress shoes. He looked sharp, but was also
the last person on the planet that Jaslyn wanted to see.
“I’m here to walk you down the aisle. Dad isn’t here.” Paul stated, seeing the
hurt evident in her eyes, but it really didn’t surprise her that her father
would bail on her the day of her wedding.
“I’m walking down the aisle by myself then.” Jaslyn shot back, crossing her arms
in front of her chest, still holding the beautiful bouquet of white, silver, and
midnight blue flowers that were extremely hard to put together. They were all
real too.
Running a hand over his face, Paul sighed heavily as he looked at his baby
sister and asked, “How long is this going to go on for, Jaslyn? I’ve already
told you I’m sorry and I think its time you finally forgave me and let me back
in your life again. It’s been over a year.”
Tears started to pour down her face as Jaslyn threw her flowers on one of the
chairs and plopped down in one herself, putting her head in her hands, and
started to cry. “You just HAD to do this today, didn’t you Paul?” Jaslyn spat at
him as she shook her head and finally knew what she had to do.
Before Paul could say another word to his sister, she had stood up from her
chair and walked over to him, staring into his eyes that were mirror images of
her own, and stated, “Don’t you ever hurt me like that again.” She then wrapped
her arms around his waist, causing Paul to hold her close to him, and nodded in
response.
“I promise I won’t. Come on, let’s get you married.” Paul replied and smiled as
he took her hand in his and they walked out of her room together just as the
music started below. They were having the wedding outside on the beach of Jaslyn
and David’s house. David had moved from Washington D.C., knowing Jaslyn loved
living in North Carolina, and couldn’t have been happier.
Paul smiled as they arrived at the closed double doors, which were put in prior
to the wedding, and Jaslyn gasped when they opened, revealing the beautiful
decorations and surroundings. Her bridesmaids were Stephanie, Emily, and Alexis,
who was Matt Hardy’s girlfriend. They had met on the road when Jaslyn and Imogen
had gone on the road with David for a few days and hit it off instantly. All of
their hair was pinned up in a bun filled with curls that toppled on top of their
heads with at least one hundred bobby pins holding them in place and tons of
hairspray.
They all looked beautiful and Jaslyn was pleased with herself at the colors she
had picked out for her wedding. Glenn was David’s best man and Emily was the
Maid of Honor so they walked down the aisle second to last. John Cena and Matt
Hardy made up the remainder of the best mans as they took their respectful spots
beside David. With Paul’s permission, John had walked Stephanie down the aisle
since he was taking the place of Jaslyn’s father. Paul looked down at his
sister, who was a bundle of nerves, and leaned down as he whispered in her ear,
“Relax, this is your day.”
Jaslyn nodded as she took a deep breath and smiled softly at everyone, licking
her lips, and cleared her throat before finally gliding down the aisle to the
music. Her eyes locked on David’s and never left them as she smiled at him,
tears already welling up in her eyes, and almost lost it when she seen tears in
David’s eyes. Imogen stood behind her mother, carrying her train down the aisle,
and was truly honored to be the matron of honor. Paul held her arm in his as he
smiled at David, silently nodding to him, giving him his blessing, and before he
knew, they arrived in front of the priest and David. The music stopped and the
priest smiled as he asked softly, but loud enough to where everyone could hear,
“Who presents this woman?”
“I do.” Paul spoke softly and turned around, lifting his sister’s veil, and
smiled as he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and hugged her close. He then
released her and took David’s hand, placing it in hers, and softly said, “Be
good to each other and never forget how much you two love each other.” Paul then
walked away and sat down in his chair, smiling over at his beautiful wife, who
had tears in her big blue eyes.
Jaslyn looked back at her brother and blew him a kiss before turning to face her
future. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, and allowed
David to pull her to stand in front of him. Jaslyn turned around, handing her
flowers to Emily, who wiped a stray tear away from her cheek, and then turned
back to face David. The priest smiled as he opened the bible, the ocean waves
crashing softly against the shore, and the wind blew gently through Jaslyn’s
hair. She had always wanted to get married on a beach and her dream was coming
true as her eyes liked on David, never tearing them away from him for a second.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful. It is not arrogant
or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful.
It does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” The
priest gently said, closing the bible with the verse in it that Jaslyn and David
had picked out, and smiled as he looked at David. “The couple has written their
own vows. David, you may go first.” The priest instructed and David nodded as he
cleared his throat.
David stared into Jaslyn’s eyes and smiled, squeezing her hands gently with his
own, and repeated, “I, David Batista…”
“Take you, Jaslyn Marie Levesque…” David repeated, rubbing his thumbs over her
hands, never taking his eyes from hers.
“To be my wife, to have and to cherish you for the rest of my life. Through
healing and fighting, through sickness and in health, till death do us part. I
will love you forever until the bitter end.” David finished, repeating
everything the priest said, and Jaslyn had tears streaming down her cheeks
freely.
The priest turned to Jaslyn and seen the tears of joy streaming down her face.
Jaslyn looked back at him and gently asked, “Can I say them on my own?”
“Certainly.” The priest replied and stepped back as he stood there, waiting for
her to be done.
Taking a deep breath, Jaslyn looked into David’s gorgeous light brown eyes and
knew this was her destiny. He was her future and she his. Squeezing his hands
tightly with her own, Jaslyn never broke eye contact as she stated, “I, Jaslyn
Marie Levesque, take you David Batista, to be my husband, to have and to cherish
you for the rest of my life. Through healing and fighting, through sickness and
in health, till death do us part. I will love you forever until the bitter end.”
She sniffled a little when she was done, but didn’t wipe her tears away because
they were full of happiness and love on this day instead of sorrow and sadness.
Jaslyn took the ring from him and held it in her hand as David held both of them
again and the priest continued with the rings. David held the ring up as he
placed it against her left ring finger and said, “This is a bond of our love,
our souls, and our spirits. I love you, Jaslyn and thank you for choosing me as
your soul mate.”
More tears flowed down her cheeks as David pushed the beautiful three stoned
ring that he’d proposed to her with on her finger and kissed her hand as he
looked back up to stare in her eyes. Jaslyn sniffled as little as she cleared
her throat and put the ring on David’s left ring finger halfway, staring up into
his eyes, and said, “This is a bond of our love, our souls, and our spirits. I
love you, David and thank you for choosing me as your soul mate.” She then
kissed the ring the same way David had, wiped a stray tear from her cheek, and
smiled softly as they both turned to face the priest.
“Without further ado, I now pronounce you as husband and wife, you may kiss the
bride.” The priest announced and David smiled as he lifted her veil, staring
deep into her eyes, and wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing her tightly
against his chest.
Staring up into his eyes, hers glistening with tears, David whispered against
her lips before kissing them, “Thank you for healing my heart.”
“No, thank you.” She whispered back and closed her eyes as his lips descended
upon hers, wrapping her arms around his neck, and everyone stood up as they
applauded the newlywed couple. David finally broke away as they both turned
around and ran down the aisle together, Imogen following close behind, and
stopped just as they were getting in the limo. Jaslyn got out of the limo and
hugged her daughter close, kissing her forehead, and stated as she ran a finger
down her cheek, “I love you, baby.”
“I love you too, momma.” She replied softly and they hugged before Jaslyn ran
back into the limo, shutting the door behind her, and David looked down at her
as he smiled.
Their hearts were finally healed and had mended together as one.
The End.