Seth
“You did what?!” Hazel asked, her eyes wide in disbelief at t what I’d just said.
“I did what I had to.” I replied, standing my ground.
It had become clear that she hadn’t watched the match when I found her with still in medical with the on-site doctor and her trainer, discussing her match next week. Her face, though stressed, broke into a smile when I walked in the room. She had excused herself and greeted me with a kiss, snaking her arms around my neck to hold me.
I held her tight, feeling her body mold perfectly into mine as I kissed her repeatedly, enjoying every last bit of it before I had to break the news. I knew she’d be furious. I knew I wouldn’t get this kind of affection for a little while until she cooled off, but it was something we were going to get through. That I knew for sure.
As expected, I broke the news and her whole body tensed as she pulled out of my arms. There was a different type of fury behind those baby blues that were usually filled with love when directed towards me. In that moment, there was no love there. There was disappointment. There was anger and confusion. But worse of all there was disgust. That was something I’d never gotten a glimpse of. She was disgusted by me.
I reached out to touch her, but she stepped back, not wanting anything to do with me.
“Haz, I did this for us.” I explained, trying to get her to see things from my point of view. “Stephanie and Hunter can help us get to where we’ve always wanted to be. Then we can start the family we’ve been talking about and get married and all that good shit. Dean and Roman were holding us back. They were self destructive – I never would’ve gotten any further with them… and you’re beef with Stephanie – we can call a truce. So what if they want you to sit back and look pretty for a while? So what if you just have to say what they want you to say every once in awhile? You can heal properly without having to defend your title every time. Babe – I did what was best for us.”
She looked at me, searching my eyes desperately to see if I was joking, but then she took a few more steps back. “Everything they stand for is everything I stand against. Favorites. Unnecessary drama. Controlling and manipulating people just for show… injustice. I thought that’s what you stood for when you for with me and your brothers… Seth – those guys loved you. They had your back before anyone else did. How could you do this?”
“Haz -” I reached for her again but she pulled away.
“I need some time to think.”
The words left her lips and I felt my heart drop. She took one final look at me and turned to walk back into medical, closing the door behind her.
“So, the missus didn’t take it to well?” Hunter said, coming around the corner.
I sighed, shaking my head. “No, but she’ll come around.”
“You have to ask yourself, Seth. Do you even want her to come around? In your rise to super stardom – do you really want a ball and chain to drag you down? Think of all the women that’ll be throwing themselves at you once you have that heavyweight belt on your shoulder.”
“What?” I turned to look at him. “Of course I want that. Hazel is everything to me. When I make it to the top, she’ll be by my side. She just needs time to process this, that’s all.” I said firmly, walking away from him.
Hazel had left before the show ended. I stayed until the end before going back to the hotel. She said she needed time and I wanted to respect that. We’d been fighting the Authority for over a year. It was embedded in her brain that they were the enemy. This would give her the chance to think about what I’d said. How it would be a great thing for our future.
Unfortunately, what I wasn’t expecting was to get back to a hotel room void of all her belongings. Empty hangers in place of where her clothes hung next to mine. I called her phone and she didn’t answer. I texted her and she didn’t answer.
What the hell? She’d never given me the cold shoulder before.
Hazel
I sat at the airport, watching the YouTube video of Seth’s betrayal in horror. The sound of the chair hitting Roman and Dean ringing in my ear. After everything they’d been through together, he stabbed them in the back. He looked at Triple H like a little kid looking for his parents approval. Then he went a step further to let Orton attack them.
It made me sick to my stomach. The man in the ring wasn’t the man I loved. I didn’t know that man.
Is this what all those meetings were about? Had he been meeting with the Authority?
“Red.” I said softly into the phone. “I need to talk to you.”
Lita had seen all types of things go down in this company. She would know what to do and right about now, I needed guidance.
Seth went against everything we were fighting for. We were fighting to take this company back. We had been fighting for authenticity again. Without the constant manipulation from the Authority, plotting people against each other. Selecting who would be the stars and who would were meant to fail. This company stopped being about the talent. It stopped being about the stars. It stopped being about fair fights. We were going to take that back.
At least I thought so.
“Hazel?” Her sleep ridden voice came through the phone. “Is that you? It’s like 4 in the morning.”
“I booked a flight to San Francisco. I hope that’s okay”
“Yeah, babe. Of course that’s okay. Is everything alright?” She asked with concern.
“I don’t know.” I sighed honestly. “I need some time to clear my head.”
“Okay, Alright. Just call me when you land. Does your mom know you’re coming down?”
“No and please don’t tell her …”
“Okay. Alright. I won’t.”
“Thanks Red. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
I hung up and leaned back in the seat. My flight wasn’t for another half hour. I’d booked the first available with a desperate need to get away from it all.
My phone rang again with yet another message from Seth. “Haz. I love you. Call me babe.”
He’d texted me consistently since the end of the show. I couldn’t answer. Not after the bullshit story he gave me about doing this for us. Definitely not after watching the video. I’d been disappointed in a lot of things… a lot of people… but never in Seth, until tonight.
—
Lita picked me up from the airport and I managed to get some sleep on the short ride to her house. It’d been awhile since I’d been over to visit but it never lost its feel of home. She made me a cup of coffee once we settled into the kitchen and set it in front of me before taking a seat. I knew she was dying to probe but I appreciated the fact that she’d stayed quiet, giving me the time I needed. If I’d gone to my mom, she never would’ve let me off the phone until I told her everything.
Under her concerned gaze, I stared down at my coffee as I stirred in the creamer. I didn’t know how to start. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know if it was really a big deal or if it just seemed that way to me. All I knew was that everything was going to be different from now on. I could never look at Seth the same.
A knock on the door saved me from having to start talking just yet.
“Shit.” Red mumbled, getting up from the table. “That’s Trish. She was stopping by for yoga. I forgot to cancel.”
“That’s alright. I’d love to see her.” I nodded.
She gave me a smile and walked out of the room to go get the door. I could hear the sound of their voices as Lita filled her in on me being here. Trish Stratus had been part of the family for as long as I could remember. She and Lita had had their differences years ago when they were wrestling but they’d put their differences aside long ago. Trish had even helped Lita train me when I was starting out.
The two of them had both had very interesting paths in the company. Lita started as a fan favorite then everything turned when she got with Edge. Trish was hated at first because of her relationship with Vince, then she became the fan favorite. These two had mentored me my whole life and I would need them to do it again.
“Hey babygirl.” Trish said with a gentle smile as she walked in.
I stood to hug her and put on the best smile I could before taking a seat again. Trish placed her yoga mat down along with her bags in the corner of the room before sitting beside me while Lita poured her a cup of coffee.
“So what’s going on?” Trish asked softly once we were all seated.
I took a deep breath unable to keep this all in my head any further. “Have you been following Raw at all?” I asked.
Both women nodded so I continued. “So you know what the Shield and I have been going through to fight against the Authority.”
They nodded again and I sighed, pulling up the video on my phone before laying it in front of them and pressing play. I watched their faces go from curiosity to shock and horror the same as mine had. The sound the groans and chairs ringing in my ear again as I hung my head.
“Oh my god.” Trish said, covering her mouth as they watched Seth savagely attack his brothers.
The part where he handed the chair to Orton played and Lita looked over at me with pity in her eyes. “They got to him. It’s what they do. They pick people apart until one of them caves and joins.”
I nodded again, resting my face in my hairs to allow the sleeves of my top to soak up the tears. Their reactions confirmed that it was as bad as I thought. This wasn’t just over-dramatized in my head. This was real.
“I didn’t see it happen.” I said, wiping my eyes to look at them. “I was in medical getting my shoulder checked. He came and told me after and I told him I needed time to think. He said he did it for us. For our rise to super stardom so we could get married and start the family everyone’s been talking about… it sounded like brainwashed bullshit, Red.” I shook my head, breathing in through my stuffy nose.
My aunt places a hand on my forearm, brushing her thumb against it soothingly. I sighed and continued. “I couldn’t stay there with him. I couldn’t share a bed with a stranger. I grabbed my things and booked the first flight I could get. Am I wrong for this?” I asked the both of them, looking for validation. “Am I blowing this out of proportion?”
“God, no, babe.” Trish shook her head taking my hand in hers. “What he did… that’s some fucked up shit. Did you see any signs he was going to turn?”
“Holly’s calling you.” Lita interrupted, pushing my phone across the table towards me.
I hit decline and shook my head looking at them both again. “No. I had no idea. He’s been having more meetings than usual and take phone calls in other rooms, but I was so caught up with my own issues that I didn’t pay it any mind. He said it was his agent and I took his word for it. I mean why wouldn’t I? Nothing had lead me to believe he would be talking to the Authority…”
Lita nodded in understanding. “What happens now?”
“That’s why I’m here.” I replied. “I have no idea. Is this something I can look past? He’s asking me to turn my back on everything I’ve worked for – everything I believe in.”
“We’ve all done stupid things to further our careers.” Trish said. “You have to be the one to decide if it was worth it. I hated myself for what I did. Lita felt the same way.”
Red nodded her confirmation. “I went through a dark period where I felt like I lost myself and who I was just to be a ploy in the story they wanted to portray. I regret that period every day of my life. You came in and took the company by storm. Everyone loved you because you were authentic and real and didn’t mold yourself into what they wanted you to be. You fought for everything they took away from us. The question is, do you want to let that all go?”
“I’ve known you your whole life, baby.” Trish ran her fingers through my hair. “The answer to that question is No.”
They were right. I knew they were. I loved Seth more than I knew I was even capable of loving someone, but I couldn’t let my love for a man cloud my judgement. Seth didn’t just turn his back on the shield. He turned his back on me and he knew that. He knew how I felt about the Authority. I’d made my feelings clear when he asked me about making amends with Stephanie.
He knew.
And he went ahead and did it anyway.