Keith reread the sports section of the local news paper a second time, not believing what he was seeing. The WWF was going to be in Jacksonville for a Raw. He was just a town over, he thought. Maybe he could show up and pay Michelle a visit there.
He put the paper down, and scribbled the location on a piece of paper. He finished his coffee, and decided to go to the bus station to see when the next bus out was going to be.
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Michelle and Rachel stood outside of the arena waiting on Amy to arrive.
"Look at this house Rach. It's right around the corner from you and Adam. This is the one I looked into yesterday." Michelle says, as she looks around at the people outside waiting for the wrestlers. " Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched?"
Rachel takes the book and looks around. "I think we are being watched." Rachel laughs, as she nods her head to the wrestling fans across the parking lot.
Chris' Mustang pulls into the parking lot, and he and Sarah exit the car.
"Are they an item?" Rachel asks Michelle, as she half looks at the home buyers book and half at the couple walking into the arena.
"I have no idea. I haven't had a chance to talk to him. They were at the funeral together. I hear Tommy was trying to set him up with someone. The girl had the nerve to turn around and smile at me at the funeral." Michelle says, as Rachel hands her back the book. "Seeing him with her, it kills me. He said he needed time for himself."
"Maybe it's nothing." Rachel says, hoping those words would make Michelle feel a little better.
The next car to pull into the lot had Amy, Jeff and Jay in it. They waved, as Rachel and Michelle headed their way. Michelle hopped onto the hood of the car for a short ride into the parking spot. As the car parked, she slid off into the bushes laughing.
"Is Beth here?" Jeff asks Michelle, as he helps her out of the bushes.
"No, she stayed back in Tampa. She was packing my things for me, so when I get back I can move into this!" Michelle says, as she shows him the picture of the house. "She said she was feeling better."
"You're moving?" Jay asks, as he walks past her.
"I can't stay in that house after two people have died in it. I just can't." Michelle says with her eyes open wide.
"Matt here yet?" Jeff asks.
"Yeah, I am sure you will find Matt, with Lily, in the weight room."Rachel tells him." I have question for you, Jeff."
"Shoot." Jeff says, as he hooks his arm in Rachel's.
"What is with Amy and Jay? They seem awful chummy." Rachel says starting to smile.
"She says nothing is going on. They are just helping each other cope with the dreaded relationship blues." Jeff says laughing. "Oh speaking of blue, I have tickets to go see those Blue Men. Do you and Adam want to go?" He asks.
"I know I would like to, not sure about Adam." Rachel says, as she hears fans start to chant Jeff's name.
"Well, let me know." He says, and runs off to sign some autographs.
Michelle stands in the doorway of the arena and stares out to where Jeff is signing autographs. Rachel catches up to her and does the same. Michelle still had the feeling of being watched. A coldness settled over her, as she turned her back to the crowd.
"I can't seem to shake the feeling." Michelle says, looking at Rachel.
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Teresita looked at her notes from the interview she had just had with Matt. She intended on making it a masterpiece. With Lily's pictures, and her writing style, how could they go wrong. She sat on one of the weight benches, and rubbed her temples. She was starting to get a headache, but nothing she couldn't handle. Meri's death had taken it's toll on her. She felt partly to blame for her death, even though it was considered an accident.
"What's with the frown?" Matt asks her.
"Just thinking about the past few days. Meri's death and blah bah blah." She says with a wave of her hand.
"Sad isn't. She was a good girl." Matt says, as he puts a hand on her hand.
"Yeah, a good girl." She repeated. Those words, made her feel somewhat worse than before, but she wouldn't let him see that.
"Lily around?" Chuck asks Matt as he walks up.
"I think she is off wondering around. Maybe check the dressing rooms." Matt says, as he watched Chuck walk off.
Teresita stood up, and walked outside. She needed fresh air, maybe that would help clear her conscience.
"Are you leaving?" Matt asks, walking up behind her.
"Thinking about it." She says, as she lights a cigarette.
"Stay for the show. Then maybe, if you want, you can come hang out with Lily and I after the show." Matt says with a smile.
Lily was lucky, Teresita thought. Matt was one of the sweetest men she had ever met. And that smile, she thought, could melt any woman's heart.
"Maybe I will." She says, and smiles back at him.
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"Who is it??" Lily asks, as she jerks the dressing room door open. She opens it to see Chuck smiling at her. "Oh, Hi."
"Are you busy?" He asks her.
"No. Bored maybe. Teresita doing one of her many Matt interviews. I swear, if Matt's pants weren't zipped, she would have her hand down them in a second. I don't trust her." Lily says, as she lets Chuck into the room.
"Let's get out of here, go for a ride. There is no reason to be cooped up in here, when the sun is out shinning." He says, as he stands just inside the door. He takes her hand and pulls her to him.
"I guess you won't take no for an answer." Lily says laughing.
Chuck drove along the Atlantic, and found a secluded part of the beach. He opened the door for her to exit the car, and held her hand as they walked along the beach.
"Wow, this is so hypnotic." Lily says as she took of her shoes. "I was so bored back there, thanks for taking me here." She says with a smile. She grabs hold of his hand, as they walk further down the beach.
Chuck stares at the waves, and pulls Lily to him. He kisses her with hunger at first, and then tenderly the next. To his surprise, lily doesn't pull away. She only draws him in even closer.
Lily's knees start to shake. Matt had never kissed her like this before. She wanted more. Could Chuck actually have feelings for her? She was so confused. She felt his hands move down her back and to her waist.
"Chuck, wait, stop." She said, as she pulled away from him.
"Why?" he asked, as he held her close to him again.
"Matt, I I I am with Matt." She stutters, as he kisses her again. " I can't do this Chuck." She puts a hand on his chest as if to distance them.
He took her hands in his, and kissed them. At first really, it was all a game. But then when he got to know her more, he liked what he saw. She was no angel, he thought. But, who liked angels?
"I'm sorry." He said, as he let go of her hands. It was true she was with Matt. That could always be changed though. He wasn't going to push her to choose just yet, it might only confuse her. He turned away from her, and watched the waves. They stood in silence for a minute or two, and then she took his hand in hers.
There was no harm in holding hands, she thought. There was a warmth there that she had never felt with Matt. Maybe he did belong with Amy, she thought. But, she would never let her have him. "Maybe we should go back." Lily said, as she started to pull him back to the car.
"When we go back, do we pretend that nothing happened?" He asks as he opens the car door for her.
"Nothing happened." She said, looking him in the eye.
He kissed her on the palm of her hand and smiled at her. "Anything for you."
She sighed as she sat waiting for him to enter the car. Could it be possible she could have both, she wondered. Everyone has secrets.
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Beth waded through the abortion protesters, and sat in the clinic waiting for her turn. She had not even gone to the doctors office to even make sure she was pregnant, she didn't need a doctor to tell her what she already knew. There was just no room for a child in her life.
A young girl of about fifteen walked slowly out of one of the rooms, with tears streaming down her face. Was she crying from sadness of loosing the child, or pain, Beth wondered? She watched as the girls mother followed behind her talking to a nurse. From what Beth could hear, the girl had just aborted twins.
Beth sat white knuckled in her chair. Was she really ready to go against her morals, and kill a child? That's just what she would be doing, killing. A wave a nausea hits, and she runs to the bathroom. Instead of vomiting, she washes her face with cold water from the sink. Tears mixed with water ran down her face. She heard her name be called over the intercom. She put a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes. She could imagine herself in later months, being happy at her bulging belly. Being happy that she would soon have another mouth to feed.
She ran out of the building, not looking back. She tripped in the grass on a sprinkler head, at the foot of one of the protesters. The woman down to her to help her up. They came eye to eye, as she stood.
"I couldn't do it." Beth said through her tears.
The woman held her as she cried. If only others were like this one, she thought.
A few hours later, Beth stared at a picture of her seven week old baby. It was a baby, and not an IT, she thought. Jeff had to know, she thought. What would his reaction be, she wondered? No matter what, the baby was all hers.
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Keith missed going to the Jacksonville WWF show. He had been volunteered to help the husband out with some labor around the house. He didn't mind though. He had all the time in the world to get to Michelle's house. He'd make it down to Tampa sooner or later. The dog was still on his mind at night, still in his nightmares.
He really liked this family. There was a closeness in it that he had never had before. His dad always silenced him with a belt, even when he had done no wrong. He lay in bed thinking about the children. He felt under his pillow for the gun and stared at it. Emptying the gun, he put the bullets in a drawer and the gun back under the pillow. It wasn't safe to keep a loaded gun in the house with children around.
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Sarah kissed Chris on the cheek before the ran out into the ring. She knew his heart belonged to someone else, if only he would admit it to himself. Sarah cherished their friendship. They had become really good friends, and found they could tell each other everything.
She had noticed Michelle watching every move she made. It almost made her nervous. She looked at Michelle, and the look she gave was not of hatred. It was of loss. Like she had lost her best friend. Maybe she should tell her that all hope is not lost.
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Michelle had watched as Sarah kissed Chris before he went to the ring. It used to be her doing that, she thought. Sarah looked sweet, and she was probably even sweeter when you met her, Michelle thought. She watched as Sarah started to walk towards her, as a phone starts to ring.
Michelle answered her phone, still watching the woman. "KURT, where are you?" Michelle said, loud enough for Sarah to hear.
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Michelle's voice carried the short distance to Sarah. Maybe she was over Chris, and just the thought of me upset her, Sarah thought.
Arms reached around her and swung her into the air. She began to laugh, and Chris laughed with her. He was done with his run in.
"Put me down!" Sarah says laughing.
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Michelle puts away her uncharged phone and stares at what seems to be a happy couple. Fighting back tears, she finds her camera and strides past them as if they weren't even there. She had to find a phone to call Beth. If she couldn't find someone to talk to now, she didn't know what was going to happen. Had anyone ever died from a broken heart, she wondered?