The Inner Circle are all forced backstage by their enemies. Chris is irate, to say the least, yelling incoherently the whole way back to the locker room. And everyone else is just as pissed as their leader. Well, everyone except for Sammy, who’s remained uncharacteristically quiet this whole time.
“You’re being awfully quiet back there, Guevara.” Santana is the first one to make a comment about it.
“Yeah, how can you not be pissed off right now?” Ortiz agrees with his partner.
“Who said I wasn’t?” Sammy protests with a scowl.
“Well, you sure as hell ain’t showing it. “ Jake scoffs. “You should be even more pisses of than we are. You were her friend.” He reminds Guevara.
“We’re still friends.” Sammy protests with a wave of his finger.
“Are you?” Chris is the one to scoff this time. “Because it doesn’t seem like that’s the fact.” He shakes his head. “You were supposed to talk to her, get her to stop this whole Friedman escapade!”
“You think I didn’t try?” Sammy raises his voice out of frustration. “I care more about Sam than any of you. I didn’t see any of you trying to get her to change her mind about Friedman.” He glares at the rest of the group. “You’re her father, Chris. And you haven’t done shit about it.”
“She doesn’t listen to me!” Chris raises his voice as well. “She never has. It’s obvious that you aren’t trying hard enough to be her friend, Guevara. Or we wouldn’t be in this mess.” He scoffs, madder at himself really than anyone else.
Sammy mimics Chris’s scoff and shakes his head. He never wanted it to get this far. Sam is his best friend, the girl that he’s been working up the courage to ask out for a damn year now. And he’s losing out to fucking Maxwell Friedman.
“She’s sleeping with him, Chris! So tell me, what the hell do you suggest I do? Hmm?” He accidentally spills Sam’s secret in his fit of frustration.
The whole room falls into silence at Sammy’s comment and Jericho’s whole demeanor changes in an instant. He looks eerily calm for the first time tonight.
“She’s what?” Chris asks Sammy to repeat himself.
“I...yeah.” Sammy realizes what he’s just said and regret instantly washes over him. But there’s no going back now. “She’s sleeping with him, or has slept with him anyway.”
Chris nods his head as he searches for a response to Sammy’s statement. It's so much worse than he initially thought.
"That stuck up, no good, rich boy is fucking my daughter?" Chris fumes.
"It looks that way, yeah." Sammy nods sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck.
He feels awful for spilling the secret that Sam asked him to keep. But it just slipped out. Part of it has to do with Max's taunts out in the ring. How dare he boast about Sam like that? Like she's just some random groupie that Max managed to bag. Another conquest on his list.
Guevara has had a crush on Sam from damn near the moment he met her. But, out of respect for his mentor, Sammy tried to stay away. But Sam is just so friendly, and her personality just kept on pulling him in.
Chris continues to fume about his daughter in the form of a string of colorful curses. He paces the room like a caged animal as he begins to plot silently.
"We've got to put an end to this." Chris finally comes to a halt in front of everyone. "If she wants a fight then she'll get it. They all will." He insists with a look of deadly intent in his eye.
"What's the plan then, Chris?" Hager is the first one to speak up this time.
"It's obvious that they're a well-oiled machine by now," Chris replies. "So we'll pick them off one by one. Sam and Max will be last. She'll see that Max isn't as into her as she thinks and she'll have to come running home." He smiles to himself at the brilliant idea.
"I get it." Sammy nods. "Max never puts anyone above himself. So when the time comes he'll sacrifice Sam to protect himself."
"Exactly! Then you'll step in and be there to console her. Sam gets over her crush and gives up all this nonsense." Chris claps Sammy on the back. "It should have been you from the start anyway, Sammy." He insists.
"Right." Sammy nods in agreement. "It should have been me. Not Friedman. He doesn't care about Sam." He tells himself. "I care about her."
"I know you do." Chris nods. "That's why we've got to do this. For Sam!"
Chris's pep talk is enough to convince Sammy that he's doing the right thing. And of course, everyone else is on board with the plan.
Deep down Sammy knows that Chris is being unbelievably hostile given the situation. But Max's taunts swim around in his brain like poison. Chris has a point in his words. It should be Guevara with Sam. He's her best friend. Not Max. Sammy is the one that's always been there to hang out and have fun with her. Not Max.
It should be Sammy at her side, hyping her up before he matches. It should be Sammy at her house early in the morning after a night out of fun. Him. It should be him. He is the one that adores Sam. Max is just using her.
Guevara pounds this fact into his brain. And Chris knows it's the only way that Sammy would ever be on board with this plan. He's known about Guevara's crush on Sam for a while now. And he's prepared to use that infatuation to his advantage. Whatever it takes. That's what he tells himself.
It might take a bit of work on their part. But Chris won't give up until he's crushed his daughter's delusions and brought her back home where she belongs.
YOU ARE READING
Bloodlines//MJF
Fanfiction"You know I'm just using you to get in your dad's head right?" Sam's arms wrap around the back of Max's neck. "That's fine. Because truthfully? I'm just using you to royally piss him off." Max flexes his shoulders against her delicate touch. His ha...
