Early the next morning Sam wakes up and finds a few more messages from Chris waiting for her. This is also accompanied by a single message from her mom. With Jessica now involved in trying to get ahold of Sam, she decides to finally see what's going on.
"Mom? Hey, sorry I didn't pick up earlier." Sam dials her mom's number.
"Sam! Good to hear from you, sweetie." Jessica picks up almost immediately. "It's alright, I just assumed that you've been busy." She shrugs.
"Yeah, I was on a date yesterday." Sam scratches the back of her neck. "Is everything alright?" She asks her mom.
"Everything's fine, sweetie," Jessica assures Sam. "I just wanted to check-in and see how you were doing is all."
"Oh." Sam nods. "I'm good, so is Max. Hey, do you have any idea why dad's been trying to get ahold of me?" She asks Jessica.
"No clue," Jessica replies. "Listen, Sam, I decided to come down to Pittsburgh for your show tonight. That might be why your dad is calling you." She admits. "You wanna meet up for coffee?"
"Yeah, sure mom. Give me like half an hour." Sam agrees.
"Perfect. I'll text you the address to a nice cafe in town that I know." Jessica replies. "See you in a bit."
"Yeah, see ya mom." Sam nods and hangs up the phone.
Sam tosses her phone down onto her bed and stretches her arms out. She can hear Wardlow across the room still snoring. With a sigh, Sam gets up and makes her way to the bathroom for a very brief shower before she meets up with her mom.
When Sam gets out of the shower Wardlow is yet to wake up so she grabs a pillow from her bed and tosses it at his head. The force of the pillow is enough to wake Wardlow from his slumber and Sam laughs when he jolts up.
"Up and at 'em big man." Sam laughs. "I'm headed out for coffee with my mom, be back in a bit." She explains as she grabs her purse from the counter.
"Your mom?" Wardlow rubs the sleep from his eyes groggily. "What the hell is your mom doing in Pittsburg?" He asks her.
"Not a clue." Sam shrugs. "Max should be here soon, will you tell him where I went, please?" Sam asks.
"Sure." Wardlow nods with a yawn. "You have fun with that." He jokes.
Sam rolls her eyes and heads out to meet with her mom across town for coffee.
Sam arrives at the coffee shop Jessica texted her about and finds her sitting at a table outside in the sun. She heads over and sits down in the chair opposite of her.
"Hey, mom." Sam sits down with a smile.
"Sam, you look good." Jessica smiles at her daughter. "Sorry for not telling you I was going to be in town earlier." She apologizes.
"It's alright mom. Are you sure everything is okay though?" Sam asks again.
"Things are fine at home." Jessica insists. "It's you and your dad that I'm worried about." She explains.
"Oh." Sam nods sheepishly. "Yeah..."
"I'm not mad at you Sam," Jessica assures her. "It's your dad that I've got a bone to pick with." The anger in her voice is plain as day. "It's one thing for Chris to give you a hard time because he's being a dick. But when he has to resort to threatening to beat up his own daughter. My daughter? That's where I draw the line." She shakes her head.
"Really, it's okay mom." Sam shakes her head. "I'm okay."
"I know you're okay. And I'm glad." Jessica nods softly. "And it's all thanks to that boyfriend of yours. I knew he was good for you the moment I saw him." She smiles gently.
"Yeah..." Sam trails off for a second. "Mom, do you really think dad would have gone through with it? Hurting me, I mean." She asks Jessica.
"I don't know sweetie." Jessica shrugs. "Your father has always been off when it comes to you in the wrestling business. From the moment you tried out for the team in high school, he's been trying to get you to give it up. He just did it in much more subtle ways back then." She shakes her head. "And I am sorry for that. I should have put a stop to it back then."
"It's alright mom." Sam reaches across the table and pats her mom's hand. "It's not your fault. You've done more than enough for me already."
"Thanks, kiddo." Jessica smiles wide. "I'll be at the show tonight in the front row. So do me a favor and show your dad just how strong and capable you are. He deserves that much." She insists.
"Don't worry mom, I've got a plan brewing." Sam nods.
"Good." Jessica nods as well.
The mother-daughter duo relaxes and finish off a couple of cups of coffee before they part ways for the time being. Jessica heads back to the hotel to continue to give her husband a hard time about how he treats his daughter. And Sam heads back to her hotel to meet back up with Max and the rest of her group.
When Jessica gets back to her hotel she finds Chris waiting for her. She heads inside with her head held high and gives Chris a deadly helping of side-eye as she passes him.
"You went out?" Chris comments when his wife sits down.
"I did, for coffee," Jessica confirms.
"With?" Chris presses her.
"Your daughter," Jessica replies dryly. "You know your daughter? The one whose life you're trying to destroy?" She glares at Chris.
"Did you really come out here to give me a hard time all day?" Chris rolls his eyes.
"Give you a hard time?" This comment is enough to get Jessica to her feet again. "Do you even hear yourself right now Chris?" She scoffs. "It has been almost a year since your daughter started working with you. And you've treated her like trash. She is your daughter! Your own flesh and blood!" She shouts at Chris out of frustration.
"Hey! I never asked her to be in this business." Chris raises his voice as well. "She wasn't supposed to be the one that carried on my legacy! She's ruined everything."
"Ruined everything?!" Jessica raises her voice even further. "Tell me Chris? Which one of your kids is it gonna be then? Asher?" She scoffs. "None of your other kids want to be in this business Chris, get over it. You are not going to force this life on your son because you want to act like a misogynistic asshole and deny your daughter her happiness because you're afraid that she'll do it better than you!" Jessica is in Chris's face at this point.
"Better than me? She'll never be better than me." Chris scoffs.
"She's already better than you Chris." Jessica scoffs right back at him. "And you wanna know why she's better than you already? Because she's done something that you never could, Chris. She's found people in the business that love and care about her. And that's something you could never do. Because you always end up betraying everyone you've ever met in the business. And sooner or later? Everyone always leaves you." She turns on her heel to leave to make her point.
"Fine! Go then!" Chris shouts one last time as his wife walks off to the door.
Jessica makes her hasty exit from the hotel room and Chris sits back down in his chair. His blood is boiling and his face is red with anger.
Out in the hall, Jessica runs into Sammy who had been lingering at the door.
"Umm..hey, Jess." Sammy greets Jessica with an awkward smile.
"Guevara, hey." Jessica nods to Chris's protege. "You hear all that?" She asks him.
"Some of it, yeah." Sammy nods sheepishly.
"Sorry about that." Jessica nods. "When was the last time you talked to Sam?" She asks him.
"It's been a while," Sammy admits. "Not really by choice though. I...I really just don't know what to do." He rubs the back of his neck. "She hates me now."
"She doesn't hate you." Jessica shakes her head. "You're one of her best friends Sammy. She's just going through some stuff right now. Give her some time. And for the love of God, stop listening to my husband." She adds.
"Right, thanks, Jessica." Sammy nods.
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...
