Chasing Pavements

For Everyone Else

Everyone was at work today, Brynn didn't have a match but she still had to come to work. That was a given, what she didn't expect as she sat in her locker room, was for Renee to burst into her room and demand she help Jon

"Wait, slow down, what's wrong with Jon?" She asked, already panicked

"He's having an anxiety attack, his um, his mom had a relapse," Renee explained and just like that, Brynn took off running to his locker room

Renee was stopped because she was needed for Raw Talk

What people didn't know is that both Jon and Brynn had junkie mothers, that was one of the reasons they had first connected. Jon had a heart for his mother because truthfully, she tried, unlike Brynn's mother, Jon's mother tried and tried and tried to be there for her son, while battling addiction.

Brynn knew how it felt for your mother to promise to get sober, and succeed for awhile before they relapsed and your heart broke

She opened the door and watched Jon with a broken heart, no they hadn't talked about their latest fight but they both would be there for each other.

"Jon," Brynn called, watching at where Jon was staring at the wall, sitting on the floor, knees tucked under his chin, arms folded on top of them, tears streaming down his face

"Jonny," she said with sympathy as she walked over, gently pushing Colby and Joe away from him before she sat down near him, instantly feeling the coldness of his skin, which normally happens when he had an episode, or when he was upset.

Over the years, she had gotten a feel for her boys when they were upset.

The tip of Joe's nose would get red and his eyes would glint

Jon's skin got really cold and he would grow nearly as pale as her

Colby's lips would make into a frown and his bottom lip would tremble

These were his boys and she knew the behavioural patterns of all of them.

She pressed her hand against Jon's forehead, watching him flinch as her warm hand made contact with his cold skin

"C'mere bubs," she said, opening her arms and Jon instantly scooted over to her and wrapped an arm around her midsection and tucked his face into her neck and just breathed in, lavender and cherry, Brynn's scent.

"I-I-" Jon tried to talk but Brynn shook her head and kissed his

"Don't speak," she said and hugged him tight against her

"Hand me his jacket," she said and Joe went over and grabbed his jacket, handing it to her and she draped it over Jon and Joe just stared at her

"C'mon Jonny, take some deep breaths for me," she stated in the gentle voice Joe had become so accustom to

It was her maternal voice, his own mother had explained to him that every woman had it, it was an instinct that took over when someone the woman cared about was hurting

Joe was hearing it now as Brynn comforted Jon. He heard it all those nights when he, himself couldn't get to sleep, heard it everytime Brynn spoke to JOJO, everytime Colby got insecure of himself, Brynn would slip into that maternal voice and everytime she would, things calmed down

Brynn just held Jon for awhile until he had calmed down enough and Joe and Colby carried him to the car and Colby drove him to the hotel

Now, Brynn and Joe were in the hotel, in their room, it was nearly 1 in the morning when Joe's phone rang and he saw it was JOJO and answered

"Hey sweetie," he greeted and Brynn smiled

"Hi dad, where's Brynny?" JOJO asked and Joe smiled and handed her the phone

"Hi pumpkin, what's the matter?" Brynn asked

"Can't sleep," JOJO replied and Brynn hmmed

"Want me to sing?" She asked, smiling when JOJO cheered

She sat on the bed with Joe, smiling when he lay back and she heard JOJO's sheet rustling, meaning she was getting comfortable

"You my child, a babe of wonder. All through the night. Dreams you dream can't break from thunder, all through the night, through your dreams you're gently healing, visions of delight revealing. Slumber time is so appealing, all through the night," she sang one verse and already heard JOJO's evened breathing and she smiled then looked at Joe, who's eyelashes were resting against his cheekbones and she smiled

Then as quickly as the smile graced her face, it fell as everything hit her at once

She got up to avoid waking her beautiful boyfriend and went to the balcony outside their bedroom and she held the railing as the wind whipped her hair around

There were days when she wondered how much longer could she make Joe wait? How much longer until he was fed up with her?

She sighed, was she still making Joe happy? How long until he could no longer wait? Until he realized he wanted marriage and kids? She shook her head, she knew she couldn't bear to see him with another woman.

That thought always did scare her, what if one day Joe did decide he didn't want to stay in this relationship and that he could do better? That would absolutely crush Brynn

It scared her how much she depended on Joe, he was the man she fell asleep next to and woke up with every night and morning for the past nearly 3 years, the man she kissed and made love to. The man who protected her and the man she protected, this man meant the world to her, she couldn't fall in love with someone if she and Joe did decide to end things, no one else in Brynn's eyes was good enough

She had never felt like this for anyone before, not Fergal, not even Jon. She knew the relationship she shared with Joe was one in a million and she would fall into the worst depression in the world if they ever broke up

She loved Joe with every fibre she possessed, she would never hurt him, she didn't even think she was capable of hurting someone like Joe

So beautiful, so pure, so innocent. She was a monster if she hurt him. She felt like she would absolutely die if she hurt him. He didn't deserve that. She'd absolutely try her best to never hurt him

She jumped when she felt arms wrap around her, clasping in front her stomach and she smiled when the wind blew and the coconutty smell swirled around them, and black hair that was not her own, fell on her shoulders, a kiss pressed against her temple and a bearded chin, rested on her shoulder and she turned slightly to lean into him

"Are you okay babygirl?" Joe asked, softly

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" She asked, knowing he wouldn't as let out a sigh

"C'mon, let's get to bed, it's cold out here," he said, leading her back into the room, hand on her lower back

He gently laid her on the bed, stripping out of his shirt and jeans that he had previously dozed off in, leaving him in his grey boxers as he sidled next to her

"Come on," he said, holding her hand and gently tugging her to lay on his chest

"Get some sleep babe, I got you," he said, petting her hair, knowing she easily slept when he played with her hair and he was right because after about 10 minutes, her breathing slowed down

He stayed awake a little longer and promised himself, promised her, since she was always there for everyone else, he would make sure he was the person who'd always be there for her, no matter the circumstances, this was his girl and he'd do anything to make her happy and with that thought, he followed her into sleep