59
Colt and Isis had gone to the Retribution locker room a few days later to be with the chained duo. Isis was dealing with her own drama and was on the verge of a breakdown. Dealing with Candy and Slade wasn’t making matters any better.
“That’s it! You two are driving me nuts! Colt let’s go. You two are on your own tonight. I was okay with driving you two around yesterday, but you’re on your own. Stop fighting! I hear enough of this shit from Gage.” Isis slammed the door as she stomped out.
“Damn it! Candy, you squirted my body wash all over me. My clothes are a mess. Now I have to go to a freaking store strapped to you like an inmate to get more body wash.”
“Well, you broke my phone, you douche!” She huffed.
“I told you I didn’t mean to. You tripped me.”
Candy yanked the cord. “It wasn’t me. It’s this damn cord. You called me a freak!” she yelled.
Slade rubbed his head, wanting to scream. “Damn, your voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Okay… let’s calm down. Candy, I didn’t mean to break your phone. I didn’t throw it. It slid out of my hand when I thought you were going to hit me. I don’t know that you were just trying to adjust the cord. I’ll get you a new one.”
“No. It’s fine.” She slipped down into a chair, covering her face. “I’m so tired of this. I just wanted to talk to my mom.”
“You can use my phone to call her. It’s going to be all right. Come on. Let’s get out of here. We have a long drive ahead to the next town. Davis told us to skip the next two house shows. I think everyone is pretty mad at us, anyway.”
“So, we can’t even go home for a few days? I miss my mom.”
“No. Sorry, sweetie, we can’t. Listen, maybe for the next couple of days, we can do some of those bonding things. I don’t enjoy fighting with you all the time.”
Candy looked up. “We did them all yesterday. It doesn’t work.”
“Then we come up with our own. Candy, why can’t we do this?” he asked as he pulled her from her seat.
She looked up with tears in her eyes, and Slade gently wiped a tear away. Looking down at her, he pulled her close, and their eyes locked. Slade thought he was going to come undone if something didn’t change soon. He didn’t want this. Neither of them did.
Candy laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t want to fight anymore, Slade. I’m tired of fighting.”
Slade kissed the top of her head, not sure what to say. Fighting with her was killing him. Since his confessions to Sahara, he hadn’t been able to get his growing feelings for Candy out of his mind. He knew he hadn’t stopped being attracted to her. Spending so much time together, Slade was afraid his feelings were much more than physical now. He was truly feeling something, but they were both too stubborn to admit it.
“Let’s go, Sprinkles. Time to hit the road. You can choose the radio station.”
She looked up, scrunching her nose playfully. “I really don’t mind when you call me that.”
“I know.” He winked, touching his nose to hers.
***
Once they reached the next hotel, they were still wide awake. Colt had come and let them change for bed, and they nestled into their new routine.
“What do you want to watch on TV?”
Candy sat down, grabbing her travel bag. “Watch whatever you want. I’m going to read or something.”
A little while later Slade looked over, seeing her back turned to him, and noticed she seemed upset.
“Sprinkles, is something wrong?”
He turned her shoulder so she would face him, and he saw she was holding a photo in her hand.
“What are you looking at? Why are you crying?” He scooted over closer.
She turned her hand to show the wrinkled photo from when he shoved her in the shower. Let out a soft sigh, she looked back at the photo.
“Who is that?”
Candy was heartbroken as she said, “He was my little brother.”
“What do you mean, was your brother?”
“He died of leukemia. My mom didn’t think she could have another child after me. She had tried for years. I think that’s why my dad left us. She got remarried after my parents split, and then Tyler came along when I was a teenager.”
“How old was he?”
“Six years old. She thought she was in menopause when she got pregnant. That picture was the last photo we took together.”
“When did he die?”
“Right before I came to IWX. About eight months ago while I was training at Wrestling Masters. The little stinker was a huge fan of yours. It’s weird having a brother so much younger than me. I was eighteen when she had him.”
“What happened to the picture?”
She looked at him, not sure how to say it. “You. When you threw me in the tour bus shower.”
“Oh, Candy. No… I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” He moved her hair from her face with utter remorse in his eyes. “He’s adorable. I feel awful.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. I hear you do charity stuff for kids. That’s nice,” she said as she put the photo away.
“I love kids and want a couple of my own one day. I guess I should stop being such a jerk and find a woman to marry me.” He nudged her with a chuckle.
“Poor woman. She doesn't know what she’s in for.” She giggled. “When you’re not being a jerk, you can be a decent guy. I think you would probably be a wonderful dad. I see how you are with fans and the kids love you.”
He smiled. “Thanks. You too. Kids flock to you. I always thought it was cute. Sorry about the picture. I promise I will make it up to you. I feel like an ass.”
“You are. However, I forgive you. Slade. I don’t hate you.” She scooted next to him to lay her head on his shoulder. “We fight over stupid stuff. You know that, right?”
He chuckled. “Yes. I can’t even remember half the time what we’re fighting about.”
“Me too,” she sighed as she rubbed her palm.
Slade tilted his head to see what she was touching and took her hand. “Is this scar from the day we met; when you fell?”
“Yes. I ended up having to get stitches that night because it started bleeding again.”
Slade lifted her hand to kiss the scar and ran his fingertip over it. “I wish that night went differently. I was being an ass all night. Jenna had upset me earlier, and then I lost my match. I was rushing to talk to Davis about the next pay-per-view. When I knocked you down and hurt you, it embarrassed me so much I thought I’d die. I was joking to cover up how bad I felt about it. It honestly was funny seeing candy all over the floor though.”
“I have to admit it was a hot mess. Don’t feel bad, it was just an accident.”
“Later on, the guys and I were being jerks. I shouldn’t have made jokes about you. Dustin feels bad about it too. I know he apologized, but I never did. So… I apologize. Especially for starting all of this.”
Candy smiled to herself, noticing his sincerity. “That means a lot. Thank you. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have freaked out, and I have a habit of overreacting. I know I have a bad temper. It’s just, when my brother went to school and lost his hair from chemo, kids bullied him. It still bothers me that I couldn’t stop them. All he went through being sick and had to deal with bullying too. My mom sent me to the school with him to stop it because she has issues with dealing with things, and I had to step in sometimes. I tried everything to make them understand he was sick. I had been thinking about him all day that day. I guess your taunting me set me off.”
“Sahara told me. I didn’t know he was sick or had died. I can’t imagine how hard it must be.”
“It was. My mom had a really hard time dealing with it. It devastated her, and she got depressed. My stepdad was a loser and walked out on her when he got sick, so I took care of Tyler to help her out. You would like my mom. You both have the same sense of humor. Now that I think about it, you’re just playing around most times. Right?”
“Yes. But you always take it the wrong way. Candy, I never want to hurt you. This fighting is pointless. Honestly, I wish we could start over.”
She sat thinking about the possibilities. “Why can’t we? You said we can do things to bond. Why don’t we just have fun and relax? We could try to be friends.”
“If you’re willing to try, so am I.” He hugged her with a grin.
Candy snickered, as she felt his hand sneaking into her pajama pocket while he hugged her close. “Are you stealing my candy?”
“Just don’t eat my pink ones.” She giggled.
