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Five more days to go. That was all the time they had to endure the handcuffs. Candy laid quietly in Slade’s arms, listening to his soft breathing. Here she was laying in the arms of the man who was once her arch enemy and now those ideas had changed. He had quickly become the kindest and most caring person she had ever known.
Turning her body to face him, she ran her fingers across his face gently. Watching him sleeping peacefully, she couldn’t help but feel like being there could put him and everyone she cared for at IWX at risk.
She realized Dustin was right. Through all the bickering and drama backstage, the IWX employees were a family. This group of friends had become the family she forgot was possible. Candy smiled, knowing how much Tyler would have loved to be there to meet all his wrestling heroes.
Her mother, despite all she had been through, was still a loving woman who tried her best to give her children a good life. Her trauma had become more than she could bear, and Candy could never blame her for their childhood full of struggle. All she wanted was for her mother to get better. To come out of her depression and be the happy woman she was when Candy was a child.
~Flashback~
“Mommy? Can we go to the park today?”
“Sure, Candy cane.”
“Will Daddy go too?” little Candy asked.
“I’m sorry, baby. Daddy’s not feeling well. He needs his rest.”
“But Daddy is always sick. Mommy? Why does he never play with me anymore? Am I a bad girl? He acts funny and sleeps all the time. Kelly’s mommy says he does drugs and drugs are bad.”
Candy’s father walked into the room and rubbed her head, rustling her hair. “You need to stop hanging out with that girl. She’s telling lies, baby girl. Kelly’s gossipy mother needs to mind her own business.” Kevin said as he sat on the couch with a grunt.
Candy crawled up into her father’s lap and rubbed his face. “Your hair’s gone, Daddy. Did you cut it all off?”
“Yep. That way I don’t have to mess with it. Now I have more time for cuddles with my little Pumpkin,” he said, tickling the six-year-old Candy’s sides.
“I’ll go make us some lunch.” Sophie kissed her husband with tears in her eyes.
“Are you sick, Daddy?”
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about grown-up things. Tell you what. Mommy and I will take you to the park together. I heard my big girl went down the slide alone yesterday.”
“Uh-huh! I was a big girl and did it all by myself. I climbed all the way to the top of the big slide.”
Kevin hugged her with a kiss to the top of his daughter's head. “That’s my girl. No matter what happens, Candy. I will always be your daddy and love you very much.”
“Daddy? Why are you crying?”
“I just love you and Mommy so much.”
~End Flashback~
Tears rolled down Candy’s cheeks, and with a sniffle, she wiped them away. She wanted to hate her father for leaving them. The years of abuse from her stepfather left her feeling lonely and afraid. Her father left them in poverty, and Candy didn’t know if she could ever forgive him. That is if he wanted to see her at all when she found him. They hadn’t spoken since the day he left, and she wasn’t even sure he was still alive.
There was a time when their family was happy. When Candy was very young, there was genuine love there. They didn’t have the finest things and her parents struggled, but there was so much love that possessions could never fill. After her mother’s three miscarriages, her parents became very distant from each other. The loss had become an enormous burden in their relationship because of her mother’s depression. Her father tried to help his wife, but it was never enough to help her heartbreak.
They kept his personal struggles hidden from Candy. Her parents would never discuss what was going on, leaving Candy with many unanswered questions. Even after Kevin left them, her mother refused to talk about it. Candy never fully understood why her father was the way he was. One day he was a loving family man, the next he left them alone.
Her father was always missing in action the year before he finally went away. When he was home, he seemed to always be “sick”. She would remember the nights he passed out on the couch, the arguments behind closed doors, the times her father was gone for days and even weeks. Until one day, he never returned.
The weeks after, Candy’s newly found aunt took care of her. They put her mother in her first care facility for depression. Candy could never prove him to be an alcoholic or cheating on her mother, but the signs seemed to be there. Thinking back, she had never seen him drunk or high. Just tired and seemed to be not the same man he once was.
Regardless, with her mother in a catatonic state, Candy couldn’t get the answers she needed. The answers to what happened those years so long ago.
Looking at Slade, and knowing his problems with addiction, weighed on her. Would she have to risk that same fate? An absent father leaving his children. Would she become like her mother? Unable to deal with the pressures of life. Slade wasn’t anything like her stepfather, but if her suspicions were true, could he be like her birth father?
No. Slade was a good man. He cared for everyone around him. Even during their tumultuous times, Candy saw how kind Slade was, always looking out for her. Now that she looked back on the past few months, he went above and beyond to take care of her. Even though they fought, he was always first in line to take up for her or see if she was doing okay. Until it turned into the daily battles of wills.
She never really hated Slade. They both liked to argue and tease each other. Now she realized he just wanted to be with her, and she made it hard to get close; pushing him away every chance she got. There was no more of that now. She fell head over heels for the man who was quickly becoming her world.
Slade shifted, and Candy smiled as he gave a little chuckle in his sleep. He looked so happy. She leaned over and kissed Slade’s lips softly, and the corners of his lips turned into a brief smile. Watching him for the longest time, it finally hit her. She was falling in love with him.
The problems with her family hit her like a punch in the gut at that very moment. As long as her stepfather was in the way, she could never really have a relationship. She couldn’t let herself get closer, even though the thought of being without Slade would break her. Protecting her loved ones was more important. That included her friends at IWX.
At that moment, she realized what she had to do. Finish out the week and leave IWX for good. To protect her new family, she had to leave. Maybe she was just like her father? When things got tough, she’d walk away. If it meant doing the right thing for the safety of her friends, and the man she was growing to love, she would.
Five days. Five days she would have to cherish the time she had with this amazing man, and then she would walk away. Go back to her little pink house in the Florida sun and never look back.
“Mmm... What time is it?” He opened one eye, looking around, trying to wake.
Candy jumped, not expecting Slade to wake up. “8:00.”
“How long have you been watching me sleep?” He chuckled.
“Long enough. You seemed so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you.”
Slade wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “How is my girl this morning?”
With a shaky breath, she tried to pull herself together. “I’m... okay.”
“That didn’t sound too reassuring. I know yesterday was rough. I’m here, Sprinkles. As long as I’m around, that man will never hurt you.”
“I’m worried about my mom.”
“I can understand that. Maybe you should call and check on her later.” Slade sat up, scooting to the headboard. “Why won’t you talk to me about her? I feel like I’m only getting bits and pieces of the story.”
“I… it’s hard, okay. She’s not well.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s in a nursing facility. My mom has some mental illness and I just don’t know how to explain it. She got very depressed after my brother died. My mom, Sophie, had been trying to have another child for years and when she finally did, he died. He was just a kid. She doesn’t talk. She sits and stares into nothing, and I can barely get her to respond to me. It got to be too much for me to take care of her and work too. I pay all her bills and being at IWX helped me to get her out of debt and pay for her care.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s difficult telling people my mom is in that place. After all the abuse and things James put her through, she just shut down. I don’t want people thinking my mom is crazy. She’s just been through so much.” Candy snuggled into his chest. “All she wanted was love and to have a happy family. Was that so wrong?”
“No. It’s what we all want. She’s not crazy, she’s sick. Candy, it’s crazy how similar our lives were. Sahara told me recently we had a lot in common. I didn’t realize how right she was until now.”
Candy looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
“My mom was sick too. She struggled with mental illness and refused treatment and didn’t think she had a problem. My mom committed suicide when I was seven.”
“What happened?”
Slade took a deep breath. “My dad worked on an oil rig. He was gone for long periods and worked hard to give us a good life. He called to check on us one night, and I went to their room to give her the phone when I found her. She had shot herself while I was outside playing. I still remember the smell of the room when I entered. After that, it was just my dad, sisters, and I. He loved her so much and never married another woman or dated after that. He told me that when I found my true love, it would be forever, just like it was for him. He tried to help her, but her illness wasn’t understood back then.”
“Oh, Slade. I’m so sorry you had to witness that. I can’t imagine what it must have been like.”
“When the guys said we all have a past, they’re right. We’ve always stood by each other. Let me help you, Candy. All that burden is too much to hold on to on your own.”
Candy sighed. “I’m sorry, Slade. I need to figure this out on my own. For now, just hold me.”
Slade kissed the top of her head, pulling her in close. “If that’s what you need, that’s what I’ll do. I’m here if you want to talk.”
“We’re tethered together like a chain gang.” Candy giggled. “You don’t have much choice but to be here.”
Slade chuckled, yanking on the line. “True. Let’s order room service. Colt will be here later to let us shower. We have that autograph signing today and a few TV interviews. These next few days are going to be crazy so we might as well get to it.”
