Some Secrets Should Be Kept
by Sparkle Black
Summary: One man and one woman's sordid secrets will affect several lives including their own once the lethal secrets are revealed one by one to the the world. Cast: McMahons, OC, HBK, HHH, E &C, Cena, Orton, and Y2J.
Prologue
If they had not given into the temptation of each other, they could have forestalled the betrayal, heartache, and hurt, but they decided to keep their past a secret. They decided to move on.What they did not realize was that they would not and could never truly move on. Memories and feelings that should have stayed repressed forever resurface.
Secrets that should have been kept were told. Promises that should have never been broken were. Things that should not have been said were spoken. Their past, secrets, and everything in between would be revealed. Marriages, friendships, and families would become divided.
Some of their secrets should have never been made known. What most people do not know is that some secrets turn deadly. Deplorably, everything could have been prevented by one man and on woman.
Chapter One
A woman in her early thirties sat in her corporate office on a late Friday night. The paperwork could wait until the morning but she would need to rationalize why she had not left for home yet.
The Headquarters officially closed at five but that did not mean that the work she and numerous others did would end; it was one of the many demons of working in sports entertainment.
Consequently, it was normal for Kathleen to work late on a Friday night. Whereas her not wanting to go home when the work ended was not. She knew she would have yet another argument with the man she swore to love for eternity and to never cheat on; her husband Jason Devereau. The arguments of late would end and occasionally start of him accusing her of infidelity they both knew he was guilty of as well. Then he would leave for a destination that Kathleen would care less to know. She hoped it was with another woman; she wanted him to be happy but she could not and to a point would not make him happy.
Kathleen could handle every sick accusation he threw at her and the constant arguing because she wasn't the victim; she once was but now she gave as good as she got. What she could not handle was the look on her three-year-old daughter's terrified face when she tucked her in every night or the occasional question about why her daddy didn't love her.
Jason had never physically harmed the little girl but he had never been fatherly toward her, either. Kathleen could not blame him for not wanting to be a father figure to Jess but he did not have to be so cruel to the little girl. It was not her fault. Then again, he was being cruel to the one at fault, Kathleen. Kathleen had long felt that she deserved everything she got from him and more.
She smiled as she glanced at one of the many pictures on her cherry desk. The particular picture she was glancing at had been taken at Jess's Christening. Her smile faded at the memory of that morning. Jason had refused to attend "her bastard's Christening." She had lied to everyone except her best friend that had cared to notice his absence. The exact lie she could not recall nor wanted to.
Jess Marie was her pride and joy but to Jason the child was a cruel and constant reminder that he was not the only one guilty of infidelity and he could not bear children. A cruel twist of fate that no one knew of but himself and Kathleen.
Kathleen rubbed her eyes with her left hand. Her engagement ring scratched her just above the eyelid. She glared at the horrid thing. The ring itself was marvelous it symbolized everything her marriage was not.
"Hey," Kathleen looked up and saw her best friend and sister-in-law standing just outside her office. "What are you still doing here?" Kathleen heard worry in Stephanie's voice. Stephanie entered the office with her leather briefcase at her side and a designer leather coat on. Kathleen placed the ball point pen down on the stack of forms and rubbed her temples with her french manicured fingertips.
"Paper work." Kathleen replied. Her tone of voice was tired and frustrated.
"Kat, that can wait until tomorrow or even Monday morning for that matter. I'm the only one that is supposed to work twenty-four seven." Stephanie joked but then got serious. "You're going to work yourself sick or worse to death." Stephanie's blue eyes spoke volumes of worry as she sat on one of the two black large chairs positioned in front of the large desk.
"If only." Kathleen softly muttered not intending for Stephanie to hear yet her best friend did hear.
Stephanie sighed. "Kathleen, I know something is wrong." She paused waiting on a response but none came. "I'm worried about you." She focused her blue eyes on her best friend since birth. Kathleen's dark blonde almost light brown hair had no bounce nor volume as it had previously. Her hazel eyes, so much like her brother's, did not have that warm and friendly look that had made her a synch in for Homecoming Queen their Junior year of High School or Miss Greenwich that same year. The warm look had been replaced with a dim shadow of what it used to be. Needless to say, Kathleen looked quite older than her thirty-one years; not older as in wrinkles or liver spots but her aura had dramatically diminished.
"I'm fine, Steph." She unconvincedly lied. She rubbed her wearisome forehead as she repeated the lie. "I am fine, tired but fine."
Stephanie wanted to believe her but she didn't. Stephanie was quiet for a moment before she timidly asked. "Are you avoiding Paul?"
"No."
It was not a complete lie, she had been avoiding being alone with him but necessarily avoiding him. Because, by looking at her anyone would know something was wrong but he wasn't everyone.
He would pester her until she told him what it was that was wrong so he could make it go away or until she got a migraine and he would continue pestering her. Usually she would succumb to the pestering but this time she would not; she could not. Paul would only make it worse.
She could not tell him that her marriage was falling apart, or anything else that had happened that was finally catching up to her. He could not fix it or make it go away. No one could fix her marriage, no matter how hard she tried, she could not reverse the damage that the affairs, lies, alcohol, and drugs had over the years destroyed it.
Yet most of all she could not change that her daughter Jess Marie Levesque was not her husband's as well. There was no physical or scientific way and to be truthful Kathleen was glad of that.
"You aren't?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow clearly not believing her.
"No, I'm not. He's just sore that I won't tell him what is wrong," Kathleen stated. Stephanie agreed. "Which there isn't anything wrong with me." She quickly added.
"Okay." Stephanie slowly said and then dropped a invitation that she could not refuse if she were telling the truth or wanted her to believe it was true. "Since youaren't avoiding him. You won't be against having brunch with us at mom and dad's?"
"No, I have no problem with that, I would just love to spend a Saturday morning with my lovely brother." She replied a bit too sweetly for Stephanie's ears.
"I hope you'll bring Jess." Stephanie sincerely interjected.
"Jessica is spending the weekend with my mother." Kathleen informed dryly.
"Oh. How about Jason?" Stephanie hesitantly added out of courtesy for Kathleen.
"Jason is leaving early tomorrow morning or tonight to go on a fishing trip with his buddies."
Stephanie inwardly sighed in relief that he had other plans. She did not want him there but he was married to Kathleen. Kathleen was the only reason she had ever tolerated him, matter of fact, it was the only reason the entire McMahon family now tolerated him. To believe that he had once been Shane's best friend was hard to believe.
"Okay. I'll call Paul when I get home. His flight lands in between one and two a.m." She informed a disinterested but listening Kathleen.
"Tell him that I love him."
"I will." Stephanie nervously stood up wringing her hands. "Kat, you are my best friend and sister in every way that counts. I know you aren't ready to talk to me or anyone else for that matter about what's going on-"
"Nothing is going on." Kathleen weakly protested. Stephanie sighed in frustration.
"You might not realize it now but something is wrong. You need to talk about it with someone or do something about what's happening before it consumes you. Or worse, something happens that you'll soon regret."
"I regret a lot of things, Steph." Kathleen pensively whispered.
Stephanie sighed in defeat. "When you are ready to talk about whatever it is, you know my cell, use it." Stephanie said before leaving the office and heading home.
Several minutes later, Stephanie turned her limited edition sports car into the gated entrance of her secluded driveway. The gates opened as she pressed a button on her key chain. Once the car was through the intimidating black iron gates, the button on the key chain was once more pressed. The gates closed. She drove up the long and curvy driveway and parked in front of her and Paul's large Victorian mansion.
She grabbed her leather brief case out of the passenger seat, the Styrofoam coffee cup from the cup holder and keys out of the ignition. The car door echoed through the darkness as she closed it. She walked up the walkway to the front door as her heels clicked against the cobblestone, and unlocked the door. She disarmed the security alarm, and reset it before walking to her study. She laid the brief case, coffee cup, and keys on her desk in the study before walking upstairs to take a long bath.
After soaking for fifteen minutes in Lavender scented bubbles, she sat on the king sized bed, and glanced at the clock on the night stand, 12:45 A.M., before hitting speed dial one on the cordless phone.
"Hey, Stephanie." Paul answered his blackberry.
"Hi, baby. I talked to Kat, earlier."
"What did she say?"
"More like what she didn't say." Stephanie slightly rolled her blue eyes at her friend's stubbornness and secretiveness.
"Stephanie, what's going on?"
"I don't know, nobody does. She doesn't tell me anything anymore." Stephanie said whined frustrated.
"She stopped talking to me along time ago." Paul commented smartly.
"Paul, I've been thinking." Stephanie hesitantly paused.
"Don't hurt yourself." He chuckled at his joke then realized she had been serious. "Do you know what's wrong with Kat?"
"Forget I said anything." She bit her lip nervously as she muttered.
"Stephanie, you know what's wrong with her. Tell me." Paul shifted in his seat and switched the phone from one ear to the other.
"I don't know anything for sure." She admitted uneasily biting her lip.
"What do you think is going on?"
"You'll make it worse, if you get involved." She unknownly predicted correctly.
"Damn it, I want to know what is going on with my sister." He raised his voice, irritated at the lack of knowledge concerning his sister's life.
"You don't think I don't?" She retaliated in anger and frustration.
"Steph, I'm sorry. I know you do." He apologized.
"The only thing I know for sure, is that she more or less told me that she regretted a lot of things." She paraphrased what she had remembered from the earlier conversation.
"Did she say what exactly she regretted?"
"No, she wasn't specific. Paul, I'm afraid"
He was shocked that his wife had told him that she was afraid. He believed that his wife and sister were two of the strongest women he knew, and both of them were teetering on the edge of strong and weak as of late.
There was silence for a few moments before Paul broke it.
"What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid we're going to lose her." She told him in a small quiet voice.
"What the hell have I missed? I saw her Monday night at the arena, and I talked to her the other day. It's obvious something is the matter with her, but we aren't going to lose her." He paused before reluctantly asking. "How are we going to lose her?" He did not want to believe that they were going to lose his sister in anyway, but he wanted to be safe.
"She just, she looked so broken and lost Paul." Stephanie started crying, "I'm worried about her, worried that she'll hurt herself."
"Are you telling me that my sister is suicidal?" That comment got the full attention of the person next to him and the one across from him. Both were trying not to listen to the conversation but it was impossible not to hear. Before either person could comment, Paul unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up and walked to the small bathroom for privacy.
"She might be." Stephanie sniffed. She could not believe that she was talking about Kathleen being suicidal and to Paul of all people.
Paul rubbed a hand over his face while he said, "Stephanie. I will figure out what the hell is going on. Stop crying. My plane lands in a few hours."
"Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No, you go on to bed. I'll catch a ride with Vince"
"Okay, I love you."
"I love you, too."
Mere seconds from hanging up from his call with Stephanie, Paul dialed his sister's home number as he returned to his seat.
"Devereau residence." A clearly irritated masculine voice slurred.
"Jason, this is Paul. I'm worried about Kathleen. Steph and I are worried." Paul said abruptly without greeting.
"Why?" Jason asked still irritated. Paul chalked up Jason's irritation from being woken up at one in the morning but that was not the case. Jason had to finish packing his luggage. His plane left at three and he had to pick up some one very special to him before he left for the airport.
"Something's not right with her. Do you know what's wrong?" Paul asked.
"No, I don't Paul. I hardly see her anymore. She works all the time, she still hasn't come home. Is she with you?" He stopped with the irritation when it dawned on him who this was, and started to act like the concerned, caring husband he played day in and day out in public.
"No, I'm on the private jet. Stephanie called me earlier worried. I'm worried about my sister. Is there anything I should know?"
"I think she is working herself to death and needs to stay away from Hotshot" He answered truthfully but sounded too bitter to Paul. Paul silently shook his head, no, not bitterness, it was irritation.
"Hotshot? Who are you talking about?" Paul asked curiously though something told him that he did not want to know but his brotherly instinct made him ask anyway. "Jason, who does she need to stay away from?"
"Both he and Kat know who he is. If you want to know about him, ask her, but that isn't saying she'll tell you."
"I will, goodnight." He closed the flip phone and looked out the window, watching the night sky as he pondered what was going on in his sister's life and how he could help.
Vince McMahon watched many emotions go over Paul's face as he stared out the window to the night sky. That was one of the things that he admired about his son-in-law, he could tell a story with his facial expressions, alone. That talent and curse were one of the many reasons why he had been so successful in the entertainment industry not because he married the boss's daughter but by pure talent and love for the business. Vince watched Paul fight with himself and worry about Kathleen.
He turned his head and looked at his son. Shane looked paler than usual. It was almost sickening. Vince looked at him concerned thinking that Shawn had kicked him harder than necessary earlier at the House Show but then a look of recognition came across Vince's face. Vince glanced back and forth between Shane and Paul before shaking his head in disbelief. He stood up and walked toward the cock pit to see how much longer they had until landing.
My Disclaim:
No copyright or trademark infringement was intended. I am borrowing the WWE creations to play with if you think about it, it's somewhat like a library system. Check out characters instead of books. I'm a sarcastic nitwit but loveable all the same.
Originally posted on 05.06.06
Revamped on 02.16.08