A few minutes later someone knocked on the door. I wiped the tears from my face and I hoped it was my husband on the other side of the door, I wanted him to come back and prove that he wanted to fight for us instead of walking away again. When I opened the door, the tears came back full force when I saw Trinity and Brie. They walked in and hugged me, making the tears fall faster.
"How . . . how did you . . . know?" I sniffled.
"Joe called." Brie said, brushing my hair out of my face.
"He called me too." Trin said, rubbing my arm.
"You don't have to be here, he shouldn't have bothered you." I told them, cleaning my face.
"Honey, you should have called me, it's not a bother at all." Trin said.
"He knows that you needed someone and it wasn't him." Brie said.
"I'm . . . a mess." I told them.
"Trinity filled me in, you've had quite the time." Brie said, pulling me inside.
"I miss my husband but I don't want to see him, but I do, and I'm so freaking confused."
"He went the wrong way to get things done but the man adores you." Trinity said as she rifled through the bag that Le left behind.
"What's in there?" I asked.
"Nutella, cheetos, green grapes, 2 Sonic pretzels with cheese dip, and 3 Arizona iced teas. He got you your favorite snacks." she smiled.
"Cravings . . . before all of this happened I mentioned to him that I wanted the pretzels and cheetos."
"Do you want to talk about it? You need to let go of the pain and the hard feelings, or at least open up to them in order for you to feel better." Brie said.
"Can I just follow you around forever and have you be my conscious?" I asked her, smiling through the fresh tears.
"Hey, if you ever need to get away you can always come and stay with me and Birdie."
"I might just take you up on that." I sighed.
"Running doesn't help." she smiled.
"I went to the house to pack my clothes . . . and I felt like I didn't belong there." I admitted.
"Arianna Angle-Anoa'i . . ."
"Trin, I . . . it's not because of Galina, well not entirely. Things have been so distant between us and I kept pushing it aside, pretending that one day every couple of weeks was fine. Now we were forced to confront and it all blew up, and I don't know where to go from this place." I said.
"Okay, tell momma Brie everything."
Inhaling deeply, I let it out and then let the whole story all out. Trinity passed me the tissues and did her best not to cry but I saw a few tears escape. Brie just sat there rubbing my hands while I unloaded on her. It felt almost therapeutic in a way, she has the effect on people.
"Sweetie, I'm sorry that you're going through this, especially pregnant." Brie said.
"Marital bliss." I said, trying to laugh.
"You two need some time alone before the baby comes." she said.
"Good luck with that." Trin scoffed.
"Trin!" Brie scolded.
"She's right Brie, the only place he wants to be is on the road or in the ring." I told her, rubbing my belly softly.
"After tonight, I doubt that." she replied.
"Monday after Mania is hectic and we know he's gonna lose. Then Vince is gonna have him come out to the ring to cut a promo about the whole thing which will begin the path to the next pay per view. He literally will do anything to stay working and that means he's away from us. I don't know what to do here, I don't know how to move forward." I admitted.
"You need to talk to him." Brie said.
"I don't know that it would do any good at this point."
"It sucks, I know, but you have to." Trin added.
"It seems irrational after the fact but it feels like he keeps walking away. Like just now, instead of staying here and talking to me, he left and called you two. Walking away from me seems to be getting easier, no matter how much he says he wants to stay. He keeps leaving me, but if it was work related, he'd fight tooth and nail to stay. You see my problem?" I argued.
"You need to take some time away before the baby comes." Brie insisted.
"That's not gonna be possible. He's not gonna ask for the time off. I don't expect him to be around for long after the birth either, he's got work goals to tackle." I sighed.
"I've got an idea, I'll be right back." Brie said, walking out of the room.
"What just happened?" I asked Trinity.
"No idea."
"What?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I've known you for a long time, I know your faces. You got something on your mind, so spill it."
"I just don't understand how he let things get this bad." she said.
"You're meaning to say I'm being a bitch." I managed to chuckle.
"No, I mean he's always been such a big family man. I don't understand how he let things escalate like this, it's not like him."
"Work Trin, nowadays being Roman Reigns is more important than being Joe Anoa'i."
"That's gotta burn."
"What does?" I asked.
"You never call him Joe."
"That's who he is, Joe Anoa'i and Roman Reigns. The friend and father, not my husband."
"I agree with Brie though, y'all need to get some time away."
"We both know that's not gonna happen, it is what it is." I sighed, rubbing my belly again, it's my safety blanket.
"Where the hell did Brie . . . there she is." Trin said, walking over to the door.
The Bella twin walked in with two plastic bags and a big smile on her face.
"What is all of this?" I asked.
"Stuff for a bath. You need to relax a little bit and a warm bath will do just the trick." she smiled.
"Okay, but what's all of that?" Trinity asked.
"Things to set the mood, I'll be right back."
Brie walked into the large bathroom and closed the door behind her. Trinity and I waited for 10 minutes before the door opened and I was summoned inside. The air was fragrant from the candles that sat atop the counters and corners of the tub, there were rose petals in the water, and music on low from somewhere.
"There's epsom salt in the water and yes, it's safe for you and bean. Only 15 minutes in the water, no cell phone either, so just enjoy it. I'll see you tomorrow." she said, dimming the light.
"Thank you." I told her.
"Of course, get some rest."
The bath did wonders to calm me down, it felt really amazing. Personally, I like my baths hotter than hell but that's not good for the baby.
I had appearances all week and while it was plenty of fun, it was exhausting as well. By the time Saturday arrived I was a mess of nerves, tonight is Hall of Fame and this afternoon is my gender reveal. My husband kept his distance all week, he stops by in the morning to bring me breakfast, kisses my forehead and belly, then he leaves. At night he stops by with fruits and snacks, the same two kisses and he leaves.
I've tried to talk to him but he always has an excuse to leave. This can't be the end, our end, I don't want it to be, but I can't be the only one fighting for us. Since I don't have any appearances today, I changed into gray lycra pants and a sports bra to go to the gym. It was kind of full and a few people shot me unamused looks but I don't care, my doctor said I could work out as long as I kept my routine moderate.
After a 40 minute light jog, free weights, and stretching I'm feeling really good. When I walked out with Alexa Bliss, I found myself face to face with my husband, and he appears to be pretty aggravated.
"See you later, Lexi." I said, wiping the sweat from my face.
"Bye Ari, Joe."
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, grabbing my arm.
"Excuse me?" I replied, pulling away.
"What were you doing in there, Aria?"
"That's a dumb question."
"You're pregnant." he argued as we got on the elevator.
"Really? I thought I was a bit bloated. My doctor said it was okay, I still work out six days a week up until I can't. What's your problem?"
"It's dangerous, G never . . ." he stopped himself before finishing.
"Go ahead . . . Galina never worked out while she was pregnant?"
"I'm sorry."
"I need to shower, did you want something?"
"This thing today . . . the reveal, what time is it?"
"You're going?"
"Why are you surprised?" he asked and I could hear the hurt in his question.
I didn't answer as I opened my room door and he followed me inside. Before I could bend over to take my sneakers off, he motioned to the chair so I sat down and he took them off for me.
"Thanks."
"Why are you so surprised that I would want to be there?"
"You've been avoiding me all week, really busy and all that jazz. I assumed you'd be too busy and I would just see you for the ceremony." I replied.
"You gonna sit with me?"
"We're married, they expect us to. I'm wearing a white dress."
"Ari, do you want to sit with me?"
"I don't have a choice."
"Right, hey, what do you want for breakfast?" he asked.
"Waffles! And strawberries." I smiled as my stomach growled. "You can use the room phone, I'm gonna shower."