Belong

Chapter 1

“So, you’ll never guess what happened to me last night.” Valisa said by way of greeting, sidling up beside her friend and partner in crime.

“Let me take a WILD guess and say it has something to do with a certain tattooed wrestler.” Zelia replied, sarcasm dripping in her tone while sipping her water. “Do I wanna know what happened?”

“That son of a bitch had the NERVE to corner me at the ice machine last night.” Valisa scowled darkly, holding her own beverage of choice diet Pepsi and took a long drink from it. “I swear, when will he take a hint and leave me alone?”

“Maybe when you stop with the mixed signals?” Zelia replied distractedly, running a hand through her long raven black hair. “Just admit it, Vali. One minute you want to be with him and the next you don’t. You really have to make up your mind and figure out what you want.”

Valisa sighed, knowing Zelia was right and admired her blunt attitude, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Enough about him, what’s got you so preoccupied?” She turned the conversation to Zelia, both girls heading to the arena cafeteria for a half hour lunch break.

Zelia frowned, not sure she was ready to talk about it because she was too busy trying to wrap her mind around what she found out. “Nothing, I just found out some news today that I don’t know if I should be happy about or not. It’s a long boring story.”

In 2007, Zelia signed a contract with the WWE to work as part of the ring crew, much like she’d done in the Heartland Wrestling Association since 2005. Zelia loved working for the HWA and honestly thought she’d end up retiring with the company, but such was not the case. She was released from her contract in late 2006 because of budget cuts, though Zelia was one step ahead of the HWA. She managed to contact the WWE and they hired her on in early 2007 during WrestleMania time, the company’s busiest time of the year. It was a major transition, but Valisa made it a lot easier to deal with and welcomed Zelia with open arms along with the rest of the ring crew. So for the past almost 6 years, Zelia became part of the WWE family and left her HWA one behind, not keeping contact with any of her friends.

There was one person in the HWA that Zelia hadn’t seen since she left in late 2006. She recently found out this person was signed to a contract with the WWE and would be debuting shortly. The writers were keeping it quiet because they didn’t want the debut ruined by the internet. So Zelia had no idea when it would happen, though it wasn’t for lack of trying. To say she was nervous was an understatement because Zelia had no idea what she’d do when she came face to face with this person again. She left HWA without a word, no goodbyes or farewells and this person had been one of her closest friends in the company.

“Well, if you ever need to talk about it, you know I’m here for you.” Valisa assured her softly, both of them grabbing a sandwich with chips and sat down at a nearby table. “So what should I do about Brooks?”

Zelia chuckled, shrugging and chomped on a chip. “I have no idea. You two have such a volatile thing going on. Let me ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“What exactly do you feel for him? Is it lust, like, love?” She laughed when Valisa nearly choked on a bite of her sandwich, jade eyes dancing with amusement.

“You are such a bitch.” Valisa grunted, taking a long swallow of her diet Pepsi and pounded her chest a few times. “And I have no unearthly clue. Granted, he’s sexy as hell with those tattoos, even the Pepsi one on his upper arm, but…he’s very opinionated too. I just wanna cut his tongue off, then he would be perfect.”

“Ouch, remind me not to get on your bad side.”

Halfway through lunch, Zelia looked up and felt her entire body tense while Valisa talked about Phillip Brooks, only paying attention partially. Now her attention was glued on something, or rather someone, else. The rumors were true, all of them. Her jade eyes followed his every move, not believing how much he’d changed in the past almost 6 years. His haphazard dishwater blonde hair was slicked back with water as little rivulets slid down his arms and neck. His 225 pound muscular frame was encased in black cargo pants with what looked to be a tactical black vest buckled on. Two other men followed him inside the cafeteria, both also decked in the same attire.

“I think I’ll finish my lunch outside.” Zelia murmured, not giving Valisa to say anything else as she grabbed her food and hightailed it out of the cafeteria, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

Valisa frowned, watching her friend rush out like her backside was on fire and wondered what that was about. She noticed Zelia had given one of the new rookies a onceover, a familiarity in her jade eyes. He had to be the reason behind Zelia’s uneasiness and something told Valisa they had a history. Picking up her own mess, Valisa tossed it away in the garbage and walked past them on her way out the door, going to track down Zelia.

“Okay Zel, out with it.” Valisa demanded when she found her friend sitting out back on one of the equipment trunks.

“Out with what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Valisa folded her arms in front of her chest, ocean blue eyes peering at her skeptically. “You can fool a lot of people, but I’ve known you for almost 6 years. I saw what you did in there. As soon as those rookies came into the cafeteria, you bolted. What gives?”

Zelia sighed, hating how observant Valisa could be. “I know one of them.” She finally admitted, lowering her eyes to the ground while swinging her feet back and forth lightly.

“The blonde?”

Zelia nodded, closing her eyes. “His name is Jonathan Good. We used to work for the same wrestling organization called Heartland Wrestling Association. He was a close friend of mine and I helped him a few times whenever he got injured badly in a match. I was part of the ring crew just like I am here. At the end of 2006, I lost my job due to cutbacks because of economy, or so they said. The ring crew was very expendable in that company. I left and never said goodbye or anything to Jon. I haven’t seen or talked to him in almost 6 years and when I found out he was signed to this company, I almost put my resignation in. I’m terrified to talk to him again because I betrayed him by leaving without so much as a ‘fuck you, have a nice life’.”

Valisa frowned, hearing the pain clear in her friend’s voice and hopped up on the equipment trunk, wrapping a secure arm around her shoulders. “You were going through a lot back then and had just lost your job. I’m sure if you explain things to him, he’ll understand. I don’t know the guy from a hole in the ground, but it sounds like you do. Something tells me he’ll forgive you for leaving and not saying goodbye or keeping contact. But then again that’s just me, you have to do what YOU think is right.”

They talked for a little while longer and headed back inside to finish setting up for the big pay-per-view that night. It was Survivor Series, one of the 4 major events the WWE had every year. Indianapolis, Indiana would be getting a very rude awakening that night, but nobody knew exactly what kind of impact it would be. Benjamin, the ring crew manager, instructed Zelia to climb up to the catwalk to fix one of the lights. She didn’t mind, strapping the safety harness on and began ascending the ladder, having pulled her black hair up in a messy tight bun on top of her head.

Just as she arrived on the catwalk, Jonathan with the other men he’d been with in the cafeteria appeared on the top of the stage. Zelia noticed them instantly and immediately felt her heart twinge painfully in her chest, pushing the pain in the back of her mind. She would deal with it later at the hotel when she was alone in her hotel room. Right now, she had to focus on getting this light fixture to work and carefully moved to the other side to check it, immediately finding the problem.

“Nice work, Bell.” Benjamin praised, clapping the woman on the back as soon as she landed on her feet, smiling. “I was worried we’d have to replace that damn thing.”

“Not a problem, Ben. It looks like they need help with the ring pole.” She observed, her back facing the three men slowly making their way down the newly installed ramp.

“Get on it.” Benjamin headed past the trio to check on the Titan tron, wanting make sure everything worked properly.

Jon watched the woman called Bell head down to the ring, bluish grey eyes narrowing slightly. Even with her back turned to him, he could tell she was a beautiful woman with a fit body. Black hair and part of the ring crew with the name Bell…it suddenly dawned on Jon as he left his fellow co-workers to follow her. Could it be? His hand reached out to tap her shoulder and watched as the woman turned around until unmistakable jade eyes locked with his.

“Holy shit.” He blurted, his mouth parting slightly as shock filled his body from head to toe. “Zelia?”

There was no way she could play dumb and act like she didn’t know who he was. “Hey Jon.” She greeted softly, noting the perplexity in his eyes and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear.

“That’s all you have to say to me? Hey Jon?” His voice filled with disbelief, trying to wrap his mind around the fact Zelia Bell worked for the WWE and probably had all this time.

“Hey Zel, we need you over here!”

“I’m coming!” She called back, jade eyes never leaving his. “We can talk later if you want.” Zelia whipped a pen out of her pocket and scrawled her cell number on his hand, blowing on it for a second before closing his fingers around it. “Your choice, break a leg tonight, Moxley.”

Jon Moxley was his wrestling persona in the HWA and Zelia called him that instead of using his first name. It just fit him better for some reason. Zelia wouldn’t be able to use it a lot around the WWE, but old habits die hard. Jon watched her walk toward the ring and looked down at his hand as his coworkers walked up to him. They were Seth Rollins –his real name was Colby Lopez- and Roman Reigns –his real name was Leati Joseph Anoa’i, but everyone called him Joe for short-, the group would be dubbed forever as The Shield after tonight’s pay-per-view.

“What’s going on, Jon? Who is that?” Colby asked, his voice filled with confusion.

“An old coworker I knew in HWA.” Jon replied, turning to face both of his coworkers. “We have a debut to get ready for tonight. Come on.” They headed up the ramp and Jon wished his hand would stop burning from Zelia’s touch.

After the setup was completed, the ring crew headed to the back as fans began piling in the arena, packing it to the rafters. The ring crew could either go back to the hotel and come back later to take the setup down or stick around until the fans left after the show. Valisa decided to stay because she wanted to watch Phillip’s match against John Cena and Ryback –his real name was Ryan Reeves- for the WWE Championship. They found an empty dressing room with a monitor and two chairs, getting snacks from the cafeteria and settled in to watch the pay-per-view.

“So I noticed you gave the rookie your number.” Valisa said, breaking the silence between them halfway through the show. “Do you think he’ll call?”

“He’s not a rookie.” Zelia argued swiftly, defending Jon because she’d saw all the blood he’d shed for this business in HWA. “Believe me, I’ve seen that man do some incredible insane things and, even though he’s new to the WWE, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t paid his dues with other wrestling organizations.”

“Still a rookie in my book.” Valisa wasn’t deterred easily and chomped on a chip. “So do you think he’ll call you or what?”

“I don’t know. He sounded confused and shocked, didn’t really have time to have a full-blown conversation.” Zelia hated how Jon had been the one to come to her first, but there was nothing she could do to change it. “I hope he does. I’ve missed him a lot.”

“Did you two ever…”

“No.” So much regret was in that one little word the moment it popped out of Zelia’s mouth. “Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to, but he never showed me he did. Never made a move or anything, always treated me like a friend. So I left it at that.” The harsh truth was Zelia had fallen in love with Jon during their time at HWA, but she never had the courage to tell him how she felt. “Have you figured out what to do about Brooks?”

Valisa nodded, looking a little troubled. “As cute as he is, he’s just not my type. I mean part of me wants to experiment and see what he’s like in the sack, but a bigger part of me doesn’t. He wants to meet me for a drink tonight and I’m declining. You were right. If I keep sending mixed signals and acting like I want him, he’ll keep pursuing me and I don’t want that to happen.”

“Right, so if you don’t tell him to bugger off…”

“You can kick my ass and I won’t put up a fight.”

“Good.”

When it came time for the triple threat match for the WWE Championship, Zelia became worried because Jon hadn’t made his debut yet. Maybe the writers backed out at the last minute and didn’t want him on the pay-per-view. Considering he was the sole reason she stayed behind at the arena, Zelia was extremely annoyed as she watched the championship match half interested.

“What the hell?”

Valisa’s words snapped Zelia out of her thoughts as her jade eyes locked on the screen, a big smile crossing her face at the sight of Jon. They were in the audience descending the stairs the fans normally did to take their seats for the event. She heard the announcer’s say his name was Dean Ambrose and raised a brow, wondering who came up with that name for him.

“Hello Daddy, oh my god he is HOT.” Valisa stated, fanning herself with her hand as her eyes remained glued on the long dark haired, grey eyed beast. “Roman Reigns, huh? He can reign over me anytime, day or night.”

“You’re so stupid.” Zelia laughed, seeing her friend was in current lust and kept her eyes on Jon, very happy for him.

She could only hope Jon called her that night after the show.

Chapter 2

Zelia was the dumbest woman on the planet, at least that’s how she felt.

Just like she wanted, Jon called after Survivor Series ended and she blatantly ignored it. He called 5 times and finally left a voicemail, demanding to know where she was. How could Zelia give him her cell number only to ignore his phone call? What the hell was wrong with her? Zelia was a coward for doing it, but she wasn’t ready to talk to Jon yet. The man made her incredibly nervous in HWA and he had the same effect on her in the WWE.

She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready to talk to him, but Zelia knew she couldn’t hide forever. Eventually, a confrontation would happen and she did not look forward to that. Jon was a nice guy, but when pushed he had one hell of a volatile temper. He wasn’t a woman beater, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t become one with Zelia. She was the epitome of pathetic, hating herself for once again running away from him when he deserved an explanation.

This went on for a week straight and every voicemail Jon left became angrier. Zelia didn’t blame him, who could? They were close friends in HWA and when she took off, she cut all contact with everyone. She honestly thought she’d never see any of them again, including Jon. Now he was in the same company as her and Zelia felt like crawling in a dark hole and never coming out again. She constantly looked over her shoulder to make sure Jon wasn’t there whenever she setup for a show and made sure to ask for more time on the catwalk.

Jon was livid. He didn’t understand what the hell Zelia’s problem was, especially since she gave him her cell phone number. He didn’t ask for it. Starting to wonder if maybe it was a false number, the voice on her voicemail nixed that possibility. What was going on? Why had Zelia left and come to the WWE without telling him? Did Zelia think Jon would hate her for going to a better organization or something? He could not figure it out to save his life.

She was the only one he could count on in the HWA because there were times Jon felt like throwing in the towel and giving up wrestling completely. Zelia was his voice of reasoning and lifted his spirits when he needed it. She was his best friend and, somehow, he ended up falling in love with her. Who wouldn’t? She was smart, funny, the sexiest woman he’d ever met and had a heart full of gold. Whenever Jon needed her, she was always there, but naturally he’d been too cowardly to make a move while in HWA. Then she left and he felt lost, alone and abandoned, questioning if it was him that drove her away several times.

All he wanted was an explanation. Even if Zelia told him to go to hell, he just wanted SOMETHING from her, any kind of closure. Jon planned on getting it by any means necessary, his bluish grey eyes turning stormy. He would let Zelia sweat it out for a few more days and then make his move, refusing to let anything get in the way of his career. When Joe and Colby asked him what was wrong, Jon simply blew them off and focused primarily on their current angle.

The Shield had arrived.

It was another Monday night Raw at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Christmas was a few weeks away and Zelia had done zero shopping for her family. Granted, the gifts would have to be mailed because Vince had planned a Raw on Christmas Eve. Everyone would have to fly out late Christmas Eve night and some wouldn’t arrive home until sometime the next day, depending on if there were multiple stops on the way. Zelia didn’t mind too much since her family didn’t exactly support her decision to work in the wrestling business.

“Hey, do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow once we’re out of this stinky state?” Valisa asked, both of them working on connecting one of the ring posts to the squared platform. “I have some serious shopping to do for Christmas and could use the company.”

“Are you a mind reader?” Zelia demanded, sounding amused. “I was thinking of doing the same thing.”

“Then it’s settled, we’re going shopping in Bridgeport. I’m flying there tonight after we take the ring down and I took the liberty to change your plane ticket.” Valisa grinned, knowing it would give them a chance to have some time to talk.

“Thanks.” Zelia didn’t mind considering she’d been leaving to go to the next town after taking the setup down. That way she didn’t stay in the same hotel as Jon. “I know one place I have to go for sure is Yankee Candle, so I hope that town has one.”

“Pretty sure it does, but if not you can always do some of your shopping online.” Valisa suggested, shrugging when Zelia merely quirked a brow in her direction. “Hey, I don’t like it either, but when push comes to shove…”

“Yeah, let’s just try to get as much shopping done WITHOUT having to go online.” Zelia knew she’d have to overnight everything she bought, which would cost a lot of money because of shipping and handling.

Once lunch arrived, Zelia headed outside while Valisa offered to get their food and drinks. She knew Zelia was avoiding Jonathan Good and, being the great friend she was, Valisa decided to help her out. Heading into the cafeteria, Valisa stood in line and sighed at the cologne the man in front of her wore. It was intoxicating. Then Valisa realized he was a member of WWE’s newest terrorist group The Shield. She could tell because he wore black cargo pants and a tactical black vest, his long black hair hanging down his back in wet waves.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Valisa closed her eyes briefly at the sound of Phillip Brooks’ voice behind her and folded her arms in front of her chest. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” She retorted, moving forward when the line did.

“Oh I don’t know about that.” Phillip took another step forward and placed a hand on her hip, his mouth remaining by her ear. “You’ve been avoiding me the last few weeks. What’s wrong?”

“Because I don’t want to see you.” Valisa snorted, feeling extremely uncomfortable and wished she could move away from him, but she’d end up bumping into the long dark haired god from The Shield. “I want you to leave me alone, Brooks. That’s why I’ve been avoiding you, don’t you get it?”

Phillip frowned, wondering what suddenly changed her mind about wanting him. “You’re lying, Valisa. That’s not very nice or smart. Why the change of heart?”

“Because you are way too damn opinionated and you think the whole world revolves around your ass!” Valisa was tired of being prodded and shoved his hand from her hip, scowling. “You’re not my type, now leave me alone unless you want your balls hanging from my Christmas tree.”

Joe heard that and immediately felt his eyes cross, wondering if the lady would actually castrate Brooks, turning around to try diffusing this situation. “Why don’t you go in front of me?” His gentle grey eyes locked on ocean blue and Joe suddenly felt the biggest wave of warmth flow through his big body.

Valisa smiled genuinely, having a similar reaction to him and nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Shooting a glare back at Phillip, Valisa stepped past the dark haired eye candy and could feel him behind her, his body heat seeping into her skin. Phillip didn’t appreciate the rookie sticking his nose into business that wasn’t his and stormed out of the cafeteria to vent his anger privately. Joe merely shook his head and bit back a groan as the scent of sunflowers permeated the air, knowing fully well it came from the caramel haired beauty. He had no idea what Phillip’s problem was with her, but he couldn’t stand hearing anymore castrating comments from her beautiful lips either.

“Are you alright?” He asked softly, keeping his voice low so nobody else would overhear them.

“Yeah, he just doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.” Valisa replied, arriving at the table finally and began piling the plate with double everything. “It’s not just for me.”

“Boyfriend?”

Valisa smirked, raising a brow at the rookie and felt her mouth go dry. “No…”

Joe chuckled, on the inside jumping for joy because he hoped she wasn’t taken already. “I’m Joe.” He extended his hand while holding his plate with the other.

“Valisa.” She watched as his hand practically swallowed hers whole and felt a blush creep into her cheeks.

That was not a name one heard every day, Joe thought, finding it incredibly sexy. “Very nice meeting you, Valisa.” Her name rolled off his tongue in a caress that lit every nerve ending of her body on fire.

“You too, Joe. Thanks again for letting me cut in front of you. I owe you one.” Winking, Valisa decided it was time to take her leave before she ended up jumping him in front of everyone in the cafeteria.

“See you later, honey.” He rumbled, watching her leave the cafeteria and couldn’t help noticing how the red pants she wore hugged her pert backside to perfection. “Damn…”

“Stop dry-humping the woman already.” Jon scolded with a smirk, having witnessed the whole exchange as they both headed over to a nearby table. “Who was that?”

“Some girl I haven’t met yet. Her name’s Valisa. I helped her out since Brooks decided to be a dick.” Joe shook his head, taking a bite out of his sandwich. “Did you eat?”

Jon nodded, looking up when Colby walked in to get his food and waved his hand to let the man know where they were. “Valisa, huh? That’s an unusual name.” Much like Zelia…what was with the names of women in this day and age?

“That’s what I thought too. Do you know her?” Joe asked, chomping on some chips he grabbed and began pouring dressing over his salad.

“No, I can try to find out some info if you want though.” Jon offered, nudging his friend and nodded once at Colby.

“Hey, what are you guys talking about?” Colby asked, seeing the mischievous grin on Jon’s face.

Jon wondered if Joe would mind if he told Colby about his encounter with the caramel haired beauty named Valisa. “Joe boy here has a little crush on a woman and I was offering to help him out.”

“You fucking suck, Good.” Joe growled, grey eyes flashing though pure amusement shined through them. “Dibs.” He stated before Colby could try making a move on her. “I plan on talking to her again.”

“What’s her name?” Colby asked, intrigued while sipping his Gatorade. “Maybe I’ve met her already.”

“I doubt it.”

They looked up when Paul Heyman walked in and headed toward them, all squaring their shoulders. “Gentleman, are we ready for another segment tonight?”

Jon nodded, looking completely serious. “Yes sir.” They knew better than to disrespect one of the company’s legendary managers. It was such an honor to work for a man of his prestige. “We know what’s going down.”

“Good.” Paul’s beady eyes turned on Joe. “You look like you wanna ask me something.” He sat down, folding his hands on the table. “What’s up?” On television, Paul Heyman was a ruthless bastard, but behind the scenes he was one of the most helpful and influential people in the company.

Joe hesitated briefly, wiping his mouth off with a napkin. “I know you’re working with Phillip Brooks and everything, but…I just witnessed something that didn’t set right with me. I didn’t know who to talk to about it.”

“Go on.” Paul ordered, leaning back in the chair folding his arms in front of his chest.

Joe proceeded to explain what happened between Phillip and Valisa, trying to sound indifferent when all he really wanted to do was bash Phillip’s head in. “I don’t think it’s right for any woman, no matter what she’s done, to be harassed by anyone, male or female.”

Paul agreed, wondering what the deal with Phillip was lately and sighed. “I do know he’s been having…issues with Valisa lately.”

“So you know who she is?” Jon piped in, raising a brow and smiled. “Just curious, sorry.”

“Yes, she’s part of the ring crew for the company, but if you want my honest opinion, I think she’d be better in front of the camera.” Paul smiled back, though his expression looked troubled for obvious reasons. “I’ll talk to Brooks about this. He’s the WWE champion and he can’t afford to have any bad feedback backstage. I’m glad you came to me with this, Joe.”

Joe nodded, shaking Paul’s hand along with the rest of the guys. “I’m sorry if I’m causing trouble, but no lady deserves to be treated that way.” So Valisa worked as part of the ring crew…that was very interesting news to hear.

“Hey Paul, can I ask you something else?” Jon stopped the man before he could walk away, standing from the table with desperate bluish grey eyes.

“Sure son, what is it?”

“Does Valisa know Zelia Bell?” He asked nonchalantly, or so he tried making it sound like.

Paul nodded, smiling. “Two lovely ladies, they’re best friends. I really have to go, but I’ll see you later on for the segment taping.” They were doing it live to give the audience a little spice.

“Isn’t Zelia the woman you confronted a few weeks ago at Survivor Series?” Colby asked, looking up at Jon and shared a perplexed look with Joe.

Jon nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he took his seat again, the wheels in his head already in motion. “Yeah and I think I have the perfect way to finally get her to talk to me.” He’d explained everything to both of them, considering Joe and Colby his closest friends. “Joe, you said you wanna talk to Valisa again, right?”

Joe didn’t know if he liked where this was going, looking skeptical. “Sure, maybe…” He drew that word out, wondering what was going through Jon’s head. “Why?”

“Well, since Zelia has been avoiding me and refuses to answer my calls, I think a surprise encounter is in order.” Jon smirked, rubbing his hands together as his bluish grey eyes gleamed with mischievousness.

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“Simple.”

Joe listened to everything Jon said along with Colby and had to admit the plan sounded flawless. He didn’t know if he could pull it off though because it would require digging into Valisa’s personal life. Jon was desperate though and he did want to help his friend, so maybe Valisa would feel the same way about Zelia. There was only one way to find out. Agreeing to do what Jon requested, the three men headed out of the cafeteria to do the show that night, pushing everything else in their lives on the backburner for the moment.

Chapter 3

“You seriously want to drive at 2 AM to Bridgeport?”

Zelia nodded, taking a bite out of her sandwich with a content sigh, starving since she hadn’t ate anything all day. “I’ve been doing it a lot lately.” She admitted, knowing Valisa thought she just left extremely early since she hadn’t been able to catch her at the hotels.

“You have lost your mind. Why not just talk to him and get it over with?” Valisa demanded, hating that her friend was literally running away from a man. “What’s the worst thing that can happen honestly?”

“It’s not about that. I just…I’m not ready yet. I know I’m being a chicken about it, but…you didn’t see the look in his eyes. He was shocked to see me here and I also saw betrayal. I just need a little more time to get my thoughts in order and then I’ll talk to him. But not until I’m ready. And if he doesn’t like it, tough.” Zelia refused to be pushed to talk to Jon because it was a very sensitive and sore subject for her. “Now why do you look flushed?”

Valisa could tell the subject was closed as far as Jonathan Good went and explained what happened with Phillip in the cafeteria. Then she mentioned Joe and a big smile crossed her face, ocean blue eyes sparkling at the thought of him. In the almost 6 years Zelia worked for the WWE, she’d never once witnessed Valisa smile that wide over a man. Granted, they both dated wrestlers, or tried too, but it never worked out, mostly due to egos getting in the way.

“I have to tell you, it was incredibly sweet of him to let me go in front of him just to get me away from that idiot.” Valisa shook her head, taking a bite out of her own sandwich, chewing thoughtfully.

“Yeah it was, who would’ve thought the Shield guys could be gentlemen?” Zelia snickered, taking a sip of her water and looked up at the stars, wearing a long sleeved light blue top and dark blue jeans since it was wintertime. “So what happens if he talks to you again? Or better yet, what if he asked you out?”

“Are you kidding? I’d accept.” Valisa replied with no hesitation, smirking. “I told you, he can reign over me anytime.”

“Oh my god, change of subject NOW.”

Lunch finished as both headed back inside the arena to finish setting up for the night’s show. It began lightly snowing, but nothing would stop Zelia from leaving that night after they took the set down. Not unless a huge blizzard swept through in the next few hours, which wouldn’t happen. Valisa hated driving at night, so Zelia would be traveling alone. She didn’t mind it and stopped in the women’s restroom to use the facilities really fast. After she finished, Zelia washed her hands and dried them, walking out only to slam right into Randy Orton.

“Damn it.” Zelia muttered, rubbing her chest since it felt like she’d just slammed into a brick wall and slowly looked up until jade met mystic blue.

Randy smirked, having a hold of Zelia’s upper arms and wasn’t surprised when she pulled away from him. “What I don’t get an apology?” He asked cockily, watching her try to walk around him.

“You don’t deserve one.” Zelia shot back, feeling him following her and scowled, tempted to mule kick him when he pushed her against the wall. “What the hell do you want, Orton? I’m going to be late for work if you don’t let me go.”

“Like I care.” Randy snorted, giving her a onceover and ran a finger down her cheek, chuckling as Zelia swatted him away. “I think I do deserve an apology. Or better yet, a kiss…”

Whatever made Zelia decide to date this clown, she would never know and still hadn’t figured it out yet. He was pompous, arrogant and downright cruel when the situation called for it. Randy also had a temper that was explosive, one of the many reasons Zelia ended their relationship. She couldn’t handle it or the fact he tried controlling everything she did, including who her friends were. Needless to say, after 4 months of that, Zelia kicked him to the curb with a big smile on her face.

“How about a kick to your balls?” Zelia retorted sweetly, gritting her teeth when he stepped closer to her, pinning her to the wall to where she had nowhere to go. “Randy, I’m warning you…”

“Just one little kiss…” He pressed, his hot breath blowing across her face and turned his head, tapping his cheek. “Right here and I’ll let you leave.”

Jade eyes turned acidic instantly as Zelia felt her hand twitch, deciding to give this dickhead what he wanted. “Just one?” She asked quietly, acting as if she’d go through with it and watched the triumph enter those mystic blue eyes.

“Yeah, just one.”

“Okay.”

Leaning forward, Zelia looked as though she would actually do it and, a second later, a loud smack echoed throughout the hallway they stood in. Randy’s head snapped to the side further, making his neck ache from the velocity of the blow, but he didn’t move from his stance. Instead, his head just slowly turned back to face her until evil mystic blues turned pure ice, his upper lip curling in a sneer. A red handprint marred the side of his face, the shape clear as day and Randy decided he’d return the favor. Just before his hand could collide with Zelia’s face, a large hand wrapped around his wrist and hurled him away from her.

Zelia sighed with relief at the sight of Glen Jacobs and Bryan Danielson, –the WWE fans knew him as Daniel Bryan or D-Bry- who were two of her closest friends besides Valisa. Glen had offered to train her to become a wrestler, but after a few sessions with the giant, Zelia respectfully walked away. Bryan was a sweetheart and a phenomenal wrestler, always lighting it up whenever he was in the ring. They were currently the WWE tag team champions and known as Team Hell No.

“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doin’, Orton?” Glen demanded angrily, hazel eyes narrowed, wanting to beat him to a bloody pulp for THINKING about putting his hands on Zelia.

“You must really have a death wish.” Bryan muttered, heading over to check over Zelia, thankful she seemed to be perfectly unscathed. “Big Red, she’s alright. Just let him go, he’s not worth it. We got more important things to worry about.”

“Get the fuck out of here and don’t let me catch you near her again or you will regret it.” Glen promised, watching as Randy scampered down the hallway with his tail tugged between his legs and turned to face the woman he considered a little sister. “Are you really okay?”

Zelia nodded, shaken up from that encounter with her ex-boyfriend. “Thanks you guys.” She murmured, hugging Bryan and then reached up on her tiptoes to embrace Glen. “I shouldn’t have slapped him, but he pissed me off.”

“I know, I saw the whole thing. I was waitin’ to see what he’d do. He wasn’t layin’ a finger on you, believe that, Zel.” Glen released her, giving her a cursory onceover and smirked, glancing at her hand. “That was one hell of a slap, I’ll give you that.”

“Yeah, I’ve been sort of working out a little more lately.” Zelia replied sheepishly, shaking her hand since it still stung from the slap. She’d put all of her strength into it.

“Havin’ a change of heart to get in the ring?” Glen asked, hoping she was because he knew she’d make it as a Diva and could potentially bring honor and prestige back to the Diva’s championship.

“No, just wanna be able to defend myself. I wouldn’t mind learning how to deliver some of Bryan’s lethal kicks.” Zelia joked, jade eyes glittering.

“We’ll see, but just to be on the safe side, let’s take you to Larry to check you over.” Bryan’s arm wrap around her waist just as Brianna and Nicole Garcia-Colace approached them. They were known to the WWE fans as Brie and Nikki Bella ‘The Bella Twins’ and Bryan currently dated Brianna. “Hey babe.”

“What happened?” Brianna asked, looking concerned and knew Bryan was close friends with Zelia, so she didn’t feel insecure. “Is she okay?”

“That’s not necessary, Bryan.” Zelia sighed when Glen proceeded to lift her up in his arms, one arm under her legs and the other around her back, her head resting on his shoulder. “You’re not gonna take no for an answer are you?”

“Nope, you should know me better than that.” Glen grinned, hazel eyes sparkling and nodded down at Bryan. “She’s fine, Brianna. Just had a nasty encounter with someone that needs an ass kickin’.”

“God, it wasn’t Randy was it?” Brianna asked, immediately gagging along with Nicole, both of them looking identical as they stuck their finger down their throats. “I’ll never forget what that asshole did to my bag years back.”

Nicole wrinkled her nose in disgust, groaning. “Brie, don’t bring that up please.”

“Sorry.” Brianna felt Bryan wrap an arm around her waist, kissing the top of her head. “You need to get checked out, Zel. Just to be on the safe side.”

Contrary to what many thought, backstage Brianna and Nicole were some of the sweetest women Zelia ever met and she had zero problems with them. “I don’t think I have a choice since Big Red has a hold of me. I just hope Ben doesn’t kill me for being late coming back from lunch.” She wished death upon Randy for this, scowling.

“You let me worry about Ben.” Bryan stated, thankful his girlfriend wasn’t jealous of Zelia since he considered the woman to be a little sister like Glen did. “I’ll go talk to him discreetly and explain what happened. No need for this to get out any more than it already has.”

“We won’t say anything either.” Brianna assured her softly, looking at her sister.

“Absolutely. I need to go find John though and finalize plans for dinner tonight. Catch you guys later.” Nicole took off down the hallway, wondering if she should mention this to her boyfriend since he was a locker room leader of the WWE.

“Thanks you guys, I appreciate it.” Zelia felt Glen start walking and sighed, hoping everyone was too busy getting ready for the show so they didn’t see her being carted off to the trainer’s room.

Glen felt her apprehension and dared anyone to say a word to her in front of him, glancing down at her. “You’re troubled about somethin’, sweet pea. I can feel it. Wanna talk about it?” He asked in a low rumble, taking his time since he hadn’t seen much of Zelia the last few weeks.

Zelia wasn’t sure if telling Glen her past with Jonathan Good was a smart thing to do, chewing her bottom lip nervously. “Not yet.” She knew Glen wouldn’t press her about it, one of the many reasons she trusted him.

There was no reason to push the issue because Glen knew Zelia would eventually come out with whatever bothered her. “I’m here for you, so is Bryan. Don’t forget that. You’ve been scarce the last couple weeks. We’ve missed you.”

“I won’t and I’m sorry. Just been leaving every night after a show and going to the next town.” Zelia couldn’t believe how much her avoidance of Jon had affected her friends, feeling guilty about it. “I’m driving to Bridgeport tonight if you wanna join me. It’s only an hour and 45 minutes away from here. Up to you though, Big Red.”

Glen wondered why she didn’t just stay in the hotel the WWE provided, but kept his thoughts to himself and decided to take her up on her offer. One: He didn’t want her driving by herself in the middle of the night. Two: He honestly missed his little sister and figured she’d come clean about whatever had her running to the next towns over the past 3 weeks.

“What time do you get done with takin’ down the set?” Glen asked, a natural night owl so he’d more than likely still be up whenever she finished.

“Around 2 or 3 AM. I’ll understand if you can’t come with me, I was just offering since you missed me.” Zelia grinned up at him, feeling his lips brush across her forehead and sighed when they arrived at the trainer’s office.

When Zelia first started in the WWE back in 2007, everyone automatically assumed her and Glen were dating because their friendship came naturally. Too naturally to some. She couldn’t help that Glen was incredibly easy to talk to and get along with. He was a great listener and gave great advice in return, especially to a newcomer. He welcomed her with open arms and didn’t have to, but since he’d been around the company since 1997, he had a lot of respect in the locker room. The rumors were quickly squashed when Glen started treating her like a little sister, even calling her ‘sis’ on occasion. People got the hint and moved on. Bryan became her friend through Glen shortly after he debuted and things just snowballed from there. They were also close with Valisa, more so than Zelia since they’d known her longer.

“What happened?” Larry asked as soon as Glen walked inside his office carrying Zelia.

“She had a nasty encounter with Orton.” Glen knew Larry would keep his mouth shut and whatever was said in his office remained confidential. “Need you to look her over, make sure she’s okay.”

“Glen…” Zelia groaned, feeling her cheeks growing hot as he set her on the bedding and kept her eyes glued to her lap. “This isn’t necessary…”

“Yes it is, now shut up and let him look you over. It’ll give this old man a peace of mind.” Glen said simply with a smirk, knowing he had to go get his makeup done before the show. “The faster you let Larry look you over, the faster you can get back to work and I can go get my contact put in.”

“Fine…” Zelia grumbled, rolling her eyes and let Larry do his job.

“She’s good, nothing wrong from what I can tell.” Larry confirmed a few minutes later, feeling Glen watching him like a hawk. “You really should listen to the lady next time, Jacobs.”

“Why, got somethin’ better to do?” Glen shot back, folding his arms in front of his massive chest.

“No, not really, but I’m sure it was embarrassing for her that she had to be carried down here by you.”

“Good point.” Glen muttered, running a hand through his curly brown ringlets. “I’m walkin’ you down to the ring just to make sure that asshole doesn’t try somethin’ else.”

“My personal bodyguard, how nice.” Zelia joked, hopping off the table and walked out of Larry’s office with Glen, thankful he hadn’t lifted her long sleeved shirt all the way.

Randy did bruise her when he grabbed her after slamming into him, but what Glen and Larry didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

Chapter 4

Thanks to Randy’s loud mouth ranting and raving about what happened with his ex-girlfriend, word spread quickly around the locker room. Glen and Bryan wanted to maim him, but naturally Randy refused to keep his mouth shut. He had the handprint shaped bruise on his face to prove what happened, so there was no denying it. Luckily though, nobody mentioned it or questioned Zelia what happened, everyone focusing on their work. Even Valisa didn’t ask about it because she knew it would only upset Zelia, which wouldn’t be good for doing their job.

During their backstage segment with Paul Heyman, he mentioned something about Zelia being attacked by Randy Orton. Jon’s head snapped up, bluish grey eyes clouding over with barely contained rage, his jaw tightening. Paul and Colby didn’t seem to notice thankfully, but Joe caught it and placed a hand on Jon’s shoulder, trying to get him to calm down. What did he mean Zelia was attacked by Randy Orton? Jon wanted to kill him and stood up when Paul announced they were ready to film the segment. He cracked his knuckles and neck, squared his shoulders and looked directly into the camera, eyes full of fire.

During the show, Zelia made herself scarce in Glen and Bryan’s locker room with Valisa, needing to rest as much as possible. Her upper arms were sore from being grabbed and overworked, but Zelia pushed through it expertly. Glen made sure to remind the girls to lock the door behind them and Zelia did not argue, for once agreeing with his suggestion. They already had food and drinks, having grabbed them on their last break and piled them in the locker room. Thankfully, there was a couch in the dressing room, so both girls piled on it laying opposite and sprawled out while watching the show.

Halfway through, a soft knock sounded at the door, causing both girls to look at each other. It wasn’t Glen’s secret knock he came up with Bryan, so they were hesitant to answer it. When they heard Stephanie McMahon-Levesque’s voice echo through it, Valisa stood up and wondered what the princess wanted, unlocking the door to open it.

“Hey Steph, what’s up?” Valisa greeted with a smile, chewing on a piece of gum.

“Hey Val, I need to talk to Zelia.” Stephanie smiled back, keeping a professional tone to her voice. “It’s about what happened with Randy.”

“I’m not signing anything.” Zelia called back, not moving from the couch and chomped on a Snickers candy bar, her favorite.

“Actually, he’s filing a charge against you.” Stephanie informed her, stepping into the room past Valisa and handed over the document. “You struck him and he said he didn’t provoke you.”

“The hell he didn’t!” Zelia rarely lost her temper, but this was a new low for Randy Orton. “I walked out of the women’s bathroom and slammed into him accidentally. Personally, I think he was there waiting for me. He’s a creeper. Then he wanted an apology and I refused to give him one, so he pinned me against the wall and wouldn’t let me go back to work. Then he taunted me by trying to make me kiss his cheek as an ‘apology’ so I slapped the taste out of his mouth. It was self-defense and I can always file an assault charge, which I’m sure is what’s in your hand, right?”

Valisa gaped, ocean blues wide because she hadn’t known what Randy Orton did, only that it was some form of an attack. “He put his hands on her, Stephanie. That’s assault and she defended herself.”

Stephanie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and didn’t know any of this newfound information because Randy had made it sound like Zelia provoked him. Not the other way around. “I should’ve known. Alright. I’ll be having a talk with Randy and I want both of you to try to stay away from each other. If he tries talking to you again, come directly to me, Zelia. We’re cracking down on assault and sexual harassment around here and he could lose his job if he touches you again.”

That would be a blessing, Zelia thought, and already knew she’d go to Glen and Bryan before Stephanie. She didn’t like the bosses or respect them, especially Stephanie’s husband, Paul. He thought the world shined out of his ass just as much as Randy did and refused to put new blood over, always hogging the spotlight for himself. Because she loved her job, Zelia kept those thoughts to herself, simply smiling and nodding at Stephanie.

“Good, thank you for telling me what happened. Sorry to bother you with this and I’m glad you got checked out by Larry too. That was wise of you.” Stephanie walked out and Valisa closed the door behind her, shaking her head.

“She really has changed since taking over.” Valisa muttered, walking back over to take her spot on the couch again. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine, stop talking about it.” Zelia grunted, not in the mood to think about Randy Orton as she downed half her water bottle, trying to calm her boiling blood. “The Shield segment is next, I think.”

The Shield closed the show out in one big fight that involved Team Hell No, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, –Nick Nemeth was his real name- Big Show, –Paul Wight- Sheamus, -Stephen Farrelly- and John Cena. The show ended with all these men piled in the ring beating the hell out of each other. Zelia smiled in spite of everything that happened, her eyes following Jon’s every move on the monitor. Valisa was busy ogling Joe, wondering if he’d ever consider going out with her or at least spending the night in her bed.

Vince McMahon decided to save the backstage segment with the Shield and Paul Heyman for another Raw, which nobody minded. Jon arrived backstage, feeling triumphant since they pulled off another successful in-ring segment. As much as he wanted to celebrate, he couldn’t get what Paul Heyman said out of his mind about Zelia. He had to check on her, even if she didn’t want to see him right now.

“Jon, where are you going?” Joe asked, catching up to his friend and clamped his hand on the man’s shoulder stopping him.

“I have to make sure she’s alright.” Jon growled, shrugging Joe’s hand off his shoulder and continued on his way down the hallway.

Joe followed him, having a feeling Valisa would be with Zelia and couldn’t wait to see her again. “Do you know where she is?”

“I heard something about Glen Jacobs carting her off to the trainer’s room. So I’ll start with him and hopefully get some info on where she’s at.” Jon explained, picking up into a jog to get to the dressing room faster.

“She’s not here.” Glen said as soon as Jon and Joe arrived, quirking a brow at both of them. “Why do you wanna find her?”

“It’s a long story and I don’t have time to get into it.” Jon was frustrated, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Just…just tell me if she’s okay. I heard something about Randy Orton attacking her and you took her to the trainer’s room. Did he hurt her?”

How the hell did the rookie know Zelia? Word traveled fast around the locker room and Glen hated it, deciding to put Jon’s worry to rest. “She’s fine, just got a little shook up. And if I were you, I wouldn’t bother her tonight. Let her do her job, you can talk to her some other time.” His tone implied that was an order, not a request.

“Hey Big Red, can I-” Valisa’s words faltered as soon as her eyes landed on Joe, swallowing hard. “Oh, sorry…”

Joe raised a brow, wondering what the hell Valisa was doing in Glen Jacobs’ dressing room. She said she didn’t have a boyfriend, had she lied to him? Was she screwing Glen? Joe was never one to jump to conclusions and wouldn’t start now, simply smiling back at her.

“Is everything okay?”

Glen nodded, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, they were just askin’ about Zelia. Apparently, Orton needs a lesson in keepin’ his damn mouth shut.”

Valisa scowled briefly, not liking the sound of that and slowly turned ocean blues on Jon. The worry in his eyes touched her and Valisa wanted to help him somehow, someway. She couldn’t betray Zelia though, not wanting to jeopardize her friendship in any way. Still, Valisa truly believed Zelia needed a small nudge to get her to talk to Jon instead of constantly dodging him like she’d been doing. Looking up at Glen, she could see the questions swirling around the big man’s head and knew Zelia hadn’t told him about her past with Jon. It wasn’t her place to tell him and she knew Zelia would come clean eventually, possibly on their drive to Bridgeport later that night.

“Walk me down to gorilla position?” She looped her arm through Jon’s, flashing a heart stopping smile and winked over her shoulder at a perplexed Glen, walking down the hallway with both Shield members.

Jon had no idea what thoughts flowed through this woman’s mind, but was intrigued nonetheless. “What’s this about?” He asked, keeping his voice down while Joe moved to walk on the other side of Valisa.

“Zelia would kill me for doing this, but…I’m tired of seeing her moping around and avoiding you. Yes, she told me everything, Jon. Nice to meet you, by the way.” Valisa chortled, the smile never leaving her face. “She thinks you hate her and that she betrayed you because she left without telling you back in 2006.”

Jon nodded, surprisingly feeling comfortable enough to talk to Valisa about his past with Zelia. “I just wanna know why she left. I never found out and nobody would talk. I don’t hate her, I can’t believe she thinks that. So that’s why she’s been avoiding me, huh?”

“Yes and it’s getting to the point where she’s hardly getting any sleep.” Now the smile vanished from Valisa’s face and a worried frown took over. “I’m afraid she’s gonna end up falling asleep at the wheel one night and wrecking her car. She’s been leaving after we take the set down and, instead of going back to the hotel in town, she leaves to go to the next one. I didn’t realize she was doing it until today and figured she’d just left super early after getting a few hours of sleep after work. Tonight, Glen is riding with her just to make sure she’s alright and he even volunteered to drive so she could get some sleep. This has to stop and she needs to talk to you.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” Jon shot back, his frustration taking over briefly. “I can’t force her to talk to me if she doesn’t want to.”

“I know.” Valisa assured him, stopping just outside of the gorilla position. “That’s why I’m interfering. We’re going Christmas shopping in Bridgeport tomorrow afternoon sometime before the Smackdown! taping. I planned on talking to Joe about having a ‘surprise’ run-in with the two of you wherever we’re shopping at, but now that I have you here maybe you can come up with something better.”

Was this woman a mind reader? Jon had planned Joe to talk to Valisa and try to weasel information out of her on Zelia’s whereabouts. They planned on going wherever the women were and surprising them. Now here Valisa was plotting the exact same plan he had in mind and it boggled him to say the least. Joe liked Valisa even more and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting her know he was on board with the plan.

“You actually want to help me?” Jon pulled away from Valisa, turning to fully face her. “You don’t know me.”

“True, but I do know Zelia and I hate seeing her in pain. I can also tell when someone isn’t trustworthy and a bad person. Randy Orton is, you are not.” She touched his shoulder with soft friendly ocean blues. “I can see the pain in your eyes too, you’ve missed her.”

Jon cleared his throat, lowering his eyes from hers and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just want answers.” He muttered, blinking when Valisa smacked his shoulder. “Hey! What’s that for?”

“Trying to bullshit me.” Valisa smirked, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Care to try again?”

“No…” Jon rubbed his shoulder, not believing how much that actually hurt. “You’ve got a mean slap, lady.”

“Just use my name or call me Vali.” She requested, her eyes never leaving his. “You miss Zelia, admit it.”

Jon growled, hating being scolded and shot Joe a glare when he began chuckling. “Can it.” He ordered, tearing a hand through his still damp hair. “Fine, I miss her. That stays between us though, understand?”

Valisa grinned, nodding. “You got it. I won’t say a word. Now I know she wants to go to the Yankee Candle store in Bridgeport. I looked it up and there is one. I think that’ll be the best place to have this ‘surprise’ meeting. Or do you want to meet somewhere else?”

Jon thought about it for a second, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Yeah that’ll work, she won’t be able to get away from me easily with all that glass around. I appreciate your help with this, Valisa.”

“Not a problem, you seem like a good guy and from how she talked about the past, you two were close. It’d be nice for her to have fresh people to hang out with besides me, Big Red and D-Bry.” Occasionally, when they needed a girl’s night out Brianna and Nicole would tag along, but it didn’t happen often enough.

“I just hope she doesn’t mind we’re about to go to war with Team Hell No.” Joe stated, having stayed quiet up until now, his voice a low rumble from deep in his chest.

“Nah, not unless you’re assholes and try to really hurt them.” Valisa assured him, feeling Joe’s grey eyes pierce her deeply and reluctantly tore her gaze from them to look back at Jon. “Give me your number and I’ll text you when we’re on our way to Yankee Candle. If I were you, since Bridgeport is less than 2 hours from here, I would leave tonight like she is. I would, but I hate driving at night.”

“You can travel with us if you want.” Joe blurted out before he could stop himself and cleared his throat. “We planned on leaving anyway.”

Valisa raised a brow, wondering if she should take Joe up on his offer and chewed her bottom lip. “That’s tempting, we could talk more about the plan.” That was her excuse to spend more time with Joe and Valisa would stick to it like glue. “Do you mind, Jon?”

Jon saw Joe’s pleading eyes and knew he couldn’t deny his friend anything, shaking his head. “Not at all, maybe you’ll have a better music selection than this idiot.” He joked, looking at the curtain and knew Valisa had to get to work. “What time do you get off?”

“Around 2 or 3, depending. Sometimes we have issues with the set being taken down.” Valisa handed over her keycard to Joe, trusting him a little more than Jon at the moment. “Grab my things out of my room at the hotel and just pick me up here. It’s pointless to make an unnecessary trip and all of my things are packed up already. Thanks guys.” Winking, Valisa slipped through the curtain and headed down the ramp, waving off Benjamin when he merely glared at her.

Joe looked down at the keycard and then back up at Jon, swallowing hard. “We better get moving. You think Colby will mind her tagging along?”

“No, he’s traveling with a couple of the other guys.”

Both men headed down the hallway toward their locker room to pick up their things before driving to the hotel, knowing tomorrow would be very interesting.

Chapter 5

“Ready to go?”

Zelia nodded, walking toward Glen in the hotel lobby with bags in hand, ready to hit the road. She changed into a pair of tiger striped fleece pajama pants –Tigers were her favorite animal- and a long sleeved black top, a black hooded sweatshirt over it. Snow began falling shortly after arriving at the hotel, so Zelia knew she had to bundle up for the trip. Her black hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, black gloves on her hands and her feet were encased in black fuzzy moccasin boots.

“Are you sure you want to drive?” Zelia asked, feeling guilty she extended his invitation to Glen and sighed when he nodded. “You don’t have to…”

“Yes I do. You need to sleep and I’m still wide awake. It’s not that far of a drive.” Glen assured her, his attire simple black sweatpants with a long sleeved grey sweater, his hair pulled back in a low tail. “Now stop tryin’ to change my mind, woman. It’s not gonna work.”

Rolling her eyes, Zelia walked past him out the door and yelped when Glen smacked her backside, shooting him a playful glare. “I’m not into foreplay with a married man, Jacobs.” She smirked, hearing him growl and laughed, dodging another smack. “Now what would Crystal have to say about this?”

“You’re askin’ for it.” Glen grunted, opening the passenger door for her and took her bags, tossing them in the backseat along with his.

“Always.”

A few minutes later, they were on the road heading toward the I-95 North toward Bridgeport, Connecticut. Glen waited until the temperature gauge in the SUV to move before turning the heat on, not wanting cold air blasted on him. He sighed at the warm air flowing through the vents and Zelia positioned the seat back, curling up against it. Once her hands didn’t feel like ice cubes anymore, Zelia took them off and stared out the window, her thoughts shifting to Jon.

What was she going to do about him? Zelia couldn’t run from him forever unless she left the WWE altogether. There was no way she’d ever give her job up, not for anyone or anything in the world. Her problem was she was afraid of rejection because she missed Jon so much. It physically hurt her every time she watched him on the monitor or caught a glance of him in the cafeteria or hallways. Zelia was scared and didn’t know if she could handle Jon walking away from her, frowning at the possibility.

“So, somethin’ interestin’ happened tonight after the show.” Glen said, breaking the silence between them as the radio played very softly through the speakers.

“Like what?” She asked quietly, turning her head to look at Glen with curiosity swirling in her jade eyes.

“Well, you know who the Shield is right?” Glen decided to play dumb for the moment to see how long it took Zelia to come clean about Jon. “Two of the guys in that group came to my dressing room.”

Slowly sitting up straight, Zelia shifted to fully face him and folded her arms in front of her chest. “What about them?” Her tone was blunt and even, lips pursed tightly together.

“One of them in particular asked about you. The blonde, Jon I believe his name is? He asked if you were okay because he’d heard about the attack with Orton. I told him you were fine and to leave you alone tonight since you had work to do. Seems like he knew you, care to explain?” He kept his tone calm and soft, feeling the tension fill the SUV.

Zelia breathed a little easier and lowered her eyes from Glen to her lap, closing her eyes briefly. “Do I have to?” She murmured, wrapping her hands together nervously.

“No, but I do admit I’m intrigued. I wasn’t aware you knew any of the new blood.”

“Jon and I go way back.” Zelia admitted, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to tell Glen about her past with Jon because maybe he could give her advice on what to do.

“So what happened?”

For the next hour, Zelia explained everything about Jonathan Good. From the time she first met him in HWA to when she’d been released due to the harsh economy. Glen asked a question every couple minutes during the explanation, mostly the same thing Valisa had asked her when she first found out. The sparkle and life in Zelia’s eyes was something Glen had never seen in all the years he’d known Zelia and knew it had to do with Jonathan Good. She was in love with the man and it seemed as though Jon felt the same way about her because of how worried he was about Zelia earlier that night.

When Zelia finished her explanation and stories, Glen remained quiet for a little while, letting everything he heard sink in. “So, let me see if I’ve got this right and you can interrupt me if I say somethin’ wrong. You got fired from Heartland Wrestling Association because of a bad economy supposedly and then left without sayin’ a word to anyone, includin’ Jon? And now you’re terrified of what the consequences will be once you finally tell him the reason you left because you think he hates you, correct?”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

Glen shook his hand and reached over, grabbing her hand squeezing tightly. “Zel, what makes you think that man hates you? What happened wasn’t your fault. Granted, it was shitty that you left him high and dry without an explanation, but it was a bad situation back then. He has no idea why you left and, until you tell him, you’ll never be at peace with yourself. And for the record, he doesn’t hate you.”

“How can you be so sure?” Zelia blinked as huge tears slid down her cheeks, looking down at their clasped hands and sniffled, wiping them away.

“Because you didn’t see the amount of worry in the man’s eyes tonight when he came to check on you. He cares about you, Zelia.” Glen said truthfully, being completely honest with her and felt his chest tighten at her tears. “Please don’t cry, you know what that does to me. I can’t handle you cryin’. Tears me up.”

“Sorry.” Zelia mumbled, pulling her hand out of Glen’s to wipe her tears away with the sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt. “So you think I should talk to him?”

“Yes, runnin’ away isn’t gonna solve your problems. Just talk to him and make it clear that, if he hurts you, he’ll have to deal with me personally.” Glen had to add that stipulation in there, acting like the protective big brother Zelia needed in her life. “That goes for Valisa too with the other one.”

“Ah yes, Joe I think his name is. I’ll be sure to relay the message to her, Big Red.” She winked, trying to ease the tension in the SUV and squeezed his hand this time. “Thanks for your help. I knew you’d help me see the light. I’ll give it a couple more days and then track him down.”

Unbeknownst to Zelia, Glen knew about Valisa’s planned surprise meeting with Jon and Joe later that day. That’s why he wanted to try softening the blow as much as possible without giving anything away. He succeeded and managed to get the full story as well regarding Jon and Zelia’s past, mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done. Glen would have to thank his best friend, Mark Calaway, the next time they saw each other, which would be soon since WrestleMania season was upon them.

45 minutes later, they arrived at the hotel and Glen wasn’t surprised to see Zelia had fallen asleep. Crying always wore her out. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw this woman cry since she was usually so full of life and fire. Sighing, he made a quick decision and grabbed their bags from the backseat before carefully maneuvering her into his arms. It wasn’t the first time Zelia bunked with him and Glen knew it wouldn’t be the last as he carried her inside the hotel, retrieving his keycard from the front desk.

Later that day, Zelia woke up to the sound of her blaring cell phone and groaned, putting a pillow over her head. When it kept ringing, Zelia growled and slowly pushed herself up from the bed, letting out a long yawn. Her blurred vision cleared and Zelia could smell the coffee brewing, wondering what time it was. She flipped her phone open and saw it just turned noon, the missing calls being from Valisa naturally. Glancing around the room, Zelia spotted a few things sprawled around the room and it dawned on her she’d stayed in Glen’s room. She didn’t remember falling asleep in the SUV, but apparently it happened.

“Not mad at me are you?” Glen asked, walking out of the bathroom with a pair of blue jeans on, brushing his teeth.

“No not at all.” Zelia stretched her arms in the air and let out another yawn, standing to walk over to the mini kitchen where the brewing coffee called to her. “I officially love you for having coffee ready for me.”

Glen smirked, kissing the top of her head. “I figured you’d need it since you have to shop with Valisa today. I’m glad I’m not you.”

Zelia chuckled, filling the cup halfway with sugar before adding the black liquid, the smell pure heaven. “What?” She demanded when Glen just quirked a brow down at her.

“Don’t you think that’s a little too much sugar?”

“No, I like a little coffee in my sugar, Big Red.” Winking, Zelia sipped her coffee and sat back down on the bed, flipping her phone open again to call Valisa back.

“Where the hell have you been?” Valisa demanded, sounding a little out of breath. “Are you in Bridgeport? Because the hotel doesn’t have you in their system since you didn’t check-in this morning. Did you decide to go back to the hotel in Newark?”

“Woman, one question at a time.” Zelia grumbled, already feeling a headache approaching and smiled when Glen handed her a bottle of aspirin. ‘Thank you.’ She mouthed, popping two Ibuprofen and downed them with some coffee. “I stayed with Glen last night.”

“She fell asleep and I didn’t want to wake her up!” Glen called loud enough so Valisa could clearly hear him through the phone, pulling a red shirt on.

Zelia put Valisa on speaker phone, trying not to look amused as Valisa scolded Glen angrily. “Well thanks for telling me, Big Red. I thought something happened and Orton got his hands on her again! You could’ve at least sent me a text message letting me know you two made it safely. I barely got any sleep because of this!”

Glen sighed, rolling his eyes. “Sorry Valisa.” He muttered, walking around the bed to grab his shoes.

“You should’ve known I was safe since I was with Big Red anyway, Vali.” Zelia added with a smirk, leaning back against the bed trying to wake up a little more. “So I take it you arrived?”

“Yeah, I drove last night.” There was no way Valisa could tell Zelia about her ride with Joe and Jon. “It wasn’t that long of a drive and I didn’t want to miss our opportunity to shop today.”

“Fine, come up to Glen’s room because I just woke up and I still have to get ready. We can order breakfast and then head out.” Zelia suggested, making it sound more like an order than anything since she wasn’t nowhere ready to go out in public at the moment.

“382.” Glen said helpfully, squeezing Zelia’s shoulder briefly. “Order whatever you want and put it on my tab. No arguments.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I want too.” Glen cut her off, holding up his hand with a smile. “I’m goin’ out for my workout. I got the keycard to your room if you want it or you can stay here again tonight. But you are not drivin’ after the show tonight. Don’t think about it. Your choice.” He walked out with gym bag in hand, heading out to meet Bryan for their workout and to talk about work.

Zelia sighed, standing up with her coffee to walk over to stare out the balcony window. “He can be such an ass at times.”

Valisa giggled, already on her way up to Glen’s room since she was on the floor below them. “Yeah, he means well though and he’s worried about you. We all are, sweetie.”

“I know, I’m gonna stop running from Jon. I just need to find the right time to talk to him. Maybe in a few more days.” Zelia hoped, drawing her eyebrows together worriedly.

Valisa knew today while they shopped would be the right time due to her surprise plan. Jon was tired of Zelia running away from him and Valisa was putting a stop to it. She just hoped Zelia forgave her for conspiring with Jon to get her to talk to him and realized she was only trying to help. Glen agreed with the plan because he didn’t want Zelia driving at night anymore, not with how tired she’d been earlier that morning when they left Newark. If she’d been driving, Glen was sure she would’ve crashed and that scared Valisa more than words could say.

“I’m here, now open the door.”

Snapping her cell phone shut, Zelia walked over to open the door for her friend and accepted a small embrace. “I’m finishing this and then hopping in the shower to wake up more. You can just order me the usual breakfast special they have, no sausage though. Get whatever you want. And I’m paying for it whether Glen likes it or not.” Zelia hated having stuff paid for her, feeling like a charity case and gestured toward the small kitchen. “There’s coffee if you want some too.”

“Oh good! Now get moving, I want to get busy since we have a lot of places to go and not much time.”

“One of them is Yankee Candle right?”

Valisa nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “Absolutely. Now go.”

Smiling, Zelia closed the bathroom door behind her and turned the shower sprays on, shedding her clothes. The hot water instantly cascaded down her body as she looked at her upper arms, seeing the fingerprint bruises from Randy the previous night. She could’ve killed him for marring her skin, scowling and proceeded to scrub every inch of her body until it felt raw. The feeling of that bastard anywhere on her body made Zelia feel physically ill. If he made another move toward her and didn’t maintain his distance, he would lose his balls next time.

An hour later, dressed in a pair of dark grey pants with a dark grey and black long sleeved top, Zelia was ready for the shopping trip. She wore black steel toed knee high boots with the pants over them, refusing to slip and crack her backside on the ice outside. She left her black hair down, curling it at the ends for style and outlined her jade orbs with thin black eyeliner, clear gloss painting her lips. Zelia grabbed her black winter coat and gloves, slipping them on while walking out of the hotel, purse in hand.

“First stop, Target.” Valisa announced, putting the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot, deciding to make Yankee Candle their last stop so they at least got most of the Christmas shopping done.

Valisa could only hope she did the right thing by helping Jonathan Good, not wanting her friendship with Zelia wrecked over this.

Chapter 6

Meet at Yankee Candle store at 4 PM.

Jon received the text around 1 PM and sighed with relief, glad Valisa hadn’t backed out of their plan. He barely slept, too much adrenaline pumping through his veins at the thought of what would happen when he came face to face with Zelia. Not sure if he would yell at her or kiss her breathless, Jon had yet to decide his course of action and had 3 hours to figure out how he wanted to handle this. Running a hand through his dishwater blonde hair, he stood up from the bed and headed in the bathroom for a shower.

While under the hot sprays, Jon started thinking back to when he first met Zelia in Heartland Wrestling Association. He’d gone to the ring to see if he could practice a few moves with his tag team partner, Aric Byrne Connely –HWA fans knew him as Ric Byrne- that night. They’re tag team name was the Heartland Foundation. Earlier that year, he’d been in a tag team called Necessary Roughness with a wrestler named Jimmy Turner that only lasted for a few short months.

The moment he stepped through the curtain, Jon’s eyes instantly landed on the ebony haired beauty dangling upside down on the top rope facing the walkway. Zelia had the biggest smile on her face, arms stretched out freely with only her legs holding her up on the rope. The HWA t-shirt she wore slid down her stomach to rest just below her breasts, showing off her toned body and the skinny blue jeans hugged her curves. Even her laughter was infectious and Jon could remember thinking how flexible she was when Zelia grabbed hold of the ring ropes. Her legs spread wide and Zelia pulled herself up sitting on the top rope and did a backflip to the outside, landing on her feet like a cat.

“Who’s that?” Jon had asked Byrne, bluish grey eyes wide with wonder.

“I can’t remember her name. I know it starts with a Z, but other than I have no idea. It’s crazy actually. Why do you ask?” Byrne asked, having nudged Jon with a smirk. “Thinking about making a move?”

“Not sure, crazy name eh? Can’t be any crazier than Moxley.” Jon snorted, rubbing his hands together and saw the ring had been set up. “How long she worked here?”

“A couple years, I think 2002? She’s been part of the ring crew, I know that much. Probably why we haven’t seen her around.” Bryne shrugged, heading down the walkway while Jon stood there for a few seconds, his eyes watching her every move.

Then he saw Byrne making a move toward her and Jon practically flew down the walkway, clapping his tag team partner on the back harshly with a smile. “Hi, I’m Jon.” He greeted the ebony beauty, extending his free hand. “This is my partner, Aric. Mind if we use the ring?”

“I know who both of you are.” She shook Aric’s hand and then Jon’s, the spark instantly igniting between them. “Nice to meet you, Jon. I’m Zelia.”

It was a very unique name, one Jon never heard of in his life. “You too.” He remembered being too cautious to try saying her name since it was so different.

“I’ll ask Marian to make sure it’s alright for you guys to use the ring. I’m not sure if it’s fully enforced yet, so wait here a sec.”

“Take your time.”

That was it. From that moment on, Jon made it his goal to somehow ‘run’ into Zelia on a daily basis and at least say hi to her. Zelia was the friendliest and easygoing woman Jon ever met, always having a joking comeback with everything he said. It was refreshing meeting a woman with a sharp tongue and mind that actually knew the wrestling business. She knew the psychology and what it took to make it, years of bloodshed and dedication. They’d go out for a couple beers and even shared a few hotel rooms together, but Jon never made a move.

Looking back, he didn’t understand what held him back because he wanted Zelia. Maybe it was the fact he didn’t know how she felt and he was scared of rejection or maybe he didn’t want to ruin the friendship they built. Whatever the case, whatever the reason, whenever they did share rooms together and Jon woke up with Zelia in his arms, all he wanted to do was claim her in every way. There was one night in particular that popped into Jon’s mind and it was during his reign as champion in the company. He’d just had a brutal battle and got split open right down his forehead. His face looked like a crimson mask and it wasn’t the first time Jon had shed blood, not even close. Zelia was waiting for him as soon as he stumbled to the backstage area and she had tears in her eyes.

“I got you, Moxley. Come on.”

Zelia had wrapped her arm around his waist and handled his body weight, guiding him to the trainer that stitched the wrestlers up. Jon had wiped blood from his eyes and looked down at her, seeing tears sliding down her cheeks. He could not believe she cried over him and, no matter how hard he tried, Jon couldn’t get that image of Zelia’s tear-streaked face out of his mind. After being stitched up, Jon had grabbed Zelia’s hand and pulled her close, his hand reaching up to cup of her face.

“Why are you crying, Zel?”

“Because I hate seeing you get hurt.”

Stepping out of the shower, it suddenly dawned on Jon that was the last night he saw Zelia. She drove him back to the hotel, tried giving him painkillers, but Jon had declined and tucked him in bed. Staring in the mirror, Jon touched his cheek and frowned, remembering the feeling of her soft lips brushing against it along with his bandaged forehead. Zelia held his hand with tear-filled jade eyes and sat with him for a while, wanting to make sure he was alright. Jon guessed anyway.

“I want you to promise me something, Moxley.”

“Okay what?”

“Make it big and don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from your dreams.” Zelia’s words were completely heartfelt and stern.

At the time, Jon had laughed her off and made the promise, not realizing he would never see her again after that night. Was that her way of saying goodbye to him? Jon had fallen asleep shortly after and, when he woke up the next morning, Zelia was gone. They shared another room together and all of her things were gone, not one speck left behind that Zelia had been there. He remembered feeling hurt and betrayed, blowing her cell phone up until his battery died. Jon drove to the next area the HWA performed and went straight to the higher-ups, demanding to know where Zelia Bell had gone. Nobody would say a word, only that she no longer worked for HWA. It made no sense to him that Zelia would just pick up and leave the company without a word.

Gritting his teeth, Jon grabbed the brush on the sink and brushed his hair back, taking a few deep slow breaths to calm down. He would get his answers today. Enough was enough, Zelia couldn’t run or hide from him anymore. There had to be more to the story with her leaving the HWA and not telling him. Granted, she worked for the WWE for however long, so maybe that’s why she hadn’t told him that night. Maybe she was scared of what he’d say or how he’d react to find out she’d gotten a job, a better opportunity, with the top wrestling company in the world to date. Whatever the reason, Jon would find out the truth and mentally prepared himself to hear absolutely anything from Zelia.

Jon brushed his teeth and slapped on some cologne before stepping out of the bathroom, already having his clothes picked out. Simple pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved dark blue sweatshirt with socks and black boots, Jon quickly dressed in record time. He still had 2 hours until he could head out to the Yankee Candle store, trying to decide what to do to pass the time. Flicking the television on, Jon bought a movie and ordered some room service, trying not to think about Zelia. That was impossible, she was all he thought about over the past almost 6 years and seeing her again just intensified his feelings for her.

Halfway through a movie he partially paid attention to, a knock sounded at his hotel room door followed by Joe’s voice. “Hey Jon, open the door!”

Shaking his head, Jon slipped out of bed and opened it, letting his friend inside. Joe kept it simple with skintight black jeans and a grey sweater, his black hair pulled back in a low tail, black boots on his feet. He was ready to see Valisa again, a pair of black shades over his eyes since the white snow outside practically blinded him. The drive went well and Valisa had a great sense of humor that made her more beautiful to him. Her music taste matched Jon’s, but Joe easily overlooked that because she also liked some of the bands he did. Valisa was a woman he definitely wanted to get to know better, though today it was all about Jon and he fully supported his friend.

“Nervous?” Joe smirked, pushing the shades from his eyes on top of his head.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Jon retorted, squaring his shoulders while glancing at the clock every couple seconds.

“Staring at the clock isn’t gonna make time go by faster, man.” Joe pointed out, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Neither is watching that stupid ass movie. I got some errands to run. Come with and then we’ll head to the Yankee Candle store afterwards. Valisa knows I’m coming already.”

It was Jon’s turn to smirk, quirking a brow. “Exchanged numbers and everything eh?”

“We’re friends for now.” Joe shrugged, whipping out his cell phone and sighed when he read they had a meeting at 6 PM with Vince McMahon and the Levesque’s. “Grab your gear, we’ll have to head to the arena right after you have your talk with Zelia. Meeting at 6 with the bosses.”

Jon nodded, already having his things packed up. “I got it earlier today. You really need a better phone.”

“That’s one of my errands.” Joe assured him, wondering what the hell the meeting was about and hated having meetings with the bosses. “Do you think they’ll rip us new assholes?”

Jon chuckled, shrugging. “Who knows? The fans seem to be digging what we’re doing, so I doubt it. Probably gonna tell us what we already know regarding Team Hell No.” He just hoped Zelia was alright with the fact the Shield was about to go to war with Team Hell No since she was so close with Glen Jacobs.

“True, though Colby did fuck up on Raw with a move. Maybe they wanna talk to him about that.” Joe suggested, placing the shades over his eyes. “Hopefully it has nothing to do with my spear.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.” Jon stated simply, grabbing his bag and slipped his own black shades on over his eyes, both of them heading out. “I got more important things to worry about right now.”

Joe could hear the tension and nervousness in Jon’s voice, knowing the only way for that to vanish was talking to the woman responsible for it. He didn’t like this Zelia girl, even though she was Valisa’s best friend. Joe wondered why Jon wasted his time on a woman that didn’t want anything to do with him. That was a mean thought, but Jon had been his friend for a while now and didn’t want Zelia hurting him anymore than she already did. He made it clear to Valisa the previous night just how much pain Jon was in over Zelia’s cowardice.

“What are you gonna do if she tries running?” Joe asked once they were in the car, heading toward the nearest Verizon store since he had crappy US Cellular service currently.

“Chase her ass down and tie her up if that’s what it takes to get some damn answers.” Jon replied heatedly, clenching his fists while staring out the window. “I’ve been in love with this woman for damn near 7 years and I’m not letting her slip away again. She will tell me the truth one way or another.”

Joe hesitated, wondering if he should say what popped in his head. “What if she refuses?”

“I have my ways, even if means seducing her.” Jon said nonchalantly, lighting up a cigarette and cracked the window, in desperate need of a nicotine fix. “She’s not as bad as I make her out to be. In fact, she’s one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met in my life. She helped me back when I worked for HWA whenever I got hurt in a match. It was my mistake not telling Zelia how I felt about her. I’m about to rectify it though.”

“Even sweeter than Hannah?”

Jon groaned, not wanting to think about his ex-girlfriend that had a split personality. “Don’t bring that bitch up. She was a psycho whore that couldn’t keep her legs closed for more than 5 seconds while I was on the road busting my ass trying to make something out of myself. Trying to make it big.” He kept Zelia’s promise, those last words from her never leaving his mind even after all these years. “Zelia’s different.”

“Sorry, just had to make sure.” Joe grunted, pulling into the Verizon store parking lot and put the SUV in park. “I’ll be out as fast as I can. If you need to leave without me, do it. The arena is just down the road from here.”

Jon glanced at the clock, seeing Joe had over an hour to get a new phone and nodded. “We got time, man. Just make sure it’s a damn phone with decent service.” He demanded, bluish grey eyes filled with pure amusement. “Hurry up.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” Joe stepped out and closed the door behind him, jogging inside with his old phone in hand.

Exactly 45 minutes later, Joe came back out with a new IPhone 4 trying to figure out how to work the contraption. He actually forced Jon to switch places with him so he could figure it out while his friend drove to the Yankee Candle store. They’d be a little early, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t stick to the parking lot until the clock struck 4 PM. Once Jon arrived, he cut the ignition on the SUV and looked through the glass windows of the store, spotting Zelia.

“Fuck this, its close enough.” Jon looked at Joe, waving his hand in the man’s face. “You ready to do this?”

Joe nodded, setting his phone down and both stepped out of the car, heading inside the Yankee Candle store.

Chapter 7

After Target, Bath & Body Works, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart and some clothing stores, Valisa and Zelia finally made it to the Yankee Candle store around 4 PM. They actually arrived just minutes before Jon and Joe, which Valisa was thankful for. It would’ve been awkward to walk into the store and run into the guys. The back of their car was filled with bags from every store, both women having no idea how they were supposed to send it all to their respective families.

Valisa stood beside Zelia while they both tested scents on various candles, trying to decide what to buy their loved ones. “Ooo this one is making me hungry.” She stated, holding it up to Zelia’s nose.

“Christ, what is that?” Zelia snatched it from her and saw it was a sugar cookie scented candle. “That’s Christmas related right?”

“If you can’t add sugar cookies to the holidays, hell has officially frozen over.” Valisa joked, both girls sharing a laugh. “Have you found any scents?”

“Yeah, I really like this Christmas tree scented one. I think my Mom will like it.” She held it up to Valisa, giggling when the woman started gagging and rolled her eyes, placing it in the basket draped on her arm. “I’m also getting a pumpkin pie scented one for me since I love it.”

“I prefer cinnamon.” She held up a box of tea light candles to emphasize her point, cinnamon scented naturally.

“Not surprising.” Zelia snorted, turning her back to the double doors to look at another candle that caught her eye.

The bell dung overhead as Jon and Joe stepped inside the store, both scanning it for the women. Joe spotted Valisa instantly and squeezed Jon’s shoulder briefly before heading in her direction with a smile. Valisa looked up and felt her eyes widen, looking at the watch on her wrist. They were 5 minutes early. Her ocean blues looked past Joe and spotted Jon, swallowing hard as he started heading toward Zelia.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” Valisa whispered, chewing her bottom lip and headed toward the checkout line with Joe on her heels.

“Little late to back out now, don’t you think?” Joe retorted, his mouth right by her ear as they both watched the scene unfold between Jon and Zelia.

Zelia opened the lid on the Merry Christmas scented candle, a special Yankee always had whenever the holidays rolled around and frowned, immediately putting it back on the shelf. She had no idea who stood behind her, too engrossed in the candles and picked up another one, sniffing it. Her sister was very hard to shop for when it came to candles because her taste constantly changed. Shaking her head, Zelia placed it back on the shelf and went on to the next one, wondering if she’d have to delve into the more traditional scents.

“Try this one.”

Every part of Zelia’s body froze as soon as she heard that voice behind her. It was a good thing she wasn’t holding a candle or else it would’ve shattered to the floor at her feet. What the hell was Jon doing here? Her breathing turned somewhat labored and Zelia shut her eyes, the unmistakable musky scent of Jon surrounding her. Swallowing past the lump suddenly forming in her throat, Zelia knew she couldn’t bolt from the store and would have to face him. Zelia slowly turned until jade locked with bluish grey eyes, the most unique shade she’d ever seen on a man and felt the breath temporarily leave her body. He looked amazing with the same boyish haphazard hair and handsome features.

“What scent is it?” She asked quietly, taking it from him and sniffed, reading the candle. “Hmm red apple wreath? That’s interesting…” Zelia added it to her basket and could feel the butterflies swarming her stomach, heart pounding vigorously. “What are you doing here, Jon?”

“Got tired of you giving me the slip and decided to hunt you down.” Jon replied nonchalantly, hiding the pain and hurt in his eyes. “We really need to talk, Zelia.”

“I know…” Zelia whispered, lowering her eyes from his and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing nervously.

Jon stepped forward, reaching out to lift her chin until tear-filled jade eyes met his again, sucking in a sharp breath. “Go pay for the candles and meet me outside.” He released her abruptly, not giving her a chance to say anything else and walked out of the store, needing air.

Frowning, Zelia wasn’t ready to talk to him and didn’t know what to do, knowing this place had no idea back entrance. Glancing over at the checkout line, Zelia spotted Valisa and the Shield guy talking, jade eyes narrowing. Did she have something to do with them being here? Zelia stalked over to where they stood and set the basket on the counter, folding her arms in front of her chest looking positively livid.

“Excuse us.” She ordered the big man gravely, eyes never leaving a sheepish looking Valisa.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” Valisa assured Joe, keeping her voice quiet and hoped Zelia wasn’t about to embarrass her in the store.

Joe nodded, kissing the top of her head and walked out without a word, standing beside Jon.

“What are they doing here?” Zelia demanded in a deceptively low tone while the cashier busied with other customers.

Valisa couldn’t meet Zelia’s eyes. “I was worried about you…”

“So you help the man I’ve been avoiding?” Zelia refused to make a scene and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Vali, I’m not ready to talk to him yet. Don’t you get that? I’m not ready…”

“Will you ever be ready, Zelia?” Valisa shot back, ocean blues icing over slightly. “I mean, you’ve been putting your safety in jeopardy by leaving to travel to the next town the company goes to just to get away from him. Glen told me you were dead on your feet last night and, if you drove here alone, you would’ve crashed your car. I refuse to stand by and let you torture yourself like this just because you can’t talk to a man. It’s not happening anymore. You need to talk to him and settle things once and for all. Because whether you like it or not, you two are stuck in the same company and I have a feeling he’s going to be around for a very long time with Joe and their other Shield comrade. They are here to stay.”

Blinking, tears slid down Zelia’s cheeks as she looked away and swiped them hastily. “I just hoped for a few more days. He’ll never forgive me for what I did…” She muttered, feeling Valisa’s arm wrap around her shoulders and leaned against her, sighing heavily. “No more running?”

“No more running.” Valisa conceded softly, nodding and squeezed her again. “Joe is gonna take me out for a quick bite to eat. You can take the car with Jon so you two can have this talk somewhere privately.” She slid the keys into Zelia’s hand and closed her fingers around them. “Just give him a chance.”

Nodding, Zelia stepped up to the counter and paid for her candles, watching the cashier wrap them up in paper so they didn’t break. She got some information on how to package them safely since they were Christmas gifts for her family. Once she wrote everything down on a small pad of paper, Zelia slid it in her purse and took her bag of candles, stepping to the side while Valisa paid for her items. She couldn’t walk outside without her friend and noticed Jon had a cigarette lit, fighting back a smile. Some things truly never changed, not even after nearly 7 years.

“Let’s go.” Valisa took her bag and looped her arm through Zelia’s, just in case the woman decided to become a flight risk.

Once they were outside, Valisa left Zelia’s side and took Joe’s extended hand, both of them walking away toward his rental SUV. Zelia felt like a regular fish out of water as she stood there with Jon, both of them not having a clue what to say to the other. Jon took the final drag of his cigarette and flicked it in the parking lot, the smoke filtering out of his nose and mouth. Zelia’s eyes snapped down to the keys in her hand as soon as Jon turned to look at her, clearing her throat.

“Valisa gave me the keys to her rental. And this isn’t the type of conversation to have outside of a store.” Zelia said quietly, her black hair fanned all around her as the wind picked up slightly.

“Lead the way.” His voice remained low and soft as Jon followed Zelia to the rental car, admiring how the dark grey pants hugged her lower half perfectly.

Once both were inside the car, Zelia set the bag carefully in the backseat and started the ignition, turning the heat on. “Where do you wanna go?” She asked, buckling up while he sat there, leaning back against the seat getting as comfortable as he could.

“Depends, how bad is this talk gonna be, Zelia?” Jon looked at her, noticing she kept avoiding eye contact with him and suddenly had his answer. “Just go back to the hotel. We can talk in my room if you want.”

“Are you sure?”

Jon nodded, waving his hand at her to drive and turned his eyes to stare out the window. Zelia did as she was told and arrived at the hotel faster than she would’ve liked. Before she knew it, they stood outside of Jon’s hotel room and he unlocked the door, waiting for her to enter first. He wasn’t taking any chances, knowing she could bolt away from him at any given moment. Zelia stepped inside without hesitation and looked around the suite, tensing as the sound of the door closing behind her echoed ominously around the room.

“Nice room.” She commented, slipping her purse from her shoulder and set it on the dresser, avoiding the bed at all costs.

“It works.” Jon shrugged, sounding indifferent and could feel the anxiety seeping from Zelia, eyebrows furrowing together. “Zelia, there’s no reason to be nervous. It’s Jon, the guy you once thought of as one of your closest friends. Do you remember that? Or have you shut those memories out?”

“I deserve that.” Zelia knew Jon was never one to sugarcoat anything he said, one of the many things she loved about him. “Jon, I’m sorry…”

“No, I don’t wanna hear that shit. Not anymore.” Jon stated, letting some of the hurt and anger percolate into his tone. “I want an explanation. I wanna know why you gave me your damn number and didn’t answer the phone when I called. I wanna know why you left HWA without a fucking word, not even a letter. I wanna know why you cut off all communication with me and made me think you disappeared off the face of the fucking earth. I wanna know why you’re working for the WWE and didn’t even have the balls to tell me about it. I want the truth, Zelia, and we’re not leaving here until I get it.”

Zelia cringed, already feeling tears sting her eyes and felt Jon standing right beside her, breathing down her neck. “I was scared to talk to you.” She admitted, staring straight ahead and felt him press her against the glass balcony door.

“Why?”

“Because of what I did.” She replied, finally meeting his eyes and felt a few tears slip from the corners of her eyes.

“Tell you what? Why don’t you tell me what you THINK you did and I’ll let you know if it’s worth feeling scared or not?” Jon suggested, feeling the urge to light up a cigarette and didn’t pull away from her, not for a second. “Why is it so hard for you to talk to me? Me of all people, Zelia? We used to be able to talk about every damn thing on the planet and now suddenly you’re this cowardly shell of a woman I used to know. Stop running away from me. Start from the beginning and tell me what the hell happened.”

“Y-You have to understand, I didn’t want to leave…” Zelia stammered, breathing heavily because of how close Jon was and could only stand there while he pressed against her, feeling the heat radiating from him. “I didn’t want to leave you.”

“But you did.” Jon pointed out, running his fingers down her shirt clad arm. “And I wanna know why.”

Feeling her mouth go dry, Zelia couldn’t deny him anything and took a deep breath. “The night you had that brutal match and I helped you back to the hotel, you were completely out of it. You didn’t realize I was supposed to stay at the arena and help take the set down.” She pushed away from him, feeling the anger filing her body at what happened. “There’s a reason I went back to the hotel with you, Jon. There’s a reason I was waiting for you after your match, it wasn’t coincidental.”

“Go on.” Jon ordered, feeling the tick in his jaw tighten slightly.

Zelia started laughing, the sound full of bitterness. “Isn’t it obvious? Those assholes called me into the office earlier that day and claimed that because of how shitty the economy was, they had to let me go. They fired me, Jon, and I had no idea how to tell you. I tried to when I took care of you that night and made sure you got back to the hotel safely, but I couldn’t. Do you understand that? It was too painful to say goodbye, especially to you.”

“Those mother fuckers…” Jon hissed, bluish grey eyes turning stormy with barely contained rage as he lit up a cigarette, not caring what the hotel policy was at the moment. “No wonder I couldn’t get any answers from anyone.”

“A few weeks after HWA released me, I got a call from Jim Ross with the WWE and they offered me a spot on their ring crew. I have no idea how it happened since I’d never talked to anyone in the company. They got an anonymous source that called in telling them how talented I was and what an asset I was to HWA. To this day, I still have no idea who it was.” It was a mystery that would forever remain unsolved, at least in Zelia’s eyes, because she had no idea who would stick their neck out for her, who had enough stroke to pull it off.

Jon remained quiet for a little while puffing on his cigarette, digesting everything he heard and flicked ash in a nearby tray. “That’s all well and fine, I get it, but it doesn’t explain why you cut off all communication with me. Did you think I hated you for getting a job with the WWE or something? Did you think I wouldn’t want to be your friend anymore just because those fuckheads let you go? You were my best friend, Zelia. Sure, you couldn’t say goodbye and I get that, but there wasn’t a reason TO say it because I still would’ve been your friend and supported whatever decision you made. Being fired wasn’t your fault and yet you act like it was. I don’t understand that.”

“I don’t either.” Zelia replied honestly, standing up from the bed and tore a hand through her long black hair, looking back at him sorrowfully. “I made a mistake and I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Jon. I just want you to know that and hopefully we can somehow rekindle our friendship.”

Jon blew smoke out and stubbed his cigarette out harshly, his eyes never leaving her. “What makes you think I want friendship with you, Zelia?” He retorted, fighting back a smirk when her jade eyes shot open.

“I…” Zelia felt Jon press a finger to her lips, silencing her and didn’t understand what he meant by that.

A second later, Jon replaced his finger against her lips with his mouth, deciding actions spoke volumes more than words.

Chapter 8

She ran again.

Zelia exercised her freedom of speech and cursed violently the entire drive to the arena. Kissing Jon was something she only dreamt about and never thought it could actually happen. When his mouth covered hers, Zelia stood frozen solid instead of returning it like she wanted. What the hell was wrong with her? She was in love with Jon and had been since the day they met, but he never made a move in HWA. Everything was different now. He finally made one and she bolted, what sense did that make?

As soon as Jon broke the kiss, Zelia could only stand there while he ran the pad of his thumb across her lips. “Say something.” He practically pleaded, voice barely above a whisper and the shade of his eyes had darkened slightly.

His mouth was warm and soft as she always imagined yet something didn’t feel right. “I umm…” Her fuzzy brain tried registering what just happened, but full-blown panic overtook all rationality. “I have to go. Duty calls and all that. Good luck in your match tonight or segment or whatever you’re doing.” It was all said in a rush of words, her anxiety heightened.

Zelia barked out a nervous laugh that didn’t touch her eyes, turned to grab her purse and jetted out the door like her backside was on fire. Jon couldn’t get a word in and, just in case he decided to chase her down, Zelia flew down the backstairs instead of taking the elevator. Her lips still burned from his kiss, her entire body ignited from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Tears stung her eyes as Zelia’s reached a shaky hand up to touch her lips, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart. It was great to know Jon didn’t hate her for leaving without saying goodbye all those years ago, but running away when he finally made a move…that was unforgiveable for sure.

Arriving at the arena, Zelia slipped into the first vacant dressing room she came across and locked the door behind her, unzipping her bag. She pulled out the WWE black logo t-shirt and jeans, quickly changing since she had to start setting up with the crew shortly. Just as Zelia finished getting ready and pulled her hair up in a high messy bun that piled on top of her head, her cell phone blared. It was a text message from Valisa demanding to know where she was.

At the arena, where are you? Zelia texted back, folding her other clothes and put them in her bag, zipping it back up.

I’m here too, meet me at our usual spot outside.

Of course Valisa wanted to meet so she could grill Zelia about what happened with Jon. This was one big nightmare that seemed never-ending. Grabbing her bag, Zelia tossed it over her shoulder and walked out of the dressing room, heading down the hallway toward their usual spot. A few minutes later, Zelia spotted Valisa sitting on a nearby equipment trunk and set her bag down, hopping up beside her.

“So, how did it go?” Valisa cut to the chase, the smile on her face faltering when Zelia’s head lowered. “Oh sweetie, what happened?”

“I’m such an idiot…” Zelia whispered, sounding completely broken and felt Valisa wrap her arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Why do I keep putting myself in these situations?”

“You’re not an idiot, Zel. Stop putting yourself down. What happened?” She made it a demand this time, voice harsh and wondered if she’d have to castrate Jonathan Good. “Tell me.”

Closing her eyes to keep the tears at bay, the biggest wave of regret and shame flowed through Zelia. “He kissed me. And I ran away, so yes I am an idiot.” A few stray tears escaped and slid down her cheek and Zelia wiped them away angrily, gritting her teeth.

Her ocean blues went wide as Valisa’s jaw dropped, blinking. “He did what? He kissed you? Why did you run away? Aren’t you in love with him?”

“Yes, I have no idea why I ran away. All I’ve ever wanted was for him to make a move and, when he finally does, I bolt. I don’t get it. I hate feeling like this. When did I become a simpering coward? I mean it’s Jon and I can’t even…” Zelia trailed off and shook her head, completely frustrated because her words became jumbled. “I used to be able to talk to Jon about absolutely anything. We had no boundaries and I told him things I’ve never told anyone before, including you. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“So what the hell is my problem?”

Valisa remained quiet for a few minutes and tried coming up with a nice enough way to answer her. “You’re terrified. You’re scared to death that this is too good to be true and you don’t know how to react to it. Look at it this way, you haven’t seen Jon, up until recently, for how many years? 5 almost 6? So you think it’s impossible that, since the man didn’t make a move back when you were in HWA, he wants you now. You’re questioning everything and, quite frankly, you have every right to be skeptical. I would be too.” She wouldn’t say what Zelia wanted to hear, but what she NEEDED instead.

Every word that came out of Valisa’s mouth was the complete truth and Zelia couldn’t deny it even if she wanted to. “You’re right.” She looked up at her friend, one of the only women she trusted in this company. “I told him that I wanted to try rekindling our friendship and do you know what he said to me?”

“Why do I get the feeling I won’t like this?”

“He said he didn’t want friendship from me.” Zelia hopped down from the equipment trunk, folding her arms in front of her chest. “I can’t help wondering what he meant by that. Because if he thinks for a second I’ll rip my clothes off and fuck him on a whim, he doesn’t know me at all. I’m not that type of woman, never have been.”

“Maybe he wants a relationship?”

Zelia shook her head, nixing that instantly. “In all the time I’ve known Jon, he never once had a girlfriend for more than 3 months. He screwed his fair share of women, but never settled down with anyone. So why the hell would he start now, especially since he’s a major star in the WWE? I won’t be another notch in his belt, I deserve better than that.”

“I don’t blame you. It makes me wonder about Joe, but honestly I don’t mind if he just wants sex from me. That’s me though, I know the difference between having a relationship and being a fuck buddy.” Valisa was blunt, sometimes too much, but she knew Zelia could handle anything she had to say. “If that makes me a slut or a whore, so be it. I want what I want.”

Zelia started heading back inside the arena, so many thoughts running through her mind and frowned when Valisa stopped her. “What? We have to get inside to start working…”

“I know, but…” Valisa sighed, releasing Zelia’s arm. “Just promise me you won’t start avoiding him again. You can’t be driving at night the way you have, not unless you’re with someone. So promise me you will start taking better care of yourself.”

The amount of worry in Valisa’s ocean blues forced a huge amount of guilt to surge through Zelia. “I won’t, I can’t avoid him forever. I’ll try avoiding him, but I’m not gonna be chased out of this company either. You have my word, Vali.”

“Good, now come on before Ben starts hunting us down.”

Both women headed inside the arena to do their job, Zelia pushing all of her issues with Jon in the back recesses of her mind for now.

~!~

Jon was in a foul mood, every part of him ready for brutality on tonight’s Smackdown! taping. He sat through the meeting where his suspicions were confirmed. The Shield would start feuding with Team Hell No in the upcoming months that would lead to Joe and Colby becoming tag team champions. Then the bosses surprised Jon by informing him he’d be the United States champion when his partners took the tag team titles. That was news to him, Jon hadn’t realized how fast the bosses wanted to put gold on the Shield, but none of them were complaining.

Once the meeting ended, Jon went down to the arenas workout area to pump iron, hoping it relieved some of the anger flowing through him. Joe and Colby followed, speculating what could’ve happened between him and Zelia. Joe knew way more than Colby did since the man didn’t travel with them nearly as often as he should have. Somehow, the three of them clinked in the ring, but Joe and Jon had become close friends. Granted, when Colby and Jon wrestled in Florida Championship Wrestling, they had their fair share of feuding and beat the hell out of each other. They were friends too, but Jon didn’t trust Colby with his personal life issues the way he did Joe.

“What happened?” Joe asked as soon as they arrived in the workout room, watching as Jon place several 50 pound weights on the bar. “Jon…”

“Nothing, not a goddamn thing. I only just kissed the woman that’s haunted me day and fucking night for the past 5 almost 6 years since she left without a damn word and got rejected. Not a big deal though. I’m done with it. Gonna focus on what we’re doing and crush anyone that gets in our way.” Jon spat, breathing heavily through his nose and went to his max, laying down on the bench.

“Whoa, whoa what the hell is going on?” Colby demanded, looking between Joe and Jon, completely out of the loop. “Who is he talking about?”

Joe held his hand up, worried about Jon’s state of mind and walked over to spot him since there was over 400 pounds on the bar. “What happened?”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” Jon grunted out, pumping the iron up and down, already in his Shield clothing with taped hands. “She told me what happened. I kissed her. She bolted. Not really much else to fucking say.”

Joe had to talk to Valisa and find out what Zelia’s problem was because he hated seeing Jon like this. The man was obviously heartbroken and hiding it the best he could. He looked up at a perplexed Colby and wondered if Jon wanted the man in the loop, deciding it wasn’t his place. Then again, what if Colby tried making a move on Zelia, not realizing who she was to Jon?

“There’s a girl on the ring crew named Zelia and she has a past with our boy.” Joe said, seeing the amount of concentration on Jon’s face and knew after the taping he’d find an outlet. “Jon, don’t do something you’ll regret, man. Maybe she got caught off guard or something…”

“Caught off guard?” Jon shook his head, refusing to believe that. “Nah, she’s just not interested and I get it. I waited too long to make my move and now I’m paying for it. Now drop the subject and let’s focus on beating the shit out of Orton tonight.”

Colby took over spotting Jon while Joe stepped out to send a text to Valisa. They were supposed to meet after the show and he wanted to confirm it. He read the text message over, his finger hovering over the send button, and suddenly deleted it. If he wanted things to work with Valisa, he had to keep Jon’s problems with Zelia out of it. Jon was a big boy and took care of himself just fine. So instead, he just sent a text message asking if they were meeting after the show. Not even 30 seconds later, Valisa confirmed it with a winking smiley face.

After the extensive workout, it didn’t get rid of Jon’s aggression only heightened it and he was ready. Halfway through the show, the Shield received word on where the segment with Randy Orton would go down at. After what happened to Zelia, even though she wanted nothing to do with him, Jon planned on hurting him badly. They were supposed to just drive him through a table, but Jon had other plans in mind and he’d already discussed what would happen with Joe. They would send Randy on the shelf for a while to make the man think twice before putting his hands on a woman again.

Randy was not happy about this turn of events with the Shield and couldn’t believe what the bosses forced him to do. He told them to go fuck themselves a few months ago and had been in mid-card hell ever since. Maybe that’s why he felt so aggressive toward his ex-girlfriend because it seemed as though her career went better than his. That wasn’t right. She was nothing compared to him. He was the star, not Zelia, and soon enough the bitch would know her proper place. Right now, he had to deal with three nobody rookies showing their ‘dominance’ by attacking him backstage. He didn’t see the attack coming as a fist collided with his jaw and the Hounds of Justice piled on him like a pack of wild dogs.

“What the hell is THAT?” Zelia demanded, watching from one of the dressing rooms with Valisa, both of them staring at the monitor in shock.

“I have no idea. Joe didn’t tell me anything…” Valisa covered her mouth with her hand so Zelia didn’t see the smile cross her face, secretly happy the Shield took care of Randy Orton.

When the Shield drove Randy’s body through the table, Zelia could tell her ex-boyfriend was hurt badly. Jon did this on purpose. It wasn’t supposed to go this far. Jon was angry about what happened to her and Zelia understood it, but she also knew part of that anger was directed at her. The last thing she wanted to happen was Jon losing his job with the WWE, his moment to shine, because of her. Cursing, Zelia couldn’t watch it anymore and stood up from the metal chair she sat on, grabbing her black hooded sweatshirt.

“Where are you going?” Valisa demanded, standing as well.

“Out for some air. I just need sometime alone.”

“Just don’t leave, we have to take the set down once the show ends. Stay close in case fans are lurking outside.” Valisa stated, knowing what the Shield did to Randy upset her, though she didn’t understand why.

“I know, Mom. Thanks.”

Zelia smirked, sending a wink to assure her friend everything was fine and walked out, heading toward the exit. Once outside, Zelia tucked herself in between some trucks and pulled the pack of smokes out of her pocket, lighting one up. Valisa didn’t know she smoked because Zelia didn’t do it enough to acquire a scent, but after watching Jon send Randy’s body crashing through a table in that segment, she needed one. Looking up at the sky, Zelia let the nicotine fill her entire body as her eyes closed, wondering what she would do about this situation with Jon.

Chapter 9

Deciding she needed time to reflect on everything that happened, Zelia took off for the next 2 days since the company had no house shows scheduled and headed home. Scottsdale, Arizona. It was a nice change from the wintery weather to the east they had to experience lately. The dry warm air welcomed her with open arms as Zelia walked out of the airport toward her car. A burnt orange 2011 Dodge Charger. Zelia had saved her money since starting the job with the WWE back in 2007 and purchased the vehicle for the full amount in cash in 2011. It was beautiful and if Zelia could drive it all over the country during her travels with the company, she would in a heartbeat.

During her 2 days off, Zelia cooked, cleaned and enjoyed every second being home. She had a small two bedroom house that was all one story –Zelia hated stairs- with no basement. She made BBQ chicken on the grill, dusted every inch of her house and only bought enough food to last her until Friday. Before she knew it, Thursday night arrived and it was time to pack up and head back on the road.

As much as Zelia loved her job, there was no place like home and she had no idea when she’d be able to come back. Sunday was a live pay-per-view event called TLC (Tables, Ladders & Chairs) in Brooklyn, New York and it would take a lot more time than setting up for Monday Night Raw. Now that WrestleMania season was upon them, things were going to get very hectic along with schedules, which meant a lot more shows to perform for.

While packing up, Zelia’s cell phone went off –she had it off for the duration of her time at home like always so nobody would disturb her and turned it back on a few hours ago- and she looked at the caller ID, chewing her bottom lip. It was Glen. He very rarely called her while she was home, but given the reason events it wasn’t that surprising to Zelia. She flipped the phone open and put him on speaker phone, continuing to fold her clothes placing them in the luggage bags.

“What’s up, Big Red?”

“Nothing, just calling to check on you. Decided to go home for a few days eh?” Glen teased, sitting in front of the fireplace of his own home in Tennessee. “Valisa has been worried about you too, told me to tell you if you don’t call her, she’s gonna string you up by your toes.”

Zelia chuckled at that mild threat. “You both know I don’t like being bothered when I’m at home. It’s my reprieve to regain what’s left of my sanity.”

“I know, but with this Jon situation she’s a little overprotective at the moment.” Glen pointed out the obvious, sipping some brandy while his wife showered. “So how are you holding up?”

“Honestly? I’m as well as can be expected. I mean besides the whole running away thing. I don’t know.” That was the truth. Zelia had thought of nothing else besides Jon for the past 2 days and she was beyond frustrated. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Glen, you coming to bed?”

“Be there in a second, Crystal.” He called back softly, clearing his throat. “Listen, when you get into town tomorrow, let’s go somewhere and talk it out. I know you rely on Valisa for that sort of thing, but I’m a great listener too.” Not to mention Valisa had spent most of her time with Joe the past 2 days and Zelia had no idea about it yet. “My flight gets in at noon.”

Zelia smiled, appreciating Glen reaching out to try helping her with this. “Meet me in the arena stands where we usually talk.” Maybe talking to Glen about how she felt would put everything into perspective.

“Sounds good, see you then. Get some rest, Zel.”

“You too.”

Zelia hung up the phone, walked in the bathroom to grab some toiletries and sighed when it rang again. She answered without looking at the caller ID, assuming it was Glen. “Look Big Red, I’m fine and dandy.”

“Big Red?” Jon echoed, trying not to sound disgusted and stood out on the balcony of his hotel room, smoking a cigarette.

Zelia immediately shut her eyes at the sound of Jon’s voice and felt her heart start pounding furiously against her chest. “Sorry, I thought you were…”

“Glen Jacobs?” He practically spat that name, gritting his teeth and took a deep breath to reign his temper in. “Didn’t realize just how close you two are…”

“He’s my friend, Jon.” Zelia cut him off, sinking down on the bed with a sigh. “Do you remember how we used to be? We were best friends…”

“And you left without a word.” Jon reminded her coldly, flicking his cigarette in the wintery sky of his two bedroom apartment in Cincinnati. “Why did you run away from me, Zelia? Of all people, I should be someone you can fully trust.”

Zelia lowered her head, feeling tears sting her eyes and rubbed her temples. “I didn’t run away from you when I left the HWA. I left because I had NO choice, I lost my job!” Her voice rose with every word that came out of her mouth, Zelia’s temper officially up.

“And you didn’t tell me!” Jon shouted back, snarling. “You left instead of confiding in me and letting me try to help you! I had a lot of stroke in that company, Zelia. I could’ve gotten you a better job with a snap of my fucking fingers and you know it!”

“I didn’t want it though.” Zelia sniffled, hating herself for showing emotion with this man. “They shattered me, Jon, and I had no idea how to tell you. Don’t you understand that? I didn’t want to hold you back from what you love most and that’s wrestling! I refused to be a burden to you!”

Jon remained quiet for a few minutes, his heavy breathing being the only indication he hadn’t hung up the phone. “Why did you run?” He demanded, lowering his voice considerably and lit up another cigarette.

“Why did you kiss me?” Zelia retorted, turning the tables on him and folded her arms in front of her chest. “You never once showed you were interested in me in HWA, so what’s so damn different now?”

“I asked you first.”

“Jon, this isn’t a game and I didn’t run from you!” Denial at its finest, Zelia added in thought. “We both had jobs to do and I didn’t expect you to kiss me! So stop saying I ran because I DIDN’T.”

“Why did you have your phone off for the past 2 days then? You’re doing the same shit you did when you first ran into me, Zelia.” The only difference between then and now was she’d actually answered her phone for a change. “You think I’m playing games? This is anything BUT a fucking game to me, woman! I kissed you and you ran out of the room like your ass was on fire!” He blatantly ignored what she said regarding how he felt back in HWA, too angry to respond to that. “When are you gonna stop running and face me?”

This conversation wasn’t going anywhere and Zelia had to finish packing if she wanted to make her 8 AM flight tomorrow. “Jon, I don’t have time for this. When I come home for the 2 days we have off, if nothing else is going on, I turn my phone off so I’m not bothered by anyone. There’s only a select handful of people who have my house number and that’s how they get a hold of me, but people generally leave me alone for the 2 days I’m gone. You are playing a game with me by trying to turn this all around to be my fault and I don’t appreciate it. I’ve never done anything to you. I just want to know why you kissed me and what the hell has changed between now and back in HWA. But of course you don’t want to answer, so I’ll keep ‘running’ away from you until you do. Goodbye.”

Zelia hung up before Jon could utter another word and ignored her cell phone when he called back moments later, shaking her head. He could stew on that for a while, she had more important things to worry about. Finishing packing, Zelia looked at the clock and saw it was already going on 10 PM. She’d ate leftover grilled BBQ chicken, so Zelia had enough time for a shower and then had to sleep so she could get up at 6 AM to get to the airport on time. After her shower, Zelia slid into cotton shorts and a camisole before lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, eventually falling asleep with Jonathan Good on her mind and in her dreams.

6 AM arrived sooner than Zelia would’ve liked as she crawled out of bed and prepared for the day. Brooklyn, New York weather was in the 30’s and snowing, so Zelia dressed in a pair of velvet burnt orange pants with a long sleeved matching zip-up sweatshirt, a black camisole beneath in case she got too warm on the plane. Grabbing her luggage, Zelia was out the door in 10 minutes and stopped at a local Starbucks for a much needed espresso shot along with her usual Frappuccino. She arrived at the airport a quarter to 7 AM and went through security, which went pretty quickly. The airport security and workers knew her well since she came home almost every week, going through the same check every time. At 8 AM sharp, Zelia was on the plane in first-class, heading across the country to Brooklyn, New York and managed to fall asleep halfway through the flight.

Around 2 PM, the plane landed and Zelia once again went through security, claimed her rental before heading to the Barclays Center. She sent Glen a quick text message letting him know she’d be there in about 20 minutes. Glen sent her one back a few minutes later letting Zelia know he was already at the arena waiting for her. Zelia put her phone on vibrate and slid it in her velvet sweatshirt pocket, pulling into the Barclays Center parking lot 10 minutes later.

Cutting the ignition, Zelia grabbed her bag so she could change into her uniform in the Barclays Center and walked inside, heading for the bathroom. After changing into the WWE logo t-shirt and blue jeans with holes ripped in the knees, Zelia pulled her raven hair up in a high messy bun to keep it out of her face. Then she headed out of the bathroom toward her and Glen’s spot to have their talk, not seeing the pair of stormy eyes watching her every move.

“Bout time you got here.” Glen hugged her close, rubbing her back. “How are you holding up?”

“Fine for the most part.” Zelia sat down in the bleachers with Glen, both of them peering down at the spot where the setup would start that day. Because it was a pay-per-view weekend, no house shows were scheduled because the company wanted all the attention on the TLC event. “He called.”

“And?” Glen raised a brow, folding his arms in front of his chest. “What did he say?”

“Well…” Zelia suddenly looked sheepish, cheeks tingeing a deep crimson. “I answered the phone saying your name…and he didn’t like that too much.”

“I bet not.” Glen chuckled, unable to help himself. “Why did you say my name? I mean I know I’m sexy and everything…”

“Shut up.” Zelia ordered, playfully nudging him only for Glen to return the favor. “You should’ve heard the acidic tone to his voice. It was amusing though, I’ll admit that. Then he proceeded to accuse me of running from him again.”

Glen had heard something about a kiss, but he didn’t know the full story. “What happened?”

“I finally talked to him.” Zelia said quietly, lowering her eyes to her lap, clasping her hands in it. “I apologized the best I could for what I did, for leaving HWA without telling him. For cutting off contact with him. He accepted it, then said he wasn’t interested in friendship with me when I offered to rekindle ours. Then he kissed me and it was a full-fledged passionate kiss that made my head spin.”

“I don’t need the details, Zel.” Glen grunted, holding his hand up to stop her. “And I’m assuming you made up some kind of excuse to get the hell out of there and have avoided him since.”

“Basically.” Zelia couldn’t lie to Glen and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know why I keep running from him, but it’s just a natural reaction. I’m chalking it up to the fact I don’t want to end up another notch in his belt, bedpost or whatever you wanna call it. Because Jon has been with a lot of women and he’s never had a relationship that lasted more than 3 months.” This was everything she already told Valisa. “But I am in love with him. How did you feel when you first met Crystal?”

Glen smiled at the memory, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever see in my life. Still is. The moment I saw her, I knew I had to have her and the best part was she had no idea what I did for a living. She didn’t recognize me, just thought I was a regular guy. Though now she’s a huge fan of Kane’s, if you catch my drift.”

Zelia giggled in spite of everything, shaking her head. “Oh yeah sure, I can just see it now. ‘I wouldn’t mind taking a ride on the Big Red Machine’.” She could totally see Glen’s wife saying something like that too, both of them laughing.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Glen pled the 5^th on that assumption, hazel eyes glittering down at Zelia. “You’d love to take a ride on the Big Red Machine, don’t lie.”

“Oh yeah, I’d jump right on that bandwagon.” Zelia sounded completely serious even though the amusement filled her eyes, feeling Glen’s arm tighten around her. “She’s a lucky woman. I wish I could have what she did.”

“You will in time.” Glen assured her softly, kissing the top of her head. “But you do need to figure out what you wanna do about this. Can’t hide this forever.”

Zelia sighed heavily, nodding. “I know, I have to tell him soon before this gets out of control. And I will.”

“Good idea, listen I gotta run and give Crystal a call. If you want, come to my room tonight and we’ll hang out.” Glen offered, squeezing her shoulder and knew Valisa would be most likely busy with Joe. “Send me a text.”

“I will, thanks for the talk.” She stood up, hugging him tightly around the neck and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I know.” Glen kissed the top of her head and walked away, leaving Zelia sitting there in the stands alone.

So she was screwing Glen Jacobs. No wonder the woman kept dodging him at every turn and running away! Jon scowled angrily, clenching his fists tightly at his sides and shook his head in disgust. Screwing a married man was definitely a new low for Zelia and he knew he’d have to forget about her somehow. He’d have to squash everything he felt for her since she obviously went for married men instead of available ones. He hadn’t heard the whole conversation, but enough to convince him that there was something more than friendship happening between Zelia and Jacobs. Stalking away, Jon headed outside for a much needed cigarette before he ended up chasing down Glen Jacobs and murdering him.

Chapter 10

“So, you’re actually with one of the Shield mongrels?”

Valisa chuckled, nodding and sipped her Long Island Iced Tea, having a girl’s night out with Zelia. They both had a lot of catching up to do and Zelia couldn’t believe how fast Valisa agreed to date Joe Anoa’i. Not that she blamed the woman because Joe was definitely a specimen, Zelia just didn’t expect to happen so soon. Still, she was happy for her friend and honestly didn’t care that Joe was close to Jon. Whatever happened between her and Jon was their business, refusing to let it interfere with other people’s lives.

“Joe is not a mongrel and yes I am.” Valisa grinned, wearing a pair of tan suede pants with a long sleeved brown top that shimmered gold, a tan camisole beneath, hair down. “He’s actually quite the gentleman, believe it or not.”

“Hard to believe since his character is an asshole on television.” Zelia replied, stirring the straw in her strawberry daiquiri and wore black skirt with a long sleeved wine colored off the shoulder top. It had a black shimmery overlay to make the top look dark maroon, hair down also. “So, have you slept with him yet?”

“Surprisingly no. He wants to wait and I don’t have a problem with that. He wants to get to know each other and all that jazz first. I told you he’s a gentleman, he’s not just gonna hop in bed with me. Even though I want nothing more than to rip my clothes off and attack every time I see him.” Valisa laughed, remembering the conversation she had with Joe during Zelia’s 2 days away. “Enough about him, what are you gonna do about Mr. Good?”

“Nothing.” Zelia said honestly, shrugging when Valisa quirked a brow at her. “I’m serious. He thinks there’s something going on with Glen and me. Like I’d ever fuck a married man. He doesn’t know me at all and, if that’s the way he wants to picture me, I’m not going to waste my time and energy trying to convince him otherwise.”

It’d been 2 weeks since her heated conversation with Jon while she’d been at home. Zelia watched all of his matches, trying to decide what to do and decided she couldn’t revolve her life around him. As much as she loved him, Zelia knew how stubborn Jon was and, once an assumption entered his brain, it was very difficult to remove it. His match as the TLC pay-per-view in Brooklyn, New York had been brutality personified, especially with all the weapons used. Zelia was sure Jon had broken his back a few times with some of the stunts they pulled and had to stop herself from running to gorilla position like she had all those years ago. Colby had taken the brunt of the punishment though and was sent through a stack of tables, taking a career-threatening bump on one of them. Zelia and Valisa were both shocked he hadn’t brained himself, not believing he walked away from that match practically unscathed with the victory.

“Tell you what, let’s not talk about men tonight. Let’s just focus on our great lives and dance the night away.” Valisa could tell how upset Zelia was about this Jon situation even though she wouldn’t admit it and tried like hell hiding her feelings. “Come on woman, time to let loose!”

Smiling, Zelia took a long swig of her daiquiri and grabbed Valisa’s hand, both of them making their way on the dance floor. It was a club that had a restaurant in it, the WWE currently in Washington D.C. and it was New Year’s Eve. Zelia had planned on staying in her hotel room until it was time to go back to the arena to take the Monday Night Raw setup down, but Valisa convinced her to come out with her. She couldn’t believe Valisa wasn’t with Joe since it was New Year’s Eve, but it meant a lot to Zelia that her best friend wasn’t putting their friendship on the backburner just because a man entered her life.

Why the hell was he here? More importantly, how did Joe convince him to come out to a place like this? Jon was in no mood to celebrate, especially after being attacked by a returning vengeful Randy Orton. His neck still throbbed from the RKO he received, scowling at the memory and couldn’t believe Orton returned as fast as he had. He wondered if Zelia knew Randy had returned and then immediately dismissed that idea, trying not to think or worry about her. She obviously wanted nothing to do with him or else she wouldn’t keep running away.

They sat in a nearby booth and Jon ordered a shot of Jack Daniels with a beer chaser, wearing a short sleeved black shirt, a ball chain necklace around his neck. His hair was haphazard and hung somewhat over his eyes, though Jon could still see perfectly and his legs were encased in blue jeans that hugged him nicely. Joe had on a long sleeved black shirt that looked ready to bust off of him with skintight black jeans, long dark hair pulled in a low tail at the nape of his neck. He just stuck with beer, knowing Jon wanted to get plastered because of everything going on in his personal and professional life lately. Downing the shot, Jon chased it with half his beer and requested the bottle, stormy bluish grey eyes moving to the dance floor.

Then he saw her.

It was uncanny how fast and easy Jon could spot Zelia in a swarm of people, his eyes watching her every move. The way she danced with her back to Valisa, both of them pressed together as her hips gyrated to the music, was incredibly scorching. Jon briefly wondered if Joe had spotted Valisa and got his answer when the big man cut through the crowd with ease, making his way to her. That left Zelia completely alone to dance by herself and Jon couldn’t pass up the opportunity even if he wanted to. Downing the rest of his first beer, he stood up from the table and made his way through the crowd a little more discreetly than Joe had, the strobe lights starting to flash all around.

Zelia didn’t mind when Joe arrived to steal Valisa away, waving three fingers in her protesting best friend’s direction with a laugh. So much for girl’s night. That was fine, Zelia had partied by herself for the first couple months after joining the WWE. She continued dancing, running her fingers through her raven hair and closed her eyes, getting lost in the music, in everything. When a pair of hands landed on her hips, Zelia smiled and started dancing with whoever was behind her, not caring about anything else. That was until the stranger whipped her around to reveal it was Jon and every part of Zelia’s body ignited instantly from both anger and desire at the sight of him.

Seeing the confusion spark in her jade eyes, Jon heard a slower song come through the speakers and draped her arms around his neck, pulling her closer. His hands slid down her arms to grip her hips again, strong hands searing through the thin material of her clothes. Zelia didn’t fight him off as they both started moving to the beat, his hands running up and down her sides to her back while her fingers delved in his hair, other hand gliding down his chest. Why did he have to look so delicious in a black shirt? Their eyes remained locked until Jon spun her back around to press her back against his chest, grinding against her as his face buried in her neck. Zelia swallowed hard and lulled her head back against his chest, feeling his mouth seal to the spot just below her ear.

“Wanna get out of here?” Jon asked in a husky whisper, his mouth hovering over her lobe before nibbling on it. “Come with me, Zelia.”

Even with everything that happened, Zelia couldn’t deny him anything as her body practically screamed for attention. “Lead the way.” She said loud enough for him to hear, feeling him whip her around again as his mouth crashed down on hers.

Grabbing her hand as their fingers laced together, Jon guided her through the crowd with ease to a dark vacant corner. Before Zelia could come to her senses and run from him again, Jon cupped her face passionately kissing her. His lips felt too wonderful for Zelia to realize what Jon had in mind, feeling her back collide with the wall of the corner seconds later. Jon lifted her up with ease, draping her legs around his waist and ripped his lips from hers, the skirt she wore bunching up around her hips. She didn’t push him away and instead ran her fingers through his hair to grip it again, moaning as his mouth sealed to her neck again.

“Do you want me?” Jon demanded in a rough raspy voice, flicking his tongue across her lobe and felt Zelia do a full body shiver.

“Fuck me, Jon…” Zelia wasn’t above begging, her panties already soaked from dirty dancing with him earlier and the sexual frustration built between both of them was about to explode. “Now.”

Jon wouldn’t deny her anything, deciding they could have a quick session here and then a longer one back in his hotel room. “Gotta check you first, Zel.” He growled, shoving her panties to the side and slid his long nimble fingers between her wet folds, groaning at how wet and tight she was. “Oh yeah, you’re definitely ready for me…”

“Like I wouldn’t be?” She retorted, gripping his face in her hand and plundered her mouth with his again, feeling his hand bunch her panties up to rip them completely from her body, the material giving under his strength. “No more talking, fuck me…”

Jon loved the sound of her panting and smirked against her lips, reaching down to unsnap his jeans, shoving them down just enough to free his painful pulsating cock. “Hold onto me.” He ordered in a low rumble, gripping her hips and pushed through her silk folds seconds later.

Because of how loud the music was, nobody could hear her cry out at the feeling of Jon’s cock filling her to absolute capacity, every nerve-ending in her body ignited. This was possibly the greatest New Year’s Eve Zelia would ever experience because it was with Jon, the man she’d loved for years. Sinking her nails into his upper arms, Zelia didn’t want to wait to accommodate his massive size and began gyrating her hips, urging him to take her. Jon groaned, rolling his hips to thrust inside of her receptive body and slid his hands from her hips to her outer thighs, pressing her further into the wall.

His cock felt exquisite as Zelia met him for every thrust, refusing to sit against the wall while he did all the work. Her body popped up with every thrust, her ass bouncing off the wall and found his addicting mouth, their tongues dueling together almost angrily. There were so many emotions rushing through Zelia during this and she didn’t know what possessed her to let Jon actually screw her in the middle of a packed club in a dark corner. Still, she didn’t regret it and let him have his way with her, even lifting her top up along with her bra so he could have access to her breasts. Zelia moaned uncontrollably as his mouth descended on her breasts hungrily, teasing and tormenting each nipple until they felt like hardened pebbles.

“I-I’m close…” Zelia breathed out in his ear, hearing him grunt and groan as he brought her closer to the edge with every thrust, hitting her sweet spot expertly every time. “Oh god, harder!”

Jon growled, feeling her ankles lock around his waist to drive him deeper inside of her and slid his tongue down the valley of her breasts, wishing they were both completely naked. He never imagined their first encounter to be against a wall at a club, but it seemed to the only place Zelia would give him the time of day. Snarling at the thought of all the times she’d run from him like a coward, Jon increased the pace and suddenly wanted to get as far away from this woman as possible. Noticing the change in demeanor, Zelia blinked and cried out as her head lulled back against the wall, nails digging deeper into his skin as his thrusts came hard, fast and almost borderline brutal.

Within minutes, Zelia had no choice and came all over him, trembling from head to toe as he exploded fiercely inside of her, his seed hitting her back wall. Jon didn’t stop thrusting until he went completely limp inside of her, every part of his body radiating with barely contained anger. Zelia could feel it, feeling her cheeks grow hot from embarrassment and managed to look up at him with tear-filled jade eyes. She would be bruised for a while, especially since Jon’s grip had intensified along with his thrusts during the end. He could only stare back at her and immediately hated himself for what just happened, for actually letting his lust overtake every other sense of rationality.

“Zelia…”

“Put me down now.” She ordered gravely, fighting back tears with every ounce of willpower inside of her and felt her feet hit the floor seconds later.

Jon watched as she stood against the wall on shaky legs and wanted to do something, say something to help her, but his mouth and brain weren’t working. He merely tucked himself away and zipped his jeans, his eyes never leaving her while she adjusted her skirt. Her ripped panties lay on the floor beside them and Zelia snatched them up instantly, tossing them in a nearby trashcan. What the hell were they supposed to say to each other? She’d avoided and ran away from him for weeks now while Jon thought something intimate was going on between her and Glen, who was a married man.

“Gonna run away again?” Jon couldn’t stop the malice from entering his voice, bluish grey eyes narrowed and already knew the answer. Of course she would.

“No, but I am leaving to get the hell away from you.” Zelia shot back heatedly and went to walk past him, but Jon grabbed her upper arm stopping her. “Let go of me, Good.”

“No.” Jon yanked her back flush against his body, not understanding where this sudden hatred for him stemmed from. “You obviously feel something for me or you wouldn’t have let me fuck you in here of all places. What the hell is going on, Zelia?”

“You tell me. I can’t figure you out or read your mind. I have no idea what you’re thinking. Now let go of me so I can leave and run away from you again.” Zelia ordered, breaking free from Jon when he refused to do it and stumbled back. “You’ve changed and not for the better.”

“Yeah that’s right, go run back to your married lover.” Jon hissed viciously, pointing to the exit that was on the other side of the club. “Go fuck him and give him your sloppy seconds.” His eyes shot open when her hand collided with his face a second later, a giant red handprint forming on his cheek.

“Go fuck yourself, Good!” Zelia bolted away from him through the people as tears streamed down her cheeks, just wanting to get as far away from Jonathan Good as possible.

Nothing would ever be the same between them again, not after what happened.

Chapter 11

Zelia broke speed limits racing back to the hotel and couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her face. They were unstoppable and she didn’t bother trying to fight them since her heart felt like it was smashed into a million pieces. How could Jon treat her like a common piece of trash? Granted, Zelia had been avoiding him like the plague and it was for this specific reason. Jon got what he wanted from her, in a dirty club, and now he would go onto the next woman he could claim. Zelia hated herself for being so weak against him and hit the steering wheel several times, the anger pouring out of every aperture of her body.

Peeling into the parking lot, Zelia slammed the SUV in park and stepped out, slamming the door so hard the window rattled. She didn’t care if it shattered or not. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Feeling very exposed due to having her panties ripped from her body from Jon, Zelia hurried inside the hotel, wrapping her arms around herself. A hot shower to scrub his prints off of her and a bottle of wine had her name on it as Zelia headed toward the elevator, going as fast as her 2 inch heels would allow. Just as the elevator doors opened, Zelia came face to chest with both Glen Jacobs and the soon-to-be returned Mark Calaway, –he was known as the Undertaker to the WWE fans- both of them stopping at the sight of Zelia.

Glen frowned, noticing Zelia’s tear streaked face and red swollen eyes, stepping off the elevator. “Zel, what happened?” She looked like she’d gotten mugged, her hair haphazard and felt his blood start boiling. “Who do I have to kill?”

“Nobody, I’m fine.” Zelia mumbled, lowering her eyes from Glen and turned to walk away from both of them, wanting to be alone right now.

That wasn’t happening, not in the current state she was in and Glen reached out to stop her, grabbing her upper arm. “Zelia, talk to me.” He was genuinely concerned about her, hazel eyes full of worry.

“Darlin’, if someone hurt you, all you gotta do is say the word.” Mark piped up, running a hand over his nearly bald head that currently had somewhat of a Mohawk style.

“Was it Orton?” Glen demanded, his voice laced with barely contained anger. “That son of a bitch, I’ll kill him!”

“It wasn’t him!” Zelia snapped, ripping her arm away from Glen and refused to tell him or anyone else what happened with Jon. “Happy fucking New Year.” She took off through the door to the backstairs and ascended them as fast as she could, stumbling as her knees hit one of the steps. “Damn it!”

Glen moved to follow her, but Mark clamped a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “Let me handle this.” He’d always been close to Zelia in a purely platonic way and they had a connection not even her and Glen did. “I’ll call you up after I talk to her.”

“Fine, you better find out what’s wrong. If I see Orton, I’ll maim him.”

“You and me both.” Mark muttered, having heard what Randy pulled on Zelia and planned on teaching the boy a little about respect towards women when they ran into each other next.

Heading up the backstairs, Mark found Zelia on the second floor steps sobbing and frowned, slowly lowering himself to be eyelevel with her. “Talk to me darlin’, what happened?” His voice was nothing more than a low soothing rumble coming from his chest.

“I-I don’t wanna talk about it.” Zelia whispered, her entire body wracked with pain and anguish from what happened with Jon, burying her face in her knees. “It was h-horrible…”

Sighing, Mark decided not to press her to talk about what had her upset and instead lifted her up in his arms, carrying her up the rest of the stairs. “What room are you in?” He asked softly, heading down the hallway.

“202.” She muttered, hating Jon for making her cry in front of a legend like Mark Calaway and took her keycard out of her purse when they arrived.

Mark took it and opened the door expertly, stepping inside with Zelia still in his arms. He headed over to the bed and gently sat down with her still in his arms, knowing she needed comfort at the moment. In all the years Mark knew her, Zelia had never showed this type of emotion and it baffled him. She was always full of life and joking around. Mark actually tried dating her at one point, but Zelia shot him down, knowing his reputation. He loved her quick wit and smart mouth, pursuing her for a while until Michelle McCool came into his life. He was legally separated from his second wife, Sara, when he started training Michelle and they immediately connected. Now they were married and had a beautiful little girl named Kaia Faith Calaway. What started out as lust had turned into a friendship that he honestly wouldn’t have traded for anything in the world.

“I need to shower.” Zelia could still feel Jon all over her and until she could erase his touch, the tears wouldn’t stop. “Please, just let me clean up and then I’ll tell you if you want to know that badly.”

Mark eyed her skeptically, finally standing to set her on her feet in front of him. “Take your time. I’m not goin’ anywhere.” He assured her, gesturing to the bathroom door and watched her disappear inside, whipping his cell phone out to call Glen.

“What’d you find out?” Glen demanded, not bothering with a greeting as he paced back and forth. “Is she alright? Was it Orton?”

“Glen, breathe man.” Mark looked at the bathroom door, hearing the sprays going. “She’s in the shower now. She said she’ll tell me everything when she’s out. You need to STAY AWAY because I have a feeling she won’t tell you shit if you’re here. You’re way more protective of her than I am…at least that’s what I want her to believe.”

“Mark, if Randy laid a finger on her…”

“I know, big man. Me too.” Mark agreed, both of them on the same page. “Just give me some time with her and I’ll call you after I leave her room.”

An hour later, Zelia stepped out of the bathroom in t-shirt with her favorite rock band on it, The White Tie Affair, -she’d seen them in concert a few times and got made fun by her friends on a daily basis for liking their type of music- the material hanging off one shoulder with a pair of grey pajama pants. Her hair was brushed and her skin looked red from scrubbing until it was nearly raw. Not one part of her body felt Jon’s touch, but the memory would plague her forever, Zelia feared. Sighing at the sight of Mark sitting patiently on her bed, Zelia walked over to the mini-bar and poured herself a much needed drink, filling the tumbler to the top with Vodka.

“Ready to talk?” Mark asked, already having a tumbler in his hand of bourbon, only half gone.

Swallowing half the Vodka down with ease, Zelia enjoyed the feeling of the liquid burning down her esophagus as she sat beside Mark on the bed, staring down at the liquid. “Do you know who Jonathan Good is?” Even saying his name made her heart twinge painfully, but Zelia ignored it, running her thumb along the rim of the tumbler.

“Sort of, he was on NXT and now part of the Shield, right?”

Zelia nodded, a sad smile crossing her face. “Yeah well, I knew him back when I worked for HWA. We were best friends actually. And I left because HWA released me from my contract abruptly due to the shitty economy. I didn’t buy it for a second. Anyway, I didn’t exactly say goodbye to Jon and…left without a word. A few weeks later, I started here and we recently ran into each other for the first time. He was angry because he thought I disappeared off the face of the planet and didn’t know I’d gotten a job with the WWE. He was hurt more than anything. To make a long story short, we have a past that’s twisted, confusing and…I ran into him tonight at the club I went to with Valisa.”

Mark took a thoughtful sip of his bourbon, digesting all of that. “Go on.” He urged quietly, placing a hand on her leg and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Instantaneously, fresh burning tears poured down her cheeks as Zelia lowered her head in shame, dropping her half-filled tumbler of Vodka to the floor. “I-I let him fuck me in the club. One minute I’m dancing on the floor with Valisa, the next I feel someone come up behind me and…it was him. We danced and he asked me if I wanted to leave. I said yes. I NEVER expected him to take me to a far corner and fuck me when everyone and their mother could’ve seen. But I did it willingly, it was completely consensual. I’m in love with him and have been for a very long time. Since the HWA days actually. Then he treated me like a common piece of trash afterwards and asked me if I would run from him again. He thinks I’m running away from him and I’m not. I’m protecting myself because Jon never ONCE gave me any indication he wanted me as more than a friend. Then all of a sudden he runs into me here and he wants me. I don’t get it. So he got what he wanted tonight, I gave it up to him in a moment of weakness and now he can go onto the next woman.” Burying her face in her hands, Zelia’s entire body trembled and still couldn’t believe what a horrid New Year’s Eve this turned out to be. “On top of it, he thinks there’s something going on between me and Glen. So apparently I’m a whore that likes to fuck in dirty clubs and married men.”

“Stop.” Mark held his hand up, scowling. “You are not a whore by any means, Zelia. Don’t ever call yourself that again in my presence. Sounds to me like this boy is in dire need of a trip to the woodshed by the Deadman and I plan on deliverin’ now that I’m back. He’s gonna learn to treat a lady right.” Glen would help too, Mark added in thought, pulling Zelia against his side. “It’s different when you fuck someone you’re in love with as opposed to a stranger, darlin’. Did he say anythin’ else to you?”

“Yeah he said to go give Glen my sloppy seconds.” Zelia sounded absolutely disgusted, feeling sick to her stomach at the memory. “All because Glen and I are friendly and hang out a lot. I hate people who automatically assume a guy and girl are fucking just because they hang out together. Completely ridiculous.”

Jonathan Good was definitely going to learn the word respect when Mark and Glen were finished with him.

~!~

“You did WHAT?” Joe bellowed, gaping at his friend and wondered if he’d lost his mind. “How the hell could you do something like that to her, Jon?!”

“Shut up and mind your own business.” Jon ordered, smoking while sitting on the ledge staring out into the lake the next day. “God my head is fucking killing me.”

Joe shook his head, folding his arms in front of his chest. “You do realize she’ll never forgive you for this, right? You crossed the line and took the low road. You need to leave Zelia alone if you don’t want to be with her.” Valisa would be livid when she found out what happened at the club between Jon and Zelia, cringing at the thought.

“Hey, it was consensual and we both wanted it.” Jon shot back, taking a long drag of his cigarette. “Doesn’t matter, she still ran away from me.”

“Because you were a dick to her!” Joe growled, tempted to push Jon in the ice cold lake to make him wake up and realize what he did. “Hell, if it was me I would’ve left your ass high and dry too! You claim you love this woman yet you’re doing everything in your power to make her hate you, man! What the hell is wrong with you, Jon? What’s going through your mind? Fucking her in the club is one thing, but accusing her of sleeping with a married man is LOW.”

Glaring up at his friend, Jon really didn’t need to hear this and blew the smoke out, tearing a hand through his dishwater blonde hair. “You didn’t hear their conversation and what they were saying to each other. You didn’t hear how she wanted the Big Red Machine and how she had something important to tell me that they couldn’t hide anymore. I heard everything and Zelia proved she’s a whore when she fucked me last night. Plain and simple, the woman gets around a lot. Hell, I know she fucked Randy Orton too.”

Joe could not believe what Jon said, thankful Valisa wasn’t here because she would’ve beaten his ass black and blue. “I talked to Valisa about that and she swears to me nothing is going on between Glen and Zelia. You need to talk to the woman and just confront her before you end up losing her for good with your assumptions. They are FRIENDS, Jon. Glen is happily married.”

“That’s what Zelia tells her, but can Valisa honestly say without a shadow of a doubt she knows they aren’t fucking?” Jon demanded, standing up from the ledge and turned to face Joe, bluish grey eyes showing all the pain and anguish he felt since finding Zelia again. “I do love her. I love that woman so much it physically hurts whenever I’m not around her. I searched high and low for her after she left the HWA, but I had limited resources. I would’ve done anything for her, no matter the cost or circumstances. Now, all she wants to do is mess with my head and run away from me like a coward.”

“You two really need to talk.” Joe concluded in a mutter, listening to everything Jon said and had to admit his friend made valid points. “And Valisa knows her better than you. They’ve been friends for a while and she can tell when Zelia is lying. She said Zelia has no reason to lie and would never degrade herself by screwing a married man. Randy has been pursuing her since she started in the company, but Zelia wants nothing to do with him. You really need to get your act together and your head out of your ass, Jon. Because if you are wrong about these assumptions and she really is only friends with Glen Jacobs, it’ll haunt you for the rest of your life and eat you alive. Think about that.”

Jon watched Joe walk away back to his car and left him standing there mulling over those words. How could Jon not believe there was more going on between Glen and Zelia when he clearly overheard it? She was hiding something and had to tell him. What was it then? What could Zelia possibly be hiding? Last night had been a moment of weakness because, as soon as Jon laid eyes on Zelia, he had to have her. She wanted him just as much, her body and eyes spoke volumes, but he did regret how it happened. Scowling, Jon lit up another cigarette and had to figure out what to do before he did lose Zelia for good, if he hadn’t already.

Chapter 12

“He’s dead.”

Mark stayed the night with Zelia to make sure she was alright, worried about her sanity since she’d completely broken down to him. She drank half a bottle of Vodka and passed out on the bed, ordering both of them a movie to watch. Crying combined with drinking had been too much for Zelia and her body shut down, so Mark stayed to make sure she didn’t end up vomiting in her sleep or something. When they woke up earlier that morning, Zelia surprisingly didn’t have a hangover and ate breakfast, which was Mark’s stipulation before he left her. She had to eat something. He left shortly after a silent breakfast and immediately called Glen, both of them meeting in the hotel parking lot.

“No, but we are gonna teach him a lesson. This boy thinks you and Zelia are havin’ a fling apparently and if you go after him you’re just gonna fuel that fire more. It needs to be at a professional and personal level.” Mark had a few ideas in mind, making valid points and watched Glen’s eyes widen.

“What?! I’m married! I’m not doing anything with Zelia!” Glen exclaimed angrily, clenching his fists at his sides as his jaw tightened. “Why the hell would he think that?”

That was the million dollar question. “I have no idea. Zelia doesn’t know either. So I think we need to figure out where he got his information from durin’ his ‘trainin’’ session with us.” He smirked, rubbing his hands together, looking positively wicked.

“He’s gonna know something’s up.” Glen muttered, though he had to admit he was looking forward to taking the rookie to school in the ring. “Especially with me being in the picture.”

Mark had to admit Glen made a valid point. “How about you let me talk to him alone, convince him to spar and then gradually head down to the ring while I’m schoolin’ him? He’s gotta know we’re best friends, man.”

“You know what? That’s not a bad idea. You really are gettin’ smart in your old age.” Glen laughed when Mark socked him in the arm, rolling his eyes. “Like that’s supposed to hurt?”

“Do you want it to?” Mark shot back in a growl, folding his arms in front of his chest. “I still got a few fights left in me.”

“I’m sure you do and I might take you up on that offer later.”

They parted ways and headed off to the arena. Glen had to go check on Zelia to make sure she was alright while Mark went to track down Jonathan Good. Everyone in the locker room trusted Mark and looked up to him as a leader because he knew everything about the business. He was also a good listener. Mark saw a lot of rookies come and go because of their lack of knowledge for the sport, because they didn’t ask questions. Asking questions was the key. So the rookies who DID ask questions and wanted to soak up knowledge were the ones who made it.

Normally, Mark could take one look at a rookie and knew if they were going to make it in the WWE or not. Jonathan Good was definitely one of those rare diamonds and he was going to be a big star. The same went for Colby Lopez and Joe Anoa’i, who he already knew since the man was a little boy. He was good friends with Sika Anoa’i, who was Joe Anoa’i’s father and Dwayne Johnson; – the WWE fans knew him as simply The Rock- who was Joe’s cousin. Mark heard a lot of about Jonathan Good from the Indy’s, though he went by the name of Jon Moxley. Mark paid attention to all aspects of the wrestling business, not just WWE because new stars were the key to keep material fresh and interesting.

Arriving at the arena, Mark cut the ignition and stepped out of his Chevy Silverado rental, heading inside to see if the Shield boys were there yet. Sure enough, they were all in the workout room lifting weights together. That was good; the kid was already stretched out and had broken a sweat. Well, he was about to break even more sweat and possibly some bones if Mark had his way. He merely folded his arms in front of his chest and stood there, not saying a single word while the three of them focused on lifting. Colby was the first one to spot Mark Calaway watching them and finished his reps, setting the bar down.

“I want to talk to YOU.” Mark pointed directly at Jonathan Good, the dishwater blonde with intense blue eyes. “Do ya gotta second, boy?”

Joe and Colby both looked at each other and then at Jon, seeing the apprehension on his face. “Come on, Colbs; let’s go get something to eat.” They were done with the workout and both wondered what the hell Mark Calaway wanted with their teammate.

“What can I do for you, sir?” Jon asked, racking the bar and wiped his hands off on his black workout shorts.

At least the kid had respect, Mark thought, and stroked his goatee, trying to figure out how to word this without ringing the boy’s neck. “I’ve been watchin’ your matches and you’re good. I ain’t gonna deny it. You’ve got skill and talent, kid, but there’s more to this sport than that. I think you’re a little tense when you get in the ring. Was wonderin’ if you’d like to come down to the ring and I can show ya a few things to help ya. Up to you though.” Mark didn’t just give advice and help to anyone, so if this kid was serious about making it big in this company, he would take the offer.

“You mean like sparring?” Jon wiped sweat from his forehead with a towel and wrapped it around his neck, staring back at one of the main legends in wrestling.

“Yes. I’ve been outta the loop for a while and could use a sparrin’ partner today since mine is currently busy.” That was an easy enough excuse and completely believable. “So what do ya say?”

Jon shrugged, deciding it couldn’t hurt to learn something new from Mark Calaway and tossed his towel to the side. “Lead the way, sir.”

“Just call me Mark, boy. When you gain my respect, I’ll start callin’ you by your name, but until then you’re simply boy to me.” Mark informed him, walking out of the workout room with Jon following suit.

2 hours later, Jon felt as though he’d keel over at any moment from the strenuous sparring Mark put him through. His arms felt like they’d fall off along with his legs. Jon had been through some brutal matches throughout the years in his Indy days, but NEVER had he experienced this within a 2 hour span. Mark not only sparred with him, but basically beat the hell out of his body with moves he normally didn’t do in the ring. Mark merely nodded and told Jon his reasoning was simple: variety. That was such a load of crap, but Jon didn’t complain once, knowing his back would be heavily bruised later that night from this. He looked up when a whistling Glen Jacobs came sauntering down to the ring and had to fight the urge to glare in his direction. What the hell was he doing down here? Jon looked up at Mark, knowing he was close with Glen and started wondering if this was all a setup.

“Come on boy, get up and do it again.” Mark ordered, clapping his hands and nodded once at Glen as he remained on the outside looking in. “Come on, you gotta push yourself to make it in this business.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Jon snapped, gritting his teeth because he couldn’t get the thought of Zelia and Glen Jacobs being together out of his head. “No offense, Deadman, but I’ve been in this business since I was 16 years old. I’m not exactly wet behind the ears; I know what it takes to make it. That’s why I was champion in several different promotions – world champion in fact – at the same time. Because they trusted me to promote their companies the correct way and I did.” He wiped sweat from his forehead, his blood boiling. “And I’m done with the sparring session today. You obviously have some business to take care of with others. Thanks for the opportunity.”

This kid had balls of steel, Mark thought, as he watched Jonathan Good hop out of the ring and walked right past Glen, waiting for the explosion to happen. He was pleasantly surprised when the kid didn’t do or say a word to Glen, apparently trying to keep things as civil as possible. Mark had never let anyone walk out on him during a sparring session, but Jon wasn’t like others. He did things his way and he didn’t give a damn what others thought. It sort of reminded him of his good friend, Steve Austin, who singlehandedly saved the WWE –WWF at the time- from extinction back in the old days.

“So did you question him about Zelia?” Glen asked, slipping through the ropes after Jon was gone.

“No, we sparred and I showed him a few moves that he already knew. He’s very intelligent, definitely not your typical rookie. I still ran his ass ragged though and he’ll be sore tonight.”

Mark tried not to sound angry with Glen because the man had showed up a little too soon for his liking. He didn’t want Jon to have the mobility to walk out of there on his own, but the kid had made it clear he was finished for the day. It was because of Glen’s presence, that much was obvious, but what was Mark supposed to do? Force the boy to spar some more and threaten him if he didn’t, just to piss him off further? That wasn’t the way to handle this situation, no matter if he’d been a total dick to Zelia.

“How come you didn’t set his ass straight just now?” He tossed at Glen, leaning against the ring ropes with his arms folded in front of his chest.

“Why bother?” Glen snorted in a retort, raising a brow. “He wouldn’t believe me anyway. He’s gonna have to dig his own grave and then deal with the consequences. He’s gonna think and believe what he wants when it comes to Zelia. It’s obvious they have to talk if they want to resolve this.”

“True.” Mark couldn’t argue with that point. “I just hope it doesn’t interfere with his work ethic and wrestling because he could hurt someone if he’s too distracted.”

Glen couldn’t argue that point either and started sparring with Mark since they had some time left in the ring.

Meanwhile, Jon was irate as soon as he walked through the black curtain, heading back to the Shield locker room, only to run into Zelia. He didn’t plow into her physically, but she was standing there talking to one of the stage technicians. Why did she have to look so beautiful? The WWE shirt she wore was tucked into a pair of skinny blue jeans that hugged her legs and ass perfectly. Her soft black hair was pulled up on top of her head in a fanned messy style to keep it out of her eyes and he saw the utility belt around her waist, knowing she’d be working on the lights on the catwalk again. Before Jon knew what he was doing, he grabbed Zelia and pulled her with him down the hallway into the first available dressing room, shutting the door behind him.

“What are you-?”

“Let’s get one thing straight right fucking now, I don’t appreciate you sicking your lovers on me.” Jon growled angrily, practically spitting venom as his words dripped with pure malice. “Goddamn, I knew you got around, but seriously I didn’t think you’d go for two old farts like THEM.” Tearing a hand through his dishwater blonde hair, Jon had to maintain his distance before he did something reckless like he did at the club the previous night. “You’re definitely not who I thought you were, Zelia.”

Zelia had NO idea what the hell was going on and just stared at Jon with wide jade eyes, breathing somewhat heavily. “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She stammered, trying to keep the tears at bay because she’d cried enough to last a lifetime the previous night with Mark. “Who are THEM?”

Jon scoffed, not believing she was actually playing dumb and fought the urge to strangle her with his bare hands. “Why don’t you go down to the fucking ring and find out for yourself? Stop lying and stop playing with me, girl! I know what you’re doing and it’s not gonna work! I just got my ass HANDED to me by your fucking old wrinkly lover and had your other one WATCH! I’m warning you right now, Zelia, stay the fuck out of my professional and personal life or I will make you regret it.”

“Jon, I don’t understand…” Who the hell was down in the ring? Who the hell was he talking about? She was completely clueless and the tears she tried fighting off instantly spilled from her eyes down her cheeks. “I just fucked you last night, why would I do that if I was with someone else? I’m not like that and you’re not making any sense…” Then the light bulb suddenly clicked in her mind and everything began falling into place, Zelia’s jade eyes narrowing. “That son of a bitch…”

Jon could see the revelation in her eyes and nodded stiffly, gritting his teeth. “Gonna stop lying to me now?”

Zelia didn’t have time to deal with this right now because she had a certain Deadman and Big Red Machine to pulverize. “Think what you want, I’m done fighting with you about it. Have a good match tonight.” She walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her, stalking toward the gorilla position.

Mark and Glen were both laughing as they appeared moments later from behind the black curtain, not seeing a very irate Zelia heading towards them. Glen was the first to spot her and swallowed hard at the murderous look in her jade eyes, his jaw dropping as the sound of flesh smacking flesh echoed in the hallway. Zelia had just slapped the taste out of Mark’s mouth, putting her full force behind the blow. Apparently, Jon had gotten to her and ratted them both out, the little prick.

“Zelia…”

“NO!” Zelia growled, feeling some sort of satisfaction at the sight of the beat red handprint on Mark’s cheek and shook her head. “Don’t you dare say a fucking word to me. I don’t want to hear it. You both were WAY out of line with what you did to Jon. I don’t even know what the hell you did and, quite frankly, I don’t give a shit! You sparred with Jon and did some other things that were uncalled for, I’m sure of it.” Mark was famous for his ‘sparring’ sessions with the rookies of the company to show them who the dominant one in the ring was. “I’m only saying this once, so both of you listen damn good and well, stay away from Jon and from me. Because now, thanks to your sparring session, he thinks I’m fucking BOTH of you. So thanks a lot for driving THAT assumption home further for him.”

Blinking, Zelia could feel hot tears scorching her cheeks and took off down the hallway before Glen and Mark could stop her. Just wanting sometime alone to reflect on everything that had happened since Jonathan Good arrived in the WWE, Zelia arrived outside and sat on one of the trunks. She lit up a much needed cigarette and closed her eyes, letting her pain out to the silence that surrounded her. What the hell was she going to do now that Jon thought she was screwing not one, but two of the top WWE Superstars?

Chapter 13

“So, I think we should go out tonight.”

Zelia looked up from her plate of uneaten food and looked at Valisa, raising a brow. This was the first time they actually had a moment alone to talk in a week. Valisa spent a lot of her time with Joe these days and Zelia was left to be alone in her hotel rooms. Some nights she’d order a movie and others she’d simply go to bed after a hard night’s work tearing down the WWE setup. She didn’t mind Valisa spending her time with Joe because something serious was developing between them and they legitimately liked each other. At least, that’s what Zelia assumed.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Zelia replied finally, running a hand through her black hair and recalled the last time she went out somewhere with Valisa. “No Joe tonight?”

Valisa smiled as soon as his name was mentioned and shook her head. “No, unfortunately not. He’s having a boy’s night with Colbs and Jon. Apparently, they’ve been feeling neglected, so they’re all going out to a strip joint.”

Zelia’s eyes widened when she heard that. “What? And you’re okay with that?”

Valisa shrugged. “Joe and I haven’t established what we are yet. We’re dating right now, but that’s all it is. And of course fucking.” She smirked wickedly. “We’re simply seeing where things go and he asked my permission. What am I gonna say, no? I’m not going to be a controlling bitch like his ex-girlfriend was. If he wants to go to a strip joint with the guys, then that’s what he’s gonna do.”

“You are a very brave woman.” Zelia sighed, chomping on a carrot stick and felt sick at the thought of Jon being at a strip club.

“What’s going on with you, Zel?” Valisa demanded, seeing her friend had barely touched the food on her plate and frowned. “Something’s going on and keeping it bottled up inside is only going to make things worse. How about we go outside and you spill your guts to me?”

Zelia knew better than to argue because that tone of voice implied there was zero room for argument. “Fine, I need some air anyway.” They tossed their plates away and headed outside of the arena, both hopping up on one of the equipment trunks.

“Now spill.” Valisa ordered, hating to see the dark circles under her friend’s eyes and could already feel her anger sparking. “Does it have to do with Jon?”

The flood gates suddenly opened as Zelia nodded, burying her face in her hands crying her heart out. She couldn’t help it. Every time she thought about what happened between her and Jon, she completely crumbled. All she wanted was him, but not just for a quick screw or a one night stand. She wanted all of Jonathan Good or none at all, including his adorable ticks and even his bad smoking habit he passed along to her. Valisa pulled her into a tight embrace and all Zelia could do was cry, feeling Valisa’s fingers run through her hair.

“What happened, sweetie?” Valisa asked softly, wanting to maim Jon for causing her friend this much pain. “Talk to me. Let it out.”

Zelia pulled back once the crying subsided and kept her eyes lowered to the ground, swinging her legs back and forth so the heel of her tennis shoes bounced off the trunk. “Remember when we went out for New Year’s Eve to that club?” She waited for Valisa to nod before continuing. “We were dancing together and then Joe snagged you away.”

Valisa groaned at that memory, nodding. “Yeah, apparently he refused to allow me to go without a New Year’s Eve kiss. We left the club almost straightaway. So what happened?” She was clueless about Jon being there obviously.

“Jon was there. He’s the one who took your place dancing with me and it felt so incredible being in his arms. We danced for a little while and he asked me to leave with him. I thought he meant leave the club altogether, but he had other plans in mind. So instead, he shoved me into a dark corner and…” Zelia trailed off, closing her eyes tightly shut as a wave of shame rushed over her. “I let him fuck me in the club, Vali. I BEGGED him to fuck me like some common whore. And he did. After we finished, I could literally FEEL the resentment and anger coming from him and he proved me right by taunting me about running away from him again. Then he said to go run away back to my married lover and give him my sloppy seconds. I told him go fuck himself and bolted out of the club in tears. It was so horrible…” She broke down in tears again, not able to keep them at bay.

Valisa was LIVID and it showed in her ocean blue eyes that were now a dark stormy blue. “That son of a bitch!” She hissed, holding Zelia close again and shook her head in disbelief, wanting to rip his balls from his body. “Is there anything else?”

“I wish there wasn’t.” Zelia sniffled, wiping her tears away and just gave up because they just flowed harder. “When I arrived back at the hotel that night, I ran into Glen and Mark. I didn’t want to tell Glen about what happened because I knew he’d blow a gasket and kill Jon. Mark followed me up to my room and offered to let me talk to him and I did. He’s a lot easier to talk to since I’m not as close to him as I am with Glen. I told him everything, even about my past with Jon in HWA. He let me cry on him and we ended up falling asleep in the same bed together, but nothing else happened. Then, those assholes broke my trust by coming up with a plan to ‘teach’ Jon a lesson by sparring with him in the ring. You know how Mark is. He likes proving to the rookies that they can’t hack it in the ring, but they have NO idea what kind of competitor Jon is or what he’s been through in the Indy’s. So naturally, Jon yanks me into a dressing room and demands to know why I sent my lovers after him.” Shaking her head, Zelia could feel her own anger rising. “I had no idea what he meant by that and told him I was done defending myself against his accusations. Then I saw Mark and Glen walking through the curtain laughing, obviously coming back from the ring and I…I snapped. I walked up to them, slapped the taste out of Mark’s mouth and told both of them to stay the hell away from me and Jon. I haven’t spoken to either one of them since then and that was a week ago.”

“WOW, so THAT’S why Glen has been walking around for the past week looking lost and depressed.” Valisa had wondered what was going on with Glen and tried asking him about it, but he just brushed her off. “Man, you must’ve really did a number on him because he’s really down in the dumps.”

“Serves him right.” Zelia hopped off the equipment trunk and wiped her tears away. “What happens between me and Jon is nobody’s business and I will deal with it my way. Because now, thanks to that sparring session with Mark, Jon thinks I’m fucking him AND Glen.” She snorted in disgust, feeling sick to her stomach.

“WHAT?” Valisa gaped, blue eyes widening. “Are you fucking serious? Why would he think you were fucking either one of them to begin with? They are married, is he insane?”

Zelia shrugged, wishing she could have a cigarette, but she didn’t want to smoke in front of Valisa. “No clue. He won’t tell me how he came to that conclusion and I’m done trying to figure it out. He can think what he wants, I have to let him go and move on with my life. He’s obviously not who I thought he was and being in love with him all these years was a HUGE waste of time.” She looked down at her watch, seeing the time. “I gotta get inside, don’t be late or Ben will have your ass in the sling.”

Valisa nodded, watching Zelia walk off and cracked her knuckles, pursing her lips together. Oh she wouldn’t be late, not at all. But there was one stop she was making on her way to the ring. Jonathan Good had some SERIOUS explaining to do and if he didn’t spill the truth to Valisa, she would make him regret it. Heading straight for the Shield locker room, Valisa squared her shoulders and knocked on the door, staring back at Joe when he answered.

“Hey beautiful, what are you doing here?” Joe greeted with a smile, though it immediately vanished at the amount of anger swirling through her blue eyes. “Oh shit, what happened?”

Valisa didn’t answer him, her eyes landing on Jon, who was busy taping his hands up for their match that night. Instead, that same anger she’d felt earlier with Zelia came back tenfold and Valisa found her fist plowing right into Jon’s nose, sending him flying backwards in the steel chair he sat on. She didn’t stop there either, ignoring both Joe and Colby’s shocked faces as they watched the scene unfold before them.

“What the FUCK, lady?!” Jon roared, holding his nose that sputtered blood and rolled away from the chair, his back on fire from the impact of the steel against it. Wasn’t the first time he felt steel against his back and it wouldn’t be the last, but it was definitely unexpected. “What the hell is your problem?! Bro, control your woman right now!”

“Don’t even THINK about touching me right now, Joseph.” Valisa warned in a hiss, clenching her fists at her sides and felt satisfaction at the blood pouring out of Jon’s nose. “That’s for being a complete and total DICKHEAD to my best friend, you asshole!”

Joe knew Jon would end up hurting Valisa if he didn’t step in and did just that, staring hardening down at his friend. “Leave her alone, man.” Valisa would not lash out like that without some kind of reason and Joe planned on finding out, holding his hand up. “I’ll talk to her. Just back off.”

“You do that.” He snarled angrily, storming past Joe and Colby out the door, heading down to the trainer to get his nose checked out. If it was broken, he would snap Valisa’s neck without thinking twice. “Fucking bitch.”

“Colbs, go make sure he doesn’t kill anyone.” Joe ordered, his eyes never leaving Valisa and watched as the man took off out the door, giving them privacy. “What the hell was that about?”

All of the anger drained from Valisa’s body and was replaced with heartbreak for her best friend. “Zelia.” Neither of them realized the door was left wide open as Joe pulled her into his arms and Valisa buried her face in his chest. “H-He’s hurting her badly and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not right…”

Joe sighed heavily and guided her over to another steel folding chair, sitting down with her sitting across his lap. “What happened?” He asked again, his voice a low rumble.

“Jon thinks Zelia is fucking married men and she’s not! She’s not fucking anyone on the roster! That woman was a freaking MOUSE when she came into this company because she felt so lost after losing her job with the HWA. She didn’t talk to hardly anyone for months and I’m the one who had to get her out of her shell. Glen helped too since I’ve been good friends with him for years.” She owed Glen a sock to the face as well for his plan with Mark to try teaching Jon a lesson. “Glen is like a brother to her, so where the fuck Jon got the idea that she’s fucking him is bullshit. Its pure bullshit and I won’t have anyone spreading rumors about my best friend. It’s not happening. I’ll kill for Zelia and I know she’d do the same for me if the roles were reversed and it was you doing this to me.”

Honestly, Jon hadn’t really talked to him about what was going on with Zelia because the man tended to keep things to himself. “So he thinks she’s fucking Glen Jacobs and…Mark Calaway?” He wanted to make sure he understood everything Valisa said and heaved a sigh when she nodded. “There’s gotta be a reason. Somebody must’ve told him something or he overheard someone talking about Glen and Zelia.”

“You need to find out from him. He’ll talk to you. Because until we get to the bottom of what’s going on in his head, there’s no way of knowing how exactly he came to these conclusions. They are all bullshit assumptions and they need to be put to rest immediately.” Valisa stated, wiping her tears away and couldn’t believe she just broke down to Joe like this. “Sorry about your vest.” He was already in his Shield tactical vest and cargo pants.

Joe waved her off and kissed the top of her head, trying to calm her down. “You’ve got one hell of a right hook on you.” He complimented with a small chuckle and took her bruised hand, knowing she put her full force behind that shot to Jon’s nose. “You need to go to the trainer and get it checked out.”

“I’ll be fine…” Valisa pulled it away from him and groaned when Joe shook his head, having a feeling she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“You either go willingly…” He trailed off, his hot breath caking on her ear. “Or I won’t play doctor for you later on.”

Valisa closed her eyes, shivering. “I thought you were going out with the boys tonight?” She raised a brow at his devious smirk. “What?”

“We were, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how idiotic it would be for me to start a new relationship off by going to a strip joint. Colbs feels the same way because Kaitlyn was NOT happy to hear where we were planning on going. So we were gonna go to a bar and have a few beers, shoot the breeze and maybe a couple rounds of pool. Though now, the night might be cancelled due to your outburst, my feisty woman.” Joe took her hand again and began brushing his lips across her bruised knuckles, his grey eyes silently pleading with her to get it checked out.

Valisa melted at the look in his eyes and knew she couldn’t deny him anything. “A new relationship huh?” When he nodded, she kissed him softly. “I like the sound of that. And I’ll only go get my hand checked out if you come with me.”

“Deal.” Joe lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the dressing room, loving the sound of her laughter since he refused to let her walk.

Cold calculating blue eyes watched them walk away, neither of them noticing the man standing outside of the Shield’s dressing room. He’d heard every word spoken, including the altercation between Jonathan Good and Valisa. How very interesting indeed. So Jon thought Zelia was sleeping with the Brothers of Destruction…how even MORE interesting. Deciding to put his own spin on this, he whipped his cell phone out and dialed a number, walking away chuckling evilly.

Zelia wouldn’t know what hit her.

Chapter 14

Weeks passed by.

WrestleMania time was upon the WWE and everything was extremely hectic. Vince had the stage crew in multiple meetings every day to make sure everything was set up correctly for the biggest event of the year. It didn’t matter how many WrestleMania’s she’d been through, Zelia still got butterflies every time the event was mentioned. This was Vince McMahon’s baby, his absolute pride and joy, so if anything went wrong people would suffer. Zelia did every single thing in her power, along with Valisa, to make sure the set up would go off without a hitch. They helped Benjamin because he was only one man and Vince ended up hiring some more people temporarily since the set up was always gigantic. With all the addition people just for WrestleMania, it was impossible for Benjamin to keep track of everyone so he enlisted the girls’ help, which they didn’t mind.

Surprisingly, Jon and Zelia kept their distance from each other and everything settled back to normal. Or whatever normal was these days. She kept her focus on her work, attending meetings and literally taking one day at a time. Zelia loved what she did for a living and nobody, not even Jonathan Good, would stop her from doing it. Jon would think what he wanted and once his mind was made up about something, there was no changing it. As much as Zelia loved him, she’d reached her limit on how much crap she could take from Jon with his accusations. So leaving him alone and trying to move on with her broken heart was all Zelia could really do.

Glen had tried talking to her multiple times, but Zelia wanted nothing to do with him. She was hurt by what he planned with Mark because Jon honestly didn’t deserve to be ‘taken to school’. Mark had cornered her a few times trying to apologize as well, but Zelia wasn’t hearing any of it. She simply glared at both of them and walked away, refusing to let them off the hook. It would take A LOT for both of them to get back in her good graces because what they did was a definite betrayal. Maybe after WrestleMania she would reconcile with both of them, but for now Zelia just wanted to be left alone and focus on her job.

Jon was fine to be around for the most part, but he did have his moments where both Joe and Colby left him alone to vent. He was angry and had every right to be. Even after 2 months, Jon still felt sore towards Valisa and didn’t say a single word to her. Whenever she entered the Shield locker room, he left because he had nothing to say. Out of respect to Joe, he didn’t speak his mind to her either because anything that came out of his mouth she definitely wouldn’t like or appreciate. She broke his nose when that shot and it was a huge blow to his ego and manhood, two things that meant a great deal to Jon. Luckily, his nose was fully healed and he could go out to the ring without chancing being injured further.

As far as Zelia went, Jon left her alone and didn’t bother her because he didn’t want to screw his WWE career up. Wrestling was everything to him, his entire life and he’d finally achieved his ultimate goal in making it to the WWE. Nobody, especially a woman, would take that away from him. Jon had worked too hard and too long to let it all be flushed down the toilet all because he couldn’t maintain his temper with a woman. It didn’t matter that she consumed his every waking thought, even when he was kicking ass and taking names in the ring. Jon took out most of his anger and frustration in the gym, working out until his limbs felt like they’d fall off.

Because there were no witnesses to what transpired between Randy and Zelia, Stephanie gave Randy a simple warning and left it at that. It seemed as though Randy took it with a grain of salt and Stephanie did inform Zelia on what her decision was. Surprisingly, the woman didn’t fight her on the decision and everything settled back to normal around the company thankfully. That was until Paul walked into Stephanie’s office one night during Monday Night Raw, something he normally didn’t do unless they had a promo to do together, and told her they had to talk.

“What about?” She asked, folding her arms in front of her chest.

“I had a great idea on how we can make fans like Team Hell No better.” Paul said eagerly, hazel eyes alight with excitement. “They need a valet.”

Stephanie cocked a brow, wondering if her husband had been struck in the head one too many times. “You’re kidding me right? I thought we discussed this when we first decided to put Glen and Bryan together as a team. And YOU’RE the one who said it was a bad idea because it would take away from the team itself. What the hell is going on with you, Paul?” Her blue eyes narrowed slightly, seeing the apprehension cross her husband’s face.

“That was THEN though and I’ve been looking over the ratings whenever Team Hell No comes on television.” Paul pointed out, sitting down across from his beautiful wife. “They’re down, Steph. We have to do something to jack the ratings back up when they come on television or we might as well dismantle the team altogether.”

Stephanie had to admit Paul had a point, as much as she didn’t want to admit it. Ratings hadn’t been good for WWE lately and they had tried finding ways to raise them. Maybe Team Hell No was missing something and maybe that something was a valet. Obviously Paul had someone specific in mind or else he wouldn’t have bothered talking to her to begin with.

“If you think that’s what needs to happen, I have no problem with it…” Stephanie trailed off, holding her hand up when Paul went to talk. “BUT we can’t keep switching AJ from one team to the next. Fans are getting tired of her bouncing all over the place, I know that much.”

Paul grinned, completely in agreement with his wife. “I know and I don’t want to take her away from Nick and Ettore anyway. They are doing well as a team together. I actually had someone in mind that’s not a WWE Diva yet.” Ettore Ewen was known to the fans as Nick’s sidekick Big E Langston

“Someone from developmental?” Stephanie asked, already jotting down a few notes that popped into her mind. “And did you talk to Dad about this? Because you know we have to get his approval before we make big changes like this.”

Rolling his eyes, Paul snorted and shook his head. “He’ll go with this; I’ll make sure of it.” There was no reason to bring the old man into this considering he was getting ready to retire and hand the company over to him and Stephanie. “And no, nobody from developmental.”

Now Stephanie was confused and it showed in her blue eyes. “Then who?” Her eyes widened when the name popped out of Paul’s mouth and Stephanie could feel her jaw drop in shock. “Y-You’re not serious, are you?”

“Yes.”

“But…she has ZERO experience being OUT there, Paul!” Stephanie argued, standing instantly. “You can’t just pluck someone from a job they already have with the company! What if she doesn’t want to do this?”

“Then she’ll find another job.” Paul said simply, shrugging and acted as if this wasn’t a big deal. “Who the hell wouldn’t love an opportunity like this? She’ll have better benefits, pay and everything. I see potential in her.”

Stephanie couldn’t believe what her husband wanted to do and ran a hand through her brown hair, looking troubled. “Paul, I don’t know if it’s wise to force someone to become a WWE Diva…” That’s exactly what she would be. “I mean, I think she should have a choice on what she wants to do…”

Paul walked around the long desk to stare down into his wife’s eyes, softly kissing her lips. “Just trust me on this, okay? All you have to do is inform her of her job title change and make it clear if she doesn’t do this, she’ll be let go from the company. It’s really as simple as that. Sometimes we have to do things at our job we don’t want to do. Tell her it’s what’s good for business.”

Caving under pressure, Stephanie agreed to go through with what her husband wanted and watched him walk out the door, hoping she wasn’t making a fatal mistake. Paul had a sharp mind for the business or else her father wouldn’t have asked him to take over alongside Stephanie. Still, something about this situation didn’t settle well with Stephanie and she wanted to talk to her father about it, but she had to trust Paul. He was her husband after all and he wouldn’t do something to hurt the business. Sighing, Stephanie made up her mind and picked up the 2-way radio, paging the necessary person to get this over with.

When Zelia was told to go to Stephanie McMahon-Levesque’s office from Benjamin, she figured it had something to do with Randy and was ready for anything spewed at her. Knocking on the door, Zelia heard ‘come in’ and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Stephanie held her finger up in a one second gestured and pointed to the chair, obviously on an important phone call. Zelia nodded once and sat down, looking around the office while trying not to eavesdrop on Stephanie’s phone call. When she finished, Zelia’s stomach tightened at the look of pure seriousness and professionalism gleaming in her boss’s blue eyes. This was either going to be really good or really bad.

“Miss Bell, how are you this evening?” Stephanie asked, wanting to start this off as pleasantly as possible and folded her hands on top of her desk.

“I’m fine, Mrs. Levesque.” She didn’t bother adding the McMahon hyphenated name because it was definitely a mouthful to say. “How about you?”

“I’m great.” Stephanie replied softly, crossing her ankles beneath the desk. “But there is a reason I’ve called you in here tonight. I’ve been thinking long and hard about this for a couple months now.” That was a lie, but the best way Stephanie could think of to cover up the fact this was her husband’s doing. “I want to change your job title, Miss Bell.”

Zelia’s stomach went from twisting in knots to relaxing in the span of seconds. “R-Really?” Maybe she would become a manager of the ring crew alongside Benjamin or maybe get a different area to put together. “What is it?”

Stephanie smiled at her enthusiasm and had a feeling her next set of words were about to completely destroy it. “Ratings haven’t been good lately, as I’m sure you’re aware and we’ve been trying to find ways to increase them. One of our teams right now is struggling with the ratings because fans just aren’t connecting with them fully yet. So, I think they need a little…spice added to the team to make fans like them more.”

Now Zelia didn’t like where this meeting was headed and swallowed hard, trying to keep her knee from popping up and down. It was a thing she did whenever she was incredibly nervous. “I-I’m not understanding what this has to do with me…” If Stephanie was suggesting what Zelia THOUGHT she was, the woman had completely lost her mind.

“It has everything to do with you because you’re the one we want to use to spice things up with Team Hell No.” Stephanie said matter-of-factly, leaning back in her chair and folded her arms in front of her chest. “We want you to be their new valet.”

‘NO.’ Zelia’s mind instantly screamed, but all she could do was stare at Stephanie completely helpless. “I-I don’t think I’m q-qualified…” Damn it, why did she have to stammer?

“If you weren’t, we wouldn’t be telling you to do this.” Stephanie argued gently but remained firm, deep down feeling horrible about what she was doing. “The fact of the matter is we’re about to be making cuts within the company and the stage crew is the first to be…minimized.” That was the best word to describe it and Stephanie wasn’t lying about this either. It was the truth. “As good as you are on the ring crew, I really don’t see you sticking around much longer unless you…become something more in this company.”

“So you’re saying…I’ll be fired if I don’t accept this job?” Zelia questioned, feeling anger welling up inside of her at this sudden turn of events. “What about Valisa?”

“Valisa isn’t your concern. You should be focused on what’s going to happen to you and nobody else. I realize you two are friends, but this is about you right now and you have a decision to make.” Stephanie concluded, finding the new contract and slid it across the desk over to Zelia, blue eyes completely even. “And you have exactly one minute to decide if you want to stay with us or if we should just terminate you right now.”

Swallowing hard with wide jade eyes, Zelia knew she couldn’t read over the contract that quickly and didn’t want to lose her job. “Will you point out what’s changed in my contract then?” She asked through tight lips, keeping her own voice level and even.

Stephanie nodded, gesturing her over to walk around the desk and pointed out her salary change. It was definitely A LOT more than what she was used to making. There were a few other changes as far as being a character on television, but nothing that alarmed Zelia. Before she knew what she was doing, Zelia scrawled her signature on the dotted line and wasn’t surprised to find out she’d be debuting with Team Hell No tonight on Monday Night Raw. Stephanie dismissed Zelia, telling her wardrobe and makeup were waiting for her since it would take some time for her to find an appropriate outfit and whatnot.

Completely shell-shocked, Zelia walked out of Stephanie’s office in a daze and headed down the hallway toward wardrobe and makeup. How the hell could she agree to do something like this? She still wasn’t on speaking terms with Glen and now she was forced to WORK with him? Jon’s accusations would only grow more once he found out she was working closer with Glen. He would probably also accusing her of sleeping with Bryan Danielson, which would sicken her considering she knew how much the men loathed each other. Turning the corner, Zelia bumped into someone and stumbled back, feeling strong hands grab her upper arms to steady her.

What the hell was fate trying to do to him? Jon couldn’t help wondering that as he stared back into the obvious tear-filled jade eyes of Zelia and immediately released her, the electricity between them never ceasing. Just touching her was enough to light his blood on fire and Jon hated it because she was busy shacking up with every wrestler on the roster, or so it seemed. Zelia could see the disgust in his eyes and shook her head, not saying a single word to him. She merely went around him and bolted down the hallway as fast as she could, needing some much needed air. Wardrobe and makeup would have to wait. Jon watched her go and wanted to stop her, but instead just kept walking around the corner back to the Shield locker room.

Once again, cold calculating blue eyes watched the entire scene unfold before him and he couldn’t stop laughing, walking away to do his own promo for the night.

Chapter 15

After Zelia took a 20 minute break to calm her racing heart and have a decent cry, she walked back inside the arena. Stephanie told her she’d receive her script on what to do tonight to start her character off being with Team Hell No. The writers were working diligently to change the script for Team Hell No and Paul was busy informing them on what was transpiring that night. Zelia stared in the full length mirror and couldn’t believe the reflection staring back at her.

She was unrecognizable.

Her lips were painted a deep dark blood red and her eyes were completely smoked out, really bringing the jade in them out. Eyelashes were curled and mascaraed and Zelia’s face as coated in a natural foundation to hide any blemishes she had. There weren’t many. Her outfit was a pair of skinny black jeans that were low on her hips along with a blood red corset top that laced up the front, zipped on the left side and hugged all of her curves. Black 2-inch knee-high steel toed boots encased her feet, the skinny black jeans tucked in them since they had blood red flames embroidered up the sides. Zelia’s raven tresses had loose banana curls throughout them to give it some bounce and style. It pooled over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back, contrasting beautifully with her pale skin. Swallowing hard, Zelia clipped the black choker around her neck to complete the outfit and lowered her eyes from the mirror, fighting tears back.

“Zelia, are you alright in there sweetie?” Janet asked through the door, tapping on the door and jolting her out of her thoughts.

“Y-Yeah…” She cleared her throat, knowing she couldn’t let her emotions overwhelm her and squared her shoulders, stepping out.

Janet smiled softly, placing her hands on Zelia’s shoulders. “You look exquisite. Now go out there and break a few thousand hearts.” She winked, heading back to her station to do AJ’s makeup for the night.

“Easier said than done.” Zelia mumbled under her breath and headed in the direction of Team Hell No’s locker room.

Meanwhile, Glen could NOT believe the words coming out of Paul Levesque’s mouth and felt like being hurled off of a cliff. What the hell were they thinking pulling Zelia from her stage crew job and making her a Diva? Did they think it was really that easy to do what AJ, Celeste, Natalie and the other Divas did in the ring? Apparently so. To make matters worse, Glen had gotten a call from his screaming wife wanting a divorce. Crystal had received a phone call from someone anonymous and they told her he was screwing Zelia. That automatically made him want to go down to the Shield locker room and strangle Jonathan Good because he was the one throwing around all the accusations regarding him and Zelia lately. However, Bryan was the more levelheaded of the two and took the phone from him to talk to Crystal, trying to calm her down. Crystal managed to do so and told Bryan to tell Glen they would be having a very long talk when he got home on Wednesday.

“So, let me get this straight: You want Zelia Bell to be our valet and…” Bryan’s mouth closed when the door opened and all eyes turned to face the new and improved Zelia Bell. “Whoa…”

Zelia immediately lowered her eyes to the floor, hearing the door shut behind her and leaned against the nearest wall out of the way. “I-I can wait outside…”

“No need.” Paul beamed at her new look and couldn’t believe how well this worked out. “You look beautiful, Miss Bell. Are you ready for tonight?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Zelia tried sounding enthusiastic about it, but her curdling stomach prevented her from feeling any sort of excitement about this situation. “W-Where do I get my script?”

Glen knew he wasn’t on the greatest terms with Zelia, but he could tell how terrified she was about this. “So this is a done deal? We have no say in this?”

He didn’t want Zelia to think he didn’t want her on their team. Hell, he’d been the one to try encouraging her to become a Diva and even tried trained her for a little while. She walked away from it though, claiming it wasn’t for her. Now all of a sudden, Zelia was their valet and would become a WWE Diva. So to say Glen was confused was an understatement.

“It’s fine.” Zelia assured him before Paul could open his mouth, refusing to let anyone know she was basically forced into this predicament. “They came to me with the idea and I agreed.” She kept her voice soft and even, not wanting to give anything away that she was lying through her teeth.

Paul was pleased with her response and acceptance of this, nodding. “See boys, she’s all on board with this and you should be too. Now then, there is one more wrench we want to put into this rebirth for Team Hell No.”

“Wrench?” Bryan questioned, sharing a troubled look with Glen. “What kind of wrench?”

Paul grinned, hazel eyes gleaming wickedly. “First off Miss Bell, have you thought of a ring name for yourself?”

“I-I wasn’t aware I had to come up with one…”

Stephanie really had to learn to do what she was told, Paul thought, hiding his annoyance well. “Not a problem, you need to come up with one because your character isn’t just going to be the valet of Team Hell No.”

Now Zelia was confused and felt her stomach tightening once again, worry flashing through her jade eyes. “I-It’s not?” Paul shook his head as a response. “What about…Z?”

“Just Z?” Paul stroked his chin thoughtfully, shrugging. It really didn’t matter what her name was anyway as long as it was something other than her real name. “Very well, Z it is.”

“Now what else will my character do?” Zelia asked, trying not to sound demanding, but this anxiety was almost too much for her.

Taking her hand, Paul placed it in Glen’s and stepped back. “Your character will also be Kane’s love interest.”

Zelia felt her heart plummet right to the depths of her stomach as soon as Paul said that and had to fight back tears. “K-Kane’s love interest?”

Paul nodded, seeing the murderous look in Glen’s eyes and ignored it. “Yes, we think that will get fans to like the team better if they have a woman added to the mix, especially when it’s…intimate.”

Oh god, Zelia thought, immediately snatching her hand out of Glen’s and wrapped her arms around herself. If she didn’t do this, she’d lose her job. She could tell Glen was NOT happy about this and neither was Bryan. They both wanted to strangle Paul Levesque and she honestly wanted to help. It was bad enough she had to be forced into this and couldn’t do her job on the ring crew anymore, but now – now they were going one step further.

“I don’t think Kane needs a love interest.” Glen spoke up, stepping in front of Zelia before Paul could say another word to her. “Kane is MY character, I should have a say in what goes on with him…”

“Glen.” Zelia spoke from behind in the softest of voices, making him turn around to stare down at her. “It’s fine. I know you don’t want Kane to have a love interest, but…if that’s what they want, that’s what they get. I’ll do it.” She had no choice if she wanted to keep her job and she had a feeling Paul would fire Glen if he didn’t go with the idea either.

Paul seemed to accept that, squaring his shoulders. “Go down to the writers and grab your script. You’ll be interfering in the match tonight. Team Hell No is facing the Prime Time Players.” They were Darren Young –His real name was Fred Rosser- and Titus O’Neil –His real name was Thaddeus Bullard. “Ted DiBiase is going to be out there as part of the show because it’s old school Raw tonight. The script will tell you more, but it will be during the match.”

As soon as Paul walked out, Glen let out a growl and punched one of the lockers, letting some of his anger out. “That no good piece of SHIT!” He had to calm down because he didn’t want to scare Zelia. “What the hell is going on?”

“I have no idea.” This was the first time Zelia said more than 3 words to Glen since that night after New Year’s Eve a little over 2 months ago. “I was brought into Stephanie’s office after Ben was paged and now I’m here…in this monstrosity.”

“You look hot.” Bryan commented with a smile, trying to ease the tension in the room because he knew Glen was ticked off. “Come on Big Red, we gotta focus on our match tonight and now we have a beautiful lady on our arm. Or will anyway. How about I escort you down to get your script, Zel?”

Zelia nodded, refusing to meet Glen’s eyes because she was still angry with him for what he did to Jon and walked out with Bryan. “This is so awkward.” She groaned, shaking her head and tried avoiding eye contact with everything they passed. “I have no idea why they suddenly pinpointed me of all people to do this.”

Bryan shrugged, not having a clue what to say to her regarding that. “You know Glen is sorry for what he did right? He was only doing it because he cares a great deal about you. And he wanted to try to get Good to see that you two were just friends.”

“By torturing him with Calaway?” Zelia cocked a brow, not believing that for a second. “No, it was to show his dominance right along with Mark. Don’t try to bullshit me, Danielson.”

“I’m not.” Bryan said honestly, holding his hands up in defense. “I’m serious. Glen had nothing to do with the sparring. Glen did know Mark was going to ask Jon to spar, but he honestly just wanted to make things right and failed miserably. Mark was the one who took it upon himself to show his dominance, but Good held his own. I’ll give him that. I just think you and Glen need to talk this out and become friends again, especially now that you’re being forced to work with us.”

“I’m not being forced…”

“Zelia, don’t bullshit me.” Bryan had been in the game for a while now and could sense when something wasn’t right. “You can lie to Glen all you want, but we go way back even before this company. And you can’t tell me that you weren’t forced into this.”

Lowering her head more, Zelia felt a few tears fall from her eyes and could only hope it didn’t smear. “Please don’t say anything to anyone, especially Valisa. I’ll tell her. I just have to find the right time to do it.”

Bryan nodded, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. “It’ll all work out. Thank you for being honest with me. Now come on, let’s get your script so we can figure out what the hell is going down tonight.” He had to grab his and Glen’s since there’s had the last minute change on it due to Zelia joining Team Hell No.

Nodding, Zelia blinked the rest of her tears away and walked inside the writing office, grabbing her script. She leafed through the pages and found the Team Hell No part, seeing what she had to do. It was simple, very basic. She really didn’t need a script to actually do it. Right before the match ended, she’d run out to the ring with a fire extinguisher, blast the Prime Time Players with it and that would give the referee enough of a distraction for Team Hell No to pick up the victory. Not that they needed any outside interference, but Zelia had to follow the script nonetheless just like everyone else.

When they arrived back in Team Hell No’s locker room, Zelia froze at the sight of Mark Calaway, not expecting him to be there. Both Mark and Glen turned to face her while Bryan remained by her side. The tension in the room was so thick it couldn’t be cut with the sharpest blade and Zelia felt sick to her stomach. Not only was she being forced to be a WWE Diva in order to save her job and had to deal with working close with Glen, but now there was Mark to contend with since he was making his return tonight.

“What the hell happened, Zelia?” Mark demanded, cutting straight to the chase. “Who did this?”

Zelia could see the anger in Mark’s eyes and lowered hers to the floor, clasping her hands in front of her. “I-I was paged to Stephanie’s office and…”

“Did you tell the fuckin’ Princess you didn’t want to be a WWE Diva? Or are they forcin’ you to do this?” Mark had been in this business a very long time, 2 decades, and knew how everything worked around here. “Because by law, if they threatened your job, you could sue the shit outta them…”

“No.” Zelia’s head snapped up when she heard that, denying it to the fullest of her abilities and hoped Bryan kept his mouth shut. “No, they asked me if I would become Team Hell No’s valet and I accepted. There wasn’t any…ultimatum or anything like that.”

Mark didn’t believe that and knew she was lying through her teeth, quickly closing the space between them. “Zelia, I know we’re not on good terms right now, darlin’…”

“Don’t.” Zelia held her hand up, not wanting to start crying again because she knew she’d have to get her makeup redone before the show. “We can talk about that later, we have a show to put on first. Everything else will have to wait. I’m gonna go get my makeup redone and give you guys some more time to get ready and whatnot.”

Mark watched her walk out the door and looked back at Glen, both of their eyes narrowing. “I think I’m gonna go have a chat with the Princess and find out just what the fuck is goin’ on.”

Bryan stepped in Mark’s way, shaking his head. “Didn’t you hear what she said?” He had to protect Zelia’s secret and job. “She told you what happened and it’s her decision on what she wants to do.”

“She’s lyin’ though. Those mother fuckers are makin’ her do this.”

“And you going down there will only make it worse, Deadman.” Bryan reasoned, pleading with the big man to see things from his point of view. “Just leave her be and let her do her thing. We’ll figure out what’s going on after tonight’s show, but one way or another she is going out there tonight and she will become our valet.”

“He’s right, man.” Glen finally spoke, his voice deep and low. “Nothin’ will happen to her out there. Bryan’s right, we need to focus on the show right now and you need to go get ready since you’re openin’ tonight. We’ll talk more about this later.”

Mark agreed and walked out of the locker room, deciding to leave this alone for now, but it definitely wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Chapter 16

Before she knew it, the time had arrived for Zelia to make her WWE debut as WWE Diva Z, Kane’s love interest. Her stomach twisted violently and Zelia was pretty sure she’d either wretch or pass out before the match even ended. Luckily, she managed to fight her intense nausea and saw her cue come up when the Prime Time Players had gotten the upper hand. Taking a deep breath, Zelia headed through the black curtain up the few stairs and could hear the buzz of the crowd as soon as she made an appearance. She wasn’t supposed to run down the ramp like an idiot, just gradually make her way down surveying the competition. If she tripped and fell flat on her face, Zelia was sure she’d die of embarrassment.

Valisa was in the Shield locker room hanging out with Joe, both of them quietly talking to each other. It seemed as though they could always find something to talk about, no matter how stupid the subject was. Valisa already knew she was falling in love with the Shield’s powerhouse, especially when his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned against his side. If she could stay in this man’s arms for the rest of her life, Valisa would die a very happy woman. Of course, she refused to admit that to Joe and would enjoy the time they had together however long it lasted. Jon minded his business thankfully and was in the corner of the room taping his hands and wrists while Colby did upside down pushups against the other wall near the door. All their eyes were glued to the monitor.

“WHAT THE HELL?” Valisa erupted the second Zelia came on the television, bolting up from Joe’s arms and the couch, blue eyes wide. “What the FUCK is she doing out there?!”

Jon’s eyes remained focused on the monitor, his jaw tightened as he continued taping up, not saying a single word.

“I don’t know, but she looks…” Colby immediately trailed off when Jon shot him a deadly glare, swallowing hard. “Different.” He was going to say smoking hot, but didn’t feel like having his jaw dislodged by Jon’s fist.

“That’s an understatement.” Joe grunted, shaking his head and watched as Zelia arrived at ringside on the monitor, grey eyes narrowed. “Is she…?”

“She just low-blowed Fred!” Colby squawked, his jaw hitting the floor right along with Valisa, now standing upright on his feet. “Oh my god…”

“Oh fuck…” Valisa muttered, watching as Zelia slid through the ring ropes after Team Hell No picked up the victory and raised both of their arms in the air.

Bryan looked confused while Glen just had a smirk on his face, both of them coated in sweat. Zelia released Bryan’s arm and turned to fully face Glen, bracing herself for what was coming next. A second later, Glen’s mouth had lowered to hers as they softly kissed in the middle of the ring. Zelia felt her entire face burn, her cheeks turning crimson red and couldn’t believe this was happening. Thankfully, her interference had gone smoothly and she even managed not to fall on her face. Glen held open the ring ropes for her, letting her jump down on the mats and felt him grab her hand, a perplexed Bryan following them up the ramp to end the segment.

The second Zelia kissed Glen, Jon had lost it and took the folding steel chair he sat on, hurling it across the room to crash against the wall. The force and velocity had left a rather large dent and nobody said a single word. What could be said? Valisa was in too much shock along with Joe and Colby had lowered his eyes to the floor, everyone in that room knowing just how hard that had to be for Jon to witness. Snarling angrily, Jon stormed out of the locker room without a single word and headed for the nearest exit, desperately needing a cigarette. That and he needed fresh air to breathe through the current pulsating heartache he felt.

“I’ll be back.” Valisa refused to stand by and let this happen without finding out the story from Zelia, pecking Joe quickly on the lips before taking off out the door.

The second Zelia stepped through the curtain with Glen and Bryan, she immediately released Glen’s hand, trying to fight back tears. “Go away, I want to be alone.” She whispered when Glen tried comforting her, stalking past him down the hallway and ripped the choker from her neck, sniffling.

“Leave her alone right now, Big Red.” Bryan stated, stopping Glen by grabbing his arm when the big man looked as though he might go after her, shaking his head. “She’ll be alright.”

Glen could only hope Bryan was right and reluctantly headed back to the dressing room, ripping his mask off.

Zelia didn’t make it outside because Valisa stopped her. “You’ve got some SERIOUS explaining to do right now.” She demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest and would not let Zelia brush her off.

All at once, everything came crashing down on Zelia in one heaping wave and her knees buckled, her entire body crumbling to the floor. Valisa barely caught her, lowering to the floor with Zelia and felt her heart shatter at the broken sobs that instantly followed. She held Zelia close, running her fingers through her loose banana curled hair and tried calming her down somehow. Clearly, Zelia wasn’t happy about whatever was going on and Valisa had to wait for her to calm down to find out what happened.

“Sorry.” Zelia whispered, pulling back from Valisa and looked up at her with a makeup streaked face, mostly black. “I wanted to tell you, b-but there wasn’t enough t-time…”

Valisa frowned and nodded, the anger vanishing instantly. “Come on, let’s go outside so you can get some air and you can tell me just what the hell is going on.”

Zelia followed without argument, wrapping her arms around herself and couldn’t stop shivering to save her life. It was the adrenaline. She got such a rush being in front of all those people and now her body was slowly calming down. It wasn’t a necessarily bad feeling, but definitely something Zelia would have to get used to. Before they made it outside, they ran into Joe and Colby. These were the last people Zelia wanted to see right now and she made it clear, pulling away from Valisa.

“Zel, wait…” Valisa tried stopping her friend, but it wasn’t happening.

“I can’t, Vali. I’m sorry.” Zelia avoided eye contact with both of them as much as she could and took off down the hallway, heading straight for the exit.

Valisa started going after her, but Colby held his hand up, shocking both her and Joe. “I’ll go talk to her. Just stay here with big guy and calm down. I got this.” His voice was low and calm, which was very uncharacteristic of Colby since he was normally bouncing off the walls.

“Are you sure?” Valisa asked quietly, chewing her bottom lip. “She’s very fragile right now…”

Colby smiled, nodding. “I got it covered.” He took off after Zelia and knew she’d head toward the parking lot, having caught her out there sitting on one of the equipment trunks a time or two.

“What happened?” Joe asked, watching Colby fly down the hallway and turned his eyes back to Valisa. “What did she say?”

“The only thing I got out of her besides sobbing was she wanted to tell me, but there wasn’t enough time…” Valisa felt tears sting her eyes and knew why Zelia had run away from Joe and Colby, feeling her heart break for her friend. “Your asshole friend really needs to get his head out of his ass before he loses her for good.”

Joe couldn’t agree more, but Jon was incredibly stubborn and refused to listen to anything anyone had to say, himself included. “Come on, let’s go get something to drink and get you calmed down.”

“I hope she doesn’t hate me for letting Colby go after her.” Valisa sniffled, feeling completely helpless right now and walked down the hallway with Joe away from the exit.

Sure enough, Zelia had gone outside and currently sat on an equipment trunk with her knees drawn up, face buried in them and her arms wrapped around her legs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop crying and felt awful about everything that happened lately. It was bad enough she was in love with a man who thought she was nothing more than a common whore. Now she had to flaunt her accused affair with the main man Jon thought she was screwing behind closed doors on national television.

“Zelia?”

Her head slowly rose when she heard a voice at her side and stared back at a concerned looking Colby, immediately shaking her head. “Go away.” She muttered, not caring that her voice sounded broken.

It broke Colby’s heart to hear her crying and all he wanted to do was hug her, refusing to leave her right now. “Look, I know you don’t like me and I get it, but…Valisa’s really worried about you and so are we. We’re not the douchebags you think.”

“No offense, but I really don’t need a fucking lecture right now.” Zelia shot back, a little anger entering her voice. “I want to be left ALONE.”

“Well tough, I’m not leaving you alone.” Colby could be stubborn when he wanted to be and hopped up on the equipment trunk beside her, swinging his legs back and forth.

“What the hell do you want?” Zelia snapped, trying to lace her voice with malice, but all that came out was pure pain.

“Look, you can’t hate me just because you and Jon aren’t getting along right now. He’s a stubborn jackass, but that’s not me. That’s not Joe either. Valisa makes Joe extremely happy and I know you two are friends, so that makes you a friend of ours automatically. I don’t care what Jon says about it. You are a friend and when a friend is in pain, we’re gonna do what we can to comfort them. Like it or not sister, I’m your friend. So you can either take it with a grain of salt or sit there sulking some more and tell me to go away. It’s not happening though.” Colby explained, being completely serious and looked out in the parking lot, the air blowing through his hair. “So, being as I’m your friend, mind telling me what the hell is going on with you being on television?”

Zelia knew everything Colby said was truthful and had no idea how to respond to any of it, wiping tears away. “My job title has changed. Nothing more to say.”

There was no way she could tell Colby the truth about being given an ultimatum with this situation. It was nearly like déjà vu all over again with HWA, but the only difference was the WWE actually gave her a choice on what she wanted to do. Still, it wasn’t fair and Zelia hated her new job title, wanting to be back on the ring crew in the worst way. Sure, the hours were brutal and sometimes she only got 2 hours of sleep a night, but it beat being in front of thousands of people that were ready to criticize and judge.

“You suuuure?” Colby dragged that word out, scooting closer to nudge her knees playfully and watched as her eyebrow rose, a grin crossing his face. “Because I have a hard time believing that. Jon told me how passionate you are about what you do on the ring crew. So for you to abruptly change your job title is a little…unbelievable.”

“Are you always this pushy with complete strangers?” Zelia demanded, moving to where her legs dangled over the side of the equipment trunk like Colby’s was and kept her eyes averted. “I can’t tell you the real reasoning this is happening. Nobody can ever know, not even Valisa.” Granted, Bryan had pinpointed it straightaway, but he’d kept his word and hadn’t told anyone, thankfully.

Colby chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m not a complete stranger. We’ve met, we’ve crossed paths in the hallway and now we’re talking a little more. And I’ve heard a little about you from the stubborn ass.”

“Don’t you believe him?” Zelia sniffled, slowly chancing a peek up at Colby and kept her hands clasped in her lap.

“About?” It took a moment for Colby to realize what Zelia was talking about and immediately shook his head. “Nope, not a bit. I just think he’s hurt because of how you two parted ways back in the Indy’s and he’s expressing his anger the only way he knows how.”

“By accusing me of sleeping with married men?” Zelia growled, shaking her head and hopped off of the equipment trunk. “How nice.”

Colby hopped off as well and stopped her, gently grabbing her arm so Zelia had to turn to face him. “I’m not making excuses for him, not at all. I’m just saying that’s what his mindset probably is. He’s like a brother to me and I’ve dealt with his ass for a while now. Hey now, don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.” Zelia felt the hot tears course down her cheeks instantly, hating showing emotions in front of Jon’s friend, but she couldn’t help it. “I hate him for what he’s doing to me. I know I made a mistake, but it was only because I didn’t know how to tell him HWA fired me. I lost my job. I was distraught and he was on top of the world with his career. I didn’t want him to do something reckless like killing the boss and I know he would’ve because that’s how protective he was of me. He just never…he never showed me he was interested in anything with me other than friendship. And now all of a sudden we run into each other here after nearly 7 years and he wants more than friendship? It makes no sense to me and…I guess I did run away from him, but it freaked me out. I mean…fuck, I don’t know…”

Zelia looked and sounded just as frustrated as Jon had over the past couple months and Colby had to fight back laughter. “Wow, you two are one in the same. But I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. I would be suspicious too, but Jon is a good guy. He’s caring when he wants to be. I just think you two have to sit down and talk everything out. Your communication is fucked right now.”

“I don’t see that happening anytime soon as long as he’s going to continue to accuse me of sleeping with married men.” Zelia stated, folding her arms in front of her chest and blinked when Colby suddenly pulled her against him, hugging her.

“Don’t fight me off. You need a hug right now and I’m a huggable guy.” Colby murmured in her ear, being completely platonic about it and closed his eyes when she started crying again. He kissed the top of her head and felt Zelia squeeze him tighter.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?”

Chapter 17

Both Colby and Zelia broke apart instantly, their eyes wide at the sight of a very irate looking Jon standing a few feet from them. “Man, chill the fuck out. I was comforting her.” Colby was the first to speak, pushing Zelia behind him. “Something YOU should be doing.”

“Right, like I’d ever comfort a whore like her.” Jon spat viciously, his eyes a dazzling blue because of how pissed off he was. Whenever he was calm, they had the grey overlay to them, but right now they were nothing but two icicles directed at his so-called friend and the woman who ripped his heart out singlehandedly.

“Do you think every single person she touches she fucks?” Colby demanded angrily, clenching his fists at his sides. “She’s a sweet girl, Jon, and you just don’t wanna admit that you have feelings for her! Or better yet, that you lo-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” Jon cut Colby off and was done talking, tackling Colby to the ground with an animalistic roar.

Zelia barely moved out of the way and felt her eyes shoot open because Colby’s head had bounced off the asphalt. “Stop it, Jon! He’s not doing anything! We’re just friends!” She cried out, going on pure instinct and began yanking on his arm to try to get Jon off of Colby “Please!”

“GET OFF ME!!” Jon roared, swinging his hand back and felt it connect with Zelia’s face while going to punch Colby, immediately freezing.

“SHIT! Get the fuck off of me, bro!” Colby snarled, shoving Jon away from him and scrambled over to where Zelia lay on the ground, holding the side of her face. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO, ASSHOLE?”

“Zelia…”

“Zelia, let me see your face.” Colby demanded, breathing heavily and ignored the blood coming from his split lip and eyebrow where Jon’s fist had connected. “Roll over, sweetheart.”

Zelia swallowed hard, feeling as though her face might explode and winced, letting Colby turn her over so he could look over her face. “Y-You’re bleeding…” She stammered out, chest rising and falling rapidly.

Jon was still frozen solid, his feet feeling as though they were cemented to the ground. He didn’t move when other footsteps clomped toward them, his eyes remaining on Zelia. Both of his hands trembled along with the rest of his body and Jon couldn’t believe he’d just struck Zelia. It was an accident, she grabbed his arm and he reacted instinctively. Jon was NOT a woman beater, contrary to popular belief because of the whole mess he had with Reby Sky back in the Indy’s.

“What the fuck happened?” A low baritone growl resonated around them and Jon recognized the voice instantly.

“Mark…”

“She got caught in the middle of our scuffle.” Colby answered before Jon could, slowly pulling Zelia into a sitting position. “She was backhanded…”

Mark’s acid eyes immediately landed on Colby, a snarl curving his lips. “By who, boy?” He demanded, ignoring Zelia’s soft plea.

Colby didn’t say anything and that gave Mark his answer, acidic eyes turning on Jon. Another second later, Jon was dangling from Mark’s muscular large hand by the neck, his feet completely off the ground. Colby swallowed hard with wide chocolate eyes, not knowing what to do. Part of him wanted to watch Jon suffer, but this man as like a brother to him and he felt a certain loyalty spark within. Zelia managed to stumble to her feet, holding her face and pushed aside her pain because she had to stop Mark from throttling Jon.

“Mark, stop it!” She cried out, using a lot of her energy and felt Colby behind her in case she collapsed, wincing. “Please, it was an accident! Please don’t hurt him!”

Mark didn’t believe that, glaring back at the boy that made Zelia’s life miserable since they reunited back in November. “That’s a lie!” He growled angrily. “Don’t lie to me, Zelia!”

“I-I’m not.” Her voice dropped because Zelia felt incredibly dizzy and sick, swaying a little. “P-Please don’t hurt him…” She reached out and touched Mark’s arm that had the hand attached currently throttling Jon. “Mark, let him go now.”

Snarling, Mark made the mistake of locking eyes with her red-rimmed swollen jade and immediately opened his hand as Jon crashed to the asphalt in a heap. He didn’t know what to do right now. He watched as Zelia dropped to her knees beside Jon and shook his head sadly, walking away back inside the arena. Joe and Valisa flew past him with wide eyes, having received a text message from Colby about what happened.

“Jon…” Zelia whispered, hating hearing him gasp and cough harshly from being throttled, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Jon, are you okay?”

“Get the fuck away from me.” Jon growled harshly, acting like her words just physically burned him and stumbled to his feet. “You’re nothing but a whore and I’M DONE WITH YOU! You tell your big bad dog that he’s about to be put down courtesy of Jonathan Good.” He spit on the ground right at her, not catching his mark and stalked away from everyone, heading further down the parking lot.

All Zelia could do was bury her face in her hands, her emotional pain overshadowing her throbbing heavily bruised cheek, her heart completely shattering at Jon’s harsh words.

~!~

The next night was the Smackdown! taping and would mark Zelia’s official debut in the company with Team Hell No. They had a match against 3MB, which stood for 3 Man Band that consisted of Heath Miller, Raj Dhesi and Andrew Galloway, –Fans knew them as Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre- but only Heath and Andrew were facing Glen and Bryan that night. Zelia hadn’t said a word to anyone after what transpired the night before, wanting to put it completely out of her mind. The whole right side of her face heavily bruised in a mixture of blue, purple and black. Luckily, her eye wasn’t swollen shut or she wouldn’t be able to debut on Smackdown! that night.

Tiffany, the makeup artist, worked her magic and managed to cover the bruise up with a lot of foundation, but it didn’t look caked on. Her eyes were smoked out, dark red lipstick painted her mouth and her outfit was the same as it had been the night before. Corset top, skinny black jeans, steel toed knee-high boots and the black choker around her neck. Her nails were redone in black and clipped down to a sporty style. The only difference tonight was Janet, the hairstylist, decided to pin her hair up on top of her head in a black clip, making the black tresses fan out behind her to hang down her neck and back.

She looked breathtaking, Jon thought, as he taped his hands up for the Shield segment that night, stopping mid-tape to stare at his hand. The hand that struck Zelia. The bruise could still somewhat be shown through the makeup, but luckily her hair covered most of that side. He had to look really close in order to see it and felt sick to his stomach, clenching his fist tightly. Colby hadn’t spoken a word to him and Joe maintained his distance, both leaving Jon completely alone. For whatever reason, Mark did not report the incident and Jon was grateful because the last thing he wanted was to be suspended. Jon was not a woman beater by any means, so the fact he struck the woman he’d been in love with for years made his stomach twist violently.

And he still had no idea why he went ballistic on Colby.

“Jealousy.” Joe had said earlier while they were working out and Jon had asked that question aloud.

He was right. Jon was jealous of every single man that laid a finger on Zelia and he didn’t understand why. Maybe it was his dominant side coming out and he definitely had one. He was the only man who wanted to touch Zelia in any capacity and the thought of her screwing around with married men sickened him. No matter what Zelia did behind closed doors, there was no excuse for Jon to do what he did to her. It didn’t matter that he struck her on accident, the bottom line was he laid an abusive hand on her and it made his stomach churn. This situation with Zelia had been blown way out of proportion and Jon had to make it right. They would have to work closely together because now she was on television, so Jon didn’t want a tense working environment. If she wanted to screw married men, he had to accept that and move on somehow.

After the segment, Zelia was definitely a little more at ease than she had been the previous night. Her face was throbbing though. Tylenol was the only thing on her mind at the moment because her throbbing face had caused a small headache to form. Zelia arrived back in the locker room, grabbed her bottle of Tylenol, cell phone and headed into the bathroom to change. She pulled on a long sleeved burnt orange top and black dress pants, –Jeans weren’t permitted to wear from Superstars and Divas- taking the clip out of her hair. Zelia sighed with relief and knew the clip holding her hair up had contributed to her headache. She headed outside with bottled water, needing some air to try to help settle her adrenaline down and jumped up on the equipment trunk, letting the night air rush over her. Her cell phone rang as soon as she popped some Tylenol and looked down at the caller ID, jade eyes widening at the name.

“Holy shit.” She whispered, answering on the 4^th ring. “Hello?”

“Hey Zelly.”

It was Aric Connely, Jon’s old tag team partner back in HWA and also an old friend of Zelia’s. “Well I’ll be damned. Ric, how the hell are you?”

Aric chuckled, not minding that she called him by his ring name from back in HWA. “I’m good, girl. Real good. How are you? I saw you on TV with some of the other guys.”

Zelia blushed, lowering her eyes and leaned back against the truck that the equipment trunk was against. “Yeah, it’s definitely different.” She admitted, suddenly needing a cigarette because it’d been quite a while since the last time she spoke to Aric. The only reason he had her number was because she’d kept in contact with him and made him promise never to tell anyone, especially Jon. “So to what do I owe this honor for you calling?”

Aric heaved a sigh through the phone. “I know you told me to only call you when it’s an emergency, but I figured you’d want to know this information before it got out.”

“Okay…” Zelia took a long drag of her cigarette and prepared herself for the absolute worse.

“Sam got signed to the WWE.”

It took Zelia a minute to realize who Aric was talking about and she felt her jade eyes widen. “You mean…Sami? Sami Callihan?” His real name was Sam Johnston and he was a close friend of Jon and Aric’s, though Zelia also had a friendship with the man. One of the nicest guys she ever met in her life was Sami. “That’s amazing! I take it he’s going into developmental.”

Aric breathed a sigh of relief, glad Zelia wasn’t upset about this. He was the one who called her to let her know about Jon being signed to the WWE, though he wasn’t sure if Zelia even believed him. She had to see with her own eyes that Jon had arrived in the same company as her. It was also Aric who sent over all of Zelia’s credentials to WWE headquarters because he felt horrible when HWA let her go, only for the entire company to shut down a few months afterwards. Of course, she would never know that because Aric didn’t want her thinking it was a charity handout.

“Yes, just like Moxley did.” Even though Jon had dropped the name Moxley for the name Ambrose, he still saw the man as Jon Moxley and nobody else. “Listen, I have to go, but I just thought I’d relay the news to you. And for the record, you looked beautiful last night. Keep up the great work, Zelly.”

“Take care, Ric.”

They ended the call and Zelia finished her cigarette before hopping off of the equipment trunk, her mind spinning. Sami had finally made it to the big leagues. He was extremely talented, she just hoped the WWE gave him the right character. Grabbing her bag and purse, Zelia pulled her keys out and headed toward her rental car, ready to go back to the hotel for the night. The parking lot lamps made it easier to locate her car in the darkness, but nothing prepared Zelia for what she was about to see.

“What the hell?”

Zelia dropped her purse and bag on the asphalt, tears instantly filling her eyes as her hand covered her open mouth. Her rental was completely trashed from the front to back, shattered glass surrounding it from the broken windows. The windshield was also smashed in along with the back, huge dents all over the body. But what caught Zelia’s eye the most and what made her heart clench painfully in her chest was the red spray-painted word that stuck out against the white car like a sore thumb. WHORE. The events from the previous night after Raw flashed through her mind and there was only one person who called her that and who was capable of this kind of damage.

“That son of a bitch…” She whispered, trying to keep her temper in check, but it was extremely hard to do.

At that moment, suspect number one walked out of the building with his book bag over his shoulders and bag in hand, lighting up a cigarette. He had a black t-shirt on with ripped blue jeans, a black baseball cap on his head backwards and headphones around his neck. Joe had already taken off back to the hotel and Colby was on the phone with his girlfriend in Florida, so Jon would have to wait a bit before heading back to the hotel. His ears perked up at the sound of crying, instantly making every part of his body tense and headed in the direction.

“Zelia?” He called her name from behind, recognizing her instantly even through the dimly lit parking lot and noticed the damage sustained to her rental car. “What the hell happened here?”

Zelia slowly turned around to face him, her face completely tear streaked and that anger she desperately tried fighting down exploded. “YOU SON OF A BITCH!” She shrieked, flying at him and Jon ended up catching her, stumbling back a little.

“What the fuck, Zelia?!” Jon growled, trying to block her raging fists as they struck him in all directions, even nailing him in the eye. He held her away at arm’s length, but her arms were long enough to still reach his body. “ZELIA, STOP!”

“NO!” She screamed, shaking her head as her heart completely shattered again, wondering how many more times it would before giving out. “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!”

Was she serious? She was actually accusing him of destroying her rental car? Had Zelia completely lost her mind? Jon could tell he wouldn’t be able to talk to her until she calmed down. There was only way to do it, as much as he didn’t want to, there was simply no choice in the matter. Yanking her flush against his rock hard body, Jon roughly captured her mouth with his in an explosive kiss, tightening his hands on her upper arms. Zelia whimpered against his mouth and couldn’t fight the kiss off, more tears spilling down her cheeks. No matter what he did or called her, Zelia still loved him and that would never change. When they parted, both were breathing heavily and Jon instantly released her, taking a step back, damp dishwater blonde hair hanging somewhat in his eyes.

“Why did you do this?” She asked in a calmer voice, chest rising and falling.

“I didn’t.” Jon grunted, hating that he’d shown her affection all to calm her down. “I wouldn’t do something like this, I’m smarter than that, Zelia.”

“It says whore, Jon.” Zelia pointed out, glaring at him now. “You called me that last night, remember? Who else would spray-paint whore across my rental car after destroying it? I don’t know what I ever did to you to deserve this, but…”

“I DIDN’T FUCKING DO IT!!” Jon erupted, his voice carrying through the parking lot and fought the urge to yank her in his arms again to kiss her just to shut her up.

“I don’t believe you.” Zelia said flat out, folding her arms in front of her chest and shook her head as he stalked away from her, touching her swollen lips with her fingertips.

If Jon didn’t do this, who did?

Chapter 18

The first person Zelia told about her demolished rental was Valisa.

Zelia had nowhere else to turn and was glad Valisa had dropped whatever she was doing with Joe to come to her rescue. The rental was towed to the junkyard since it was completely unsalvageable, the damage horrific. Even the interior had been ripped to shreds, the carpeting as well. It was the worst mauling of a car they ever seen, even the tow truck driver was in shock. Luckily, the insurance on the rental would cover all the damages, so Zelia only had to pay a small fee for the tow truck, splitting it half and half with the insurance. It was around 5 AM in the morning when Zelia’s head hit the pillow in her hotel room, instantly passing out.

Enough was enough. Valisa knew Jon didn’t demolish the rental car, but because of the spray-paint, Zelia refused to count him out as a suspect. She had enough of watching her friends going at each other’s throats. Yes, she considered Jon a friend because he was like a brother to Joe and anyone Joe was close with, Valisa wanted to be too. Zelia would kill her for this, but it would be well worth it to see both of them get their heads out of their rears and admit how they truly felt for each other. Joe told her Jon was down in the hotel workout area, so that’s where Valisa headed. If it was the last thing she did, Valisa would get Jon to open his eyes about how ridiculous all these accusations against Zelia were or she’d go to prison for murder.

It’d been a few days since Jon last saw Zelia, besides whenever she went to the ring with Team Hell No and practically drooled over Glen Jacobs. It was her character, she was Glen’s on-screen girlfriend. There was no hesitation in her body language or anything whenever she kissed him, each time making Jon’s blood skyrocket. It looked as though she’d done it all of her life, which drove the accusations home further. That was supposed to be him she kissed and fawned over, not Glen Jacobs. Joe and Colby ordered Jon to go workout whenever he felt his anger rise because they didn’t want him being blamed for the destruction of Zelia’s rental. They knew Jon had a wicked temper, but he swore to them he didn’t do it and even had an alibi to back him up.

The arena didn’t have cameras aimed at that particular part of the parking lot and there were no witnesses, so therefore no proof. It was Jon’s word that everyone had to take and at this point, Valisa wasn’t sure if she could believe him. Zelia didn’t know what to believe either, even though Jon had looked square in her eyes and told her he didn’t do it. Valisa hadn’t missed what the car had been spray-painted, the vulgar word Jon had called her the night he caught her outside with Colby. All the signs pointed to Jon and Valisa decided she would get the truth out of him one way or another. This situation had gone too far and it was hurting friendships all around, especially Zelia’s.

“We need to talk.” Valisa stated, walking over to where Jon currently was, on his back working out his leg muscles. “So you can lay your ass down there and answer my questions.”

Jon rolled his eyes, trying to ignore Valisa’s presence, but it was impossible. “What do you want, lady?” He demanded irritably, not stopping his workout just because she couldn’t leave him alone. “Shouldn’t you be jumping on Joe’s dick or something?”

Valisa felt her jaw drop and immediately kicked him in his side, ignoring his warning growl. “You asshole! I came in here to try to help you with Zelia! And you’re going to treat me like a common whore? Fuck you!” She kicked him again, her temper rocketing and turned on her heel, stalking out of the workout room.

Jon hissed out, not believing what a vicious kick her small petite frame had and knew he screwed up. Things were already rocky between him and Joe, he really didn’t want to add to that by talking dirty to his woman. “Damn it.” He grunted, quickly stopping his workout and got to his feet, wincing as his side burned where she kicked him. “Valisa, wait!”

“Why?” She demanded, not stopping while wrapping her arms around herself. “Clearly you don’t care about Zelia or anyone for that matter, so just go back to your workout and deal with your own shit.”

Quickly catching up with her, Jon’s hand wrapped around her upper arm gently and stopped her from taking another step, both of them standing just outside of the workout room. “Don’t leave.” His voice had taken on a pleading tone, something Jon never did. “I’m sorry.” Apologies were far and few between with him as well. “I’m just a bitter grumpy bastard. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m just trying to help.” Valisa whispered, feeling Jon turn her around as tear-filled blue eyes met guilty greyish blue. “Zelia is hurting and I can see you are too. I consider you a friend, Jon. You’re a good guy and I know you had nothing to do with what happened to her rental car. But someone is obviously out to get her and you two being at each other’s throats right now is the last thing that should be happening.”

Jon lowered his eyes and let his hand slip from her arm, knowing Valisa was right in everything she said. “She doesn’t believe me.” He muttered in a low raspy voice, the guilt slowly eating him alive. “I know I called her a whore the night I attacked Colby, but I swear I didn’t destroy that car. I don’t blame her for not taking my word for it. I’ve been horrible to her since I got here.”

“Then maybe it’s time you two finally sit down and actually talk.” Valisa suggested simply, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Look, this isn’t the type of conversation to have in a workout room at a hotel. Why don’t you go shower and meet me in the hotel bar in an hour? There’s a few things you need to know about Zelia that she refuses to tell you. Maybe you’ll get a better understanding on everything once you’ve heard what I have to say.”

Jon couldn’t imagine what Valisa had to tell him that he didn’t already know about Zelia. “Okay, I’ll see you in an hour.” He agreed, his curiosity peaked and watched as Valisa walked out of the workout room while he headed directly to the showers to clean up.

So Valisa was becoming a wrench in his plans eh? She was trying to get Jon and Zelia together, that much was obvious and it didn’t set well with him at all. Rubbing his hands together, he already had a plan on how to deal with Valisa, a sick smirk curving his lips. Walking toward the backstairs, he headed up to talk to the one person he knew would help him execute the plan currently forming in his brain. It would give them what they both wanted ultimately.

An hour later, Jon stepped out of the shower and changed into a yellow polo shirt with blue jeans ripped at the knees, brushing his hair back in the slick look he’d become accustomed to. It would dry and his hair would end up falling around his head in dishwater blonde curls. Stepping outside for a smoke break, Jon leaned against the building and let the nicotine work through his system. Whatever Valisa had to tell him about Zelia, Jon had a feeling he wouldn’t like it and maintaining his temper was the key. He couldn’t snap on Valisa. She was just trying to help and she considered him a friend, which meant a lot to him. He considered her a friend too and, honestly, Jon felt he owed her since Valisa had helped get Zelia to talk to him. If it wasn’t for that setup at Yankee Candle a few months back, Zelia would still be avoiding him and they never would’ve had their talk. He never would’ve found out what HWA did to her. So he would listen to whatever Valisa had to say about Zelia and then do what he felt was the best thing. It just depended on what came out of Valisa’s mouth.

Valisa looked up when Jon walked up to her, having gotten a booth since the hotel bar was also a small restaurant. She had a cup of coffee in front of her along with an English muffin and eggs. Cracking a small smile up at him, Valisa had already ordered a pot of coffee for both of them, knowing Jon liked his black while she enjoyed some creamer. She took a sip and a bite out of her English muffin, trying to get something on her stomach even though she wasn’t hungry. This would not be an easy conversation to have and Valisa could only hope Zelia forgave her for this one day.

“I ordered you the ultimate breakfast they have.” She informed him softly, gesturing to the tray headed their way and accepted her hash browns she ordered at the last minute. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.” The waiter replied, setting 3 full plates of food in front of Jon with all the fixings and walked away, leaving them alone.

Jon smirked, shaking his head. “Does Joe know you’re here with another guy?” He half-joked, the smell of food making his stomach rumble.

Valisa smirked back at him, rolling her eyes. “You’re not just another guy. You’re a friend. And yes he knows. Now eat and then we’ll talk.” Maybe hearing what she had to say on a full stomach would make everything easier to digest and accept.

Complying, Jon proceeded to inhale his food since he was starving from his workout. Once they were both done eating and their plates were taken away, Valisa poured another cup of coffee from the pot and asked if Jon wanted one. He declined, asking if he could go out and have a quick cigarette. He always smoked after eating a full meal like he just had and smiled when Valisa shooed him away. He promised to return in a few minutes and Valisa was thankful because it gave her a little more time to recite in her mind what she wanted to tell Jon.

He returned 5 minutes later and Valisa knew she was officially out of time. “I wanted to talk to you about Zelia’s friendships in the WWE, including Jacobs. We’ll start with that. When Zelia came here almost 7 years ago, she didn’t have anyone, Jon. She was completely alone and isolated herself from everyone. She came to work, busted her ass and then would go straight back to the hotel. This went on for the first year of her being here, she never hung out at the arenas or with anyone. Glen was my friend before Zelia and I’m the one who asked his help to try to break her out of her shell. I could tell she was hurting about something, but she was very reserved and didn’t come clean right away. In fact, she’s one of the most stubborn women I’ve ever met in my life.” Valisa paused, taking a sip of her coffee.

“How did you break her out?” Jon asked quietly, playing with a sugar packet to occupy his hands.

“Made her come out with us, cornered her until she gave in. She and Glen hit it off right away and a lot of people thought what you do now – that she was fucking him. Rumors began flying because of how natural their friendship was and Glen quickly squashed them by treating her like a little sister, which he still does. So here’s what I don’t get. Why are you so adamant to believe she’s fucking him? Did someone put that assumption in your head?” Valisa had to know because it still baffled her that Jon would accuse Zelia of something as heinous as screwing a married man.

Jon took a deep breath and remained quiet for a minute, trying to find the right words to say. “I overheard them one night.” He admitted, keeping his eyes glued on his coffee mug, his eyes turning bluer by the second. “They were up in the nosebleed seats of the arena and that’s where I sometimes go to get my mind on track about shit. I don’t go often, but that night I decided I could use some solitude. And there they were. They were talking about Zelia jumping on the Big Red Machine and he said she would in time, that they couldn’t hide it forever. Zelia said she had to tell me sooner or later before things got out of control. What the fuck would you think if you heard that bullshit?”

“I think you jump to conclusions way too fast and you don’t understand the type of friendship Glen and Zelia have.” Valisa replied truthfully, setting her coffee down on the table. “Did it ever occur to you that they were just joking around with each other? Because they do that. Zelia and Glen talk about everything under the sun, including sex and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that whole ‘jumping on the Big Red Machine’ line. It was JOKING around, Jon. That’s why you’ve been accusing her of screwing married men? Because you eavesdropped on a private conversation and didn’t even have the balls to confront her about it?”

Jon felt his jaw tighten, closing his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down since his temper had started rising. “What makes you think she’s joking? What if they really are fucking?”

“They are my closest friends in this business.” Valisa replied simply, keeping her voice low and soft because getting angry at what Jon said wouldn’t solve anything. “Believe me, I would know if they were fucking and they’re not. Same with her and Mark. Granted, there used to be some kind of sexual chemistry between them, but that was squashed when Mark married an ex-WWE Diva and made her a housewife. Now Zelia and Mark are just friends. She always thought he was too old for her anyway.”

“Next subject.” Jon ordered gruffly, really not wanting the image of Zelia and Mark Calaway together in his brain. “What else did you have to tell me?”

This was where things got complicated and Valisa was sure she was committing friendship suicide by doing this. She had no choice though. “Jon, look at me.” She ordered, taking both of his hands in hers across the table and waited until his pure blue eyes met hers. He was definitely agitated and angry about this conversation, but had kept his temper in check thankfully. “I’ve known Zelia for a long time and what I’m about to tell you is the complete truth. So you need to accept it and make things right with her. I’m telling you this because I know she’ll never have the guts to do it and it will also squash your accusations.”

Jon couldn’t imagine what Valisa could say about Zelia to make all of that happen, but once again his curiosity got the better of him. “Shoot.”

“Zelia’s in love with you and she has been since she worked with you in HWA.”

Chapter 19

“So let me get this straight, you want to split Valisa and Joe Anoa’i up because she’s getting in your way. And you want me to swoop in once your plan is hatched and comfort her?” Phil reiterated, stroking his chin in thought when the individual he spoke to nodded. “Why would I agree to do something like this again?”

Blowing smoke out of his mouth, Randy flicked ash from his cigarette as his blue eyes gleamed in the darkness. “Because you can’t stand the fact Valisa shut you down and went to a Samoan idiot. She basically chose a rookie over someone of your stature.”

Phil had to admit he made a point and leaned against the ledge of the balcony. “You sure this isn’t just about you getting what you want and trying to screw others in the process?”

“Trust me Phil, if I was going to screw you, you’d know it. I’m simply offering you the opportunity at a second chance with Valisa. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but one way or another Zelia will be mine again.” Randy vowed darkly, feeling his jaw tighten at the mere thought of that woman. “We’re going through a rough patch right now and she’ll soon see the error of her ways. But I also know how much Valisa hurt you with her rejection. Don’t you want some revenge, man?”

Smirking, Phil couldn’t help agreeing with everything Randy said. “So your plan is underway regardless if I accept or not?”

“Your job will be simple. Keep Valisa occupied long enough for me to get to Zelia. Then you can do whatever you want with her. But she’s currently downstairs talking sense into Jonathan Good about making amends with Zelia. I can’t afford that asshole to be involved in this too.” Randy took another deep drag of his cigarette, snarling at the memory of what the Shield did to him a few months ago. “And don’t worry, I have friends in high places that are helping me with this.”

Phil knew what that meant and chuckled, shaking his head. “You better hope you can trust him. He can be a snake in the grass when he wants to be.”

“So can you.” Randy pointed out, arching a brow. “So what do you say? Are you in or out?”

Phil thought about it for a few seconds, already having his mind made up. “I’m in…under one condition.”

“Name it.” Randy exhaled as smoke filtered out of his mouth, flicking his cigarette over the balcony into the dark night.

“I want compensation for this.” Phil had certain stipulations if he was going to do this and wanted to make them crystal clear to Randy. “I want no part of whatever you have planned with Zelia because she means squat to me.”

“Anything else?” Randy demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest and wondered if dragging Phil into his plan was the best idea now.

Phil walked up to Randy, their eyes locked. “I want Valisa when it’s all said and done, no matter what happens with you and Zelia. She belongs to me. We clear?”

“Done.” They shook hands and Randy left Phil’s room, whipping out his cell phone and smirked when a sultry voice flowed through the other line. “Hey baby, the plan is underway. How about some company tonight to finalize things?”

The woman giggled on the other end. “I’ll be waiting.” She purred, the line going dead a second later.

~!~

“So, did your talk with Jon go alright?” Joe asked as he drove back to the hotel with Valisa, both of them ending yet another spectacular date.

Valisa nodded with a small smile. “Yeah. I don’t know if he’s going to talk to her or not, but hopefully his accusations of her sleeping around will stop. It’s a step in the right direction.”

“I still can’t believe you told him she was in love with him.” Joe shook his head, squeezing Valisa’s hand. “I just hope it doesn’t blow up in your face, beautiful.”

“If it does, it does. Nothing I can do about it. I just hope they can find their way back to each other. Zelia still loves him even if she won’t admit it and you can see how much Jon is hurting. He loves her too. It’s so sad.” Valisa sighed heavily, feeling Joe’s thumb across the top of her hand and chewed her bottom lip.

Truth be told, Zelia wasn’t the only one having issues with the L word. Valisa was too. She had no idea how to tell Joe that she was completely in love and had fallen for him in the span of a few months. They hadn’t had sex yet either! Every time Joe kissed Valisa, another part of her body ignited and she was pretty sure she’d end up bursting into flames if he didn’t claim her soon. They had heavy make out sessions and Joe had felt her up a few times, but that was as far as he’d go with her. He was incredibly old fashioned and, as adorable as that was, it frustrated Valisa sexually to no end.

Joe was having the same issues, but he had no idea what to do about them. What if he made a move on Valisa and she wasn’t ready for sex? He’d been ready the night he met and saved her from a confrontation with Brooks. She was so beautiful from head to toe and her mouth was addicting. Her curves were to die for, Valisa could definitely put all the WWE Divas to shame with her incredible body. On several occasions, especially after a make out session with Valisa, he would dream about being buried to the hilt inside of her. That’s all he wanted was to feel himself plummet in her depths and find out exactly how tight she really was. His fingers hadn’t even got to test that theory yet because Joe always pulled back before went too far.

“What are you thinking about?” Valisa asked softly, breaking Joe out of his thoughts and raised a brow when he just smiled at her. Why did he have to have such a heartwarming smile? “Talk to me.”

“Nothing, just thinking about how great these past few months have been with you.” Joe brought her hand up to kiss the back of it, breathing her in. If he didn’t do something soon, Joe had a feeling he’d lose Valisa and that simply wasn’t an option. “Actually, there is something on my mind that I’ve wanted to talk to you about for a while.”

Valisa felt her heart rate increase and managed to somehow stay calm. “What is it?” She asked quietly, hoping he wasn’t about to break things off with her.

Joe could feel her apprehension and squeezed her hand, letting her know everything was fine. “It’s nothing bad. Let’s wait until we get back to the hotel. I got my own room tonight so we don’t have to deal with the dumbasses.”

Laughing, Valisa smacked his arm playfully. “Don’t call them dumbasses. Granted, one of them is acting like a dumbass right now, but they’re actually very sweet guys. Not to mention your brothers. So don’t call them names.” They would be completely alone with some actual privacy and Valisa already planned on taking full advantage of it.

“My dumbass brothers, yes.”

They arrived at the hotel and Joe lead Valisa upstairs to the suite he got for them, slipping the key card in the slot. “After you.” He rumbled, smiling as she walked inside and shut the door behind him, flipping the light on. “How about something to drink?”

“Sure.” Valisa looked around the beautiful suite that came with a Jacuzzi tub that was in the corner of the room. “Thank you.” She murmured when Joe handed her a glass of wine, clinking their glasses together. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

Joe took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and moved to sit on the bed with her standing between his legs, staring up into her beautiful ocean blue eyes. “I know we’ve been extremely busy because of WrestleMania and whatnot, but we have a weekend off coming up and I want you to come to Florida with me. I want you to meet my family. Mom and Dad have been asking about you a lot and they’re dying to meet you. So I sort of caved and told them I’d bring you home on our next weekend off.”

Gaping, Valisa didn’t know what to think or how to respond, feeling a lump form in her throat. “Wow.” She whispered, moving to sit beside him and took a long swallow of her wine. “I-I don’t know what to say…”

Joe chuckled, taking her wine away and set both of their glasses on the nightstand. He lifted her by the waist and deposited her right on his lap, feeling her hands land on his shoulders. His hands ran up her thighs to gently massage them, trying to relax her as much as he could. Valisa let out a sigh at his touch and slid her hands down his shirt covered chest, pulling it from the confines of his jeans to touch his bare skin beneath. This man was chiseled out of stone and it made Valisa’s panties moisten instantly, wanting him more than the air she breathed at that moment.

“Just say yes.” He rumbled in a husky voice, his mouth by her ear as he began tracing the shell of it with his tongue and felt her shiver. “Cold?”

“Hell no.” Valisa breathed out, closing her eyes to relish the feeling of his hands and tongue on her body, every part of her igniting in flames. “Joe…” His name spilled from her lips so easily and Valisa felt his hands inch up a little more on her thighs.

Glad she wore a skirt, Joe continued teasing her ear for a bit and finally moved away from it to travel down her neck, one arm wrapping around her waist to press her closer to him. He loved feasting on her neck, it was so soft and one of her more sensitive areas that he loved tormenting. Valisa’s hands continued running up his shirt and she finally pulled back, staring into nearly blackened eyes while hers had darkened to a deeper hazy blue. Was tonight the night they’d finally give into their sexual desires?

“Joe, you’re killing me.” Valisa stated breathlessly, her neck on fire along with every part of her body he’d touched. “I-I can’t take much more of this…” Her forehead pressed to his, her hands slipping down his muscular chest to bunch the material of his shirt. “I need you. I can’t even say I want you right now because it’s a damn NEED. I know you wanna go slowly and I respect that, but I seriously can’t make out with you anymore or I’m going to explode.”

Her sweet confession was all Joe had to hear as he cupped the back of her head, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss that sent both of their worlds spiraling. Valisa groaned and broke the kiss before it got too heated, seeing the need in his eyes as much as hers held. Without another thought, Valisa pushed Joe’s shirt up over his head, the sight of him bare from the waist up completely mouthwatering. Joe responded by taking her buttoned up blouse and ripped it open, buttons flying everywhere. He was impatient with buttons and would replace it if she wanted him to. Valisa knew her panties were completely ruined when he did that and felt his hand slip around her back inside the blouse, unsnapping her bra expertly. Pulling the material off her body along with her bra, Valisa kissed him again and felt Joe lead her down on the bed, hovering over her.

Clothes flew in all directions that started with Joe’s pants and then Valisa’s skirt, though he purposely left her panties on. Valisa stared up at the Samoan Adonis before her and felt her breath hitch in her throat, her caramel hair splayed all around her on the pillow. Joe had to learn how to breathe again at how enchanting she looked and leaned down to softly kiss her lips before moving to her chest. He took one nipple in his mouth and suckled, trying to keep his body weight off of her so that way all she felt was the knee planted between her thighs and his mouth on her breasts. It was more exotic that way, though Joe did allow her to bury her fingers in his silky black tresses.

Once he thoroughly teased her breasts, Joe knew both of them wouldn’t be able to handle much more teasing. They could deal with foreplay later on, but right now Joe had to be buried inside of her. Both craved and needed it badly. Joe lifted his head from her chest and slid his hand down her side to lift her leg, feeling her knee bend. They both smiled at each other and Valisa’s melted away as her mouth fell half-open, feeling Joe glide the head of his pulsating cock up and down her wet sex. It was dripping by now from all the teasing and foreplay they’d done, making Joe groan from low in his throat.

She was going to be the death of him.

“That feels so fucking good…” Valisa moaned, sliding her hand down her stomach to run a single fingernail down his cock, having to sit up a little since he was a lot taller than her. “No more teasing, just take me, Joe…” She wasn’t above pleading at this point and felt his mouth devour hers again.

Carefully, Joe pushed past her slick folds and had to break the kiss to breathe, his eyes squeezing tightly shut. “Holy fuck you’re tight…” He grunted, sounding somewhat ragged and gritted his teeth to keep in control. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. “Christ Valisa…”

Valisa fell back on the bed, gripping his bulging biceps and wiggled her hips, hearing him growl. “Do it. Goddamn, I can’t take it…” The burning in her body had to be quenched and put out before she erupted into one huge inferno. “Joe!”

“I-I don’t want to hurt you…” He gritted out, beads of sweat on his forehead and felt his eyes fly open when she pulled him down on top of her, forcing his cock to slide deeper inside.

“You won’t, now fuck me.” Valisa ordered breathlessly, spreading her thighs wider if that was possible and hooked one leg around his waist.

There was no way Joe could let her down or deny her anything, feeling her stretch around him to accommodate his massive size. With one last deep breath, Joe finally snapped his hips forward and finally claimed Valisa as his own, giving into what they both wanted more than anything in the world. Soft moans and groans filled the room along with flesh smacking flesh, both of them getting completely lost in each other. Hours later, they collapsed against each other and became entangled, passing out in each other’s arms where they both knew they belonged.

Or so they thought.

Chapter 20

Mortified and heartbroken.

Valisa fled from the arena, tears flying behind her because of how fast they poured down her face, feeling sick to her stomach. It was Monday night and Raw was underway, so she didn’t bother Joe since he was getting ready for his segment with Jon and Colby. They spent time together when they could, but it wasn’t nearly enough since Valisa had to stay after the shows to take the stage and settings down. Being part of the ring crew, sometimes Valisa didn’t get back to the hotel until early morning hours and Joe would already be asleep. She tried not to wake him up, but there were a few times where Joe had been awake when she arrived in their room.

On their 2 days off, unless they were scheduled to work on Wednesday and Thursday, Joe had taken Valisa back to Pensacola so they had some time completely alone. As much as he loved his brothers, he had to have quality time with Valisa, wanting to know every little thing about her. Valisa had such a great time meeting his huge family that had generations upon generations of wrestlers. His mother, Patricia, was the sweetest woman she’d ever met and promised to fatten Valisa up since she was too skinny. His father, Sika, was very welcoming and told her she could come to see them anytime, Joe or no Joe. Valisa thought everything was going great with Joe, but apparently she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Arriving at her rental car, Valisa ripped the back door open and shoved her things inside, slamming it shut. She doubled over, crying out because of how much pain she currently felt. Every part of her felt like dying. How could Joe do something so…degrading and hurtful to her? What had she done wrong to deserve this? Shaking her head sadly, Valisa managed to pull herself together long enough to slip behind the wheel before breaking down again. It took her a good 10 minutes to calm down before Valisa started the ignition and peeled out of there, not able to stay at the arena right now. Calling Stephanie on the way to the hotel to let her know she wasn’t feeling well, Valisa desperately needed the night off.

Meanwhile, inside the arena, Joe frowned when another one of his calls went straight to Valisa’s voicemail. What the hell was going on? Even if she was busy, she normally answered to tell him she’d call him back when she had a minute. Something wasn’t right, Joe could feel it deep inside and tried calling her again, growling when once again he was sent to voicemail. “Come on woman, answer your damn phone.” He grumbled, trying yet again and felt a sickness developing in his stomach. “Damn it!”

“Still no answer?” Colby asked, pulling his black gloves on over his hands to get ready for their segment tonight.

“No, something’s not right.” Joe looked up when Jon burst through the door at that moment, getting to his feet. “Where’s the fire?”

“There’s something you need to see, big man.” Jon said, his voice low and calm, which was NEVER a good thing because it meant he was incredibly angry. “Come on.”

“What is it?” Joe asked resignedly, folding his arms in front of his chest and could see the startling blue in Jon’s eyes, telling both him and Colby he was pissed off. They only turned that shade of blue whenever Jon was agitated or downright enraged. “Jon…”

“Just come the fuck on.” Jon growled, trying to keep his temper in check as his taped hands clenched at his sides, feeling his nails digging into the palms of his hands.

Sharing a concerned look with Colby, all 3 men walked out of the dressing room and headed in the direction Jon walked. Joe had no idea what his friend wanted to show him, but that sick feeling in his gut intensified. What if this had to do with Valisa not returning his call? They stopped just outside of the cafeteria, the doorway blocked as Jon turned to stare at both of them, already shaking from head to toe as anger poured out of his body.

“I-I can’t go in…” Jon stammered, shaking his head and stepped aside as he leaned against the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Go with him, Colby.”

Colby nodded, swallowing hard and placed a hand on Joe’s back since it seemed as though the big man’s feet were suddenly cemented to the floor. “Come on, man. I’m right here.” He nodded at Jon, feeling Joe start putting one foot in front of the other as they headed inside the cafeteria. What they both saw next made Colby fully understand why Jon was enraged. “Oh fuck…”

Before them was a huge 55’ flat screen television that was mounted to the wall. It was big enough for everyone to see, even a blind person if they had one on the roster. On the screen was Joe and a woman that was NOT Valisa in bed together completely naked. The cameraman zoomed in on the sleeping faces of both Joe and Eva Marie –her real name was Natalie Nelson, but everyone called her Eva Marie since it was technically her actual middle name- curled up together on the bed. Her head rested on his chest, her fiery red hair pooled all down her back and over her shoulder so it hid her breasts. Joe slept peacefully, his chest rising and falling steadily with his black hair splayed all around him haphazardly on the pillow. His arm was around her and Eva’s was draped over his torso, both looking completely sated and satisfied from what they’d apparently just done.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?” Joe exploded, gaining the attention of every single person in the cafeteria as they all stared at him wide eyed.

Colby couldn’t believe what he was seeing and watched as chairs went FLYING across the room, everyone moving out of Joe’s way. He was irate and Colby didn’t blame him, finally understanding now why Jon was so ticked off. This was unbelievable. Who the hell would show something THIS intimate and personal about coworkers? He cringed when the 55’ flat screen went flying next across the room to crash against the floor, cracking the screen right down the middle as everyone made haste out of the cafeteria past him. Joe stood there looking like a pissed off bull, his entire body so tense that the veins were popping out in his neck and arms, his face reddening.

“Tell me you don’t believe this bullshit.” He demanded Colby through a vicious growl, suddenly flipping a table completely upside down, tears burning in his eyes. “I would NEVER hurt Valisa like that! Someone is going to die. Someone is going to have their head popped off their shoulders like a fucking TICK!”

Colby nodded, holding his hands up trying to calm the big man down, but it wasn’t happening. “I know that, man, but you getting enraged and destroying everything in your path isn’t going to solve this problem. We need to find Valisa. Clearly she must’ve seen this and that’s why she’s not answering her phone or text messages.” The pieces were slowly coming together regarding Valisa sending Joe straight to her voicemail, this had to be the reasoning behind it. “First thing’s first, we need to go report this to Stephanie and Paul. Then we need to find Valisa.” Joe’s reputation was on the line now and Colby wouldn’t let it be tarnished because someone decided to attack his brother.

Jon immediately got in Joe’s face as soon as they walked out of the cafeteria, his shoulders squared. “Did you do it?” He demanded, grabbing Joe by the scruff of his vest and yanked him to where their noses practically touched. “Did you cheat on her with that slut?”

Colby knew Jon was protective of Valisa because she was Zelia’s best friend, not to mention they had all gotten to know Valisa better over the past few months. Both him and Jon thought of Valisa as their sister and they’d be damned if anyone hurt someone they considered family. Jon especially since he didn’t trust a lot of people in his life, but he’d put his full faith and trust into Valisa. So if Joe had hurt her like this by sleeping with a rat like Eva Marie, Colby was going to help Jon kick the living hell out of him.

“No I didn’t.” Joe practically spat out, seething at Jon because he couldn’t believe his best friend was actually questioning his fidelity to Valisa.

Jon searched Joe’s eyes for a few seconds and finally released him, tearing a hand through his drenched dishwater blonde hair. “Then what the fuck was that?” He demanded, pointing in the cafeteria where the now destroyed flat screen lay. “How the fuck did someone film you and Eva Marie in bed together? Explain that.”

Joe didn’t have any explanation because he was trying to figure it out, his mind completely blank and devoid of answers. “I don’t know, but you can bet your ass I’m going to find out. We’re going to Stephanie and Paul’s office to report this. That slut Eva Marie isn’t getting away with this shit. I WILL be tracking her ass down and getting answers.”

“Good, let’s go.” Jon led the way to Stephanie and Paul’s office, not bothering knocking as he opened the door. “We need to talk.”

Stephanie jumped when the door opened and felt her entire face flush a deep crimson red because she’d been making out with her husband. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and her blouse was partially unbuttoned where Paul had started removing it. She could see the angry expressions on all 3 men’s faces and pushed Paul away, clearing her throat awkwardly. Paul didn’t look happy for being interrupted, so if this wasn’t good he was going to plow his fist in each of their faces.

“Make it quick.” Stephanie demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest after buttoning her blouse back up. “What’s so important?”

Jon gritted his teeth, knowing he wouldn’t be able to talk without yelling and looked at Colby, nodding. “Tell her.” Joe was in no condition to talk at the moment because he looked ready to explode again.

Colby nodded, rubbing his hands together nervously since Stephanie and Paul were glaring daggers at all 3 of them. “Have you been to the cafeteria yet?” He decided to start out with that question, swallowing hard when they both shook their heads.

“No why?” Stephanie urged, raising a brow. “What’s going on, Colby?”

“Someone set up a flat screen television in catering and…it had a DVD, from what I’m guessing, replaying the big man here and Eva Marie in bed together.” He cringed when Joe growled at the mention of the slut’s name and ran a hand through his multi-colored hair, taking a deep breath. “We’re reporting it because the big man didn’t do it. He has no recollection of sleeping with Eva Marie and, even if he did, it shouldn’t be broadcasted for the entire locker room to see. That’s unprofessional, wrong and an invasion of privacy. The cafeteria is destroyed along with the television, but hopefully the DVD is still salvageable since that’s the only evidence we have.”

Stephanie blinked and looked over at her husband, both of them completely floored by what they just heard. “We’ll definitely look into this and question Eva Marie regarding this matter.” She walked around her desk and pulled out a paper, beginning to fill some things out on it. “We’ll also try to figure out who had that television setup in catering because nothing like that is supposed to happen without our consent.” Now Stephanie was pissed, her blue eyes icing over at the thought of one of the employees disrespecting someone to this magnitude. “We will get to the bottom of this, I promise.”

Colby nodded, looking up at both Jon and Joe, who both hadn’t said a word besides telling him to do the talking. “Thanks, come on let’s go out and get some air.” They walked out of Stephanie and Paul’s office, heading down the hallway toward the exit.

Only to run into Zelia.

Zelia was running extremely late because her plane had a 2 hour delay. Stephanie and Paul understood, but it didn’t annoy her any less since she had to rush to get ready to go out to the ring with Team Hell No. Luckily, Glen and Bryan both understood her dilemma as well since she called them from the airport before boarding the plane to let them know what had happened. She stopped short at the sight of the Shield heading toward her and immediately stepped aside to let them pass, keeping her eyes averted from Jon. It still hurt her to look at him, but Zelia was slowly getting better with working in the same company as him. They wouldn’t be together and she accepted that, especially after what he did to rental car – something he STILL denied and probably would to his dying breath.

Jon started walking past Zelia and then stopped, making both Joe and Colby halt as well, his current electric blue eyes turning to look at her. He had to swallow his pride. He had to talk to her because she was Valisa’s best friend and the best chance of them finding the woman. Joe was worried sick about her and sickened by everything that happened, so honestly they needed all the help they could get at this point. If that meant Jon talking to Zelia to make it happen, to make sure his brother got his happy ending, then he would do it with a damn smile on his face if that’s what it took.

“We need to talk to you.” Jon rumbled quietly, knowing he couldn’t blow up with Zelia because she’d just walk away from him. “Just for a minute.”

Zelia could see the desperation in his eyes and sighed resignedly, leaning against the wall with her arms folded in front of her chest. “What’s wrong?”

She listened to everything Jon told her. He stuttered through some of it, which she thought was absolutely adorable. It was one of the ticks she loved about him. When Jon finished telling her what they discovered in the cafeteria, Zelia was completely mortified and covered her mouth with her hand, jade eyes wide in disbelief.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Wish I was.” Jon grunted, tearing a hand through his hair for the umpteenth time. “And you know Joe wouldn’t cheat on her. He loves that woman more than the air he fucking breathes. You can see it. So will you help us? We have to find her and try to smooth this over and you’re the only one who knows her better than anyone.”

Zelia didn’t hesitate and nodded, her heart breaking for Valisa and couldn’t imagine what the woman was currently going through. “Knowing her, she more than likely left for the night. You guys need to focus on the show tonight. I know that’s hard to do given the current circumstances, but the show still has to go on. I’ll ask around and see what I can find out. If I hear something, I will tell you immediately. Glen has open ears around here too, so he might’ve heard something as well.” Her friendship with Glen was still strained, but Zelia hadn’t completely pushed him out of her life, especially since they had to work together.

“Thank you.” Jon sighed with great relief, reaching out to run a single finger down her cheek. “We really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem, I promise we’ll get to the bottom of this.” Her eyes turned to Joe when she said that, watching him nod, but he didn’t say a word. “I really have to go get ready for the show. We’ll figure this out though.” She walked away from the guys and headed down the hallway toward Team Hell No’s locker room, her mind racing with all the possibilities of who could’ve done this to Joe and Valisa.

One way or another the truth would come out eventually and, when it did, that person was living on borrowed time because they wouldn’t live long.

Chapter 21

“What’s wrong?”

Zelia hated how well Glen could read her and shook her head, pulling the black lace fingerless gloves on over her hands. “Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, Zel.” Glen turned her to face him, his mismatched eyes boring into hers. He had to wear an ice blue contact in one eye to make him look like a monster. “What’s going on?” He hadn’t been down in catering, so he had no idea what happened with Valisa.

Sighing heavily, Zelia stood up smoothing the dark red corset dress she wore that went just barely below mid-thigh, running a hand through her haphazard hairspray-filled black hair. “It’s Vali.” She admitted quietly, chewing her bottom lip. “Something happened tonight…”

Glen’s eyes narrowed, his fists clenching at his sides. “Who do I have to kill?”

“I don’t know yet.” He would find out eventually, so Zelia figured it would be best if Glen heard this from her. “I’ll tell you what happened, but you have to promise me you won’t fly off the handle.”

Rolling his eyes, Glen held his hand up and sat down like she requested. “Scouts honor.” He muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now tell me what the fuck is going on.”

Sitting down as well, Zelia explained to Glen what happened that Jon told her. She hadn’t been here, so she could only go off by what Jon said. There was no reason for him to make something like this up and Joe had looked like a pissed off bull. That anger was real and raw. She made it clear that Joe would never cheat on Valisa and that they had to find out who made the DVD along with having the television set up. Glen sat there quietly and listened to everything Zelia said, his own heart going out to his friend because he knew how much Valisa loved the rookie.

“You’re positive he wouldn’t cheat on her?” He asked quietly, staring back at Zelia to try to gauge her reaction.

She nodded without hesitation. “If you could’ve seen the look in Joe’s eyes when Jon was talking to me, you’d know he would never do anything like this. Someone is screwing with them, trying to split them up. So if you hear anything or Bryan does, please let me know.”

“Will do.” Glen reached out to pat her thigh and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “Thanks for telling me. I know we’ve been rocky lately, but I’m still here for you and Valisa. I don’t want to lose our friendship. I shouldn’t have let Mark spar with Jon.” He didn’t apologize often, but Glen knew he’d been in the wrong and was man enough to admit his mistakes. “So, will you forgive me and can we be friends again?”

Zelia pretended to think it over, tapping her chin thoughtfully and laughed when Glen groaned, nudging him. “We’re fine, Big Red. I know you meant well and you were only trying to protect me.” She felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, pulling her close and she wrapped hers around his waist, both of them sharing a friendly embrace. “So, how are you and Crystal doing?”

“We’re gettin’ there.” Glen nodded, running a hand through his curly brown hair. “It wasn’t easy to convince her that I hadn’t cheated on her, but I think she’s finally startin’ to understand how much I love her. Time will tell, I guess.”

“It will work out.” Zelia said confidently, knowing how much Crystal and Glen loved each other. “Just like I know things will work out the way they should between me and Jon.”

“You really do love him, don’t you?”

Zelia nodded, feeling the tears budding in her eyes and blinked them back, not wanting to ruin her makeup. “Yeah, I never stopped and I don’t think I ever will.”

“Even though he vandalized your car?” Glen was still fuming over that, eyes narrowing slightly.

“I honestly don’t think he did it, Glen.” Zelia said truthfully, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap. “When Jon does something, he fully owns up to it. He’s sworn to me on everything he stands for and everything he is he didn’t do it. And I believe him. Maybe I’m stupid, naïve and blinded by love, but that’s how I feel and I’m sticking to it.”

Glen didn’t know what to think about Jonathan Good because the kid was incredibly difficult to read. He was tough as nails though and was a great wrestler. His psychology and the way he presented himself to the crowd was also captivating, he definitely had a future with the WWE. However, the way he treated Zelia did not set well with Glen and part of him wanted to kick the hell out of the kid, but he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to maintain his friendship with Zelia. So he would let her handle it and if she really needed his help, Glen would come to her rescue if the time came.

“You need to talk to him.” Glen said finally, taking her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, nodding. “Make him understand that there is nobody else you want. Sometimes you gotta be the bigger person and make the first move, Zel. If you really love him as much as I know you do, you’ll have to be the one that goes to him.”

Zelia couldn’t hold the tears back anymore and let a few slip down her cheeks, shaking her head. “He thinks I’m a whore, Glen.” She whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment because of how much emotion currently coursed through her. “He fully believes I’m fucking two married men – you and Mark. I would never do that. I have more respect for myself than that. And I know I was stubborn and ran away from him at first, but I was scared and didn’t know what to say to him. Then he kissed me and…I freaked out. I didn’t expect it to happen. And suddenly he got the idea in his head that we were fucking around with each other – and then the sparring beat down with Mark didn’t help matters either. What if he wants nothing to do with me? I’m better off not feeling that rejection and just keeping it as a ‘what if’ scenario.”

Before Glen could say anything else, Bryan walked through the door and he stood up, shaking his head when his partner asked if Zelia was alright. She mumbled an apology and walked into the bathroom to clean herself up, knowing they had to go on soon. While redoing her makeup, Zelia felt her phone vibrate on the bathroom counter and looked down, immediately answering it as soon as she saw the name light up on the screen.

“Thank god, Vali. What the hell happened?” Zelia demanded, breathing a huge sigh of relief and closed her eyes as her friend sobbed over the phone.

“I-I need to talk to you when you’re done with the show.” Valisa stammered out, trying to hold back her crying, but it wasn’t happening as she had countless tissues surrounding her from blowing her nose.

“Of course sweetie, whatever you need.” Zelia looked at the clock on her phone, sighing. “We’re going on in about an hour. I’ll clean up and come to your hotel room. What number are you in?” She immediately made a note in her phone so she didn’t forget the room number, having a feeling Valisa would be shutting her phone off after this conversation. “Should I bring some alcohol and ice cream?”

“No, just yourself. Have a great show.” Valisa hung up and shut her cell phone off, collapsing back on the bed as the tears continued pouring down her cheeks.

Zelia frowned at her phone, not remembering ever hearing Valisa so broken in her life and felt her stomach twist violently. What if Joe had cheated on her and Eva Marie used the footage to get back at him? There were a lot of possibilities with this situation and there was only one outcome Zelia would accept, determined to find out who was screwing around with her best friend. Patting her cheeks to try to get the puffiness down a little, Zelia applied some foundation to be on the safe side and walked out to join Team Hell No. Glen filled Bryan in, which Zelia didn’t mind and they ended up talking about who could potentially be behind this. Bryan said he’d talk to Brianna since she was in the gossip loop with the company, especially the Divas.

After the segment was over with, Zelia quickly showered and changed into a pair of blue jeans with a long sleeved wine colored top that had a V-shaped neckline. She brushed her hair, not bothering with makeup and jetted out, heading to the hotel. On the drive over, Zelia contemplated texting Jon to let him know that she’d found Valisa, but decided against it. Until she knew for a fact Joe didn’t cheat on Valisa, she was on the fence about involving him and didn’t want to break Valisa’s trust. She stopped on the way to get some peanut butter flavored ice cream, Valisa’s favorite, and arrived 20 minutes later. Traffic wasn’t that bad since she took off before Raw was fully over with.

Knocking on the door, Zelia felt her heart clench painfully in her chest at the sight of her friend as soon as Valisa answered the door. She had a huge t-shirt on that hung off her shoulder, her ocean blues rimmed red and were swollen, tear streaks burning her cheeks. Zelia immediately pulled her into a tight hug, feeling Valisa squeeze her back and stroked her back, guiding both of them back into the room. Valisa sat on the bed while Zelia retrieved two spoons from the drawer, sitting beside her friend while they both began digging into the ice cream silently.

“What happened?” Zelia asked, reaching out to tuck a strand of caramel behind Valisa’s ear, pure sympathy in her eyes.

Valisa sniffled, taking a bite of ice cream and shook her head, lowering her eyes. “I was stupid.” She whispered painfully. “I just don’t understand what I did to make him do this to me. We had such a fantastic time with his family in Pensacola over our few days off and he seemed like he really cared about me, maybe even loved me. I was wrong about all of it and I feel so stupid for being blind.”

“So I take it you saw the television in catering of him and…”

“Don’t say that whore’s name.” Valisa snarled, her head snapping up to lock with Zelia’s wide jade eyes. “I’m serious, I don’t want to hear her name. And yes, I saw it. Why do you think I hightailed it out of there? I was so embarrassed and now everyone in the company knows he cheated on me with that nasty filthy snatch. I swear to god, if I ever see her, I’ll rip her Jessica Rabbit hair right out of her fucking head.”

Zelia couldn’t help laughing at her choice of words, shaking her head. “Jessica Rabbit hair? Wow, now that you mention it she really does mimic that character.” That was great, Glen and Bryan would get a kick out of that when Zelia met up with them tomorrow for the Smackdown! taping.

Valisa couldn’t help a small smirk that curved her lips, taking another bite of ice cream. “Stupid bitch has nothing on Jessica Rabbit though. Definitely not the boobs. And her ass isn’t firm enough. You’ve seen Jessica Rabbit. That bitch has it going ON.” They both giggled and it felt good that Valisa could still laugh, even in the worst circumstances.

“What makes you think Joe cheated on you?” Zelia held her hand up. “Let me finish before you blow up at me. The DVD only showed them sleeping in bed together naked. But it didn’t show anything else. Doesn’t that strike you as suspicious? I mean, why not show the whole shebang if it happened?”

“What are you saying? That he didn’t sleep with her? Because that DVD didn’t lie. There was no way it was created either. He was clearly in bed with her and it looked like both of them just had a romp.” Valisa spat out viciously, stabbing her spoon into the ice cream like it’d personally done her wrong.

Zelia sighed heavily, trying to find the right words to say, but it was incredibly hard since she was on Valisa’s side partially with this. “Look, I’m not on his side with this and I know the evidence is pretty thick against him, but just think about it for a second. Really think about it. Do you honestly believe in your heart Joe would ever cheat on you with a snatch like her? Because I don’t. I’ve seen the way that big man looks at you. You are his entire world and he only has eyes for you. What if someone set this up to split you two up?”

Valisa honestly hadn’t thought about that possibility because she couldn’t get the image of Joe and Eva Marie together in bed out of her head. “Who would want to split us up though?” She asked quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. “I won’t talk to Joe until I know the truth about what happened and why he was on that DVD naked with that Jessica Rabbit wanna-be.”

“Just give me a little time to try to figure this out. I’ve got Glen and Bryan on it too and they’re in agreement with me regarding Joe. They honestly don’t think he did it, not willingly at least. I think it’s time to have a talk with that nasty snatch and find out exactly what the fuck is going on.” Zelia stated, cracking her knuckles as fire erupted in her jade eyes, swallowing down her anger for the moment.

They talked for a little longer and Valisa asked Zelia to leave because she wanted to be alone. Zelia was hesitant to leave, but complied with whatever Valisa wanted and tucked her in bed, kissing her forehead. She promised they’d get to the bottom of this and told Valisa to keep her head up, leaving her friend alone like she wanted. Zelia headed back to her room, so many thoughts rushing through her mind. Even with everything that was going on with Valisa, Jon was still at the forefront and Zelia had no idea what to do about him. How was she supposed to let her feelings for him go when they just intensified every time she saw him? If Zelia didn’t get a handle on her feelings, they were going to explode and make her implode inside out, which couldn’t happen now that she was a WWE Diva. Turning the corner after stepping off the elevator, Zelia stopped at the sight of none other than Jonathan Good standing outside her hotel room and swallowed hard.

What did he want now?

Chapter 22

Jon had been pacing back and forth in front of Zelia’s hotel room, trying to go over exactly what he wanted to say to her in his head. He’d smoked 3 cigarettes downstairs before finally finding the courage to come up to her room, only to find her gone. So he decided to wait for her, having a feeling she was with Valisa since he spotted Glen and Bryan in the hotel lobby upon arrival. Zelia was nowhere to be found and apparently had left the arena early to come back to the hotel. He stopped pacing at the sight of her stepping off of the elevator and felt the breath leave his body. She was stunning from head to toe, the wine color of her top really bringing out her jade eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Zelia asked, hesitantly walking up to him holding her key card and didn’t open the door, folding her arms in front of her chest.

“I need to talk to you.” Jon replied, seeing the hesitation in her eyes and honestly didn’t blame her. What kind of reception did he honestly expect after all the horrible things he said to her? “Let me in, I don’t want to do this out in the hallway.”

Chewing her bottom lip nervously, Zelia wasn’t sure if that was the best thing to do and lowered her eyes from his. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She murmured quietly, flipping the key card in her hand repeatedly to try to get her nerves under control.

Jon sighed heavily and closed the distance between them, lifting her chin with his strong hand until watery jade eyes met his. He sucked in a sharp breath at all the pain flooding through them and knew most of it was his fault. Calling her a whore and accusing her of sleeping with two married men had definitely taken its toll on her. All Jon wanted to do was take that pain away and tell her how he felt, but it looked as though Zelia didn’t want to hear anything he had to say.

“Just 5 minutes. Please.” He quietly pleaded, keeping his bluish grey eyes locked with hers and reached his hand down to slip the key card out of her hand.

Zelia had no choice and knew she’d given Jon her answer the moment he slipped the key card out of her hand, stepping aside while he slid it in the slot. She opened the door and walked inside, already knowing Jon would follow, setting her purse down on the nightstand. It was a standard hotel room with one bed, a bathroom and microwave, nothing fancy. Zelia kicked her shoes off and headed over to close the curtains since they were wide open, checking the heater to make sure it worked. There were a few times she’d walked into hotel rooms that didn’t have working furnaces, so it was one of the first things she checked out.

“What do you wanna talk about?” She asked, grabbing her bag to put it on the bed so she could pick out something more comfortable to wear.

Jon moved to stand directly behind her, gently resting his hands on her hips and felt her tense instantly. “Us.” His tone was soft and low, not wanting to scare her off.

“There is no us, Jon. You made that perfectly clear.” Zelia stated, pulling stuff out of her bag and tried not to pay attention to the fact Jon’s hands were searing her sides.

Her attitude did not surprise him because he had been a royal dick to her, but Jon refused to give up and pressed his forehead against the back of her neck. “I don’t want to fight with you anymore, Zelia. I just wanna forget everything that’s happened to start over. I miss you.” He began massaging her sides in circles with his thumbs, pulling her closer to him.

As wonderful as it felt being this close to Jon again, Zelia couldn’t forget everything that happened and pulled away from him, shaking her head. “Well I can’t, Jon.” She moved to stand on the other side of the bed, giving them both some space and continued looking through her bag. “Being called a whore and accused of sleeping with married men doesn’t just roll off my shoulders. I have a thick skin, but not that thick.”

Jon tore both hands through his dishwater curly blonde hair, gripping it in his fingers because of how frustrated he was. “I’m trying to make things right between us. I just – What I mean to say – Fuck!” He hated it when his stuttering kicked in, his nerves getting the better of him at the moment. “Damn it…”

“You really hurt me, Jon.” Zelia’s voice cracked and as soon as she blinked, tears slid down her cheeks freely. “You called me possibly the worst thing imaginable when you called me a whore because you should know me better than that! And then you thought I was fucking both Glen and Mark? Just get out. Get out and leave me alone. I can’t deal with this right now.”

Jon’s heart broke as soon as Zelia began crying and knew he deserved everything she said to him. His eyes went wide when she demanded him to get out of her hotel room, feeling his own heart plummet to his stomach. She meant it. She really didn’t want to hear anything he had to say and, normally, Jon would’ve left. But this situation was different and this woman was worth fighting for. Valisa had said things that really made him think long and hard about everything that happened with Zelia. She loved him – he hadn’t missed that confession from Valisa either. So no, there was no way on god’s green earth Jon was walking out that door, not until he told Zelia how he really felt about her. He gritted his teeth and closed the distance between them, yanking her flush against his muscular body by her upper arms, ignoring her protesting.

“Let go of me!” Zelia cried out softly, hating that she was breaking down in front of Jon and letting him see all of the pain he caused her over the past few months. “Just leave! Get out! You don’t want me and you’ve made that perfectly fucking clear! Why are you even here? Are you going to torture me more? Maybe call me a slut along with being a whore? WHAT?!”

Jon growled and suddenly cupped her face somewhat harshly in his hands, forcing her to shut up for a couple seconds so he could say his piece. “Damn it, shut up for 2 seconds and let me talk, woman!” He hadn’t meant to raise his voice with her, but Zelia had pushed his buttons. His hands began trembling against her face, his nose practically touching hers as her tears flooded down his fingers. “J-Just give me a minute…fuck.” Jon pressed his forehead to hers, her crying completely shattering him because it felt like her soul was being ripped from her body.

When Jon didn’t say anything for a minute and held her still, Zelia tried pulling away from him again, crying harder. “Please stop…” She whispered pleadingly, gripping his t-shirt in her own shaking hands. “You don’t want me and I get it. No matter what I do or say, you’ll see me the way you want to and nothing will change your mind. Just let me go. Let me go, Jon…”

“I can’t…” Jon gritted out, the words bubbling up inside of him and knew if he didn’t tell her now, he’d lose her forever.

“Why not?” Zelia whispered, seeing the intensity in his eyes and felt her breath catch in her throat, her heart nearly stopping.

“Because I fucking love you.” Jon stated, so much emotion and heartache his voice that it physically hurt Zelia, his grip on her not faltering for a second. “I love you and I’m fucking in love with you, Zelia Bell, and if you think for one goddamn second I’m letting you go without the fight of my life, you’ve got another thing fucking coming!”

Did he just – did he really – Zelia’s brain couldn’t form a single coherent question as Jon’s words replayed in her head repeatedly, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. “You do?” She squeaked out, trembling from head to toe when he nodded and swallowed hard, breathing turning heavy. “B-But you said…”

“Fuck what I said.” Jon cut her off, releasing her face only to grip her hips, lifting her up and felt her legs wrap instinctively around his waist, wanting her as close to him as possible. “I didn’t mean any of it. I know you’re not a whore and I know you’re not sleeping with those old men.” He smirked when she glared at him, their lips mere inches apart. “I was a dick, Zel – a jealous, raging dick and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you however I can. But you’re not pushing me away because I know something you don’t.”

“What is that?” Zelia couldn’t help asking, wrapping her arms around his neck and knew he would never drop her, trusting him fully.

Jon smirked, running a finger down her cheek and brushed a raven strand away from her cheek. “You love me too. And now I want to hear you say it. AND I want to know how long you’ve felt this way about me.”

“Demanding little shit.” She muttered, lowering her eyes from his and sighed when his finger once again hooked beneath her chin, forcing her eyes to remain locked with his.

“There’s nothing little about me, baby. Now tell me.” He rumbled, tightening his arm around her so she couldn’t go anywhere and cupped her face with his strong hand. “Say it, Zelia.”

How could she deny him the obvious truth? Zelia couldn’t, all of her resolve melting away into a vapor. “I love you, Jon.” She began crying again, feeling him walk over to sit on the bed so they could be more comfortable and pressed her forehead against his. “I’ve loved you since HWA. When I met you, you were unlike any man I’ve ever met in my life and my feelings for you grew. Our friendship became very important to me and I didn’t want to ruin anything, so I kept my feelings for you to myself. And then I was fired from the company because they were going down the tubes, left you high and dry and I thought I’d never see you again. You have no idea how sorry I am about leaving you that night. If I could go back-” Jon’s finger pressed against her mouth, stopping Zelia from talking and once again cupped her face in his strong hands.

“Are you in love with me?” That was the only thing Jon needed to know because there was a fine line between loving someone and being in love with them. “I want to hear you say it, Zelia. I need to hear it.”

“I’m in love with you, Jonathan Good. So much it hurts.” She admitted, running her nails gently down the side of his face to his stubble and sighed as soon as his mouth descended on hers.

That was all Jon needed to hear. All the pain and rage drained away as soon as he heard those sweet words come out of Zelia’s mouth. He kissed her slow and passionately, pouring every single feeling into it he could muster up, leaving them both breathless. Just when Jon was about to pull back, Zelia shook her head and yanked on his t-shirt, forcing his lips to crash against hers again. Jon groaned from low in his throat, not expecting her to do that, but he definitely wasn’t complaining.

“I-I think we have too many clothes on, Zel.” He growled against her mouth, his hands running down her sides to bunch the material of her top and smirked when she merely raised her arms up in the air. “Good, glad you agree with me.”

“Like I wouldn’t?” Zelia retorted, immediately pushing Jon’s t-shirt up over his head, the pile of clothes forming beside the bed. “Show me how much you love me, Jon.”

He smirked, running his finger down her slightly swollen lips as his bluish grey eyes clouded over in a passion haze. “I plan on it, sweetheart, don’t worry.” He promised, capturing her mouth in another heart stopping kiss and stood from the bed, only to turn planting her back on the bed again. “This needs to go.” He fingered her bra, loving how it clipped in the front instead of the back.

“Definitely, and so do these.”

Zelia slid her hands down his muscular chest to unsnap his blue jeans, raising her feet up on either side to push them down his muscular long legs. He had incredible legs full of power. His boxers joined his jeans moments later and Zelia felt her mouth go dry at the sight of his swollen bulging girth. Jon unsnapped her red lace bra and pulled it off, tossing the material over his shoulder. He worked on her own jeans next, slipping them off her smooth beautiful legs along with her matching red lace boy cut panties. His strong hands glided up her outer thighs while kneeling between her thighs, his mouth descending on her breast. Zelia moaned out, arching her back as her nipples hardened when his cock brushed up against her wet sex. The contact sent tremors throughout her body as Zelia’s fingers gripped Jon’s hair while he continued assaulting her breasts with his mouth and tongue.

“Jon please…no foreplay, I need you inside of me…” Zelia wasn’t above begging at this point, reaching down to grip his cock and whimpered when he gently smacked her hand away. “Jon…”

He loved hearing her moan and whimper his name, moving over to her other breast to torture her further. “Patience, baby.” He growled against her skin, feeling her shiver against him and pulled back to plunder his mouth on hers. “You’re mine now.” As he said those words, his cock began pushing inside of her hot soaked folds, both of them groaning at the contact. “Do you understand me?” Jon gritted out, not stopping no matter how tight she was because he knew it would hurt worse if he stopped halfway.

“Y-Yes!” Zelia gasped out, never feeling so full in all of her life and couldn’t believe how far she stretched to accommodate his size.

It was a miracle he was also to fit all of him inside of her small body, but Jon did it without any problems thankfully. Once Jon felt her completely acclimated to him, he experimentally pulled out of her and then snapped his hips forward, burying himself to the hilt inside her receptive body again. She definitely hadn’t had sex in a while because she was tighter than a vise grip, her walls contracting around him almost painfully.

Gritting his teeth, Jon plunged through, burying his face in her neck while her hands caressed every part of his body she could reach. Zelia felt like she was home with Jon deep inside of her, meeting him for every thrust and let him take full control. He was dominate, but not to the point where it made her uncomfortable. Zelia relished in it and ended up screaming his name repeatedly that name as he filled her completely with his seed, giving them both what they craved for the past almost 7 years.

Chapter 23

Soft lips caressed her neck as Zelia’s body slowly came alive, feeling an arm tighten around her waist. She smiled, keeping her eyes closed and relished the feeling of having Jon this close to her. They spent the majority of the night making love in every position known to man, pushing each other to their breaking points. They’d only been asleep for a couple hours and apparently Jon was ready for another round because she felt his hard erection press against her rear. Zelia moaned, feeling Jon’s fingers glide down her stomach to slip between her wet folds and arched her body against him.

“Mmm someone’s ready for me.” Jon commented in a low raspy voice, loving how she completely surrendered to him. “Do you want my cock inside of your sweet pussy, baby?”

“You never have to ask that, it’s always going to be yes.” Zelia breathed out, shivering when he chuckled in her ear while his fingers continued lightly stroking her clit, jumpstarting her body. “Oh Jon…”

Not moving from their spooned position, Jon pushed his swollen cock inside of her, not stopping his administrations on her clit. Zelia gasped at the fullness, her hand instantly reaching down to entwine with Jon’s against her clit while her other arm wrapped around his neck to bury her fingers in his dishwater blonde curls. Her leg draped over his to spread her thighs wider, making him drive deeper inside of her with every thrust. Her body rocked against his and Jon’s lips remained attached to her neck, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. It was a slow torturous thrusting, Jon’s hand still entwined with Zelia’s splaying against her stomach to keep her in place.

“You feel so good inside of me, Jon…” Zelia moaned, turning her head as his mouth caught hers in a soft kiss, nothing animalistic about it. “I need you deeper…”

Jon growled at her confession, knowing this position wouldn’t give his woman what she wanted. So he quickly slid out of her and watched as she immediately rolled over, spreading her thighs as wide as possible for him. Her beautiful jade eyes had turned a deep forest green that mixed with his stormy greyish blue, his mouth instantly capturing hers. Zelia moaned as their tongues glided together, the same time Jon slid back inside of her, feeling her leg hook around his waist. Now this was much better and in no time Zelia felt that hot coil within her stomach threatening to spring free, but she held it back. Jon’s mouth reluctantly left hers to bury in her neck, their moans and groans filling the air.

It was the sweetest and sexiest way Zelia had been awakened in her entire life.

A few hours later, Jon and Zelia’s cell phones blared, waking both of them up after they finally succumbed to more sleep. Jon growled, reaching over to flip his cell phone open while Zelia snuggled further against him. He kissed the top of Zelia’s head and put his phone to his ear, seeing Joe’s name flashing on the screen.

“This better be life or death or I’m killing you, bro.” He grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and immediately sat up in bed because of what Joe told him. “Shit, we’re on our way.”

“What’s going on?” Zelia asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and tried getting her blurred vision to clear.

“Get dressed.” Jon ordered, tossing her the clothes she wore the previous night, knowing they had no time to waste. “It’s Valisa. She was attacked last night and at the hospital.”

Zelia had never gotten dressed so fast in her life, both her and Jon flying out the door 5 minutes later.

~!~

Valisa lay in the hospital bed rolled on her side, silent tears slipping down her cheeks. She seemed to be in a trance, staring straight ahead with countless machines attached to her body. She had an IV in her arm to pump fluids through her system, her bottom lip was split and her face was a mess of bruises. There was a deep laceration on top of her left eyebrow that currently had stitches to keep it closed and covered with a thick white bandage. The bruises on her face didn’t compare to what the rest of her body looked like. Her inner thighs had large handprint bruises along with her breasts, bite marks that pierced her skin also evident. Her stomach was heavily bruised as well, thanks to several fractured ribs and her right wrist had a thick white bandage on it from being cut. Closing her eyes, Valisa began trembling as the memories of what happened overtook her…

~!~

10 minutes after Zelia left, there was a knock on Valisa’s hotel room door and she thought it was Zelia returning to double-check on her. “I told you I’m fine, Zel.” She said, opening the door without checking to see who was on the other side.

It wasn’t Zelia.

“Hello Valisa.” Phil greeted with a soft smile, holding a bouquet of multicolored flowers. “I need to talk to you about what happened at the arena. It’s about what you saw.”

Valisa raised a brow at the flowers and what Phil said, her curiosity burning. “Five minutes.” She opened the door wider for him to step through and closed it, keeping her back to him.

“Thank you.”

That was the last thing Valisa heard before something hard smashed on top of her head, her body crumbling to the floor in a heap. It was the vase from the flowers Phil had in his hand. Valisa came to a little while later to a naked Phil on top of her, thrusting like a madman in and out of her body. Her head was throbbing fiercely and Valisa was too dazed to think about pushing him away, even though she wanted to. Tears slid down her cheeks as her entire body trembled from head to toe, pain radiating from her lower extremities.

“Get wet for me, slut!” Phil growled, not stopping his thrusting and backhanded her across the face. It hadn’t been the first time he did it either, his hands gripping her thighs tightly to the point where his nails dug into her skin. “You better cum for me, Valisa! Or I will make this even more painful for you!”

“Stop it!” Valisa finally found her voice and tried getting away from him, but Phil had her completely pinned down.

Her arms were above her head locked to the headboard in tight handcuffs that cut into her wrists the more she struggled. Phil reciprocated by biting down on her nipple hard and slid out of her, taking a bottle of lube from the nightstand. Valisa couldn’t believe this was happening and watched in horror as he spread the thick substance all over his cock before slamming back inside of her, forcing her body to submit. He kept her legs wrapped firmly around his waist, putting his full force and power behind every thrust, nearly splitting Valisa in half.

“God so fucking tight…” Phil groaned, his mouth slamming on Valisa’s brutally when she went to scream again, ignoring her struggling with ease and pulled back when she nearly tried biting his tongue off. “You cunt!” He backhanded her again, making her cry out and suddenly grabbed the scarf he brought, stuffing it in her mouth. “You’ll pay for that.” He promised darkly, hazel eyes glowing with wicked intentions as a sick smirk curved his lips.

Valisa was suddenly flipped to be on all fours, her arms twisted so she literally couldn’t move and felt her wrist pop out of place, screaming through the scarf. No matter how much she screamed and struggled, Phil took what he wanted, feeling his still lubed cock slide back inside of her. For hours on end, he raped and beat her, calling her every name in the book. By the time Phil finally finished, Valisa could barely keep consciousness, but she was too scared to pass out for fear of never waking up again. Phil took the handcuffs off her wrists and turned her over on her back, his lips brushing against hers as if they’d just had a purely consensual experience.

“Maybe next time you’ll give me what I want.” Phil said sweetly and buried his fingers in her hair, ripping her bruised face up to lock eyes with him. “And as for what you saw, looks to me like you either didn’t give the goods up to Joe or he simply needed something more. I don’t blame him. Your pussy isn’t worth fucking. Pleasant dreams, sweetheart.” He released her at once and walked out of the room completely dressed, leaving Valisa there broken, bruised and bloodied.

~!~

Zelia and Jon raced into the hospital as fast as they could, spotting Joe pacing in the waiting lobby. Colby, Celeste, Brianna, Bryan, Glen and Mark were all waiting as well, worried looks on their faces. This wasn’t good. Zelia felt sick to her stomach as Joe approached her, tears in his grey eyes and Jon tightened his hold slightly on her hand.

“What happened?” Zelia asked quietly, tears forming at all the pain and anguish in the big man’s eyes. “Joe, talk to me…”

“S-She won’t let me see her…” Joe stammered out painfully and shook his head, walking away from her as he began pacing again.

Glen stood up and walked over to Zelia, not bothering to comment on the sight of her with Jon. He knew it would happen eventually. “Valisa was beaten and raped last night.” He said solemnly, his heart breaking as soon as the tears slid down Zelia’s cheeks and wanted to pull her into his arms, but Jon beat him to the punch.

“Oh my god…” Zelia could barely breathe, burying her face in Jon’s chest while his hand clamped on the back of her head, her tears soaking through his shirt. “I-I just saw her…”

Jon’s eyes turned startlingly blue instantly, his jaw tightening and every muscle in his body tensed. Someone raped and beat Valisa – the woman he considered his sister? The woman who had stolen Joe’s heart? Jon gritted his teeth, holding onto Zelia and tried swallowing his anger down for the moment, knowing she needed him right now. He hated seeing her cry, but he would deal with it right now since the situation definitely called for some tears…and possibly murder.

“D-Do they know who did it?” Zelia asked once she pulled away from Jon to turn to look at Glen, the tears not stopping.

“No, and there was no evidence left behind. No…semen or anything. So whoever did this planned it out methodically and luckily used protection…” Glen felt sick at the words he said, his face paling slightly and blinked when Zelia wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

“It’s okay, Big Red. It’s gonna be okay. Valisa will tell us who it was and then that mother fucker will have to deal with all of us.” Zelia soothed, feeling his arms wrap around her and his lips kiss the top of her head. It was all friendly, there was no romantic feelings between them whatsoever. “Have you seen her yet?” Jon grabbed her hand after Zelia broke the hug, their fingers lacing together once more.

Glen shook his head, frowning. “No. She won’t let anyone see her right now…except you.”

Zelia swallowed hard and looked back at Jon, reaching up to caress his face tenderly with the back of her free hand. “Go outside and take Joe with you. Have a cigarette, you really need one because you’re so tense the veins in your neck and arms are popping out.” She brushed her lips against his in front of everyone, not caring who saw them anymore because they were finally together. “I’ll try to convince Valisa to let Joe come in and see her.”

“Don’t push her.” Jon cautioned, shaking his head. “She needs time to heal from this. Just let her be for now. Come on big man, Colbs.” He gestured both of his friends over. “We’ll be right outside if you need us, beautiful.”

Zelia nodded, cracking a small smile and watched them walk out of the waiting lobby toward the exit so Jon could have a much needed nicotine fix. “What room is she in?” She asked Glen, turning her full attention back on him.

“429.” Glen rumbled, tearing a hand through his curly brown hair that was tied back at the nape of his neck. “Do you want me to walk you down there?”

“I’ll do it.” Mark piped up, walking over to where Zelia stood and extended his arm in a gentleman way. “I got this, go sit down before you end up collapsing from exhaustion.”

Glen knew Mark wanted to talk to Zelia privately and nodded, clapping him on the back. “Thanks, man.” He walked back over and sat down by Bryan while Mark escorted Zelia down the hallway toward Valisa’s room.

“So you and the kid, eh?” Mark commented, surprised that Zelia was allowing him to do this. “You happy with him?”

“Yes.” Zelia answered without hesitation, still sore at Mark for what he did to Jon and sighed when they both stopped in the hallway. “Mark, not now…”

Mark sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just wanted to tell ya that I’m sorry for what happened. I was only tryin’ to protect ya and I went about it the wrong way. He’s a tough young man and if he makes you happy, that’s all that matters.” He wasn’t good with apologies, but Mark knew when he was in the wrong. It just took him longer to realize the error of his ways than Glen.

Zelia smiled in spite of everything happening and reached up, kissing Mark on the cheek. “Thank you, that means a great deal to me, Deadman.” She took his arm again as they walked the rest of the way to Valisa’s room.

“We’ll be in the waitin’ room if you need us.” Mark rumbled, kissing the top of her head like Glen had and walked away, leaving Zelia standing just outside of Valisa’s room alone.

Taking a deep breath, Zelia tapped gently on the door and stepped inside, fighting back tears at the sight of her friend. Valisa looked awful and broken, her eyes not even moving to the door when Zelia walked in. Taking a seat in the chair beside the bed, Zelia took Valisa’s hand and felt her friend instantly tighten the hold, but that’s all the movement Valisa made. She wasn’t going anywhere and would stay with her friend, ready to help her heal however she could.

“Vali, I know you’ve been through a lot and you don’t want to talk about what happened, but please tell me who did this to you.” Zelia pleaded quietly, running her fingers through the back of Valisa’s hair, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

Valisa didn’t say a word and just shook her head.

“Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” Zelia tried a different approach and felt Valisa squeeze her hand, nodding. “Alright, I’m not going anywhere, sweetie. I’m right here.”

Valisa squeezed her hand again as her eyes closed, falling asleep for the moment and never released Zelia’s hand.

Chapter 24

Looking over the finances, Vince McMahon had a lot on his plate because Stephanie had asked if he would help out since they were swamped. He turned things over to Stephanie and Paul a while back, but Vince was still there in case they needed his input on anything. He was close to retiring from the company, but Vince had to be sure he was leaving his company in capable hands. Stephanie was definitely getting the way of the business down and made him proud, but Vince was still hesitant about Paul.

There was also the fiasco that happened with one of his stage crew people, Valisa Towers. She’d been brutally raped and beaten in her hotel room that was under the WWE name. Vince had immediately jumped into action while Stephanie and Paul had no idea what to do because attacks rarely happened on the roster. They had strict rules and whoever did this to one of his crew members would be fired on the spot and arrested. Vince did not tolerate abuse to women on his roster and neither did his wife, Linda McMahon, who no longer associated with the company.

Vince found out another stage crew member that had recently been turned into a WWE Diva, Zelia Bell, had been by Valisa’s side the entire time at the hospital. She was flying out for Raw and Smackdown! to be written off television until WrestleMania, which was in a little less than 2 weeks away. Vince had given Valisa a week off and Zelia requested it as well so she could help her friend heal. He couldn’t say no, ignoring Paul’s rants about it because Zelia had just recently debuted as WWE Diva Z with Team Hell No. Sometimes things had to change and be altered, especially when one of their own had been brutally attacked right under their nose.

Sighing, Vince began looking over all the checks written out to the Superstars, most of them direct deposited into their accounts. He arrived at his son-in-law’s finances and raised a brow, finding two checks that shouldn’t have been there. One was from Phillip Brooks and the other was from Randy Orton. What the hell? They were required to write the reasoning behind each check that was delivered and received, but nothing was put on the check except huge dollar amounts. Frowning, Vince immediately looked at the clock and decided it wasn’t too late to give his daughter a call, thinking he must’ve missed something.

“Hey Dad.” Stephanie greeted on the third ring, stepping out on the veranda of her hotel suite while Paul watched ESPN. “What’s up?”

“Hey Steph, is Paul by you?” Vince asked, not wanting to have this conversation if his son-in-law could overhear.

“No, he’s inside. I stepped outside to talk to you. Why what’s going on?” Stephanie could feel her stomach tightening slightly and chewed on her thumbnail nervously. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure…” Vince sighed heavily, leaning back against his chair while sitting at WWE headquarters. He was flying out for Smackdown! in his private jet in the morning since WrestleMania was approaching quickly. “I found two checks written by two Superstars to him and I have no idea what they’re for.”

Stephanie frowned, glancing back inside at her husband laying on the bed in just a pair of boxers and heaved a sigh. “Who are the Superstars?” She asked resignedly, having a sinking feeling she already knew.

“Randy Orton and Phillip Brooks.” Vince suddenly became suspicious, his eyes narrowing. “Do you know something about this, Stephanie?”

“No, not exactly, but Paul has been talking to Randy and Phil a lot lately. I was hoping it was for business because Phil has that big match coming up with Mark at Mania. But now…I’m not so sure.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Dad, he’s been acting really strange lately. I didn’t want to say anything, but it’s gotten out of hand. He actually pulled one of the stage crew members, Zelia Bell, off of the stage crew because he thought Team Hell No needed something extra in their tag team. I disagreed with him at first, but then he said he’d cleared it with you and-”

“Stephanie Marie, your husband didn’t clear ANYTHING with me regarding Zelia Bell. I thought that was your doing.” Vince was livid, standing up from his desk and tore a hand through his grey hair. “What else has he done?”

Stephanie could hear the anger in her father’s voice and hated that she upset him. “That’s it as far as I know. But those checks are suspicious to me. They don’t say anything at all besides dollar amounts?”

“No, nothing. I have to go. This conversation never happened.” Vince hung up with his daughter, cursing his son-in-law and dialed up an old friend of his for some help. One way or another, he would find out what Paul was up to and why he accepted two insane amounts of money from two top WWE Superstars.

“Hey Mitch, its Vince. Listen, I have a favor…”

~!~

“I’m going home with Valisa when she’s released from the hospital tomorrow.”

Zelia walked along the sidewalk with Jon in Hershey, Pennsylvania since they hadn’t spent a lot of time together over the past week. It was unseasonably warm, but still jacket weather. Zelia had on a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved lavender top, her black hair pulled back in a braid to keep out of her face. Jon had their fingers laced together, wearing blue jeans with a black t-shirt and leather jacket, his curly dishwater blonde hair somewhat hanging in his eyes. He stopped when Zelia said that, turning her to face him and reached up to run a finger down her cheek. WrestleMania was 9 days away and he knew she was a critical part of Team Hell No, but apparently Vince was giving Valisa whatever she wanted, kissing her backside in other words.

“For how long?” He asked quietly, hoping she would be back in time for WrestleMania since it would be his first.

“A week so she can recover. Vince gave both of us the week off with full pay and everything. He’s also paying for the hospital bill. So tonight my character is going to be ‘injured’ by Nick and put on the shelf until WrestleMania.” Team Hell No was going against Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston for the tag team championships at the biggest pay-per-view event of the year. “We’ll both be back in time for all the festivities, including the Hall of Fame ceremony.”

Jon didn’t like the thought of being away from Zelia for a full week, but he also knew she had to be there for Valisa. He couldn’t follow her to Tampa as much as he wanted to because they had countless appearances for Wednesday and Thursday, which were supposed to be their days off. When it came to promoting WrestleMania though, Vince pulled out all the stops and made sure the entire world knew about the event. The Shield was facing Randy Orton, Big Show and Sheamus in a six man tag team match that would open the pay-per-view. Pulling her into his arms by her hips, Jon’s mouth captured hers in a soft kiss, pressing his forehead to hers once it broke.

“I’m gonna miss you, girl.” Jon murmured, rubbing his nose against hers.

“My plane doesn’t leave until late tonight.” Zelia pressed herself closer to him, running her nails down his sides through the leather jacket. “And Smackdown! isn’t until later tonight.” Her lips brushed against his chin as he held her tighter against him, moving to his strong jaw. “We could head back to the hotel…”

“And do what?” Jon’s voice had dropped to a low raspy pitch, closing his eyes at the sensations only Zelia made him feel.

Leaning up on her tiptoes, Zelia’s mouth rested over Jon’s ear and felt a smirk curve her lips. “Fuck me and make me leave with something to remember you by.”

Groaning from low in his throat, Jon pulled back to stare down in her now dark forest green eyes, the passion haze clear as day. How could he refuse her anything? He was in love with this woman and if she asked him to cut his right arm for her, he would do it in a heartbeat. Growling as his own bluish grey eyes smoldered over with desire, Jon suddenly lifted her up over his shoulder and smacked her backside, giving it a firm squeeze. Zelia giggled the entire way back to the SUV, knowing she’d gotten under his skin and received a passionate kiss after being planted in the passenger seat.

“Zelia, I’m warning you…” Jon groaned when her hand began snaking over his jean covered thigh, caressing it almost lovingly. “Not while I’m driving, woman.”

“Then pull over.” Zelia smirked, her hand inching past his thigh to start rubbing his already hard cock through the confines of his jeans. “Mmm is that for me?”

“Goddamn it.” Jon found a deserted street and was thankful the windows were tinted because he was about to pound his girlfriend in the SUV. The hotel would have to wait. “Get in the back now.” He ordered, cutting the ignition and watched as she hopped in the back, both of them undressing quickly.

As soon as both were completely naked, Jon sat down and pulled Zelia on top of him to straddle his waist, his hands immediately gripping her sides. Zelia had never gotten undressed so fast in her life or so turned on by one man, her mind whirling. Something about Jon brought out the adventurous side in Zelia and she found herself doing things she never thought in a million years she’d do. Like having sex in the back of an SUV or teasing the man she was with while he drove by rubbing him through his jeans. Jon brought a sexual predator out in Zelia and she fully enjoyed it, their mouths smashing together as he began probing her with his swollen cock.

“Oh fuck me, Jon…” Zelia mumbled against his mouth, their tongues gliding together and felt him push inside her soaking sex, moaning. “I love your cock inside of me, baby…”

“I love being inside of your pussy, girl. Let’s see how far I can stretch you out.” Jon rumbled, their foreheads pressed together as he continued sliding inside of her, the tightness never ceasing to amaze him.

It seemed every time they had sex, Zelia became tighter inside of looser, which he absolutely loved. The burning sensation tore throughout Zelia’s body as her head lulled back, feeling his warm hands leave her hips to cup her breasts, tweaking both already hardened nipples. Jon absolutely loved the effect he had on Zelia and leaned forward, his mouth capturing one hard nipple to gently suckle on it. Moaning uncontrollably while he continued pushing inside of her, Zelia’s fingers buried in his dishwater blonde curls, enjoying how soft it was along with his mouth assaulting her breasts.

This was only the fourth time they’d had sex because Zelia had spent most of her time at the hospital with Valisa. She had to fly out for Raw and Smackdown! before getting the week off. Zelia missed Jon something fierce while they were apart, so when they had time together they took every opportunity to make the most of it.

Once Jon was fully sheathed inside of her and the burning sensation subsided, Zelia began rolling her hips against him, both of them groaning in unison. “Oh Jon…” Zelia buried her face in his neck, her nails raking down his chest, loving how the muscles rippled beneath her touch.

“Zelia…” Jon grunted, hissing out when her mouth sealed to his neck and began snapping his hips up to meet her, both of them moving in perfect rhythm.

He literally couldn’t get enough of this woman and Jon knew if he could he would stayed buried in her for the rest of his life, he would in a heartbeat. The feeling of Jon gliding in and out of her took Zelia’s breath away every time, her mouth pulling away from his neck to bury in her own hair, increasing the pace of her gyrating hips. Her hands moved down to plant on his incredible muscular thighs, giving her more leverage to bounce on and off of him. Jon gripped her hips so Zelia didn’t go flying off of him, though he didn’t stop her from bouncing on and off his cock, bringing both of them closer to their releases. Before long, her breasts bounced along with the rest of her body, the sounds of their sexual bout echoing around them and Jon gripped her braid, their tongues colliding in another toe-curling kiss.

Exploding together made Zelia’s body completely shudder from head to toe, the intensity of their orgasms clashing together indescribable. They both bellowed out each other’s names, sweat caked on their bodies as their skin glided against each other. The cool weather outside did absolutely nothing for the inferno happening in the parked SUV, the windows already steamed up from their heavy breathing and body heat. Zelia sagged against Jon, softly kissing his lips and rested her head on his shoulder, burying her face in his neck. Jon’s arms wrapped around her, kissing the top of her head as they both slowly came down from their sexual high.

“You have no fucking idea how much I love you.” He confessed, twirling his finger around her braid absentmindedly.

Zelia smiled widely and looked up at him, running the pad of her thumb across his soft lips. “Not as much as I fucking love you.” She replied, accepting another kiss from him.

“I need a smoke.” Jon grunted, not wanting to move, but he knew they’d have to eventually to make it back to the hotel to get ready for Smackdown! that night.

Zelia chuckled, not surprised to hear that and reluctantly pulled away from him, retrieving her clothes from the floorboard. She then reached over the council to the cup holder in the front and grabbed Jon’s pack of cigarettes with lighter, handing both of them over to him. He thanked her with a soft kiss and immediately lit one up, completely content to sit there naked while he watched her get dressed. That was fine because, before the night was over and before she left him for a week, those clothes would be off again.

After Jon’s nicotine fix and they were both dressed, Jon drove the rest of the way back to the hotel, their hands clasped together. Zelia knew she was going to miss him while being away, but she couldn’t let Valisa down either. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, wanting to be with Jon, but not wanting to let her best friend down either. They arrived at the hotel and Jon followed through with his vow, getting Zelia naked for a shower. He ended up making love to her twice in the shower and once more before they finally had to get ready for the show.

This week apart was going to be hellacious.

Chapter 25

The next day, Valisa was released from the hospital in Zelia’s care and they immediately flew to Florida so she could settle in for the week. Physically, she was healed for the most part, but emotionally and mentally was a completely different story. She still hadn’t said a word to anyone, including Zelia. Squeezing her hand, nodding and shaking her head were the only responses Zelia got from Valisa, but the woman refused to speak. Zelia wouldn’t push her to talk either and knew, when Valisa was ready to do it, she would and not a second before.

When they landed and settled in, Zelia texted both Jon and Joe to let them know they made it safely. Joe was worried sick about Valisa, but he understood that she needed time to heal from what Brooks did to her. Not to mention, Joe had to find evidence that proved his innocence because there was no way in hell he would ever touch Eva Marie, not willingly anyway. The bosses assured them they were doing everything they could to find out who was behind the television setup, but so far they found nothing.

Valisa watched television, read books and relaxed while Zelia took care of the housework and cooking. She knew if the roles were reversed, Valisa would do the same for her in a heartbeat, so Zelia honestly didn’t mind. She just wanted Valisa to get better, missing hearing her upbeat friend. It would be a while before Valisa was back to her old self, but eventually she would get there. Zelia hoped anyway. Every day she was gone, Jon blew her phone up with text messages and they talked every night, missing each other like crazy. Most of the conversations turned sexual, which Zelia did not complain about because she couldn’t get enough of Jon’s low raspy voice.

2 days before they were due back on the road for WrestleMania week, Valisa finally had a breakthrough of sorts. Zelia had been sleeping soundly and bolted upright in bed by a horrible scream, jade eyes shooting open. What the hell? Zelia jumped out of bed and scrambled down the hallway, hitting her foot on the small table on her way to Valisa’s room. Cursing violently, Zelia crashed through Valisa’s door and tried ignoring the pain in her throbbing toe, hobbling over to her crying friend. Sitting on the bed, Zelia didn’t make a move to touch Valisa in case she was still in the nightmare she had, blinking when Valisa clutched her hand.

“Vali, its okay sweetie.” Zelia said soothingly, feeling how badly her friend was shaking and felt her heart nearly stop when Valisa finally spoke.

“It was Phil.”

Her voice was so soft that Zelia had to strain to hear her, trying to hold back her temper. “Phillip Brooks?” She watched Valisa nod and closed her eyes, swallowing past the lump that formed in her throat.

“I thought it was you at the door. You’d just visited me and I asked you to leave because I wanted time alone.” Valisa increased the volume of her voice a little, though it was still incredibly soft. It didn’t sound like a whisper anymore. “I didn’t see who it was. I didn’t check and I should’ve.” Blinking while staring down at her blanket, huge tears slid down Valisa’s cheeks and she squeezed Zelia’s hand again. “I opened it and it was him. He had flowers and asked if he could come in to talk to me about the DVD with Joe and that redheaded whore. I never should’ve let him in.” Her voice cracked and Valisa started trembling again. “The last thing I felt was something hard hitting the back of my head. I don’t know how long I was out. I woke up and h-he…he was…”

Zelia felt sick to her stomach, but she had to be strong for Valisa right now, not sure she wanted her to continue. She was afraid if she uttered a word or a sound that Valisa would stop talking. That was the last thing she wanted to happen considering this was the first time in almost 2 weeks Valisa had said a word. So Zelia sat there and waited, no longer tired and her toe had stopped throbbing, her primary focus on her best friend.

It took several long minutes for Valisa to get up the courage to continue, not bothering to wipe her tears away. “I was handcuffed, Zel. I was handcuffed to the bed and I remember the pain from them cutting into my wrists.” She turned her free hand over and looked at the mean red mark across her wrist that had scabbed over from healing. “He was…raping me while I was unconscious and I woke up feeling him inside of me. It was disgusting. I’ve never felt so violated in my life and wanted to kill him. Then he started hitting me because my body refused to comply with his invasion. H-He threatened me that if I didn’t get wet for him, he would make it more painful for me. And I still didn’t do it. He tried kissing me and I nearly bit his tongue off. That pissed him off, so he flipped me over and…took me from behind. He shoved a gag in my mouth so I couldn’t scream. It was basically a rape and beating fest for hours. I never thought the pain would go away. I never thought he’d stop. But he finally did and said next time maybe I’d give him what he wants. And then told me that either I didn’t give up the goods to Joe or…he needs something more and that’s why he went to…Eva Marie. That my pussy wasn’t worth fucking.”

Zelia wanted to castrate Phil for everything he did to her best friend all because of his jealousy. That’s all it sounded like to Zelia was pure jealousy and animosity. “Don’t listen to him, Vali. Joe loves you so much. You have no idea how worried he’s been about you. It killed him to leave you at the hospital. All he wanted to do was see you once before he left, but he understands why he couldn’t. He calls me every day to check on you and he misses you so much. Joe didn’t cheat on you. A man who cheats would never show that much dedication, love and devotion. You are the only woman he wants.”

“T-Then how did the DVD happen?” Valisa finally looked up at Zelia, keeping her voice low and distant. “If he didn’t cheat on me, then how the hell did he wind up on that DVD completely naked with that redheaded whore? Because until I know for a fact he didn’t cheat on me with her, I want nothing to do with him.” She meant every word that came out of her mouth and folded her arms in front of her chest. “As much as I love him and want to be with him, I can’t be with someone who cheats on me. I simply can’t. I have more self-respect for myself than that.”

In all honesty, Zelia didn’t blame Valisa for the way she felt because she still didn’t understand how Joe wound up in bed with Eva Marie either. There’s no way that DVD was cropped or messed with. It was actual footage of Joe and Eva Marie in bed sleeping together with her head on his chest. If the roles were reversed and it was Jon, Zelia would react the same way Valisa had and demand proof that she hadn’t been cheated on. So unless they got the truth from Eva Marie, there really was no way to prove Joe’s innocence.

“You’re right.” Zelia murmured quietly, squeezing Valisa’s hand and couldn’t even muster up a smile for her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be defending him against you. I mean, honestly I don’t believe he would ever cheat on you, but that DVD was pretty iron clad. I’ve asked Jon if they’ve found anything out and apparently Eva Marie isn’t talking. They can’t force her either. Stephanie threatened to fire her and Eva just shrugged her off. All she said was they did sleep together and she has no idea how it got on DVD.”

“Naturally.” Valisa snorted, rolling her eyes and scrubbed both hands down her face, completely frustrated. “Maybe Joe should just corner her ass and force her to talk.”

“Tried that.” Zelia shook her head, sighing heavily. “All 3 of the boys cornered her and she threatened to report them to the bosses for harassment if they didn’t leave her alone. Jon wanted to throttle her, but Joe and Colby held him back. Believe me, they’ve tried everything to get her to confess the truth, but the whore isn’t budging.”

Valisa could feel tears sting her eyes again and laid back on the bed, curling up with her tearstained pillow. “Maybe its Joe who should start confessing.” She said quietly, closing her eyes as silent tears slid from the corners of her eyes. “If you cheat, at least have the balls to tell the person you cheated on that you did it. He’s being a coward by acting like a victim. It’s not the first time I’ve been cheated on and something tells me it won’t be the last.”

“Do you honestly believe in your heart that he did it?” Zelia asked, placing a hand on Valisa’s blanket covered side. “Or do you think it’s a work?”

“The DVD doesn’t lie, Zel. If he didn’t do it and it’s a work, that’s a hell of a job done because it looks completely real.” Valisa closed her eyes, feeling exhausted and drained after reliving what Phil did to her. “I’m going to try to get some more sleep. You should do the same.”

“Okay sweetie.” Zelia stood up from the bed and kissed her forehead, pulling the blanket up a little to tuck her in. “Don’t give up on Joe. There’s still a chance we’ll get the proof we need to clear him. And as soon as we get back on the road, we are going straight to Stephanie and telling her who attacked you.”

Valisa shook her head. “I’m calling her tomorrow…or rather when I get up.” She corrected when she glanced at the clock and saw it was going on 4 AM. “Good night, Zel.”

“Night Vali.”

Zelia walked out of her room, leaving the door open in case Valisa needed her and headed back to her own. She closed the door partially, leaving it cracked and went straight to her phone, dialing Jon’s number. It was early and she knew it, but there was no way she’d be able to sleep until she told him what Valisa just revealed.

“Yeah?” Jon’s deep groggy voice rasped over the line after the third ring, not bothering to check the caller ID.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m sorry I woke you up, but…something just happened and I have to tell you about it.” Zelia could feel her stomach twisting violently and knew Jon would be extremely angry after hearing this.

Jon shot upright in the hotel bed. “Are you okay?” He demanded, sounding more awake than before and breathed a sigh of relief when Zelia assured him she was fine. “What the fuck happened then?”

“Valisa finally spoke.” Zelia admitted quietly, laying back on the bed facing the window.

“Are you fucking serious?” Jon yawned, unable to help it and knew Joe would be happy to hear that. “What did she say?”

Tears stung Zelia’s eyes as she grew silent, trying to control her emotions and felt her heart completely break at what Valisa told her. “Everything. She told me everything, Jon.” She whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment and wished he was there to wrap her in his strong arms. “I-It was horrible…”

Jon closed his eyes, absolutely hating the sound of a woman crying, especially Zelia. “Calm down, Zel.” He murmured soothingly, scrubbing a hand down his face and reached over on the nightstand to grab his cigarettes, immediately lighting one up. “Breathe and tell me what she said.”

“It was Phillip Brooks. H-He’s the one who attacked and…raped her…” Zelia squeezed her eyes tightly shut, full blown sobs erupting from her body as she curled up in a tight ball. Her hand clutched the phone like a lifeline while Jon proceeded to let out a string of cuss words. “S-She had a nightmare and woke up s-screaming. And told me everything that piece of shit did to her. He beat and raped her for hours. And she wasn’t even awake for some of it because she said everything went black as soon as she let him in her room.”

“Why the fuck did she let him in there in the first fucking place?” Jon growled, standing up from the bed and began pacing, puffing on his smoke, opening the window to flick ash out of it. “What the fuck was she thinking?”

Zelia felt the guilt crash over her in violent waves and cried harder. “S-She thought it was me checking on her again. I-I went to her before going to my room, where you were waiting for me.” Then the realization of what happened dawned on Zelia and her crying turned to full-fledged sobbing, not able to hold it back. “W-While she was being beaten and r-raped by that monster, we-we were together. I never should’ve left her. I should’ve stayed even if she asked me to leave. T-This is all my fault…”

Taking a long drag, Jon had to calm down before he ended up breaking his phone and closed his eyes, sitting on the bed with his icy eyes staring straight ahead. “No it’s not, Zelia. The only one responsible for what happened to Valisa is that sick mother fucker. She asked you to leave and you respected her wishes. That’s all there is to it. She didn’t know he’d show up.” Even then, Valisa should’ve checked to see who was at the door, but Jon would never say that to her. “What did Brooks say to convince her to open the door?”

“He wanted to talk to her about the DVD incident with Joe. Said he had information about it or something.” Zelia muttered, gritting her teeth and suddenly stood up from the bed, staring out the window. “I know Joe didn’t cheat on her and something tells me Phil and Eva Marie are somehow working together. It’s too coincidental.”

Jon couldn’t help agreeing with her, blowing smoke out of his nose and mouth. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, I promise you that, Zel. That mother fucker isn’t getting away with what he did to her. Even if I have to kill him myself.” He meant that, cracking his knuckles and knew Joe would join in on the murder if that’s what it took to get some sort of vengeance for what happened to Valisa. “Change of subject, I can’t talk about this anymore.”

“Okay, what’s on your mind?” Zelia agreed, knowing Jon could only hear about what happened for so long and then he had to talk about something else.

“Do you remember Sami Callihan? He worked for a bit in HWA with me and then moved onto CZW.”

Zelia smiled. “Of course, Aric called and told me he got signed to WWE developmental.”

Jon raised a brow, flicking his cigarette butt out the window. “What? When did you talk to Aric?” He wasn’t aware she’d kept in contact with anyone in HWA considering she had completely cut all ties with him.

“The night of my debut where you completely freaked out on Colby.” Zelia would never forget the anger in his eyes. “Aric is the only one I kept in contact with from HWA.” She admitted, not realizing just how irate her boyfriend currently was on the other line. “Jon?”

“I have to go. I’ll see you in a few days.”

The line went dead and Zelia blinked, pulling the phone back to stare at it questioningly. Did Jon really just hang up on her? Swallowing hard, Zelia walked back over to the bed and collapsed on it, not expecting the phone call to end so abruptly as fresh tears slid down her cheeks. She couldn’t help wondering if things between her and Jon would ever be fully healed from what she did to him.

Would they ever be able to let the past go and move on?

Chapter 26

Stephanie stared at everything on the desk with wide blue eyes, her mouth slightly open in shock. She didn’t want to believe anything her father just heard, but it was hard not to with all the evidence in front of her. Vince sat behind the desk with his arms folded in front of his chest, a stoic look on his face. He’d been right in all of his assumptions and felt his heart break as the huge tears slid down his daughter’s face. Vince didn’t move to console her because he knew Stephanie would lash out and would have to cope with the shock in her own way.

“D-Daddy, I don’t understand…”

“What’s not to understand, Stephanie?” Vince shot back, anger laced in his rough voice. “Everything is laid out and there’s no use denying it. Everyone is about to pay for their crimes and it’s going to start with your husband.” He stood up when the door opened, nodding at his friend he personally hired for this job.

Sasha Mitchell was one of Vince and Linda’s closest friends, not to mention the best in her line of work. She was a private investigator, but was also an FBI agent for the country. When she had time off, Sasha did private investigator work until the FBI called her up for an assignment. She had fiery red hair and deep piercing hazel eyes that had absolutely no emotion in them. She was in her 50’s and looked like a 30 year old model, her body immaculate for her age. She wore a simple pair of navy blue cargo pants and a long sleeved shirt, her badge clipped to the black belt around her waist along with a holster. Her fiery red hair was pulled up in a neat slick bun, just a hint of makeup on her face.

“Vince.” She nodded to him and then turned her attention to Stephanie, squaring her shoulders. “Mrs. Levesque, before we call your husband into the office to question him, I have a few things to ask you.”

Stephanie swallowed hard and did as she was told, sitting down while the woman pulled out a pad of paper with a pen. “Daddy…”

“Just answer the questions, Stephanie.” Vince ordered, already knowing his daughter was completely innocent.

“First question: Did you know what your husband was planning to do to Leati Joseph Anoa’i?”

“No.” Stephanie answered without hesitation, keeping her voice soft and calm.

“And did you know about his purchase of the drug Ketamine?” Sasha continued, checking off each question she asked Vince’s daughter.

“Absolutely not.”

Sasha smiled, though it didn’t touch her eyes. “Yes and no answers only, Mrs. Levesque. Now then, did you know about Phillip Brooks and Randy Orton paying your husband large sums of money?”

Stephanie swallowed hard and looked over at her father, fear entering her eyes. “Yes.”

“How long?”

“A few weeks.”

“How did you find out?”

“My father called and told me, then said he would take care of it.”

Sasha nodded, tapping the pen against her chin thoughtfully. “One last question Mrs. Levesque, and then we’ll be done here. Did you know about Natalie Eva Marie Nelson’s involvement with the situation regarding the DVD scandal?” Vince had not missed a thing with this investigation.

“No.”

“Very good, you are in the clear, Stephanie. Your father informed me you were the only one he told about the checks. I just had to make sure you would not lie for your husband.” Sasha explained, reaching over to pat her leg and stood from the chair, slipping the pad of paper and pen in her pocket. “It’s time to page your son-in-law, Vince. The squad cars are already outside waiting and all I have to do is inform them when to come to make the appropriate arrests.”

Vince nodded, looking over at his daughter. “If you can’t handle this, you need to leave. Because one way or another, all the shit ends tonight.”

Stephanie knew her father wasn’t playing games and nodded in understanding. “I’m staying. I want to know the truth.”

“Very well.” Vince sighed and made the necessary phone call, paging his son-in-law to his office immediately.

Sasha gathered the evidence that was on Vince’s desk and stacked them neatly so she could flash them in front of Paul during his questioning. They were all in air tight plastic bags that could only be open with a sharp object, all the prints still firmly on the evidence. 10 minutes later, Paul came sauntering into his father-in-law’s office with a big cheesy smile on his face, stopping short at the sight of his crying wife.

“What’s going on here?” He demanded, heading over to Stephanie’s side and blinked when a woman much shorter than him with fiery red hair stepped in front of him.

“Sit down, Mr. Levesque.” She ordered, not the least bit intimidated by him. “I have some questions for you.”

Paul looked at Vince and then Stephanie, wondering what the hell was going on. “I don’t understand…”

“You will in a moment.” Sasha assured him, waiting for him to sit down and then took a seat in front of him, the evidence in front of her. “Now then, it has been brought to my attention from Mr. McMahon that some of his Superstars and faculty have recently been hurt. He asked me to look into it and I did. My name is Sasha Mitchell, by the way.” She didn’t bother extending her hand. “I’m a private investigator and also an FBI agent for the government. Mr. McMahon contacted me to look into the television situation regarding Leati Joseph Anoa’i and Natalie Eva Marie Nelson. And I have found some rather interesting evidence regarding the matter.”

Paul became nervous instantly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “What does this gotta do with me?” He grunted, folding his arms in front of his chest and tried to keep a poker face, but this woman was incredibly intimidating.

“I’m glad you asked, Mr. Levesque.” Sasha smiled coldly. “You see, Vince McMahon recently found some check stubs from two WWE Superstars that were addressed specifically to you. Each was in the sum of $1,000,000 dollars. Why did you receive that amount of money from Randy Orton and Phillip Brooks?”

Oh shit, was Paul’s first thought, but he had to remain cool, calm and collected. “They owed me money.” He lied, clearing his throat. “I’m sorry, my throat is a little dry. Do you mind if I step out to get some water?”

“Yes I do mind and no you may not.” Sasha replied coolly, already knowing he was lying through his teeth. “It’s funny how you say they owed you money. So here’s my next question.” She held up the bag with what looked like a receipt, hazel eyes burning. “Do you recognize this?”

Paul didn’t look close enough and simply nodded, vaguely remembering it. “Yeah why?”

Now Sasha had a full-blown grin on her face. “Do you know what it’s for?”

“Yeah, a gift for my wife.”

“Really?” Sasha arched a brow, not believing what a moron she was dealing with. “Mr. Levesque, lying to an FBI agent isn’t in your best interest right now. But I’ll take your word for it. So my next question is: why would you purchase the drug Ketamine for your wife? Do you know what Ketamine is?”

Every drop of Paul’s blood ran ice cold at that moment and he looked over at his father-in-law while Stephanie kept her head lowered. “I umm…I uhh…damn it’s hot in here…”

“Answer the question, Mr. Levesque.”

Paul was screwed, pulling at the tie around his neck. “N-No I don’t…”

“So you bought a drug for your wife and you have no idea what it does?” Sasha shook her head, setting the receipt down on the table. “Sounds like a blatant lie to me. You know what the drug does and I want to know why you purchased it. What did you use it for?”

“I-I don’t remember purchasing it…” Paul lied again, desperation in his voice and watched as the FBI agent stood up from her chair, walking over to him. “I swear…” His eyes went wide as potatoes when the agent flashed a DVD entitled ‘RP Plan’ in his face. “W-Where did you get that?!”

Sasha smiled, knowing she had Paul right where she wanted him. “Vince and Stephanie gave me permission to search your enormous home and I found it along with the receipt for the purchased Ketamine. And the drug cost you $2,000,000 dollars. Funny since that’s the exact amount of money from both Randy Orton and Phillip Brooks you received.”

He was caught red-handed and there was no escape because Paul had noticed a couple squad cars pull up to the arena a few hours prior. “They knew I could get my hands on it because I’ve used it before.” He confessed, scrubbing a hand down his face.

“NOW we’re getting somewhere.” Sasha set the evidence back on Vince’s desk away from Paul and stood over him. “Tell me what you did now.”

Paul knew this would kill Stephanie to hear, but he had no choice in the matter and lowered his eyes to the floor. “They came to me and asked for my help, said they would make it worth my while. I had a vet friend that supplied me with the drug, but I had to pay her off to keep her mouth shut. And no, I will never reveal her name, no matter what you do to me.” He added gruffly, refusing to throw his friend under the bus. “I used it to drug Joe Anoa’i for Randy Orton and Phillip Brooks. They had a plan to take the big man upstairs and paid Eva Marie off to pretend to be his lover. All they wanted to do was split Joe Anoa’i and Valisa Towers up by making it seem like Joe had slept with Eva Marie. I didn’t ask questions, Randy has been my friend for years, but I know it has to do with Zelia Bell. I know he wants her and Phillip wants Valisa.”

Stephanie began crying at her husband’s cruel confession, covering her face with her hands. “H-How could you do this to your family, you son of a bitch?!” She suddenly shrieked, launching at him, but Vince stopped his daughter, feeling her whip around to bury her face in his chest.

“Arrest him now and get him the hell out of my office.” Vince growled at Sasha, knowing they got what they needed and there was enough evidence to make the arrests of the 3 Superstars along with his son-in-law. “You’re going to jail, you son of a bitch. You’re going to jail and you’ll NEVER see my daughter or my grandchildren again!”

Stephanie couldn’t deal with this any longer and flew out of the office, ignoring Paul’s bellows of her name. Sasha proceeded to walk over and read Paul his Maranda rights, cuffing his wrists behind his back. He was charged with extortion, illegal use of narcotics and distributing them along with being an accessory to the drugging of Leati Joseph Anoa’i. A few minutes later, 3 FBI agents came into the office and took Paul away to the squad car, taking out of the trash figuratively speaking. Then Sasha asked Vince to page the victims, starting with the women since it would be easier to break the news to them.

When Zelia and Valisa were both paged to Vince McMahon’s office, they had no idea what was happening. This was their first night back since Valisa’s attack and they were just trying to do their jobs without any problems. They had heard rumors going around that Paul Levesque had been arrested and there were squad cars outside of the arena, but that was it. So even if Randy and Phillip wanted to run, every entrance was blocked so there was no way out for them. They walked inside Vince McMahon’s office with clasped hands, both of them scared to death for what was going to happen. Vince gave the floor to Sasha, who sat both of the terrified women down and gently explained to them what happened. Valisa had already called Stephanie a few days prior and told her it was Phillip Brooks who beat and raped her.

Both Zelia and Valisa were completely floored by the time Sasha finished the explanation regarding Paul Levesque’s involvement in the crimes with Randy Orton and Phillip Brooks. Valisa broke down against Zelia, not believing Joe was innocent in all of this. He never cheated on her with Eva Marie. He was drugged by one of the bosses, someone they were all supposed to trust, all because he was Randy Orton’s buddy. Zelia held Valisa tightly while she cried, thanking the stars above that they had finally gotten the answers they needed. When Sasha informed them Vince would page Randy and Phillip to the office for their arrests, they refused to leave, wanting to see them taken away in cuffs.

Sasha didn’t bother questioning Randy and Phillip, simply getting into the Maranda rights while they both protested with wide eyes. Randy was arrested for abduction, extortion and an accessory to the crime against Leati Joseph Anoa’i while Phil was arrested for rape, assault, extortion and also an accessory to the drugging. They were taken away in cuffs with both Randy and Phillip shouting profanities back at Valisa and Zelia, vowing revenge. Sasha rolled her eyes while her FBI agents took the raging men away, shaking her head sadly. There was one last arrest to be made and Vince made the page, once again Zelia and Valisa standing strong. Sasha admired their courage and didn’t blame them for wanting to see justice handed out to all the people that tried destroying their lives.

Eva Marie sauntered into Vince McMahon’s office with a bright smile, her lips painted a deep red along with her bright red hair hanging down her back over her shoulders. She stopped at the sight of Zelia and Valisa, the smile instantly disappearing from her face. Valisa wanted to hurt her for everything she did to Joe, but knew she would end up arrested like the others. Just to be on the safe side, Zelia kept a firm hold on her hand, both of their faces blotchy from crying, but relief shined in their eyes. Eva Marie had no idea what was going on until Sasha went into the long explanation of how she’d been an accessory to the drugging of Leati Joseph Anoa’i. The redhead couldn’t deny any of it and started crying, claiming she’d been paid off to lay in bed naked with Joe during the taping. Sasha read the Maranda rights for the fourth and final time that night before 3 more FBI agents walked in, arresting Eva Marie. She screeched and hollered, claiming she was innocent the whole way out of the arena.

The last person that was paged to the office was Joe and Valisa couldn’t handle seeing him at the moment, feeling ashamed for accusing him of cheating. She thanked Sasha for everything along with Vince, shaking both of their hands. Zelia did the same, actually hugging Sasha and walked out just as both Joe and Jon walked up. Valisa immediately turned and walked down the hallway away from them toward the exit while Zelia stayed behind to talk to the men. She didn’t blame Valisa for feeling ashamed because the woman had been so hell bent on believing Joe actually cheated on her with Eva Marie. When it turned out he’d been a victim just like her.

“What’s going on?” Joe demanded, frowning at the sight of Valisa’s disappearing form heading down the hallway.

“Everything will be explained to you inside. They’ll want to do it privately, so you’ll have to wait outside, Jon.” Zelia was still heated with him and they hadn’t spoken since he hung up on her the night of Valisa’s nightmare. “We’re going back to the hotel. Our room number is 3412. Get the show done and then come see us if you want.” Turning, Zelia headed down the hallway to catch up with Valisa and left both Joe and Jon standing there with confused expressions on their faces.

Chapter 27

“Are you fucking shitting me?”

“No.”

“This is unbelievable.”

“Yeah no shit.” Jon growled, taking a steel folding chair and tossed it across the Shield dressing room, pacing like a caged animal. “And every single one of those mother fuckers were arrested and taken away? Which means we have NO fucking shot at retribution?” He wanted to MAIM all of them for trying to screw with their lives.

“This is bullshit.” Colby grunted, shaking his head while slipping his black gloves on, getting ready for their segment. “I can’t believe they didn’t even let us get one crack at them first.”

Joe agreed with his brothers, but at the same time he understood why Vince kept it under wraps and had everyone involved in his drugging arrested. He still couldn’t believe he was drugged by Paul Levesque, who was supposed to be one of the owners of the company. Vince had planned on passing his company down into the hands of his daughter, Stephanie, and her husband, but not anymore. Paul was facing prison charges along with Randy Orton, Phillip Brooks and Eva Marie, so the WWE would more than likely never see them again. Still, Joe didn’t feel an ounce of justice because he hadn’t had the opportunity to cut his body through Paul, Randy and Phillip’s bodies with a spear. Joe was not a woman beater by any means, but if the opportunity presented itself, he would spear Eva Marie no questions asked.

“Look, I know you both are pissed off, but there is a silver lining with all of this.” Colby spoke up after several minutes of silence, watching as both Joe and Jon stared at him heatedly. “Your innocence was proven and you can finally make things right with Valisa. And you need to make things right with Zelia…again.”

Jon tore a hand through his hair, scowling at a man he considered his little brother and began pacing again. “Zel and I will be fine just like the big man and Valisa will be fine.”

He knew he made a mistake when he hung up on Zelia a couple night’s ago, but his anger and jealous got the better of him. She’d kept in contact with Aric Connely of all people, but not him? It made no sense to Jon and he planned on confronting Zelia about it. If they were going to make this relationship work, they had to be completely honest with each other and that had been another thing Zelia had hidden from him.

“Not if you don’t talk to her about how you’re feeling.” Colby argued, not about to drop the subject that easily and shoved Jon a little. “So what if she kept in contact with someone from HWA? Did it ever occur to you that maybe since she was in love with you back then she couldn’t because she didn’t want to hold you back? No of course it didn’t. Why? Because you’re a stubborn asshole and you jump to too many conclusions. That temper is going to get you in serious trouble, Jon. You better watch it.”

“Since when the fuck are YOU the voice of reason?” Jon demanded, tempted to slam Colby’s head into the nearest cinder block wall. “I expect to hear that type of shit from Joe, but not you.”

Joe chuckled in spite of everything and walked over, clapping a hand on Jon’s shoulder. “Enough, let’s go get this shit done so we can leave and go see our women. I don’t know about you, but going weeks without having Valisa in my arms has just about driven me insane.” He had to have her in his arms tonight, no matter what.

After the segment ended, Jon and Joe took off straight to the hotel, deciding they would shower there. Colby had taken over the bathroom as soon as they got back to the dressing room because he had a date with Celeste. They were leaving straight from the arena, so there was no point in him showering at the hotel. Joe and Jon didn’t mind, though they would possibly stink to high heavens upon arriving to see the women. It didn’t matter though, Joe was more than ready to see Valisa while Jon missed Zelia fiercely.

Arriving at room 3412, both Jon and Joe looked at each other before Jon brought his hand up, tapping on it with his knuckles. He heard the rustle of a chain scratching against the door and felt Zelia look at them through the peephole before opening the door, bluish grey meeting jade. Zelia didn’t say a word and stepped aside, letting both of them in, shutting the door relocking it. Even though the culprits had been arrested and taken into custody, that didn’t make the women feel any safer. Though having Jon and Joe in the same suite helped.

“Valisa is laying down in her room. She ate a sandwich and passed out from crying.” Zelia informed Joe and pursed her lips tightly together, looking into the big man’s grey eyes. “I know you miss her. Go see her.”

Joe nodded and suddenly pulled Zelia into his arms, hugging her tightly around the waist. “Thank you for everything you did.” He murmured in her ear, kissing the top of her head. “I owe you.”

“Just go and tell her that you still want her because she thinks you hate her.”

Joe sighed heavily and eyeballed Jon, silently telling him to make things right with Zelia before taking off to the bedroom. He stood in the doorway and could see the outline of Valisa’s body thanks to the light from the front room streaming in. She was on her stomach with her caramel hair splayed all over the pillow, her arms folded beneath her folded arms. The blanket covered her lower half, but her upper body was encased in a red tank top. He loved the color red on her, it definitely suited her. Valisa was more beautiful than he remembered and Joe couldn’t hold back any longer. He walked around the bed, unlaced his boots and kicked them off, sliding into the bed beside her. Joe placed his hand on her back and slowly slid it up, gently awakening her with his touch alone. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

“I love you, Valisa.” He rumbled in her ear and felt her stir, his hand resting on the small of her back while her head slowly turned until their eyes met.

“Joe?” Tears instantly stung her eyes as Valisa reached a shaking hand up to caress his face, not believing he was lying beside her. “I’m so sorry for doubting you.”

Joe smiled, moving his lips to the side to brush against her hand and covered it with his own, their fingers lacing together. “Nothing for you to be sorry for, Vali. You didn’t know what was going on. I can’t imagine the hell you’ve been through with this and all I can tell you is I would never cheat on you. I love you, girl.”

“Even after everything that’s happened?” Valisa’s voice broke and Joe instantly leaned forward to brush the tears away from her cheeks with his lips. “You’re too nice to me. I was horrible to you.”

“Do you love me?” Joe demanded, suddenly pulling back to stare deep in her ocean blues.

“Yes.”

“That’s all that matters. I love you and you love me. We’re going to have rough patches and this was definitely a rough patch. But it’s also going to make us stronger because it’ll make our trust in each other grow.” Joe couldn’t hold back any longer and softly kissed her, cupping her face lovingly in his strong hands.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Joe.” Valisa whispered, pressing her forehead against his and pressed their clasped hands over his beating heart. “I swear from now on you have my full faith and trust. I’ll never doubt you again.”

Joe grinned, rubbing his nose gently against hers and suddenly rolled over on his back, pulling Valisa on top of him. His mouth instantly sought hers out, his fingers entangling in her beautiful hair. Joe missed her body on top of his along with her mouth, wanting her to feel completely comfortable. He couldn’t rush her because of Brooks’ attack, so Joe decided some heavy making out would have to suffice until Valisa felt the desire to make love again. Joe would wait however long it took, forever if need-be.

Meanwhile, Zelia stood in the middle of the room and didn’t know what to say to Jon. Why was he here? He was angry with her for keeping contact with Aric and not him, that much was clear. Honestly, Aric and Zelia had been friends prior to her meeting Jon and he hadn’t lasted much longer after HWA went out of business. She didn’t talk to him often either, maybe once every 3 months if that. The only reason he called her that night a few weeks ago was to tell her about Sami making it to the WWE. She understood why Jon was upset, but at the same time he had to get his temper in check or else their relationship would crumble into dust.

Jon opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say, but he couldn’t think. The sight of Zelia took his breath away. She wore purple cotton shorts that hugged her perfect backside with a matching camisole that looked like a second skin. Her beautiful ebony locks pooled over her shoulders and down her back in soft waves and her skin looked soft to the touch. Without warning, Jon closed the distance between them and yanked Zelia flush against his body by her upper arms, his mouth descending on hers. Zelia gasped as soon as Jon kissed her passionately and her body instantly melted against his, missing him like crazy. The past week without him had been hell on earth, even though he hurt her feelings when he hung up on her. Breaking the kiss, Zelia gripped the front of Jon’s tactical vest since he was still in his ring gear and stared deep into his intense bluish grey eyes.

“Why didn’t you keep contact with me?” Jon demanded in a low raspy voice, his arms having wrapped around her during the kiss. “Why Aric and not me?”

“I already told you.” Zelia murmured, lowering her eyes from his and sighed when Jon immediately lifted her chin, forcing her to maintain eye contact with him. “What do you want me to say, Jon? What is it you want to hear? I was in love with you back then, I love you now and that’s all you really need to hear. But apparently it’s not and I can’t keep having my heart broken by you. You really hurt me when you hung up on me. You didn’t even give me a chance to explain.”

Jon sighed heavily and nodded, resting his forehead against hers since she hadn’t tried pulling away from him. “I know. It shocked me when you told me Aric told you about Sami coming to the company. I didn’t know he kept contact with you all these years and I want to kick his fucking ass for not telling me. He knew how I felt about you and how close we were. The mother fucker knew this whole time and didn’t have the balls to tell me.”

“Because I told him not to.” Zelia admitted, chewing her bottom lip when Jon’s brow slowly rose. “Jon, you were making it big in the HWA and I didn’t want to interfere with that. Aric knew why I left, but I made him swear to me he would never tell you. I didn’t want you to know and I didn’t want you to find me because I wanted you to focus on your career. Believe me, if I didn’t swear Aric to secrecy, he would’ve told you in a heartbeat. And before you ask, yes, he was the only one I maintained contact with.”

Growling, Jon pulled her closer to him and swallowed down his annoyance, shaking his head. “You were one of the most important people to me in that fucking company, Zelia. You were the only one who kept me on my toes and calmed me down whenever I got pissed off at someone so I didn’t rip their damn head off. And you forced Aric into a secret so I wouldn’t find out you made it to the WWE? Woman, I ought to take you over my knee and beat your ass for doing that. I even asked him flat out if he knew where you went and he lied to my face.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Zelia sniffled, tears stinging her eyes as the guilt once again overtook her. “I can’t keep apologizing for what I did to you back then, Jon. I can’t keep feeling bad about it either. We either agree to move on from it or we just end things right now. I’m sorry for everything I did to you and keeping you in the dark about what happened to me. For forcing Aric to keep my secret. I’m sorry about it all, okay? But that’s the LAST time I’m apologizing for it because I feel like a broken fucking record.”

“You’re not getting away from me that easily.” Jon stated, making it clear to her that he wasn’t going anywhere and she was stuck with him. “I know I fucked up and I know this won’t be the last time, but let me make it up to you. I promise I won’t bring up the past anymore. What happened needs to stay there and we need to move on with our lives, if you still want me.”

Zelia chewed her bottom lip and stepped back, grabbing his hand as their fingers laced together. Without a word, she led him to her room and shut the door behind them, releasing his hand. Standing in front of him, Zelia pulled her camisole over her head, leaving her clad in a white lace bra and then removed her shorts. She had matching panties, the white clashing beautifully against her skin. The color of Jon’s eyes changed, darkened and smoldered as her hands went the belt on his cargo pants, undoing it while maintaining eye contact.

She ripped it from the loops and dropped it to the floor, next unsnapping his cargo pants. Jon watched her the whole time and snaked his tongue out to wet his dry lips, letting her push his cargo pants down his legs as he stepped out of them, his boots already off. Zelia removed his tactical vest next and slid her hands up the skintight top he wore under the vest, pushing it up over his head. Once he was just in his boxers, Zelia stepped back to give him an appreciative onceover and slowly moved until she sat on the bed.

“If you mean what you say, then prove how much you still want me and love me.” She challenged, not waiting long because Jon immediately pounced on her, their mouths crashing together in a soul-searing kiss that left Zelia completely breathless.

Jon proceeded to show her exactly how much he wanted and loved her by claiming her repeatedly that night, both of them passing out in the early morning hours the next day tangled in each other’s arms.

Chapter 28

Zelia returned on Smackdown! the following night with Team Hell No, much the crowd’s pleasure. They wouldn’t like her for long though because Zelia would be valeting for the Shield after WrestleMania. The storyline would be as soon as Joe and Colby went after the tag team titles against Bryan and Glen, she would switch sides. It was a favor Zelia asked Stephanie and Vince, considering it was Paul Levesque’s idea to take her off of the ring crew. Even though she couldn’t get her ring crew job back, Zelia at least wanted to accompany Jon to ringside with Joe and Colby instead of their opponents. Vince and Stephanie gave Zelia whatever she wanted, not about to refuse her anything.

Because of Phillip and Paul being arrested, Mark’s match at WrestleMania ended up being against Brock Lesnar. The fans seemed happy with the change, even though there was no build up, so they used Phillip’s segments combined with the past feud Mark and Brock had years prior. It was better than nothing and, as always, the show had to go on. The match with the Shield against Paul Wight, Stephen Farrelly and Randy Orton had been changed because of Randy’s obvious arrest. Randy was replaced by Ryan Reeves in the tag match and then he would also have a match shortly after against Mark Henry.

One thing Zelia wanted to do was make things right with Glen and Mark, so she invited them out for a lunch with her and Jon. Her boyfriend wasn’t happy about it, but Zelia convinced him it was the best way to clear the air with all the tension between them. Granted, Valisa’s attack had brought them temporarily together, but she could tell there was still animosity between Mark and Jon. She walked into the hotel restaurant hand-in-hand with Jon, wearing a pair of skinny blue jeans with a long short sleeved dark pink top that had a hoop neckline, her black hair left down.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming.” She greeted, pulling away from Jon long enough to hug both Glen and Mark, feeling them kiss the top of her head. “Sorry we’re late, someone had to finish his cigarette.”

Jon smirked, shrugging and shook both Glen and Mark’s hand, showing respect. He then took a seat beside Zelia, their hands once again clasping together beneath the table. They all looked over their menus, ordering drinks first and placed their orders, the silence at the table deafening. Zelia had to make this right and slid her hand out of Jon’s to gently squeeze his jean covered thigh, looking over at him knowingly.

“Listen, I just wanted to say that I understand why you sparred with me that day, Mark.” Jon hated formality and knew the man did as well, clearing his throat since he had Mark’s undivided attention. “I know I was being a dick to Zel and you were just trying to protect her and knock some sense into me at the same time. So I just wanted to clear the air because I respect both of you for everything you’ve done for the business. You’re legends and the last thing I need is to have bad blood with two legends in this company.” It was the truth, though Jon used some of Zelia’s words when she convinced him to come to this lunch.

Zelia didn’t mind and smiled proudly, jade eyes sparkling. “I know I said a lot of hurtful things to you guys that night. I was disrespectful and I’m sorry for that. I was pissed off because I know you sparred with Jon on purpose and you tried to hurt him, but I just wanna put this behind us and move on. We’re together now, we love each other and now it’s time to just put all the bullshit behind us.”

Mark cracked a small smile, pushing his black shades up on top of his nearly bald head, folding his hands on the table. “No need to apologize, Zelia. I was outta line that night and I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in your business. It was my fault. You’re a tough young buck though, Jon. You definitely gotta future in the WWE and I hope they do right by you.”

“Thanks, that means a lot.” Jon said truthfully, placing his hand on top of Zelia’s on his lap, their fingers lacing together. “I do want you both to know that I do love her. I’ve loved Zelia for a long time and I finally got my head out of my ass thanks to Valisa. She’s the one who talked sense into me, made me realize what a dick I was being. And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure I never hurt her like that again and I’ll make her the happiest I can.”

Glen kept his mouth shut long enough and leaned forward a little, his eyes locking with Jon. “See that you don’t because she means a lot to me. I know you think we had a sexual relationship and I’m tellin’ you right now, we didn’t. I’ve never thought of Zelia in that way, she’s more like a little sister to me than anythin’. Mark never had sex with her either. So now that we have everythin’ cleared up, let me say one thing and I want you to listen close. If you EVER hurt her again, I’ll make sure my boot goes so far up your ass, you’ll be chewin’ on my goddamn laces. Mark’s right, you got potential, but I won’t hesitate to put you down if you hurt her.”

Jon didn’t take offense to what Glen said and nodded, squeezing Zelia’s hand to let her know everything was fine. “You got it. Hell, you’ll have to stand in line because, if I do hurt her again, Joe and Colby will be beating me to a pulp. And I’ll gladly take the ass whooping because I know I’ll deserve it.”

“Satisfied, Big Red?” Zelia asked, taking a sip of her beverage, which was Sierra Mist.

“As long as you’re happy, that’s all I care about, Zel.”

“Me too.” Mark piped in, gulping down his iced tea and requested another.

The rest of the lunch was made with pleasant conversation and filled with laughter, mostly Glen and Zelia telling stories about her years in the company. Everyone parted ways after they had a nice meal, needing to get ready for the Hall of Fame ceremony later that night. It was a ceremony the WWE had that commemorated and celebrated the legends of wrestling past, so everyone had to be in formal wear. As soon as they arrived in the suite, Jon pushed Zelia against the door as his mouth devoured hers. Zelia couldn’t get enough of this man, her hands caressing his shoulders and neck while their tongues tasted each other.

“W-We really don’t have time for this…” Zelia stammered out breathlessly as soon as Jon’s mouth left hers to seal to her neck, lulling her head back to give him further access. “We need to get ready, Jon…”

Jon growled against her soft supple skin and lifted her up, her legs going around his waist instantly as he pressed her harder into the door. “I’d much rather be naked with you in bed for the rest of the night fucking you.” He rasped in her ear, his voice low. “Don’t you want my cock, girl?”

Why did he have to sound so sinful and sexy when he talked dirty? It was an instant aphrodisiac. “You know I do…” She whimpered when he hit the hot spot on her neck that made her completely turn to jelly against him. Zelia had to gain control somehow and took her hands, pushing him back to where his mouth left her neck, their eyes meeting. “BUT duty calls and we have to be there. So your cock will have to wait a little longer to be buried inside of me.”

Damn it, his diversion tactic didn’t work, Jon thought, grumbling under his breath. “I don’t wanna go.” He set Zelia on her feet, shaking his head. “I HATE dressing up.”

“Yeah well get over it, Moxley.” Zelia smirked when his head snapped up, winking over her shoulder at him. She hadn’t called him that in a while. “Now get your ass in gear or else we’re not going to be ready in time.”

“Would that really be such a bad thing?” Jon shot back, a seductive smirk curving his lips.

Zelia rolled her eyes with a laugh and walked into the room, closing the door. That man would be the death of her yet. Walking over, Zelia looked at her dress with a smile and knew Jon would die when he saw her all dolled up. Tiffany would be there soon to do her makeup and hair, having texted her during her lunch with Mark, Glen and Jon. She was just finishing up with Valisa then would be up to do her hair and makeup. Zelia was excited about this weekend because it would be Jon’s first WrestleMania. It would be his chance to shine, which he would and it would tell everyone in the world of professional wrestling he finally arrived. He finally made it.

Tiffany arrived 20 minutes later and the transformation began. She decided to curl Zelia’s hair and then pin all of it to the side in an elegant style. Zelia knew she’d have a lot of bobby pins in her hair and honestly didn’t care, wanting to look her absolute best for tonight. Her long black hair hung to the side and down her shoulder in curls and the bobby pins were all hidden well so it looked like nothing was holding it to the side. Tiffany then did her makeup, which was thin black eyeliner with a dark bronze eye shadow that went well with the dress. She applied foundation to hide blemishes and a bronze gloss painted her lips. Her nails had been done the day before with Valisa and they were clear with dark teal tips that matched her dress along with her toes.

After thanking Tiffany for a job well done and paying her, Zelia finally turned to stare at the dress she chose for tonight’s ceremony. It was a floor length A-line dress that featured a ruched bodice and empire waistline. It had a beautiful sparkling jewel embellished halter top neckline that showed off her bare shoulders and flowed easily so it wouldn’t be hard to walk. Zelia slipped her silver heels on and finally stood up straight in the full length mirror, not believing how beautiful she looked. She was a completely different person and had changed over the past few months because of everything that transpired. Hearing a knock at the door, Zelia smirked and turned away from the mirror just as someone stepped inside, her breath stolen at the sight of Jon.

He was covered from head to toe in black, going as simple as this night would allow. The dress shirt was silk with buttons and he left the top two undone because Jon didn’t want to feel suffocated by the collar. He had nicely pressed black slacks on, black dress shoes and his hair slicked back with water. When it dried, his curls would return and once again hang in his face. He had a silver band on his wrist, a silver chain around his neck and a cigarette dangling from his lips. Zelia had to learn how to breathe again at the sight of him and suddenly wanted to take him up on his offer to skip the ceremony altogether, devouring him visually.

Jon was doing the same thing to her and couldn’t believe this was his Zelia. She looked exquisite, the dress hugging her curves in all the right places, especially her upper half. He walked over and took her hand, kissing the back of it because he didn’t want to ruin the stunning image before him. The dark teal color of her dress really brought out her jade eyes that Jon found himself getting lost in on more than one occasion. Very softly, Jon brushed his lips against hers, his arm wrapping around her waist as his finger ran down her cheek feather lightly.

“You look beautiful, stunning, magnificent and those words still don’t do you justice, Zel.” Jon complimented, his voice low and raspy again, smirking when she shivered involuntarily. “Cold?”

“What do you think?” Zelia shot back, running her hands down his silk dress shirt and this time pressed her lips to his, their bodies molding together. “You don’t clean up so bad yourself, Moxley.”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me that tonight. What gives?” Jon demanded with a chuckle, pulling back to take her hand as their fingers laced together and guided her out of the room. “The limo’s downstairs waiting for us.”

“I don’t know, I just…you’ll always be Moxley to me, no matter if your name has changed to Dean Ambrose.” Zelia said truthfully, reaching up to stroke his face with the back of her hand. “But with me you’re simply a wonderful man named Jonathan Good and I only love you, not your character.”

“Ditto baby.” Jon murmured, winking down at the newest WWE Diva and chuckled, both of them heading out to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony.

WrestleMania night arrived and the Shield won their match against The Big Show, Sheamus and Ryback. They proved they could hack it in the ring with the best the WWE had to offer and came out soaring on top. The WWE fans would start believing in the Shield now, they had to. Zelia couldn’t have been happier as her and Valisa watched the match together, squealing when they won. They hadn’t told the women if they were winning or not, so it was just as much of a surprise to them as it was the fans. Zelia didn’t have time to stick around and celebrate since she had to get out with Team Hell No against Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston.

However, once the match ended with Team Hell No once again retaining their tag team titles, she kissed both Glen and Bryan’s cheek before taking off to the Shield locker room. Joe informed her that Jon had gone outside for a cigarette and pointed her in the direction. Jon was still in his Shield gear, bare from the waist down since his tactical vest and top had been ripped from his body from Paul Wight during their match. He heard heels clicking against the asphalt and turned around just in time to catch Zelia leaping at him, spinning her around in circles. Their lips instantly met and Zelia poured every ounce of feeling into it, her legs around his waist while his hands planted on her leather skirt clad backside.

“Whoa, what the hell was that for?” Jon chuckled as soon as the kiss broke, seeing the sparkle in Zelia’s eyes.

“I’m so proud of you, Jon. You made it and I love you so much.” Zelia kissed him again and hugged him around the neck, loving how his arms tightened around her, closing her eyes.

After WrestleMania ended, everyone got ready to leave to go to the after-party Vince and Stephanie had planned to celebrate another successful event. WrestleMania was professional wrestling’s super bowl, the biggest event of the year, so the McMahon’s pulled out all the stops for it. They didn’t hold anything back, wanting the best ratings they could possibly get. Jon and Zelia were dressed up again and slid in the back of the limo that would take them to the after-party. As Zelia stared out the window, she couldn’t help feeling completely content with her life and still found it hard to believe her and Jon found their way back to each other.

“Driver, take us back to the hotel.” She ordered out of nowhere, knowing the after-party wasn’t a requirement for the WWE Superstars and staff to attend.

“What are you doing?” Jon asked, raising a brow and watched as Zelia moved to straddle his lap, kissing him softly. “Joe and Valisa are waiting for us…”

“I know…” Zelia traced his lips with the tip of her tongue, smirking when Jon groaned in response. “But tonight I just want it to be us. I belong to you, you belong to me and I want to spend the rest of the night naked with you in bed.” Just like he wanted to do when he tried convincing her the previous night not to go to the Hall of Fame ceremony. “Any objections?”

“You damn right you belong to me, Zelia.” Jon growled, not having one problem with going back to the hotel and ravishing her beautiful body, his mouth finding her ear. “Now and forever.”

For countless hours that night, Jon and Zelia made love to each other, both finally finding where they were truly meant to belong.

The End.