Disclaimer: I own no one. WWE and Vince McMahon own RVD and Devlin owns herself. Lyrics are from the 3 Doors Down song 'Here Without You'
On My Lonely Mind
Rob Szaktowski entered his hotel after the show that night, sighing as he made his way to the front desk. He forced a smile as he got the key from the receptionist working at the desk, though he felt far from happy. In fact, he was downright miserable. He was overtired, overworked, hungry, had a splitting headache – all thanks to a chair shot earlier that night from Chris Irvine – and he was suffering from the worst case of homesickness. Once he was inside his hotel room, he tossed his bag on the bed, unzipping it and searching around inside for a certain object. Once he found it, he pulled it out of the bag and examined it. A small smile played on his lips as he eyed the object, a picture. In the picture was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, and deep, pooling brown eyes to match. The woman was Devlin, Rob's girlfriend of a year, though it was seemingly forever. He sighed as he ran his finger over her face, imagining that the cold paper under his hand was her warm, smooth skin. After a few minutes of staring, Rob realized that it was only depressing him further, so he put the picture away.
He just missed her so damn much. After all they had gone through just to be together, they just wanted to *be* together. First, Sonya cheated on him, which led into an incredibly painful divorce. He had definitely had his heart broken there. Then there was good ol' Jason, Devlin's ex husband, and the fact that he would *never* have kicked the pot smoking had it not been for her. He didn't even like thinking about it, because it got him so mad he just wanted to punch out a damn wall. He just wanted to be with the woman he loved, but for a good part of the time – like right now – Rob's job just didn't allow it. It was times like now that made him wonder why he had ever aspired to be a professional wrestler. If he had known that 20 years into the future he'd be so miserable and lonely, he would have slammed his head against the wall and knocked the thoughts of wrestling out of his mind… he loved her *that* much. It was insane. The feelings that burned inside of him when he thought about her were unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life.
The guys busted on him all the time for how hung up he was on her. Rob swore he couldn't pass by Chris Irvine, Tommy Dreamer, or Jay Reso in a hallway without them making a sound like a whip cracking. But he didn't care… he *was* whipped. But as far as Rob was concerned, it was okay because Devlin was the greatest woman in the entire world, no exceptions. She was his entire life… his Archangel, as he liked to refer to her as.
Suddenly deciding that he couldn't take it any longer, Rob pulled out his cell phone and decided to give her a call, in hopes that at least hearing her voice would make him feel closer to her. When he located the house number he pressed send, pressing the phone to his ear and waiting for the call to go through. He was a bit surprised when he got a busy signal. It was after 11:30. Then, Rob remembered that she was in California, and he was on the East Coast. It was still fairly early there, which would explain her being on the phone. Rob sighed, flipping his phone shut and tossing it back in his bag. He threw himself down on the bed, turning onto this side and switching on the radio in the alarm clock on the nightstand. He turned onto his back, sliding the dial to find a station. Sometimes a little music really helped to calm one's nerves. He kept flipping through, skipping over talk shows, commercials, and some songs, until the chorus of a very familiar song caught his ear. He froze, closing his eyes as he listened in to the lyrics.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'm here without you babyBut you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight, it's only you and me*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Suddenly, Rob sprang up from the bed, shutting off the radio promptly. That's it. He grabbed his bag, flung it over his shoulder, and headed out of the room. He had to go for a drive, or a walk, or somewhere… anywhere to get out of that damn hotel room. It was killing him to just sit around and think about her. He flew down to the lobby faster than he thought he'd ever moved in his life. He checked out, jogged out to his car, tossed his bag in the backseat and drove. He wasn't planning on going back. For awhile he drove aimlessly, hoping that he wouldn't get so emotional that he'd have to pull to the side of the road or anything. He clenched the steering wheel tightly and kept driving… and driving. He didn't even think about stopping, until he saw a sign… one of those big green ones that hangs over a highway. A small grin played on his lips as he put on the turn signal and followed the direction…
He knew *exactly* where he could go.
* * * * *
"Okay, I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye Mom," Devlin said, and then hung up the phone.
She had been on the phone with her mother for nearly 3 and a half hours. They hadn't spoken in awhile, and her mom decided to call in and check up on her. Lucky for her, she caught me in a 'I hate the world cause I miss Rob' moment, she thought sarcastically. Of course, her mood prompted her mother to question her about what was wrong, and – of course – Devlin had to tell her. Just talking about Rob when he wasn't around made her want to cry. It was harder than she thought it would be to have him leave her like this all the time. She would get herself so excited and worked up for him to come home every week, only to bawl her eyes out a few days later when he had to go back on the road again. Rob had offered to take her on the road with him, but she just didn't want to impose on his career. Besides her, it was all he had anymore. Once she hung the phone up, she sighed…
Back to the couch.
That was pretty much where she spent her nights when she was gone. She'd never tell that to him, but nearly every night she was gone she slept out in the living room. She just couldn't bare to be in the bedroom – the room where they shared secrets, made love, and had their most intimate moments – without him. It just didn't feel right. Devlin settled down on the couch, a cup of coffee in one hand and the television remote in the other. She turned the TV on and began blankly flipping through the channels. God, am I pathetic. She turned on the music channels, flipping through until she saw – rather, heard – a video that caught her eye. She quietly stood and walked over to the screen, closing her eyes and singing along with the song.
"I'm here without you baby, but you're still on my lonely mind. I think about you baby, and I dream about you all the time. I'm here without you baby, but you're still with me in my dreams. And tonight, it's only…"
"You and me," a male voice finished for her. Devlin froze, her eyes widening as she turned slowly on her heel. She would recognize that voice anywhere.
"Rob?" she questioned, her eyes brightening as she saw him standing behind her.
"In the flesh," he said, dropping his bag to floor. He extended his arms and she jumped in them, sighing contentedly as she felt his strong arms wrapping around her.
"What… what are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be home for three days!" she exclaimed, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I couldn't wait… I just couldn't wait to get home and see you. I missed you already baby," he said, leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss.
Rob sighed, both of mixture of exhaustion and happiness, as he continued to kiss her. He knew that this was where he belonged… here, at home, with his Archangel. It felt so good to be home that there were literally no words to describe it. Except for indescribable, I guess. Rob chuckled softly at his own thoughts, breaking the kiss and taking Devlin by the hand, shutting the TV off and leading her up the stairs.
"Come on honey… let's go to bed."