His eyes flashed dangerously and she instantly backed down. She wasn't stupid...you would have to be to challenge him.
He was vicious, unpredictable and for the most part, seemingly uncaring. Any person in their right mind would turn and run but not her. Brittnay stuck around because she saw what no one else saw. She could tell that deep down he had a good heart. Maybe that was the truth or maybe she was blinded by physical attraction. But then again, who could blame her? Close to six foot five, tanned, body rippling with muscles and arms covered in tattoos. He was her walking talking fantasy and she had him. So what else could she want?
"Stop fucking bothering me" he hissed before turning around and stalking out of the hotel room with not even another look back at his sobbing girlfriend.
She whimpered, wishing he would just walk back in the room and take her into his embrace even though she knew the chance of the happening was virtually nothing. He was too proud.
Dragging herself over to their temporary bed, she crawled under the covers and held tightly to a pillow. Brittnay was crying...tears slipping down her face...all she wanted was a good boyfriend who could control his temper. Who wasn't so overcome with pride that he would continue to argue and fight even when he and she both knew he was wrong.
Brittnay wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard a soft click and the door to her room open. Too worn out to turn over to see who had come in, Brittnay opted to just lay and wait.
"Randy?" she asked hoarsely, getting worried that the person who had come into her room had been shuffling around but hadn't said anything.
A familiar sigh confirmed that it was the Viper, "It's just me"
She could just imagine him running his hands over his shorn head in frustration...more at himself than anything. It wasn't unusual for him to come back and apologize. Apparently he felt guilty after the fact...he wouldn't have to feel guilty if he didn't hurt her in the first place.
Her ears were perked up and she listened to every sound he made. From the sound of him brushing his teeth and washing his face to him taking off his clothes and most likely leaving them in a discarded pile on the floor.
A dip in the bed calmed her down, her tears still falling but not as rapidly. When she felt his weight settle behind her and his arm wind its way tightly around her waist, she couldn't help but snuggle back into his warm body.
"I'm sorry" he said softly before laying a kiss on her shoulder and wrapping his body completely up against hers. It was a move that showed just how possessive he was over Brittnay but she wasn't by any means complaining. She felt like it showed how much he cared about her; like he didn't want anyone to touch her but him.
She sighed and revelled in the feeling of calm that settled over them. It was a calm that didn't happen often so she tried her hardest commit it to memory. A memory she never wanted to forget.
"It's alr-"
"No it's not alright. I shouldn't get that mad that fast. I really am sorry Britt. I love you"
Brittnay turned her head to claim his lips in a soft kiss before replying, "I love you too Randy"
And all she could do was hope. Hope that this was the last time but deep down in her soul she knew it would never end. This was the life she had chosen and she just had to deal.
[XxX]
"Britt do you know where my boots are?" hollered Randy as he tore apart their bedroom in his search for his gear, "Fuck Brittnay did you fucking hear me! I can't fucking find them!"
Brittnay cringed and quickly hopped off the couch, eyes scanning the living room quickly for said boots. With every passing second her eyes got more desperate as she listened to every thud and growl. Randy wasn't a patient man.
"I've got them Randy!" she shouted quickly as she grabbed the footwear and ran out to where he was looking. Her eyes widened as she looked at the mess he had made. There were clothes everywhere and broken shards of porcelain littered the floor…he had smashed a lamp.
Randy whipped his head towards her quickly and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Jesus fucking Christ could you have come any fucking slower!"
She sunk back but put his boots on the floor before trying to speed out of the room. The WWE's apex predator wouldn't have any of that.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING WALK AWAY FROM ME! YOU WALK AWAY WHEN I TELL YOU, YOU CAN FUCKING WALK AWAY!"
"Please Randy I'm sor-"
Randy wouldn't let her continue. He lunged forward and grabbed her forearm tightly, eyes burning with fury, staring directly into hers.
Brittnay was petrified. Randy was a big guy. Two hundred and forty pounds and six foot four, almost five. He was powerful when he was calm but angry? A monster unleashed itself when the oldest Orton son became agitated.
His grip loosened and Randy finally let her arm go. Her other hand instantly came up to massage the sore, tender flesh that had been held way too tightly just mere seconds before.
The quiet whimper of pain was not lost to Randy. He turned and suddenly his apparent relaxation was thrown away and he was back to being furious, "YOU THINK THAT HURT? HUH! YOU THINK THAT WAS FUCKING PAIN! I'LL SHOW YOU PAIN!"
And that was when he raised his hand to her. He had never done it before, even in his angriest moments, and she was more terrified than she had ever been in her entire life. She really thought he was going to hit her.
"I…I…" stuttered Randy after seeing her eyes…the terror and horror that lied within them.
Brittnay stood frozen before watching his hand slowly come down. That was when she sped as fast as she could to grab her purse and get out the door without so much as a second look at any of her belongings….or Randy.
[XxX]
Her fingers quickly punched in the familiar number and she grabbed the shiny black phone off of its stand. She hated using pay phones but when you don't stick around long enough to check if you have it in your purse…well you're shit out of luck.
One ring passed and then two…and then three. By the seventh ring she had given up and slammed it down on the holder viciously while cursing her friend's name. Glenn almost always answered the phone and she was not amused that today was the day he decided not to.
Brittnay leaned against the dirty plastic of the pay-phone wall and searched her mental phonebook frantically, trying to think of someone around who she could call.
"Fuck…" she swore once she realized she really had nowhere to go. Figuring her brother should know what was going on, she dialed the numbers quickly and didn't have to wait for more than two rings before his smooth voice came through the receiver.
"Hello?"
Brittnay sighed, "Hey John"
"Hey Britt. What's up? Why aren't you calling from your phone?"
"I….Randy….look John I just wanted to tell you that I think me and Randy are done"
The oldest Cena sibling audibly gasped, "What? Why?"
Brittnay debated on whether or not to tell him. Randy didn't actually hit her so should she even bother worrying her brother? She was caught between a rock and a hard place before finally deciding to tell him, "We were fighting again…and he…" she trailed off, suddenly losing her courage.
"He what?" asked John, voice dropping a few tones and thickening. He could sense something heavy…
"Heraisedhishandtome" she said quickly, amazed that she had even managed to get the words out.
"Slower" John demanded through clenched teeth. He thought he knew what his little sister had said but wanted to make sure he was right before jumping to a conclusion. And boy this was a serious conclusion.
"I said he raised his hand to me. I don't think he meant to but he was angry because he couldn't find his boots and so I tried to walk away because I didn't want him to get any more angry at me because I didn't find them fast enough and then he raised his hand and I thought he was going to backhand me and-"
"Stop; I get it. I'll be there in a few hours. I'm bringing Liz"
"W-Why?"
"Because you need comfort right now and I have something to take care of-"
Brittnay immediately interrupted, "NO! John no!" She was beyond panicked. The last thing she or anyone else needed was for Randy and John to be fighting. If it spilled out into work which it almost certainly would; it could spell disaster for one of their careers, "He didn't actually hit me so it's not a big deal"
John was breathing heavily and gesturing wildly for his wife to pack a few basic necessities for them both…there was no way in hell he could just stay in Tampa while his sister was an obviously emotional train wreck all the way in Missouri. Sure he would only be able to stay for the night but the same went for Randy. Work was work but if need be, he would stay behind with her and suffer Vince McMahon's wrath later.
"It is a big deal Britt. No man should EVER under ANY circumstance no matter HOW angry, raise his hand to a woman. Whether or not he actually hits her…raising his hand is just as bad because it means he thought about it. I would never fucking dream of raising my hand to Liz…it's being a fucking coward and I'm going to deal with it. Listen, I'll call you when I'm close. Stay strong baby girl, love you"
"I love you too John bu-"
Brittnay didn't get a chance to continue her thought.
John had hung up and was on his way.
[XxX]
Randy was an absolute mess.
Their bedroom looked as if a tornado had ripped through it, leaving its contents strewn about rather than just the force of an ordinary man. But this wasn't an ordinary man…oh no, now he was what he had feared the most of becoming.
He really was an apex predator. No longer was the Viper just a character that paid the bills…now it was a way of life. Now he had morphed into a total monster. A maniac, a lunatic…an almost wife beater. If his hand hadn't come up, Brittnay would still be in the house; she would still be his.
Randy dropped his head into his and looked around. He wasn't focusing on the majority of the shrapnel laying about but rather on a few key pieces.
The picture that used to sit on her night table of them at the beach five years before. They looked happy; ecstatic even just to be with each other. He was giving her a piggyback and Randy couldn't help but smile looking at how wide their grins were in the picture. Brittnay's so wide that it looked as if the next day, she would have one hell of a face cramp. The way her arms were wrapped so tightly around his shoulders…like she never wanted to let go. But he made her…he made her let go.
He reached over and picked up another discarded picture. A picture of them kissing at her sister's wedding the year before. Sure the night wasn't about them but it was pretty obvious to anyone who saw the pair that they were in love. Completely and totally in love…even more than the bride and groom considering they got divorced just months later.
It was all eating away at his psyche. Randy hated himself…hated what he had become.
[XxX]
"Oh sweetie" cooed Liz as soon as John had stopped the car at the sight of her bawling sister-in-law. Even without kids she had such a maternal instinct.
They met in the middle and hugged each other tightly, Liz gently shushing the crying girl as she moved her shoulder so she could block John speeding off; a move that didn't go unnoticed by Brittnay.
"W-Wha'?" she grumbled as she tried to shove Liz out of the way before finally seeing around her sister-in-law's frame to see that John was gone, "FUCK!"
"Sweetie calm down-"
Brittnay couldn't help but panic and shake her head back and forth frantically, "NO! HE'S GONNA HURT RANDY! "
Liz really did try her hardest to calm her down but Brittnay was considerably stronger and taller. Before Liz could do anything Brittnay had quickly run back over to the pay phone and dialed the local cab line, determined to stop the madness that was to ensue.
[XxX]
John stalked up the stairs to a house that he knew almost better than his own. Randy and John were friends until he had noticed that the Viper gimmick began to overcome the usually laid back man. It was as if Randal Keith Orton and the apex predator became more and more intertwined much to John's chagrin. He had begged his sister to leave Randy but to no avail; she really did love him. Angry or not.
Loud knocks yanked Randy out of his trance like state and he just about ran downstairs, praying and hoping that his love would be standing on the other end of the door.
He jerked it open only to see a very angry John Cena waiting with fists clenched so hard that his knuckles were verging on going white.
"John?"
John snarled in response, "You fucker…YOU FUCKING SACK OF SHIT!"
And without warning, he launched himself at the taller wrestler, sending them both crashing to the floor.
Randy was caught completely off guard and could only raise his forearms to his face to try to block the vicious and unforgiving fists that he was being pelted with. He might as well have not tried because at that point, it didn't seem like anything was going to stop the enraged man.
"YOU WANNA RAISE YOUR HAND TO HER HUH! YOU WANNA FUCKIN' RAISE YOUR HAND TO A WOMAN! WELL HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS YOU FUCKER!" hollered John, knowing that there would be bruises left on the tan skin when he was done with him but didn't much care. The blood staining his knuckles was getting to be pretty annoying though.
A few more minutes passed and Randy was on the verge of blacking out. John was unrelenting on his attack before a high pitched shriek made him pause mid-punch. He would recognize that voice anywhere…it was Brittnay.
Randy's ears perked up and he used all of his strength to push the great lug of a man off of him, "Britt?" he choke out hoarsely. Both of his eyes were squinted and already bruising along with plenty more spots on his face with a nice split bottom lip to top it all off.
"YOU FUCKER!" she yelled, quickly running over with a panting Liz in tow.
"I…." Liz gasped, trying to catch her breath and throw a few bills at the taxi driver at the same time.
Brittnay kicked John as hard as she could in the shin and instantly dropped to her knees beside Randy, cradling his beaten head in her hands. She felt something warm and unusual on her hand so lifted it only to see it was blood. His head had a nice sized gash on it from its constant banging against the floor.
She gasped loudly and wiped away a few stray drops of metallic liquid that were slipping down his forehead from its elevated position on her lap, "Oh my god Randy…Oh my god I'm so sorry I should've never called him! Oh my….I'm so sorry I love you so much!"
Randy tried to reply but felt so weak. He had never been jumped by a man as powerful as John before and he didn't think he ever wanted to experience it ever again.
John got to his feet and began to yell at the top of his lungs while Liz stood on the lawn trying to calm the situation as she always did.
Shaking her head furiously, Brittnay lifted a hand to point out the door and whisper dangerously, "Get the fuck out of my house John. I can't even look at you right now"
"But Brittnay! He's gonna fucking hurt you!"
"He's a bleeding, bruised mess right now. Fuck off. Get the fuck out of my house now or I will call the police and tell them what you did"
John didn't want to leave; didn't want to leave his sister with that monster but knew that she had quite the temper and it was already irritated. Plus what use would he be if he was in jail for aggravated assault? As much as she was mad at him right now, he knew she would get over it eventually. They were family after all.
Turning on his heel, the pale wrestler stepped outside, cringing when he heard the loud slam of the door from her foot roughly slamming it closed.
Everything in the house was silent until they heard a few words exchanged between the married couple outside followed by the sound of their car pulling away. She could just imagine the over sensitive Liz crying while John sighed and her heart hurt at the thought but right at that moment, Randy needed her and not them.
"C'mon let's get you upstairs" cooed Brittnay softly as she struggled to help get the tattooed wrestler to his feet.
He reached up and wiped a bit of blood away from his lip, "I don't think we should go up there…it's kind of a disaster"
Brittnay cringed at the memory and turned instead towards the basement where they had a nice guest room, "Let's just go down there and get you relaxing…I really am sorr-"
"Don't be…it's not your fault. Next time I'm angry, I promise you I won't raise my hand. Never again"
No more words were exchanged and they just walked in silence, slight tension still in the air as they descended into the basement.
[XxX]
*OneMonthLater*
"FUCK!" Randy shouted at the top of his lungs as his hands ran over his shaved head in utter frustration. Neither of them could remember why they were fighting but it was incredibly heated.
His eyes flashed viciously and for a moment, Brittnay thought that they would have a replay of that time just a short month ago.
Randy's arms flew up, not raising his hand to her but she could tell his exasperation level was still on the rise.
And that was when she felt calm.
At ease.
Safe.
He was at one of the angriest points he had ever been in around her before but he didn't raise his hand.
Brittnay stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his toned waist, burying her face into his chest.
Randy was confused but lowered his arms as he felt her body melt into his, "Why are you hugging me?"
She sighed, breathing in his scent, "You didn't raise your hand to me Randy…you kept your promise…"
His long arms wrapped around her body as he kissed the top of her head, his frustration fading from the love and adoration he felt through that simple hug.
A hug that would be simple to most but meant everything to them.
Sure, their relationship was flawed and in a lot of ways, toxic even but it was a dance they would never get tired of.
No matter how much adversity they encountered, they were addicted. Addicted to each other.
And everyone knows, addiction never dies.