Chapter 2

"Well it was great meeting you," Galina pulled Trinity into a hug.

"You too." She replied with a smile.

Much surprise to her, Joe hugged her afterwards, "Will you be coming to the show?" he asked.

She looked at down at the ground, not sure of what to say, "Oh well I don't- "

"We're working on that. Hopefully she won't turn me down." Jon stated with a smile.

"Well, see you soon then." Joe replied, placing an arm around his wife.

They waved goodbye and headed for the parking lot. She looked up at Jon, then his brother, "I'm not so sure about…"

"Let's get out of here, before we discuss that. Please?" he asked.

She sighed and shook her head, "I promise you'll have fun." He insisted.

After returning to the hotel, she followed them onto the elevator. She laughed as they teased each other back and forth. She enjoyed the entertainment from the two, it helped take her mind off the negativity in her life.

"Most of the guys are in the lounge area chilling for a minute, y'all coming?" Josh asked, as they reached the 5th floor.

"We'll catch up with you later." Jon replied, "Come on."

He offered his arm as they walked off towards his room. As they reached his room, he took out the hotel key and unlocked the door. Walking in the room, he turned on the lights, closing the door behind him. "Make yourself at home." He stated, sitting on the bed. She walked over to the table, pulling one of the chairs and sat down. "So, do you want to talk about what's really going on?" he asked sternly. She sighed and looked at floor, shaking her head no.

"I want you to be comfortable around me, there isn't anything you need to be afraid of." He took her hands in his.

"I'm okay…" she replied, "I just have to get out of here."

"It's that bad huh?" he asked, she quickly nodded as tears formed, "Please don't cry."

"Why are you being so nice?" she wiped a tear away, "I don't get it."

He shrugged his shoulders, "That's just who I am. And that's what I want to show you. Not all of us are assholes, I can promise you that." He stood up walking into the bathroom, returning with a box of Kleenex. "I won't judge you, everything you decide to tell me in due time, is between us."

She looked up at him after wiping her face, "I'm just not ready to talk about it. Not yet."

"And I'll be here whenever you're ready to." He replied, "I promise you that."

She couldn't help but smile, throughout the remainder of the night they watched tv, talked about his career, upcoming matches, and storylines. They were deep into their conversation, not noticing when Josh came back into the room. He sat on the other bed, staring at the two and smiled at his brother. He hasn't seen his brother so happy in long time. Not wanting to interrupt, Josh continued to prepare for bed as he walked into the bathroom.

"I can't believe Rikishi is your father." She beamed, as he showed her old photos on his phone of his family.

He nodded, "I know. That's pop, of course I was his favorite." Trinity ducked as Josh threw a pillow towards Jon, "Oh please! You wish!" she laughed at the two.

As they continued getting to know each other, the fire alarm went off. They all jumped up walking towards the door, Josh looked out the peephole as Trinity grabbed onto Jon's arm. He turned to look at her, "Stay here." He stated as Josh opened the door. He felt uneasy, "Something doesn't feel right" he thought to himself.

Josh opened the door and peeped out, he was met by Joe. "A car is on fire in the parking lot." Joe stated as he and Galina walked inside the room.

Jon walked over to the window, "Oh shit…" he looked down to the ground floor to see a car engulfed in flames. Trinity stood in the corner as everyone went over to the window. She slid down onto the floor and she cried silently, "Trin, sweetie are you okay?" Galina rushed over to her. She pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. Josh and Joe closed the curtains as Jon walked over to Trinity and Galina, he slowly pulled her up off the floor and held her. The others looked on concerned, Joe pieced it all together.

"The car, it was yours huh?" Joe asked breaking the silence.

Trinity stood there not moving from the comfort of Jon's arms, "Yes, everything is gone…all of it." She said in between sobs, "I packed this morning, but…he must've came and saw my car still here…"

Jon tried his best to soothe her as she sobbed, "Shh. Sit down," he offered her the chair she'd been sitting in earlier, "I think it's best that we know what's going on Trin."

She took a deep breath before explaining from the moment she met him, up until today. Everyone sat around her and listened on patiently as she cried. Jon clenched his jaw as she went into to detail about the day he started physically abusing her. Once she reached the events of late Saturday night, tears formed in Galina's eyes. Joe rubbed her back as she put her head down, listening to Trinity's story. She slowly stood up, sliding up her sleeves to reveal the now light purple bruises on her arms. Then she lifted up the shirt only revealing the left side of her stomach, all of their eyes widened in horror as they were shown a dark purple bruise that covered her entire left side.

"Do you need to get that checked out?" Josh asked, "Your ribs could be cracked."

She shook her head, "I'll be fine." She replied slowly sitting back down.

Jon avoided eye contact, he turned his head as tears formed in his eyes. "Oh Trin, I'm so sorry." Galina hugged her, "You have no idea how much I can relate to you."

Trinity pulled away slowly, "You do?"

Before speaking again, Galina looked over at Joe, who simply nodded. She inhaled deeply, "Prior to Joe, I was in a relationship similar to yours…" she started, "I was always the target, whether his food was cold, favorite team lost, it rained…anything." Joe placed a hand on her back as her voice began to break, "But I got out, never looked back. And you can too, I promise, it gets better."

Trinity wiped the tears from her face, "I'm sorry to burden you all with my drama, I know I just met you all- "

"But you've came into my cousin's life. And you matter to us now, don't ever think you're a burden." Joe stated, "You're safe with us, I mean that."

She smiled as he hugged her, followed by Galina and Josh. Jon stood there, his back to them, she was worried he couldn't look at her and that it had been something she'd done wrong. She slowly walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He sighed and turned around, showing his red eyes, "I'm sorry you've been put through hell like that." He sniffled, "I can assure you, I'll never do that to you."

He pulled her into him, hugging her tightly. She inhaled his scent, "Thank you." She whispered.

Josh stood at the window watching as firefighters extinguish the flames from the car, he examined the parking lot, no sign of anyone other than police, firefighters, and hotel staff. He closed the curtain and looked over at Jon. They waited to speak again as she disappeared into the bathroom, "So what now?" Josh asked. Looking up at his concerned brother, Jon shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea what she wants to do," he heard water running in the bathroom, "I don't want to leave her here though." Josh nodded in agreement.

"How about she comes with us?" Galina added.

All three men looked at her, then nodded in agreement, "We could give it a try. She could come to Smackdown with us tomorrow, and head out with us from there." Joe suggested.

"That's if she agrees to it." Jon stated, hearing the water cut off.

Trinity walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing extra pj's and a robe given to her by Galina, she was kind enough to lend her clothing after they all found out about her car. Once she walked over to the bed Jon was sitting on she gave Galina a smile, "Thank you again, I truly appreciate it."

She smiled, "No problem, I'm just happy I packed extra."

"Which she doesn't do." Joe teased, then grunted once Galina's elbow connected to his side.

Trinity smiled at the two, she loved being around people who meant good. Jon grabbed her hand, "Can I talk to you in private?"

She slowly nodded, "Sure." He waited to speak again until the others left the room, heading two doors down to Joe and Galina's room.

"So, I know today's been pretty rough, but we all were wondering what your next plan is?" he asked as she next to him on the bed.

Looking down at her hands, her mind wandered off, trying to find an answer to give him, "Please be honest." He broke her train of thought.

She sighed, "I honestly don't know, maybe stay here a couple nights just to figure everything out."

He scanned her face, all he saw was worry, pain, and fear. "Come with us."

"What?" she adjusted herself onto the bed, now facing him.

"Come with us, you'll be safe. You can come with us to smackdown tomorrow, and we'll be flying out afterwards. I'll keep you safe, just please come with us. We've all agreed on it." He stated.

"I-I don't know. I'll just be in the way." She began playing with the robe ties.

"No, you won't, we can get our own dressing room. Lina will be with you the entire night, I promise I got you." He replied, "You can come down to Tampa with us, and I be damned if he ever comes near you again…" his nose flared as his mind started to wonder.

"Well…okay." She hesitated, slowly looking up at him.

He smiled, "Cool." His heart raced a mile a minute as he stood up, "I'll go let them know then we can rest up for tomorrow."

She nodded, watching him walk out the door. She was nervous, but something deep down made her believe he was honest. A few minutes later, he and Galina returned. She had a suitcase with her, "Here are a few more clothes and accessories for tomorrow," she smiled placing it by the table, "I'll be over in the morning to help you get ready."

"Thank you." She smiled as Galina hugged her and walked out the door. Looking around the room, she only noticed two beds, she was hesitant to question Jon about the sleeping arrangements.

"I'll be with them," Josh stated, "Y'all have a goodnight, see you tomorrow Trin."

She watched as he grabbed his belongings and headed out the door, "I know you're wondering where you're sleeping. I'm sleeping over here, he's going over to Joe and Lina's room since they have an extra bed." She opened her mouth to speak but he stopped her, "You're not imposing, it's fine." He smiled, "I'll be in here getting ready for the bed, be back in a sec."

She watched as he disappeared into the bathroom. Pulling back the covers, she climbed into the bed hearing the shower water cut on. She couldn't help but think of everything that transpired throughout the day. Turning the lamp off, she laid down in complete darkness… "Maybe this won't be so bad…" she thought to herself, drifting off to sleep.

After showering and brushing his teeth, Jon threw on a t-shirt and boxers before walking out of the bathroom. He smiled to himself as the bathroom light shined over her face, "She's even beautiful asleep…" he thought as he exited out the bathroom. Making his way over to the bed, he undid the covers and climbed into the bed. He reached for his cellphone, setting his alarm before placing it on the charger. So badly, he just wanted to hold her, but he knew deep down that was impossible. He continued to glance over at her throughout the night before finally falling asleep.