Chapter 3

After her encounter with Bray, Anisa headed straight outside for a much needed cigarette and sent Jon a text message to join her. Not that she had to. It was a ritual they'd done since the first night they shared a cigarette together. Anisa would never forget that night, especially the nickname Dr. Feel Good. That's all Jon made her feel was good – great even. He really was everything to her and Anisa loved him unconditionally. Even when she slept with Bray, Jon never once left her mind and the fact Jon forgave her for doing that just proved his feelings for her.

"Hey darlin'." Jon greeted with a smile, noticing instantly something was off about Anisa and waited for her to join him.

Plastering on a fake smile, Anisa hopped up on the equipment trunk next to him and plucked the cigarette from his fingers to take a long drag. "I really needed that." She breathed out in a sigh, smoke filtering from her mouth and nose.

"Stressed?" Jon guessed, reaching out to take her hand and laced their fingers together.

That was an understatement, Anisa thought, simply nodding while taking another drag before handing it back to Jon. She loved sharing a cigarette with him. "Yeah, nothing worth discussing though." Talking about Bray was out of the question when it came to her overprotective, easily jealous boyfriend. "How about you? You guys figure out what's going on for the show?"

Something was definitely bothering her. "Yeah, same old shit." Jon hopped off the equipment trunk and stood between Anisa's legs, planting his strong hands on her sides. "Come on Ani, talk to me. Remember who I am?"

Anisa chewed her bottom lip and slid her hands up his arms to wrap around his neck, drawing him closer. Those deep pale blues would be the death of her one day. "I'm fine, I promise." She half-lied, rubbing her nose gently against his. "Stop worrying about me so much."

"Impossible to do, baby, sorry." Jon dropped a soft kiss on the crown of her head and pulled Anisa against him, holding her close. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Dr. Feel Good…" She mumbled, though a small smile played on her lips.

"Very good, now tell the Doc what's going on so he can make you feel good." Jon ordered with a smirk, their eyes locked in a hypnotic penetrable gaze.

She wanted to. The words were on her tongue and Anisa could feel herself falling under Jon's spell. His deep raspy voice and pale blues were enough to drive Anisa to her knees. She was grateful to be sitting at the moment, knees weak and felt the overwhelming urge to feel Jon's mouth on hers. Flicking her cigarette away over Jon's shoulder, Anisa cupped his face and captured his mouth, feeling his arms instantly encircle her waist to draw her closer to him. The sheer power and dominance in his simple hold enticed and made Anisa crave more, her tongue slipping into his mouth to taste him. A mixture of tobacco and mint gum forced her body to shiver, panties drenching instantaneously. It never failed to amaze her just how fast Jon turned her on. Bray was nothing compared to this man and never would be. Without realizing it, desperation seeped into the heated lip lock and Jon felt it through the love and fire. He could be very perceptive when the situation called for it, especially when it came to Anisa. Breaking the kiss, Jon gripped her upper arms and stopped her from trying to reach for the belt securing his cargo pants, shaking his head.

"What's going on, Anisa?" He demanded, taking a few more deep breaths to slow his racing heart the kiss caused. "I'm not stupid. I know something's wrong with you."

"What are you talking about?" Anisa played it off the best she could, voice shaky from both the heated moment with Jon and trying to hide the fear Bray made her feel. "I'm just trying to have a make out session with my boyfriend before his match. Is that a crime?"

Why couldn't she be honest with him? Jon knew her inside and out, or at least he thought he did. "You're hiding something from me." He said flatly, releasing her with abruption and stepped back, spacing himself from her. "I thought we were past this…"

"Past what?" Anisa hopped off the equipment trunk, the fear unmistakeable in her midnight orbs by now. It wasn't because of Bray Wyatt though, not when it came to losing Jon. "Where is this coming from, Jonathan?" He HATED it when she used his full name, but it was the only way to make him understand just how hurt she was at the moment. "I love you…"

"Have a funny fucking way of showing it." Jon retorted, not buying a word she said and folded his arms in front of his chest. "If you loved me as much as you claim, you wouldn't lie to my fucking face when I KNOW something is bothering you. I thought we were past keeping secrets from each other. Didn't you learn a fucking thing from Phil and Coralie?"

That was a low blow. Anisa felt tears burn her eyes and lowered them to the black asphalt, clearing her throat. "Whether you believe it or not, everything is fine and nothing is bothering me besides you being a complete dick to me right now." Her voice remained low and even, trying desperately to hide the pain in her tone. It wasn't working. "Maybe something is wrong with you and you're hiding something from me. Maybe you don't want to be with me as much as you claim you do. Otherwise, why would you throw Coralie in my face? I didn't think our relationship would ever be compared to a dead woman's and my brother. I thought we were different, but I guess not."

Jon didn't know what possessed him to bring Coralie up, but he hated it when people lied to his face blatantly. "I don't have time for this shit right now." He couldn't look at her, regret already developing in the pit of his stomach and would eventually overtake his entire body. "I have to get ready for my match."

"Go then. Just remember, I'm leaving tonight to head to Tampa until Wednesday. Do you even want me coming to Vegas this week or should I go to Atlanta?"

"I'll let you know."

Jon stalked back inside the arena, leaving Anisa standing there feeling helpless and saddened, the guilt of what just happened eating away at her insides.

Why couldn't she tell Jon what happened with Bray?


Both Joe and Colby noticed the demeanor in Jon had drastically changed since he came back from having his pre-match smoke with Anisa outside. He'd been in a great mood when he left and now the anger radiated from every pore of his 6'4 frame while they warmed up for their match that night. Granted, Joe knew how hard it was for Jon to share his time with Anisa ever since she agreed to work down in NXT, but so far he'd handled it well. Something happened outside between them and Joe was almost afraid to know what it was. They were brothers though and he refused to let Jon fester in his own anger. Talking about it would help and if he had to take a few hits in the process, so be it. Better than going out to the ring and Jon making a fatal mistake that could end someone's career.

"Talk to us, bro. What happened out there?" Joe asked once Jon finished his last rep of pushups, one of his warmup moves and swallowed hard at the amount of blue fire in his friend's eyes. "Jon…"

"Don't." Jon warned, his voice low and gritty, clenching his teeth tightly while beginning to pace in the dressing room.

Joe was steadfast though. "We're not going out to that ring until you either calm the fuck down or tell us what's going on." If he had to, Joe would lock Jon in the dressing room and do the tag match with Colby. "You're gonna end up making a mistake because your head isn't in the right place."

No matter how much Jon wanted to dispute Joe's accusation, he couldn't. The man knew him too well. "It's Anisa." He admitted, finally leaning back against the cinder block wall and slid down until he squatted in front of his brethren, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "There's something going on with her, but she won't tell me what it is. She's hiding something from me and it pisses me the fuck off."

Joe and Colby understood that, but it was the large Samoan who squatted down to be eyelevel with Jon, planting his large hand on the man's shoulder. "What happened?" He rumbled gently, trying to get Jon to talk about what bothered him regarding Anisa. "And what makes you think something's going on with her?"

"She kissed me. But it wasn't an ordinary kiss. Something was…off about it, ya know? I can't explain it. I just know something isn't right with her. It's gotta be part of the relationship shit or…fuck I don't know. I – I brought up Coralie…" Jon winced as soon as the words came out of his mouth and Colby's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the locker room.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Jon…" Joe groaned, lowering his head and shook it while Colby began ranting until he finally had to stand up, shoving the two toned hyper man out the Shield locker room door. "Fuck sometimes he's annoying. Now what the fuck were you thinking bringing a dead woman up?"

"I don't know…" Jon stood up as well, shoving his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants and began lightly banging his head back against the cinder block wall. "All I DO know is she's pissed off at me and our relationship is on the rocks right now."

Joe honestly didn't think or believe Anisa would end her relationship with Jon over him mentioning Coralie. They loved each other too much to let something that trivial come between them. What if Jon was overthinking and assuming Anisa was hiding something from him? What if it was Jon's own fear pushing him to try to find some reason to break things off with Anisa? All Joe knew for sure was Jon did not act out like this for no reason. He must've felt something, a sense that Anisa was in distress and reacted instinctively. They did need to talk and the sooner the better. Right now, they had to focus on the match and then Jon could handle his business with Anisa.

Somehow, Jon managed to get through the segment without any mistakes and zoned into his Dean Ambrose character fully. He hadn't done that since his Jon Moxley days in the Indies and it felt surprisingly welcoming. The Shield beat down Mark Henry, attacking him and receiving hatred from the WWE universe. That's exactly what they wanted. They were the heels and would shoot to the top the more heat they received. Once backstage, Jon didn't bother showering and went to find Anisa, only to discover she already left to head to the airport. Normally, he drove her after the show ended, but not this time. Jon knew at that moment he screwed up and dejectedly headed back to the hotel alone, wishing he hadn't brought up Coralie to his girlfriend.


Be careful who you invite into your bed, Anisa.

What did that mean? No matter how hard Anisa tried, she couldn't get Bray's chilling words out of her head. The worst part was putting on an act in front of the people she loved, including Jon. Acting as if the words didn't burn a hole through her abdomen whenever that moment surfaced in her memory. Why was Bray concerned about who was in her bed? They had a one night stand and that's all lit was to Anisa. Luckily, she was alone in Tampa currently doing her job with NXT and did her best to push Bray in the far recesses of her mind. She had a meeting with one of the lead trainers, Bill Demotte, to discuss who was ready to move up to the main roster – if any. Bill didn't beat around the bush and took his job very seriously, wanting every single person who trained under him to know just how hard this business was to break into. He was fair yet brutal all in one intimidating package and Anisa admired the man for taking on such a tedious position.

"So Anisa, any thoughts on the upcoming talent?" Bill asked after gabbing most of the time and bringing her up to speed on everything happening while she was on the road. "Or do you wanna keep shredding the napkin in your lap?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Anisa looked down at the napkin and felt her cheeks flush a deep crimson, brushing the shredded pieces to the floor. "Sorry." She murmured, clearing her throat and gave Bill her full attention. "What did you say?"

Bill could tell something was on Anisa's mind because she'd been distracted ever since her arrival. "Wanna talk about it?" He'd grown to like Anisa and thought highly of her, especially her work ethic.

"Nothing really to talk about. Just have a lot on my mind. Now come on, I'm sorry for not listening to you. What did you ask me?" Bill was the last person Anisa wanted to discuss Bray Wyatt with.

Bill heaved a resigned sigh. "Any thoughts on the upcoming talent?" He repeated, folding his arms in front of his chest while glasses slid down his nose slightly.

"Honestly, not very many have caught my eye." Anisa admitted, looking over the notes she jotted down while on the road. "Sam Johnston comes to mind."

"You mean Solomon?" Bill raised a slow brow at Talent Relations Manager and leaned back in his chair in front of Anisa's desk. "Why him?"

Honestly, the moment Anisa laid eyes on Sam Johnston, something about him stood out above the rest of the NXT upcoming stars. Maybe it was the fact he was from the Independents like Jon. She knew he was good friends with Jon, but that wasn't her reason for choosing him above the others. Anisa had watched a tape and several matches with Jon during their Switchblade Conspiracy days, admiring the quickness and stealth he possessed in the ring. Sam had raw talent like Jon and, if the WWE used him correctly, the man would make it big in the company, even with his short 5'10 stature.

"Heart. You can see it every time he steps foot in the ring and his raw talent is unshakeable. It would be catastrophic not to give him a chance to show us what he's got to offer, Bill." Anisa was never one to beat around the bush and could see the wheels in the man's head begin to turn. Did he agree with her? "Other than him, I do like the Ascension and I think they are going to be big stars too."

Bill agreed with that, but he was hesitant regarding Johnston. "I'll take what you say into consideration regarding Johnston, but I do agree about the Ascension. I expect big things from them coming up in a few months."

The rest of the meeting was talking about other talents and Anisa didn't head back to the arena until late. Once showered and in bed, she contemplated calling Jon because she did want to see him tomorrow. She had an early morning flight from Tampa to Vegas and didn't want to cancel it because of Jon's stubbornness. Just as she was about to fall asleep, a text message lit her cell phone up and Anisa's heart expanded at the words.

Hope to see you tomorrow, darlin'. Love you.

Anisa bit her bottom lip and responded a few minutes later. Love you too. See you around noon hopefully.

3 seconds later, Jon called and Anisa ended up talking to him until the early morning hours, not getting a wink of sleep. She could get rest on the plane ride since it was a long flight from Tampa to Vegas. Jon ended up falling asleep on the phone while she drove to the airport since it was 4 AM in Vegas and 7 AM in Tampa. The 3 hour time difference blew, but it also gave them more time with each other. She couldn't wait to see Jon, to be wrapped in his strong arms and spend the next 2 days making him believe she was fine.

If only that was true.