"Are you going to just stand there and stare at me all day?" Carmella asked stifling a laugh.

"Uh…no. I um…come on in and have a seat. Wow. You're like the last person I expected to run into." He closed the front door and followed her into his living room and onto the couch. There was a brief awkward moment of silence before Cena spoke up. "So um…how did you…?"

"Well, as you know, when I first tried out for the diva search, I had no interest in wrestling whatsoever but then after I got deep into the competition I started to appreciate it more. Anyway, I saw last month where you had sustained an injury from that pompous windbag Mr. Kennedy. The headline said you were possibly going to be out for a year and so I figured if you were going to be out that long then you were probably in town."

"Wow. Well, you're right. I'm here hiding out trying to get better and all. This being away from the ring is not easy for me. I love being on the road…traveling…meeting new people. Being back here is no picnic."

"I figured you were probably miserable so I decided to drop by and see how things were going for you."

"Oh well I'm glad you did."

"I also…have…missed you," she said softly looking away. Cena just stared at her dumbfounded. He had no idea really how to respond to that. After all, she was the one who dumped him long ago. He had loved her with all his heart yet she ripped it out claiming that she wasn't ready for a big commitment. Even now, he couldn't be too angry with her. She was still very beautiful. Her long dark hair and her beautiful almond eyes were enough to make any man stop and stare. She was tall, almost six feet and had put it to good use when they were in high school. She played on the basketball team and was a damn good point guard plus leading scorer most games. "I'm…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Anyway, I think I should be off now. I just…I needed to see you myself so I would know that you were really ok." She stood to her feet and headed towards the door but Cena jumped up and stopped her.

"Hey. Wait a second. Do you want to…go get a drink? I have been craving Starbucks and I think it would be a good way to kind of break the ice."

"That would be great but imma have to take a rain check. I promised my aunt that would go pick up some things for her at the grocery store. How about I give you a call later in the week and maybe we can spend the day together catching up?"

"Uh…yeah. That would be great. So I'll see you around then?"

"Definitely," she said with a smile before heading out the door. Cena let out a huge breath as he plopped back down onto the couch. Carmella. The absolute last person he was expecting to run into…She was still as beautiful as ever but that was to be expected of an old girlfriend…and lover and what timing she had. He had just been getting used to being all alone each day with no one to talk to but then just like that things had changed. He was pretty certain that he would be seeing a lot of Carmella and just when he was getting used to the whole idea of being alone, completely and totally…Allison.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't really been alone since his return home. The very first night back in Lithonia Springs, he ran into a lovely young lady named Allison and somehow by sheer coincidence he had been seeing quite a bit of her…but the last week or so had been different in which case he did not see her at all. She had been keeping to herself and with good reason. The bruises…Cena closed his eyes and groaned. It was really bothering him about Allison. What in the world could she be hiding from him? Technically it wasn't really any of his business. They didn't know each other like that. In fact, if he was to be completely honest with himself, they really didn't know each other at all. Hell, she didn't even know what his real name was and the more he dwelled on it, the guiltier he felt. In the few meetings the two had, she had divulged more about herself than he probably needed to know and it was completely one sided on his part. Cena sighed. He wished he knew how to get in contact with her. The only way he knew of getting to her was to go by her school but there was just no way he could do it without someone recognizing who he really was. One wrestling fan could ruin it for him and he didn't need that. He wanted to be the one to come clean about his real name, but…Why is this bothering me so? It wasn't as if he was seeing Allison. In fact, he wasn't completely sure that he wanted to see Carmella again either. She had ripped his heart to shreds once before and he just wasn't ready to open his heart again. Even so, he couldn't shake the sad image of Allison out of his mind.

"I need to go for a drive," he grumbled. He got up off the couch, grabbed his keys, and once again headed for the door.

------------------

Allison finished all of her housework just in time. As soon as she finally climbed the last stair, the kitchen door flew open and she listened as her stepmother clamped across the floor, her heels clicking as she made her way towards the living room in search of her father.

"Those two were made for each other," Allison grumbled, shutting the door to her room. She climbed on her bed and took out a book to read. Just as she was starting to get comfortable her cell phone rang. Damn. Who could this be? The caller ID said it was her mother. I don't feel like talking ma…She immediately hit the ignore button and went back to her reading.

An hour later, Allison's room door was flung open and she jumped at the sight. Her father was just standing there glaring at her.

"Um…did you need something father?" she asked calmly.

"Why didn't you finish doing the laundry?" he asked. Oh shit…I must have fell asleep.

"Oh…I…I took a nap and I forgot but I can go and finish them now if you want," she stammered but it wasn't good enough. Her father stomped across the room and grabbing her by the arm snatched her off of the bed and onto the floor.

"I am fucking sick of having to remind you to what you're supposed to do. If you wasn't out being a whore each and every night then you wouldn't have this problem."

Allison stayed on the floor cowering in fear as her father approached her. He grabbed her arm again standing her up before slapping her hard across the face. Allison let out a small whimper before her father stormed out of the room. When the footsteps got lighter signifying that he was out of range, she dropped to her knees and began to cry. He was drunk which meant her stepmother was probably out and about being a whore somewhere. She didn't understand why her father just wouldn't leave the woman but then again, she was still young and adult matters like this were always hard to understand. She crawled across the room and grabbed her cell phone. There was just no way she could stay in this house tonight. If so, she was going to be slapped around worse than that later if her stepmother decided not to come home. She ciphered through the phone until she came across Shawn's number. Well here goes…

--------------------

Cena was sitting in his Explorer when his cell rang. It was a number that he didn't recognize. He was half of mind to hit the ignore button but he figured he would just probably regret it later.

"Hello?"

"Shawn?"

"Allison?"

"Uh, yeah. I um…I'm sorry if I bothered you. I'll just…I didn't want…" She sounds so sad.

"No, no…it's cool. What's up baby girl?"

"I…I just needed to hear a friendly voice that's all," she replied. Cena could tell that something was bothering her. Allison's voice was shaky and she sounded as if she were crying or had been crying earlier. Either way Cena wanted to know what was up.

"Hey. It's cool. I told you to call me whenever you needed something or just to say hey."

"Thanks." There was a long pause before she spoke up again. "I…Shawn I…"

"It's ok," he replied, his voice softening. "I tell you what. How about I come see you? We can go get a cup of coffee or something."

"I…well…"

"Please? I'm worried about you. Just…let me see you so that I can see for myself that you're ok."

"I…I guess…I'm going to be at the park. I'm not in the mood for coffee right now."

"That's cool. I'll see you in a few alright?"

"Ok. And Shawn?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," she whispered before hanging up. Cena closed his cell and just sat there silent for a moment. He didn't know why but he felt a combination of excitement and relief building up inside of him.

"Hey Don? Take me to the park. I'm meeting a friend there."

"Yes sir." Then they were on their way. Cena just hoped that no one would be there to recognize him. Even though it was late in the afternoon, you never knew who would be lurking about but if he were found out and recognized, he knew that in the end it would be just a small price to pay in order to reassure someone that they had a friend—a good friend who cared more than either of them knew.

AN: A huge delay...I know and I'm sorry. I've just been busy...doing papers...studying for finals...starting new stories for impatient friends...yeah you know how that goes. I hope you enjoy the update. I seriously have to do some work on my Bishoff one but it will be after monday night's 3 HOURS SPECIAL! And HBK better be voted greatest superstar or imma be pissed! -ahem- And I am so friggen excited about seeing Mr. Bishoff. You have no idea. That guy cracks me up. Don't know how I feel about this Evolution reunion. Too...much...hotness...LOL Anyway, just so you know, I get out for my Christmas break friday which means it may be three weeks befor eyour next update. But i'll do my best to squeeze one more in. I'm making no promises though. Love you guys now go review!