CHAPTER FOUR
DEAN
I had used my WWE Superstar status to put a rush on the DNA test, but we still had to wait a while. I was spacing out between April and my sister when a voice said, "Did somebody call in the Avengers?"
"Sellie," I said in relief. If Sellie was here, I wouldn't have to make all of the decisions anymore. Sellie was the biggest shark lawyer WWE had, but she also specialized in working on custody cases. They'd originally hired her to handle the many, many, many claims of women who insisted that Vince, Shane, or even Paul Levesque had sired one of their kids. That had soon expanded to protecting the rest of the roster from similar claims. Upon realizing how smart she was and the fact that she never lost a case, Vince and his family had begun putting Sellie on every major legal case they had. No matter the situation, Sellie always made sure they came out on top.
I hate lawyers as a general rule, but Sellie's different. Maybe it's the fact that she's just so Sellie that makes me love her, but she's always been a friend. She smiled at me from behind her cat-eye glasses. Her hair was in its usual pigtails and she wore jeans and a Captain America t-shirt. This was pretty much Sellie's uniform unless she was appearing in court. Sellie cleaned up nicely, but I much preferred her Nerd Girl look.
"Hey, Sel!" April greeted her warmly with a hug.
I stood up and hugged her, too. "Thanks for coming," I said.
"For Jon Moxley? Anytime," she said with a grin in her best fangirl voice. Sellie broke WWE's number one rule by attending indy shows. She had been to more than a few CZW shows over the years. We'd first met there, but she called me Dean unless she felt like teasing me. She focused. "Seriously, Dean, fill me in."
"This is Elliot... The DNA test should confirm any minute that she's my sister." I paused. "Elliot, this is Sellie, the Avenging Attorney."
Elliot stood to shake Sellie's hand. "Hi," she said nervously.
"Don't worry, sweetie," Sellie said. "I'm here to help." She paused. "Have you been examined yet?"
"They took blood..."
"I know this is going to be hard for you, but we need to document the abuse... The doctors will need to do x-rays, maybe more... And document any scars, too. I'll be with you the whole time."
Elliot shrugged. "I'll be fine," she insisted.
"You're tough. I like that." Sellie nodded approvingly. "I'm going to get things started." She walked away, presumably to find a doctor.
"Do you need me to be with you for that?" I asked. "Or... I mean, if you'd prefer a woman..."
"I could go," April offered.
I looked at her, amazed how quickly she'd involved herself. This hadn't been what she'd signed up for when I took her to Dojo Wars, yet she'd been literally holding my hand for everything since. Stranger still was the fact that I'd let her. I didn't usually let anyone in. Colby and Joe were the only people in WWE that got that close to me. How had April suddenly become my sidekick? Maybe I hadn't noticed her sneaking in because she was so tiny. I mean, seriously, April's really short. It's kind of adorable.
"I'm okay, really," Elliot said.
"Honey... I know you don't know me well, but you don't know Sellie at all. You don't have to do this alone," April insisted.
Elliot hesitated, then nodded. "Okay... Okay, thanks."
When Sellie returned, she asked, "Are you ready?"
Elliot took a deep breath. "Yeah," she said. "Let's get this over with."
"I'll be right here when you're done, Elliot," I said.
As the three of them walked away, I leaned my head against the wall and tried to calm down. I knew I was doing what I had to for the kid, but what would happen next? Would this go to court? Would I have to see him? Would I be forced to face that sick son of a bitch again? I wasn't sure I could handle that... But no one had ever protected me, and it seemed like that had been the case with Elliot, too. It was about damn time that someone defended the kid. It might as well be me.
ELLIOT
It wasn't so bad at first. I had been examined by doctors a lot since becoming a wrestler. I could handle the basics. Even x-rays weren't foreign to me... But when I had to strip so they could document my scars, I started to panic. It wouldn't have been so bad, but they were taking pictures of the scars, and I was naked, and I started flashing back to the times I'd been forced to let people take naked pictures of me before.
I tried to hide my panic, but Sellie and April both noticed. "Are you alright?" April asked gently.
I nodded, too terrified to speak. I started crying as the camera went off again. "Let's take a break," Sellie suggested.
"No... Just get it over with," I said. "Please." I forced myself to take several deep breaths.
I wanted more than anything to be back at CZW. I wanted my friends to be patching me up, not some random strangers taking naked photos of them. I wanted Penelope.
"Liv..." I whispered.
"What was that?" Sellie asked.
"Liv. I want Olivia." That was Penelope's legal name. I barely used it, but when I was scared, it added a comforting level of intimacy. She was practically my big sister, and I needed her now.
"You mean Penelope Ford?" Sellie asked. "You're a CZW girl, right?"
I was stunned she knew who I was talking about. I nodded. Sellie covered me and handed me my cell phone. I dialed without stopping to think.
"JD? Are you okay?" She answered.
"No," I admitted. "Can you come to New York? I'm... I'm in the hospital, and I need you..."
"What happened? Are you hurt? Sami said Dean Ambrose took you away... He wouldn't elaborate. That could literally mean anything..."
"He's my brother... I... Livvie, I lied. I lied about everything... I'm only seventeen, and I'm a runaway, and my dad abused me, and they're running tests, and doing exams, and... And I'm scared, and I need you..." I was rambling and I couldn't stop. "I'm sorry. I know you probably hate me now because I'm a liar and I shouldn't have called-"
"What hospital?" Liv asked.
"What?"
"I'm on my way. What hospital?"
I gave her the information, stunned she still wanted to come. "We'll take a break until she gets here," Sellie said supportively. I nodded, then got dressed, which helped calm me down a bit. I opted to stay in the room alone until Liv could get there. Sellie stayed outside, making sure no one bothered me, and April left to check on my brother.
APRIL
There were an insane number of scars on Elliot's body. Only a few were from wrestling. My heart ached for her.
I found Dean still sitting where we'd left him. He was staring off into space, his eyes red from exhaustion and possibly crying. I decided not to ask.
"Is it bad?" Dean asked me.
"Yeah," I admitted. "The doctor told Sellie the x-rays showed years of abuse, and the scars showed more."
"Fuck... She's just a kid, April... If I'd known... If I'd had any clue I had a sister... I'd have kidnapped her to get her away from that cocksucking bastard."
"You couldn't have known."
"I should have thought to check. I know what a horny bastard he is... I should have checked if he had other kids..."
"Dean, stop." I put a gentle hand on his arm. "This isn't your fault."
He shook his head. "You don't get it."
"So help me understand."
"She's not the first sibling I've had."
I watched him, waiting for him to say more. When he didn't, I asked, "What happened?"
"I had a brother... A full sibling. My mom didn't take care of him, so I did. I changed him, I bathed him, I fed him... I tried to keep him clean, even when my mom refused to wash our clothes for weeks on end. I let her hurt me... I let her boyfriends and drug dealers hurt me... Just to try to protect him." He shook his head. "I tried so hard, but he still had issues. He got into drugs... He didn't make it to his sixteenth birthday."
"Dean... I'm so sorry..."
"I left him, April. When I couldn't take it anymore, I ran away, but I couldn't take him with me... And then one day, I went back to give my mom some of the money I'd made, and he was gone... Just... gone. And I swore I'd kill her for it, but I couldn't. She was an addict. She was sick... She needed help, but my father left her... He only came around when he felt like using her or hurting me... She was sick. She... It wasn't her fault."
I understood way too well what it was like to have a parent struggling with mental health issues and addictions. My mother was bipolar and my father was an addict. Dean and I were more alike than I'd realized.
"You don't talk about him... About any of them, really," I observed.
"No, I don't. What's the point? I don't see my father. My brother's dead... And my only contact with my mother comes in the form of me writing her a check every month to pay her rent and keep her alive. There's not much to talk about."
"Do you ever go see her?"
"Nope. I can't handle that. I call her on very rare occasion to make sure she still has a pulse... It would be pointless to keep paying her rent if she died."
"My parents have issues, too... If I didn't have my older brother and sister, I wouldn't be here." That was true. I loved them both, and for a long time, I'd lived with my sister so we could help our parents cover their rent but still be on our own.
"Why isn't Elliot back with us?" Dean asked suddenly, snapping out of his thoughts.
"She freaked out... She called Penelope Ford to come stay with her during the rest of the exams."
"She's a tough kid... But this was bound to set her off. I'm just glad she asked for help." He was shaking. I noticed a stray tear on his cheek. It had probably slipped out while he was talking about his brother. It sat there now, stubbornly refusing to leave his face.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I reached toward his face and touched his cheek. He stared at me in confusion and I looked into his eyes as I used my thumb to wipe the tear away. Something seemed to change in him then. His eyes softened and I saw something broken in them. He'd just let his walls down, even more than he had with his words.
Suddenly, Dean leaned in and kissed me. I was taken by surprise, but not entirely shocked. Dean always did impulsive things, and he was obvious feeling vulnerable. I decided to stop reading so much into it and just enjoyed the kiss. His lips felt good against mine. I could get used to this, but I doubted Dean intended for the kiss to really go anywhere.
When he finally pulled away, he casually said, "I'm starving... I think I'm turning into a stress eater. You want a cookie?" He pulled a package of vending machine cookies out of his pocket.
"Yeah, I could go for something sweet," I said. I'd have preferred his lips, but a cookie didn't sound bad either. I wasn't offended that he hadn't addressed the kiss. I figured that was just Dean, and it didn't mean anything more than that he'd needed to connect to someone for a moment. I was okay with that... Mostly. I just wished the kiss had lasted a little bit longer...
ELLIOT
There was a knock before the door to my room was opened. Liv stuck her head in before entering and closing the door behind her. "Okay," she said. "Talk to me." She sat down beside me as I began to fidget.
"I'm so sorry I lied," I began.
"Quit apologizing. I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"You were afraid for your safety... And you're still the girl you were when we met... Just younger than I thought. We're family, JD... Just tell me the truth from now on and we're good."
"Okay... For starters, my name's not Joanna... Well, it is, but it's my middle name and I never used it until I got to CZW... You can start calling me Elliot if you want."
"Okay, so we're ditching the kayfabe names. No more calling me Penelope, as a reflection of the fact that we're being totally honest. Family gets to call me Liv anyway." She paused. "Tell me why you ran."
"My dad was abusive, like I said on the phone."
"He hit you?"
"Hit, stabbed, beat... Fucked..." My voice cracked. Why was it so hard to tell her this? I'd been able to tell Dean... But Liv was different. She knew me.
"That bastard raped you?" Liv asked in horror. Rage flashed on her face. "I suspected, the first time I took you to the doctor, that someone had... But your own father..." She cursed softly.
"You didn't say anything."
"I figured if you wanted to tell me, you would... But your reaction to the GYN exam was really strong. You were terrified." She squeezed my hand. "You asked me to go with you when Brittany insisted you needed to see one because you never had... I was there then and I'm here now. Whatever happens, J- Elliot, it'll be okay."
"I'm scared..."
"That's understandable."
"They... They have to take pictures, Liv... He used to... He..." I started crying, feeling like the terrified kid I'd been when I first ran away.
"Elliot..." She sighed, then hugged me. "No one's ever going to do that to you again. If they try, they'll have to go through Janelope! And the rest of the CZW roster, too."
I started to calm down. I could do this. "You're a badass, Ellie... Can I call you that?" Liv asked.
I smiled sadly. "I like that, actually," I said. "Until CZW, no one ever cared enough about me to give me a nickname. That's why I loved being JD... I finally felt like I belonged."
"You do belong, Ellie. You're part of our family, and you always will be. Now... Are you ready to do this?"
I nodded. "As ready as I can be," I decided aloud.
The doctor was brought back in. Sellie kept a respectful distance during the exam, letting Liv hold my hand. When they put the camera away and transitioned to a vaginal exam, I pretended we were back in the GYN's office just doing routine tests. I blocked everything out but Liv and listened to her crack jokes and try to ease my nerves. It worked.
As I got dressed, I heard the doctor talking to Sellie. "We can definitely prove abuse," she said. "The amount of tearing alone shows someone routinely hurt her very badly... But there's no DNA at this point. It will be her word against his."
"Don't worry about that," Sellie replied. "This is my case. That bastard's either going to jail or going straight to hell, and I don't really care which."
As we rejoined Dean and April, I spotted someone else. "Joey..." I said awkwardly. "Did you come to kick my ass?"
"No worries, JD... I'm just Penelope's valet today," he said with a grin. Then he added, "Are you okay?"
"Call her Ellie," Liv said. "And she's going to be fine. This girl's tough as shit."
"She's a Moxley," Joey said. "Of course she's tough."
"That's still unconfirmed," I said.
"Not for long," Dean said. He pointed to a doctor coming toward us. "Are the results back?"
"Yes. It's hard to say one-hundred percent without a sample from your father, but I'm positive you two are siblings. There were enough markers in the DNA to prove that much," the doctor replied.
"So... Now we know," Dean said.
"What happens next?" I asked.
"Now, I start building my case," Sellie said.
"And we go do karaoke," Dean said.
"Seriously?" I asked. I was very confused by the random decision.
"It solves all problems." He sounded pretty sure of that.
"He's right," Joey added. "You know you love karaoke, J... um... Ellie."
I did. "Can we?" I asked Sellie.
"Hell yes... As long as I come," Sellie said.
"For legal reasons?"
"No... I just need me some Moxley Sweet Caroline after today." She smiled at Dean.
"Anything for you, Sel," Dean replied.
The next thing I knew, we were heading to a karaoke restaurant. That seemed pretty odd after the day we'd had, but something told me things were rarely normal around Dean.
