Disclaimer: The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

(Remember this is fiction. Some character facts will not be accurate) Thanks so much for the reviews guys. Please keep them coming. They really inspire me to keep going with the story. :)

Chapter 6

"What are you doing?" I woke up to find Roman standing over my sink. I laughed at how awkward he looked hunched under the low hanging cabinets. He gave me a Cheshire cat grin, tapped lightly on the faucet with the screw driver then made a crazy sign with his finger at his head. "Yeah that dripping water bugs me too." But it hadn't. I only noticed it when I did the dishes. I always tried to tighten the handles to stop the dripping but it never did anything. He tightened the screw in each handle then popped the small round plastic covers back on. "Wow. I had no idea it was that simple to fix." And before I realized what I was doing I stood on my tip toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. He stared at me. He seemed surprised. Maybe a bit scared that I had done it. He adverted his gaze, then went to the refrigerator and picked out a carton of eggs. I took a bowl out of the cupboard and took down a pan that hung on the wall behind the stove. He cracked some eggs into the bowl, whisked them with a fork, the poured them into a pan. I placed some bread in the toaster and soon we were sitting down to a simple breakfast.

He went to his apartment after that and I took a shower and got ready for work. I didn't want fear to take over my life, but I guess it's hard to forget the threats of the recent past or the distant. I decided to make a couple of stops before work. Honestly, I was scared to stay on the street too long. I would go inside a shop and browse, watching the windows for any sign of Will. Then I would go a little further and step inside another shop.

Maybe I was being silly because there was no way Will would be in any condition to follow me any time soon. I took a deep breath, remembering the condition Roman had left him in, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed.

"I know you're there." I finally stopped and confronted. It seemed Roman had attached himself to me. He grinned sheepishly, then joined me at my side. He kept both hands in his pockets as we walked. This was when I began to feel a bit nervous about Roman. At first I thought it was sweet, then I thought about the way Will followed me. And how he sat around waiting. I feared that Roman had become fixated and I realized that he could be a potential threat as well.

Sure he had protected me, but why was he following me in the first place? The man hadn't known me long enough to have such feelings.

When we got to the diner he just gave me another smile, then turned and started walking back the way we had come. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about him hanging around on my job all day. I really didn't need another one of those. Tony had already chewed me out about Will the minute I put my apron on.

"You just like to complain about something don't ya, Tony?" Nancy asked him.

"I'm not running a charity here." He complained. "The longer her boyfriends sit in here the more money I loose. He tied up that table all day."

"Again. That's not my fault Tony." I said.

"You dated him in the first place." Tony snapped that damn paper up like he always did when he was tired of the conversation or when he didn't want to admit he was in the wrong. "Get to work. I should fire the lot of you. Nothing but headaches."

"And I chew up a bottle of aspirin because you're such a pleasure." Nancy shot back. Some days I thought I saw a flicker in her eye. She and Tony were about the same age and he seemed to clam up the minute a hint of her temper showed. She set a cup of coffee down in front of him and he gave her a gracious expression.

"The freeway is finally getting some repairs." Tony noted a few minutes later.

"It's about time." Nancy read over his shoulder.

"They hired an out of town company."

"They're expected to fix a lot of problems in the area."

"And it looks like they're staying at the Opal." Nancy gazed up as a stream of fluorescent vests poured through the door. "Looks like you're gonna be helping Ralph on the grill today, Tony."

We were really busy that day. I had never seen such a crowd and it was the same the next day for breakfast, lunch and dinner time. Apparently a construction crew had rented out all the rooms in the small motel on the block and they had fallen in love with our diner. They said they liked the food, but I think it was because we were the only thing close beside a hot pretzel vender. I didn't care what the reason was. They may have left a mess behind, but they also left a lot of tips. They would be working in the area for about six months and I was happy about anything that gave me that kind of revenue.

I hadn't laid eyes on Roman since that day. If he followed me, I never noticed. I didn't pass him in the hall and he didn't stop by. I felt slightly relieved. He had started to make me nervous. I guess my past made it hard for me to trust, but to be fair, he had followed me like a stalker. Maybe he had sensed my suspicions or maybe he knew I needed time.

I still shook when someone knocked on my door. I still jumped at noises in the night and I didn't know if I would ever be able to walk down the street without feeling anxious and to make things worse, the heat went out. The entire building was freezing and poor Taylor couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Oh, just call the place." I heard Aunt Gracie tell him in her sweet voice.

"No luck?" I asked as I entered from my long shift. "Nope, I think we'll have to buy a new one." Taylor sighed and I gave him a pat on the back. I knew things like that would cost and that building hadn't exactly made them rich. So, I pulled out my days tips and placed it in his hand.

"Oh no, child." Aunt Gracie complained. "We'll take care of it."

"Keep it." I insisted. "I have more than I need right now and I wouldn't be doing so well if it weren't for you."

"You've helped us all." Matt and his friends walked up to them, each giving what they could to help with the cost of the heater. "This is our home and we're all family." He smiled.

He was right. That little place was my safe haven. I was happier there than any other place in my life. Aunt Gracie dabbed tears away from her eyes.

"I guess we were blessed with children after all." She said to her husband, her eyes lifting to Lord above.

It still didn't save us from another week of chilled suffering. I shivered in my bed, but it was the children living above me that I worried about. The lady upstairs was a single mother to four small babies and I couldn't sleep worrying. I worried that I found myself buying mittens and coats from the thrift store the next day. I went upstairs and knocked on the door. The weary mother answered with a smile.

"You and your friend." She laughed. "You're both good people." I wasn't sure what she meant. I saw the children bundled up on the floor under a pile of thick blankets. "Roman brought all of these yesterday. I'm not sure where I'm going to store them all after the heat is fixed." She laughed. I hung around, sipping coffee with her and watching the children as they played. The new mittens on their hands had warmed their little fingers and they didn't huddle under the blankets anymore.

"So, you and Roman are a couple?"

"Oh." I wasn't sure how to answer. "we really only just met."

"Hmm. I just heard that he'd stayed with you once in a while."

"Once, but there was nothing romantic about it."

"I don't know if I could be with a man that didn't talk." She laughed. "I need long conversations."

"He has his way of talking." I said with a smile.

"And you say there's nothing romantic going on." She lifted an eyebrow. "Not the way that man looks at you."

"You know, Lacy, I'm not sure if I can trust Roman. Or any man. He followed me for few days and that makes me wonder if I should run the other way when I see him."

"Roman doesn't attach himself to people." She told me. "Sure, he'll step in and help any of us, but he's always stayed in his room. He doesn't come out for parties and he doesn't hang around with anyone. I see him come or go from time to time, but that's about it." She got up and went to her closet and returned with a box. "My ex was crazy about this. I think I kept it just because I wanted to take something he cared about away from him. He left us for some teenager." She laughed then plucked a disc out of the box. She put it in the player and we watched. I saw Roman on that small TV. He looked the same, yet different. I was impressed by the things I saw him do in that ring. His strength, his speed, but what made me smile the most was hearing him speak. His words weren't sweet. He growled threats, but I was seeing him before his accident. I saw how much he loved that business. I saw that twinkle in his eyes. I saw it in his smile and it reminded me of the way he looked at me.

"I always liked watching him." Lacy sighed. "But that company is known for just getting rid of their stars. I don't get it. People cheered him and then one day, the cheers turned to boos, then he was gone." She put the disc back in the box. "No one talks to him about wrestling. He'll just turn and walk off if anyone brings it up."

"Well, I'm going to go take a nap." I decided after realizing I had been there a long time. "This is my only day off this week." We said good bye and I went to my room. I fell asleep easily and my dreams were plagued by that disc Lacy had shown me and what she had said. Roman hadn't walked away when I'd asked him about his former career. Did it make me special, or did he just tolerate me?