A/N: Thank you therealchamps, my time is now, ChainGangHottieWithKillerLegs, Cena's baby doll and xBeautyinNegativeSpaces for the lovely reviews. I hope you enjoy the new chapter - if it matters, I'm not very fond of it.


Never Alone

Chapter Seven - Lost Hope

The sound of the machine that controlled her vital signs was the first noise Stacy listened to when she woke up from her state of latency. She felt her body rested and for the first time in a long time no pain pierced it.

The half-open eyes scanned the place carefully and slowly. The blonde's heart almost jumped out of her chest when the realization she was in a place that shouldn't hit her.

What was she doing in a hospital? What was she doing in a hospital bed? Randy would murder her for being in such place. He had forbidden her to step in a place where his behavior against her could be discovered in a blink of an eye.

Lifting the body with her elbows, Stacy looked around. It was night outside and a single lamp illuminated the individual room. Luckily, she didn't have to get used to the strong light of the day. Her only worry was the needle in her veins - it certainly was guiding morphine right into her body because she couldn't feel any pain. A brusque movement and it could slip out her arm.

- You are awake - a voice exclaimed from a corner of the bedroom. A figure rose up from a chair and walked in the bed's direction.

Stacy felt happy when realized it was Torrie who was making her company; the first person she saw after waking up. Nonetheless, the blonde would feel relieve for seeing anyone because it meant Randy hadn't stolen her life.

- I was so worried. You have been unconscious for the past two days. - Torrie took a seat on the bed's edge and her hands grabbed Stacy's hand. It was hard to explain if the honey blonde was comforting the beaten woman or herself.

Two days? Stacy swallowed hard when realized two days had spent since the "accident"; since she walked among the living telling lie after lie. This time Randy had gone too far - as he hadn't gone already too far before. He was constantly pushing her limits and this time his assaults brought her two days of unconsciousness.

The blonde accommodated her body to have a better view of the bedroom and from Torrie. If her best friend looked to pale and disarranged, Stacy didn't wish to have knowledge of how she looked.

- Where are my parents? - Her hospital stay couldn't be hidden from her biological progenitors. They weren't in touch very much because of Randy's demands and threats, but three days without a cell phone message or a call from their only daughter would raise some suspicious.

- They were here a couple of hours ago. I think Randy took them to dinner to cheer them up.

First, the third generation superstar put her in a hospital bed and now he was walking around with her parents as he was innocent. A wave of surprise ran her body. Didn't the doctors realize she was suffering abuses? How didn't they notice it? If the truth was discovered, why were her parents with Randy?

- I don't remember what happened. - It was a lie. All the beatings were deep etched in her memory. Stacy recalled Randy's accusations and the moment he made her lose the balance. It didn't seem he planned to push her; however, he turned his back and didn't care about her condition. The blonde listened to him walking away before losing her senses once for all.

Torrie coyly tucked a string of hair behind her ear. It was uncomfortable to speak about the memories Stacy fortunately lost. The honey blonde didn't wish to be the person to make her friend to revive the instant a psychopath shoved her down the stairs. She was aware of some details of what Stacy went through and all she wished was to make the younger woman to feel secure and to forget a dire moment of her life.

- Can you tell me? - Stacy queried with all her innocence. She had to have knowledge of what happened while she was unconscious. Certainly no one found about Randy because if they did her parents wouldn't be with the man that almost murdered their daughter.

- It is better if we don't speak about it for now. Okay? - However, Torrie couldn't keep it to herself due to a sudden appearance at the door. The problem was right there and it couldn't be avoided as she wished. - You better to get out of here before I call security.

Stacy swerved her eyes to the door and saw John standing there. He had annoyed and bothered her a lot, but why would Torrie call the security? The honey blonde didn't even know about her conversations with the man.

- Whatever you heard it isn't true - John spoke. The words were directed to Torrie, but his eyes leaned on the hospitalized blonde. She was in a worse physical condition than he thought.

The West Newbury native recriminated himself for not going after Stacy when she left the bar. If he had done it, Randy wouldn't have pushed her from the stairs and he certainly wouldn't have turned himself into a victim. However, there was no way of John being aware of Randy's return. Probably when the younger man called to tell him the news, he already was in the hotel bedroom waiting for his girlfriend.

- You have already done enough. If it wasn't you, my best friend wouldn't be lying in this bed.

The only thing John was guilty of was being annoying because he wished to do the right thing. He wasn't the responsible for her trip to the hospital. He was miles away when Randy, the real culprit, tormented her many times.

- Torrie, let me speak with him for a moment. - Realizing the other woman didn't plan to leave the room, Stacy added a few more words to her request. Whatever she had to tell John was for his ears only. - In private.

- Are you insane? - No she wasn't insane, but it seemed everyone else was. Even John that always had a word ready to slip from his mouth was strangely quiet. How could someone change in two days? - I'm not going to leave you alone with a guy that pushed you from the stairs. Did he brainwash you?

- Please, I'm asking you to leave us alone for a moment. You can stay outside watching.

Stacy waited for Torrie to leave. The later didn't walk out of the bedroom without sending John a dirty look. If the eyes could kill, he would be lying on the floor lifeless.

Leaving the door half-open, John sauntered into the room. As closer as he got from the blonde an item that hadn't been noticed before in his hands was revealed. Usually, people brought a bouquet of flowers. However, he was just holding one flower.

- The receptionist convinced me to buy it - John told when saw Stacy's eyes fathoming the flower. He was obligated to buy it and not convinced. After the woman allowing him to enter without making part of the visits' list, he found himself buying the flower to help in the construction of a new hospital unit.

Getting near the bed, John extended the flower in Stacy's direction, who accepted it. He thought about throwing it to the trash, but then changed his mind. Perhaps it was better to leave it in her bedroom. It was a nice gesture, wasn't it? However, if the current WWE champion knew she was full awake, the flower would have been left in the trash as he initially thought; he wouldn't think about the subject twice.

- What happened? - Stacy questioned. Torrie's accusations needed to be explained.

- Apart from Randy accusing me of being harassing his girlfriend and being the one to blame for some pretty awful bruises she has? - Perhaps he was giving her too much information. Last he heard she was unconscious. She certainly hadn't waked up soon. - Also, it seems someone heard me saying about a night you spend in my bedroom and it didn't help take away the label of me being a pervert and a psychopath.

- I'm sorry. - Suddenly her eyes became watery. She had ruined the life of the only person that was willing to help her.

John hoped she wouldn't start crying because if she did, he had no idea how to deal with her. Also, Torrie would surely run into the room and try to murder him.

- If I was a selfish son of a bitch as the guy I called best friend I would be here asking you to reveal the truth. - If she didn't have the courage to confess him the truth, just one person, and he already was aware of the inferno she was living, Stacy wouldn't be brave enough to reveal everyone Randy's actions against her. - However, all I'm asking is you to tell your friend out there that I didn't hurt you and to immediately break up Randy in front of all these people. He won't hurt you anymore.

After all, everyone though he was the responsible for her current condition. In a matter of fact, he was responsible for all the bruises that had already healed and still have to heal. Randy couldn't hit or slap, or any other manner of hurting Stacy because then it wouldn't be easy to explain her new injuries if he wasn't around to be blamed. Whilst saving his own skin, Randy offered his girlfriend a way out unintentionally.

Listening to his order, Stacy chuckled. Break up with Randy? It was a lot easier to order her to do it than do it. The first, and only, time she tried to break up with him, the taller man slapped her hard and whispered in her ear threat after threat concerning her well-being and the people she cared about. The deadly gaze and devious voice convinced the blonde he would execute his intimidation.

- Do you know how this happened? He accused me for being sent to Smackdown. Not the management or Vince, but me. In a matter of fact, he accused me and the guy with whom I have been betraying him - who is you, by the way. I can't leave him.

If she left him now more chaos would be brought to her life. She knew Randy better than John did; she knew the real Randy and what he was capable off. The man everyone else knew was far from being the real him.

- Then you are going to let Randy…- John didn't go further with the difficult question. His following words would certainly hurt Stacy and perhaps making her act too emotional. Not only didn't he know how to deal with a crying woman as he didn't wish to inflict more pain to someone who has gone through so much already.

The blue-eyes man didn't understand how a woman in her perfect sense would stay with a man that hurt her emotionally and physically when she had the opportunity to escape from his abuses. Why would Stacy stay on an unhealthy relationship? Why would she refuse a chance to walk away to a new life?

- There is nothing I can do - Stacy replied. The help John offered her before couldn't be accepted anymore. Randy found a way to take it from her.

It seemed Stacy didn't care anymore with the destiny reserved for her. The blonde looked defeated and more than ready to embrace Randy's aggressions. It was pitiful to watch it, but John didn't have a solution to help her.

Without saying a word, John took from his jeans' pocket a piece of paper and stared at it thoughtfully. When he made the decision of going to the hospital, he didn't know what would expect him when he arrived at the place - a place where he clearly wasn't welcomed. If the blonde was sleeping or accompanied by her parents or Randy, John planned to ask someone to deliver the paper when she was by herself and awake. A short exchange of words and he would be gone.

However, Stacy was planning to stay with Randy and he didn't feel right turning his back and walking away. The Massachusetts native was the only person who was aware of the truth; the only person that she could count with.

- If you need to talk. - Stacy wrapped her fingers around the paper that was handed in her direction. His cell phone number was all he could give her for now.

John felt awful for walking away without doing anything. Well, he tried to do something and see what happened: he was near being suspended because of Randy's accusations which later were sustained by a misinterpretation; Stacy was lying in a hospital bed and he felt it was his fault. The Diva asked him so many times to stay away and he simply ignored her.

Stacy didn't stay alone in the bedroom for much longer. Seconds after John's departure, Torrie stepped into the space with a concerned expression. The moments she remained outside while the hospitalized woman talked with the alleged abuser were agonizing. If something had happened, she would never forgive herself for not being more rigid and to allow John to be in the room.

- Are you okay? - The apprehension was tangled in her voice. No one could blame the SmackDown Diva for acting the way she was. As everyone else, she was convinced John was responsible for every bruise Stacy's body had. - What did he do to you?

Inhaling a deep and long breath - it wasn't easy because of the broken rib -, the younger woman felt a huge weight on her shoulders. She was a coward. Now, due not to have bravery to stand up for herself - she had convincing reasons not to do it - someone else was suffering the consequences of Randy's uncontrolled wrath.

- You can't tell anyone John was here. - The honey blonde's lips moved. However, Stacy stopped her before she could speak. If she revealed it, John would certainly have problems. - He didn't do anything.

A puzzled Torrie was gazing at her when Stacy turned her body and then closed the eyelids. The viper was still out there and someone else was taking the blame for his actions. The guilty entangled her body. This was all happening because Randy scared her to dead and it took her too long to comprehend that John was being truthful about wishing to help her.

Stacy fell asleep once again and she prayed to never wake up. The reality was too overwhelming and there was no way from her to escape from it; to escape from him.