**Hello fellow readers and lurkers - Sorry about the confusion with this story. Yes, I deleted it and now I'm reposting it because I've finally gotten into the swing of writing again. Recently, I started a new job and didn't know how to balance working, being a Mom and wife and writing, so I got frustrated. I was going to wait and repost this once it was completed, but since I'm writing a chapter daily, I decided to repost it for all of you. This is a new chapter - I left off with chapter 7 - so enjoy and reviews are encouraged!**
Chapter 8
"She slapped me for no damn reason! Get your woman in line, Good, or I will!"
Normally, Jon would've socked Colby in the jaw for saying something like that about Anisa. Nobody disrespected his woman, his girlfriend, and got away with it. But due to a huge blazing red handprint caked across Colby's cheek, Jon couldn't defend her. Why the hell would she slap Colby? They were supposed to be friends! Didn't the circle mean anything to her? Jon was irate, his eyes turning to blue ice crystals and clenched his fists at his sides. Joe noticed Jon's mood shift and blocked the door of the dressing room, knowing how volatile Jon's temper was.
"Breathe. You can't go after her pissed off. You'll just make things worse." Joe reasoned, planting his hands on Jon's shoulders and could feel the anger radiating from him through his palms.
"This is BULLSHIT! Now she's hitting people she's supposed to care about!" Jon snapped, stalking away from Joe to try to get a handle on his temper. "No, we're getting a few things straight tonight because I'm sick of this shit! Whatever is going on with her needs to stop and be handled!" Why the hell hadn't Phil gone through with his plan yet to talk to Bill Demotte down in Tampa?
"I agree with you, bro. I really do. But going after her blowing up won't solve anything."
Joe wasn't on Anisa's side by any means, but he also had a much cooler temper than Jon unless provoked. So far, Anisa was smart enough not to strike him the way she did Colby. Something about that didn't seem right to him and Joe couldn't put his finger on why. Anisa wouldn't lash out and smack Colby unless he deserved it, right? She was so emotionally unstable lately though.
"You need to ask Anisa what the fuck happened."
"Why? So she can lie to my face some more or spout some poor bullshit excuse?" Jon began pacing back and forth like a caged animal, his whole body trembling. "Knowing her, Colby probably said 'hi' and she belted him one!"
"Not exactly." Colby muttered, walking out of the bathroom in his Shield gear with his two toned hair pulled back from his face.
Grey eyes turned to Colby immediately. "What happened, man? Why did she slap you?"
Being the architect of the Shield required being the smartest out of the group and Colby didn't disappoint. "I asked her what was bothering her. What everybody else already has, I know, but Krystal is torn up about it and that doesn't set well with me." That was the truth, part of it anyway.
Joe folded his arms in front of his chest while Jon continued pacing. "Go on."
"Her response was the same. She spewed bullshit at me about everyone needing to worry about themselves and to keep their noses out of business that's not theirs." It stung Colby when Anisa yelled at him about Krystal not wanting to move in with him. She'd been avoiding the subject for months now and he was at the end of his rope. "All I told her was to take her own advice and Jon loves her. And I told her the lying has to stop. Then she slapped me." He rubbed the still burning cheek with a scowl. "Then she threatened to lodge my balls in my throat permanently."
That did not sound like Anisa at all. Jon heard enough and shoved Joe out of the way, stalking out of the dressing room. He was determined now more than ever to make Anisa talk to him. Somehow, Jon managed not to bulldoze anyone on the way outside, where he knew Anisa would be. She'd been sneaking off to have cigarettes alone instead of with him. Maybe she didn't want to be together anymore. Wouldn't be the first time a woman went crazy on him. Kicking open the back door, Jon's suspicions on Anisa's whereabouts were spot on. There she sat on an equipment trunk with a cigarette between her fingers, staring straight ahead. She didn't even notice he kicked the arena door nearly off its hinges! It was only when Jon stalked over to stand in front of her and plucked the cigarette from her fingers that Anisa saw him.
Colby must've told him what happened, she thought, seeing the pure ice in her boyfriend's narrowed eyes. "Jon…"
"Don't say a fucking word. Just listen and keep your mouth shut." Jon ordered, his voice low, gritty and deadly. He stood so close to her their nose practically touched and her thighs were slightly parted. "What the fuck is your problem lately, Anisa? Why do you have a shitty attitude lately and treating everyone who loves and cares about you like trash? Colby was trying to help and you hit him! What the fuck is that about?! ANSWER ME!"
"I thought you told me to keep my mouth shut?" Anisa remarked, folding her arms in front of her chest with pursed lips. "Am I allowed to talk now?"
Jon had to step back from her, not wanting to do something he'd regret later. "That snide attitude of yours needs to go or…"
"Or what?" Now Anisa was fed up and hopped off the equipment trunk, closing the distance between them again. "You're gonna leave me because I won't talk to you about an imaginary problem?"
"IT'S NOT IMAGINARY!" Jon exploded, gripping her upper arms roughly and yanked her against his muscular body. "That's a load of shit and you know it, Anisa. Even your brother is worried about you. Mia and Krystal are too. Joe and, yes, even Colby is! Why do you think we're trying to get you to talk to us? Why is it so hard for you to open up to me, your fucking boyfriend?"
Tears burned her eyes at his harsh truthful words. "Obviously Colby didn't tell you the whole story or else you wouldn't be out here berating me like a 5 year old! You'd be socking him in his smart mouth and siding with me!"
"I'm not trying to berate you like a 5 year old, but you won't talk to me! So what the fuck am I supposed to do?" Jon's voice lowered again, this time to barely above a whisper and his eyes never once left hers. "I love you and it's clear you don't feel the same way about me."
"W-What?!" Anisa broke free of him and blinked, the hot tears sliding down her cheeks. "Of course I love you! How can you even say that to me?! Did Colby say that? Is that why you're out here yelling at me for no reason?"
Jon shrugged, letting his mouth run away with him. "Maybe you want to be with Calaway again. Or Bray Wyatt."
Every part of her went numb from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. "Jon, t-that's not true! I do love you!" Was this really happening? "A-After everything that son of a bitch put me through, you honestly believe I want to be with that piece of shit instead of you?"
"Something is bothering you. Maybe you're not happy with me anymore. I get it, I'm not a huge wrestling star yet and I'm still a rookie to a lot of people. Compared to Calaway, I'm nothing…" Jon gritted his teeth at that revelation, his jaw ticking with each passing second.
Her heart broke into pieces and Anisa felt another wave of guilt crash over her, not believing she made Jon feel so worthless and unwanted. "But you are, Jon." She reached out to cup his face in her hands, but Jon stopped her and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with him!" Bray was the one who kept planting doubts in her head, not Mark! Why couldn't she just come clean with the truth? "You're so much more than Mark ever thought about being…or Bray for that matter! I love you and want only you!"
Jon didn't believe it though, not with how cold and distant she'd been toward him lately. "You say that, but do you believe it? I don't think you do." Now he was about to hit her where it really hurt while pulling a cigarette out of his pack and slid it between his lips to light it. "If you loved me the way you say you do, you wouldn't keep secrets from me. You'd let me protect you from whatever or whoever is bothering you. And you wouldn't stay up at all hours of the night instead of letting me hold you in bed or making love to you. Tell me something: Do you still think about Wyatt fucking you?"
That question caught her off guard. "Y-You don't understand…"
"Then MAKE me!" Jon took a long drag from his cigarette and flicked ashes away. "Make me understand you! Oh wait – you don't want me to understand you because then you'd have to come clean with whatever is going on in your fucking skull!"
Panic ensued as Anisa began pacing back and forth in front of him, gripping her hair tightly in her fingers. "I CAN'T! I-I have to deal with this on my own and figure it out! Why can't you people understand that?! I'm not ready to talk about what's going on and pushing me will only make me pull back further! I love you, Jon, shouldn't that be enough? I'm with YOU, I'm fucking YOU and yet you think I'd rather be with an egotistical, self-centered asshole who only cares about himself and nobody else! Or better yet – a psycho who talks in riddles and doesn't make a lick of fucking sense, who isn't anywhere near my heart like you are! In fact, he's never been in my heart!" Mind yes, heart no. "What do you want from me? What do you all want from me? Why can't you just leave me alone and let me work out whatever is going on in my head?!"
Jon couldn't do this anymore and shook his head sadly, turning his gaze away from her. He felt ill looking at the mere shell of a woman Anisa used to be. "Have all the time you want. I'm done pushing you about it." He flicked his cigarette a few hundred feet away into the parking lot and gripped the metal railing leading up to the back door of the arena. "Don't come to Vegas this week. I need time away from you, Anisa. You never let me in and I'm sick of it. I've given you everything I am and stand for – I haven't held back once and I thought you'd show me the same courtesy. Obviously I was wrong. So go home, think shit over and when you're ready to talk to me instead of bullshitting, only then will I give you another second of my time. We're on a break as of tonight."
"Jon…"
Her voice cracked while speaking his name, but Jon had to remain strong or else he'd end up hurt again. She wanted time to figure things out in her head and heart, he'd give it to her. He wasn't selfish, contrary to popular belief. Breaking away from her was the right thing to do, but Jon felt like his heart was being jackhammered in his chest. Trina Michaels had hurt him along with a few other women, but Jon didn't love any of them compared to Anisa. Unable to hear her sobbing and begging a second longer, Jon stalked past her inside the arena, slamming the door behind him harshly. All Anisa could do was watch him go back inside and hated herself for doing this to them, for destroying their relationship. After what happened with Mark, she had to be cautious though and Bray's cryptic message kept haunting her. This was her fault and Anisa had nobody else to blame for losing the most important person in her life, besides her brother. Maybe this was for the best though. It would give Anisa time to get her head on straight and back on track.
Whipping her cell phone out, Anisa dialed the airport and waited for customer service to answer. "Hi, this is Anisa Brooks and I need an earlier flight to Tampa, Florida. I was originally booked for the morning, but I need to leave tonight. Whatever you have is fine with me."
She would go to the NXT meeting in the morning and then drive to Atlanta afterwards. A long drive would clear her mind and hopefully make her realize what a huge mistake she made by not opening up to Jon. However, she didn't regret a single word between her and Colby Lopez. For some reason, the man always rubbed her the wrong way and she hoped he didn't hurt Krystal. Colby would commit career suicide if he did that, after all, considering who Krystal's brother was. Paul would end his career and put him in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Anisa was more worried about Krystal ending their friendship because of what she did to Colby. He deserved it though. The hatred and malice in his voice while speaking to her was uncalled for, so if Krystal couldn't understand that, they didn't need to be friends. It would probably happen due to Colby not telling people the entire truth and making himself look like the victim. Anisa snorted, shaking her head while driving to the airport and tried making the tears stop flowing.
She missed Jon already.
"You are certain they are on a break now?"
"Yes. I watched the whole thing and Ambrose told her to take all the time she needed to figure shit out. She wasn't happy about it either."
A dark chuckle resonated throughout the empty hallway they stood in. "Naturally. The fool does not comprehend what a terrible mistake he's made. Now she will be ripe and ready to be plucked."
"Right. She'll fall right into your arms and then the next part of your plan can begin."
"It won't be my arms she falls into, remember that." He tried hiding the disappointment in his voice and succeeded for the most part. "So tell me again why you are doing this?"
The other man shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm tired of being in the shadow and want to break out on my own. That and Anisa is a pain in the ass to deal with. The sooner she's away from Ambrose, the better off everyone will be."
Intrigued, a hand clamped down on the other's shoulder and a bright sinister smile flittered across his face. "You do realize you'll be both rewarded and punished for this, boy. We appreciate your help though. Off you go now."
Using people like tools did his cold heart good, especially when it came to Anisa. How he longed to feel her legs wrapped around his waist again, his dick hardening at the thought of being buried in her beautiful body. Before handing her back over to who she truly belonged with, he had plans of his own to fulfill. Anisa wouldn't know what hit her until it was too late. The dark chuckle echoed down the hallway again, making his accomplice scurry around the corner.
