Chapter 10

Mia walked alone backstage before Raw, trying to avoid everyone as she attempted to clear her head. It had been a very long and very odd week.

Although she hadn't seen or talked to Wade at all over the past several days, she had been relieved to discover that his injuries from his match with John had not been serious. He'd made it through with only some severe bruising. And, of course, John was still gloating over his win, although Mia had warned him more than once that she was tired of hearing about it.

But that wasn't the only thing bothering her. She wasn't sure if she was being paranoid or if she was just losing her mind, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her. Without a doubt, the incident in the parking garage the week before had spooked her. But on two more occasions since then, she'd gotten that same eerie feeling, with no visible or reasonable cause for her reaction. She had no rational explanation for her response or for the fact she even felt threatened to begin with. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't shake the notion that something was wrong.

Walking through mostly deserted hallways, she headed outside to the loading area, hoping to find a quiet place where she could sit and think without being interrupted. She'd already changed into her wrestling gear and she still had some time to kill before the show started. And she needed to find a way to keep her imagination in check before it drove her completely crazy.

Her cell phone beeped, signaling that she had a text message, and she paused as she glanced down at the screen. It was Kelly, asking where she was. As she typed her reply, Mia became aware of a faint noise that echoed behind her. Despite the past week, she didn't pay much attention to the sound. This was normally a busy area. There was always a lot of equipment that had to be moved around in preparation for each show and there were always people coming and going from the shipping areas, loading and unloading the trucks and assembling equipment. Yet, when she finally took a look around, she was surprised to find that she was still completely alone.

The noise came again, slightly louder this time, and her heart quickened momentarily as she focused her attention on some metal shipping containers that seemed to be the source of the sound. Cautiously, she made her way toward them, certain that she would find an employee or two digging among them, searching for a specific prop or piece of equipment.

"Hello? Is someone back there?" she questioned, frowning when she received no answer. Perhaps they were so busy, they hadn't heard her.

She stood in front of the large metal crates and studied them for a moment. They were assembled in two stacks, each stack containing three boxes. Each box measured about four feet tall by eight feet long and was constructed of heavy aluminum. They were heavy and cumbersome, but very effective for transporting delicate equipment from one arena to next. As Mia observed them, she questioned their placement, wondering why someone would bother to stack them in this manner, when they would have to be repacked and reloaded onto a truck in a matter of a few hours. She assumed that, due to their size, they had probably simply just been in the way.

The noise came yet again, and Mia jumped at the unexpected sound. This time, she was certain it had originated from behind the large stacks of boxes and yet, no one had answered her earlier call. Her suspicions aroused, she glanced back up the towering height of the containers, for the first time noticing just how top heavy they seemed. Whoever had stacked them together had obviously done it in a hurry and not very effectively at that. They almost appeared to be leaning toward one side. It took only a split second for her to realize that they weren't leaning...they were falling!

Mia cried out and managed to throw herself backwards out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed under their massive weight, but the sharp metal corner of one box caught her left leg, leaving a deep jagged wound down the side as it crashed to the ground.

It took a few seconds for the pain to hit her and she grabbed her leg instinctively, her panic rising when she pulled her hand away and noticed that it was covered in blood. Thankfully, the commotion had attracted the attention of several employees and she was quickly surrounded by a variety of people, including backstage workers and wrestlers. John was one of them and he shoved the others out of the way to get to her, kneeling beside her.

"Jesus Mia! What the hell happened?" he exclaimed, his concern growing as he saw the blood pooling under her leg.

"They fell." she whimpered, still grabbing her injured limb.

Two emergency workers pushed their way through the crowd and studied her, one of them kneeling beside her leg. She flinched in pain as he wrapped a towel around the cut, while sending the second man after a gurney.

"Are you hurt anywhere else? Did you hit your head?" he asked, and Mia shook her head, unable to bring herself to speak. She rested against John, gripping his hand tightly.

The second man returned and together the two workers lifted her onto the gurney. Mia pleaded with them, and with John, not to send her to the hospital. She wanted one of the trainers to look at her first, in hopes that a trip to the emergency room would not be necessary. That was the last place she wanted to spend her night. Reluctantly, John agreed, and he followed close behind as the two men wheeled her down the hall to the trainer's room.

The trainer, Paul, was already there when they brought her in and he quickly went to work examining her leg. John watched with concern as Paul cleaned and studied the wound and Mia fought the urge to reach up and slap the him as he prodded her a few times too many. Finally, he stood up and met her gaze.

"It doesn't appear to be too serious. Nothing that will cause permanent damage. However, it is a pretty deep cut. You'll need to have a few stitches to close it up." he stated.

Mia winced.

"Do I have to?" she whined. "Are you sure it won't be okay without them?"

Paul shook his head. "The wound is too deep and too long. If you don't get stitches, it won't heal properly and you'll have a greater risk of infection. I need to do this now, before it causes bigger problems down the road."

Mia closed her eyes and laid her head back on the gurney. John took a seat beside of her and took her hand again.

"It's not so bad, I promise." he stated. "Besides, you'll be in the club now."

Mia gave him an annoyed glance.

"I'll numb it first." Paul stated calmly, as he went to work. "Don't worry. By the time I'm done, you shouldn't feel anything at all."

XXXXX

Thirty minutes later, Paul was done with her leg, and true to his word, she'd felt no pain as he stitched the wound close. The anesthetic shot was another matter, however. She'd had to fight the urge to reach up and grab the needle and jab it into his eye.

"How are you feeling?" John asked, still sitting beside her.

"I'm ok, I guess." she replied.

"How did this happen anyway?"

Mia shrugged.

"I'm not really sure. I heard a noise. It sounded like it was coming from those shipping containers, so I walked closer to get a better look. And then they just...fell over. I don't know what happened."

She hadn't bothered to mention to John about the strange occurrence in the parking garage. Or any of the other incidents, for that matter. She was afraid he would think she was crazy.

"You heard a noise?" he asked. "What kind of noise?"

Mia thought for a moment.

"I don't know exactly. It sounded like maybe a scraping noise..."

"Like a metal scraping sound? Like maybe metal on concrete?" he questioned.

Mia studied him curiously.

"Maybe? Why do you ask?" she wondered.

John smiled faintly and shook his head.

"Just trying to figure out what might have happened" he replied.

But he did have an ulterior motive for asking. And if his suspicions were correct, heads were going to roll.

A knock on the door interrupted them, as a young intern peeked inside.

"John, your match is on in ten."

"Ok. On my way." he replied. He looked back at Mia. "Will you be alright for a few minutes while I'm gone?"

Mia smiled. "I"ll manage."

John gave her hand a squeeze before heading out the door, passing Paul, who was headed back into the room. Paul walked in to find Mia sitting precariously on the edge of the gurney

"How are we feeling now?" he asked, as he stepped in front of her.

"Okay, I think." she replied. Then she moaned, grabbing her head. Paul caught her as she wobbled.

"Feeling a little queasy?" he asked. Mia nodded.

He eased her back onto the mattress and carefully lifted her legs up, taking care not to jar her injured limb. He gave her a pain pill and a small cup of water.

"We don't want to have to put stitches in your head tonight too. Why don't you lie back and take it easy for a little bit? Give the medicine time to take effect. Then I'll help you up, okay?"

Mia reluctantly agreed.

"I'll be back to check on you in a little bit. You just rest" he stated, flipping off a couple of the lights as he exited the room.

Closing her eyes, she threw her arm over them, blocking out the remaining light, and tried not to focus on the throbbing that was steadily increasing in her leg. Hurt and tired and frustrated, she wanted to cry, but she refused to let the tears fall. At least not while she was here, where someone else might see her. The last thing she wanted was her co-workers thinking she was weak.

The combination of the darkened room and the medication helped her to relax, and she was just starting to doze when a deep rumble in her ear startled her from approaching sleep.

"This wouldn't have happened if you'd just listened to me..."

Mia nearly jumped off the table in fright as the familiar voice spoke to her. She turned her head, her eyes widening as she met Wade's fiery gaze.

Another wave of nausea hit her and she laid back on the pillow again, turning her head away from him.

"What are you doing here?" she murmured, as she recalled their last conversation.

"Someone told me you'd been hurt. I came to check on you." he replied, his eyes still fixated on her.

Mia chuckled sarcastically. "Why? You made it very clear that you don't want anything to do with me..."

"I never said that." he argued.

Mia turned and stared at him in exasperation. She opened her mouth to argue but she just didn't have the energy to bicker with him tonight. She turned away from him again, still hurt and confused by his previous behavior.

"How did this happen, Mia? I warned you to be careful. You could have been seriously hurt out there you know..."

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that!" she snapped, glaring at him. "But unfortunately, giant metal boxes did not make my top ten list of things that could kill me! And you didn't give me anything but some stupid cryptic message and I don't see how that could possibly be useful considering I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be watching out for..."

"Everything" he stated. "You need to be wary of everything."

"Thanks." she replied dryly. "That clears everything up."

She could see his jaw muscles twitching again, his eyebrows furrowed together in a frown. It provided her with a small measure of satisfaction to see that she was starting to get under his skin. She closed her eyes.

"You should go. John will be back soon. He can't find you here." she warned.

When she got no response, she turned back to him. His eyes were locked on her leg, studying her bandaged wound. Slowly he reached out and touched her, tracing a soft line up the side of her leg, below the cut. Mia shivered at the contact, surprised by the intensity of the heat from such a slight touch. She watched his eyes travel up her body, coming to rest on her face again. For a brief moment, she forgot to breathe. Then she came crashing back to reality, as she realized what a precarious situation they were in. If anybody came through that door and saw them together...

"Please." she whispered breathlessly. "He can't find you here."

Wade hesitated before offering a nod of his head, then he turned and left the room without a word. When he was gone, Mia exhaled loudly, her leg still tingling from his touch. Tonight, she'd seen it. The same look that she had seen that first night on the patio. Concern? Fear? She wasn't sure what to call it. But it had been there. Of that much she was certain.

But what about their last conversation? The coldness he'd had toward her? The callous way he'd blown her off?

She just didn't know what to make of it all. But one thing was for sure - she was going to have to get some answers soon. Otherwise, she was going to go crazy trying to find them.