Ten

True to his word, Mark had left a key in the lockbox hidden underneath the mailbox. It was in a magnetic box that was underneath the mailbox. Unlocking the front door, she made her way quietly inside, quickly locking the door behind her. He gave her the code to shut down the security system, which she did very quickly. She knew that she was safe, far away from Brock on the road, but there was still an aura of paranoia that trailed her.

It was a nice home, a ranch-style house on a big patch of land. She slid her shoes off and placed her suitcase down beside the door. The phone was ringing already. She contemplated whether or not she should answer it. It didn't feel right to her, answering Mark's phone when he wasn't home.

The answering machine beeped. She made a beeline to the phone when Mark's voice boomed through the machine. "Hey, Celeste. It's just me. I thought you would have made it there by now..."

She answered the phone, almost dropping it. "Mark! Mark! I'm here!" she called out. He chuckled.

"Good. You did make it."

"I just got in," she answered. "Traffic was kind of a pain. What are you up to?"

"I just got in. I went drinking with some friends tonight." He decided to omit Brock's visit to their table from the conversation. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her. He knew she was scared to death enough as it was. "I guess the game plan is to ice down the knees, watch the news and get some rest. What about you?"

"Clean up. Unpack a little. Ice down my injuries and sleep. I guess our nights aren't going to be so different." He laughed.

"How are the bruises looking?"

"Fine, I guess," she replied. "Even with the sunglasses I was getting stares on the plane. I'll live, though. I'm sure you've been through that more than a few times."

"All of us wrestlers have. You don't even know," he answered with a chuckle. "I'll be back late tomorrow night. Vince wants me to make a stop on the way home and do some Unforgiven promotion."

"Okay. You sound oddly excited about that."

"I am. It's the best part of this American Badass thing - I'm finally allowed to do press."

"You're not allowed to when you're all un-dead?"

"No. It's for the sake of the character. Keeps the mystique," he told her. "I guess it's true: dead men tell no tales." Celeste giggled. "How was the flight otherwise?"

"The flight was fine." They were silent for a few minutes. She could sense that he wasn't telling her everything about his day. She had this nagging feeling that he had run into Brock, that he knew she was gone by this point. "Brock came after you today, didn't he?" He took a deep breath, and it gave her the answer. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Celeste," he told her. "He didn't try anything. He didn't even have the chance to, so take a deep breath and relax. Try not to think about him tonight, all right? I know it's difficult, but just relax. Now, on a lighter note, I got someone here who really wants to talk to you."

"What? Who?" Celeste was baffled. She heard Mark grumble something on the other end, and then she heard the phone change hands.

"Girlie!"

"What? Who is this?"

"It's Trish! Duh!"

"Stratus?"

"Uh, yeah. What other Trish do you know?"

"Hi," Celeste replied with a laugh. "How are you?"

"Great. Mark here has been driving all of us crazy keeping you under wraps today. Are you safe?"

"I'm safe and sound," Celeste confirmed with a smile on her face. "I can't thank Mark enough for helping me out."

"Think nothing of it. I know he's more than happy to help. He raves about you all the time, you know."

"Oh?" Celeste felt a blush crawl across her face. She heard Mark shouting at Trish on the other end of the phone.

"I hate to cut this short, but I have to let you go. Mark's raving like a lunatic. I'll talk to you soon. Hopefully you'll get out here for No Mercy."

"I'll think about it." They said their goodbyes, and Trish handed the phone back to Mark.

"Everyone here has been going crazy, asking me if you're safe. I think you've built yourself quite a fan-base on this end."

"Hopefully talking to Trish keeps everyone satisfied for now."

"If you don't want to come out for No Mercy, Celeste, I understand completely. Don't let anyone push you."

"What is the verdict for No Mercy?"

"Hell in a Cell, it's looking like. Word around WWE is that it's considered my match, so I'm not too worried. What are you thinking?"

"Truthfully, Mark, I don't think it's a good idea in the slightest that I show up at No Mercy right now. Maybe at a pay-per-view a little further down the line. But right now, it would just be disastrous for all of us. I would hate to think of anything happening to anyone because I was there..."

"I know. I get what you mean," he told her. "I wouldn't recommend it personally, unless you have a huge death wish. Anyway, I have to get going and get these knees iced down. You get yourself some rest and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"All right, Mark. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Think nothing of it," he told her. "Just rest easy tonight. Goodnight, Celeste."

"Goodnight, Mark." They hung up the phone with one another and Celeste leaned against the wall. Everything was so complicated. And she couldn't help but wonder just what Brock was doing to try and find her.