Do No Harm

11. Early Morning Controversy

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The ride back to Melony and Carlito's house was mostly silent. There were a few angry outbursts from Autumn, but all Kennedy could do was say how much of an ass Chris was, and just let her vent.

She sat still in the passengers seat, simply staring out the window, refusing to look at him. He could tell she was crying by the way her shoulders shook, and the way she reached up every now and then to wipe at her eyes. The bruise was shining on the side of her face, and it pissed him off to look at it. If Chris dared to show his face around him again, Ken swore he would beat the living shit out of him.

"We're almost there." Kennedy said to break the silence, trying to get her to talk to him or atleast assure him she was ok. He cleared his throat, "Autumn, I..."

"We can talk, Ken. Just not about him." She turned finally to face him, and the sight of her tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes made him even angrier, "Talk about the weather, talk about sports, talk about the freaking car mileage, just not him."

"Ok, ok." He focused on the road ahead, deciding not to question her too harshly and just go with the flow, "Sports, huh? So, who's your favorite football team?"

She smirked, "I like the Patriots, but hate Tom Brady. I like the Raiders, cause they're underdogs. And, of course, the Packers..."

"Green Bay!" Kennedy shouted suddenly, causing her to jump in her seat, and then let out a laugh. He'd made her laugh, and that was a pretty big step forward, or so he thought. He'd succeeded if he made her forget about Jericho, and that was enough for him.

It was funny, he realized. This was a woman whom he, truth be told, didn't really like the first time he'd met her. Granted, it could've had something to do with the fact that Jericho had done nothing but go on and on about how great she was, and Ken just didn't see it. But now he saw she was actually a great person, someone you would be lucky to be with. He honestly had to question Jericho's sanity--how could you love someone so much when they were away, then decide you wanted something and someone completely different when they came back into your life? Kennedy shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He wanted to feel bad, or guilty, for turning on his best friend that easily. But he couldn't. Thinking back, he realized that Jericho really had changed, deep down. When Autumn came back, he changed into a completely different being. One that was not Ken's best friend.

---

"I swear to God, Carly, if he even thinks about showing up around her, I'm going to kick his ass!"

Carlito nodded in understanding, reaching over to grasp Mel's hand tightly, "It's ok, babe. He'll know better, and if he doesn't, then he's stupider than we all thought."

Melony sighed and nodded, covering his hand with hers and squeezing tightly, "I just wonder what made him snap. He used to not be that way, Carly. We introduced them, and he was completely..."

"He got a taste of freedom." Carlito shook his head sadly, "And it changed him. You can't help it, but some guys are like that."

"Thank God mine isn't." Melony managed a smile, and leaned over to kiss Carlito softly on the cheek, "I love you. Some engagement party, huh?"

"I love you, too. And it was fun--definitely one we can tell the grandkids about."

She laughed, and shook her head, "Ugh, I just wanna hurry up and get home. I'm dead tired."

"We're almost there." Carlito reassured her, stifling a yawn as he pulled to a stop at a red light. He was nervous, he realized as he looked over at her. Montel's words were ringing in his head, and all he wanted was to flat out ask her: What happened between you and Tavious on SmackDown? But he couldn't do that. He knew the answer, and the answer was nothing. Wasn't it?

"What's wrong, baby?" Melony asked worriedly, reaching over to rub his back, "You're quiet."

"Nothin', nothin', I'm just tired. And...thinking." He shrugged as the car moved forward, "Montel said some stuff tonight, and it's got me...I don't know."

Melony frowned, shaking her head, "Babe..." She sighed deeply, "Montel's playing some kind of game, me and Ken noticed that right off the bat. Whatever he's saying, it's completely wrong."

Carlito nodded, "No, I know that, I just..." He sighed, "He was saying things, Mel. Saying you doubted us. Saying that you didn't think we would make it." He looked over at her, "Is that true?"

"All that's happened tonight, and you're going to bring something Tavious said up now?" Melony snatched her hand away from him and frowning deeply, "What is going on with you?"

"That didn't answer my question!" Carlito snapped back, "Why are you avoiding it?"

"I'm not avoiding the question, I'm wondering what the hell is going through your mind." Melony shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest, "And for the record, I never said I didn't think we would make it. I was afraid, Carlito. I was scared and worried. We were on different brands for the first time since we started dating, and I didn't know how to deal."

"So you turned to Tavious?"

"Yes, I turned to Tavious! What, you think we had an affair? He was my friend, he was there for me when no one else was."

Carlito frowned deeply, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel, "You mean when I wasn't?"

"I didn't say that."

"You may as well have."

Melony was silent, trying to keep the tears from spilling over, "Carlito, I got drafted to Raw right after Autumn's injury, ok? First, my sister was taken away and at that point in time, we didn't know if she'd ever walk again. Then I was taken away from you, and we barely saw each other. Tavious was there, and that's all he was."

Carlito shook his head, "I don't know, Mel. Something about the way he talks about you..."

"What? Makes you think I cheated on you?" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she yelled at him, "You've obviously lost it, Carly! I was weak and vulnurable, but I went to sleep everynight with thoughts of you racking my brain! And before you smart off, I always went to sleep alone." She shook her head and shut her mouth, turning away from him and staring out the right did Montel have to put ideas in Carlito's head? He was a psychopath, she realized. A completely different man then the one she'd been best friends with a year ago.

---

Ken and Autumn arrived back at the house and, after Ken fumbled around trying to find the hidden key, they let themselves in and headed for the kitchen. Ken retrieved a cold beer and handed it to Autumn, "Here, you need this."

Autumn scoffed, "Ken, I've had enough to drink."

He gave her a look, "For your eye. You need to ice it."

"Oh. Right." She cleared her throat nervously and took it from him, placing it against her swollen eye and cheekbone, "Thanks, K." She sat down in a nearby chair and propped her elbows on the table, eyes drifting to the glass door that peered out across the oceanic horizon. It was nearly four in the morning, and the sky was at it's darkest, the stars shining their brightest. It was beautiful. And here she was, feeling like shit. "It wasn't the first time."

Eyebrow raised, Ken set his water bottle down and stood next to her, "What?"

"It wasn't the first time he...tried to hurt me." She bit her lip, stifling a sob as she covered her face with her hand, "This morning, I said my back was killing me..."

Ken's face grew red with anger, "Are you telling me he purposely aggravated your injury?"

She nodded, "He shoved my back into the railing on the roof. After you left..."

"Son of a bitch." Kennedy murmured, pacing the floor, "Son of a bitch!" He balled up his fist and punched the wall as hard as he could, leaving a small dent and blood on his knuckles. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins, fueling by the anger that was surging through him. Jericho was a dirty rotten bastard, and Ken couldn't wait to get his hands on him.

"Ken..." Autumn mumbled as she stood, but Ken stopped her short. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders and stared into her tear-filled eyes, "He will never lay a hand on you again, do you understand?" He growled, "I swear to you, as long as I'm around, if he so much as looks at you wrong, I will kill him."

She nodded, locking eyes with him, "I just want to know why he changed like that. What made him..."

"It doesn't matter. All we know is he went crazy and that's it." He picked up the beer and held it against her cheek, stepping closer, "God, that looks bad."

"Gee, thanks." Autumn said sarcastically, managing a smirk, "So's your face."

"Oh, very creative! Did you think of that all by yourself?" Kennedy grinned, "You're a comedic genius."

She laughed, "Ugh, I'm too tired to laugh. Stop being funny."

"So you admit I'm funny?"

"Yes, I do!" She laughed again, wiping tears away and sighing, "Thank you, Ken."

He frowned, "For what?"

"For making me feel better. For hating Jericho with me. For...for making me laugh."

"Anytime." He placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a tight embrace, holding her close against his chest. She pulled away and looked up at him, "We should be getting to bed."

"Yeah, I know." He continued to stare down at her, penetrating her brown eyes with his green, "We have a fairly early flight." He reached up to cup her face, tracing the newly formed black eye with his thumb. How could Chris hurt her? How could he stand to harm her pretty face?

"Ken..." She whispered, gripping his wrist tightly, holding herself against him, unwilling to move. Slipping an arm around her waist and holding tightly, Ken lowered his face closer to hers and captured her lips in a fervent kiss that made her knees weak. She felt her heart throbbing in her chest as she reached up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. Ken's hold tightened as their tongues met, causing a moan to elicit from her throat.

"A..Ahem."

Letting on a startled yelp, Autumn pulled away and turned to see Carlito and Melony standing in the doorway, their problems forgotten for the moment as they stared, wide-eyed, at the illicit sight in front of them.

Glancing up at Kennedy, who was at a loss for words, Autumn cleared her throat and pulled out of his embrace, "Good night, everybody." She grabbed the beer from the table and ran past everyone and headed up the stairs, knowing damn well she could care less about her black eye as she popped off the beer cap and downed it on her way to the bedroom.