CHAPTER 12

Eight months to go. One month and a half spent on the road, the remaining two and a half in a bedroom. Mark wasn't about to let Briar have another suicide attempt, contrary to what he had said, he didn't want her killing herself. At least not on his watch. When she was out on her own, she could do whatever the hell she liked.

He had immediately had bars placed over her windows and removed all but a mattress from the bedroom. Anything she could have hurt herself with, no matter how trivial it had seemed, he had taken away. A new door had been fitted, with locks on the outside of course. She wasn't allowed out unless it was to eat or use the bathroom break.

Mark had barely spoken to her the entire time, mostly just watched to make sure she didn't somehow claw or bite herself into an early grave. Briar had lived on soup, which meant she had dropped from her usual 135 pounds to 110, her already tall; lean frame now gaunt.

But he had been called back to work and she had to go with him. The minute they were out of the house, Briar turned her face skyward, closing her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sunlight fully shining down on her. Fresh air, for the first time in over two months.

He didn't say a word to her now, just ushered her into the backseat of the car; knowing damn well she didn't want to hear his voice. Hell, he didn't care. He had enjoyed the silence. He hadn't touched her after that night she tried jumping out the window, not wanting to be the reason she finally took that plummet over the brink and into total insanity.

The entire Ministry of Darkness line had been discarded, all of them going their separate ways. Mark would be joining forces with Paul Wight, who most wrestling fans knew as the Big Show. He sighed heavily, sliding into the driver's seat, not really keen on this Unholy Alliance thing but he would deal with it.

Her gloves had been thrown away, mark wasn't risking her killing herself in any way, shape or form and had apparently decided her gloves might be strong enough for a noose if she had dared test it. Briar didn't want to die, not really, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to handle it again if her step-father decided to go psycho on her once more.

She tugged at the edge of her long sleeved black shirt, sitting quietly. She didn't talk anymore, she didn't even know if her voice would work. She just wanted to finish her time and move on.

Staring at her through the rearview mirror, Mark couldn't help but frown, seeing a mere shell of what had once been a fiery spirit. Granted, she was still beautiful; but he no longer desired her. She had issues, major issues at that and it didn't help that he had put what little fire left in her soul out completely.

Perhaps if that fire ever rekindled, then he would want her again. For now though, she wasn't a woman, nor a child. Just something in between. "Briar," He said softly, watching as her head slowly raise, though she didn't meet his eyes. "Are you hungry?"

Briar shook her head no, turning her gaze back to the window, watching everything fly by. Beside her on the seat was her duffel bag. In it was her diary, a sketchbook and most importantly; her music. She knew there was a brand new CD walkman in there along with her case of CDs. She knew because Mark had showed her as he was packing for her.

But she didn't move to touch it. Music had been her friend for so long, her only source of comfort. A way of expressing her pain to a world that never listened. In her head there always had been a song; music playing, a soundtrack to her life.

Now it was gone.

She had no desire for anything. Not even her precious lyrics.

The rest of the ride was silent, as always. Mark had stopped and got them both some food, hoping she would eat. It wasn't a surprise though when she just set the bag beside her and ignored it. He knew he had fucked her up good though he still didn't regret it. There was no room in his life for regrets. Not at the moment anyway.

No matter how far he had gone, he would never have raped her. Mark didn't rape women, they came to him willingly or not at all.

When they arrived at the arena, Mark guided her inside the building; a hand on the small of her back. He halted, staring down at her and cleared his throat. "Do you want to see Jeff?"

Briar almost mouthed Jeff's name, pain filling her grey eyes before shaking her head no, lowering her gaze back to the floor. She remembered Edge and Christian telling her how Jeff had been 'in a bad way', the whispered rumors of him having a breakdown.

No, she would never see Jeff again. He didn't need someone with her baggage sucking the joy from his life.

***

"Briar's back." Edge announced, joining Christian and Matt at a table in the cafeteria, having spotted her walking into the building alongside Mark. "She-" He hesitated when Jeff dropped down into a chair. "Anyways…"

"What're we talkin' bout?" Jeff asked tiredly, slowly returning to his old lifestyle, though he still had nightmares about Briar and what he had seen.

"Work, as always, bro." Matt replied, shooting the blonds a dark look that implied death if they even breathed Briar's name around Jeff. It had taken Jeff nearly two months to finally get his head on straight and return to work, that did not need messed up now. The haunted look still hadn't left Jeff's eyes and Matt wondered if it ever would.

He had hoped and prayed that Briar would never return. Especially after hearing she had been taken home and nobody had heard or seen her in months. And then Jeff had finally confided in him just what it was he had witnessed, cementing Matt's feelings about Briar. So much for wishful thinking…

Sighing, Christian prodded his chicken breast, not hungry anymore. He tensed when he heard the APA as Bradshaw and Farooq had recently begun calling themselves; walked by, talking to each other quietly.

"Think he's going too… pass her around again?"

"No man, I heard from Paul she tried jumpin' out a window." Ron said, shaking his head. "We fucked her up bad."

"She was already fucked up."

Edge had to literally jump across the table to stop Christian from attacking when Bradshaw made a comment about 'sweetest lips ever'. "Are you INSANE? He'll tear your scrawny ass apart."

"Who the hell they talkin' about?" Jeff demanded, his curiosity getting the better of him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out when Christian hissed 'Bri' under his breath. Closing his eyes for a moment, Jeff listened to the APA, finally having to push away from the table and walk away.

Matt moved to follow only to wind up helping Edge restrain Christian again.

***

Mark sighed when he heard the knock on the door, glancing at Briar who still hadn't moved from her chair, her head aimed at the floor. Shaking his head, he opened the door. His eyes widened as a fist came flying at him, a moment later both hearing and feeling his nose break. "WHAT THE-"

"WHAT'D YOU DO TO HER?" Jeff screamed, following up on the attack, shoving his way into the room and began throwing punches with everything in him. "TELL ME!"

Briar's head shot up the minute she heard Jeff, staring at him for a moment before looking at Mark. Automatically, she got up to retreat to the far side of the room, cringing when he snapped his nose back into place.

Christian, Edge and Matt flew into the room, all halting to stare.

"Bri…" Christian had to look away from her, hearing Edge cursing under his breath.

"Whoa, Jeff!" Edge grabbed him along with Matt when it looked like he was going to fly off the handle, again from the appearance of 'Taker's nose.

"You son of a bitch! How could you do that to your own fucking daughter?" Jeff shouted angrily, every emotion inside of him bursting out, tears in his green eyes.

Matt narrowed his own eyes at Briar, shaking his head. "Come on Jeff, there's nothing you can do…"

"THE HELL THERE ISN'T! The man isn't FIT to be her father, he's a fucking molester!"

Acid all but spewed from Mark's own eyes. He stalked over to Jeff, his entire body radiating danger and grabbed the kid by his throat, growling viciously. "You mind that tongue, boy."

"Go ahead, hurt me just like you hurt her!"

"Jeff, she was already fucked up to begin with! She probably enjoyed what happened!"

A second later, Mark had thrown Matt out the door and into the hallway wall.

Christian let Edge handle the drama, walking over to Briar who was now hunching in the corner, her face in her knees. Hesitantly, he reached down to touch her shoulder. "Bri?"

She tensed, not looking up.

The way Edge figured it, Matt deserved what he had got though by no means was he on friendly terms with Mark. He was right in Jeff's corner on this, well, not the part with Jeff being hurt like she had. He didn't need a mental picture of another man being… no. "Tell him, Mark." He said coldly, making sure to keep out of arm's reach. "Why don't you tell everyone what a sick and twisted pervert you are?"

"There's nothing to tell." Mark stated indifferently, crossing his massive; tattooed arms over his chest and slowly raised one black eyebrow at the over emotional Jeff. "Do you care for her, boy?"

Jeff didn't answer, ready to attack again.

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Then if you value her life as well as your own, you'll leave here now." He ordered gravely, next evicting Edge and Christian.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Ah Show, kindly show these nuisances out."

Show cracked his knuckles. "With pleasure."

Now Briar was on her feet, watching as this massive behemoth literally picked Jeff up and carted him to the door. "Jeff!" She was right, her voice was hoarse from not being used, reaching out a hand even as Mark pulled her back.

Jeff reached for her, only to go flying.

Edge caught Jeff before he could smash into the wall, both men landing on the floor as the door slammed shut.

"I think Matt needs a hospital." Christian muttered.

Mark's grip on her wrist tightened painfully, his nose bleeding from Jeff's punch. "You better pray to whatever you believe in that I don't KILL that boy in the ring tonight." He hissed angrily, shoving her backward, watching as she hit the wall hard and fell to her knees. "Show, you'll be watching her while I'm out in the ring."

Retreating automatically into herself, Briar stared at the floor, ignoring the pain in her back. She sat back against the wall, outwardly appearing her usual blank shell. On the inside however she was combing over what had just happened.

Jeff… did this mean he still cared for her? If he did that was sure to be over after tonight. She knew Mark was now out for blood. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice Mark slipping into the bathroom or the monster crouching in front of her.

"Hello, sweetheart." Paul cooed, ten times the size of her, if not more. He had heard the stories throughout the locker room about how she had taken on the entire Ministry and begged for more, interesting. That was one of the reasons he had been so keen on joining with 'Taker, to find out if those rumors were true.

Damn but she was beautiful, in a sad sort of way. Her long black hair and haunted large, grey eyes were definitely her best features and her body wasn't too bad either.

Slowly, those grey orbs rose to meet his, her breaths coming hard as she read the intent in his eyes; recognizing that look all too well. Briar could hear Mark changing in the bathroom, wondering desperately if he would protect her or hand her over with his blessing.

Given what he had allowed to happen to her before –indeed sat and watched- she was inclined to believe he wouldn't care. This man was HUGE, one of his fingers was as big as her frail wrist. Trembling, she got to her feet, trying to step around him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Paul wrapped a hand around her arm, being gentle about it, knowing he could probably break her arm in half with just a slight gesture. He spun her around, pulling her back against his chest and buried his nose in her hair, a soft groan escaping him.

If by chance 'Taker was to walk out, Paul could explain this all away. Briar had tried to escape and with her history, who wouldn't believe it?

Chuckling, Paul splayed a very large hand against her stomach, feeling her body quivering against him. "So soft…"

Licking her lips, Briar tried to speak, mouthing the words though nothing came out. She closed her eyes, a warm tear running down her face. "Please." She whispered, her voice breaking.

An exhale of relief escaped her when he stepped away, turning to find Mark stepping out of the bathroom; genuinely pleased to see him for the first time ever. Putting as much space between her and Paul as possible, she disappeared into the bathroom, knowing better than to lock the door, Mark would only break it down.

She wasn't coming out, not until she absolutely had too. It went without saying that after ten minutes she was checked on, not even looking up from her place in the shower. She didn't care if the tiled walls were damp from Mark's shower, it was an old habit from childhood that she clung too.

It was foolish to feel safe in such an enclosed space but she couldn't help it.

Anything that felt safe, she would cling too.