Hazel

I sat in the fluorescent lit room of the orthopedic specialist's office. After a trip to the ER, an MRI, a CT scan and two visits to my doctor, I knew it wasn't going to be good news when they told me to see a specialists. My mom held my hand. I knew from her reddened cuticles that she was nervous. She always did have a habit of picking at them when she was nervous. We all were.

Everyone was waiting to hear the news. The company stayed in touch non-stop to figure out how long I'd be out. Red had come up to stay with me. Holly felt terrible and hadn't stopped calling, apologizing for her son and asking if I was okay. Mom had been at my house almost every day. The distractions were good for me. The minute I was left alone, my mind would wander to the events that had happened over the last two weeks. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Seth smiling as I lost. How could all the love I'd seen in him before be replaced with so much hate for me?

The doors opened and Laurie looked up, immediately sitting straighter as the Doctor entered the room.

"Ms. Decker. Mrs. Decker." He smiled, shaking our hands.

We shook his hand and he put my scans up on the backlit screen on his wall before taking a seat at his desk. With a heavy sigh, he looked at my mother then at me.

"As you're probably aware by now, your injury is quite extensive." He started. "From what we found, you have a broken clavicle, a broken scapula, a labrum tear and also a tear in your rotator cuff called a full-thickness tear or a complete tear. It's when all of the tendon are separated from the bone. With this type of tear, there is basically a hole in the tendon."

Mom cringed and squeezed my hand as she listened to him speak. I nodded my head, replaying all the warnings the medical team and my doctors had given me prior to the match.

"Surgery as soon as possible is a must. My team and I have looked at your scans and have put together a plan to get your range of motion as close to normal as possible but it's essential a full shoulder replacement."

"What does that mean?" Laurie asked. "Normal people's normal? Or her normal?"

"Normal people's normal." He answered her. "She won't ever have the strength or the range she did."

"How long's the recovery time? When can I get back in the ring?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

He took a deep breath in as pity swept across his face. "Recovery for all of this should take about a year. Rehab will be mandatory to rebuild strength. As for wrestling with it? It's out of the question. The risks are far greater than the rewards and you are far too young to spend the rest of your life dealing with those types of complications."

I leaned back in my seat, hanging my head in my hand to hide my face while my eyes welled up again. "So what you're telling me…" I said in a shaky breath. "Is that my career is basically over."

"Unfortunately yes." He said softly. "I'm sorry. I'll give you two a minute of privacy. When I come back we'll discuss the process and put you on the calendar."

My mom thanked him as he stepped out of the room then turned to wrap her arms around me. Her hand gently caressed my back as I cried on her shoulder, tears soaking through her shirt.

"Shh, baby. It'll be okay. It's okay. Let it all out." She whispered soothingly, and I did.

In less than two weeks, I lost it all. My best friend - my boyfriend, my title, and now my career. This was rock bottom. I had reached rock bottom. I had nothing. I was nothing.

All because I stood my ground. All because I stood up for what I believed in. How was this fair?

...

It wasn't fair.

None of this was fair.

But life wasn't fair.

With or without that title belt, I was the definition of a fighter - a person would would overcome all odds to come out on top. It had taken me a couple of days to process what the doctors told me. It had taken me a couple of days to sulk and cry and feel sorry for myself. If it wasn't for Red, I still would've been lying in bed hating my life, but that was all over with now.

People overcame injuries like this all the time. They healed, they trained, they prospered. So would I.

I hated the fact that I would be out of action for upwards of a year, but the time away could be good for me. I would recovery. I would train. I would prepare myself mentally and physically. I would come back in the ring and take the company by storm until my title was back on my arm.

I'd let myself get carried away - in the drama - in the relationship - in the fame. I'd lost sight of how much I loved what I did. I needed to get back in the zone. They weren't going to know what hit them.

After prolonging my inevitable meeting with the talent manager and Stephanie McMahon, the time came for me to sit with them and tell them what the doctor's said. Stephanie was acting disgustingly nice now that things were going her way and it was like the last year of our feud had never happened. I signed the medical release forms and agreed to let WWE film a special on my surgery and recovery. Regarding the fans, we both agreed that I should make the announcement regarding my leave with Dean and Roman accompanying me to the ring.

She said it would be for my safety but I knew it was because everyone was dying to hear us address the Seth situation. The guys had held out from saying anything publicly but I knew they were dying to, especially after finding out the severity of my injury.

It was strange how close we'd all gotten. We cared and looked out for one another. It was no wonder Seth's betrayal caught everyone off guard.

"Ooh, I'm going to let this motherfucker have it." Dean seethed.

"When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he'd never been born." Roman added.

My intro music played and the crowd cheered as the three of us walked out to the ring with the guys holding the ropes open for me so I didn't have to bend to much with my sling. We were handed microphones and I stood in front of the center camera waiting for them to quiet down before speaking.

"Last week, on Monday Night Raw, you guys watched me get robbed of my title. Now, I was told to come out here to address the obvious. So I will say a few things about Seth Rollins, then I will forever close that chapter of my life. Seth Rollins is dead to me. He turned his back on his brothers. He turned his back on me. He turned his back on all that we were fighting for."

I looked back at Dean and Roman as the booing from the crowd filled the arena. As much as the crowd wanted to hear this, it was a lot harder to get it out than I thought it would be.

With a deep breath, I continued once they quieted down. "Seth Rollins is a sell out. A spineless, brainwashed, piece of shit. If he thinks he's the first one in our group the Authority talked to about joining them, then he's dumber than I thought. They came to all four of us. He was just the weakest link. For the promise a money, fame, championships, he sold his soul. Even after I pleaded with him to make things right and he said no, I still held out hope that he could be saved. Then as I lay in that ring last week with Charlotte holding me down for the count, I looked into his eyes of the man I loved and that man was not longer there. So the first, last, and only thing I have to say to him is that I hope it was worth it. I hope you get all you can from the Authority, because when they turn on you -and trust me they will - you'll be all alone, only then will you realize the extent of the damage you've done and by then it'll be too late."

I lowered my head thinking back to the moment in the ring and the look in his eyes that haunted me. Dean placed a hand on my back to comfort me before I proceeded.

"But Seth Rollins wasn't the reason I came to the ring tonight." The stadium quieted down. "What you also watched last week was me suffering the worst injury I've had to face to date. See, I had already dislocated my shoulder a few weeks prior but after Seth pulled Charlotte out of the way causing me to land on my back and the events that followed, I now have a broken collarbone, a broken shoulder blade, hole in the tendon on my rotator cuff, and a labrum tear."

A few gasps could be heard from the silent crowd and I continued. "The reason I came to the ring tonight was to announce that I will have to take a leave of absence from wrestling. I am going into surgery tomorrow morning and doctors are estimating that recovery will take upwards of a year. As if that wasn't devastating enough, they also said that there's a huge probability that I'll never be able to wrestle again."

The crowd booed and I could hear a few no's coming from them but I nodded, taking a look at all the signs with my name on them and fans wearing my merchandise. A few people even had tears in their eyes.

"When they told me that, I cried. I felt like that was my rock bottom and I had officially lost everything. You see what I try to do here week after week is show people that you have to fight for what you stand for. For what you believe in. I cried because I felt like my fight was over and it was all for nothing."

My face broke out into a determined smile and I turned around to take a look at everyone again. "But then I remembered that I have always been the type to take the word never with a grain of salt. Regardless of what the doctors say, I am making a promise to you right here right now that I will be coming back and when I do, this company won't even know what hit them.

The crowd cheered and Roman and Dean clapped along with them, hyping them up.

"I promise that I will be better than ever. I promise that I will stop at nothing until my title is back on my arm. I promise that when I return, you guys are in for one hell of a show because I will stop at nothing to dismantle the Authority like they dismantled my life!"

The building vibrated from the crowds cheers and Roman stepped in raising my good arm above my head letting me have my moment.

I waved at everyone as the support brought me to tears. With a smile, I hugged Roman then Dean before putting the mic up to my lips one last time. "With that said, I want to thank each and every one of you here tonight and all of you watching from home. I love you all and whatever you do, always keep fighting."

Seth

I watched from the monitor as Hazel took her leave from the ring, I could hear the crowd from the break room all the way in the back of the building. She always knew how to get a reaction from them. They loved her. Everyone loved her. It was just too bad they didn't see how big of a bitch she really was.

Just keep fighting. What bullshit. She didn't fight for our relationship. She's the one that walked out on me. Now she deserved everything coming to her.

"Now don't you worry. As much as we will miss Hazel, Roman and I will make sure her sacrifice wasn't for nothing. While she's working on recovering, we'll work on making Seth pay. See, history is full of people like you Seth." Dean's voice came through. "Everyone in this building knows someone like you Seth. The kind of guy that would stab the only people that cared about him in the back. A suck up. Now when I get the opportunity to rearrange your face - which I will - your nose isn't going to be here anymore, it's going to be here." he motioned to the side of his face. "by your ear. And I say ear because you're only going to have one left. I'm going to rip your dirty, stinking hair out by the roots and I'm going to stuff it in your mouth. There'll be plenty of room where your teeth use to be. Seth Rollins, my brother, you are scum. And we are looking forward to what that scum has to say. We want you to stand out here in this ring in front of the whole world and lie through your teeth. We want you to stand out here in this ring in front of the world, and we want them to hear Triple H's words coming out of your mouth. We're going to listen to every word of it, then we're going to beat the hell out of you."

I'd like to see him try.

Roman took the mic next. While Dean looked angry and deranged, Roman looked hurt. "Seth, you committed the most unforgivable sin. You're the scum of the earth. There's things you don't do in life - you don't tug on superman's cape, you don't piss in the wind, and you don't ever stab your brothers or your girl in the back. But you're only part of the problem. The other parts are Randy Orton and Triple H. Randy Orton, he runs around here and he thinks everybody owes him something. He thinks he's the face of the company. When I get my hands on you Randy, you're going to be the ass of this company. And when I'm done with you. I'm coming for you Triple H. The king of kings. We're going to have our own game of thrones. Believe that."

"You know," Triple H said, walking into the room with Stephanie. "I don't understand what all this talk about being brothers is. You guys were business partners. It benefited you to work together. Now that's over with. It wasn't beneficial anymore so you moved on."

"To me it sounds like they're jealous. " Stephanie added. "That's the sound of jealousy. They wish it was them in your shoes. You didn't sell did the smart thing and bought in. You saw that it was getting going anywhere else and they're just upset they didn't think of it first."

"Yeah. Is Hazel going to be okay?" I hadn't expected the question to come out but it did.

Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest, her face was comforting with a smile. "We won't know until she starts rehab. Don't you worry, she's a tough girl. She'll be fine no matter what happens. Besides, she was warned against going through with the match. It's her own fault. Tonight, you'll do a public interview in the ring and put all of this behind you. It's time to focus on Seth Rollins. We'll take care of the rest."

"Yeah. It is time to focus on me." I nodded in agreement. "It is."

...

"You sold out!" the crowd chanted repeatedly as I walked up to the ring.

"Seth, welcome." The interviewer started, shaking my hand before we sat down. "There's been a lot of talk this past week about-"

"Michael, let me- let me stop you before you get started because I don't -" I stopped, interrupted by the crowd loudly booing. "Look I don't get it. I don't understand what all the controversy you're talking about is all about. I mean are we just talking about what I did to Hazel. It's unfortunate that she got injured but it's part of the job. Besides, she was warned against going through with the match because it could injure her further. Or are we talking about what I did with the Shield? Because I was just doing what was best for business. What was best for MY business. The Shield, Michael, the greatest faction in the WWE, created by me. You don't think I have the right to destroy my own creation?"

Michael shrugged but the crowd shouted no. They didn't know what they were talking about. They were just a bunch of idiots who only saw a fraction of what actually went on. I had every right to do what I did.

"It takes an architect, a mastermind, to put together a faction like the Shield. You think Dean Ambrose is in any way responsible for that? Dean Ambrose is a lunatic. Given a week to his own devices, he's face down in a ditch. And Roman Reigns, the golden boy. You'll never see anger or fury in a man like you see in Roman Reigns. But without someone to harness that and control it, he's worthless. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns are nothing without me. They owe me every ounce of success they have ever achieved."

"Seth." Michael cut in. "Many people will argue that the Shield was about three individuals who came together to make one awesome team. Not just one man."

"You know, I guess we'll find out when the remnants of the Shield have their last hurrah out here tonight against the Wyatt family. But let me ask you something, Michael. Why is this such a surprise? I took the Shield all the way to the to. As high as we could go. We beat everybody, alright. We conquered the world, Michael. At payback, we beat Evolution in a clean sweep and from every experience in life, you should learn something. You want to know what I learned from Evolution? I learned that to be a success in this business, you have to evolve. You have to adapt."

"You sold out! You sold out! You sold out!" The crowd chanted again and I stood to address them.

"No, no, no. I bought in. I bought into the evolution of Seth Rollins. And another thing. Another thing that you won't admit." I said, pointing at Michael then at the crowd. "that none of you will admit! It took a lot of guts to do what I did! And everybody fixated on the fact that I stabbed by brothers in the back and that I betrayed my girlfriend. Maybe to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose we were brothers, but to me we were just business partners, and I severed a business relationship. And if my girlfriend ever really cared for me, she would've taken my side in all of this instead of standing with them."

I took a breath, getting angrier and angrier of their obnoxious booing.

"You know, every night for two years, I came out her and I put my fist out and said 'Believe in the Shield.' and every night, what I meant was what I'm going to tell you right now - is that you" I pointed to Michael, my voice getting louder. "And everybody else, better start believing in Seth Rollins."

I gathered myself and took a seat again. Michael took an unsteady breath in and looked at his cue cards as I say back down.

"Now that you've had a chance to address the crowd, is there anything you'd like to say to Hazel or your ex-business partners?"

There were a lot of things I wanted to say to Hazel. I could think of a million things to say in my head. I wanted to know if she was okay. How nervous she was. I wanted to hear the sound of her voice on my phone while she face timed me back when we were first being started. I wanted to lay with her and talk about our future like we had been just a little while ago. But she ruined all that.

"No." I replied, then I remembered what Dean said about making me pay for what I did to get like it was any of his business to defend my girlfriend. " Oh, wait wait wait, I heard earlier tonight, I was watching, Dean Ambrose said that he was going to let me say my piece and then they were going to come out here and kick the hell out of me. Well, I said my piece."

I stood again, taking the chair and throwing it out of the ring and shoving the microphone back into Michael's hand. With my arms out I took a look around the entrances of the arena for any sign of them.

Without intro music or any gimmicks, Roman and Dean walked down to the ring. I threw off my jacket and waited for them but as soon as they entered the ring, the lights went off and the Wyatts intro played on the screen. I was yanked out of the ring and when the lights came on, two of the Wyatt brother's were in the ring face to face with Dean and Roman.

I knew the authority had my back.