Chapter 24:

Road to the Rumble

Last year I missed WrestleMania. This year I plan on going to the main event...

After he sent the tweet out into the universe, Seth turned his head to look at Jory, who slept peacefully beside him. He had finally managed to fall asleep just after two, pulling her against him a bit more. It had been the best night's sleep he'd had in a long time, and he knew it had everything to do with her. He couldn't help but study every detail of her face and the way her hair fell. She slept on her side, her injured arm rested over the blanket and across her waist. Despite the events of the night before, she looked so serene. Seth shook his head. Roman's right. It's amazing someone doesn't have their hooks into her by now, he thought to himself with a sigh. I'm so far out of my fucking depth.

Seth's attention was yanked away when there was a knock at the door. He looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was almost half-past five. Pulling the blankets back, Seth got out of bed and made his way towards the door. Jory felt him move, and she stirred, her eyes opening.

"Seth?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

He turned to her and shrugged. Looking through the peep-hole, he sighed. "It's just Renee," he told her, opening the door. Renee was already dressed for her day, in blue jeans, a white shirt, and a denim jacket. She was in the room in a flash, making a beeline to the bed. She was kneeling on Seth's side in seconds, looking at the bandage on Jory's arm, her hazel eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I'll be at Raw tonight if that's what you're asking. There's a little thing with red and blonde hair that's going to get what's coming to her." Jory sat up, careful not to put weight on her injured arm. It still felt quite tender. Renee cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing.

"Are you telling me Alexa Bliss did this?"

"I am, and I'll bet my bottom dollar that she's acting on Authority orders."

"Oh my God, Jory." Renee looked at the bandage. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm okay. There's no concussion, and luckily, the tests show there should be no nerve damage. But my arm..." She sighed. Her eyes left Renee and went to Seth, who was leaning on the wall by the luggage. "I need to change my bandages, and I need a Tylenol. My first aid kit is in the front part of the case."

"Gotcha." Seth quickly gathered what he needed while Jory pulled at the tape. Renee stayed on her knees, her feet off the bed, watching Jory unwrap the wound. She clapped a hand over her mouth when Jory pulled all the gauze away.

"Oh my God. That's your whole arm!" Renee exclaimed.

"Yeah. At least it wasn't my face." Jory looked up as Seth rounded the bed. He sat down in front of her, armed with her first aid kit. "Thanks."

"He wouldn't let me see you last night," Renee told her. Jory nodded.

"He told me. I know it was probably tough, but he was right. I kind of wasn't in the right place to see someone last night." She hissed as Seth began cleaning the wound with a wet wipe.

"You know what I learned last night?" Seth asked Renee. Jory shot him a wide-eyed look.

"Seth, don't you dare."

"What did you learn?" Renee asked, her tone almost giddy. She readjusted to sit properly on the bed, her feet on the floor. "I definitely want to hear this."

"Someone in this room is afraid of a little needle."

"Is that so?" Renee looked at her. "You don't have any tattoos?"

"Nope."

"Wow. I always thought you had one. Like, somewhere where nobody could see it. But I figured you had one."

"Did yours hurt?" Jory asked Seth. He shook his head.

"Nah. It's a little weird on the spinal column, but it's not as bad as you think it is. The wrist was nothing." Jory hissed again. "Sorry. I'm trying to be careful."

"I know. It's just...still really, really tender."

"That's incredible."

"I never heard her coming. She caught me so quick." Jory shook her head. "There's a pretty special beating with her name on it when I see her." Seth worked quietly on cleaning and redressing her wound. "My luck, I'll be kicked out of the arena tonight, and she'll have a private security room with her own security." She sighed. "I know all the tricks at this point. And there's going to be tricks. And probably a few twists, too."

"Why Alexa, though? I thought she was on SmackDown."

"Um...I learned last night that Jory and Alexa actually have kind of a rich history," Seth interjected. He held down the gauze with one hand while he began to wrap her arm. Jory had to admonish him not to wrap her too tightly. "Alexa was a bargaining chip."

"What do you mean?" Renee asked.

"It means that whatever I didn't want to do, Hunter always told me Alexa was willing to do it," Jory informed her. Renee shook her head in disgust. "It was a prime spot, and I was so new to this...once he'd mention her name, I'd just kind of fold and do it. I knew what he was doing, but I was too new to call his bluff."

"I'm sorry, Jory. I had no idea..."

"I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. No matter the circumstances, I did the things I did. I have to own that. And it's taken a long time, but I'm slowly beginning to earn forgiveness, respect, and trust back." Seth continued to wrap her arm. Their eyes locked and he flashed her a reassuring smile.

"So you think Hunter and Stephanie brought in Alexa to put you on the shelf?" Renee asked.

"I'd bet everything I own on it. If it were anyone else, I'd have my doubts, but Alexa...this is their design."

"Has Hunter ever gotten back to you, Seth?" Renee asked. Seth shook his head.

"No. Something's going to give there soon, though. I can feel it." Renee held the bandage down gently so Seth could grab the tape. "He's got things he needs to answer for, too, and I'm not really going to drop it."

"I think they're afraid of you two," Renee told them.

"Probably. But they created this," Seth answered. "They created this with the way they treated Jory, and with the way they've been treating me since August. They've been asking for a dose of medicine for the longest time now, but nobody's been able to give it to them."

"Stephanie got Nikki to make sure Brie didn't get the drop on her," Jory recalled.

"The only ones who were close were Punk and Bryan, and it didn't end up working out for either of them," Seth said with a sigh. "I know Daniel's probably watching this from SmackDown and living vicariously through me."

"I know that's what he's doing," Renee told Seth. As a backstage interviewer, she worked both brands. "He said if anybody knows the tricks of their trade, it's going to be the two of you."