Family Doubts

Summary: Veronica Rollins was excited to join her brother Seth in the WWE. She was respected and loved by the WWE Universe but that love and respect is turned to hatred when she joins The Authority because her brother did. Not long after, she still wonders if she made the right choice when she starts to fraternize with none other than Dean Ambrose and starts to fall for him. (OC/Ambrose)

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KDOH: I cant remember a time when I was this late. Quick apology for the short and boring chapter, next one will be better, I promise. Please, enjoy.

Chapter Twenty-Five:Bruised and Scarred

Veronica Rollins Point of View

3.08am

I have yet to drift into the world of sleep which is understandable since my body screamed in pain when I even attempted to even move. I'd expected Seth's reaction to be volcanic, I didn't expect to have my almost faded bruises to have a new large layer of colour painted on my skin.

Everywhere hurt.

Every breath felt like a labour accompanied by copious amounts of stabbing pain. I definitely had aggravated my old bruised rib and had possibly added a few more. My brother went ape and I was almost rendered paralysed on the floor in the hotel. It felt like it went on forever, like time moved slower when he moved faster, his strikes more deadly with each one.

He had left me alone after what felt like hours, writhing in pain on the floor, sobbing and trying to calm myself to stop the pain but it was difficult. By some miracle I had been able to crawl towards the bed but I couldn't get myself on it so I pulled the corner of the fluffy duvet down to have something comfortable under my head. It only hurt more to do that but at least my head was semi-supported.

My brother was pissed, angry, more so fucked off with the events that happened but it wasn't my fault. It never is but I took it like the big girl I am and I dealt with it one hit at a time. I was all by myself, Seth had stormed out the hotel room in huff, obviously going out to drink and find a skank to fuck and toss out the room the next morning or just fuck in an alley way before tossing her away. He wasn't always like this; he was once in a committed relationship with an amazing girl with a good heart.

Her name was Leigha and she was an amazing girl who cared and loved him, this was before the Shield and ran right up to the time just before the split. They were engaged, happy and so in love and then one day, she was gone. She'd up and left because they were not as happy as I had been led to believe. Leigha was insecure because of Seth's friendship with this real bitch named Zara, it killed Seth when she put his ring on the table and walked out. A few days later, he saw her at a restaurant with a guy Seth knew as an ex, showing him an ultrasound photo, telling this guy he was the father and that they were going to be so happy.

He lost all trust in relationships that day, it wrecked him and I wished I knew how to help him. Before I could, he turned on the Shield and the rest is history now. No one could fault him, but since that day he wasn't the man I knew. He never once would ever dare lay harm on a woman and ever since I joined the Authority I had been manhandled and it wasn't fair that I was a designated punching bag. I couldn't even defend myself against him and then I was left in a crippled mess on the floor.

I didn't care about the wounds, I didn't care about the pain, I cared more about how I was going to hide this from Dean. His warning as well as Roman's replayed on my mind. If I thought Seth had a volcanic temper, Dean was a thousand times worse. Always referred to that anger as him going all Moxley on peoples asses. Fun to watch but brutal and unrelenting anger. He would undoubtedly reignite his feud with Seth and the Authority and this time he might not stop.

He made sure of that when he made this promise.

I was cold but the burning pain of muscles kept me warm as they could. The sob I let out was nothing but pitiful as I weakly wrapped my arm around my lower chest where the pain radiated most. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to do anything so I tried to lay as still as possible and wait for the pain to subside but it never dulled or quelled, it just felt like branding irons had been stabbed into my body repeatedly. This was excruciating, waiting in pure silence for the hope that pain would dull enough for me to move into the safe embrace of my bed but I knew it wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Being in this moment made me remember of the first time my brother struck me. Triple H and Stephanie had been blunt and authoritative and firm but I never expected my brother to do it. It was a few strikes that knocked the wind out of me and left me on the floor. It was like a complete blindside that left me in a state that was nowhere near the state I was in now. I still remember laying cold on the floor in the hotel room we were in, helpless, in tears. My brother had looked so upset at himself he left like he did tonight.

When he came back he was still one hundred percent sober and looked like a wreck. Guilt ridden, pissed off at himself and just so fucked up when he tried to help me up but I turned away from him, tears streaming down my face. Instead of giving up, leaving me to my suffering, he didn't give up on me like I'd expected. He laid a pillow by my head, soothingly asking me to lift my head and I did out of fear but I didn't expect him to do was pull the duvet off the bed and cover me with it and lay on top of them next to me.

He made no move to touch me, just apologized until I allowed myself to shift into his side and let him wrap me in the brotherly embrace I had always longed for on terrible nights when I was alone and holding a razor in my hand like it was the only lifeline I had. I wasn't as strong as everyone made me out to be. I had marred my flesh, nearly let the darkness of my depression in my high school days ruin me. I had been tempted many times since the change to the Authority.

I was trapped in a situation that kept me rendered to the point of ruin, kept me in a place that left me hating my life to the point where suicide felt like the only option I had left. I never felt so low. Today of all days, had hit me harder because today I started having hope that my brother, the real one still existed within the man that laid hand after hand on me.

Seeing him dressed the way he always used to be, not hiding the real him after so long of seeing this person who was in her brother's body but wasn't her brother it was like a breath of fresh air. It felt like a dream, seeing the man I knew growing up, the protective man who did anything and everything to take care of me and I wanted to cry. That man was my brother, my family, my happiness, the deep love and devotion I desperately sought in life. Despair held me at ransom, at gun point and the in that moment I felt rescued, I just didn't know it wouldn't last for as short as it did.

I never knew how right everyone had been but I felt so stupid to hope that he was still in there. I still know he is in there, today showed that. He was carefree and happy and he was my fucking brother again even and I was still going to hope and pray that he would come back to me no matter how much I knew that it might not actually happen. I was crying for a whole different reason now, it hurt to try and believe anymore, it hurt to still love someone who did this to a person but I still loved him nonetheless because he meant everything to me.

When I was alone and afraid, he was only one call away. Even when he was tired, hurt and miles away from home, he'd always answer and quell the demons.

When I was hurt he rushed right home to take care of me, even if it meant losing the money he was earning that we needed to be there for me.

When I needed him, he was always there.

I could already feel the tears gathering in my eyes again as I hugged myself tighter, the pain of missing someone who is standing right in front of you and yet they aren't that someone hurts to levels I couldn't comprehend. I just held onto myself, feeling alone, exposed, left out in the open, vulnerable to succumb to my broken truth that was reality in disguise.

My body was weak, broken, bruised and scarred and I didn't care anymore. I let everything out, sobbed out, ignoring the screaming of my batter body as the emotions poured out like a heavy down pour during a thunder storm. I curled in as much as I could in on myself to regulate body warm and in an attempt to shield my shattering remains.

My brother almost no longer existed. The protector, best friend, father, brother, guardian, caretaker, the person who meant everything to me, gave me the life and happiness he could at the expense of his own. That man was gone. And I was slowly accepting it no matter how much it hurt.

The world around me became soundless and yet I felt the ripples of heavy thuds against the ground I lay on. I felt the stinging chill of wind nipping at my bare exposed flesh, sending pain right to everywhere that hurt. I heard a mumble, but I couldn't hear any words but I felt my body shifting. I felt pain, unimaginable pain, I felt myself whimpering and crying in pain as exhaustion and pain forced me to let my head hang and the darkness claim me...

Warmth...

I felt this soft warmth that had wrapped me up in its embrace and shielded me from the cold I remembered from earlier.

My head was cushioned and supported by a fluffy pillow that reminded me of clouds that were supporting my head.

Pain radiated from all over my body but it was more of a dull ache compared to last night. I shifted, reaching up and pawing at my eyes like a sleep roused kitten, trying to remove the exhaustion and sleep from my eyes. my head hurt, my body still hurt but it was better than it was last night. I didn't want to shift or move but I had to so I could find out how I got into this bed.

"Ah, good. You're awake." A distorted voice asked, my hearing was different levels of messed up that I couldn't tell who was talking. The person kneeled in front of me and I recognized the face. I almost fell off the bed, shock evident on my face when I saw not the face of my brother who I had expected to be in my room but it was in fact none other than Kane.

"Kane?" I ask in a confused tone, to which he smiles at me, as if expecting.

"Yeah, I'll explain. Let me help you up. We don't want to cause any damage to your ribs." He said in a soothing manor as he helped me turn onto my back before carefully slotting his arm around my shoulders, below my shoulder blades and the other was touching my bruised side lightly since Seth targeted the same side he did last time. I hissed when he pressed the fabric of the baggy t-shirt I had been put into by someone, into my side and Kane apologized profusely as he lifted me up "Easy, easy, easy." He soothed as he helped me shift back so I was leaning against the wall.

"Thanks." I gasped out through the pain, hoping to god it would calm down that I could feel like I could breathe again. "Where am I exactly?" I ask when my breath comes back to me.

"My room." He answered calmly as he sat down on the bed, allowing me to take in the appearance of the man that he was behind closed doors. He sat there dressed in a baggy shirt and a pair of tracksuit pants, thin glasses resting on the bridge of his nose as he spoke to me, "I found Seth at a bar, bout ready to get into a fight with someone, drunk off his ass since Mercury called me since he couldn't reach you. When I got there he was trashed as they say." His eyes were swirling with emotions.

"What happened then?" I asked calmly.

"I started bringing him back to the hotel and he ended up saying a lot about you and how you disobeyed him and he taught you a lesson. By then I had no idea what he meant." Kane said as he breathed through his nose, channelling his anger. "I dragged him to his hotel room where I found Paige outside your door. She was concerned, told me she heard shouting, crying and she had come out when Seth left and she said that she had been hearing sobbing for hours. I pulled the door open and dragged Seth to his bed and I found you on the floor, curled in on yourself."

"How did I end up in your room?" I asked, noticing the difference between the room Seth had and the room Kane had. It was smaller, but still comfy but nothing too fancy.

"I carried you." Kane said simply, "You had passed out, but when I approached you, your were terrified so I thought it best I removed you from there and offered my room as sanctuary from your brother. Paige followed me like a lost puppy and said she had promised a friend of yours she would look out for you. I assumed that was Miss April Brooks." He said calmly as he picked up a bottle of water and passed it to me, "Drink, you need it." He said as I accepted the bottle and drank, "She was the one who undressed and changed you into one of my shirts I wasn't using. I had already seen the bruises by then so I stormed back to your room; knocked on the door, found him still drinking and I punched him."

I choked slightly on my water, shock written as clear as day on my face. "You punched Seth?" I knew that Kane wasn't a person who resorted to violence outside the workplace of the WWE but then again, seth had pushed him but to punch my brother because of me, that was the shocking part.

Kane nodded, "Yes ma'am. I know I caused a lot of issues but after what you went through with Brock, and then you missing, I realized how difficult Seth is and could sympathize with you and had a turnaround I guess." It was like a confession he was giving, "I never should have laid a hand on you and Seth shouldn't have touched you either. The bruises are severely prominent. I'm surprised I never noticed them before ever."

I looked down, guess it was my time to confess, "I was very good at hiding them. Stole make-up from the make-up tables to cover them up and got very good at it." I picked at the gray duvet cover, my agitation starting up due to the fact I hadn't taken any of my medication yet, "By that point it wasn't as bad, but Wrestlemania, I was stupid and got too involved with the past."

"You tried to stop him cashing in on Roman and Brock's match, didn't you?" I was afraid to look up and answer. I was fucking terrified he was going to run to my brother and the authority and the punishment was going to be so severe that I might not ever be able to wrestle ever again. All I do is nod, "I mean no offense to you or the Authority but I never wanted to join. I was cornered, left with no other choice but I never stopped caring about either of them. I admit that much. If you wanna tell them, you can."

Kane let out a sigh, "I honestly knew that you still cared." He said softly, "I always caught the glances you gave them when you thought no one was looking, and I caught the ones that they gave you when you weren't looking." I look up in shock, just seeing a cool, calm collected expression on his face, no trace of anger in sight. "I won't say a word to anyone about what you have been saying to me. It stays between us. I owe you that and probably so much more and I will make it up to you."

"Why? You don't have an obligation to do it. We aren't friends. Hell, we're not even co-workers, we just exist together so why would you do that for me? I share blood with Seth, so why would you wanna help me?" this was baffling and confusing, I didn't know what to do or what to say right now but I just needed to know.

"Because I was wrong." Kane said in a breathless tone before he continued,"You never asked for any of this and I want to do this since you have been nothing but supportive and kind to me, even when I was a monster to you." Kane had a small smile on his face, "We may have been at odds end but at the end of the day you still talked with me and understood what I was going through when I was left to face your brother."

"And at the end of the day you sympathized with me and it has brought us to a mutual understanding." I said softly with a smile forming on my face, "Does this make us friends or colleagues?" I ask with a soft, thoughtful expression on my face.

"I'd like to think we can be friends over time. I know it will take time for you to trust me and I know that the situation isn't exactly ideal and that the authority isn't where you wanted to be." I looked at him with a hesitant expression, wondering if he knew, if he was onto me. If he knew that I was fraternizing with the enemy behind the backs of the Authority. "I won't say a word to anyone about what happened at Mania, you have my word that I won't tell anyone a thing. You can come to me with anything, even if you told me that you were talking to Dean and Roman behind everyone's backs, I wouldn't tell anyone."

I was hesitant, I didn't know what to do or think right now. He wasn't giving me anything, if he knew or not. I honestly didn't know what to say or do right now because I just didn't know. "DO you mean that or are you just being covert, getting into my good books, trying to fish for information?" I say with a raised eyebrow and a questionable expression on my face.

"I know you don't trust me but I'm being sincere." He sounded genuine but I didn't know. "Your brother is not going to be lenient judging from the bruises, he's going to gun for you when he sees you because I punched him." Kane argued in a softer voice and it was a valid point he was making. "Till he's cooled down you should lay low until he's calmed down and I can protect you even though you honestly know how to handle yourself since you yourself are a wrestler."

I smile at that, atleast he acknowledges my history as a wrestler and believes in my capabilities but he was right. My brother was going to be fuming and I indeed needed to lay low for a while but I wouldn't be able to be avoid Dean and Roman forever but I certainly needed to try. "I am going to need to get my ribs bandaged again, I don't want anyone knowing what happened or else it would cause more and more shit."

"I'll go into your room and grab your bag and I can get you to the medical area and you can hide out in my locker room until your brother has calmed down." I smiled at the offer, appreciating it very much I couldn't hide away from Seth forever.

"I'll take that offer but I do need to go see him. I can't hide from him forever so I think I will wait for him in his locker room." I said with a calm expression, "He's my brother no matter what he does to me." I said in a solemn tone, voice quiet and empty as I gingerly rubbed my side to try sooth and quell the pain.

Kane looked at her sympathetically, feeling her inner turmoil. That is one thing she knows about the man is he struggled with brotherly battles all the time and now they are as close as can be with Undertaker. "I wouldn't recommend it but I do know that it is something you have to do."

I smiled up at him in thanks, a calm expression on my face as I said, "Thank you for being understanding… and for helping me out with all this. I know we aren't the best of friends or even colleagues but I hope you know that I will be there for you for whatever you need." I said softly as I placed my hand on his leg, smiling at him.

It honestly meant so much to me to know that I have a friend within the enemy, someone who can approach me without threatening to harm me… it was a nice feeling and I hoped it would last and the truth is, I wasn't afraid of what my brother would do when he found me in his locker. If anything I was more afraid of what would happen if I ra/n into a certain lunatic who would wreak havoc upon the very earth we walk until he had the satisfaction of murdering his select target that would be my brother…

There would be hell to pay if Dean Ambrose found out about this and I was going to make sure he never does find this out because hell hath no fury but hell had not met the Lunatic Fringe, Dean Ambrose. He would have hell running away from him, screaming "Good God Almighty! Run away!" in a John Bradshaw Layfield type voice. When Dean gets upset, nothing can hold him back, not even a maximum security prison in the center of the Earth's core could keep him locked away.

It was mission impossible for him not to find out but I was damn hell gonna say fuck that, I will fucking make sure he doesn't find out and that is a promise.

Saying and doing something is a lot harder than people actually believe. As I had so kindly told Kane, I sat and waited in the locker room for my brother with sky rocketing anxiety but as it turned out, hiding from Dean was the easiest part of today... Not telling him the events of what happened was much simpler because he was training and stayed clear of the trainer's room. However, there was someone else who frequented that room and now another person knew... another person knew what her brother had done and was doing to me...and it turned out that he had known for quite some time.

The pain I experienced was indescribable... I actually had no words to describe the pain I was in. If a doctor asked if my pain level was between one and ten I'd tell him to fuck off and that my pain was a hundred out of ten. I pretty sure this pain was worse than labor because my God I was in tears... And all that Maverick had done was brush his hand against my side to check my ribs.

"Is there any way you cannot fucking make me want to rip off your fingers and shove them up your ass right now." I said in a tight, gritted voice as a tear ran down her face. "Please can we not get this over and done with before someone walks in and sees me like this, more specifically two I someone's with personal vendettas to ruin the one who did this to me."I said through desperately grinding teeth as he applied the soothing ointment to my side.

"You could've called me last night to come and do this last night?" Maverick challenged with a raised eyebrow.

I glared at him, "I'm sorry if the fact I was on the floor writhing in pain with no way of reaching my phone for hours." I bit back like a hormonal and irritable pregnant lady. I didn't care if I was a bitch. The pain medication Kane gave to me had worn off what felt like hours ago, I could barely stand right now without wanting to fall to the floor and cry like a little girl as I wrapped myself up in the armadillo defense because that was the only way to make things stop hurting so much.

Maverick let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sorry. I just hate seeing you like this. What happened least night was an accident and he shouldn't have taken it out on you to this extent." He said with a concerned voice as he continued to tenderly rub the ointment on bruises. He apologized each time I let out a cry and bit my lip hard enough to nearly draw blood.

I let out a shaky breath as I nodded, "I know." I whispered softly as I looked at him. "Thank you for doing this for me." I whispered softly to him.

He was about to answer when the door opened and a familiar voice spoke, "Maverick, I was sent to look for you by Sampson." The voice of Jerry the King Lawler broken through the silence as he entered the room , his eyes widening in surprise when he saw me. "Veronica? What happened to you?" He asked in surprise as he closed the door and made his way forward towards me.

I had never been so terrified in my life.

I was worried what Jerry would do. I was worried for his safety in I told him but now the list of people who knew the secret had increased by one.

Jerry promised not to tell a soul but offered me sanctuary if I needed it which I was grateful for.

I gave a pained sigh as I lay on the couch and waited for my brother and for Raw to be over. I let out a tired yawn as I lay down and waited for Seth to return and as I drifted to sleep, the door opened and an all too familiar comforting brush of a person's hand against my cheek relaxed me.

It was familiar because I remembered it from when I was a little girl and it made me smile as a kiss was pressed to the top of my head. "I'm sorry Ronnie." The familiar voice of my brother whispered softly as he stroked my head in a soothing but guilty manner.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face because I knew…

My brother, my real brother was still in there… and I was going to find a way to get him back.

KDOH: Geez dude, its been so long and I wanna apologize to y'all. Shit got hectic at home and stuff just occupied my time like no freaking tomorrow. I am so so so sorry for the late update but I also had a little writers block with this chappie and I had a little lack of inspiration. I promise I'm back, well sort of now. I probably wont be updating early for a while, but I've got a flow so I'm gonna try write as many chapters as possible before I update, but I hope to update soon, I promise. Hope you liked this boring, uneventful chapter cause the excited stuff comes in the next few chapters after this one.