Chapter 25

"I've got you, Spencer. I got you, baby doll." Colby crooned in Spencer's ear, holding her tightly in his arms in the far back of the SUV rental they had.

The Shield didn't waste any time hightailing it out of the arena in case Shane decided to pay them another visit. Colby couldn't believe they left Milla behind, but at the same time she wouldn't have come with them anyway. Her brother had just been brutalized before her eyes, there was no way she'd leave his side. Colby was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact Drake Wuertz was Milla's brother and couldn't believe he didn't recognize her until now. He remembered being in ROH and Milla had come with Drake a few times. Colby had assumed they were together romantically, but his tag team partner, Chris Scobille, nixed that assumption.

He recalled Chris coming to him talking about Drake's sister a few times, but Colby never made the connection. Now he had. Chris had a secret relationship with Milla back in the Indies when she was 18 and just breaking into the industry. He swore Colby to secrecy because they didn't want Drake finding out. Colby wondered if Drake ever did, shaking his head and decided that wasn't his place. If Milla wanted Drake to know, she would tell him. He contemplated telling Jon about Chris and Milla's relationship, but what good would that do? It was Milla's past and if she wanted Jon to know, just like Drake, she would tell him when the time was right. If not, it would be something she took the grave, which Colby didn't see a problem with.

Glancing down at the woman in his arms, Colby knew he should've taken Spencer to the hospital to be checked over. Her face was horrendous from all the deep bruising and Colby was certain one of her cheekbones was cracked. That required an x-ray to confirm, but Spencer flat out refused to go. For an entire week, Spencer lost all power to make decisions for herself, which ultimately made up Colby's mind not to take her to the hospital against her will. They would call the WWE trainer, Michael, to come up to check her over. If he suggested taking to the hospital for an x-ray, only then would Colby force Spencer to do it would be an actual doctor's suggestion.

Spencer couldn't say anything because it physically hurt her to talk, so she burrowed into Colby as much as she could. She missed him so much and craved his arms the entire week she was stuck with Robert. It didn't matter what the past held or what he did to her. Obviously, Colby had a reason for leaving her after their night of passion and hopefully they could talk about it when the time was right. Any place was better than being with Robert and the fact she was in Colby's arms settled well with Spencer. Her eyes closed as Colby began stroking her hair soothingly and Spencer couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks, burying her face in his neck further.

As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Colby immediately took Spencer to his room while Joe called Michael. He could hear Joe and Jon talking since the door was open, the main door to the suite closing moments later. Apparently Jon had finally gotten his priorities straight and was headed to the hospital to go check on Milla. He got to work pulling Spencer's shoes off and setting them beside the bed, instructing her to relax. Colby walked into the bathroom to drench a washcloth and wrung it out as much as he could before heading back into the bedroom.

"I'm gonna clean your face a little and put some salve on it to help with the bruising. It might hurt, so squeeze my hand if you need to. Michael should be up here shortly to check you over since you didn't want to go to the hospital." Colby explained quietly, sitting on the bed beside her and felt his heart break at the fresh tears glistening in her leaf green eyes. "I'm so sorry, baby doll. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"Not…your…fault…" Spencer said slowly, reaching a hand out to squeeze his thigh gently and closed her eyes as the washcloth touched her bruised cheek.

It was Colby's fault though. If he would've just been honest with her about his feelings from the beginning, maybe none of this would've happened. She wouldn't have wanted to leave the arena to avoid him and would've remained in their dressing room where he could watch over her. Granted, Colby knew everything happened for a reason, but he had a hard time believing that statement this time around. There wasn't any reason good enough for what happened to Spencer and there never would be. Gingerly, Colby began wiping away the dirt and tears from Spencer's face, sucking a sharp breath at the lacerations beneath on her face. Robert was a dead man. Colby planned on ripping him to shreds for what he did to Spencer and continued cleaning her up the best he could.

Spencer winced with every swipe of the washcloth against her face, but didn't cry out, not even when Colby hit the lacerations. It had to be done. She was lucky none of them had become infected or else she'd have to make a trip to the hospital. Once Colby finished cleaning her face up, he stood to walk over to his bag and pulled out a jar of special salve that would numb the pain from her bruising. Hopefully it would let her talk easier since she'd only spoken a few words. Spencer was in pain and Colby wished he could take it away from her somehow, vowing to do everything in his power to protect her from now on. He'd fallen in love with Spencer and felt it before they had made love for the first time. It was time to stop being a coward and just come clean about his feelings for her before Spencer disappeared out of his life forever.

"Spencer…"

"Hey man, Michael's here to examine her." Joe said from behind, interrupting them. "Finish up and then come out here to talk for a second."

Colby nodded, having looked over his shoulder at Joe and moved his gaze back to Spencer, finishing applying the salve on her face. "Do you want me to stay in here with you while Michael looks you over or do you want privacy?" He asked inaudibly, reluctantly pulling his hand away from her face and screwed the cap back on the salve jar.

"Joe wants to…talk to you." She reminded him in a soft whisper, talking easier now that the pain was diminishing because of the salve. "I'll be fine. Go. We'll talk later on." Squeezing his hand, Spencer managed to crack a small smile and sat up a little in bed since Michael would be coming in next.

"If you need me, I'll be right outside." Colby didn't want her to feel alone like she had for the past week and leaned over, brushing his lips against her forehead carefully.

"I'll take good care of her, son." Michael assured him, standing in the doorway with his bag in hand and clapped Colby on the shoulder. "It shouldn't take too long."

"Take all the time you need." Colby replied, closing the door behind him while Michael went to examine Spencer and walked over to the couch where Joe sat. "What's up, bro? Where's Jon?"

Joe cracked a smirk, hands clasped in front of him. "Where do you think?" He retorted, feeling the couch dip beside him as Colby sat down.

"Bout fucking time." Colby had told Jon on the ride to the hotel he recognized Milla and knew who she was, keeping everything else he knew about her to himself. "I really thought he'd be stubborn and leave Milla alone at the hospital. Guess I was wrong."

"After I gave him a lecture and a swift kick in the ass he needed." Joe snorted, leaning back against the couch and closed his eyes, scrubbing a hand down his face. "Did Spencer talk to you about anything that happened?"

Colby shook his head, leaning forward with his head in his hands, trying to control his emotions. "I wanna kill him, Joe." He stated, suddenly tearing the tie out of his hair and tossed it across the room, gripping his two-toned mane in his fingers. "I wanna kill both of them for what they did to her."

Joe heaved a sigh, clamping a hand on his friend's shoulder and could feel Colby physically shaking from head to toe. "You can't go in there with that mindset, man. I know you're pissed off and you want to kill, but you gotta be there for Spencer right now. She needs you to be calm, cool and collected because she's scared to death and has every right to be. Believe me, I didn't see the swerve with Shane either. Nobody did. But if you go in there and start demanding her to tell you everything that happened, she's not gonna do it." First Jon and now Colby, Joe felt like he was dealing with two teenage boys.

A half an hour later, Michael finally emerged from the room and informed Colby that nothing was broken. She had no fractures, just a bunch of bruises and lacerations on her face, stomach and legs. Colby didn't check the rest of Spencer's body and could feel the anger welling up within him, taking a deep breath. Joe was right. If he lost his temper, he would scare Spencer more than she already was and that couldn't happen. Colby wouldn't let it, wanting her to feel completely safe and to trust him. Michael explained she needed at least a couple days off work to rest and recuperate, especially after missing for an entire week. He saw the horrific segment from his office at the arena and felt sick to his stomach, his heart going out to the poor woman he thought of as not only a colleague, but a friend as well.

Once Michael left, Colby wished Joe a good night and headed back inside his room to be with Spencer, refusing to leave her side. Even if he had to sleep on the floor, Colby wanted to be in the same room with her at the very least. He had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't disappear again. Spencer immediately gestured for him to join her on the bed and Colby couldn't deny her anything, climbing in beside her. Instantly, Spencer wrapped her arm around his torso and burrowed in his side, starting to cry again. She held it in while Michael examined her, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable with her crying, but couldn't hold it in any longer. Colby closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, being careful not to injure her further while stroking her hair, resting his lips on the crown of her head.

"I swear I'll never let anything happen to you again, baby doll." Colby crooned, keeping his voice low and soft, feeling her tears beat down on his chest soaking through the t-shirt he wore. "Just let it out. I'm here for you, Spencer. I'll never leave you again, I promise."

After an hour of crying and sobbing, Spencer finally calmed down, slowly pushing away from Colby, but his arms tightened around her. "Let me go." She murmured quietly, sniffling and felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.

Frowning at the distance in her voice, Colby respected her wish and watched her slowly sit up, scooting a little away from him. "Spencer…" He sighed, seeing the broken look in her leaf green eyes and reached over, taking her hand as their fingers laced together. "Don't push me away, please."

"But you don't want me, Colby. You've made that perfectly clear and I get it. I understand." Spencer tried pulling her hand away from his, talking a lot better since her face was numb from the pain temporarily. "You don't have to stay with me. I'll be fine."

It was time. If Colby wanted to salvage any future he had left with Spencer, he had to come clean about how he felt. It was now or never. "Why would I stay away from the woman I love?" He shot back in a soft voice, watching her head snap up as chocolate met leaf green. "Why would I stay away from the woman I'm in love with?" Scooting closer, Colby cupped her face tentatively in his strong hands and rubbed his nose against hers. "Why would she think for a second I don't want her when she's all I've thought about for over a year?"

Spencer didn't know what to say and swallowed hard, knowing Colby meant every word he said. "R-Really?" More tears flowed down her cheeks as Colby nodded and she couldn't hold back, capturing his mouth in a soft sweet kiss. It felt amazing having his lips against hers again. "Why did you leave me that night after we had sex?" That was one answer she needed more than anything, not caring about anything else that happened between them.

"Because I was an idiot and thought I took advantage of you. You were vulnerable because of the shit Robert put you through and I…I didn't think you felt the same way about me as I did you. Believe me, it KILLED me to leave you that night, baby doll." Colby said truthfully, moving his hands away from her face to wrap his arms around her, pulling her flush against his body with both of them on their knees. "I wanted more than anything to fall asleep with you in my arms that night. But I couldn't take it if you woke up the next morning and regretted what we did. Because I definitely don't. I love you, Spencer King, and I'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you if that's what it takes to make you believe it."

"I love you too, Colby Lopez. I've loved you for a while, but I didn't think you'd ever look my way." Spencer admitted, lowering her gaze from his only for Colby to lift her chin until her gaze rose again.

"Say it again." He ordered in a husky voice, brushing his lips against hers. "I need to hear it."

Spencer smiled, thankful it didn't hurt and draped her arms around his neck. "I love you." She repeated, moaning as soon as Colby's mouth found hers again, her fingers burying in his hair.

After a careful kissing session, Colby lifted Spencer in his arms and carted her into the bathroom, setting her on the sink. He started the bath water and carefully undressed her. Spencer had to be cleansed of every touch Robert inflicted on her and Colby would make sure it happened. The only touch he wanted her to feel was his. Once the bath finished, they both snuggled in bed together with Colby's arms wrapped tightly around Spencer's body, being mindful of her bruised abdomen. Within minutes, both were fast asleep with Colby's nose buried in Spencer's hair and their fingers laced together resting on her stomach gently.

There was no other place in the world Spencer would've rather been and felt she was right where she belonged for the first time in her life.