Laura got backstage and tried to ignore all of the people following her, the trainers had waited for her by the curtain with towels to clean her mouth up. "Leave me alone" Laura tried to protest as the tears rolled down her cheeks. The match alone had been a disaster ever since that video had played and now she just wanted to be left alone.
"Laura you cannot leave this arena looking like that" one of the trainers warned her "It's fine" she lied but was struggling to talk properly due to her teeth being damaged. She had pulled the 2 out that were resting on her lip and held them in her hand.
"When a young woman is covered in blood with 4 teeth broken and a busted up lip I'm not gonna let her out of my sight!" Laura eventually stopped walking down the corridor, as she felt dizzy from the loss of blood. She held onto the wall trying to regain her composure and tried to walk off. "No I'll be fine," she said quietly wiping more blood off of her chin. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way," the trainer said getting even more concerned and angry at her stubbornness.
"Or we'll just do it Glen's way" Glen said coming through the crowds and picking Laura up with ease. She didn't argue with him as he carried her to the trainer's office but nearly panicked and fell out of his arms when she heard the roar of a motorbike, which meant Mark was now backstage. Glen felt Laura wriggling in his arms and said "Hey it'll be alright"
"No it wont, the looks he was giving me in the ring make me believe he thinks I made that video"
"He will be warned before he speaks to you, there's a locker room full of guys who will weave his head in the canvas if he tries anything"
"Glen why would somebody do that to me?" she said with more tears in her eyes. They eventually made it to the trainer's office where he sat her down onto the bed and tried to examine her lip. But the blood covered her chin and her lip was extremely swollen. "Boy she really did a number on you," he said lifting her chin up to get a closer look.
Laura could only stare helplessly at him and Glen could tell she was feeling too many emotions to talk or even think straight. "It's gonna be alright" he said softly to her and she slowly nodded but then slowly opened her hand to reveal the two teeth that had fallen out. Glen looked at her hand and looked quite shocked when she showed him her two teeth that had been knocked out.
"Sweetheart I'm sure they'll put them back in for you, at least you didn't swallow them" she was about to respond but the doctor and trainer crowded round her and moved Glen aside "I'll stay with you if you want" he suggested but the trainer said "You can stay but please stand out the way Glen" he nodded and took a few steps back so the doctors could get in to clean Laura up.
Mark followed on after Laura as she went up the ramp backstage without a backwards glance. He drove up the ramp and through the curtains and roared past some of the ring crew. Then he parked the bike up to see Laura trying to regain her balance and leaning against the wall crying. She looked a complete mess with blood pouring out of her mouth and he felt bad. But another part of him was extremely angry for what happened out there. His and Laura's personal relationship had been exposed, and also exposed their real names and where they lived. He didn't like it, and his first port of anger went to Laura.
Why would she play a sick trick like this on me? Did she think it was going to be funny? She knows how crappy my experience with marriage and relationships have been, so now she's exposing everything to the fans.
He frowned at that and wanted to go and confront her. But then he stopped walking and had to rethink his plans. Could Laura really have done that? The look on her face showed just as much anger and confusion as his did.
Mark was stuck between a rock and a hard place; his mind was filled with too many thoughts for him to think straight. Well instead of dwelling on it, go and speak to Laura. Then confront Vince if you have too. He nodded to himself then went towards the trainer's office where Laura was getting cleaned up. That kick she took had been pretty rough and it looked like some of her teeth had been knocked out.
They had practised that kick all day, how could they have gotten it wrong? He thought to himself as he strolled the corridors with a purpose. People were casually staring at him noticing the blood smeared on his hands and chest. When Laura had tagged him her hand was completely full of blood and he had wiped it on himself not realising how bad it had been. I must look like I've murdered somebody.
He sighed as he opened the door to the trainer's office to see Laura on the bed being cleaned up. She occasionally winced when the trainer cleaned her mouth up but she had her eyes closed. And when she opened them to let the tears fall Mark's heart instantly dropped.
She couldn't have been the one to do this, they had practised that kick properly and after that video played she'd completely lost focus. She looked terrified at the glare you gave her, so think about your actions before you say anything you'll really regret.
Mark braced himself before he came into the room properly to go and stand next to Laura. She had her fists clenched on the bed trying to hold back more tears as the doctor had started to clean up her lip. "Be gentle" Mark growled making Laura jump a little "Of course Mark" the trainer replied looking a little surprised at his outburst. Mark tried to take Laura's hand but her fist was still clenched.
"Baby are you hiding something?" he said softly still trying to open her hand out. Laura shook her head looking down at the floor ashamed to even look at him. Her teeth were all messed up and she looked horrific. "Open your hand then" he said gently and she shook her head more fiercely. Mark looked at her and then remembered looking at her in the ring when she was checking her teeth. And remembering the look of horror on her face when she felt two of her teeth had fell out.
He sighed and then heard Laura stifle more cries "Baby please open your hand" he said soothingly and again tried to open her hand up. She eventually gave in and Mark looked and saw the two teeth that had fallen out and heard her sniffing and watched as more tears stained her cheeks. She was an emotional wreck and he knew exactly why.
"Laura I'm not gonna judge you on how you look. Even if you are injured I still think you're the most beautiful girl in the world, I wouldn't even care if you had no teeth at all I'd still love you like I do now. Now please baby look at me" Laura eventually lifted her head up and let Mark see the damage. The blood had all been wiped away but had started to run down her chin again. Her lips were swollen and a deep shade of red to show where it had been ripped open. Mark studied it for a moment but said, "Now let me see inside" she shook her head and clamped her hands to her mouth, but winced when she felt the pain.
"Baby please let me look, I'm sure it's not that bad" she looked into his piercing green eyes and could see the concern and eventually lowered her hands exposing her mouth again. Mark gently reached out to touch her mouth but she tensed up and moved slowly away. "Baby I'll be gentle I promise" she knew he meant every word he said and then let him gently touch her mouth to get her to open it. When she did he looked inside and felt his heart sink lower, her two teeth were missing leaving big holes with blood pouring out and her two front teeth had been cracked and were at a slight angle. "Aww baby girl" he said after he heard her crying once more. "You probably think I'm hideous now," she said into his chest when he pulled her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head and said "Baby girl I would never think or say that you're hideous because it's not true. You're beautiful and I love you" she looked at him and wanted to kiss him but she couldn't with her mouth all messed up. She saw that Mark wanted to kiss her as well but instead he kissed her cheeks and then smiled a little.
"Alright Laura this might hurt a little, that wound wont heal by itself and will need stitches" Laura locked Mark's hand in a death grip when he said that and Mark winced at the amount of pressure she had on it. The trainer turned around with a small needle and she said panicking "What are you gonna do with that?"
"I just need to numb your mouth so you wont feel the stitches going in" she looked at Mark in horror, as he knew about her phobia of needles. "Baby it wont hurt I promise, just keep looking into my eyes and squeeze my hand and it'll be fine" she looked into his eyes and he instantly saw fear and felt terrible for not being able to do anything. Laura felt more fear when the needle came towards her face and into her bottom lip to numb the pain for the stitches.
It had caused her great amounts of pain, pain that she couldn't handle and soon felt the room spinning. "Oh man she's gone," Mark said panicking when Laura slumped onto him passed out. This girl had been through enough and he was going to do everything in his power to protect her and her personal life being exposed.
"Laura? Baby please speak to me," Mark said softly rubbing his hand down the side of her cheek. When she had passed out in the trainer's room, the doctor automatically did the stitches and checked her blood pressure etc. and said she was going to be fine. All she needed was some rest and so Mark had carried her down the hallways with Glen carrying all the bags. She was curled up in his chest with her ring attire still on but he didn't care, he needed to get her back to the hotel so she could rest.
A lot of superstars had stopped him to talk to him and check on Laura. Shawn, Hunter, Amy, Matt, Jeff and Trish were the first ones to approach him and stayed by his side to travel back to the hotel with him. Trish had mostly been in hysterics when she had seen the stitches in Laura's lip and Hunter and Amy had to calm her down. They had all travelled to the hotel in separate cars but met straight back up when they arrived together.
Mark carried Laura up to their room and put her in bed to be comfortable and hopefully wake up. She looked a mess from the blood and had to shower. Mark would have done it for her, But Laura had told him she hated being messed with and would go mad at him for undressing her. So he let her rest but had to wake her up as he panicked when she still hadn't moved. But thankfully when he rubbed her cheek she gently stirred and opened her eyes.
"Oh thank heavens you're ok" he said squeezing her hand as she looked around the room. She was about to panic but Mark said "Baby its ok, you're in the hotel room with me, you're safe" she turned her head to face him and tried to smile but the searing pains in her lip told her she couldn't. "Pain killers wearing off?" he asked and she nodded a little. She tried to speak but her mouth was still numb so she just had to lay there until Mark came back with a glass of water and some painkillers.
He noticed she wanted to talk but couldn't so he smiled and said "Don't worry I've got it all covered" he bent down and picked up a small whiteboard and a black pen for her to write with. Again Laura tried to smile but couldn't, so she sighed and started writing on the board and then showed it to Mark. I can't smile or talk, people will think I'm being ignorant.
Mark snorted and said, "Baby girl you've had a queue of people waiting outside our door for the past couple hours wanting to see you, you're not being ignorant and they'll understand"
Laura looked at him surprised but then checked the time on the clock next to the bed and it read 1:00am. Her eyes widened at the time and she wrote on the board again. What time did we leave the arena? And what exactly happened?
"Well you were in the trainers office about to have the needle, but obviously your phobia got the better of you and you passed out against my chest. So the doctor checked you over and said you were fine, so then he quickly did the stitches and wrapped your two teeth up in some tissue so they didn't get lost for the dentist appointment tomorrow. Then when we were finished up he gave me some painkillers for you to take and then I carried you out of the arena and headed to the hotel with a bunch of followers behind me. I sent them away for a while and now 2 hours later you're awake. The trainer also told me that the needle should wear off soon so you can talk again but take it steady" she listened to his story and soon wrote back on her board.
I want to smile and say thank you and it kills me that I cant =(
She showed him the board and he smiled "Baby girl you don't have to say thank you, I'll do anything for you" she looked down at the board looking quite upset. You scared me in the ring. She showed him the message and he said "How so?"
When that horrible video played you looked outraged at me, I know you think I made it and that's the dumbest idea you could ever come up with. You knew how confused and disorientated I was as I ended up with this silly injury. I don't know who did it Mark but its really made me feel awful.
She showed him that message and felt tears welling up again; she did feel quite angry with Mark for accusing her and jumping to conclusions. But the mix of painkillers was sending her emotions haywire, so one minute she was angry and then the next she cried.
Mark read the message and sighed "I'm sorry if I scared you baby, I just didn't know what to do or say, our real names were said, our relationship was exposed and I know we agreed to take it slow. But now everything is out there and it's horrible. Our personal lives are meant to be kept private but some sick bastard has decided to torture us, and some how I don't think Vince agreed to this. Apparently he was going mad backstage about it. So obviously we've got a nutcase on our hands"
Laura sighed and wrote on her board Mark please don't leave me for this. He looked stunned at her words but before he could respond she was scribbling away on her board again. I know sometimes you struggle with your temper and that's obviously what this psycho is focusing on. For us to both crack and split up on both TV and personal life. I love you so much and I'm willing to let this run its course, but I just need you to stay strong with me and help protect me. He read her words again and again falling deeper in love with this young woman. She had the power to tame his heart and control his raging temper and was now asking for him to protect her and let this mess run its course. It would be tough but he'd give it a shot, especially if it meant keeping Laura under his watchful eye and protecting her. "You really think it's a good idea to keep calm about all this?"
Yes I think so. Obviously this nutcase is trying to split us up, but the more we stay focused they'll leave us alone and never bother us again. We'll win this Mark and I'm gonna prove to everybody that I wanna be with you, forever.
Mark was shocked at her words and the fact that she said she wanted to be with him forever. He blinked a few times in shock but said "Nobody will tear us apart baby girl" she looked at him and he knew she wanted to smile but couldn't. He smiled a little and gently lifted her chin up "I know you want to smile but I know that inside you're smiling at me, I can feel it in here" he said as he touched his heart and smiled again at Laura's frustration for not being able to smile.
Quit rubbing it in. He laughed at her comment on the board but said "What you gonna do about it?" he regretted saying that when Laura smacked him in the arm with the board. "Owww alright you made your point" she looked at him smugly and he said "Still got that bad attitude, you were incredible in the ring tonight. I was so amazed"
I agree it was a good match, but I want to look back at that and watch that damn video to try and recognise the voice.
"I'm sure we'll be able to watch it back, I'm quite concerned about it"
Why on earth did Vince let the video play at all? He was the one that banned wrestlers from exposing their real names on TV anyway.
"I reckon he was tricked or summat, that man is very gullible" Laura rolled her eyes and Mark smiled again. "Listen missy while you're up now, go and get showered. You're covered in blood" she looked at him shocked but then felt her hair and it had dry blood in it and she looked disgusted.
Mark laughed when she wrote on her board Jeez Mark I probably look a complete mess, why haven't you shielded your eyes and ran for cover yet?
"Because I absolutely adore you and you don't look a mess you're still beautiful"
Eugh don't lie like that.
Mark laughed again as she got up out of the bed and looked at her clothes and groaned when she saw the state of her clothes. She was still in her ring attire but Mark had taken off her boots, socks and kneepads for her. She was grateful for everything he had done but she seriously needed to go and shower. So she unzipped the shorts and pulled down the shirt exposing her chest with her purple fishnets. It was a very awkward piece of clothing to get on and off but she managed eventually and threw it to the side. Then she pulled off her fishnets and was left standing in her black bra and matching black g-string.
She heard Mark groan behind her and she turned around and gave him a sexy look before heading into the bathroom to shower. "Baby girl you'll be the death of me" she heard him say before she turned the shower on. She waited for it to warm up before removing her underwear and stepping into the hot water. Laura made a noise as it touched her skin and removed all the stress she had been feeling. But she automatically washed her hair and saw all of the blood running along the floor and down the drain. She looked disgusted but quickly washed her hair with shampoo so it was nice and clean again.
She tried to avoid it but she had to wash her face from all of the blood and that meant getting her mouth wet. At first she was hesitant but the water actually made it feel pretty good and washed away the numb feeling. She very very gently opened her mouth to get some water in to swill off the blood and that didn't hurt either. It stung a little against her exposed gums where her teeth were missing but it didn't matter, as tomorrow she would head straight to the dentist to get it all mended.
When her face was clean again she turned around and swilled her hair out one more time before stopping the shower and stepping out, she wrapped herself in a big towel and then wrapped her hair in a towel as well. Then she stepped out of the bathroom to find Mark lying on the bed with his back against the headboard flicking through the TV channels. But he turned to face her and his mouth dropped at the sight of her only in a towel.
"The numbness has worn off now," she said slowly being careful not to move her bottom lip too much. He smiled at her words but said "Just take it easy then" she nodded as she went over to her bags to pull out some clothes to wear. She threw on her blue g-string and bra, then her black shorts and pink vest top to sleep in. She took the towel out of her hair she started to dry it and then flicked it back before turning around seeing Mark gazing at her.
"What?" she asked curiously. "Nothin'" she eyed him suspiciously and she saw the smile creep across his face. "Sorry darlin, just admiring your nice ass" she looked startled at his words but then walked backwards to the bathroom so he couldn't stare at it any more. "Oh come on no fair" he whined and she had to suppress a laugh. But she purposely dropped the towel and casually bent over to pick it up exposing her ass towards him. She heard him wolf whistle as she got back up and shook her head as she threw the towels into the washing basket.
Then she came back out of the bathroom and headed to the bed, where she sat down cross-legged in front of Mark and started playing his hands. He smiled at her playfulness and then leaned forward to kiss her forehead, and then he kissed every part of her face with light kisses making her shiver with excitement. He smiled but murmured; "I wish I could kiss your lips baby girl" she looked up at him and then started to run her fingers over his face again making him moan in pleasure.
But they were both interrupted when there was a small knock on the door. Mark groaned and said, "Who could that be at this time?" he got up and went over to the door and opened it to reveal Glen, Shawn, Hunter, Amy, Trish and the Hardyz. "You lot are still awake?" he asked shocked at them all still up and running in the middle of the night.
"How could we sleep a wink knowing that Laura is hurt?" Shawn said with concern still in his voice. "Is she alright?" Trish got out in a small squeak and Mark nodded "Yeah she woke up about 30 minutes ago to get showered and dressed" then he stepped to the side to let them all in. He shut the door and watched as Trish ran over to Laura and knelt beside the bed and said "I'm so sorry Laura I didn't mean to kick you that hard, I shouldn't have worn those stupid boots and this never would have happened, I'm so silly" she pulled Laura into a hug who nearly choked on the water she had just sipped through a straw. Mark couldn't help but smile as he came back to where the guys were and sat in one of the recliner chairs.
"That looks painful" Amy said as she sat on the bed next to Laura and frightened Trish "It is kinda painful yeah" Laura managed to get out before squinting in pain. "Baby please don't talk too much" Mark pleaded as he watched her squint in pain. She looked at him and nodded and then proceeded with writing on her board again.
"Ooo look she's got a board" Hunter said giggling as he parked himself down with Shawn on the floor near the bed. "Yeah and she can do some damage with it" Mark said rubbing his arm where Laura smacked him with it. Hunter just laughed but continued his mocking "Do you have to check to see if she's dribbling because of the numb mouth?" he did impressions of it to Mark who just shook his head but laughed when Laura threw her board at him with force.
"Owww!" he said as he touched his arm and winced "You were warned" Mark said grinning at Laura who gave Hunter a smug look. "Man you're a rough one, how do you cope in bed with her Mark?" Shawn laughed hard at that with Amy and Glen. Mark on the other hand gave him a small smile with a look Hunter knew too well and grinned.
"Fiery redheads in bed are always the best" he said quietly but still received 2 pillows flung at him by both Amy and Laura. He laughed as he fell to the floor in defeat and threw the pillows back.
"You sure you're okay?" Trish asked concerned as she examined the stitches in Laura's lip. Laura just looked at her, nodded and then pulled her friend into a hug. Trish hugged back and said "We should have done another move after that video was played, at least it would have been safer"
"Speaking of the video, what the hell was that about?" Shawn asked the room and they all looked lost for an answer.
"I'm not sure but that wasn't scripted" Hunter eventually replied "I checked all the segments and there wasn't anything written down. Vince seemed pretty calm about it though"
"How'd you mean?" Mark interjected looking at his friend seriously "Last I heard he was going mad at the exposure of our personal life"
"He was angry but then later admitted he had some idea it was happening"
"Well did he say what son of a bitch was responsible for it?"
"No he wouldn't say, but he did say it would be monitored from now on"
"You mean it's gonna continue?"
"Apparently it's part of your storyline"
"Well we didn't agree to it"
"Yeah but apparently Test and A-train said that you wanted to take it to another level"
"Yeah I did say that (Laura shot Mark a glare) but I didn't say lets expose our relationship and our real names. A-train said we were all gonna sit down and write some scripts with the writers"
"Well that may well be, but Vince has said he's letting it run it's course" Mark frowned and was really pissed off now.
"You mean to say we've gotta endure videos like that every week?"
"Until the person comes forward, or if it goes too personal and extreme then yeah… enjoy the ride"
Mark and Laura exchanged looks of worry, it was now the ultimate test for both of them. Could their relationship survive through all of this? Or would one of them crack under the pressure?
Only time would tell them…
