Chapter 38

They didn't fall asleep until the sun rose over the horizon, getting exactly 2 hours of sleep, before having to catch their flight to Tampa. Holding hands, Alice and Mark fell asleep against each other on the plane, their heads pressed together with a blanket draped over them. They could spend the rest of the day recuperating in Tampa at her home, which was a small two-bedroom apartment, and then do whatever came to mind. She'd seen his home, it was Mark's turn to see hers. However, the moment she stepped inside the apartment, Alice froze and felt her eyes widen, a hand reaching up to cover her mouth with her hand.

"Oh my god…"

UNDERTAKER'S WHORE was spray painted repeatedly all over the walls, the furniture all turned over on the sides and debris from her cut up belongings, her clothes, and specifically panties were strewn all over the place.

Mark stepped in behind her, his shaded eyes taking everything in, turning a thunderous hue of green, like emerald fire. He began slowly walking around, noting the underwear everywhere and then glanced down the hallway, assuming those were bedrooms. Cautiously, he made his way down the hall, pretty sure the apartment was empty, but he wasn't risking it. He came to a stop when he seen the state of what was obviously her bedroom, pushing the shades up on top of the bandana wrapped around his head. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told him this was Page's doing.

"Darlin', you should probably call the police." He suggested, raising his voice so she could hear him.

Shakily, Alice pulled her cell phone out and called 911, trying to remain calm while talking to the lady over the phone taking her report. Mark hadn't touched anything and neither had Alice, she knew better. Her old apartment, in Miami, had been broken into a few times during her stripper days. Frowning, Alice tried wrapping her mind around what happened and couldn't believe Dallas would stoop to this level. He was pissed she had gone to the WWF and no longer had control over her or her contract. Now he was resorting to desperate measures. Hell, the man had intruded on Mark's territory in Houston, been in his house, in his bed, which she found out during their time there had been replaced. Anything he touched had been replaced, mostly. Stepping out, Alice felt lightheaded and sank down on the porch, covering her face with her hands beginning to cry.

After checking the other, few rooms, Mark stepped out and sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulders. He knew how she felt, mostly. To have someone in her home, going through her stuff…it felt like a violation of massive proportions. Of course, Page hadn't gotten into HIS underwear or sprayed painted shit on the walls. He didn't know what to say to reassure her, or calm her, and he was afraid his voice right now would startle her anyway. It would come out a low, cold baritone because he was royally pissed off. He was fully prepared to kill Joseph-Page because the man had crossed every line happily, the sick bastard.

Two hours later, after giving the police a report, along with naming Joseph-Page as the primary suspect, they left and would be in touch within 24 hours. That was it. There was nothing more to be done other than reporting it, so it was on record. Mark had offered his own two cents regarding Dallas, which Alice appreciated, but she knew it wouldn't amount to anything. Without concrete proof and evidence, this would more than likely be swept under the rug. Dallas's invasion of Mark's private life had been chalked up to a storyline on television and the authorities hadn't done anything for him either. Alice felt like tearing her hair out and then ripping Page's balls off for what he did to her apartment! Her cell phone rang, jolting her out of her thoughts and looked down at the caller ID, gritting her teeth at the UNKNOWN name flashing back at her.

"You sick bastard!"

"Now sugar, is that anyway to talk to your former lover?" Dallas crooned, a smirk curving his lips while indulging in a very interesting set of videos Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley had procured for him. "I just called to tell you one thing – your flexibility is hot."

"What are you talking about?" Alice put him on speakerphone and hoped Mark stayed silent, her eyes widening as all-too familiar music flowed through it. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard was one of the main songs she'd chosen when she stripped. "Dallas…"

"I gotta tell you, when I came home today and saw this package on my doorstep, I never THOUGHT it would be video after video after video of your…performances, sugar."

"You broke into my apartment and destroyed it! And now you're calling me…wait, what do you mean when you got home this morning?" Now she was even more confused, tears streaming down her cheeks. He was watching her videos from her stripper days – the owner was supposed to destroy any footage of her once she left the club, but apparently, he hadn't.

"I'll have to thank Eric for these…and Steph." Dallas laughed harder and then groaned, watching the delicious redhead climb the pole slowly. "Goddamn! And yes, home as in where I live. I didn't break into your apartment, sounds like you got someone else on the radar, Allie girl."

That wasn't good. Who else was after her? Mark would say Stephanie, but Stephanie wasn't the type to go ransacking another woman's panty drawer. Shane… maybe. His eyes narrowed, wondering just how far Steve Austin had sunk, if this could be his handiwork and inwardly groaned. He just didn't know anymore.

"It could all stop, sugar." Dallas cooed into the phone, though his eyes never left the screen, a hand at the front of his pants. "All you have to do is come on home to me now."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Joseph-Page?!" Alice didn't care if she'd struck a nerve calling him by his birth name and gritted her teeth. "Don't you get it? I. DON'T. WANT. YOU. I never did! Shane is the one who forced me to valet for you and it was JUST business! I'm not coming 'home' to you because I was never there to begin with!" Her emotions were spilling out and Alice had completely forgotten about Mark being in the room. "I LOVE MARK, you got that, psycho?! He is the only man I want and there's nothing you can do to change that! So, leave me the hell alone already! Even if I wasn't with Mark, I sure as hell wouldn't be with the likes of you, so get over it!"

"YOU LOVE HIM?" Page exploded the same time as Mark said:

"You love me?"

"Why?" That was both men.

"You're obviously not thinking clearly, Alice, so let me lay it out to you: You. Belong. To. Me." Dallas's teeth were grit, not believing the audacity of this slut. "And if I have to take your lover out to bring you back, don't think I won't."

He had never handled the word 'no' very well. Truth be told, he had had his eye on her back in WCW, but… there had never been a reason for them to interact and she had always steered clear of him. Being in the WWF… and via Shane, had forced that contact he had so desperately wanted.

Mark was just… staring at her, not expecting that. She loved him. After everything she had gone through because of him. But she still loved him. Alice immediately shut her eyes as soon as those words came out of her mouth and heard both Mark and Dallas's outbursts simultaneously.

"No Page, I don't. I'm not property you can own. I'm a grown ass woman and I know what my mind and heart wants. And it's NOT you. I love Mark Calaway and you can try to take him out, but come Summerslam, he's going to be the one to take YOU out. Permanently. Because you're going to be locked inside a steel cage, with no way of escaping, and I'm going to enjoy watching him beat the holy living shit out of you for EVERYTHING you've done to me. You wanted to be famous, remember, sugar? You're going to be famous, just not the way you want, and you damn sure will never have me. Because he already does. Mind, body, heart and soul – it's all HIS, not yours. Get it through your head and move on, Dallas."

"It's cute, sugar," Dallas's voice how dropped to a low, cold tone and there was a hint of something cruel and calculating. "How you're professing your love for that redneck bastard to me and I do have to wonder… does he feel the same for you, hmm?" When she didn't immediately reply, he snorted. "Why the hell does he keep you around, Alice? You think he loves you? No… no, sugar, he doesn't, you know better. How could a man like him love someone like YOU? You're not good enough for anyone, not even me," And he was aware he was the lowest of the low, not that he hardly ever admitted that outside his own head. "You really think he's gonna keep on with you? Even he's going to realize you're nothing but trouble, nothing but a whore. You're paying him with sex to protect you and everyone knows it, Alice."

Now she was laughing, outright full belly laughing at him and could feel the anger pulsating through the phone. "He doesn't have to love me. Even if he is using me, which I know he's not, I'd rather be used and FUCKED by him, than a scumbag abusive asshole like you, Dallas. There's a reason women stay away from you, and a reason Kimberly left you, because all you do is beat and tear women you're with down. You break them down into nothing, no matter what you have to do. And you won't break me, I'm unbreakable. And I'm with Mark because I WANT to be, not because he's forcing me, unlike you. You can think whatever that pea-sized brain of yours will allow you to, but you will NEVER have me. And I know that eats you up inside. So, go ahead and keep watching those videos of me dancing and stripping, jack off that tiny pencil you call a dick, because that is the CLOSEST you will EVER come to touching me."

"Don't bank on that, sugar." Dallas hung up.

All Mark could do was continue standing there. He had found a wall to lean against, feeling like he needed the support, his mind trying to follow all these thoughts he was having at once, along with processing her declarations about how she felt towards him. He wouldn't lie, Alice admitting she loved him had given him the warm and fuzzies. Page had kind of killed those with his ever-running mouth and the poison he had spewed. Finally, he looked at her and cocked a brow, wondering if she meant what she said or if Alice simply said it in the heat of the moment to hurt Page.

It was out in the open now, how she felt, and she'd put the ball in his court. Alice didn't expect Mark to reciprocate her feelings, having prepared herself for that outcome. The way he looked at her right now, she couldn't read him, and she didn't know what to say to him. This was definitely not the way to tell him, to confess the L word for the first time in her life, but Dallas pissed her off so much, Alice let her mouth run away with her. Sinking down on the bed, she put her head in her hands and closed her eyes, letting the silent tears slide down her cheeks. She didn't notice them building in her eyes while talking to Dallas until after the phone call ended. If Mark wanted to pretend she hadn't said it and go on like they were, she would not have a problem with it, or try not to.

She was crying. She was sitting on that soiled bed that someone had used in a non-PG way, with her face hidden in her hands, crying. Mark frowned, quietly crossing over to kneel in front of her, resting his hands on her kneecaps. That seemed to make it worse because now Alice's shoulders were shaking. Slowly, he reached up, grabbing her hands and gently pried them away from her face, gazing at her. She had her eyes closed, tears sliding down her cheeks and he sighed softly.

"Look at me darlin'," He ordered, softly but firmly, not surprised when she didn't. Alice had just laid her heart bare and was obviously expecting a rebuff from him. "Alice, please." She was so, so wrong.

Never in her life had she told someone she loved them, not even her foster parents. Not Torrie, even though they were like sisters. It just never needed to be said. Sure, the word 'love' came out to talk about certain things she enjoyed, but the actual phrase 'I love you' never came out of her mouth in the past 30 years she'd been on this earth. It was a like an intense tidal wave of emotion crashed over her and it was almost too much for her to handle. She didn't need to be told she didn't know what love was because she was inexperienced. No, she may have been inexperienced, but Alice wasn't stupid and knew exactly how she felt. She knew what love was, the way she felt for Mark HAD to be it. If it wasn't, then she really didn't have a clue or inkling what that word meant. Reluctantly, red-rimmed slightly swollen greys rose to meet beautiful emeralds and Alice held her breath, bracing herself for what he was going to say.

"You're a mess, darlin'." He said quietly, using the pad of his thumb to trace her cheekbone, brushing away tears, though more just fell to take their place, leaving tracks down her face in their wake. "A beautiful, hot mess." Mark leaned up until his nose brushed hers, his mustache tickling her lips. "I love you too, Alice." He whispered huskily, knowing that he meant it with a certainty that seemed to rock him to his core.

"W-What?" She whispered in disbelief, touching his face and could see the truth flowing through his eyes.

Page had been wrong, very wrong. Mark did feel the same way about her. It wasn't something she expected to hear from him, ever. Their relationship had hopped several steps with this simple yet powerful confession from both ends.

"T-This isn't how I wanted to tell you. I wanted to wait a little longer because we haven't been together that long." It'd been a month since the WCW invaded WWF and her life had changed forever the night Mark stopped her outside of the arena. The night she'd been sentenced to Page for not seducing Vince McMahon. "I-I didn't want you to think I was insane or crazed because who the hell else drops THAT kind of confession on someone they've only known a month? It's crazy and you're crazy and I'M crazy!"

"Are we now?" He asked wryly, moving up so he was sitting on the bed beside her, leaving one hand resting on her knee. "Why?" Mark was curious. "Why are we crazy? Darlin', we've spent so much time together and, it may only be a month, but we've been through hell and back together, and we just… we fit together so well, not just physically either." Though, he firmly believed Alice had been made just for him. "So why is it so crazy that we love each other?"

"Because we are. This is like something you see in movies and it's not realistic. It can't be. Love doesn't happen that quickly, does it?" Alice asked herself more than him, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully and placed her hand over his, their fingers lacing together. "All I know is when I'm with you, I feel…complete. It's a feeling I've never had before. Being with you, I've never been happier in my entire life. And there hasn't been a lot of happiness in it. So, if that's what love is supposed to feel like – happiness and feeling complete, then that's it. That's what I feel with you…" The tears started up again. "And I don't want to lose that." Her voice cracked from the different emotions flooding through her.

"You won't." He said reassuringly, wondering why she thought love wasn't something that could happen so fast.

What the hell messed her up that badly? Had she really grown up devoid of one of the most necessary of human emotions? That was just… wrong, and sad.

"Love just happens, Alice, there's not a timer or time frame suitable for it, it just… is. Don't overthink it and don't bother tryin' to control it, Red, you'll just make yourself miserable."

Not to mention, it was making him question both of them. If she didn't think he was capable of loving her, or if maybe it wasn't real. He was way too old and been around the block way too many times to be worried about this.

"I love you, isn't that enough?"

She nodded without hesitation and sniffled, wiping her tears away with her free hand. "It's more than enough, Mark."

Looking up at him, her hair was piled up on top of her head in a messy bun, she had black pajama pants on and a short-sleeved black shirt that matched, face devoid of makeup. There was no need to dress up since they were off the road and, after spending most of the night making love, she wanted to be as comfortable as possible on the plane.

"I love you." Alice softly kissed him, pouring just a hint of passion into it and pulled back, needing to confess something else to him. "I need to tell you something else. You're the first…person I've ever said those words too."

Love hadn't been in her life until recently…until Mark Calaway entered it by being her knight in shining leather. Well, she wasn't the first person he had said those words to, but she was definitely the first he had meant it. So, maybe the same thing. Mark smiled, holding her tight against him before taking a deep breath. There was no way they were staying in this apartment, not after it had been broken into and destroyed. Tomorrow, they would have to find new housing for her or something.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but…good." He chuckled ruefully. "I'm glad for that." Standing, he pulled her with him. "Let's get out of here."