CHAPTER 52:
A few more days had passed and it was now July 11th and everyone was in Tucson, Arizona. AJ stood backstage as she was readying herself for handicap match up against Brie and Naomi. AJ had her championship belt slugged over her shoulders when Dean approached her. "Hello AJ" he said. "Hey Jon" said AJ. "You and Leati did great out there up against Colby and Heath. Have you seen where he went?" "He's doing an interview with Renee again" said Dean. "The guy is mega busy lately. I sort of miss him you know?" "Trust me I know. I'm his wife" said AJ. Paige suddenly walked up to them.
"Hi baby" she said sweetly as she kissed Dean. "Hmm careful my little spitfire we could get into trouble if we kept doing stuff like this at work" Dean teased. "That's ok" said Paige. The two kissed again as Roman walked up. "Hello my beautiful April" he said as he held his arms out for her so that they could hug. "Leati!" AJ said as she ran into his arms. "Careful now watch your title belt" Roman said softly. "I've miss you!" AJ said as tears formed in her eyes. "And I missed you too" said Roman as they kissed. "I can't believe it's been a whole week without you" said AJ. "I don't know how Nikki and John did it." "Well it was before they had Johnnie so it made her traveling with him a whole lot easier" said Roman as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"But don't cry anymore baby, I'm here now." "Thank God" said AJ. "It's been so lonely without you." Roman smiled as they kissed again and as they did a backstage worker approached AJ. "You're on in 10 minutes Mrs. Anoa'i" he said. "Thank you Bart" said AJ. "Yo we've gotta like plan a couple's retreat or something" said Dean. "You're only saying that because you partied it up in the Bahamas" said Roman. "But what about Colby?" Paige asked. "He isn't going to have anyone now that he and Nikki aren't together anymore" said AJ. This suddenly caused Roman and Dean's eyes to widen. "Oh dear. Saraya didn't know about this didn't she?" asked AJ.
"No she didn't said Dean. "What didn't I know?" asked Paige. "Jonny baby are you not telling me something?" Dean looked up uncomfortably at AJ and Roman. "It's alright you can tell her man" said Roman. "After all you guys have been going steady for 13 months now. She's cool and she can know." "Know what?" asked Paige. "What can I know?" "It's something to do with Colby" said Dean. "You know what baby you don't have to tell me his business" said Paige. "It's his privacy and I respect that ok?" Dean nodded. Paige kissed his cheek. "But um yeah I like the sound of that couple's retreat thing" she said.
"Well I still don't know about that" said Roman. "I'm pretty much booked up all the way until Hell in a Cell come October." "You are?" AJ asked. She was completely surprised especially since she thought that Roman would be given at least a 2 week vacation between now and then. "Yes baby I'm sorry" said Roman. AJ let out a frustrated sighed. "I'm really sorry April" Roman said sincerely. "I'm sorry too" said AJ. "Look I've gotta go. My match is starting any minute." She walked down the hallway, clearly aggravated at the situation. She was just hoping that she could spend more time with her husband given that his schedule had been crazy hectic given that he had won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32.
"She'll be alright" said Paige. "I hope so" said Roman. "I really do."
Meanwhile Nikki sat in Brie's dressing room as she continued to apply concealer over her arm. It still painfully ached as there was a huge black and blue bruise that had outlined the shape of Randy's hand around it. She hissed in pain as she finished applying the makeup over it and as she did she, Brie entered into the room. "Damn it!" she hissed. "I forgot my mic!" "Here you left it on the table" Nikki said. "Thanks Nicole" said Brie as she walked over to the table and as she did, she noticed her wedding ring on her finger.
"Oh my God Nicole what the hell is that!?" she asked. Nikki quickly froze as she attempted to cover up her ring. "Um…nothing" she lied. "Nicole don't you lie to me" said Brie. "We're supposed to be completely honest with each other, remember?" Nikki began to panic on the inside as her skin began to flush. "I…uh…" she stumbled. "I…" "Stephanie what the fuck are you not telling me!?" Brie shouted. "Now I'm serious Nicole! Cough it up!" But Nikki didn't answer her, causing Brie to let out a frustrated sigh. "Ok Nicole. Be that way" she said. "Look I'm going to go out there and do my 3rd to last match and when I come back here I expect an answer from you ok?" Nikki nodded as she watched her twin sister leave her in her dressing room. The panic never really left her, especially given that she when she looked down to check her phone, all she could see was that Randy had left her 5 texts:
"Baby we need to talk 2night."
"I love U and I'm really sorry :-*"
"U R an amazing woman and I fucking love u Nicole."
"Just please let me talk to U 2nite my sweet thing. It'll be worth it."
"Please 4give me. Ima make it u promise."
She annoyingly sighed as she angrily shoved her iPhone back into her purse. Of course she still had the means to go and find Jojo and talk to her about her past relationship with Randy as she desperately wanted to figure out what was wrong with Randy. "Was it a mental illness?" she thought. "Or head trauma?" But she knew that there wasn't anything of the sort that was wrong with him like that. She knew that he was abusive man and that in itself was more than enough to keep her silence.
45 minutes later, Brie returned back from her match. She was all showered up and all ready to go. That was except for the fact that she still needed to talk to Nikki about her wedding ring. She locked the door behind her and she slowly pulled up a stool and sat in front of Nikki. "Talk" she said. "Bryan's waiting back at the hotel for us so we have all night." "I don't wanna talk about it" said Nikki. "There's nothing to talk about." "Nicole but…you're married" said Brie. "You got married to Randy. Randy Orton of all people and yes he is starting to change and become a good guy and everything. That I'll admit that that's a shock but still you got married without your friends or family being there and without even telling anyone! Again! I mean don't you remember what happened the last time?"
Of course Nikki remembered. She was only but 20 years old when she had married her second high school sweetheart. The one that came after one who took her virginity at 14 and of course she remembered how she didn't really want to marry him, that she just did it to do it. But it was nothing like her situation with Randy was. Only this time around was she was being forced to but the last time, her first time it was all a choice and now she had none.
"Yes I remember Peyton" said Nikki. They started dating one month before they graduated from high school and over the summer their romance blossomed. So much so that it had worried her friends and family. It was not because Peyton was abusive or anything, it was because Nikki had begun to lack any ambition for anything on the outside life due to her being solely focused on her new boyfriend. "Then why are you doing this to yourself again?" asked Brie. "Now I get that you and Randy are having a baby but for God's sakes did you have to go out and marry him without even telling us?" The answer to that question was "yes" because she was forced to and had no choice but to otherwise there would be no telling what he could or would do to her.
"Yes" Nikki said calmly. Brie frustratingly sighed again. "And it is because he loves me and he wants to do the right thing by me." She was lying of course because anyone who truly loves you would never do such a thing to so. Brie just shook her head in disbelief. "So what happens if a tabloid finds out?" she asked. "Is that how you want mom and the rest of our family to find out?" Nikki became quiet. "IS IT!?" Brie shouted. "Why are you blaming me?" Nikki asked. "I'm 32-years-old and I'm going to be 33 in November. I can do whatever the hell I want to do." "That may be true Nicole but you still could have told us. Told somebody you know?" said Brie.
It was almost as if she knew what was really going on with her sister. Only in reality she didn't given that Nikki was doing such a good job at hiding what was really going on with her….and it was simply much more than Randy's abuse towards her.
"I just don't understand" said Brie. "I really don't and I don't think I ever will." "What's there to understand?" asked Nikki. "Randy and I got married to each other because we love each other and we're having a little boy coming to us in December." "It's a boy?" asked Brie. "Yeah and Dr. Lake made sure to assure me she was right this time" said Nikki. "Ok…but don't change the subject" said Brie. "It doesn't matter if you and Randy are in love and that you're having a baby, you should have told us-you both should have told us." Nikki became quiet.
"God Nicole…it makes me wonder just what else your hiding" said Brie. "I'm sorry Brianna" Nikki said sincerely but Brie just scoffed. "Whatever Nicole. You already went and did it. Now all you have left to do is go ahead and take care of damage control which believe me it isn't going to be pretty" she said as she stood up from her stool. "Are you coming with me or you going to stay and wait for Randy?"
"I…I think I'll wait for Randy" Nikki said meekly. "Ok then" said Brie. "Well goodnight and you tell him the same." She made her way out but she turned around and stopped. "Oh and Nicole" she said. "This isn't over." With that she left, leaving her sister alone as tears formed in her eyes. "Why is it so hard?" she thought. "Why is it so hard to leave him and why couldn't I just told her?"
Later on that night in AJ and Roman's hotel room, Roman stepped out of the bathroom and joined AJ in the bed. She was hair was tied neatly in a bun as she wore her glasses and a white tank top with a light pink bra and black shorts. Her eyes focused intently on a comic book she was reading. "Baby?" Roman asked softly. "Are you ready to talk to me?" AJ angrily sighed as she forcefully turned the page. "It's getting late Leati and to be quiet frank I don't wanna talk to you for the rest of the night." Roman glanced at the clock which read 12:48am. "But please baby" he said. "We've been back for a half hour and you still haven't spoken a word to me. Not a word on your way back from your match. Not a word on our walk to the car. Not a word on our drive to the hotel, not even a word up in our in room. Please baby? Will you just say something to me?"
But all AJ would do is let out a frustrated sighed. "I said that I don't wanna talk to you tonight" she said. "Right now I'm reading my comic book. So please don't disturb me." Roman became saddened as he patiently watched his wife finish her comic book. After another 15 minutes, AJ carefully placed a bookmark in her book and she closed it and placed it on the nightstand beside her. "Please baby?" Roman pleaded. "Please can we talk about it tonight before we sleep? I don't want you to go to bed angry." "I'm not angry" AJ said as she turned to face him. "I'm just…annoyed that's all. You've been gone for 3 weeks straight already doing shows constantly and where does that leave me at Joe!? You're parents are getting ready to move out come the first of next month and yes they'll still be living in the same city so they can help us with Alia before I retire next year but…where does that leave me-us?"
Roman could feel the anger in AJ's tone rising. "You're always out doing live shows, tapings, appearances, pay-per-views but half of the time we're barely even together anymore…we don't even have time to have sex anymore!" Roman continued to watch the hurt in AJ's eyes. "I know you have to work Leati to provide for us but…what about us and I…" she paused and sighed. "I can't do this anymore" she said AJ as she removed her glasses. "Wait you're not leaving me are you?" asked Roman. "No Leati of course not" said AJ. "I love you. What I meant was I can't keep talking about this anymore. I miss you." AJ went to lay down onto the bed and as she closed her eyes, Roman gently shook her awake.
"What is it now?" she irritably asked. "Well I'm here now" Roman said. "That is…if you'll still take me." AJ sat up and faced him. Of course she was blind as a bat without her glasses, which never really stopped her before but still. "Joe…" she started. "Even if we had sex right now…how does that make up for all of the time lost?" "I'll talk to Stephanie" said Roman. "And if I have to, I'll talk to Vince." "No don't do that" AJ said calmly. "Don't piss him off. I know I did one time-before I started dating you-and I damn near lost my job but…luckily he decided not to fire me."
"But I love you April" said Roman. "And I love Alia and I want to see you both happy." "You would really risk a $4 million contract for me?" AJ asked. "Of course I would baby" said Roman. "What are you talking about? I love you. I would do anything for you." AJ thought for a moment. "Look Leati...I just don't wanna fight anymore. I know that it is normal to fight…but I hate it when we do. It stresses me out so much to the point I'm beginning to spot." "Spotting…what's that?" asked Roman. "Bleeding between periods" said AJ. "I know that Dr. Hernandez said that it would be normal if that happens to me given that I just got off of the birth control…but on Friday I'm going to see what's going on with me."
"Is…is it happening right now?" asked Roman. "No" said AJ. "I'm fine right now." "I had no idea baby" said Roman. "How long has this been happening to you?" "It happened twice" said AJ. "The last time it happened to me was back in my teens because I wasn't always eating because my family didn't have the money and it would mess with my cycle but I'm fine now. I promise." Roman gently pulled AJ towards him so that he could hug her. "I am so sorry" he said softly. "I…I had no idea." "Its ok baby" said AJ. "No it's not" said Roman. "And that's why first thing tomorrow morning I'm calling Stephanie to speak to her." "Just promise me one thing?" asked AJ. "Of course baby. Anything" said Roman. "Just…please try to make more time for us" AJ said softly. "I promise" said Roman as he continued to hold her. "I promise."
