Stephanie didn't know what to expect here. Hunter was a little volatile when he was this upset. Deep down inside, she knew that he would never lay a hand on her, with the intention of harming her. Except for the time he thought she'd faked a pregnancy. Even then, all he could bring himself to do was push her and he'd only gone that far because she was screaming and ranting directly in his face.
So…maybe she shouldn't do either of those things at the moment. Staying quiet and waiting to see what would happen was probably the better option. Her mind had processed this with an astoundingly rapid pace, as soon the word "yes" had unwillingly left her lips.
Hunter's hazel eyes had grown considerably darker than they had been earlier today. Tension and anger radiated from each of his handsome features as he stared at her. He dragged a hand over the top of his head and down over his ponytail. He pulled the band off, and somehow in the same moment that his blonde locks cascaded over his broad shoulders, his fist shot out, right past her head.
The vibration of his blow against the wall radiated throughout their room. The deafening sound combined with how close he'd been to punching her, caused Stephanie to cower instinctively, even as he walked away from her. Visibly shaken up, she swallowed hard and turned her head slightly, blue eyes tracking over to the indentation that he'd made.
Now he was on the other side of the room entirely and his body language screamed that he was still pissed...but her concern outweighed her fear so she took a couple steps in his direction, intending to check on his hand.
"HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?" He yelled as he turned around to face her again. "I've tried so hard to make us work and you go and hook up with THAT fucking asshole?" He asked as he began to pace the floor in front of her.
"I'M SORRY!" She yelled right back at him, feeling her eyes burn with tears again. "IT WASN'T-"
Hunter stopped short and raised both of his eyebrows. "You're sorry?" He asked and waited a beat, watching as Stephanie nodded her head eagerly. "Sorry doesn't fucking cut it when you try and cheat on me, with my own damn brother, no less!"
"But it wasn't my fault!" Stephanie said in her defense. She sighed in frustration when Hunter held up a hand to cut her off.
Hunter drew his bottom lip in, chewing on it for a moment. Given its prior volume, his voice was actually quite low and calm. "We were still getting over you thinking I'd cheated on you…and then you and Howard go and pull all this shit?"
"Hunter, I-" she started, on the verge of a desperate explanation.
He ignored her and continued with his thoughts. "Between the two of you, I've had enough backstabbing bullshit. I'm outta here."
When Hunter actually turned away from her and began to walk away, something inside of Stephanie shifted. She'd promised herself that the two of them would stay put until they worked this shit out. And she was going to keep that promise, even if her husband wasn't inclined to help her do so. She rushed past him until she reached their bedroom door. She slammed it shut before he could get to it and turned around to meet his gaze.
"Like hell you are!" She finally said in response to his declaration of leaving.
At his sides, his hands clenched into fists. Stephanie was playing with fire here. His body ached pretty much all over, thanks to his vicious fight with Howard. Every time he talked, it somehow made the bruise under his eye hurt. Every movement tweaked either his ribs or his back. His knuckles had already been stinging. But now his entire right hand just ached, on top of that, from punching a hole in the fucking wall. He was in absolutely no mood to be dealing with more drama this evening.
Leaving was for the best. Stephanie was usually intelligent, so he hoped she'd see that. "I'm gonna tell you this once, Steph: open that damn door. Now."
Defiantly, she shook her head. To further prove her stance on the matter, she pressed her back up against the door, effectively blocking it.
"Do you think I'm fucking playing with you right now? Huh? Move away from that goddamn door! I'm warning you…"
Stephanie shrugged. "What're you gonna do, Hunter? Hit me?" She asked, showing not even an ounce of fear. "Go right ahead; that's the only way I'm letting you get past me. And if you'd really do that, then you're not the man I thought I married."
At her words - her dare, practically - Hunter stopped advancing towards her. His fingers relaxed from the fists he'd had them curled into. Something about hearing her verbalize the potential of him putting his hands on her got through to him. Hitting her hadn't crossed his mind at all…though he did know that he was so pissed off and hurt that even he didn't know what he'd be capable of. He'd thought of maybe using his strength to pick her up or kinda muscle her out of the way.
But now that she'd thrown out an alternative he didn't at all find viable onto the table, he wasn't even going to do that. His nose scrunched up in annoyance. "I'm not gonna hit you…Jesus Christ, Steph!"
Stephanie nodded her head to acknowledge his comment. But she still didn't relax her position on the door. Their exchange seemed to have calmed him down the slightest bit. She needed to use the opportunity to explain herself. And she had to do it quickly, before he shut her out again. "I thought Howard was you!"
"What? Out of all the explanations in the world, that's what you go with?" Even he had to let out an incredulous laugh at the very unlikely scenario. He and Howard literally acted nothing alike. Further, he'd said that the incident took place in this very house. It made no sense that she'd confuse the two of them, considering Howard didn't live with them.
"It's the truth! The day I got back from the business trip," she reminded him. "I was expecting you to come home shortly. I heard the door, so I went downstairs to start the dance I'd planned. I saw…what Ithought was you sitting on the fucking couch, just hanging out."
Hunter's mouth parted in shock, before he regained enough composure to actually form words. "So you fucking stripped for him? And at no moment did you realize it was Howard? You've been married to me for almost a decade and you know I've got an identical twin. How could you be so stupid, Stephanie?"
Now, she felt her own anger beginning to surface. With more than a bit of attitude, she said. "I mean, maybe if you'd told me you'd given that son of a bitch our house key I'd have thought twice about it. But you didn't; so I didn't. If anybody in that situation was stupid, it was you."
"So now I'm stupid?" He asked, gesturing to himself. "I'm not the one who went through an entire dance routine not noticing I was giving it to the wrong person. Maybe the next time you decide to role-play, you'll make sure you're playing with the right fucking guy!"
"Go to hell!" Stephanie replied with just as much irritation as he was conveying. For the next few moments she was silent, then finally took a deep breath. Yelling at him about this wasn't going to get them anywhere. Explanation was the key here. "You can try all you want, but it wasn't my fault that that happened. Yes, I feel bad about it," she clarified upon seeing his eyes flash in anger again. "And-and maybe I should have paid closer attention or something. But I didn't because sometimes the way you look at me is distracting…in a good way. I really wanted to make it through the majority of the song before I had to have you – so I purposely didn't look at you…or…what should have been you, very much."
Abruptly, Hunter asked, "How far did it go?"
"Huh?"
"How far did things get between you two?"
Stephanie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck for a moment. "I'm not sure it's such a good idea to go into details," she replied hesitantly.
"Howard and I just beat the shit out of each other. I left the douche laying on the floor of a bar, mostly for calling you outta your name. I wanted to know how far he got, so I know how pissed off I should be," he explained. "Since you won't tell me, I'm gonna take that to mean that things barely missed going all the way. So I'm gonna get in my truck, drive back to that bar and kick his ass some more!"
"Hunter, no!" Stephanie pleaded. If he'd done what he said, it was a miracle he was able to walk out of the bar of his own accord, rather than in handcuffs. Returning to the very same scene, to cause more bodily harm to his twin certainly wouldn't do him any favors in the freedom department. She couldn't have him being arrested, on top of everything else that was going on. She stepped forward to plant one hand on his chest. She pushed against him, though she knew that if he truly wanted to, he could shove her out of the way with no problem whatsoever. "After the dance routine…I…did a bit of a lap dance. And then I started kissing him. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something felt very off. I was trying to figure out why that was and that's when the light bulb went off and I realized it was Howard and not you. He was trying to push me to lie down on the couch but I made him stop. I slapped him, he tried to persuade me to continue and we argued a little, but I made him leave. That's everything that happened, I swear it is."
Hunter's posture didn't relax and he didn't back farther away from the door. He still looked fairly angry, but at least he wasn't yelling again. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want this," she said pointedly, gesturing between the two of them, "to happen."
"Fuck that, Steph! This wouldn't have happened if you had been the one to tell me! You should have told me what happened the very moment I got home that day!" He said sternly, even pointing his finger to further drive his statement home to her.
"Hunter, I planned to. I really did. But…I don't know…you were so genuinely happy to see me. And you hadn't looked at me that way since the first mix up. It felt like we had just fixed things and I wanted us to enjoy that for at least one afternoon."
"I get that, I do. But do you have any idea how foolish you've made me look? Forget the fact that I'd already be pissed at the shithead pretending to be me, feeling you up and shit. But on top of that, we've been hanging out and learning stuff about how we grew up. You think I would have continued trying to be cool with him, knowing what he tried to do with you?"
"I'm – well I wasn't sure..."
Hunter stared at her incredulously, saying nothing. He was waiting for the punch line, or a break in her serious façade. But it never came and after half a minute, he got tired of waiting. "Are you screwing with me right now? Huh? The man tried sleeping with you, in our damn house and you had to wonder whether or not I'd have kicked his ass back then?"
"Most of our recent fights somehow involved him. You seemed perfectly ready to take his side each and every time. So, no I wasn't sure what to expect from you."
Now, he did finally step back. He poked his tongue out a little bit, wetting his bottom lip. He honestly couldn't believe that Stephanie was completely serious with what she said and thought about this fuckery with Howard. Even when their marriage was hitting horribly rocky spots in those first couple of years, he never dealt well with people openly hitting on her. Random fans he could ignore, but he couldn't do that to people that they saw on a somewhat regular basis. Howard would definitely have fit into the latter category, except for the fact that Hunter had the power to break that bond anytime he so desired.
Attempting to trick Stephanie into having sex with him? Definitely a cause for Hunter to put a boot to his ass, literally and figuratively. Furthermore, he'd long since apologized for his words and behavior, regarding siding with Howard's woman-hating bullshit. He thought that they were pretty much past that, now that Stephanie understood why he'd been doing and saying the things that he had. But maybe he thought wrong.
But instead of saying any of that, something else came out of his mouth instead. "I'm gonna take a shower," he decided.
Stephanie watched after him in silent confusion as he stalked into the bathroom and closed the door. She didn't hear a lock click, but she wouldn't dare attempt to join him right now. It was clear to her that he hadn't finished saying everything that was on his mind. But at this point, she wasn't going to press the issue at this very moment. Not when he'd calmed down considerably. Maybe the shower would help clear his head some more. She took a seat at the edge of the bed, letting her mind wander in a hundred different directions while she waited for him to emerge.
Around twenty minutes later, she heard the door click. She turned her head towards the bathroom just in time to see Hunter emerge. He was only wearing a pair of boxers, but that wasn't what had her eyes practically jumping out of their sockets. In addition to the bruise forming under his eye – which now seemed angrier than it had half an hour ago – there were a couple forming in the area of his ribs and chest.
Dismissing the fact that things were still unresolved, she immediately got up and went over to him. Her blue eyes were full of concern as she eyeballed the areas critically.
"It looks worse than it feels," he told her, taking a step back because he anticipated her next move.
"Just shut up, will you?" She asked, although it was really much more of a command.
Hunter rolled his eyes, sighing in defeat as she lifted her hands to his torso.
Soft, slender fingers pressed lightly against his ribcage, feeling all around to make sure there were no protrusions or dents. He hissed a little bit when she touched a particular spot. "I don't feel a break…but you should ice this as soon as possible."
"I did; that's why I took so long in there. I used one of those instant cold packs."
"All right," she said, nodding in approval. "Stay here while I get something to wrap your hand and your ribs."
"That's unnecessary," he told her quickly.
"I fucked up big time by not telling you about the mix up…and now you're hurt because of it. Let me help. Please?"
Another sigh was his reply as she disappeared around the corner and into the bathroom. He seriously felt like he didn't need to be wrapped up like some kind of mummy. During his wrestling career he'd certainly suffered far worse than this. And…well, yeah Stephanie always wanted to tend to him. And yes, he never let her do so without protesting at least a little bit.
Tonight was different, though. His wounds were way less serious and he knew he'd be fine within a couple of days. Quite simply, he just didn't have the mental or emotional energy to go back and forth with her about it. She felt like shit and so did he. What was the point of making either of them more stressed out?
Stephanie reappeared and made quick work of dabbing his hand and knuckles with hydrogen peroxide and ointment. Next, she bandaged up his right hand, leaving only his fingertips exposed. To hold everything together, she used a binding clip.
Hunter lifted his hand to examine her work. He flexed his hand, surprised to find that it wasn't as restrictive as he assumed it would be. "Not bad," he complimented. "You may proceed with that," he allowed, gesturing to the ace bandage she'd placed on the bed.
Stephanie cracked a small smile, reaching over to grab the material. She wrapped it around the area a few times, making sure it would provide compression, without cutting off his damn circulation. Years spent watching trainers try to help wrestlers after they'd banged themselves up had certainly taught her a thing or two. Having used the only binding clip in sight, for his hand, she simply tucked the end of the wrap. "Done," she announced.
"Thanks," he said, glancing down at her again. "Look, for what it's worth, I'm sorry I gave Howard a key and didn't tell you. I was wrong...But you were wrong for keeping what happened from me."
Stephanie averted her stare to the floor momentarily. "I know I was and I'm sorry."
Hunter nodded, shifting his feet awkwardly. "Well…goodnight."
Furrowing her brow in confusion, Stephanie asked, "Huh?"
"I'm sleeping downstairs tonight."
"Why? You don't have to do that."
"I kinda do," he disagreed. "I don't know if Howard's gonna try to retaliate and he's still got our house key. I'll call someone to change the locks in the morning."
"Oh," she said softly. That sounded like a very valid explanation for him wanting to sleep downstairs. But something about his demeanor said to her that safety wasn't his entire motive. "Is that the only reason?"
"I don't really wanna talk about it anymore tonight. And it's something that you're gonna need to think about by yourself."
"I don't want this to fester...but I'll respect your wishes," she agreed, although she was a bit worried about how cryptic and vague he was being about it.
Hunter took a deep breath and tried not to wince at the ache he felt due to the action. "All I'm willing to say about it right now is that what I've always needed from you, Steph…is for you to trust me with your whole heart."
"I do trust you with my heart. You're the only one I've ever trusted with it, Hunter."
Hunter shook his head to disagree with her. "You trust me with the parts you're not afraid I'll break. And this didn't happen during the couple of separations we had. It's always been that way. Yeah, maybe I just now figured out how to put it in words and all but that doesn't make it any less true. And I can't prove you wrong when I can tell that you're banking on me screwing up."
Stephanie threw an arm out to the side and allowed out to thud against her thigh. "I'm not really sure what you want me to say here. It's unfortunate that you feel that way, but I don't agree with you."
Hunter shrugged casually and said, "Fair enough."
For some reason, his nonchalance just irritated her. Why would he throw out such an accusation only to treat it as if it meant nothing at all? If he didn't care, he shouldn't have brought it up. Especially since he was totally, completely, one-hundred percent wrong. Really, how many times had he screwed up and she just welcomed him right back? If he didn't have her heart, she probably would have cut her losses several years ago. But for better or worse, there was no part of her that didn't belong to him. It was infuriating that he seemed to think otherwise. "You can't just try to magically predict my thoughts and feelings, you know."
Instead of responding to her brewing insult, Hunter gave her a slight, lopsided smile. He turned and walked out of their bedroom door, deciding that he'd leave her with her own statement as a final thought. Especially since that was his entire point – that Stephanie often wasn't very open with either of those things. Not unless they were in some fight or she needed to vent. But just on a day to day basis? There were just some parts of her that not even he seemed to have access to. He could never put his finger on it, until this very conversation. In the last few years he'd made great strides in trusting and being more open with her. And she hadn't really done the same. In the beginning of their relationship, he didn't notice, given that she was as closed off and wary as he was.
But that wasn't the case anymore. He felt like he'd done more than his fair share to prove to her that she and their marriage meant everything to him. He just didn't feel that he'd ever received the same from her.
*wearing a halo, here*
