Chapter 54

The plane ride was silent as well as the ride to the hotel. Mark wasn't going to the house show that night, his head hurt way too much, and the media appearances were enough to make him want to sock someone in the face. Because she was part of Deadman Inc, Alice had to tag along and plastered a smile on her face, shaking hands and whatnot. After 3 radio interviews, 2 regular interviews at some venue, and an over the phone interview, all revolving Summerslam, it was time to call it a day.

Alice decided against getting her own hotel room because of the Alliance, letting cooler heads prevail, but had changed their room to have two beds. She just needed time to get over what Mark said to her and what happened. Everything would work out for the best, or so she thought. Mark didn't comment on the two separate beds when they walked into their room, having gone straight to media appearance as soon as they landed. Their bags were left in the lobby to be taken up to their room. Collapsing on her bed, Alice stared up at the ceiling and shut her eyes, hoping their relationship would survive this fight.

Unlike Alice, Mark wasn't sweating the status of their relationship at the moment for the simple reason: no relationship survived without a fight or a hundred. He was exhausted and had made himself a vow to never drink like that again before a day he would be busy running around for a pay-per-view. Getting through the countless media appearances and signings, without breaking someone in half, had been a chore. He figured they'd be pissy and then reconcile in the morning or something. Everyone fought, it was just a matter of getting over it.

The following day, Alice was up before Mark and down at the hotel gym at 6 AM, needing a workout. She didn't do it the previous day due to all the media appearance, but the first signing wasn't until noon. Then another at 3 PM and then the last one at 6 PM. The silence was deafening between her and Mark, but Alice didn't know what to say to him. She already knew she wasn't good enough for him and her insecurities were shining through…insecurities she tried holding back and hiding.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became and soon, she was kicking the bag repeatedly instead of doing each kick precise. Both feet were kicking the bag one after the other as beads of sweat formed on her forehead, neck and arms. She had on black spandex shorts and a black sports bra, her hair braided down her back tightly and a black bandana was wrapped around her head. Taking a break, she stopped with the leg workout and began jabbing the bag with her fists, wearing protective fingerless gloves to protect her hands.

His beautiful redheaded angel was angry. He could see it radiating from every pore of her body and he almost pitied the idiot who had hurt her because those kicks and punches looked brutal. Lethal, if she had aimed them at someone's head. Rumor was… Alice and Taker had been distant throughout their activities, but those had just been rumors and he had ignored them because in this business, rumors flew around like fireworks on the Chinese New Year. However, seeing her like this, so hurt and mad… made him think.

Feeling like someone was watching her, Alice slowly turned around and didn't see anyone, eyebrows furrowing together. Was it Dallas? He hadn't bothered her since their last conversation, which was a very small blessing. Alice didn't feel like dealing with him or the Alliance right now, just wanting to focus on her workout. She glanced up at the clock, seeing it was going on 9 AM and blinked, not believing she'd been doing this for the past 3 hours. Deciding she had enough, Alice made her way out of the hotel gym and back up to the room to shower, stopping at the sight of Mark standing outside in the hallway with Stephanie. She immediately snuck back into the doorway of the stairwell and listened in since their room was just adjacent to it, grey eyes narrowed.

"Listen, I'm planning on turning against my brother when all is said and done. I know the WWF isn't going anywhere, what fool do you take me for, Deadman?" Stephanie purred, once again digging her nails into his bare chest and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "I think we could develop some kind of partnership just like we did back in '99, hmm? You know you enjoyed it, deflowering me and showing me how to become a woman…do you honestly think you can change that stripper whore into a woman? Think about it, Mark…"

Why wasn't he shoving her away or yelling at her to get lost? Alice was so confused when it came to Stephanie and Mark's relationship…and it made her sick to her stomach as those nails once again dug into his chest.

"Why isn't he telling her to get lost, hmm, sugar?"

Dallas had followed her and when Alice had come to a halt and then backtracked, because she was obviously eavesdropping… he was curious. He stood behind her, seeing her body tense, his mouth by her ear. His blue eyes watched as Stephanie ran a hand up Mark's chest to his throat, squeezing gently and had to wonder what the hell kind of kinks they had.

Mark's hand moved to catch hers, squeezing in warning, though to anyone else, it probably wouldn't seem that way. THAT particular kink of his was private and she had only discovered it accidentally. As a general rule, he liked to do the choking.

"Oh, you DO remember…" She purred seductively.

"Now sugar, I hate to say it, but it kind of looks like they never really stopped, doesn't it?"

No, it didn't.

It looked as though Mark was captivated by the Princess and Alice felt so much hurt and pain flood her body. No wonder he'd fallen asleep on her during sex! She probably wasn't kinky enough for him or didn't satisfy him the way she thought! Alice could feel Dallas behind her, feel his hot breath against her ear and neck, but didn't move or respond to him. He still scared the hell out of her, but that fear was overshadowed by the pain in her eyes and face. It was obvious the Ministry angle between them had a lot more meaning between the two than either let on. No matter how hard she tried, Alice couldn't pull her gaze away from the scene. It was like watching a car wreck in slow motion – one could never look away.

He hadn't backhanded her into next week, so Stephanie was taking that as a good sign and slowly moved her hands up until she could pull herself up, kissing his jawline. "Think about it, Mark." She whispered, running her tongue along his bottom lip before stepping back. "Just like old times."

Even by his standards, that was cold, and Alice's shoulders were beginning to shake. Dallas wanted to reach out and hold his woman, but… this was a harsh lesson she needed to learn. "Sugar… I think, from the way he's not pushing her away, all you were was a distraction to him."

Mark STILL hadn't pushed her away and let that whore slid her filthy disgusting tongue along his bottom lip! Alice felt nauseous, finally looking over her shoulder at Dallas and then back at Mark, tears slowly spilling down her cheeks. "A distraction?" Her voice cracked, talking barely above a whisper and felt Dallas's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently as a way to comfort her.

What was she supposed to do now? Mark was her everything, the man she loved, and here he was allowing another woman to touch him and nearly kiss him! Alice wanted to go out there and rip Stephanie's hair out of her head and shove it down Mark's throat, her fists clenching at her sides as she continued watching.

"Alice, if he cared about you, he wouldn't be…" Dallas gestured at the pair, seemingly without words. "That." He would not be standing there with Stephanie McMahon, out in public, in a hallway that seen a lot of foot traffic -no doubt because of the event going- and letting her make obvious advances on him. "I'm sorry sugar." He whispered soothingly.

Mark would have to bleach his entire face now. He felt dirty, like he had just been prison raped or something, but said and did nothing, just stared down at her, his eyes dark and brooding.

"Please stop." Alice pleaded in a whisper, feeling her heart clutch painfully in her chest and actually gripped her sports bra, the tears not stopping. She couldn't see Mark, not right now and watched Stephanie saunter away, sashaying her way down the hallway with Mark watching her. He went back into the room she shared with him, acting as if nothing happened and Alice didn't know what to do. "Stay away from me, Dallas. Even if I'm with or without him, I will never want you. Get it through your head." Wiping her tears away, she jogged across the hallway and opened the door, immediately heading into the bathroom without a word to Mark. Her own room was definitely on the agenda after the signing that night followed by copious amounts of alcohol to numb her pain.

With an extra kick in his step, Dallas sauntered off down the hallway, going the same direction Stephanie had. He began whistling, unable to keep the smile off her face. She'd change her mind soon enough. He just knew it. His Alice was so fickle that way.

Mark had no idea where the fire was, but he really needed that bathroom. He pulled out the bottle of peroxide he carried in his bag and began splashing it on his face, just in case. He did not trust Stephanie McMahon one bit and had to wonder what her end game was. More importantly, was he going to wind up with an STD?

After an hour-long cry fest in the shower, Alice felt drained emotionally, physically and mentally. She really did not want to go to this signing, but knew the company had ordered it. Being part of Deadman Inc. suddenly wasn't that appealing. Mark was the last person she wanted to see and be around, especially after that disgusting display of affection between him and Stephanie. She would not be kissing his mouth any time soon, if ever. If he wanted that man-eater so badly, he could have her.

Alice would continue to be professional at the arenas and work with him, using him for protection against the Alliance, but that was as far as it'd go. Changing into a pair of black jeans and a Deadman Inc. sleeveless top, Alice didn't bother doing anything with her hair and left it down, brushing it. Her makeup was simple black liner, gloss and foundation, nothing special. A knock sounded at the door as Alice walked over to answer it and let Glenn inside, mumbling a half-hearted greeting before going back over to sit on her bed, staring at the television.

Glenn had the worst timing ever. Mark had finally pulled his head out of his backside and his own musings long enough to realize he should probably talk to Alice before they went to this next shebang. Except she had been in that shower for so damn long and still going out of her way not to talk to him, not look at him.

"Everything okay?" Glenn was not always Captain Perceptive, but… the air in here was so damn thick, he felt like he needed a knife to cut it away. When Mark just gave him a 'look', he cleared his throat.

"Never better, Big Red. Welcome back."

Alice had to inject sincerity into her tone and forced a smile on her face, though it didn't reach her eyes. There were simply some emotions that couldn't be drawn out without realism. After what happened between her and Mark and then witnessing Mark and Stephanie's…Alice immediately pushed that thought, that vision, out of her head and cleared her throat, changing the subject.

"How's preggo doing?" Teresa and Glenn were still friends of hers, even if her and Mark weren't together. Eventually, she would have to talk to Mark about all of this, including what she'd witnessed, and more than likely end their brief relationship.

"She's fine, throwing up everything she eats, thinks about, or smells, but other than that, fine. Says it's a good thing because she won't have to worry about weight gain with all the weight she's dropped." Glenn hadn't found that amusing and had taken to loading his wife up on vitamins and shakes, about the only things she could tolerate. Those healthy shakes. "Oh, she loves Club crackers too."

Mark smiled humorlessly, glancing at Alice. "You ready for tonight, darlin'?" He asked tentatively, figuring she probably wouldn't rip his head off in front of Glenn.

"Sure, I've always wanted to lose all functionality in my hand." Alice joked, flexing her hand and saw both men do the same, shaking her head. "My first signing…have they thought about putting the autographs in stamp form? It would be a hell of a lot easier on the hands…"

"Hell, we tried getting Vince to do that so many times, the old man refuses to take phone calls regarding that idea now. His assistant takes them and throws them away, his order. Fans like the real deal." Some were also douchebags and liked to sell autographs on eBay for a quick buck. Those were the fans that legitimately pissed him off and annoyed him. "We got 3 signings today – I'm going to kill Vince."

"Speaking of the first signing, we should get going." Alice grabbed her purse while Glenn lead the way out and felt Mark's hand on the small of her back, immediately removing it. "I'm fine." She whispered, not wanting to be touched and nothing more needed to be said as they headed down to the waiting Escalade that would take them to the first signing. WWE had drivers hired specifically for media appearances.

Shaking his head, Mark pulled his hand away, noting that she made sure she was upfront with the driver and shook his head when Glenn gave him another questioning look. Well, on the bright side, she was sort of talking to him now, that was something, right? Of course, it was probably because Glenn was there, not because she actually wanted to. Groaning, Mark knew he would have to get her away from people long enough to apologize and they couldn't keep doing this all night.

Stephanie drummed her fingernails on her windowsill, watching the three load into that monstrosity. She had definitely noticed the way Alice was carrying herself and smiled viciously.