After the chaotic night , Harlee found herself back inside of Roman's home in Pensacola , he asked Tamina to grant her permission so that she could rest peacefully. " Roman said to help yourself to anything , you should put something on your stomach sis " Tamina took a seat next to Harlee on the bed , she hugged her knees in an oversized t-shirt and tapped her skin " I'm fine Tamina …. I just want Roman back in one peace " " Oh sis , Roman is going to be alright you just need to lay your behind down and get some shut eye " Harlee slid her knees down and stretched a bit " That is going to be so difficult to do " she yawned and leaned back into the pillow " Well just try your best boo , I'm gonna head out now . Call if you need anything alright ? " Tamina placed her hand on Harlee's and nodded " I will , thank you Tamina " Harlee returned a smile .
Shortly after Tamina left her Harlee quickly reached for the photo album which Roman left next to the desk lamp. Out of curiosity she looked through it some more hoping to find more indications of their past relationship Mark hinted at earlier in the night , she was determined to find more answers about her past as well as Mark's vendetta against the man that she loved . Harlee finally reached the section of the album that contained the two images she had seen earlier , she made herself a bit more comfortable and tried to concentrate " Summerslam ….. " she whispered to herself and soon began to turn the pages only to come across images from his football days . When she reached the end of the album she took notice of a transparent blue envelope on the inside sleeve and there appeared to be a few more photographs that were face down . Harlee was a bit hesitant to see what was inside , they could have been private photographs since they were separate from the rest . After debating whether or not to open the envelope she decided to go ahead and take a look . She slowly pulled the flap back and nervously slipped the images out into her lap " Please don't hate me for this honey … " she whispered in guilt as she flipped one of the photos over and found something interesting " Oh my god " she gasped and placed her shaky hand over her mouth " Roman …. " she whispered as she glued her watery eyes to a photograph of Roman giving her a piggy back ride when they were teenagers , the rest of the pictures were just candids of her in the same outfit she had on in the photo they took together . Harlee palmed her face and took a deep breath , at this point she was pretty sure that Mark's earlier hint about them being involved was true . She began to wonder how deep their relationship was , Harlee slammed back into the bed and rubbed her eyes rapidly due to the sadness and frustration as the breeze came through the window and gave her legs a chill.
Seth and Dean headed down to the police station in their casual attire after the taping had ended to see what was going on with Roman " Things got rather interesting tonight don't you think ? " Seth said in a sarcastic tone as he tightened the drawstring of his gray hoodie " Also good job hitting Stephanie's nerve like that " Dean shrugged and scratched his wrist " Bitch deserved it , Steph and her husband who married her for job security need to be called out. But we have to play our cards right bro because when we take them down they all have to be sure to stay in the ground " Dean kicked his leg out and slumped into his chair. Suddenly a woman with a black hood over her head and purple pants strolls into the station with her hands in her pockets . " Look at this chick , she thinks she's on top model or something ? " Dean laughed as Seth continued to watch her as she approached one of the officers " I don't know , but she could possibly be going to have some fun with that officer since she is going into the office with him " he joked " Just kidding , she is probably an undercover cop or something . This is stupid and I am really tired , do you think they will suspend him ? " Dean asked " Nah I doubt it , if Roman gets suspended and if he does it won't go into effect until after Battleground . I bet Harlee is losing her marbles over this because they have become almost inseparable ."
After a good 15 minutes the woman quickly makes her way out of the station while pushing up her sunglasses " Oh she is just ridiculous , it's dark outside why is she … you know what never mind " Dean slicked his hair back and laughed to himself . Two officers soon came around the corner escorting a rather grouchy Roman " You are off the hook sir , you are truly lucky " the snarky police officer said to him " This is not good for a public figure such as yourself , goodbye sir " Roman cut his eyes at the slim blue eyed gentleman before snatching away from him and his partner to make his way to Seth and Dean .
" Look he's a free man … again " Dean teased " I'm just kidding , but seriously what just happened ? "
Roman wandered his eyes a bit before giving an answer " I need to get the hell out of here right now " he crunched his lips and moved ahead of his brothers " He's angry …. we like him when he is angry " Seth nodded as if he had big plans for revenge " You speak the truth Mr. Architect for the time being let's go follow this dude before he kills the first person that he sees ."
Seth and Dean followed behind Roman who was already across the street hoping into the familiar vehicle " Oh great " Seth sighed as noise of car honking irritated his ears " Good grief , we are coming " Dean chuckled and softly punched Seth's arm " I can't wait to tell AJ that you said she gave the police officer a blow job ."
Roman remained quiet inside of the car as Dean slid in next to him while Seth took shotgun " I am going to regret this " Seth rolled his eyes and strapped on his seat belt " Don't try to grope me AJ " he shook his head " It's my car and I can do what I want ! " AJ laughed " I saved your boy again too so you should let me have some fun " she giggled and pinched his cheek " This is no time for hanky panky kids , just get us out of here because Roman is clearly aggravated " Dean shouted out . Roman ran his hands through his hair and looked towards the window " AJ can you please take me to my house ? " he asked " I just want to sleep " Seth swallowed and rested his head on the cushion while Dean found it hard to digest the unusual sadness in his friend's voice " … Sure " AJ tapped the wheel and noticed the look of sadness in Roman's face through the mirror " I appreciate it my friend , thank you " he nodded and continued to look out of the window.
The time was 1am , Harlee woke up to the sound of water running and steam warming up her legs . She quickly sat herself up and looked around in a panic " Oh my god " she gasped and looked towards the bathroom door where the steam had been coming from. Someone was obviously in the shower , although it was impossible for her to be followed by anyone she couldn't do anything about her paranoid nature , Harlee grabbed on to the bed sheets praying that someone she knew would be the one to step out of the bathroom as she heard the water stop. She took a deep breath and decided to call out to him " Hello ? " she cried out and grabbed her t-shirt collar . After not getting an answers she got up from the bed and approached the shelf where all of Roman's trophies had been " What's wrong you don't like my trophies ? " his voice almost caused her to create a mess with his hard earn trophies " Roman " she turned to him as he stood bare chested in sweat pants as his wet hair was plastered to the front , he gave her a charming smile and reached his hand out " It's just me little lady . " Harlee quickly ran into his arms and buried her face into his moist chest " It's alright baby " he said softly and wrapped his arms around her " I'm so sorry …. " she whispered " I told you to stop apologizing " he said as he caressed the back of her neck . Roman's touch felt different to her , it felt as if his guard was down and perhaps Mark really got to him " Roman ? " she looked up to his unusually sad expression " Are you okay ? " she explored his chest with her hands to try and catch his attention " I'm alright …. come on " he took her hands and lead her to the bed where he noticed the photo album and felt his chest burn " You really like those pictures don't you ? " he picked up the album and and slapped it into his palm .
There was an awkward silence between the two of them and the same thoughts went through their heads , Mark broadcasted something personal and Roman knew it was likely that word got around to Harlee especially since she was looking through the album again . " After you were taken away , Mark scolded me " she said nervously as Roman put his head down before she could get anything else out , he knew what was coming and was not emotionally prepared for the aftermath . " Honey I need to talk to you " her voice became dry as she moved in closer and grabbed his arm . Roman rested the book in his lap and raised his head , if Harlee didn't know any better she would have thought he was on the verge of tears " Come on …. just talk to me " she whispered and massaged his shoulder . Harlee waited patiently for him to get himself together , his sad eyes finally met hers and he swallowed a bit before finding the proper words to explain himself " If this is what I think this is about , the most important thing I need you to know is that despite whatever lies Mark may have told you … I never meant to hurt you " he softly bit his bottom lip and looked away in shame " Roman … please don't … " she took him by his biceps and rested her head " I don't know who I am … I lost a huge part of my life … " he felt her tears begin to touch his skin as she tightened her grip . " My dad and Mark suggested you and me hangout , we clicked really fast " he looked forward and slowly nodded his head " During that labor day weekend you guys came to visit and we sort of picked up where we left off during Summerslam . " Harlee wiped her eye on his shoulder before looking over to him " So when you told me that you always loved me … you were referring to something that had happened between us earlier on … " she cleared her lumpy throat and took his chin " I want to you to look me in the eyes …. don't be afraid " she smiled through her tears " I did and I meant every word , and I just never meant to hurt you ….. I should have tried harder to protect you " he lips began to tremble and the tears he tried so hard to fight were beginning to overtake him " You were the first person that took the time to understand me , we were polar opposites but you never judged me … just like now " Harlee smeared her thumb under his left eye to stop a tear from falling " Things got out of hand when we almost took that step in our relationship in this very room , Mark didn't like it and neither did my parents . I didn't mind being scolded but when they attacked you I got so angry , especially with Mark because not only did he think I was taking advantage of you …. he acted as if you didn't deserve to be loved and tried to make you think that you were nothing more than a target for horny fuck boys . The night before you guys left Pensacola … we met each other in the middle of the night because the adults wouldn't drop the issue and then … " he could no longer contain his emotions as the flashbacks of that night got the best of him , he could still hear her screaming and he could still see the metal pierced through her skin due to the collision " I couldn't protect you " he cried out. Roman's emotions easily set her off , however the sight did not seem that unusual " Honey … " she quickly wrapped her arms around him and shed tears of her own " It's okay to cry … " ran her fingers through his hair as he held her and rested his head upon her shoulder " Please slap me … spit in my face … be upset … do something " she kissed his neck and continued to hold him as she cried " I will … I'm going to love you … " she whispered through her tears ,
Roman gently pinched her waist and made an attempt to stop crying " Little lady … " Harlee released him and soon looked him in his swollen eyes " I have many reasons to be upset and angry , but I also have reasons to be grateful …. I know that you would never hurt me Roman " she smiled and began to caress his face " It's okay to cry … we should all cry while we still can " she nodded and continued to massage his face encouraging him to let it all out " It's okay " she whispered once again through her tears " I'm so sorry baby .. " for the first time since he was a teenager Roman broke down into a pool of emotions . he laid his head across Harlee's lap and cried silently as she comforted him . After Mark's revelation she wanted to know why Roman didn't tell her straight up , however after reflecting on her arrival and the way he took care of her . There was no way he would ever do something to harm her especially the way he cried for her . The way everything added up she and Roman were meant to be and she was not ready to give him up , she continued to hold him as they cried together throughout the night.
Okay I know we were supposed to head into Battleground in this chapter but I had so much going on cuz of my bday , my sister in law's baby shower , and my dental issues! Besides I wanted this to be a chapter about how strong the bond is between Harlee and Roman. We are def going into the PPV next chapter . Also I will be uploading sort of a prequel soon so watch out for it.
