Chapter 52: Should Have Told You

Batista frowned. "Tell me what, baby?"

His use of the more affectionate term "baby", hit Elektra like a cheap shot to the stomach. The gray-eyed Diva felt her body rebelling against her, trying to keep her from speaking, trying to convince her that silence was her best recourse. But in her heart, she knew that this was her only option, because she would never be able to live with herself otherwise.

Elektra wanted to stand, to pace back and forth. She wanted space between her and Batista when she dropped this bombshell. But thanks to a speeding limousine, that was impossible, and so she had no other choice but to remain where she was, hands in her lap, eyes on the Animal's face.

Incredibly, the first words out of her mouth were the last ones she'd ever expected to say: "I kissed Randy Orton because he said that he'd help me."

Shock flashed across Batista's face like a bolt of lightning and his mouth moved soundlessly for a few moments as he struggled to find words. "What?" he finally sputtered, unable to vocalize anymore than that.

Elektra was just as surprised by her statement as he was, but she rushed on before apprehension could silence her again. "The second time, I did it to hurt you, but the first time…I swear, I only did it because I really thought that he would help me." She knew that she was babbling, but she couldn't stop. Didn't want to stop. "I didn't know what he was planning…or what would happen."

She paused, momentarily drained of speech. The shock was waning from the Animal's face, replaced by a plethora of conflicting emotions. When he spoke again, his voice shook with barely controlled feeling. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because we never talk about it!" Elektra blurted out, emotion coloring her own words. "We act like everything's okay now—and it's not!" She hesitated, but only for a moment this time. "And because it's not the only time I've done something I regretted and told myself I was doing it for you."

As soon as she said this, she knew that she had his full attention. Batista moved back a little, either giving her room to speak or merely putting distance between the two of them. Elektra didn't know which it was, and hoped that when she was finished, it wouldn't be the latter. He didn't speak; only stared at her intently.

She looked away, her pale eyes focusing on the nightstand, the chair in the corner, her own lap; anything but the Animal's face. "I don't know what Hunter is planning to do tomorrow. I know that the last person he wanted to face for the title is you; that's why he's been urging you to go to SmackDown." She knew that she was merely stating the obvious and almost grimaced at her approach. Dancing around the truth was not going to make her tell it any faster. With a tremendous effort, she looked into Batista's eyes, into rich dark irises full of love and concern for her. "The last time Triple H faced you in a title match, he tried to end your career." She saw the Animal's face crease with confusion, and realized that she had no other choice but to just spill the truth. "He paid Randy Orton to take you out."

As soon as the words left her lips, a great weight lifted from her heart. I guess the truth really does set you free…Elektra though to herself, then felt a cold hand squeeze her heart as rage darkened Batista's face. Anger at the Game…or at her?

"I don't know the exact amount; I heard it was in the thousands," She knew that she was just trying to fill the void, trying to defuse the bomb before it exploded. "Money, a title shot…and me." She smiled bitterly. "Good old Hunter; he always knows how to throw a clincher into a deal."

Batista pushed himself to his feet, pacing the distance between the bed and the far wall. His expression was tight with fury. Elektra shrank back a little as he neared her, realizing only after several seconds that he was staring not at her, but at the unseen form of the World Heavyweight Champion.

"That fucker!" he growled between clenched teeth. "I knew he was capable of some pretty sick shit, but this…this changes everything." He abruptly stopped in front of Elektra, kneeling down to her level. As soon as his eyes lighted on her face, the anger in his features dissipated. He reached out and put both hands on her face. "Baby, where did you hear this?" he asked, his voice gentle, full of concern.

Elektra swallowed back tears, and with some reluctance, took hold of his hands and pulled them away from her face. "That's what I've been trying to tell you," Her voice cracked, but she didn't allow herself to cry. Instead, she met his eyes with all the inner strength she possessed. "I've known since New Year's Revolution."

For a moment, Batista's expression didn't change. It was as though he hadn't heard her. Then, as this revelation sank in, his countenance slowly changed from loving to something cold and distant. He pulled his hands from her lap, and rose to his feet, taking a step back from her. All his movements were slow, so terrifyingly slow. For the first time in a long time, Elektra found herself afraid of him. She couldn't tear her gaze away from his face, from that chilling absence of emotion.

"I wanted to tell you," she heard herself say, as though from a great distance. Her voice sounded unfamiliar to her ears. "I was going to tell you, but then I decided it would be better if I—"

"If you what?" Batista interrupted, his tone brusque. "If you kept your mouth shut? If you pretended that it didn't happen?"

"It wasn't like that!" Elektra protested. "I made a deal with Hunter…" Her voice trailed off into silence as she realized the implications of this.

Batista chuckled humorlessly. "Of course, it's always about Hunter," His voice was soft; she couldn't tell whether he was speaking to her or to himself. "Everything always comes back to Hunter." His smile evaporated and his eyes locked on hers again. "Did you fuck him?"

Elektra was so shocked that for a second she couldn't breathe. It felt like someone had wrapped their hands around her lungs and squeezed. The shock was temporary; oxygen rushed back into her body and she was able to gasp: "What?"

"I'm not stupid, Elektra; I know how your little 'deals' with Hunter have worked in the past," The Animal's voice was emotionless. He spoke very slowly, as though he was dealing with a small child. "Did…you…fuck…him?"

Elektra didn't answer at first. Instead, she used her good arm to push herself to her feet. Wobbling unsteadily, she hobbled across the few feet separating her and Batista. She stopped right in front of him and with her uninjured hand, slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Batista's hand snapped sharply to the right, but his expression didn't change.

"How dare you!" The silver-eyed Diva's voice was hoarse and bordering on a scream. Her injured ribs were crying out in pain, but she ignored them, focusing all of her attention on the massive form of the Animal. "How dare you! I know I did a shitty thing, but how can you say that—"

"I don't know!" Batista's voice was a roar, drowning out hers. "Maybe because I just found out that you've been lying to my face for the past month! Maybe because I just found out that you made a deal behind my back with the man who made your life a living hell!"

Elektra's features sagged, the anger transforming into misery. "Dave, please," she pleaded, her voice falling in volume. "Let me explain—"

"What's there to explain?" Batista took another step away from her. His face was flushed with emotion. "You found out that Triple H paid another Superstar to end my career, and instead of telling me, you made a bargain with the man responsible." His mouth curved into a mockery of a smile. "Real simple concept. Even a big dumb animal like me can understand that."

Elektra didn't know how to respond to this, but still she pressed on. "Please—"

"Since I'm just a big dumb animal," Batista went on, still smiling that awful smile. "You can remind me what it was that you told Flair a month ago."

The change in topic was so sudden that Elektra was lost for words. "W-what?" she finally managed to say.

"The night I lost the number one contender's match, you went off on Flair," The Animal had reverted to his dealing-with-a-very-small-child voice. "I want you to tell me what you said."

Elektra understood where he was coming from, what he was trying to make her admit, but still resisted it. "Dave—"

"Say it!" The Animal bellowed. With one hand, he reached out and swept both the lamp and the clock radio from the nightstand. Elektra flinched, a muffled sob escaping from her throat. The lamp crashed to the floor, but did not break. Its light threw strange shadows onto Batista's face, making his expression even more frightening than it already was. He looked like a beast, like a snarling dog on the verge of snapping its chain. He pointed at her. "Say it." he repeated, his tone now cold.

Elektra's throat was as dry as dust, but she forced the words out in a flat monotone. "I told him that he was even worse than Hunter; that he had the chance to do the right thing, but instead, he did nothing."

Batista nodded almost imperceptibly. "That's what I thought." He lowered his hand. "Now tell me how you're any different from him." His expression had become unreadable again. There was none of the rage he had displayed a moment, and somehow, this emotionless calm was even worse.

Elektra's body shook. One by one, tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Don't do this," she pleaded, struggling to speak without breaking down entirely. "Please don't do this. I know I fucked up, but please—"

"Fucked up?" The Animal sounded almost amused. "I think this goes beyond fucked up." He tore his eyes from her face, stalking back and forth, talking as he did so. "You're the one person in this business that I trust. Hunter hates my guts. Ric's been drinking the Evolution Kool-Aid too long to be trustworthy. Everyone else on the roster thinks I sold my soul a long time ago. But you…" He broke off and looked at her again. His expression looked sad. "I always thought I could trust you; that you would never go near Hunter again after what I let him do to you."

Batista's features hardened once again into that unreadable mask. "But now, I find out that you did. That bastard finally crosses the line, and instead of coming to me, you go to him." He laughed humorlessly. "I've been waiting all this time for him to make a move, but it turns out that he already has. And you knew." He finally took a step back toward her. Elektra involuntarily shrunk back. "You knew…and you kept your mouth shut." He shook his head, once again chuckling bitterly. "Hunter must be laughing his ass off, knowing that he's got the one person who means the world to me on his side."

"I'm not on his side!" Elektra cried, her voice finding strength in the midst of her tears. She moved closer to the Animal, reaching out tentatively to put her hand on his arm. "I did it for you, not him!"

But Batista was already shaking his head. "No," he contradicted her quietly. "You did it for yourself. You lie to my face, you make a deal with that fucking asshole—you're fooling yourself if you think that you did it for me." He took hold of her hand and gently but deliberately pulled it off his arm.

"At least let me tell you why," Elektra pleaded, her voice quavering with misery. She was teetering on the brink, only a step or two away from losing control of her emotions completely.

"Why does it matter?" Batista interrupted brusquely, turning away from her. "I trusted you and you lied to me. What do we have to talk about?" He moved away from her, heading for the door.

Elektra limped after him awkwardly, grimacing with pain every time she put weight on her broken leg. "Dave, please…stop," she begged. She was weeping now. "Please, just look at me…just talk to me…don't leave like this…"

The Animal stopped at the door and abruptly turned around. For several long seconds, he stared at her without compassion or pity. "A long time ago, you looked at me and said that you were becoming just like Hunter. And I held you and told you that you were nothing like him." He paused. "I was wrong." He let this hang in the air for a few moments before pointing at her accusingly again. "You are exactly like him."

As soon as she heard this, Elektra halted, her face crumpling in disbelief. Batista wasn't finished, however; he turned back toward the door as he delivered one last biting statement: "Maybe it would have been better…for both of us…if you'd never left him." With that, he stepped out into the hall, slamming the door behind him.

Elektra couldn't move at first; she seemed to be frozen in a state of dreamlike paralysis. Then, reality hit her like the limousine had six days prior, and she bent over, her body shaking with sobs. Crying, she tried to move toward the door, but a sharp bolt of pain shot up her injured leg and she toppled to the floor. The gray-eyed Diva clawed at the floor with her good hand, trying to drag herself to the door, as though by doing so she could somehow catch up with the Animal and repair the damage she had wrought on them both.

She didn't get very far, however, before emotion crashed over her again, and this time, she gave into it. She remained on the floor, crying, until exhaustion claimed her and she drifted off into a troubled sleep.