Evie's phone rang just as she was coming out of the bathroom. She quickly finished pulling her hair up in a ponytail and reached for her cell phone. She noticed it was Hunter's number. Taking a deep breath and exhaling she answered it.
"This is Evie."
"Evie, it's me, Hunter."
"Who else would it be at seven thirty in the morning?" she replied with a slightly sarcastic tone.
Hunter grimaced. "Look, I need to know where you are so I can pick you up."
"I'm at the American Motor Lodge about a mile east of you." She sat down on the bed and picked at the coverlet. "I'll meet you out front in ten minutes."
"Fine, I'll be there," he replied tersely.
She disconnected the call and finished packing her suitcase. As soon as she was finished, she left the room and headed for the lobby. She paid the clerk for her room and dragged her suitcase out the main doors and sat down on it. She glanced at her watch and then up the street. Sure enough, the car appeared, pulled into the parking lot and under the portico where Evie was waiting.
Once she had loaded her suitcase into the trunk, she opened the passenger side door and climbed in, dragging her laptop and the tote bag she used for a purse. Hunter didn't say anything. He waited until she was settled and then he put the car in gear and left the lot.
They were both quiet. Hunter wanted to say something but he knew that almost anything he chose to say could be potentially disastrous. Instead, he left her alone so he could sort out what he wanted to say and how to go about it. There was no point in having the conversation in the car. It could wait until they got to their next destination.
The rest of the ride was spent in a slightly uncomfortable silence. They arrived on time and as soon as they parked in the hotel garage, Hunter had both their bags out of the trunk and was walking into the hotel, Evie trailing behind him.
The clerk smiled as they approached the desk. "How may I help you today?"
"We're checking in," Evie said as she pulled her organizer out of her bag. She watched as the clerk punched up the reservation.
"That's one room, double occupancy for Evelyn Mackenzie?"
"Yes, but I was wondering if you had another room available as well," responded Evie.
Hunter looked at her. He knew she was mad at him and he supposed he shouldn't be surprised by her action. A grunt escaped him as Evie caught his eye and he turned away to pretend to adjust his bag.
"I do have another room available on that floor. It's only three doors down from your reserved one," said the clerk.
"That's fine. I'll take it." Evie waited for the receipts to be printed up, paid the money and signed the receipts. She said nothing as she started walking away from the desk with both keycards in hand. She had reached the elevator before Hunter caught up with her.
He gave her a somewhat stern look as he got onto the elevator, but still refrained from saying anything. They stood in silence as the elevator ascended to the fourth floor. As the doors opened, Evie exited and strode off down the hall in the direction of the rooms. She stopped short outside a door and turned to face Hunter.
"Here," she said as she held out a keycard to him.
"What room are you in?" he asked as he carefully took the piece of coded plastic.
"I'm three doors down on this side. Is that okay with you?"
Hunter glanced at her. "Yeah that's fine."
Evie abruptly took her suitcase from him and proceeded to her own room.
A frustrated sigh slipped out of Hunter as he swiped the card through the lock and went into his room. He tossed his stuff on the floor and stood in one spot, not really looking at anything. She was going to make this difficult. But did he expect anything less? He figured she probably would and he couldn't blame her. He decided that he would just march right down there and talk to her about what had happened. No pussyfooting around.
He whipped the door open and strode down to her room. He stood outside for a second, took a deep breath and blew it out and then knocked.
The door opened and Evie simply looked at him.
He cleared his throat. "Can I talk to you?"
She didn't respond, just held the door open for him. He walked in and heard the door shut behind him. He turned around to face her.
"Look Evie, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what I did to you last night. It was inexcusable and I was a jerk."
Evie stood in front of the door, her arms folded across her chest. She still didn't speak; only watched him with an inscrutable gaze.
"I can understand if you want to quit. I mean, you've put up with a lot, not just from Jericho, but from me too and I wouldn't blame you for tossing in the towel and walking away." He paused for a moment to let her answer. When she didn't, he continued. "I don't want you to quit, but if you feel like you have to, then fine."
Evie continued to watch him. He started to feel like he was a mouse being watched by a particularly hungry cat. It made him uncomfortable, but he waited.
Finally she spoke. "Apology noted Hunter. And you don't need to worry, I'm not quitting." Her arms unfolded and hung by her sides. "But if you ever do that to me again, make no mistake, I will make you hurt for it."
Hunter nodded slowly. "I understand."
"Fine. Was there anything else you wanted?" she demanded.
"How about dinner tonight?"
"How about no? Just because you apologized… " she was cut off.
"Look Evie, I just want to do something nice to help make up for that crap I pulled. If you don't want to, fine. A simple no would do."
"Okay. No."
"Fine," he said as he walked past her to the door. "That's all you had to say." He reached for the doorknob but stopped. "For what it is worth Evie, I am sorry," he said quietly. He left without another word.
***************
The next few days were tense for both Hunter and Evie. Even though Hunter had apologized, Evie was scarcely talking to him. He was becoming slightly frustrated with her because she would only give him one syllable answers if possible. He had to keep reminding himself that he dug his own grave and now he had to lay in it.
Finally after they had finished a house show, he couldn't take it anymore. It was driving him nuts.
He approached her after coming back to his dressing room after his match. "Lemme shower and change and we can go."
"Fine," she relied from the sofa she had been sitting on.
He clenched his jaw as he looked at her. This was aggravating. He couldn't stand it anymore. "Could you do me a favor Evie?"
"What?" she asked.
"Could you please answer me in more than one word all the time?"
"Why?"
He rolled his eyes. "Because it's making me crazy that's why."
"Fine."
He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Honestly, you'd think I was talking to Stephanie the way you're behaving. This is exactly the kind of thing she used to do when she was mad at me." He gestured at her. "I've already apologized Evie. What more do you want me to do?" He started pacing. "Because I don't know what else to do. I could bring you flowers or a gift, but I know that wouldn't make any difference would it?" he asked as he looked at her.
She shook her head. "No."
"So what am I supposed to do? Get down on my knees and beg for you to accept my apology?"
The faintest twitch of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Now that would be sight worth seeing. This huge, powerful man who called himself 'The Game' on his knees, begging for her to accept his apology.
"As much as I'd like to see that, it's not necessary," she finally responded.
He heard the amusement in her voice. Maybe she was coming around. "So you do have more than a one syllable vocabulary." He kept his face straight. "Does this mean you're talking to me now?"
She sighed. "I never stopped talking to you. I just limited what I said to you."
He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
Evie moved closer to him. She supposed she had drove him crazy long enough. "Apology accepted," she said quietly.
He watched as she came towards him and stopped a couple inches away. He tentatively reached out and touched her cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.
She leaned in and gently kissed him. "Next time you won't be so lucky."
"There won't be a next time." He returned the gentle kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.
************
Evie and Hunter watched the match between Flair and Jericho on the monitor in Hunter's dressing room. Hunter had changed into his gear and was having Evie tape up his wrists while he was waiting to go on.
The match started out with Flair on the advantage. The men exchanged blows for a few minutes and then Flair was clotheslined to the outside of the ring. Jericho then climbed out and slammed Flair into the security wall. Flair was tossed back in the ring and Jericho continued to pummel him. Somehow Flair hit Jericho and after being initially stunned, Jericho shook it off and started to beat on Flair again. Flair took control with more chops and executed an assault on Jericho's lower back. Jericho threw him off and both men exchanged blows again for a few minutes. Jericho somehow managed to get Flair in a Figure Four. Flair made it to the ropes before Jericho broke his leg. The ref got distracted and missed Flair hitting Jericho below the belt. Turning the tables, Flair gave Jericho a Figure Four. Jericho ended up tapping out causing Flair to win the match.
Evie smiled as she saw Flair trash talk Jericho, who was still lying on the mat. Flair did a little victory dance and then left the ring.
"So much for Jericho," she said softly.
"Yeah, but be careful anyway. He'll be pissed as hell that he lost and will wanna take it out on someone," replied Hunter as he stood up.
Hunter turned to Evie. "I'm gonna go warm up. If you have to leave the room, be careful."
Evie gave him a mock salute. "Yes sir."
Hunter ran into Ric Flair coming down the hallway. Hunter waved at him and Ric headed straight for him.
"Hey Hunter! You see that?"
"Yeah. You really gave it to him." Hunter grinned. "I always like watching Jericho get burned."
Ric grinned. "That punk. Talkin' all that trash and he still can't take out the dirtiest player in the game!"
Hunter laughed. "Jericho never learns his lesson."
"True, true. By the way, is he still bothering Evie?"
"Not since their match, but knowing Jericho, he'll be planning something." Hunter looked at Ric. "Hey, are you gonna be around later?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I may need to talk to you about something," replied Hunter.
"Not a problem. Just come find me when you wanna talk."
Hunter continued down the hall. Ric watched him go and then went back to his own locker room.
*************
Evie thought the Hell in a Cell match between Hunter and Jericho had been brutal, but it didn't compare to Hunter's match with Shawn. Hunter had promised he would cripple Shawn and that was exactly what he did.
Both men had done some nasty damage to each other. Not only with punches, suplexes, neck breakers and back breakers, but with trash cans, a table, a steel chair, a ladder, a leather strap and the infamous sledgehammer. Shawn managed to counter a Pedigree from Hunter and rolled hunter up for the pin. Shawn got the win and Hunter displayed his anger at the out come of the match by knocking Shawn cold with the sledgehammer.
Evie walked down to the triage area to check on Hunter. Shawn had busted Hunter open with Sweet Chin Music and whacked him in the face with the steel chair. After that, Shawn had used a ladder on Hunter's face and abdomen like a battering ram. Not to mention Shawn had smashed Hunter through a table and then used the ladder to launch an elbow smash on Hunter.
Evie had cringed at the monitor when paramedics had shown up in the ring with a back board and neck brace to remove Shawn. She watched while they put the collar on him and carefully strapped him down to the board. By the time she had left Hunter's dressing room, they had removed Shawn from the ring and loaded him into the ambulance.
She came around the corner and saw Hunter lying on the examination tables surrounded by trainers and medics. She inched her way past them to have a look at Hunter. He looked horrible. The blood was being sponged off his face and head while one of the trainers tried to assess if he had any broken bones or other injuries. She leaned back against the wall, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible and waited.
Finally one of the trainers spoke to her. "We may be here a while. You might want to wait in his locker room. Someone will come and get you."
Evie nodded and left the room. She walked back to Hunter's dressing room. On her way, she ran into Ric.
"Evie! What are they doing to Hunter in there?"
"Did you watch the match?"
"Yeah. Talk about brutal. I heard they took Shawn out in an ambulance. Something about his back."
Evie nodded. "Yeah I saw that on the monitor." She waved a hand back towards triage. "They're in there cleaning Hunter up. Looks like he might need stitches. Shawn busted him open pretty bad. A lot of blood."
Ric smiled. "He'll be okay."
"I'm sure he will. He doesn't stay down for long."
Ric opened his mouth to say something, but before he could a steel chair came down over his head. Evie watched in horror as Ric fell to the floor with a thump. Before Evie could react, the chair caught her in the side of the head. Stunned, she slid to the floor, holding her head in her hands. She was trying to keep the hall from spinning. When her vision had cleared, she looked up and saw Jericho standing there wearing a maniacal grin.
His eyes met hers and she realized that she was in trouble. Slowly she started to crawl away.
Jericho noticed and dropped the chair to grab her. His arms clamped around her waist. "Oh no. Where do you think you're going?"
"I suggest you let go of me," Evie responded.
With a jerk of his arms, Jericho had pulled her to him and held her even tighter. "No use in yelling. Ric's down, Hunter's in no condition to save you."
Evie screwed her eyes shut against the dizziness that occurred when Jericho pulled her up off the floor. She felt herself being hauled across the floor and she opened her eyes in time to see that Jericho was dragging her somewhere. Probably to a deserted area where he could do more damage to her without someone interfering. She tried to break his grip, but found it useless. Her head was still spinning. Instead she went limp in his arms, hoping that her weight would slow him down long enough for Ric to wake up or someone to find them.
Jericho grunted as she became heavier. He stopped and picked her up in his arms. Evie tried to become as much dead weight as possible. Again, Jericho stopped to hitch her back up so he could carry her. The motion jogged her left arm and it dangled between her and Jericho. She surreptitiously reached down with her hand and grabbed him and twisted hard.
Jericho yelled at the pain and dropped Evie on the floor. She rolled away from him, towards Ric. Looking over at Jericho, she noticed with satisfaction that he was clutching himself, a look of pain on his face.
"Augh! You bitch!" he spat out. Evie pulled herself up off the floor, clutching her head again as the dizziness threatened and started walking away.
"You fucking bitch!" Jericho yelled. He walked slowly towards her, picking up the chair he dropped.
Evie started walking a little faster, glancing behind her. She noticed that Ric was stirring and before Jericho had reached him, Ric opened his eyes. He saw Evie and then looked over as Jericho's feet came into view. Ric reached out and grabbed Jericho around the ankles, toppling him to the ground.
"Go Evie!" Ric yelled. "Get outta here!"
Evie didn't need to be told twice. She picked up her pace and headed back to the triage area since it was closest. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ric and Jericho grappling on the floor. She stumbled into the triage area.
One of the trainers looked at her. "Shit. What happened to you?" he asked as he helped Evie over to an examination table.
Hunter was still there. They had finished patching him up and he was sitting up on the other table. "What the fuck?" he exploded. He stood up and walked over to Evie. "What the hell happened?"
She explained to both men what had taken place and the trainer sent three other people to check on Ric. He quickly checked Evie over and when he didn't find any serious damage, he gave her an ice pack for the bump that was forming on the side of her head.
"Thanks Dave," said Evie as she took the pack from him.
"You're lucky he didn't knock you out or fracture your skull. You're gonna have one hell of a hematoma though."
"Well it wouldn't be the first time," Evie joked. She looked at Hunter. He looked like he was ready to strangle someone.
"It's not funny Evie. He could have done some serious damage." His face hardened. "I'm gonna kill that son-of-a-bitch," he muttered.
"If you go out there, I go too. You're not the only one who wants some payback," Evie said quietly.
"You're not going out there."
"Then neither are you. You're in no condition for another fight and I don't want both of us ending up in a hospital or worse."
"Fine," Hunter grunted. "But that prick will get what's coming to him. I guarantee that."
*******************
A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews! Jessica- I hope this is long enough for you. If not then - neener neener neener! *sticks out tongue* Just kidding. It would have been longer, but I don't like cramming so much on a page. I have found that when the page is too long, interest is sometimes lost. And besides, I didn't want to leave all of you waiting until next week to read it!