A/N: Sorry for the delay, things have been a little hectic. Hopefully they'll all sort themselves out soon. Thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts, they are very much appreciated. Hope you like this chapter.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's. Everything else belongs to somebody else.


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Chapter 17: Walking S.T.D.

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The next few days flew by, there was no word from Phil. I had called and texted him but he never answered my calls, and never replied to my messages. He was ignoring me and I really didn't blame him. He was pissed and hurt. I knew that I needed to give him time to calm down, but at the same time I loved this man and I wanted nothing more than to hear his voice again.

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This whole mess was my fault. If only I had been honest from the start, but to be frank, I'm not really sure when the start was. Maybe I should have told Phil the moment we began dating, went against our agreement and just been upfront, but then back then I had no reason to tell him. Perhaps I should have told him when I found out how he felt about Randy, when I realised the intense hatred they shared. Who knows when the right time was? All I know is that I had clearly missed it and ended up hurting the man I love.

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I had spent the whole week cooped up at Ted's house in Tampa, thinking about everything and moping about. I could have gone back to my apartment but over the last year I had rarely spent any time there that it didn't feel like home any more. Most of the time I stayed with Phil at his place in Chicago when we weren't working or travelling, but obviously that was not an option. I hadn't told Ted outright what had happened but I guess he had put the pieces together from bits of gossip that he had heard because he wasn't his usual self. He hadn't uttered a word about how much of a jerk Phil was or how much better off without him I was, he just gave me my space and the odd time he gave me a sympathetic smile. It was somewhat comforting.

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Today I had media appearances, which I was dreading. Not because I didn't want to see the fans, or I was afraid I couldn't hide my misery, I was dreading the fact that for the majority of today I would be with the man who had instigated all this drama. The drama which led to my current heart break, Randy Orton. And not only would I have the displeasure of his company, I also had to act like his girlfriend. Fuck my life.

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I arrived at the hotel and entered the lobby. First up we had an interview with an online podcast, then one with WWE Magazine and then we'd be signing autographs before the house show this evening. I checked in at reception before taking my bags to my room and returning to the lobby to wait for the interviewer. I was sitting on the plush couch, reading through a magazine when I felt a presence behind me. Without even turning I knew who it was and continued with my reading.

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"Well hello, Sweet cheeks." He spoke, moving to sit beside me.

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I promptly scooted up the couch, putting distance between us.

"You're not still angry are you? It's been four days, I would have thought you'd be over it by now."

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I snapped my magazine shut.

"Listen Orton." I sneered, "I'll work with you because I have to, but don't expect me to make conversation with you. We are not friends."

"Easy, tiger. I hear you."

"Good, because the sooner you understand that I want nothing to do with you, the better for all of us." I replied turning away again.

"Oh, I didn't say I would comply with your wishes. I just said I heard you." He smirked.

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A growl escaped from my throat as I suppressed the urge the beat him to death with the glass vase on the table in front of me.

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The interviews were horrendous. The WWE one was nowhere near as bad as the podcast but it was still pretty bad. All I had to do was answer questions while the girl wrote down what I was saying, the podcast was a different matter.

As it was filmed, I had to sit close to Randy, playing the part of the loved up bitch who screwed over her brother for the viper. Of course Randy took liberties. He put his hand on my knee, wrapped his arms around my waist and at one point he tried to kiss me.

Luckily the interview was over and I was able to avoid his kiss as the guy who hosted it stood to shake our hands. When he left Randy was smirking at me, his arm still around my waist. Slowly I turned towards him, smiled and kneed him straight in the groin before leaving the hotel room and going to my own. I promptly changed into some sweat pants, a vest top and trainers before making my way to the hotel gym.

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I arrived at the gym and headed straight for the punch bag. I was pissed off and frustrated, I desperately needed to work it out of my system before tonight's show. I laid into the punch bag, throwing left and right hooks before losing all control and pummelling it.

As I threw another punch, the bag shifted to the left, the momentum of my own swing sent my hand into a metal support beam that was against the wall. I heard a crunch and felt a shooting pain before the rest of my body followed, sending me to the ground.

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I knelt on the ground, cradling my throbbing fist in my uninjured hand while I struggled to regain my composure. The pain from hitting the metal had hurt so bad that tears had sprung to my eyes and as soon as they appeared, everything else that I had been feeling came to the surface too. All the confusion, the anger, the heartache. Every emotion decided this was the time to escape and I found myself on the ground of the gym crying silently.

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A shadow loomed over me and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was, I'd know his scent anywhere.

"Scarlett, are you all right?" He asked.

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I moved away from his touch and got to my feet, still clutching my injured hand to my chest.

"I'm fine." I replied as coolly as I could, as I blinked away the last remaining tears.

"Let me see your hand." He spoke again.

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I took a deep breath and turned around to face him. My eyes instantly locking with his before I averted my gaze away. He reached for my hand but I stepped back, out of his reach.

"I'm fine." I repeated.

"You're obviously not. You might have done some damage, let me take a look at it."

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I met his eyes once again. All the anger I had been feeling towards him seemed to melt away, maybe it was due to the fact that my hand was really killing me. I wasn't sure, all I know is that I found myself reluctantly allowing him to examine my hand.

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As soon as his fingers made contact with me, my skin began to scorch. Goosebumps rose up on my arms and his touch trailed a fiery path over the delicate skin on my hand. The sensations he caused in me was nearly enough to numb the throbbing pain from my knuckles. Everything was silent as he took a good look at my hand, so quiet I could hear my own heart beat. The moment seemed to go on forever until he spoke, breaking the silence.

"I'm not a medical professional but I'd say there is definitely some damage. Possibly a fracture. You didn't wear gloves?"

"I forgot." I mumbled.

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In my haste I had forgotten to put gloves on or even tape my hands as I would normally do. This was very uncharacteristic of me. Evidence of how messed up my mind was at the moment.

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We stayed that way for a few moments, in silence. I was back to avoiding his gaze. It was only when another voice sounded that I lifted my head from staring at my feet.

"Isn't this cosy?"

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I looked to the owner of the voice, startled by his loudness after the long silence.

"What happened to your hand? Did he do it?" He asked again.

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It was then I realised that the man in front of me was still holding my hand in his. I pulled it away and held it against me, receiving a sharp pain for my actions.

"No. It was an accident." I replied, avoiding his intense gaze too.

"An accident? Then why are your eyes red and bloodshot? Why were you crying?"

"I have to go." I replied taking off for the exit.

"Scarlett. Wait." A voice called after me along with the sound of footsteps.

"Don't even think about it." Came another voice.

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I stopped and turned around to face the two men who were glaring at each other. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and approached them as they began to argue.

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"This is nothing to do with you Orton, so butt out."

"It's nothing to do with you either, last I heard you dumped her and left her crying in a hallway, Punk."

"You know nothing. Mind your own business."

"I know that when I came in here I saw Scarlett crying and you gripping her."

"She injured her hand, I was checking on her. Not that it's any of your concern."

"It's not your concern either now Punk. She's not your girlfriend any more."

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"Shut up!" I yelled, getting their attention. "She, is standing right here!"

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"Scarlett." Randy said as he moved towards me, "I'm just looking out for you. He's already hurt you enough."

"And you haven't?" Punk asked incredulously.

"No." Randy said turning to snarl at Punk, "I would never hurt such a delicate flower."

"Delicate flower? Really? You're comparing Scarlett to a flower? Do you even know her at all?"

"I know her better than you think."

"Oh yeah, because she is the epitome of a delicate flower. The same girl who bitches and moans in long car journeys, who throws a fit if she can't find her phone, refuses to admit that she might have lost it and blames someone else when it turns up in her bag. The same girl who likes to watch horror movies and root for the bad guy, who probably just broke her hand punching a solid metal beam... yeah, sounds like a delicate flower to me."

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Randy was silent after what Phil said. For the first time it seemed the viper was truly speechless.

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"Anyway, Scarlett. You should really get your hand checked out. I could bring you to the emergency room if you want." Phil said.

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He caught my eye and those butterflies fluttered in my stomach again. I was about to respond when Randy piped in again.

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"She doesn't. I'll take her."

"She, has a mind of her own Orton."

"She doesn't need you playing mind games with her just trying to hurt her even more than you already have."

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They began arguing again. I had had enough.

"Can you two stop acting like children for a minute?" I said, they both turned to look at me. "Much better."

"Come on, I'll drive you." Phil said walking towards the exit as I followed.

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"What? You're going with him? Scarlett, don't be an idiot." Randy shouted, grabbing my arm.

"Don't you ever tell me what to do." I snapped pulling my arm away. "And do not touch me."

"I'm trying to stop you from making a huge mistake. He's just doing this to get at me, he knows there is something between us and he hates me that much that he is willing to use you to get to me. You're going to end up hurt." He spoke.

"That must be the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard. Firstly, there is nothing between us, never was, never will be. Get that into your thick head. Secondly, this is nothing to do with you, so keep your nose out of my business."

"I'm just looking out for you." He defended.

"No you're not. You're trying to use me to get to Phil. Contrary to what you may think, I am not an idiot. I don't know how I can make this any clearer to you. We are not in a relationship, we are not even friends. You are a big, walking S.T.D and quite frankly, I hate your guts. Are you understanding any of this?"

"But.." Randy began.

"Stay away from me or I'll spell it out my feet." I threatened.

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I turned heel and walked towards the doors where Phil was waiting.

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I could see he was trying to hard to hide his amusement but failing. A sly smirk spread across his face as we walked through the lobby.

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"Walking S.T.D?" He asked as we got into his car.

"I thought it was rather fitting." I replied buckling my seat belt with my good hand.

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He laughed before putting the car into gear and driving off in the direction of the nearest hospital.

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Roxxi =)