A/N: Hello readers. Sorry for the long delay. There was originally supposed to be a second update on Christmas day as an extra present but sadly there was a death in my family. Add to that the chaos that has been my life for the past month, I didn't really have time to update.

But that was then and this is now. Another update. Hopefully you all like this new chapter. Also, there is another author's note at the end to read. Thanks for all of your support, it means a lot to me, genuinely. You're all amazing.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC. Everything/one else belongs to themselves. I am not affiliated with the WWE nor do I claim to be. This is entirely a work of fiction, created in the dark depths of my wee brain.

The song is 'Snuff' by Slipknot

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Chapter 32: If You Love Me Let Me Go

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"Bury all your secrets in my skin,
Come away with innocence and leave me with my sins,
The air around me still feels like a cage,
And love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again..."

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I stood in a stunned silence, my arm still outstretched with the $20 bill and my mouth slightly agape as I stared at the man in front of me. My brain had gone quiet, no words would come to me. I willed myself to speak, to say anything but I remained silent. My body was frozen in place too, the only thing I could feel moving was the beating of my heart.

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"Aren't you going to invite me in?" He asked.

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As soon as he opened his mouth my heart began to pound harder. I wanted to move, to speak but for some reason neither would happen.

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He took a step towards me and instantly my body tensed. Another step forward and I found myself taking one back. This continued until we were both standing in my living room. He closed the door behind him as he entered. I was now standing a few feet away from him as he pulled down his hood and stared at me.

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"You know, you can't just throw money at your problems and hope they'll go away" He spoke as he gestured to the money I still clutched in my hand.

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My eyes never left him as I dropped the money onto the table beside me, afraid that if for one second I did move my gaze he would vanish and I wouldn't know where he was. And for some reason that thought frightened me beyond belief.

He took another step forwards and I tried to move back but my legs hit the back of the sofa. He continued to move towards me, my body panicked and slid along the back of the sofa away from him. He stopped in his tracks at my movement. I was now on the other side of the small room, the sofa and coffee table barriers between us. With my gaze still fixed on his I was able to see the confusion on his face as he took yet another step forward. Realising I had no more room left to back away I was able to find my voice.

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"Stop!" I called out. He did.

"Scarlett-"

"J-just stay there Phil." I stuttered.

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My body was tingling all over and not in a good way. Sheer terror filled every fibre of my body and cloaked every aspect of my mind. My brain was telling me not to let him get any closer, that terrible things would happen if he did. The fact that I had never experienced these thoughts and feelings about him before made that fear even worse. Add into that the knowledge of what he had done to Randy and the fact we were alone, I was petrified.

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"What do you want?" I asked finally finding my voice again.

"A lot of things. That's not really a specific question. For example, I want to be able to eat pizza every night without working twice as hard in the gym. I want my own tour bus, I want to be WWE Champion and of course I want Ice cream bars. But most of all I want my girlfriend back. But if you're talking about right now, at this very moment in time I want to know what the fuck is wrong with you?"

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He said each word cooly, he was rather matter of fact until he got to the end. Then he raised his voice and looked at me with rather angry looking eyes. I shuddered. I don't know whether it was his calmness when he spoke, the slight yelling or the look he gave me that unsettled me more, but whatever it was I was starting to panic. He kept looking at me, expecting a reply but I found my mouth dry and unwilling to speak.

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"So you're not even going to answer me? Do I have to come over there and shake you awake?"

"Don't come anywhere near me."

"She speaks." He quipped.

"Yes, and I'm telling you to get out."

"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. Not until I get an answer."

"An answer to what?" I asked finally losing my cool. "The square root of 196? The capital of Mozambique? The atomic number of Polonium? 14, Maputo and 84. There you go three answers, pick one and leave."

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The upper corner of his lip pulled upward into a smirk.

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"Very good, witty and fiery at the same time. That's more like the Scarlett I know. While I'm sure all your answers are correct, I didn't hear the one I'm looking for."

"And what is it that you're looking for? Because I could rattle off a thousand more but that would take all night and I'd prefer to get you out of my house as soon as possible."

"That." He said pointing at me. "That right there. This attitude, this... this anger. What's that all about?"

"Well when somebody barges into my house and refuses to leave I'm inclined to be pissed off."

"That's a load of horse shit. I came round here because you've been avoiding my calls. So clearly you were pissed at me before tonight. About what? I don't know. So please, clue me in because I'm not a mind reader Scarlett."

"I wasn't avoiding your calls. I was on a plane, dumbass." I shouted.

"I left messages."

"You mean the ones where you were yelling angrily into my voice mail? Excuse me if I don't call you straight back to get screamed at."

"Maybe I was a bit annoyed when I called you but-"

"A bit annoyed? Try full blown psychotic." I interrupted him.

"OK, I was pissed as hell, but that doesn't explain why you're acting like this, all jumpy and stuff."

"Look you got your answer, now please leave." I said folding my arms across my chest.

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He folded his own arms across his chest, mimicking my posture.

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"There's something else I wanted to speak to you about."

"Oh for fuck sake Phil, just get out." I cried loudly.

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All my composure was crumbling fast. Any strength I had been able to rouse up was quickly disappearing the longer he stayed. The panic was growing and all I could think about was how much I wanted him gone from my house. I could feel tears welling in my eyes but I refused to let them fall, at least not until he was gone and I could feel at ease again.

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"What the fuck have I done now?" He yelled. "This bullshit drama is really starting to piss me off right now. What the fuck is your problem?"

"You, you're my problem. How many times do I have to say it? Get out, get out, get out!"

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I tried to remain strong, tried to get angry but the tears threatening to spill and the fear I was trying so hard to keep from showing was using up all my mental energy. My voice cracked slightly and my lip began to quiver, destroying all my attempts to keep myself looking composed.

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"Scarlett, what's wrong?" Phil asked, this time his voice was laced with concern and his face had softened.

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At that moment my whole façade crumbled. My lip now quivering freely and the tears now brimming my eyes. I blinked rapidly to keep them at bay as I tried to hold the rest of my body together.

Phil took a few steps forward, going to walk around the sofa that was currently in between us.

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"No!" I shrieked, "Stay away from me."

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His brow furrowed but he remained where he stood, his hands up in front of himself in a passive manner before dropping them. I couldn't look at him but at the same time I needed to keep him in my sight so I fixed my gaze on his legs, making sure I knew exactly where he was. That's when I saw his hand by his side. More specifically, the cuts and abrasions on his knuckles. A reminder of what he had done to Randy the previous evening.

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"It's OK, I won't come any closer. But I'm not leaving." He lifted his head to look at me. "Clearly something has gotten you into this state and I can't leave you alone like this. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing." I croaked.

"Is it something to do with your family? Is it work?"

"No. Please, just go." I whispered as I met his gaze.

"Did someone... did somebody hurt you?"

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I hesitated for a moment before I answered. As he had spoke those words my previous conversation with Ted played over in my mind. When he told me Phil had attacked Randy and that he was looking for me. The fear I saw in his eyes. Fear that Phil was going to hurt me. I glanced at his bruised knuckles again and swallowed hard before I spoke.

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"No."

"I don't believe you. Look at yourself. You're terrified. You're shaking and sobbing in your own living room. Something has obviously done this to you. Or is it someone?"

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I closed my eyes and looked away briefly. I was trying to find the strength to not break down. I turned my face back round and that's when I saw him move. He jumped over the sofa and walked across the coffee table, moving too fast for me to react until he was standing right in front of me. I felt his large hands on either of my arms pulling me against him. Involuntarily I let out a scream and pushed away from him. Any composure I had left was completely gone. He kept his grip on my arms and tried to hold me still as I thrashed trying to get out of his grasp.

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"Scarlett, please calm down. It's just you and me. What are you so scared of?" He asked frustration evident in his voice.

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I refused to look at him, I kept me head turned away from him, that when I noticed those battered knuckles again holding my arm in place. My jaw began to chatter as I gazed at them and tried to stop my mind from imagining what Randy must look like after the beating Phil gave him.

He let go of me suddenly and took a step back. I remained frozen in place.

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"That's it, isn't it?" He asked, "The thing you're so scared of?... It's me."

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After a few moments of silence with neither of us moving I began to back away slowly. Phil was facing in the opposite direction with his head down, his quietness was quite unsettling. I had taken one small step and was about to take another when his arm shot out and grabbed my upper arm causing me to gasp. My head shot up to look at him, he still had his head down facing away from me, his other hand was covering his eyes. The whole scene was quite eerie. It was like something out of a horror film. His lack of movement built the suspense, I found myself on edge anticipating his next move. The silence added to my anxiety. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

He dropped his hand from his face and slowly turned to face me. His eyes were boring straight into mine now. My breathing began to pick up. He was still an arms length away from me and yet I could feel the intensity radiating off him.

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"This is what happens when you start hanging around with people like Randy fucking Orton." He said with an unreadable tone. "People like that plants seeds of doubt and watch them grow into full blown lies. I bet he's just loved nurturing this one, taking all that love you had for me and twisting into hate and fear." He paused looking me once over, "He's taken everything from me. That son of a bitch."

"Is that why you attacked him?" I scolded myself as soon as the words left my mouth. The last thing I needed to do was antagonise him more but somehow the words just kept tumbling out. "Beat him into bloody mess? Because he's taken something from you? Who do you think you are Liam fucking Neeson?"

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Phil looked at me slightly taken aback. In all honestly I was too. I had felt so scared and weak a few moments ago that I thought all my strength had been depleted. It seemed a fresh batch of anger had emerged.

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"I should have known he would have been straight on the phone to you. Did he play it all up? Ask you to play nurse to his wounded soldier?" He spat.

"Randy never called me. He was still unconscious when Ted whisked me out of the arena and stuck me on a plane. It was only after he had barricaded me inside his house that he filled me in on what you did."

"Barricaded?"

"Yeah, to keep you out." I spat. "Clearly I should have listened to him and stayed at his house. So if you're going to hit me hurry up and get it over with so my life can get back to normal."

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Phil eyed me curiously. An unreadable look on his face.

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"You think I'm here to hit you?" He asked incredulously.

"Well you're not here to tuck me in that's for sure."

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He placed his other hand on my upper arm, I was now being held in place facing him by both his hand on my upper arms while his eyes looked into my own.

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"Do you honestly think I would ever hurt you?"

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When I remained silent he shook me briefly.

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"Do you?" He repeated, louder this time.

"No, I never believed you would do that to me." I spoke. "I never thought you could be capable of such hatred or violence."

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His grip on my arms loosened.

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"But that just goes to show you what I know. Look what you did to Randy. There's that hatred and violence I was so sure you couldn't possess."

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He gripped me by the arms again, this time harder. I instantly regretted my words.

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"This is him talking!" He yelled.

"No, it's me." I yelled right back. "I saw the fear in my brother's eyes. Fear for my safety. I had people calling and texting me, telling me what you'd done. How you'd pummelled Randy, trashed the locker room, how you destroyed the Divas locker room looking for me. I listened to you screaming down the phone into my voice mail. Then you show up here all cloak and dagger in a bad mood with battered knuckles and refuse to leave my house when I beg you to."

"Yes I was angry last night, I admit that. But with Orton, not with you. You know me Scarlett, how can you be scared of me?"

"Look at it from my point of view. Are those the actions of a man who wants to give you a hug? How am I not supposed to feel scared?"

"Because I love you." He whispered moving his hands to cup my face.

"If you loved me you'd leave." I said as a tear rolled down my face. "You'd walk out that door and never look back."

"It's because I love you that I can't." He whispered looking deep into my eyes.

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I closed my eyes, unable to look at him. That's when I felt his lips press against mine gently. I felt him wipe away a tear from my chin with his thumb as I opened my eyes again. His hazel orbs were staring back into mine and they were glistening. He look his hands off my face and backed away before making his way towards the front door and opening it. He took one last glance back at me before he turned around, wiped his eye with his sleeve and walked through the door way, closing the door behind him.

I stared at the closed door for I don't know how long, until it sunk in that he was finally gone, until I realised I was finally alone. I sank down to my carpeted floor and breathed a sigh of relief before the flood gates opened and everything came busting out. Phil was gone, I was still in one piece but the whole ordeal had left me more confused than ever.

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"...So if you love me let me go,
And run away before I know,
My heart is just too dark to care,
I can't destroy what isn't there..."

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A/N:

Another quick author's note. I will be going on holiday to Los Angeles and Las Vegas shortly so there probably won't be another update until March after I get back. If I get enough reviews I will work overtime and get another update out this week. First time going to LA & Vegas, so if anyone has any suggestions of places to go there, or even any Irish bars so I can have a little taste of home while I'm away, they would be greatly appreciated.

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Thanks for reading.

Roxxi

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