Roman walked fast out of Seth's house the second he saw Dean's car park out on the street. Seth followed behind, pleading with Roman not to do anything stupid, but Roman wasn't listening. He was blinded by rage. Dean opened the car door and grinned at his friends.

"Hi, guys," Dean said. "I brought whiskey and..."

Dean didn't get to finish that sentence. Without a warning Roman jumped Dean and started beating down his so called best friend. Dean had no idea what had caused this but he fought back the best he could.

"What the fuck? Roman! Stop it!" Dean yelled.
"Did you stop when she told you to?" Roman screamed.

The scared look on Dean's face said it all. Roman had somehow found out the truth.

"Yeah, I know," Roman said. "You're gonna fucking pay for what you did."

No one had ever seen Roman that angry. Seth didn't dare to interfere as he watched Roman beat Dean. It didn't matter how much Dean tried defending himself. Roman's anger had reached unknown limits, and Dean didn't stand a chance.

Roman continued until he was out of breath. He stopped and stared at Dean while he tried catching his breath. Dean crawled back to his car and somehow managed to get in. He sat in the front seat and tried gather enough strength to drive away. Roman took a step forward, and Seth finally reacted and ran in front of Roman to stop him.

"Enough!" Seth said firmly.
"I'm not done," Roman said.
"Yes, you are," Seth said. "If you kill him, you're gonna have a bigger problem on your hands. This is Dean. You know damn well he'll take this beating as a man and not report you. But if he's dead, there's no fucking hiding it, Roman. Take the win and leave. Don't go for a second round."

Roman stared at Seth for a few seconds and then suddenly took off sprinting in the direction of Chili's home. He knew where she had moved to. He had kept updated on her whereabouts despite not talking to her. She didn't live too far from Seth. He sprinted all the way there and rang the door bell. She opened shortly after. He blinked and took in her face. Still so damn beautiful.

"I'm so fucking sorry," he lifted his hands. "I..."
"You're bleeding," she said.

He looked at his knuckles. The skin was broken on all of them after beating Dean. He hadn't stopped to take in the pain from his hands until that second.

"Dean showed up," he said.
"Oh," she said. "I suppose I owe you a thank you for that although it's a bit too late. Come on in and let me clean you up."

He followed her inside. Shortly after he found himself in her bathroom while she washed the blood off him and cleaned his knuckles. He hissed at the pain but let her do whatever she needed to do.

"Why don't you report him? You got the video," he said.
"He's gonna claim we did rough roleplay. He told me so. It'll be word against word. We're both wrestlers. This will blow up like crazy and everyone will say I asked for it. I can't deal with that. It might make me a coward but that's just how things are," she said.
"I need to see the full video, don't I?" He asked.
"That's up to you," she said.
"I have to," he said.
"Okay," she said. "But I'm not watching it again."

She found the video and handed him her phone. She closed the door to the bathroom and left him out there to watch the entire thing. His heart broke all over. He couldn't stop the tears from falling. After watching the video, he found her in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her for the first time in a long time.

"I'm so sorry," he cried. "I wish I could take it all back."

She grabbed his arms and moved them away from her. She had never denied his embrace before. In a way it made sense. She needed him four months ago. He had never given her a chance to get a word in. She had taken all his anger as if it was justified.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
"I was going to," she said. "It happened that night where you were away. You remember that. You came home next day and I planned on telling you everything. You stormed in and screamed at the top of your lungs. I realized it was better to let you believe I cheated on you. That way I didn't actually have to talk about it. I didn't have to tell you or anyone. I could just go on and hopefully in time pretend that it never happened."

Tears fell from her eyes. She dried them with her hands. He reached for her again but she took a step away from him. He knew it wouldn't be that easy for her to forgive him. Not after everything he had said and done.

"Can we start over?" He asked.
"How?" She asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "I could take you out on a date. We can take things slow. Like getting to know each other all over again until we're ready to move back in with each other."

She let out a short, mocking laugh. He didn't like the sound of that.

"I could never love you again, Roman. Not after everything you put me through," she said.
"But..." He whispered. "I miss you."
"You should leave. Go back to Seth and crash there. You shouldn't be alone tonight," she said.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I've been alone for four months now. I've learned to deal with it my own way. I can't take your pain on my shoulders too, and quite frankly, I don't owe it to you either. Deal with it yourself. I did," she said.

He stared at her for a few seconds and then nodded. He knew she was right. She needed him four months ago where he wasn't there for her. He hadn't been willing to hear her side back then. He had accused her and kicked her out. She didn't need him now. It didn't matter that the truth finally saw the light of day. She didn't need him anymore.

"I understand," he said. "I'm still sorry though. I hope you at least will greet me when we run into each other. No more silence and trying to ignore each other."
"I can do that," she said. "Goodnight, Roman."
"Goodnight, Chili," he said.

He walked out of her kitchen and back to her front door. She followed behind so she could lock up again. He took a step outside in the chill night. The frosty air bit into his busted knuckles. The pain was there full force, both inside and outside of his body.

"I hope you find someone one day," he said. "If it can't be me, I hope someone else will make you very happy."
"Thank you," she said. "I hope the same for you. Just listen next time. Ask instead of assuming. Even if you think you have proof."
"Fuck, it's not fair!" He gritted his teeth. "Why does he get to ruin our relationship like that?"
"He didn't," she said. "You did. I would have told you everything. We could have worked our way through it but you didn't give me a chance to say anything. I was a dirty whore to you. That's something you gotta live with."

Tears ran down his cheeks again. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms, lift her up, carry her into her bedroom and hold her all night. Instead he watched as she closed the door and left him outside in the cold.

He knew he deserved it. He had ruined the best thing that ever happened to him. He didn't deserve her forgiveness although he knew he was on the road to getting it. He just wasn't gonna get anything beyond that.