Roman woke up early next morning. It had been a weird day yesterday. They had played video games that afternoon, and watched movies that night after dinner. The conversation had been kept light. Nothing personal. He had done as she asked. He still felt drawn to her like five years ago, and judging by the looks she thought she was stealing of him without him knowing, she still felt something too.

He left the bed, and didn't bother with getting dressed. It was way too early for her to be awake, and it was his house after all. If he wanted to run around in his boxers, he was allowed. He just needed to put over a pot of coffee, and then he'd hit the shower while it brewed.

He had to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen, and to his surprise she sat on the couch fully dressed. Her eyes ran up and down his body, taking in everything she hadn't seen in five years.

"You... Ehm..." She cleared her throat. "You look great. Still, I mean. You still look great. You looked great back then too. Not that I'm looking looking. But I'm looking, and you look great. And I'm rambling right now. Sorry."

He laughed and shook his head lightly. It was cute that he still could get to her like that. There was a blush in her cheeks, and all he wanted to do in that moment was to kiss her, push her down on that couch, and fuck her senseless. Instead he pushed his inner caveman aside and acted normal.

"I was about to put over some coffee," he said. "How's your head today?"
"Still aching," she said.

He walked over to inspect the back of her head. Again she hissed in pain.

"Yeah, you got a small bump back here," he chuckled. "Whoever you chose to head-butt like that must have deserved it."
"He wouldn't let me go," she said.
"Who?" He asked.
"He locked us in the bedroom. He wouldn't give me the key for the door. Instead he punched me in the face. He grabbed me, and we landed on the bed. I threw my head backwards as hard as I could. Judging by the crack I heard, I broke his nose. He let go, and I jumped out of the window," she said.
"Who?" He asked again.
"No one," she sighed. "I shouldn't have told you. My problems aren't your problems."
"You're pushing me away again," he sighed.
"Yeah, so?" She asked angrily.

She stood up from the couch, grabbed her phone and wallet from the table, and stared at him.

"As I recall, you left me," she said.
"I was hurting," he said.
"So was I!" She yelled. And you didn't wanna fight for me! You didn't even care!"
"Hey!" He shouted loudly. "That's not fair! Don't tell me, I didn't fucking care! I fought for you day and night, but you kept pushing me away! You kept letting that bastard into your life! I don't even know what you did with him behind my back!"

She slapped him hard. His cheek stung like crazy. She had not been holding back.

"I never cheated on you!" She sneered.

He could always tell her lies and truths apart, and this wasn't a lie. It was the truth. He had never asked back then. He had suspected it, but he had never dared to ask. Now he knew he should have asked. She never cheated on him.

"I loved you, Roman, but I didn't know how to do things. All I ever knew was Dolph. He was my first everything, and I know it's fucking poison for me to be with him, but I don't know what else to do. I'm never gonna be good enough for someone like you, and I tried to tell you that from the beginning. I kept pushing you away, so that it would be easier for you to move on," she said.
"Princess," he said.
"Don't you dare!" She warned him. "This is not a fairytale, Roman. It's our lives. I'm never gonna be that pink, sparkling, happy princess, you wanted me to be. I'm damaged. I'm trash. The right thing to do was to give you up."

He reached for her, but she sidestepped him. She was out of the living room fast, but he wasn't gonna let her go. Not again. He ran to his bedroom, threw a pair of sweatpants and a pair of sneakers on. His grabbed a t-shirt and ran out of his house, pulling on the last piece of clothing while following behind at a safe distance. He needed to see where she was going.

It took a while, but finally she turned into a neighbourhood. The houses were small, one of the cheap neighbourhoods in town, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was figuring out where she lived. She walked into a house, and two minutes later anger ran through his body as he stared at the two names on the mailbox.

Dolph Ziggler
Iris Park

Five years later, and she was still with that bastard. She might not have cheated on Roman, but she had still ended up with that bastard Dolph, and they were living together. It wasn't hard to figure out she had been talking about Dolph this morning when she told the story of head-butting someone. That bastard had put his hands on her, and Roman wasn't gonna sit by silently and watch her world burn. Not anymore.

The front door opened again, but it wasn't her coming out. Instead it was a man whose nose was swollen and looked like it had been punched hard. Roman and Dolph had never officially met, but Roman knew this was Dolph. This was the bastard.

"Who are you?" Dolph asked.
"I was looking for someone," Roman answered.
"Who?" Dolph asked.

Iris appeared next to Dolph, and she shook her head lightly.

"Wrong address," Roman said.
"Piss off then!" Dolph growled before turning to Iris. "Get back inside!"

The tone in Dolph's voice made Roman see red inside. He wasn't gonna let the bastard put his hands on her again. Not ever.

"You know what, it's not the wrong address," he said.
"Excuse me?" Dolph asked.

Roman walked up the small pathway and stopped in front of them.

"Iris, I'm begging you. Please, come with me," he said.
"You know this man?" Dolph looked at her.
"It's Roman," she said.
"Wait a minute, that Roman? That asshole you left me for?" He sneered.
"That'll be me," Roman grinned. "Iris, please. I'm not asking you to come back to me. I'm asking you to let me help you get away from him."
"Just go, Roman," she sighed.
"No!" He stood his ground. "This morning you told me I didn't fight for you. I'm fighting for you right fucking now, princess, but you gotta help me here. It all starts with you telling him no."
"This morning? You were with him this morning? Did you fuck him? Did you fuck him, you fucking whore?" Dolph shouted.

Dolph grabbed her, but he was yanked away instantly by Roman.

"You don't fucking touch her!" Roman growled.
"Hey!" She pushed them apart. "Dolph, inside! Roman, leave!"
"Iris," Roman tried.
"I said leave!" She raised her voice. "I got this. Just fucking leave, Roman. Please."

She slammed the door in his face, and he was left there brokenhearted all over again. It was the same old pain that he knew all too well. It hadn't disappeared over the years, but he had learned to push it down and live with it. Now it was flaming up all over again.

He turned around and walked back home. There was nothing more he could do in that moment. He couldn't be trespassing. She had told him to leave, so he left. He left her again, only this time it wasn't for good. He wasn't gonna allow her to throw her life away for that bastard.