9 days had passed without any sign of her. Dean spent each night driving around town searching for her. He made sure to go to the bridge each night as well to hear if Paprika had any update. She never did. Every night he tormented himself when his thoughts wandered to who might be there with her, touching her, doing things to her that no one but him should ever be allowed to. And that dead look of hers was constantly printed into his brain.
Only two things kept him going at this point - wrestling and Roman. Wrestling allowed him to take out all his anger while Roman was the one person in his life that kept him sane.
"You just gotta have faith. We'll find her at some point," Roman said.
"I hope you're right. Coffee?" Dean asked.
"Sure," Roman said as he reached for the remote.
Dean got up from the couch and walked out in the kitchen.
"DEAN!"
The giant roar from the livingroom sent shivers down Dean's spine and he ran back to the livingroom as fast as he could. There her face was on the tv screen and she didn't look good. Her eyes were closed and her face was badly bruised.
"Shit..." Dean mumbled by the sight of her.
"Police has now released this photo of the woman in hopes of someone out there knowing her. She was found badly beaten with no ID on her."
"Is she dead?" Dean asked.
"Ssh!" Roman shushed him.
"She's in a coma..."
"Oh thank god, she's not dead," Dean said.
"Quiet," Roman said.
"If anybody out there know who she is or what happened. please call this number..."
"Call! Now!" Roman growled.
Roman waited in the car while Dean was inside the police station giving his statement. He was growling in anger when he came back to the car.
"What happened?" Roman asked.
"I'm a suspect. Apparently it's not normal to be in a relationship with a woman like her. They think I'm her pimp and that I might be the one who beat her up," Dean answered.
"So what now?" Roman asked.
"They don't have any evidence to hold me back. They gotta wait till she wakes up and tells them who did it to her," Dean answered.
"So where are we going now?" Roman asked.
"To the hospital," Dean answered.
"Are you allowed to when you're a suspect?" Roman asked.
"No, but you don't know that so you're taking me," Dean said as his eyes pleaded with Roman. "I gotta see her. Please, Roman."
Roman nodded and started the car.
Dean was a nervous wreck once they were inside the hospital. Roman planted him in a chair and went to find someone who could give them any information. No one would say anything at first but finally a nurse agreed to. She looked around to see if anyone saw them before allowing Roman to wave Dean over to them.
"She's still in a coma but everything looks good. She should be waking up any time now," she explained.
"Can I see her? Please, I gotta see her. I've been going out of my mind for over a week now. Just one minute. That's all I ask of. Just one minute to tell her I love her," Dean begged.
Again the nurse looked around to make sure no one heard them before she turned the clipboard in her hands to reveal the information on it to them.
"I can't help it if you accidently see her room number on this clipboard. It's not like I told you willingly. And now if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I really need to use the restroom. It takes about five minutes before I'll be back," she said.
"Thank you," Dean whispered.
She grabbed his arm and leaned in to his ear.
"Five minutes. I suggest you say what you gotta say quickly. If anyone sees you in there, I can't help you," she whispered.
He nodded and she let go and walked away. They hurried to her room.
"I'll wait out here to keep a look out," Roman said.
"Thank you," Dean said before hurrying inside.
"Oh sweetheart," he said and swallowed hard to keep the tears from falling when he saw her.
She looked so fragile and broken lying there. He hurried over and sat down on the chair next to the bed, quickly grabbing her hand to squeeze it. He stroke her over her hair and kissed her cheek.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart, so fucking sorry. It wasn't me. I never meant what I said and did that night. I love you so fucking much. Loving you scared the shit out of me. I know I'm a coward. Come back to me and I'll prove to you that I can be the man you deserve in your life. Just come back to me, alright?" The words left his mouth so fast.
There was a knock on the door and he turned his head to see Roman. The look in Roman's eyes said that it was time to get out. Dean nodded and got up. He leaned down to say some final words.
"I promise you I'll do whatever I can to keep Moxley down for good, except for when I find out who did this to you. Wake up and tell me who did it and I promise you the son of a bitch is gonna face the wrath of Moxley."
He kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.
"What now? You wanna go home?" Roman asked.
"No, I wanna stay here in case she wakes up. You can go home if you want. It's alright," Dean answered.
"I'm staying with you. Go sit down and I'll see if this place has any decent coffee," Roman said.