CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It's been six months since TJ died. Tonight is a special night. After being released from prison, Dean needed time to get back in shape and process everything that happened. Tonight, he's coming back on RAW.

No one knows he's returning. Paul and Stephanie decided to surprise the fans with the news. Colby and I are having lunch with him and Joe when someone taps me on the shoulder. I spin around in surprise. It's Scotty.

"Hey April!" He greets me warmly.

"Um… Hey, Scotty," I say in confusion.

"I was in town and I wanted to see you quick. I need to play something for you."

"What is it?"

He pulls me to my feet and guides me off to the side. "Phil was on my podcast last week."

"Scotty, no offense, but I don't care."

"You should. I'm sick and tired of him letting the fans talk shit about you, so I told him that with you being brave enough to tell the world what happened to you, he needed to man up and admit the truth to people about why you broke up."

"What?"

"Just listen." He presses play on his phone.

"Why did you and April really break up?" Scotty asks on the recording.

"You know how it is," Phil's voice says. "Some really bad stuff went down between us."

"Tell everyone what happened, Phil. You promised you'd tell the truth today."

Phil hesitates. "Yeah, I know… It's my fault, okay?"

"What happened?"

"The truth is, I messed up, man." I can't believe he's even saying that much. "I believed what a lot of the fans are saying, that April cheated on me. I couldn't have been more wrong, though. She was raped, and I was an asshole, man. I wasn't there for her. I accused her of sleeping around, I called her a slut, and I…" He falls silent.

Scotty's voice is annoyed and surprisingly firm as he says, "Come on, man, no copping out. What did you do?"

"I did something unforgivable. I hit her. I hit the woman I loved because I was so full of rage and stupidity… I never hit a woman before in my life."

"You're a real dick, man."

"Yeah, I know. I messed up. She had every right to leave me. So I really want the fans to back off of her. When she came forward and told her story, that took guts. I'm so sorry for what I did, and that I wasn't there for her. April is incredibly strong and I just hope she's happy now."

Scotty stops the recording. I'm staring at him. "Seriously? He actually said all of that?" I ask.

"Yeah. See, Phil can't lie to me. I always get him to tell the truth eventually. And when I found out he hit you, actually hit you, I knew I had to make him make this right." He smiles at me like an eager child trying to please a parent.

I nearly pat him on the head indulgently. Instead, I just smile at him and say, "You did great, Scotty. Thank you. For caring."

"Phil's my bro, but you're my friend, too, April. And it was time someone did right by you."

I give him a hug and he leaves. I'm in shock, but it's a relieved sort of shock. I feel like the chapter of my life that included Phil is finally closed. I can't believe he actually admitted the truth, but then again, Scotty can be very persuasive.

I rejoin Colby, Dean, and Joe, and we get ready for RAW.

*Skip, Skip, Skip… LATER*

Colby is being a typical heel and running his mouth at the end of RAW. That's when Dean's music starts to play and everyone goes completely insane. Dean runs out into the arena, and as an added surprise, Nattie is by his side. Nattie came back to work right after the trial. She's still got the title. With what happened, they couldn't exactly strip her for inactivity, and she's won every defense since her return.

Dean immediately attacks Colby. He goes in brawling, hitting him a bunch of times like the lunatic he is before pulling off Dirty Deeds. Then he grabs Colby's title and steals it, holding it up in the air and laughing with Nattie by his side pointing to her own belt. He has made his intentions clear. Dean Ambrose is going to find a way to become the Number One Contender and he's coming for Colby's title.

Ever since the trial, Paul and Stephanie have been billing Dean as WWE's own personal hero. They worked tirelessly to improve his image and make the fans remember why they love him, but he was kept off the air. Now that he's returned, it's like he never left.

Finally, everything feels right. Dean and Nattie are spending a lot of time together. They both insist they're just friends, but none of us are buying that. I think it's more that they both feel too guilty to proceed with anything more than friendship.

Colby grabs me backstage and pulls me into his arms. He kisses me. "Tonight is a good night," he says.

"Yeah, it is," I say.

"One thing could make it better."

"What's that?"

I feel him slip something onto my finger. I pull back and stare at my hand in shock. It's an engagement ring. "Colby…" I whisper.

"Marry me, April. Marry me and make me the happiest man on this planet or any other."

"Colby, I…" I don't know what to say.

"I love you," he tells me.

"I'm still so messed up, Colby. We haven't even had sex…"

"I told you I can wait. I'll wait forever for you, April."

"Marriage is so huge… I love you, Colby. You've been everything, my friend, my love, my protector…"

He looks at me with the sweetest smile ever. "I will always be your protector, April," he promises.

"You're still the only one who always keeps the nightmares away," I admit.

"I'm happy to slay every last bad dream that tries to come near you." He bows at me, totally geeking out on me.

"My knight in shining armor, huh?"

"Absolutely, Lady April."

"Yes," I say. "Yes, I'll marry you." I kiss him, and I can't even describe what I'm feeling.

*Skip, Skip, Skip… FOUR MONTHS LATER*

So far, Colby still has his title, but Dean hasn't stopped coming for it. It's pretty fun to watch the two of them go back and forth. Nattie's been at Dean's side for every one of his matches, and Dean has been her valet, too. It's adorable to watch the two of them together.

Tonight, I'm breaking every rule in my contract by attending a taping of TNA. This one's important enough to make me risk getting in trouble. We're really not supposed to go near TNA until we're no longer WWE Superstars and Divas. I go alone.

Drew enters with a new companion by his side. I cheer my head off as Rosa walks out with him. She's smiling a huge smile and looks amazing. I'm so proud to be here tonight, at her TNA debut. She may never be able to wrestle again, but she's still in the business, standing by Drew's side and making sure no one tries to cheat their way into winning a match against him.

I'm dressed incognito, but Tommy spots me after the show. He joins me and says, "Nice to see you here, April."

"I couldn't miss this," I say. "Rosa's come so far. I'm so proud of her."

"I have to admit, it's especially moving to watch her walk out here, considering what she's been through. Also, she looks good with Drew. They're happy together." Drew and Rosa have been an official couple for a while now. He pauses. "What else is on your mind, sweetheart?"

I consider denying it, but Tommy always knows. He's been like a second father to me ever since the accident, and I can't lie to him. "My contract is up soon and…"

"And you're wondering what your options are."

"Yes."

"The most important thing you have to ask yourself is, are you happy with where your career is going? Is the WWE giving you what you need?"

I pause. I want to say yes, I'm happy in WWE, and I'm not going anywhere. The thing is, even though I'm happy in my life, I really think I need a fresh start. WWE isn't giving Colby what he wants either. They refuse to turn him face no matter how often he asks.

"Colby's contract expires right after mine does."

"When is it up?"

"One week for me, and four for him."

"The thing you need to consider is whether or not you want to move on. If you do, considering my position here at TNA, I can tell you we'd love to have you both on board. Both of your talents have been wasted at WWE, especially Colby's. I think we can help with that. Also, TNA will let you do indie shows while you work for them."

I consider this. I could go back to the indies… I could have fun again! Is this what I want?

"I need to talk to Colby… Would you really bring us both in?"

"If you wanted it, absolutely, kiddo. You two would do well here. Just say the word and I'll make it happen."

This is a lot to think about. "I'll call you," I tell him. Before I can say anything else to Tommy, Rosa and Drew are with us. Rosa's bouncing off the walls. I haven't seen her so happy in months and I'm thrilled for her. I give her a hug and congratulate her on her debut.

I take her aside for a minute, leaving Tommy and Drew to talk, and ask her, "Are you happy here?"

"Girl, you have to ask? I get to walk around by my man's side and occasionally mess with wrestlers psychologically and distract referees… Of course I'm happy!" Rosa tells me.

"What are they like here?"

"They're great. Dixie's been super supportive and she listens when I have an idea of what I want my character to be. This debut had a lot of my input in it. And Tommy's amazingly cool. He's such a sweet guy, and he's really looked out for me and Drew. I know TNA has a bad reputation because WWE's always trying to sink them, but they're actually pretty great." She pauses. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. And besides, I want to make sure they're treating my girl right."

"They are."

I nod. I think I've already made my decision. Tommy's right, and has been since the day he met me. I'm not happy at WWE anymore. Maybe it really is time for a change. First, however, I need to talk to my fiancé about how he feels about his contract. Colby would never stop me from moving on to another company if it's what I want, but that doesn't mean he'll want to come with me. Either way, I'm ready to have the discussion.

*Skip, Skip, Skip… LATER*

My contract expires tonight. I've already told Paul and Stephanie I will not be renewing it. Paul tried to talk me into changing my mind, but Stephanie stopped him. Too much has happened, and even she sees it's time for me to move on.

As Let's Light It Up starts playing, I skip out to the WWE ring for the very last time. Saraya, Tenille, and Foxy are waiting for me. Tonight, I'm finally ready to pass the torch to the next generation, and I specifically requested my opponents. These girls have become my family and I'm honored to face them for one last time. This is a number one contender match for Nattie's title and WWE has not announced to the general public that it's my last match, so no one knows I won't be winning it.

The match is pretty insane. Saraya hits me with the Paige Turner almost immediately, but Tenille knocks her off of me and prevents the pin. Foxy hits Tenille with a somersault leg drop. When she goes for the pin, Saraya interferes and pulls Foxy into the PTO. Tenille hits me with a diving crossbody before I recover and hit her with a shining wizard. Foxy and Saraya focus on each other while Tenille focuses on me. She hits me with the Emma Lock before I escape and get on the ropes. I do a hurricanrana and Tenille hits the mat hard. I go for the pin, but she kicks out at two. At the same time, Saraya has Foxy pinned. Foxy also kicks out at two, almost exactly at the same time as Tenille.

I switch my focus to Saraya, hitting her with back-to-back swinging neckbreakers. Foxy comes at me and I hit her with a spin kick. I go back and forth between Saraya and Foxy. I trap Foxy in the black widow, but just as she's about to tap, Saraya pulls me off of her, so I hit Saraya with a spin kick and follow it up with a shining wizard. I'm about to pin her when Tenille rolls me up with a backslide and pins me for the three count. At my request, the torch has been passed to Tenille, who I believe in fully and who I think deserves so much more respect than she's gotten recently. This is my gift to her and I'm happy to do it. I've already proven everything I needed to in the WWE. I don't need to win my final match. It's someone else's turn to shine.

I stand up and look at the audience. I raise Tenille's hand, totally breaking character and not caring. Then I bow before my music plays one final time and I skip backstage.

*Skip, Skip, Skip… LATER*

It's been a couple of weeks since I was released from my WWE contract, but I'm backstage at RAW tonight. Colby is facing Dean in what is to be Dean's final title shot while Colby holds the title. The stipulation states if Colby retains tonight, Dean is not allowed to challenge him ever again.

"Good luck," I tell Colby as his music starts. He kisses me before heading out into the arena. Dean is already in the ring, with Nattie in his corner as always.

The match begins with grappling, but Dean quickly starts going crazy and brawling like a kid in a street fight. Colby isn't alone for long. J & J Security run out, followed closely by Glenn and Big Show. Dean easily knocks Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury off the ropes with one shot. He spins around and Glenn's behind him. Dean proceeds to use Dirty Deeds on Glenn, and when Big Show tries to attack, he hits him with the move as well. Paul's music starts to play and suddenly, even the boss man is in the match. Dean looks at him, shrugs, and does Dirty Deeds again.

It's just Colby and Dean now, with no one to back Colby up. Dean starts laughing like a maniac before going for Colby. I watch as Colby fights desperately to defend his title. He hits Dean with every move he's got, things he hasn't done in ages, like the Skywalker. He does an enzuigiri, followed by a leg sweep. He tries to pin Dean, but Dean kicks out at two and a half. He goes for a phoenix splash. Dean still kicks out. Just as the Authority begins to rise, Dean rushes at Colby and executes Dirty Deeds. Colby goes down for the three count and Seth Rollins loses his title to Dean Ambrose.

Needless to say, the fans go insane. Colby is near tears as he reaches me backstage. We watch Dean, still in the ring, clinging to his new title with one arm and Nattie with the other.

"He earned that a thousand times over," Colby tells me. "There's no one I'd rather lose the title to."

"I'm proud of you," I tell him. "That was a great match."

"I went out on my terms." He smiles.

"Are you sure you're ready to walk away from all of this?"

"Absolutely. It's time. I'm ready to find out who I can be outside of WWE." He kisses me and I can't stop smiling.

"Dude…" Dean says as he and Nattie come backstage. He hugs Colby so tight I wonder if Colby can breathe. "Thank you."

"You earned it, Dean," Colby tells him. "Just make sure you kick everyone's asses."

"When don't I?" He smiles sadly at Colby and I know it's hard for him to let his "brother" leave, but even Dean knows this is right. If it truly is time for our WWE careers to end, I can think of no better way.