Summer arrived at the hospital and was un-strapped from the board and led into the hospital with Vince and Steve at her side. She seemed a lot calmer now, whereas in the ambulance she panicked and cried. But now she was relieved to find out what was wrong with her neck after weeks of agony.
"Summer you'll be okay" Steve said taking her hand and squeezed it, but Summer barely squeezed back because Steve was holding the hand that was losing feeling. "I hope so" is all Summer replied as she doctor came into the ring.
"Okay Summer Hardy is that correct?"
"Yes"
"Okay, you want to tell me what happened sweetie?" the doctor made Summer feel calm; his eyes were enchanting and relaxed her.
"A couple weeks ago I took a tombstone off the Undertaker, but he slipped and I landed on my head and shoulders and after that I didn't feel right at all"
"You say a couple weeks ago?"
"Yes 3 weeks to be precise"
"And you didn't come to a doctor earlier?"
"No I thought it was something I could just sleep on"
"Summer the description you've given me tells me that you've either fractured or broken your neck"
"Oh"
"Yes, what's surprised me more than anything is that you're still walking around"
"Is that bad?"
"Not bad just quite surprising really, have you travelled?"
"Yes I've been flying all over the place" again the doctor looked stunned and said, "You're a lucky woman Summer, what happened tonight to bring you here?"
"I was at ringside and somebody decided to clothesline me and the impact on my neck made it crack and I passed out for a while" The doctor was about ready to start panicking, "Well it's a good job you're in Houston, we've got the finest neck surgeons of all time, they're experts with wrestlers and divas"
"Well that's certainly reassuring"
"It is, well we need to set you up for an emergency CAT scan to find out the real damage, you say something cracked?"
"Yes the impact she hit me with I felt my whole neck crack back, almost like it was trying to crack back into place"
"Summer you're lucky you're not paralysed, the symptoms you describe sound serious and we may need to operate" Summer sat there in silence for a while but said, "Okay then"
"Well lets head down to x-rays and sort this mess out" Summer smiled a little as she doctors and nurses came in to prepare her for the CAT scan that would reveal all about the severity of her neck injury.
About half an hour later Summer was finished up in the CAT scan and waiting for the results. Matt and Jeff arrived during the scan and had to wait with the others in the waiting room. But now that Summer was back in her room everybody was allowed to come and wait with her for the results.
"Am I gonna be okay?" Summer asked Steve who took her hand again and said "Of course sweetie, you'll be fine, the doctor's gonna fix you up" Summer smiled a little at his reassurance but feared the worst when the doctor came back into the room. She was glad she was surrounded by friends and family, they were all sat on her bed with her waiting for the results.
"Well it's as we suspected Summer," the doctor said pinning up the pictures from her CAT scan, "You've broken your neck in 4 places, and ruptured some of your vertebrae"
"Oh" is all Summer said, surprised that she'd been walking around on a broken neck and hadn't paralysed herself yet.
"So we need to operate on your neck Summer and put some metal plates in to make it strong again, your muscles have strengthened a considerable amount these past few weeks to help keep you upright, but they're not strong enough to support you any longer, so to help we're adding some metal plates"
"How?"
"We'll open your neck up from the back not the front so we don't have to go through any muscle, we'll screw the plates in place and then you're done"
"That sounds awful!"
"You wont feel the plates Summer, eventually your muscles will grow around it so strengthen your neck to its fullest, you wont feel them I promise"
"How long will I be out for?"
"I reckon 8 months up to a year at most" Summer sat there in complete silence for a while before the doctor spoke again, "We've squeezed you into surgery early tomorrow morning, you'll be fine Summer, for now just rest and the nurse will be along later to prepare you for the surgery, goodnight to you all" the doctor left the room leaving a hushed silence in the room. Nobody really knew what to say but Summer was relieved she knew what was wrong.
"Well I can't wait to kick Dawn's ass nex- wait… wait did he just say I'm out for a year?"
"Afraid so sweetie" Steve said kissing her hand feeling bad for her.
"No I can't that's… no I can't" it was suddenly sinking in to Summer that she'd be out of action for a year.
"Summer calm down it'll be alright" Jeff said stroking Summer's shoulder. Everybody sat and looked at Summer who couldn't help the tears streaming down her face as it had finally sunk in, and her life came to a screeching halt.
"Hey man where are ya?" Mark asked his friend Steve, they were supposed to meet for drinks tonight but he hadn't seen him since the end of the show.
"Hey I'm at the hospital"
"Why?"
"When Dawn decided to clothesline Summer she cracked her neck and it led to serious complications"
"So she wasn't faking an injury?"
"No of course not, that young woman has been walking around with a broken neck for 3 weeks"
"She broke her neck?"
"Yes when you stupidly decided to tombstone her"
"That was safe"
"No it wasn't, I looked back at the footage and you slipped causing Summer to take all the weight"
"No I didn't"
"Mark me and Vince watched the footage back, you slipped"
"So it's my fault?"
"Yes" Mark sighed trying to hide his anger mixed with guilt. "Vince also told me it was your bone idle idea to make Dawn clothesline Summer"
"Yeah"
"The storyline was meant for Summer to slap Dawn in the face, why'd you change it?"
"She deserved it"
"Deserved what? What the fuck is wrong with you Mark? Ever since that damn divorce you treat women like shit"
"I don't"
"That's crap Mark and you know it, weeks and months of torment Summer has gone through because of you"
"But-"
"No buts Mark, you're a Fuckin immature prick! All this because she didn't introduce herself to you on her first day, you need to grow up Mark and realise that the WWF is changing. Plus you're not the greatest person to talk to, what would you have done if she did come and say hello?"
"Told her to piss off, she's a diva"
"Exactly! So why the hell would she wanna approach you to be told that? She did what was best for her but you couldn't accept it"
"I don't need a lecture Steve"
"Tough shit you're gettin' one" Mark sighed knowing he wouldn't be able to get out of this. "You're stupid Mark, reducing a young woman to tears every week because you and Dawn started rumours"
"They're true"
"No they ain't! They're a load of shit Mark, she respects the ground those wrestlers walk on. She's friendly, fun and a breath of fresh air, hasn't done a damn thing wrong"
"She called me names"
"I don't believe you, that girl has loved and admired your career since you first debuted" Mark snorted at that, not believing a word Steve was saying. "Mark you seriously need to get your head out your ass and see sense. I hope for your sake that happens soon"
"I doubt it, anyway we should meet up for a beer"
"I can't and I wouldn't want to anyway, lost a lot of respect for you deadman. Anyway I gotta go, Summer is preparing for surgery and she needs me" then Steve hung up the phone. Mark threw his phone down on the hotel bed and sighed out of frustration.
"Wait… did Steve just say she was having neck surgery?"
"Dawn it's late we shouldn't be doing this" Torrie said as Dawn was leading her by the hand down the corridor of the hotel. They were going to see Mark to see if they could push their luck to spread more rumours about Summer. Mark had done nothing but eat their words up for weeks now and they loved it.
"Nonsense he'll be awake" Dawn replied as they got to Mark's door. "Okay get ready" Torrie then pretended to start crying and Dawn looked really sad. She knocked on Mark's door and waited until he answered, when he did he looked slightly disgruntled and half asleep.
"Sorry Mark I didn't know you were sleeping"
"Well that's what normal people do at 2am" he replied rubbing his eyes. "So what do you want?"
"It's Torrie" then she moved aside to let Torrie stand there covered in bruises and crying. "What happened?" Mark said stepping aside to let them into the dimly lit room.
"It was just awful" Torrie said through cries as she sat down on Mark's bed.
"What was?"
"She just came at me, I couldn't fight her off"
"Fight who off?" Mark said utterly confused now.
Torrie trembled and said "Summer, she was all over me" then she cried into her hands with Dawn rubbing her back.
Mark however looked confused, "What time did this happen?"
"After the match with you and Matt, she stormed backstage and took her anger out on us" Dawn said trying to sound upset. Mark however was starting to see red. He'd watched as Summer was taken away in an ambulance after the match was over. So how could she beat Torrie up when she wasn't there?
Then it all clicked together…
"Excuse me a moment," Mark said getting up off the bed and going into the bathroom shutting the door. His mind was a complete blur at the moment, it was starting to make sense, the lies, the rumours, all the bitching, the bullying… it was all coming together and he felt like a fool. He couldn't even bare to look at himself in the mirror as he filled up a bowl with warm water.
If what Summer had said was true, then Torrie's 'injuries' would wash away easily with warm water.
Once he'd filled the bowl up he went over to the door and opened it to hear both girls stop sniggering and look serious again. "Mark what were you doing in there?" Dawn asked noticing the big bowl of water.
"I just wanted to test something, Torrie stand up for a second" Torrie stood up and looked at Mark but then squealed in horror when he threw the whole bowl of water over her. "Dammit Mark what the hell?!" she looked up at Mark and saw the anger burning in his eyes as her 'bruises' were melting away and turning into big purple smudges.
"She was right" is all Mark said dropping the bowl and trying to control his anger, he would never hit a woman but these two were making his blood boil. 3 months he'd been made to look like a fool in front of his friends and colleagues, upset a lot of people and broke many hearts. He'd acted like a complete ass hole and couldn't shake off the anger burning inside him.
"She was right!" Mark bellowed making both women jump, "You lying no good whores you lied to me!" Dawn smirked and applauded him sarcastically. "Well done Mark you finally saw sense, yes we lied to you and you ate up our every word"
Mark snarled in anger and said "Get out of my face before I do something I'll regret"
Dawn however didn't budge but said "It was so easy wrapping you around my finger all this time Mark, you were such a push over I laughed every time you caved and got angry. All the times you shouted at and embarrassed Summer by calling her fat in front of her friends and then tombstoning her? That was priceless; you got so wrapped up in our lies you took it into your own hands. Now you've destroyed her spirit, we're proud of you deadman, another bitch out of our locker room"
"You made me do awful things! I can't believe the things you made me say and do! Get out of here now! Right now!" Dawn was about to respond but Mark's eyes had turned acid green and he had gone bright red. So Torrie and Dawn ran for the door leaving Mark alone fuming.
"All this time, all this fucking time!" Mark bellowed as he threw the lamp at the wall. It shattered into tiny pieces and he watched them fall to the floor. His whole life had been turned upside down these past 3 months; he thought he found something special with Dawn. But he was wrong, completely wrong and wished he could take back every single word he'd said to Summer. She was right all along, Summer would never say something bad about somebody, or spread a vicious rumour, or call the wrestlers old and washed up.
Summer Hardy was a gracious young woman who respected and loved everybody and everything. "Ohh man what have I done?"