Chapter 7
Sniffling, Jaxine kept walking down the street, her feet aching from her boots, but she didn't care. Her past was just that, her past and nobody was going to force her into anything anymore. Jaxine hardly knew Kane for Christ sakes and yet she'd go through hell with his brother to protect him. Granted, she felt sorry for the man, but she'd had enough. She wanted to go home, back to Chicago, back to her apartment not caring about the money anymore. She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes, knowing if she put one foot in front of the other she would eventually get to her destination.
Or she'd never reach it at all.
"Hey baby cakes, what's such a pretty lil thing like you doin out here all alone?" A man asked pushing away from a building he'd been leaning against with a buddy, falling into step beside her. "C'mon baby, talk to a guy, don't leave me hanging!" He reeked of booze, his hands flying out to smack her ass.
Jaxine growled and twirled around, punching him right in the face, causing his drunken ass to go down like a ton of bricks. "I'm NOT in the mood to deal with the likes of you." She snarled and screamed when the other man backhanded her, sending her flying to the ground, her bag flying a few feet away. Her cheek felt like it was going to explode from the impact and screamed when she felt both of them drag her up by her shoulders, beginning to fight them off. Only to get a fist in her gut and another backhand against her other cheek, her nose becoming bloody along with her busted lip.
The first guy was laughing drunkenly, not feeling the blow she had given him though it had knocked him down. He was too drunk to really notice anything besides the beautiful woman, even though her bloody nose was a major turn off. He started to turn around only to let out a shriek, his body flying through the air, landing on a car and going through the windshield.
'Taker caught the second man by the back of his neck and the waistband of his jeans, hurling him into the oncoming traffic, and breathing heavily before looking down at Jaxine.
Jaxine immediately sank to the ground when she felt the guy being yanked away from her, curling up in a ball, sobbing violently as her entire body shuddered. She couldn't believe she'd nearly been raped! Tears glistened on her pale cheeks as Jaxine looked up at her savior, shocked at the sight of Undertaker, trembling from head to toe. Her huge amber eyes staring at him with such confusion and relief, her bottom lip split and swelling rapidly.
He tensed even more when he seen the damage done to her face, fighting to keep himself from finishing the job on those two bastards, but the squeal of tires and a thud, followed by screaming told him one of them had already been taken care of. "Come on." He grunted, bending down to pick her up, cradling Jaxine against his chest. He set off on foot for the hotel, slipping in and out of the crowded sidewalks, finally passing through the lobby doors, not putting her down. This was familiar. "You're not going into shock are you?" He asked when they were in the elevator.
"No, I'm fine." She softly whispered, having been through way worse than what those clowns did to her face.
'Taker had swiped her bag from the sidewalk and walked inside his hotel room, her head resting against his chest and felt him lower her to the bed, wincing slightly at her cheek. Both were quickly turning black and blue, swelling and her right one was cut due to the guy having a ring on with a sharp stone. She didn't say a word as Undertaker went into the bathroom, tears sliding down her cheeks, wondering how he could've known she'd been in trouble. She didn't care and leaned her head back against the headboard, her eyes sliding shut and bent her knees up to press against her chest, burying her face in her knees as she began to sob.
He returned with a first aid kit and a warm, wet and soapy wash cloth. "Let me see." He ordered gently, lifting her face up with two fingers, seeing the tears trailing down her face. 'Taker sighed, carefully cleaning her face, seeing her flinch when he grazed the cut on her cheek. "I'm sorry." He rumbled, applying a light layer of antiseptic to the gash to prevent infection, taking in her bruised cheeks and wishing he could make those better as well.
"Thank you." Jaxine whispered, bringing her knees down to lay straight while he treated her wounds, staring into his green eyes, studying them thoughtfully. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly to her, and closed her eyes as more tears fell, swallowing hard. She owed him this and, honestly, she needed to feel comfort at the moment, someone's arms around her, even if it was from Undertaker. "Thank you." She kept whispering, refusing to let him go, her shoulders shaking gently.
For a moment he honestly didn't know what to do, stiffening when she tossed her arms around him. After a second's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Jaxine, holding her against him, rubbing her back soothingly. "You're welcome." He said softly, feeling her hot tears beating down on him, wetting through his wrestling top. "You're safe now, Jaxine, you're safe."
Finally calming down after about a half an hour, Jaxine slowly pulled back, her amber eyes having red streaks in them from how much crying she'd done, staring back at him. "I don't know how...it doesn't matter." She pressed her hand against his chest, a soft smile on her lips. "You saved my life." She knew it was true, especially since those drunken assholes probably would've killed her to get a piece of ass.
He shrugged awkwardly. "It was nothing." 'Taker gently set her on the bed, moving to get her some tissue from the nightstand, holding them out. "I should have realized you would run. I apologize for that." He perched on the edge of the bed, watching her, his eyes studying her face, shaking his head. "You need to go home, before something truly happens to you. Either by my hand or someone else's." He whispered solemnly.
"You won't hurt me." Jaxine whispered softly, lying back against the pillows, her black hair splayed around her. She took the ice he handed her and pressed it to her cheek, not believing what a day and night this had been. "I'm not leaving." She added as a small bandage was put on her right cheek, wincing slightly as he wiped the blood away from her nose, staring into his green eyes.
"I hold nothing over you anymore, Jaxine." He said, misunderstanding her. "I will arrange transportation for you to anywhere you wish. You have my word that Kane will remain unharmed." He looked at her face, realizing there was nothing more that he could do. Only time would heal the wounds. Needing something else to distract him, 'Taker finally gave up and looked into her amber eyes.
"I'm still not leaving." She stated, staring back at him as she took his hand, running her thumb across his knuckle. "I'm not leaving until you reconcile with your brother." She slowly sat up a bit, pulling the ice away from her face. "No matter how long that takes, I'm not leaving until the feud is over, both in and out of the ring." She knew the scar on her neck was no coincidence, that she was meant to be here and smiled gently. "There is something I believe in." When his eyebrow rose, she squeezed his hand slightly. "Everything happens for a reason, Undertaker."
"Well then kindly explain to me the reason you were about to be raped?" He demanded, knowing the longer she stayed around, the more likely he was to do her a serious injury, whether intentional or not. That was just who he was. "Kane and I will never quit fighting each other. That burn scar you have on your neck...His body is covered in them. From me."
"I didn't mean that part." She softly replied, ignoring his rough voice, not releasing his hand. "You are brothers, sooner or later something has to give. And until that happens, I'm not going anywhere. If you don't want me with you, then that's fine, but I'm staying. I don't even have to be with Kane or you. I'm staying in the WWF though." She seen the hesitation in his green eyes and brought her other hand up, gently running her finger down his cheek. "You won't hurt me; you proved that tonight when you saved me from those two assholes."
"You don't understand Jaxine. Some things CAN'T be forgiven. Do you think Kane could face me without remembering how he looks, sounds, knowing it's because of me? No, he couldn't. His body is his constant reminder." He stared down at her, catching her hand in his, holding it tightly. "Do you think you could forgive your father for what he did to you?"
"You're not like my father, nothing like him. You have a heart, whether you believe it or not, it's there." She stated, staring back at him with such warm golden topaz eyes, squeezing his hand slightly. "My father was a cold, vindictive, manipulative bastard who had no heart. He burned me everywhere on my body with cigars, luckily they didn't scar, just this one." She moved her head and her hair, letting him examine it again. "Whether you like it or not, it's not just a coincidence that it happens to be the shape of your symbol, Undertaker. I'm meant to be here and I'm meant to stay here. Whether it's with you or not, I don't know."
All he could was stare down at her, the expression on his face saying what he was apparently thinking. She had indeed lost her damned mind. 'Taker inhaled deeply, raking a hand exasperatedly down his face. "Cold, vindictive, manipulative with no heart?" He echoed, seeing her nod and snorted. "You JUST described ME. You talk about him burning you with cigars; I killed my entire family in a fire except Kane. What on earth makes you think I have a heart?"
"If you didn't, you wouldn't have saved me tonight." She argued gently, crossing her arms in front of her chest, staring back into his acid green eyes. She cupped his face with her hands, their eyes locking as she searched them. "I see the good in you, why can't you see what I see?" She asked and sighed when he stood up, her hands falling on the bed and looked up at him. "You can deny it all you want, but you're not as cold as you may think you are. There is good inside of you or you wouldn't have followed me tonight and you wouldn't have protected me from being hurt. You would've hurt me long ago when I first defied you. I won't believe what you've just said about yourself because it's NOT true!"
"I protected you tonight because you are mine." He said gravely, staring down at her without any emotion on his face, green eyes dead. "I do not allow my possessions to be damaged. Until I'm finished with them anyway, then I could care less. If that is the fate you desire child, then be my guest. I suppose, given your relationship with your daddy, you've become used to the abuse. I daresay you probably enjoy it."
His demeanor had changed drastically and Jaxine wondered what happened to the caring Undertaker that was here just a moment ago. "I'm no one's possession." She stated evenly, the anger slowly building in her amber orbs that were soon joined by tears. She looked away from him and blinked them back, refusing to give him the satisfaction and set the ice on the nightstand, wondering if she was wrong. She seen him tower over her and slowly looked up at him before slapping the taste out of his mouth, the sound echoing around the room. "You think I've enjoyed all the torture you've put me through? Do you?" She demanded pure anger in her eyes as she suddenly saw red. "I walked away from you and told you to handle your business with Kane and you STILL hunted me down. Why? Why do you even care about your so called 'possession' if you don't have a single feeling in that black, cold heart of yours?"
He didn't even flinch when she slapped him, a sickening smile on his face as he stared down at her, emotion in his eyes. Amusement. At her expense. "I told you before, Jaxine, your eyes and that delightful little scar on the back of your neck intrigued me. Now that I know how you've gotten them and you obviously have nothing else to keep me entertained." His eyes raked her body scornfully. "You're free to go." He mockingly bowed, his arms gesturing towards the door.
This wasn't happening as she slowly slid from the bed, staring back at him, seeing the cold, cruel smile on his lips. "One day, Undertaker, someone is going to come along and put you in your place. I can only hope I'm around when it happens. Good riddance." She grabbed her bag from the floor and started for the door.
Before she took two steps, his hand grabbed her and swung her around, his lips crashing against hers, causing Jaxine to squeal out in surprise and protest. She started hitting him with her tiny fists, finally finding enough strength to shove him away from her before running out of the door, tears streaming down her cheeks. She whipped her cell phone out and called for a cab, deciding she was getting a flight to Chicago tonight.
Once Jaxine was out the door, he slammed it shut behind her. Looking around the room, 'Taker could feel an irrational anger coursing inside of him. Everything he had said to her was true; he hadn't lied when he said he was cold, vindictive or manipulative. He was all those things and more. He had however lied to her when he'd told her he didn't care for her. Somewhere along the road, he had begun to feel things for her he had thought were long dead in him. Seeing what had happened to her tonight had made him realize he wasn't safe for her, as long as she was around him, she would never be truly safe, which is why he had hurt her. To force her away.
"Jaxine..." He murmured, slumping against the door.