Chapter Six

WrestleMania Aftermath

While the trainers tended to Mike following his match with John Cena, Alex stood outside the trainer's room and sent a message to Cristina to let her know that Mike had suffered a legitimate concussion. He would be okay, but he wouldn't be sending any messages to her for the next few days. Cristina read his messages with concern etched on her features. Alex kept insisting Mike was fine, that it was a pounding headache that wouldn't go away for a few weeks, that Mike may not remember what happened during his match. Cristina found the thought of that scary. She asked Alex to send her best wishes Mike's way, and Alex promised he would. He told her they would be home on Wednesday and suggested the three of them go out for coffee.

She had spent her afternoon working on her English skills. Her interview with Epica was slated for Wednesday, and she didn't want to embarrass herself. While she conjugated and worked on her pronunciations, she cleaned and redecorated her little apartment. She wanted to invite Mike, Alex and Maryse over for dinner. As much as she loved spending time with the boys, Cristina was feeling the itch to have a girlfriend, the kind of friend she could talk to and confide in and understand things that a guy just couldn't. She wondered if she could have something like that with Maryse.

The apartment she lived in was small, cheap and clean, with wood floors that she kept spotless and white walls that were in desperate need of repainting. The sliding glass door at the edge of the living room led onto a small balcony with a shaky rail that needed to be reinforced. It was one bedroom, one bathroom – all that she needed for herself. In the underground parking lot there was a storage unit, but she had nothing to keep inside of it. She had come from Italy with nothing more than the clothing on her back and what she had in her suitcase.

It had been a We Are the Fallen kind of day, a band Cristina thoroughly enjoyed. Writing music reviews and spending a lot of time doing research, Cristina had read all the negative reactions that surrounded the band, but she enjoyed it. It was a foggy and overcast day, so Cristina decided to stay indoors and clean. When she returned to the living room to readjust the blanket over the back of the couch, she could hear the sound of the rain falling on the pipes.

Alex helped Mike back to his hotel room, carrying his bags for him while Mike moved slowly behind him. Giant sunglasses covered his face, trying to keep the light away from his eyes. Everything hurt, and he wasn't sure how long this was going to last for.

It had been a dangerous and stupid stunt that he had tried to pull, and he was paying for it. After being thrown over the barricade, into the crowd, Mike tried to climb over before getting counted out. While he was up on the barricade, John had hit him with a flying tackle, sending both of them over the barricade and to the concrete. Mike had hit his head on the landing, and he knew immediately that he was hurt. A flash of white light exploded in front of his eyes when he hit the ground. He couldn't remember anything with the match. The two of them had been counted out, only for Dwayne to come out and restart the match. Even though he was injured, Mike managed to retain. He was still champion.

With the show over, Maryse went out to party, taking in the Atlanta nightlife with John Morrison, Melina, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella. She was upset that Mike wasn't coming with her, but she had a basic understanding that he was hurt badly. The club beats, pounding bass and flashing lights would only make his problem worse. Alex decided to come back with Mike to keep an eye on him, since he had his suspicions Maryse wouldn't return to the room until dawn.

Mike wanted to send a message to Cristina, to promise her that he was fine, but he couldn't look at any screens. Alex promised him that he had made contact, that she understood that she wasn't going to be hearing from him for a few days. He shut his eyes and groaned, letting a wave of nausea pass. Alex opened the door to Mike's hotel room, holding it open so he could walk through.

"Ugh. I just want to sleep," Mike grumbled, walking into the room. He didn't want Alex to stick around, but he knew that it was for his peace of mind. Alex was going to sit in the living room area and watch TV while Mike slept, now and then waking him up to make sure that he could wake up. Alex put Mike's bags down in front of the door and helped his friend out of his coat. Mike made a beeline to the bedroom. Alex got settled on the couch. He was pretty sure he was going to be spending the night.

Cristina was getting ready for bed when Alex sent her another message, telling her that Mike was sleeping and he was keeping an eye on his friend. Alex promised her that concussions were a common thing in their business, that Mike was going to bounce back and be good as new in no time. She sat down on the bed and read his message, talking about his concern. Cristina wondered where Maryse was, if she was with Mike during his time of injury. Alex never mentioned the woman, and she wondered why.

Sliding out of her robe, she hung it on the hook on the back of her bedroom door before retreating to bed. It felt like her day had been ridiculously long; sometimes she had a hard time believing that there was only twenty-four hours in a day, though it didn't help she was up at the crack of dawn after having a dream that involved her and Mike. She vowed to tell no one about it; she didn't want to do anything that was going to cost her the friends she had made.