Chapter Twenty Eight

I'm sitting here at the hotel room that Chris, who is currenly asleep with Louis resting against his chest comfortably, and I are sharing while in Tampa but I only have one thing on my mind. In a little over a week and a half is the Bragging Rights pay-per-view and that means that I have a little over a week and a half to get two more team mates and train to fight The Nexus. This not only worries me, but plain frightens me as well. What if I can't get those two team mates and I'm stuck trying to lead a group of unprepared fighters in the ring against a group who probably plans when they're going to use the rest room.

I lay back and close my eyes. It's not like I have many options when it comes to who I can get in the group either. Almost all of my friends are out with an injury inflicted to them by The Nexus. And those who aren't are either females or have other things going on. I mean, I can't expect someone whose already busy fighting to come to our aide. We need people who aren't involved with anything important because we don't need an enemy other than The Nexus running in to attack us during that match. I need to get someone strong so they can combat Micheal Tarver and someone whose quick and agile so they can combat Heath Slater. I really wish Morrison could talk Alex into fighting but he won't hear any of it. It's all that karma stuff that makes him set this match aside.

I get out of bed, the lying there not doing much for me and scribble down on a piece of paper: "Hey, I'll be back later. Going to the gym to train a little bit." And put it on the pillow on my side of the bed. I change into a pair of black basketball shorts and a black tank top, my usual workout gear, with my boots. When I get down to the gym, I see Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater sitting next to each other in the gym. I stick to the shadows hoping they don't see me as I lift weights, watching them out of the corner of my eye and picking up pieces of conversation. "He wouldn't understand Justin..." I hear Heath murmur as he puts a hand on Justin's shoulder.

"Screw what he would understand Heath! The English brute rarely understands anything," Justin says, sounding a bit hurt.

"And what about the others huh? What do you think Skip would say if he found out we..." Heath trails off, looking ashamed.

"Is it really that hard for you to say it?" Justin asks softly. I can't believe what I'm hearing. I think Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater...I think they like each other.

"No, no it's not babe," Heath smiles, "It's so easy for me to say that I could shout it from the top of the Empire State Building without a qualm. But...I feel like someones in here with us..."

I gulp and try to leave before I get spotted. That's easier said than done. Justin Gabriel must have eyes like a hawk because before I know it, he's grabbing me by the arm and dragging me over to where he was talking with Heath. "What did you hear?" he demands.

"Nothing..." I lie quickly.

"Bullshit!" Heath replies. "What did you hear?"

"Just that some 'he' won't understand something. Look, I don't judge okay. John Morrison is a good friend of mine. If you two are, you know, in love than more power to you!" I smile.

"Don't mock us! You're just gonna run off and tell Cena so he can ruin our careers!" Heath accuses.

"I don't get where you and Justin think John is such a bad guy. He wouldn't 'ruin your career' for being in love with another man. He's not going to hurt you guys anymore than you hurt him!" I defend.

Justin licks his lips, putting a hand on Heath's arm. "She's right. I know Wade constantly preaches to us about how her and Cena are going to hurt us but...well...I don't believe that."

Heath nods, looking at Justin and then back at me. "Take a seat so we can explain what we were talking about..."

I sit down on the bench, "It's something to do with wanting to be together isn't it? I heard you mention a he. I'm guessing Wade's homophobic?"

"Not afraid of gays, just doesn't like them." Heath corrects, "He tells us constantly he doesn't want to see any of us Nexus members with another guy and if he does we're out. Means Justin and I can't be together anymore."

I bite my lip, "Not...not necessarily."

"What do you mean not necessarily?" asks Justin, "We're not going to join your Bragging Right team if that's what you're trying to get at."

Well it was worth a shot, "Of course not." I cover, "What I'm saying is that you don't have to let Wade dictate your life. If you don't like what he has to say...quit."

Justin lets out a sharp bark of a laugh, "Maybe you don't know what we did to Daniel Bryan when he decided that what he did was wrong and horrid. He spent a month in the hospital."

"You're afraid that would happen to you?" I ask, sitting back and crossing my arms. "Let me tell you boys, spending time in a hospital is worth the long term. You two want to be happy? Spend life with each other in Virginia and South Africa? You really think this will stop once Wade gets what he wants? It won't. He'll find something else and something else after that. There will always be things that he wants and uses you boys to get. You want the truth in what it is this time? Me. He's so fucking obsessed over me that he's having you all take out my friends and family until I agree to walk out of my happy marriage for him. Hell, he even fucking raped me in a hotel room while he was drunk! And it's not going to happen so he's going to beat me within an inch of my life and make sure that I remember who I let slip through my fingers."

By the time I finish my little rant, I'm breathing heavy from the anger in my voice. I can see something in Heath's eyes. "Wow...he really is a brute isn't he?"

"Yeah," I cooly reply. Then I realize what that something in Heath's eyes is. It's sympathy. I didn't notice until the tears hit my lap but my speech must have worked me into tears. "But...anyway...I shouldn't interfere in your guys time together. I know how precious that is. So please, ignore me."

Justin nods, "We have to be getting back to the room anyways. We were supposed to be getting Wade a bagel..."

I shake my head, "That lazy good for nothing..." I bite my lip to keep from yelling again and go back to lifting weights as they both leave. I never would have pegged Wade as being that cruel to his own team. I'm so lost in my own thoughts, and the sound of Bastards on Parade by Dropkick Murphy's playing on my ipod that I put on when they left, that I don't hear the door open.

I've lost all the time that I have in this world
I spent it unwisely. Unwisely you see
And I can't get it back
And I can't move forward
I'm broken and I'm empty
It's over for me

"Hey Meg," I hear a voice from the door. I turn to see Mark Henry walk in the room in his wrestling gear. "Getting some training done?"

I smile, "Yeah Mark. Have to be ready for Bragging Rights. You to?"

"Just training to train. I don't have a match next Sunday."

I look shocked, "Really? I thought you were on the team."

"Nope. I've been meaning to talk to you though. I can't believe what those jerks did to Evan." Mark frowns. He and Evan had been planning to be a good tag team, according to what Evan said last night while I talked to him via Facebook.

"Neither can I. It's all because Wade's a dick," I laugh bitterly.

If I could undo all the wrongs that I've caused
Fall to my knees pray for swiftness and just
For I'm just a fool
A fool driven to dust
And the world ain't gonna change for me

"That's true," Mark nods. He goes to the bench press and smiles, "Need a spotter?"

I shake my head, "I hardly ever bench. I usually free lift."

"Still it's dangerous without a spoter," Mark replies. He looks over at my ipod, which is plugged into the radio and smiles. "These guys are pretty good. You train to this stuff?"

"Yeah, usually them or some old metal band." I nod, "What about you?"

"Usually whatever the boys in the weight room have playing." Mark nods.

So give me one more chance to prove these problems and frustrations
aren't just manifest in memories we're destined to repeat
A second chance to prove I know right from wrong
I swear I'll do things different but can't promise to be strong

We work out to the song as I think about what a great addition Mark would make to the team. He's strong, possibly super humanly strong. Plus he's smart and has been doing this longer than any of the rest of us on the team, with the exception of Brett that is. "Uh...Mark..." I say, trying to start a conversation.

"Yes Meghan?" he asks, putting down the barbell he's holding and looking at me.

"I've been doing some thinking and...would you be opposed to being on our team next Sunday?"

He laughs, "I wondered when you were going to ask me."

"Well, I didn't think of it til now. I thought you were on the Bragging Rights team."

So come on all you losers, you bastards and cheats
Vagrants and barflies down on the streets
Follow this path to salvation vindication awaits
We're marching on East Broadway streets tonight

"Well I'm not. So, you wanna go tell John?" Mark asks.

"Actually," I pull a pen (always carry one to sign autographs in case I need to) and go over and rip a corner off of one of the pamphlets sitting on the counter by the door. I write down four room numbers, "can you go to these four rooms? One's John Morrisons, one's John Cena's, one's R-Truth's, and one's..." I trail off looking for any signs of the Nexus, "well, you'll see who the other one belongs to." I can't see any sign of the Nexus in here but they could be in the hall. So I may be paranoid about this, so what?

Mark smiles, "May take a while."

"No problem," I smile.

If you can look into this old face and try to see the young man
I swear I once was pretty, not the monster you now see
But I squandered all my chances
Lost my faith and took for granted
This life and precious one chance the whirlwind I'll reap

Mark walks out of the room and I go back to lifting weights. I'm trying to think of someone that I could add as our last member. No names are coming to me. And I mean none. So I push the thought from my mind as I push myself to the limit of weight lifting. The stronger I get, the readier I'll be for Wade. I need to be able to humiliate him in front of a crowd. And I'm thinking that maybe I'll get to him by turning his team against him. I can't deny that I don't have other motives for talking to Justin and Heath like I did earlier. As nice as they may be, they could be mean competition for us to fight. If I convinced them otherwise, it would be beneficial to us. So they get something good and if I managed to succed in talking them out of it, I get something good.

If I could undo all the wrongs that I've caused
Fall to my knees pray for swiftness and just
For I'm just a fool
A fool driven to dust
And the world ain't gonna change for me

So come on all you losers, you bastards and cheats
Vagrants and barflies down on the streets
Follow this path to salvation vindication awaits
We're marching on East Broadway streets tonight

As the song ends and goes into a different one on my Dropkick Murphys playlist, Mark comes back with the boys and someone I don't recognize with walks in behind them all, John encouraging him like he's a little boy. He looks like a little nerdy boy. He's got a clean shaven face, brown hair that lays flat and dully on his head and crisp brown eyes. He's wearing a black Kid Rock t-shirt and blue jeans and beaming like he just won the lottery. His smile puts Evan's to shame.

"Meghan," smiles Cena, bringing the young man forward, "meet Daniel Bryan. The final member of Team Raw."