April flew by way too fast. Soon he was in South Africa and soon he was going back home, moving closer to the show in Saudi Arabia. He had hardly been home for five minutes after the last RAW before the big show when his phone started ringing. Dean's name flashed across the screen to no surprise. Somehow his best friend always knew when Roman was home.
"What's up, dog?" Roman asked.
"Just checking in on you," Dean answered. "How are you?"
"Could have been better," Roman said.
He let out a sigh and dumped down on the nearest chair.
"It's just hard, you know," he said.
"I know," Dean said.
"She's expecting me to figure out something and I will. I have to. I won't let her down. I can't let her down," Roman said.
Dean snickered in the background for a couple of seconds.
"What?" Roman asked displeased.
"Where are you this Friday?" Dean asked.
"Really, Dean? I'm in Saudi Arabia. You know that," Roman answered.
"And where is Brock that same day?" Dean asked.
"He's there too," Roman kicked the leg of the chair with his heel. "Where are you going with this?"
"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking about doing a road trip on my own. Where do you think I should go?" Dean asked.
Once again he snickered and Roman suddenly flew up from the chair.
"You're going to Canada!" He yelled.
"That's a great idea," Dean chuckled.
"Dean, it's a fucking long drive," Roman said.
"I know. Better start packing so I can get on the road right away," Dean said.
"How can I... Thank you," Roman said.
"Don't mention it, brother," Dean said.
Gemma was happy to see Brock leave early that Thursday. Although Sable didn't treat her all that good either, at least she didn't hit her like Brock did. Sable treated her more like the maid of the house.
"Will you get that?" Sable yelled when the door bell rang.
Gemma walked through the house and was surprised when she found Dean of all people standing on the other side.
"Dean? What are you doing here?" She asked surprised.
"Hi Gemma," he smirked. "You look so much better without colour on your face."
She looked down ashamed when she remembered she had a bruised jaw the last time Dean saw her way back in December.
"Aw, don't go shy on me now," he chuckled. "Pack your stuff and let's get going."
She looked up at him confused.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"To Florida. Now come on," he answered.
"Florida? I don't understand," she said.
"Brock's flight left 30 minutes ago. I called to make sure it took off in time. Guess who won't be around to stop you," he grinned.
Slowly she started understanding and her smile grew as the thought settled in her mind. Roman had come through as promised. He hadn't told her so that Brock wouldn't pick up on her acting different.
"Now you get it," Dean said as he saw her smile.
"Who is it?" Sable appeared in the open door. "Dean? What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick up Gemma," he said.
"What's going on?" Sable looked at Gemma.
"I... Ehm..." Gemma cleared her throat. "I think I'm moving out."
"You think? I think not! Go back to your room!" Sable barked.
"Hey! She's old enough to make her own decisions!" Dean raised his voice.
"You're on private property. Get the fuck out or I'm calling the cops," Sable said coolly.
She closed the door and Gemma moved to her room quickly to avoid further argument. It was embarrassing. She was 25 years old and they were treating her like a little kid and she was letting them out of fear. She sat down on the bed and felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She didn't know the number on the screen but she still chose to answer.
"Hello?" She asked.
"So how are we gonna do this?" He asked.
"Dean? How did you get my number?" She asked.
"Roman, of course," he answered. "I'm just outside your property. I can sneak back in and climb through your window like a fairytale prince or maybe like a burglar in the night."
She let out a little laugh and shook her head.
"Are you gonna act like that for the entire drive back?" She asked.
"Pretty much," he answered. "Two days of little old me. You'll grow to love me."
"Two days? Damn!" She said.
"It's a long drive to Florida and I think we better get going before that Sable bitch starts calling Brock," he said.
"She knows it's no good. He always shuts off his phone while flying and he never turns it back on until after he performed. He says it kills his mojo to talk to anybody before performing. We got a whole day's headstart," she said.
"Well, come on down here and join me," he said.
"It might take a while," she said.
"I'll be here waiting," he said.
She hung up and instantly found the key hidden in the bottom of her desk drawer. The key that Roman had given her on their final night together. The key to his house. He had told her one day she would be able to use it. She didn't wanna wait no more. This was her way out and no way was she gonna let Sable stop her. She opened the window before grabbing her phone and texting Dean.
"Sneak around the house until you find an open window with blue curtains."
She grabbed a bag and started packing as fast as she could. It didn't take many minutes before Dean's head popped up in the open window.
"Hey," he smiled. "So what's the plan? Sneaking you out through the window?"
"No, but I need you to take my bags to the car. I know she'll try to stop me but I need to face her before I go," she said.
"Hand it over," he said.
She handed him the first bag and he stood and waited while she packed the second one. She took everything that could fit and left the rest in the closet. It was just clothes, dead items, anyway. She could always buy something new once she got to Florida. Dean nodded at her before disappearing with her bags. She took a deep breath before finally leaving her room and walking out to Sable.
"Sable," she said.
"Done acting like a child?" Sable put her hands in her sides. "Start making lunch then."
Gemma took another deep breath before finally finding the courage inside.
"No," she said.
"No?" Sable snorted. "You seem to forget your role around here."
"I'm leaving," Gemma said.
"Yeah, right. I'd like to see that," Sable laughed.
"Okay, watch me," Gemma said.
She moved towards the front door and the sound of Sable's heels following fast reached her. She made it out of the front door before Sable grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"You're not going anywhere!" Sable hissed.
"Let me go!" Gemma yanked her arm away. "You've never liked me anyway. You should be happy to see me leave."
"This isn't about what I want. It's about what Brock wants," Sable said.
"Brock can go fuck himself!" Gemma yelled.
Her loud words hung in the air for a few seconds. She had never raised her voice at Sable and the blonde woman seemed stunned by it before finally finding her own voice again.
"Care to repeat that?" Sable asked.
"I said, Brock can go fuck himself," Gemma said calmly. "I'm leaving!"
She turned around to leave and once again Sable grabbed her arm, only she grabbed way harder this time and Gemma screamed in pain. She turned around and slapped Sable with her left hand which made the blonde woman let go. The look in Sable's eyes said it all and Gemma just started sprinting away from her before she could retaliate.
"Dean!" Gemma shouted as she ran towards the car.
"What the fuck?" Dean muttered.
He looked at the two women running towards him. Gemma had a headstart but Sable wasn't stopping.
"Oh shit!" It finally hit him.
He leaned over and opened the door to the passenger seat and then put the car in gear. Gemma jumped into the car and he stepped on the gas before she had even slammed the door. Sable ran towards the car but she was no match against its speed once he hightailed out of there. For a few minutes they sat in silence and then he burst out laughing. She looked at him for a few seconds and then joined in.
"Damn, that was intense," he laughed.
"You weren't the one being chased," she said.
"What did you do?" He asked.
"I slapped her," she answered.
"I take it she didn't quite like that," he chuckled.
"Not one bit," she said.
She leaned back in the seat and finally remembered to put the seat belt on. He reached a hand over to gently pat her knee. Her first instinct was to pull away from his touch but she forced herself to sit still. She had to start trusting men. She trusted Roman and she knew his friends would never hurt her.
"So two days with me," he said. "Do you know how to drive?"
"Yeah, we can take turns," she said.
"Good. So we'll drive until we're literally falling asleep and then crash somewhere," he said.
She turned in the seat and looked at him.
"We've only met once," she said.
"I know," he smiled.
"So why are you doing this for me?" She asked.
"I'm doing it for Roman," he answered. "The man loves you and I love him which means I'm gonna love you too. You're gonna be my friend too and we'll be seeing each other a lot. We might as well start bonding over a nice road trip."
"You're crazy," she smiled warmly.
"I've been told once or twice before," he smirked.