Dark Saviour
Chapter 38 - Coming 'Out' of the Closet.
….
Jeff watched as the elevator doors closed in front of him, cutting off his view of a very confused Shawn and Edge. Rey pushed the 5th floor button and the elevator jerked into life as it began its steady climb upward. Jeff tired desperately not to think of all the reasons as too why Rey had pulled him out of the restaurant like that. Jeff kept reminding himself that no matter what the reason was, he should only be grateful that he would have a couple of hours of rest before having to face his tormentors again. How many times did he tell himself that he would be willing to annoy a skunk too much if it meant getting away from them for even an hour? But as they continued on in silence, Jeff could only wonder if he may have been better off staying with Cena after all. A silent, and a probably pissed off, Rey was never a good sign.
When the doors finally opened, Rey took hold of Jeff's arm once again and nearly dragged him out of the elevator. Jeff quickly fell into step with the smaller man as he was led to a hotel room door. Rey fished out his keys and unlocked the door, stepping back a little to allow Jeff to enter first. Jeff hesitantly entered the room, not yet willing to begin the confrontation he knew was coming. As he heard the sound of the door closing, Jeff slowly turned, only to come face to face with Rey.
"So, uh, what did you want to talk to me about?" Jeff smiled politely, if not with a hint of fear.
"I think you know what I want to talk about," Rey replied, staring down the bigger man.
Jeff shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid I don't know what you want to talk about."
"Well, you should," Rey retorted. "Since one of the topics includes the two men downstairs and the other includes a very stubborn man who doesn't know when he's got it good if it bit him in the ass."
Jeff gaped at Rey for a second before shaking his head again. "What?"
"You heard me," Rey replied. "Now where would you like to begin?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Jeff answered flatly. "I think that you're wanting to talk to someone else," he added as he tried to move toward the door.
"You're not going anywhere until we talk about this," Rey snapped. "Now sit down and behave, or I'll tie you to the damn chair."
Jeff quickly obeyed the smaller man's orders, his fear rising. "Why are you yelling at me?" he whispered.
"Because I'm getting frustrated with the both of you," Rey replied with a sigh as he rubbed his brow.
"Both of us?"
"You and Mark."
"What does Mark have to do with this?" Jeff asked, his brow raising.
"He's the idiot who doesn't realize what he has and what he could lose if he doesn't make his move soon," Rey answered.
"But what does that have to do with me?"
"Everything," Rey sighed as he looked away as if contemplating something. "Absolutely everything."
"I don't understand."
"You will, Jeff. You will," Rey whispered as he moved a chair over so that he could sit in front of the Rainbow Haired Warrior. "How much do you know about Mark?"
Jeff shrugged his shoulders. "As much as anyone else I guess."
"Even after rooming with him for almost a year, you only know what other's know about him?"
Jeff shrugged again. "You know that he's not very vocal."
Rey nodded. "Yeah, but . . ." he paused for a moment before continuing, "He never told you anything about his past? About Chris?"
"Like I said, he isn't very vocal."
Rey nodded again as he folded his legs underneath him, resting his arms on his knees. "Okay then, what does Mark know about you that no one else does?"
Jeff's eyes grew wide at the question. "What do you mean?"
"I know he knows something about you that he isn't willing to share with anyone," Rey replied. "What does he know, Jeff?"
"I don't know."
"Bull shit," Rey snapped. "Don't lie to me, Jeff. I know Mark knows something and I'm sure that, whatever it is, it's hurting him as well as you."
"I don't know what would be hurting him," Jeff repeated.
"Come on, Jeff. Even I can put two and two together," Rey snorted.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I can see that you're avoiding me, probably like you avoided Mark, and that it has to do with the two assholes sitting downstairs in that restaurant."
"It has nothing to do with them," Jeff retorted.
"You know it does," Rey replied. "Because you've been acting different ever since John has been paying you those little visits at night."
"He hasn't . . ."
"Yes he has and I know he has," Rey interrupted. "I saw him 'escorting' you from the building at Summer Slam. That's why I called Mark. That's why I knew he'd be there."
"You sent him to my room?"
"Yes, I did. I knew you were in trouble, I just didn't realize how much trouble you were in," Rey answered. "Until now that is."
"You know?"
"Yes, I know," Rey replied. "I can see it in how you're avoiding my every question."
"But I'm not . . ." Jeff paused.
"Yes, you are."
"I just don't want anyone to know," Jeff whispered.
"What don't you want us to know?"
"That I'm so pathetic."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am," Jeff insisted. "I'm pathetic and weak. That's why all this bull shit is happening to me."
"What kind of bull shit?" Rey asked.
Jeff looked up at Rey, his eyes damp and fearful. "I thought you said you knew?"
Rey shook his head. "I can only guess from what Mark has told me in fragments," he sighed. "I only know that it deals with both Cena and Layfield."
"Dave too," Jeff whispered.
"Dave?" Rey asked, confused. "As in Batista?"
Jeff merely nodded.
Rey ran his fingers through his short hair. "Wow, I didn't know that there were three of them."
"I don't know how many he's got working for him."
"Him?" Rey asked.
"Cena," Jeff replied. "He told me once that he had someone on every brand, ready to attack as soon as he said the word. Especially if I ever decided to run or tell."
"Why was he threatening you?"
Jeff shrugged. "I guess he needed a new piece of ass. Must have gotten tired of using Dave and Layfield."
"Why would you let him do that to you?" Rey asked softly.
"Why else?" Jeff scoffed. "Nobody would actually believe me. Besides," he stopped, biting his lip in indecision.
"Besides?" Rey encouraged.
"I had people to protect."
"Like who?"
Jeff shook his head. "It all seems so silly right now."
"Who was that bastard threatening to hurt?" Rey asked, his concern evident.
Jeff lowered his eyes as he was bombarded with everything that had happened to him over the past year and a half. "You know part of it already."
"Matt?" Rey asked, recalling the conversation he had months before with the Rainbow Haired Warrior.
"At first it was only Matt," Jeff said, confirming Rey's question.
"At first? You mean he threatened more people?"
Jeff nodded. "When Mark started to room with me, he started to threaten him too."
Rey scoffed at that piece of news. "He must be crazier then I thought to threaten the Deadman."
Jeff smiled a little at Rey's tone. "It was silly of him."
Rey's expression turned serious at Jeff's timid attempt at a laugh. "Then why did you believe that he'd actually be able to hurt Mark?"
Jeff couldn't meet Rey's gaze as he mulled over the reasons why he thought what he did. He knew even then that Cena, no matter how many goons he had at his beck and call, would never be able to touch Undertaker. It was impossible to touch either the man or his reputation. The Deadman was just too powerful and respected to be taken down by the likes of that bastard.
But then, why did I believe him? Jeff wondered to himself.
"Jeff?" Rey called softly, breaking through Jeff's thoughts.
"I don't know why I believed him," Jeff finally admitted. "I guess he had broken me down so far at that point, that I was willing to believe anything he told me."
"I see," Rey said slowly, not wanting to interrupt Jeff as he continued speaking.
"But I know I shouldn't have," Jeff continued. "I mean, the first few months I started to room with him, Cena had left me alone. I was free from him," he stopped.
"Then what happened?" Rey asked.
"Then he came back," Jeff whispered.
Jeff remembered very little from that night, but the memories he did have still gave him nightmares. The only thing that he could truly remember was waking up in the hospital, Taker standing beside him, a glimmer of both concern and fear in his eyes. At the time, Jeff couldn't understand why the Deadman would have been so concerned and fearful when it was he who should have been feeling that way. He knew he had nearly destroyed something that was very important to Undertaker, and yet the Deadman wasn't angry at all. If Jeff could remember right, Taker didn't even seem to care at all that his possessions had nearly been destroyed. He had been more concerned about Jeff's well being then anything else and that alone had confused him.
"What happened when Cena came back?" Rey asked again, finally breaking through the haze that had clouded Jeff's mind.
Jeff shook his head. "He wasn't happy that I had ran to Mark."
"What did he do?"
Jeff bit the inside of his cheek, afraid to answer Rey's question. But so far, he hasn't yelled at me for anything I've done yet, why would he start now? Jeff thought, indecisions plaguing him.
"He put me into the hospital," Jeff finally said.
"He what?" Rey yelled.
I shouldn't have said anything, Jeff thought as he closed his eyes. "He put me in the hospital for a night."
"That bastard!" Rey snapped.
Jeff looked up quickly in time to see the anger in Rey's eyes before it turned to concern.
"How did he hurt you?" Rey asked cautiously.
"Every way possible," Jeff shrugged, not sure what else to say. When Rey only continued to stare at him, Jeff continued with a sigh, "He beat me, yelled at me, threatened me, raped me . . . everything."
"Oh, Jeff," Rey said, his voice shaking slightly. "I'm so sorry."
It was Jeff's turn to be confused. "What are you sorry about?"
"I should have noticed sooner," Rey replied. "I should have done something."
"You couldn't," Jeff said, looking away from Rey. "Even Mark wasn't able to do anything."
"Why not?"
"I didn't tell him."
"How could you not?" Rey asked. "How could he not know?"
Jeff merely shrugged. "I guess because I didn't want him to know."
"But Mark is smart. I'm sure he could have figured it out without you telling him exactly what was going on? Couldn't he?" Rey asked, growing even more confused with the way Undertaker had been acting.
If he did indeed know at least a little of what was going on with Jeff, why hasn't he stayed here to protect him? Hell with that, why hasn't he killed Cena for touching Jeff?
"I'm not sure," Jeff replied, mulling over Rey's questions. "Maybe he did know," he whispered.
"What do you mean?" Rey asked.
Jeff shook his head, not sure what he was thinking. He couldn't have known. I never said anything. I didn't even confirm anything when he asked if Cena had been the one to hurt me. But then, why did he even ask if it was Cena in the first place? Did Cena say something to him? Did he make good on his threat to hurt Mark if I said anything?
"Jeff?" Rey called softly, watching Jeff shake his head again to clear his thoughts. "What were you thinking about?"
"Mark asked me once," Jeff said slowly. "He asked me if Cena was the one who was hurting me."
"So, he knew?"
Jeff shook his head. "I don't know."
"But if he asked . . ."
"I don't know," Jeff repeated. "Maybe he did know something. I don't think he knew the extent of it, but then again, maybe Cena told him everything."
"Why would he do that?" Rey asked.
Jeff shrugged. "Maybe he wanted to use me to get to a bigger fish?"
"But that doesn't make sense," Rey commented, tilting his head slightly in thought. "I mean, not to make you feel insignificant but, anyone who's wanted to get into Mark's head to hurt him tend to go after Glen. So, why did he pick you instead?"
"Maybe Cena wanted to try something different," Jeff answered simply. "Try a path that no one else has tried before."
"But why?"
Jeff shrugged again. "Or maybe he only went after Mark when he started to intervene."
"Intervene how?"
"By rooming with me?" Jeff suggested. "Defending me?"
"I still don't understand why Cena would be stupid enough to go after him, let alone you," Rey admitted, staring directly into Jeff's gaze.
"I don't know why he targeted me either, to be honest," Jeff admitted softly. "He's never given me a reason. If I had asked, he'd probably just laugh and tell me 'just because'."
"Yeah, well, we've already determined that he isn't all that bright," Rey retorted. "He picked on the wrong guy."
"If you say so," Jeff replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rey asked, his brow rose in confusion.
"He's gotten away with it so far," Jeff shrugged.
"Maybe," Rey agreed reluctantly. "But now he's got me to deal with."
"What are you going to do?" Jeff asked, not quite believing that this small man would be able to prevail where the Deadman had failed.
"For starters, I'm not going to run away like some big coward afraid of his own feelings," Rey stated firmly, as he used his fingers to emphasis his point. "Second, I'm going to hurt that bastard until he doesn't know which bruised bruise hurts more. Thirdly, after I'm finished with Cena, I'm going to go after Mark so that I can kick some sense into him."
"Wait? Why are you going to hurt Mark?" Jeff asked, holding up his hands to get Rey's attention.
"Because he's being stubborn and idiotic, that's why," Rey replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "He needs to realize what he's got before he loses it, if it isn't too late that is."
"What will he lose?" Jeff said, his own brow rising in confusion.
"You," Rey answered simply.
"Me?" Jeff choked. "Why would you say that he's going to lose me? Am I going to die soon? Do you know something I don't? Is he going to die?"
"No," Rey replied, looking away slightly, as though embarrassed. "I guess he didn't tell you any of that either, did he?"
"Tell me what?" Jeff asked, his confusion growing.
Rey sighed and ran his hands over his face. "This is going to be one long night."
"Why?"
Rey shook his head. "Because if you don't know this about him, you sure as hell don't know the beginning of it."
"Beginning of what?"
Rey sighed again as he stared at Jeff, his expression serious. "Has he told you anything about Chris Benoit?"
"Not really," Jeff answered hesitantly.
"What has Cena told you about him?" Rey asked, picking up on Jeff's hesitation.
Jeff chewed his lip before replying, "He . . . he told me that Mark drove him insane. That, that is the reason why Chris is dead," he paused as he met Rey's gaze again. "I never believed it though. Whenever I mentioned Chris, there was something in the way Mark acted . . . he seemed to change a little, but I can't place what exactly changed."
"I'm glad you didn't believe that pothole," Rey nodded. "That would have been the worst mistake you ever made."
"Even more than letting Cena get to me in the first place?" Jeff inquired.
"More so," Rey replied. "Because you'd be doing Chris' memory a great disservice if you believed that Mark would have ever hurt a hair on his head."
"Why?" Jeff asked.
Rey seemed to hesitate as his cheeks turned a little redder. "I'm really not the one to tell you this," he said, but before Jeff could ask why, he continued, "Mark should be the one to tell you. However, since he's being a stubborn jackass, I'll just have to tell you myself."
"Tell me what?" Jeff asked, curious, yet afraid of what Rey was going to tell him.
"The reason why Mark would never have hurt Chris is because . . ." Rey stopped, turning his gaze away from Jeff to stare out the window. "Because he loved him."
"Loved him?"
"Yes, loved him," Rey smiled softly. "And Chris loved him back."
"But, that's impossible," Jeff replied.
"How so?"
"Mark was married to Sara," Jeff answered. "Wasn't he?"
Rey shook his head. "No, he wasn't."
"But then . . ."
"He was married to her for a few years, yes," Rey nodded. "But when he fell for Chris, he ended the marriage immediately. It just took a while for the proceeding's to reach us."
"I don't understand?" Jeff responded. "I thought Chris was married too?"
"He was," Rey answered. "Right until the end. Although Mark knows something about that night that we don't," he shook his head. "He's never divulged that information to anyone."
"Why not?"
"As you said," Rey shrugged. "He isn't very vocal."
Jeff nodded, his gaze falling to the floor. "Wow."
"What?" Rey asked.
"I never thought that Mark would be . . ."
"Gay?" Rey finished.
Jeff nodded.
"He wasn't one to advertise it," Rey explained. "Only three people knew about them."
"Who knew?"
"Eddie Guerrero, Shawn and myself."
"Why only you three?" Jeff asked.
"To put it simply," Rey began, smiling slightly at the memories. "Eddie and Chris were like brothers and I was a brother to Eddie. So, one day when we were on holiday together, Eddie invited us for a BBQ and Chris brought Mark with him. Over that weekend, Eddie, Chris, Mark and I talked. It was a great week."
"So you knew that they were together when Chris brought him to the BBQ?" Jeff wondered.
Rey shook his head. "No, but we did find out that week."
"How?"
"Eddie found out first," Rey smiled. "I'm not sure exactly how he found out. Maybe he tortured Chris until he admitted to it. Either way, Eddie found out early in the week and started to tease him about it in front of all of us. Both Chris and Mark looked so uncomfortable."
"I can only imagine." Jeff chuckled softly. He could almost envision the discomfort on the Deadman's face.
"Yeah, it was funny," Rey said, his smile fading slightly. "But I think at about the halfway point, Mark told Chris that he was going to leave."
"Why would he leave?" Jeff asked. "I would have thought he would have wanted to stay with Chris, especially since they were on vacation at the same time and we both know how hard that is to achieve."
"You would think that," Rey agreed. "But I think that, maybe, Mark didn't want Chris to be uncomfortable. He knew that Chris didn't like being teased by Eddie and decided to remove himself from the picture if it meant that Chris would be able to enjoy his time off."
"He's surprisingly thoughtful, isn't he?"
"That he is," Rey nodded. "I think that was what woke Chris up a bit. He realized that Mark loved him so much that he was willing to remove himself if need be because the very next night Chris came out with Mark, his arm around his waist and told us that he loved him. He said that he would take any teasing we would throw at him for it, but it wouldn't change his mind."
"Amazing."
"We were all surprised by Chris' declaration," Rey recalled. "Eddie got over it first though, since he already knew."
"What did he do then?"
"He walked up to Mark, looked him dead in the eye and said 'if you hurt my brother, I'll kill you'. Then he turned to Chris and said 'you better leave her soon or I'll hurt you. I'm not going to allow you let this man hang while you tiptoe around Nancy'," Rey chuckled.
"He didn't?" Jeff said, not quite believing that anyone would actually say anything like that in Undertaker's presence.
"Oh, he said it," Rey replied, shaking his head. "And he meant every word of it."
"How did Mark react to that?" Jeff wondered aloud.
"Surprisingly well," Rey smiled. "He just looked over at Chris as if waiting on an answer," he turned sad then.
"Rey?" Jeff asked, his brow furrowing at the smaller man's sudden change.
Rey shook his head. "Sorry."
"What's up?"
Rey shook his head, his expression grim. "I remember the day when we all went to Eddie's funeral. Chris was so distraught when he thought that Mark had left him," he paused.
"Why would he think that?"
"He didn't see Mark at the funeral. He thought the guy was fed up with waiting around for him."
"Chris hadn't followed Eddie's advice?"
Rey shook his head again. "He never did. He loved Mark and Mark loved him. But something continuously prevented Chris from taking that next step."
"Do you know why?"
"No," Rey answered. "No one ever did. At least, no one that was willing to tell."
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.
"Like we've both said, Mark doesn't talk much and this, well, this is something he's kept very close to his heart," Rey smiled sadly, his eyes misting over slightly.
"You're telling me. It's damn near impossible to get anything out of that guy."
Both Rey and Jeff looked up to see Shawn standing in the doorway, his hands on his hips. "If I knew any better, that man is so wrapped up in secrets and mystery that he actually thinks that he's the Phenom."
"What are you talking about Shawn?" Rey asked, his confusion evident.
"Mark and how he thinks he's really the Deadman," Shawn replied.
"You're silly," Rey chuckled, wiping at his eyes slowly before getting up and walking into Shawn's arms.
"You know you love me for it," Shawn smiled as he held Rey gently.
"Um," Jeff called softly. "I hate to intrude, but, even though your story was nice and all, what exactly does that have to do with me?"
"I told you, it has everything do with you."
"But what does that mean?" Jeff asked, completely lost. Although to his credit, he was not the only one. Shawn looked down at Rey, his own brow furrowed in confusion.
"What does that mean?" Shawn asked as well.
Rey moved away from Shawn and looked at both of them. "It means that I'm going to help Mark see what he really needs."
"I still don't understand," Jeff admitted.
"Look, Mark confided in me almost a year ago, when you two first started to share a room."
"What did he say?" Jeff asked warily.
Rey looked away briefly before facing Jeff again. "He told me many things, mainly how confused he was."
"About what?" Shawn inquired.
Rey opened his mouth slightly before closing it again. Shaking his head, he sighed, "He was very cryptic, but what I could gather was that he had feelings for someone that was very close to him."
"Feelings?"
Rey looked at Jeff, his expression blank. "He wasn't sure what to call them. He only knew that he hadn't felt this way in a very long time."
"How did he feel?" Shawn asked. "Nauseated?"
"Oh, Shawn?" Rey chuckled before facing Jeff, his expression serious. "His feelings confused him. He knew something was going on, but he didn't understand it."
"Why?" both Shawn and Jeff asked in unison.
"Because . . . apparently people were holding onto the idea that he was the one hurting you," Rey answered slowly.
"What?" Jeff snapped, surprise and anger flashing in his eyes.
"Why would he think that?" Shawn pondered.
Rey shrugged. "I don't know. Although, I gather that there were some people who were trying to persuade him to leave you alone," he said as he looked over at Jeff.
"Must have been Cena," Jeff muttered.
"Why would Cena do something like that?" Shawn asked, confused.
"Not now, Shawn," Rey hushed. "Why do you think it was him?" he asked, taking up his seat again.
Jeff shrugged. "Why else? He said that he'd go after Mark if I said anything. What would stop him from starting early? Get Mark out of the way so I wouldn't have a chance to tell him? Or prevent him from believing me in the first place?"
Rey nodded in understanding. "Currently, that wouldn't surprise me."
"I'm lost."
"It's okay, Shawn. I'll explain later," Rey smiled. "So, we've determined that Cena must die and Mark needs a good smack upside the head for listening to him too."
"Why are you going through all this trouble?" Jeff asked, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Rey looked first at Shawn, then back at Jeff, his smile mischievous. "Because I want a faerie tale ending to this nightmare.
….
A/N: Well, well, well, what does Rey have in mind? Will he get the faerie tale ending he's hoping for? Or will the nightmare only grow and consume everyone?