After many attempts Roman, Dean and Seth were able to get plane tickets to California, throughout the flight Seth continued to call and text The Raven and her Uncle. His anxiety grew, all he was able to do was leave messages because neither one was answering their phone.
"Fuck", Seth murmured under his breath as he again called The Raven's phone and it again went straight to her voicemail. Seth was sitting in between Roman and Dean. They could see how worried and how frustrated he was, ever since the plane took off Seth had been trying to get a hold of The Raven with no luck.
"Seth, you need to relax man. I am sure one of them will call you back when they can.", Roman said as he placed one of his hands on Seth's arm and gave it a light squeeze.
"But that's what worries me, what is stopping them from calling me? Especially The Raven, this is not like her." They could hear the concern in his voice and see the hurt on his face.
"There is no point of thinking the worst, there is nothing you can do until we get there. You need to get some rest.", Dean plead.
Seth looked down at his lap at his hands playing with his phone. "Thanks guys. Thanks for coming with me. I think I would be going crazy right now if you guys weren't here with me.", Seth said quietly.
Dean put his arm around Seth's shoulders. "We are glad to be here. Now lets try to get some rest."
Dean and Roman quickly fell asleep, but Seth could not rest. His mind was racing with all the different possibilities as to why she had not returned any of his calls and most were not good scenarios. Finally, at about five in the morning, Anton called him. He didn't know whether to be angry or happy that he had reached one of them.
Anton explained what had happened to The Raven and Seth felt his heart stop. He consumed with guilty for not demanding the time off to be there for The Raven. Anton went on to say that in his rush to get to the airport he had forgotten his phone and that he didn't no where The Raven's phone was, he apologized for not contacting him sooner.
"Seth, it is not a good idea for you to come here.", Anton said cautiously.
"What do you mean?", Seth said in a steely voice. He was trying to control his temper.
"I did not want my niece to go to a clinic or rehab center, I wanted her close for her therapy plus her brothers will also be apart of it, so she can truly heal this time. Dr. Reeves wants her to concentrate on her therapy without outside distractions", Anton explained patiently.
"I am not a distraction, I am her boyfriend and you can't keep me from her.", he said between gritted teeth.
"Seth, I know that you love her and you want what is best for her. Well, this is what is best for her. When she is ready, she will contact you.", Anton reasoned.
"Anton, let me at least speak to her.", Seth pleaded desperately. He need to hear her voice, he needed her to tell him to say away.
"Seth, she hadn't slept in days, she was given some medicine to make her sleep. It will be a couple of hours before she wakes up."
"Well then, I will be there in a couple of hours and I am going to see her whether you like it or not.", Seth hung up the phone. He didn't care what they said, they could not keep her from him. He had to see her, he couldn't believe she was as bad as he was saying. She was fine when he last saw her and when he called to check up on her, she sounded tired but in good spirits.
Alex didn't know when he fell asleep but was awaken by someone shaking his shoulder and calling his name softly. He opened his eyes and saw it was his grandfather. "What is it Grandpa?", he asked sleepily. He could feel his sister's tight hold on his body as if she were afraid to lose him.
"Seth is here. Your Uncle needs your help.", he whispered not wanting to wake his granddaughter up.
Alex immediately became alert, part of the agreement to have his sister with them was she was not to have any visitors, especially Seth. At least, not until she worked out her feelings. Even Andrea and Apollo Jr. had left, they would be staying at Uncle Anton's place as Raven received her therapy.
He paused for a moment, he could hear yelling coming from downstairs. He slowly untangled himself from her hold and left the room to join his Uncle.
Seth was frustrated with all the delays and not in the best of moods but they finally made it to California, twenty hours later. It was seven in the morning and he thought about maybe checking into a hotel first but no he could not wait he had to see her now. The trio got a rental car and headed to her family's home. He hoped when he got there she was wake, he needed answers.
When Seth parked the rental in front of the house, he jumped out of the car with Roman and Dean behind him. He ran toward the porch and up the steps, Anton was waiting for him at the top. Before he could rush into the house, Anton blocked him with his body and placed his hands on his chest.
"Wait you can't see her, Seth!", Anton said firmly.
"Why not?", Seth practically shouted.
"Because she needs time to heal Seth. What almost happened to you triggered all this."
"Are you saying this is my fault?", Seth asked with shock and hurt as Roman and Dean reached him and stood behind him quietly.
"No! What I am saying is these are the demons she has been fighting with for the past 13 years. She has to face them and she needs time to focus on her therapy without outside interference."
"I can help her.", Seth said
"But not with the kind of help she needs. We are afraid if she sees you she won't go through with the therapy, we need her to stay focused so she can get better. When you are around her, she is fine but the moment you are gone her fears come back. You can't live like that, SHE CAN"T LIVE LIKE THAT!", Anton franticly said trying to get Seth to see reason.
"I need to see her with my own eyes, I don't believe she is as bad as you are saying." Seth was determined to see her as he pushed past Anton.
"I wouldn't make something like this up.", he said as Seth pushed him out of the way.
"Seth!", Roman and Dean said in unison, they could see the point her uncle was making but Seth was too emotional and not thinking straight. They followed him into the house. Roman ran to stand in front of him, while Dean grabbed him by his arm to stop him.
"Maybe you should listen to what he is saying.", Roman said.
"My Uncle is not lying Seth.", said Alex as he descended the stairs to face him.
"Get the hell out of my way before I knock you on your ass and this time The Raven is not here to hold me back.", Seth menacingly said as Alex stood now at the bottom of the stair well blocking Seth's path to The Raven's room.
"Seth calm down, man.", Roman pleaded, he had never see Seth so agitate or angry, he was always the calm one, the level headed one of the group.
"I will calm down when I see her, I want to see her now!", Seth shouted as he looked from Roman to Alex again.
"Seth-", Alex started but never got the chance to finish because at the same time he reached for Seth's arm, the gesture was meant to show empathy. However, Seth took it as Alex trying to attack him and punched him in the face, causing his him to fall against the stairs with his nose bleeding.
Roman grabbed Seth from behind by the waist and his other arm went around Seth's neck, holding Seth's body against his own, while Dean stood in front of Seth facing him with his hands on Seth's chest. "Seth what the hell are you doing?" Dean was stunned that Seth had attacked Alex.
"Son of a bitch.", Alex said under his breathe as he held his nose, first his brother and now Seth, his face was definitely going to look like hell for a couple of days.
Alex stood up, wiping the blood from his nose. "I deserved that for the way I treated you, I am sorry for that. I was holding on to the past, to better times when we were a whole family. But this is not about you or me, this is about her getting the help that she needs to get better." Alex paused before saying in a pained voice, "I love her to you know."
"Let him see her." They all looked up at the top of the stairs to see it was The Raven's Grandfather that spoke.
"But Mr. Duran, you heard what Dr. Reeves said it is not a good idea for him to see her until she is ready.", Anton argued.
"All this fighting is not good for her either. He just wants to see her, let him. She is still out from the medication, so there is no harm.", her Grandfather said firmly.
The moment Roman and Dean let Seth go he run up the stairs, once he reached the top her Grandfather grabbed him by his arm and stared at Seth. "When you are done, you have to leave and when she is ready, she will go to you.", he said sternly.
Seth shook his head and whispered, "Yes." Seth then walked down the hall to The Raven's room. Once in front of her door, he felt his heart pounding in his chest and his hand shaking as he turned the door knob. Part of him was afraid of the sight that would greet him, another part was hoping to see her smiling and glad to see him.
When he opened the door he could hear her soft breathing. He could see her form on the bed under the blankets and the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her face was turned in the opposite direction. He approached the bed and sat on the edge. At the feel of his weight shifting the bed, she turned her face in his direction. She looked so tired and pale, he thought. Her long dark lashes rested against her cheeks and he could see the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Her cheek bones seem to stand out more from the lack of food. He should have never have left her, he thought again as feeling of guilt washed over him. Her long raven resting around her head on the pillow was in contrast to the usually pale color of her skin, which only added to her look of frailty.
He reached for her hand and held it in his, it was cold to the touch. He lifted her hand closer to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He wanted to gather her in his arms and take home but he knew he was being selfish. He did not want to be away from her, but her uncle was right he could not give her the help she so obviously needed.
Seth leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. She moaned and whispered his name, "Seth." Seth pulled away from her slightly hoping that she was awake but her eyes were still closed and her face now had a frown of pain across it as she said his name again. Whatever she was thinking it was about him and it was causing her pain. Seth had a lump in his throat and his heart ache to know he was source of her pain. He placed her hand back down on the bed and stood up.
It was one of those moments in his life were he felt completely helpless and frustrated by the situation, he couldn't do anything to make it better. It was out of his hands, he thought as the tears started to fall down his cheeks. The only thing he could do now was to leave and hoped her therapy would make her better. But what would he do without her? The past 3 days had been hell. He had to be strong for her and as hard as it was he turned to leave the room. Once outside he wiped his tears away as he headed toward the stairs.
Two Months Later
The Raven felt like a brand new person. The weight of guilt, fear, sadness, anger and abandonment that had existed since her parents death and then her brothers had finally been lifted off her shoulders. It was a crushing weight that left her afraid to get close or even love another person for fear they would share the same faith as her parents and brothers.
For the past 2 months, her and her brothers: Max and Alex, worked through a lot of their feelings and emotions. It was hard to hear how Max had blamed her for her parents death and how even Alex at times felt the same. However, after several session with Dr. Reeves, both men admitted that if it had been any of their birthdays their parent would have cut their trip short to be with them. During that session Max had hugged for the first time in 13 years, he even told her that he missed and that he was sorry. The sessions with Dr. Reeves and her brothers often left her drained emotionally and physically, but it was all worth it because she was on speaking terms with her brothers again, especially Max. Things between her and Max were not perfect but a least he was trying now. It was a different story between her and Alex, they had become closer and it was Alex that would often comfort her after their many sessions.
There were a lot of first that happened in the past 2 months: Being in the same room with Max without him walking out in anger, Max actually speaking to her and meeting her niece and nephews for the first time. They also spoke about the death of their parents and siblings and how it effected each of them. For once they mourned together the loss of their parents and 2 siblings: John and Apollo. They even visited their brothers' graves together.
The Raven had never cried as much as she had in those two months but it helped to close the many wounds left from their parents and brothers untimely deaths. Sharing their grief brought them closer together and gave them the strength to let go of all the anger and sadness they had held onto since their parents passing. This also gave The Raven the courage to finally tell her remaining family, she loved them.
Through it all, she thought about Seth everyday. At night she missed him the most, she would put her pillows horizontally in the middle of the bed pretending it was Seth. She would wrap her arms and legs around them and close her eyes concentrating on how his body felt under hers. She wanted to call him but Dr. Reeves advised her not to, saying that it would distract her from the therapy. The Raven really did want it to work this time, she wanted to be able to tell him, she loved him. She had found her phone and listened to the messages he left when he was looking for her. His voiced sounded worried and desperate but he always ended each message telling her how much he loved her and to please call. It broke her heart to hear these messages but it also made her more determined to get better.
Finally after 2 months Dr. Reeves said she was strong enough to go back to work and to face Seth. She had called him a couple of times but it went to his voicemail, she left him messages. She even texted him but she got no reply. This concerned her deeply, she wondered if Seth may have miss placed his phone or if he was mad at her. She then called Hunter and Stephanie to let them know she was ready to return. She had a month and a half of her contract to still fulfill. They were even talking about extending her contract but she was not sure especially with the way Seth was acting. What if Seth didn't want her around?
It had been 2 lonely miserable months without her. 2 months, wondering how she was. 2 months of missing her. The first couple of weeks, Seth was understanding but when the weeks turned into a month, he started to become angry. Angry at her silence. Angry at her shutting him out. Seth had tried to call her several times but each time her family refused to let him speak to her. She made no attempt to contact him, as if he didn't matter and it cut him deeply.
Being the main heel of the WWE suddenly became easy because of the anger and frustration he felt at her absence and rejection. It resonated in his performance, convincing the fans of his malevolence making him the most hated man in the WWE Universe.
Then suddenly after 2 months of silence his phone rang and he saw it said The Raven. His hands shook as he held the phone and his heart beat faster, he wanted to answer it but then his resentment of her long absence and silence made him send the call to his voicemail. He didn't bother to hear her messages, he just delete them. Then she started to text him asking him how he was and why he wasn't returning her calls or texts.
Let her have a dose of her own medicine, he thought. He knew he was being petty, but the hurt and rejection he felt toward her was more powerful than from his previous relationships. His feelings for The Raven were stronger than what he had ever felt for Danielle or Elizabeth because he had to work hard to win her over and in doing so he opened himself up completely to her. Throughout their relationship, he had been patient and understanding and it still wasn't enough, his love for her wasn't enough. If it was she would not have deserted him for 2 long months. She probably just wanted to break up with him anyway.
The Raven had been trying to contact Seth for a week, he wasn't returning any of her messages. She knew he was mad at her or maybe he had finally tired of all her drama. Maybe he didn't love her anymore. No! No! She couldn't think that way, he loved her and she loved him. Yes, she loved Seth Rollins the fear that once gripped her was gone. She had to see him, she had to tell him. But why wasn't he returning her calls or texts?
She had finally reached the hotel where all the superstars would be staying for tonight's Monday Night Raw. The Raven checked in and asked which room Seth was staying in to her surprise he was sharing a room with Dean and Roman. When did they become friends again?, she wondered as she hurried to her room. She wanted to put her luggage away before she went to see Seth.
She was standing now in front Seth's hotel room staring at the numbers on the door, 324. Her palms were sweaty and her stomach flutter with nervousness. She had no reason to be afraid, she scolded herself, it was Seth and he would never hurt her. She took a deep breath and knock on the door.
It was Dean that opened door, he looked at her with surprise. "Raven, what are you doing here?", he asked with indifference.
"I want to see Seth.", she said as she tried to peer over his shoulder but he moved to block her view.
"Well, he doesn't want to see you.", Dean said sternly.
The Raven had a shock look on her face as she stared at Dean. A movement behind him caught her eye, she could see the top of the two toned head of Seth. She moved forward to go to him but Dean blocked her with his body.
"Seth", she cried out as she struggled against Dean.
He stood frozen in place. Seth did not want to turn around because he feared his resolve would weaken and he would given into her. He loved the brat, but she did not love him. "Leave Raven.", he said coldly.
The Raven was taken aback by his tone and stopped struggling against Dean. She could not understand why Seth was acting this way. As The Raven stopped struggling, Dean's hold loosened. She took advantage and push past Dean and rushed toward Seth. When she reached him she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. God, she had missed him. The feel of his hard body against hers, his body heat engulfing her making her feel safe again and his masculine scent that always aroused her.
Seth stood stiffly not returning her embrace, he looked down at her raven head and then looked straight head at Roman, who stood silently watching the interaction with Dean beside him. Part of Seth wanted to hug her back and never let her go but he fought the urge as he thought of the past 2 months of hell he had been through.
The Raven realized Seth was not returning her hug. He stood rigid with his arms at his sides and his hands balled into a fist. She looked up at his face, which had no expression. She took a step back. "Seth?"
"What do you want?", he asked harshly as he looked at her with disdain.
The Raven could feel herself on the verge of tears, this is not what she had expected. She thought Seth would be happy to see her, instead he acted like he couldn't stand to be in the same room with her.
"I-I missed you.", she stammered.
Without warning, Seth unleashed the rage that had been building for the past month and seized her by her arms and shook her roughly. "Missed me, you sure have a hellva way of showing it. Not one damn call or text to tell me how you were!", he yelled in her face. "And you refused to take any of my calls."
"I-I didn't know you had called." Her family had not told her he had called and Dr. Reeves had advised her not to contact Seth until she was done with her therapy.
"I don't want to deal with you right now, I want you to leave.", he said with anger and hurt as he released one of her arms and dragged her toward the door. Once he reached the door he opened it and shoved her out into the hallway and slammed the door in her face.
The Raven stood out in the hallway, her vision blurred as she stared at the numbers on the door. She could not believe what had just happened, Seth hated her. He didn't want her anymore.
The Raven had managed to make it back to her room. She had been laying on the bed face down crying for about an hour when her phone rang.
"Hello", she answered, her voice was hoarse from all the crying she had been doing.
"Raven what's wrong?", Anton asked with alarm.
"Why didn't you tell me Seth had called? He thinks I ignored him intentionally.", she said between sobs.
"I did what I thought was best for you. I did not mean to hurt his feelings. I was desperate and I wanted you to get better and not suffer anymore."
"He hates me now.", she said miserably.
"He does not hate you. He is hurt, just explain what happened.", Anton said reassuringly.
"But I tried and he wont listen to me."
"Do you love him?", her Uncle asked.
"Yes of course."
"Then don't give up so easily. Fight for him, he did for you all those months."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Maybe it was Seth, she thought. "Uncle I have to let you go someone is at the door.", she said as she wiped her tears away.
"Ok, I love you Raven.", Anton said.
"I love you to Uncle.", she replied as she got off the bed and end the call. When she opened the door, she was disappointed to find it was just Kane.
"Well its good to see you too, were you expecting someone else? A certain two toned hair man." Kane asked teasingly.
"He hates me.", she said sadly as she encircled Kane's waist and buried her face in his chest and started to cry.
"Why do you say that?", Kane asked with concern as he rubbed her back trying to soothe her. He guided them back into the room and closed the door behind him.
She told Kane what happened early at Seth's room and how cold and unfeeling he was toward her. Also, how he pushed her out of his room into the hallway and closed the door in her face.
"He is just mad Raven. You will get another chance to talk to him at the arena."
When The Raven arrived at the arena, she was determined to work things out with Seth and tell him she loved him. She looked for Seth and found him in the cafeteria. He was sitting by himself eating a light meal before the show started.
Seth was playing with his food, thinking about the confrontation he had earlier with The Raven. When he saw her and felt her body pressed against his, he had to fight the urge to crush her to him and kiss her with all the want and need he had for her. When he accused her of avoiding his calls she looked genuinely surprised. But why had she not cared enough to call him and let him know how she was doing. Suddenly, he felt a presences in front of him and looked up from his plate to see The Raven standing in front of him. She was biting her lower lip and her hands were fidgeting at her sides.
"Seth?", she said breathlessly. She had missed him so much over the past 2 months and here he was and he wanted nothing to do with her. No, she would not let him go until she said what she needed to.
Seth stood up to leave, his anger was not as strong as it was this morning but he needed to put some distance between them to think. However, The Raven would not let him leave, she blocked his path and placed her hands on his chest to stop his retreat. "Seth, please we need to talk.", she begged him. He looked down at her and was met with large hazel eyes pleading with him to stay. He felt his resolve begin to break. He couldn't help himself as he caressed her right cheek tenderly. She could see the softness in his eyes but as quickly has it appeared it vanished. Seth reminded himself of all the lonely nights he had spent without her and her silence and his hand dropped from her cheek and he stepped back from her touch.
"Your silence said everything.", he growled, angry at himself for falling into her web so easily. He started to walk past her, she grabbed him by the arm refusing to let him leave.
"Seth please, I didn't know you called. I asked my Uncle he was just trying to protect me. He just wanted me to get better.", she begged for his understanding.
But her words only seem to wound Seth more, "I would never hurt you.", he bellowed as he yank his arm from her grip and started toward the exit again. She was determined not to let him leave, so she ran to stand in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist and used her body to push him in the opposite direction of the exit.
"Raven stop it, you are making a scene.", Seth said harshly as he tried to pry her arms off his waist, so he could leave. Everyone in the cafeteria had stopped what they were doing to stare at the events unfolding before them.
"I don't care.", she said desperately gazing up at him. She could see the pain and outrage in his big brown eyes. "Seth if I had known you called I would have answered. I missed you so much especially at night. I would use pillows and pretend it was you sleeping next to me, so I could fall sleep."
"If you missed me so fucken much why didn't you call?!", he yelled in her face and grabbed her arms and pried them off his waist and held her at a distance from him.
"Because Dr. Reeves told me not to, she wanted me to say focused on my therapy so I could get better. As hard as it was I did as she asked because I wanted to get better for you, for us.", she yelled back as the tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Please forgive me Seth.", she didn't care if she sounded pathetic, she just wanted him back. She felt a glimmer of hope as she saw his facial features soften and his tight grip on her arms loosened.
The walls Seth had up were slowly crumbling as he gazed at her, he loved her so much that it hurt at times but how could he trust her not to leave him again. "How do I know when things get tough again you won't runaway from me again?", he asked, his voice was laced with pain.
"Because I trust you. Because I love you.", she said gently. Her gaze never wavering from his.
He blinked a couple of times not sure he heard her right. "What?", he replied as his heart hammered against his chest. He had waited a long time for her to say that to him and had accepted at one point she would probably never say those words to him.
"I love you, Seth. I am sorry it took so long but I do love you.", she said with a trembling voice. The Raven anxiously waited for his response. He face was unreadable, which was making her nervous, maybe she was to late. Then suddenly he grabbed her by the sides of her face and crushed his lips to her, kissing her passionately. The Raven immediately returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, arching her body against his and putting everything into the kiss.
Soon their co-works started to cheer and do catcalls. When they ended the kiss she buried her face in his neck embarrassed by all the attention but she didn't care because she had Seth again. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "I love you to my little Raven."
THE END
I just wanted to again thank you all for your support and reading my story. Thanks for the reviews. I can't believe I finished my first story. RoseAmador