Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the WWE or its superstars.
I woke up sleeping on the chair next to Zack's hospital bed, still holding his hand. I was still tired but good sleep is hard to come by in a hospital. The nurses told me I might be better off going home to sleep but I didn't feel right leaving him by himself in his hospital bed.
A nurse came in to check in on his vitals.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, his vitals are great, no problems here."
"Thank goodness."
"Before I forget, here are your husbands things," she said handing me a clear plastic bag. "This is the stuff on him at the time of the accident," She said clarifying.
"Okay, thank you." She turned and left the room.
I opened the bag. It was mostly clothes, a blue t-shirt, jeans, his shoes. His faded old wallet was at the bottom of the bag. I grabbed it. I loved looking at the contents of people's wallets. It always said a lot about them. There were some photos of him and his family, and some him and Curt when they tag teamed together. The last picture threw me for a loop. It was a picture from our wedding. He looked adorable in his tux. We were happy, smiling. He was hugging me closely from behind. I couldn't help but smile. It was a great day, one of the best in my life. It's hard to believe that the people smiling in that photo became us now. We had no idea that we could go from being that happy and in love to this, separated for four years.
Something shiny at the bottom of the clear bag caught my eye. I snapped the wallet shut and reached into the bag. It was a silver ring. More specifically, his wedding ring. Why was he wearing his wedding ring? I couldn't imagine why he would be wearing it. Then it hit me. His family and friends here in Long Island must think we are back together. That would explain the bizarre phone call from his father. My parents had thought the same thing when I signed the WWE contract. They couldn't imagine me doing it for an other reason than to repair my broken marriage. Obviously I told my parents the truth, even though it wasn't what they wanted to hear. I held the ring in my hand for a moment. I truly thought that the day I slipped this ring on his finger in front of our family and friends that it was the beginning of forever. I never imagined Not being with him. The ring symbolized a lot of things at the time. Those things had been disregarded four years ago. I hadn't seen it in so long, I honestly thought I'd never see it again. I fondly put it back in the bag.
I turned on the tv and relaxed a bit. I grabbed his hand once more. I really just wanted him to know he wasn't alone. I felt myself slowly drift off to sleep. I was woken up by movement coming from Zack's bed. He squeezed my hand. He began to stir.
"Zack?…Zack!" I said excitedly. I rose from the chair and sat on his bed, facing him.
He slowly opened his eyes.
"Kelsey?…is that you?" he said softly.
"Yeah, it's me Zack," I said happily, a tear slid down my cheek.
"Don't cry Kels." He lifted his hand to my face and wiped away my tears.
"I can't help it. You had me so worried!" He smiled.
"You worry way too much."
"I know. But you have been out a long time."
"How long?"
"Almost 24 hours, Zack." He nodded. He tried to shift his body a little, causing him to wince. "Are you in a lot of pain?"
"Just a little, but I'll be fine…Thanks for being here, I know there are other places you'd probably rather be."
"It's no problem. You needed me, so this is where I wanted to be… Way to not change your emergency contact my the way."
"I've been meaning to change that!"
"You are full of it, you've had four years to change it! But in all seriousness, I really am glad I could be here for you."
"Honestly, I think a part of me didn't want to change it because if something ever happened to me, I wanted you to know. When we weren't talking all those years, that really would have been the only way you would have known. You're the person I want next to me when stuff happens." He looked up at me sadly.
"I get it. We have been through a lot together. I have known you like ten years. It's only natural that we lean on each other when shit hits the fan." I smiled at him.
A nurse came into his room.
"Oh good to see you're back with us, Mr. Ryder," She said chipperly taking his vitals.
"It's good to be back."
"I'm sure you're wife is relieved to. She was quite a trooper. She refused to go home to sleep because she didn't want you to wake up alone. She slept right in that chair." He looked over at me and smiled.
"She's amazing like that. I'm lucky to have her."
"That you are. We want to take you for a scan to check on your kidney bleed." She got him into a wheelchair and wheeled him away for a scan.
I walked down to the cafeteria and grabbed some food. I pulled my cell out of my purse. I'd missed a call from the WWE. I called the number back.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Kelsey Crawford."
"Oh hi Kelsey. This is Julie from creative. We were calling you regarding scheduling. We know about Zack's condition and obviously he isn't cleared to wrestle for at least two weeks due to his injuries."
"Well yeah, that's a given. So he's not going to be able to compete at Elimination Chamber?"
"I'm afraid not. We have had to rewrite some of the script to accommodate this. I know Zack is your husband and you want to be with him during this time, but we still need you here for filming as scheduled. Is that okay?"
"Yeah it's fine."
"Okay sounds great. We will send the next script out to you. We will have to play it by ear as Zack heals to figure out how this will work. But we will have you involved on Raw and at Elimination Chamber."
"Okay I'll see you Monday." I hung up.
I finished my food and went back up to Zack's room. He had already returned from his scans.
"Good news Kelsey! My kidney bleed looks like it stopped on its own. I don't need surgery."
"That's great. It will help you get back in the ring faster."
"Absolutely and with Wrestlemania not far off, I need to heal up and fast."
"I got a call from the WWE. They have talked to your doctors and know about your injuries. You obviously aren't cleared for action on RAW or to wrestle for at least two weeks."
"Two weeks! So I'm out of Elimination Chamber!"
"Yeah, I'm sorry Zack. I know how much you were looking forward to winning the United States Championship there."
"I just worked so hard for them to give me the title and this accident had to fuck it all up."
"You'll get another shot at it."
"I hope so. I'm sorry I messed stuff up for you too."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we are a team and our story line was getting the air time. If I'm injured, you probably aren't involved either."
"Actually, I'm getting back on the road tomorrow. I'm going to play a role at Elimination chamber and the Raw's you miss. I'm the Diva's champion!"
"So your leaving?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you aren't too sorry," he said sharply.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I snapped back.
"I'm sure you are more than happy to go back on the road to see your golden boy Dolph."
"Dolph and I are just friends, but yeah I love spending time with him."
"Why don't you cut the crap, Kelsey. Everybody watches you two together. It's so obvious that there is something going on."
"You are so out of line right now."
"Am I? Because I'm your husband! The other night at the club, we were having a good time and then you pushed me aside for Dolph."
"We are separated. I can dance with whoever I want."
"I know but it wasn't that you danced, it was how you danced. The two of you together is hard to watch…I saw him take you home." A tear slid down his cheek.
"He made sure I got home safe!"
"With his tongue! I followed you guys back. I saw him kiss you, Kelsey. I saw you lean into it. I saw him pull you close and how you guys held each other. But you know what really kills me?"
"What?" I said softly.
"It was the look in your eyes when he pulled away…you used to look at me like that."
I just sat there my mouth wide open in disbelief. I couldn't believe what he was saying to me.
A nurse entered, diffusing the tension of our conversation.
"I'm sure they already told you that your bleed stopped, but I'm just here to tell you that you can go home tomorrow Zack."
"Thank god, I hate hospitals, no offense." She smiled at him.
"None taken." She quietly left the room.
"So where am I supposed to be taking you when you are discharged tomorrow," I asked sharply.
"My apartment is fine."
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning then." I stood up and headed to the door.
"Okay." I was almost out of the room but I stopped and turned to him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything," he said a nervously.
"Why did you have your wedding ring with you when you had the accident?" He looked at me seriously and took a deep breath.
"Honestly?"
"Honestly."
"After you began appearing on TV, my parents got REALLY excited because they thought you came to be close to me. When our characters reconciled my parents kind of assumed that we were back together. I didn't want to disappoint them so I kind of let them think we were back together. They passed on that information to my friends here so I wore it to keep up with the lie."
"Oh. Okay…"
"I'm really sorry. I really should have just told them the truth or at least told you what I was doing."
"It's okay Zack."
"Are you sure? I can tell them the truth, I'll call them right now."
"You don't have to, there's no point. You can tell them when you are ready."
"Thanks Kelsey."
"You're welcome."
The next morning, I went back to the hospital to pick up Zack. I loaded him into the car. As I drove him to his apartment, I couldn't help but notice how normal he looked for just having spent two nights in the hospital. The ride was quiet on the way. We were obviously still feeling the effects of our argument the night before. I pulled up to his home.
"Bye Zack. Get better soon so you can get back!' I said politely.
"I'll try. Thanks for everything Kelsey." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked inside his building, holding his still bruised rib cage.
My time with Zack the last few days had been a roller coaster. There were a lot of uncertainties. All I knew was that the dynamic had definitely changed. I just didn't know what I wanted to do about it.
Thanks to everybody who has been reading! It really means a lot and keeps me writing it :] Review if you feel like letting me know what you think!
