Day had turned to dusk, the sky turning a glorious purple haze, streaked with gold. The bus barreled down the interstate at almost 75 miles per hour. Memphis, clad in sweatpants and a hoodie, knees hugged to her chest, hair in a messy bun, watched absently out the window. It was a blessing to travel the open roads, to see the country like that and it was a sight Memphis usually cherished. But this particular evening, a lot weighed on her mind. She didn't have time to take in the sights of the cities and countryside.

In a few days, it would be Wrestlemania. It was supposed to be a happy time…the best week of the year. The week leading up to the event was filled with events and activities. There was the Hall of Fame and then the big night itself on Sunday. Memphis had been looking forward to it ever since she had accepted her position with the WWE. She was especially excited because she knew she would get to referee a match, possibly two. When she received final orders, she knew she was refereeing a single match…not the Main Event but certainly a showstopper, a real headliner.

It had only been announced two weeks prior. There had been no real feud leading up to it. This one was personal…damned personal. Vince McMahon was not beneath incorporating real life events, no matter how tragic or troublesome they were, into story lines for the show. This would be no different. Sordid details of a trashy love triangle gone wrong had soiled the dirt sheets for a month. Now the rumors were true. All confirmed firsthand. Randy Orton's interview had thrown gasoline on an already raging fire.

The buildup was exciting. Audio bytes of Randy's interview played on the TV clips. Randy and Phil held nothing back in the way of their mutual hatred for one another. They spewed their profanity laced venom in a series of scathing promos that they had ad-libbed themselves. The sound department had to delay any lived televised interaction between them by 10 seconds in order to censor all the foul language. The story hit the dirt sheets and spilled over into the mainstream gossip columns. It was the talk of the Web and everyone had an opinion.

In the court of public opinion, the match up was seen as an epic battle between two of the WWE's most talented Superstars. No one seemed to care why. There was blame to shift and that finger had already been pointed right at Memphis Kramer. She was the vixen. She was a whore. She had come between these two men. It was all her fault. And for the first time in her WWE career, when Memphis marched down the ramp, it was not to thunderous applause but instead to chants of "slut" and handmade signs that bore far worse, some so bad, security had to confiscate them.

Phil refused to talk to her, look at her even. He and Randy were deliberately kept apart whenever possible. They had several face to face spots on air to build up to the biggest pay per view in history and when that happened, security was extra tight and the Superstars and male referees were never far away, just in case. Through it all, Memphis was still with Randy. She was still his girlfriend. They still lived and traveled together. They worked together. They shared a bed. Occasionally, they even had sex. The tension existed even between them. Randy was ecstatic about the chance to finally get his hands on his long time foe. Memphis was distraught. The only thing worse was that she was to be the referee to officiate it all. Every time she thought about being in the ring with those two, it made her physically ill.

"You gonna eat?" Randy asked as he stood and began gathering his trash. "You hardly touched those little pot sticker things you like so much."

The bus had stopped at a local Friday's for takeout. Memphis had ordered food but she did not have the appetite to eat that much of it.

"Nah," she frowned. "I'm not really hungry."

He took her plate away and wrapped it up, put it in the fridge.

"You want to watch a movie or something?" he suggested.

Memphis shook her head.

"No."

"You tired?"

"Kind of. Can't really sleep, though."

"Want to talk? Play some cards?"

"Not really."

He smirked.

"I guess sex is out of the question then, huh?"

Memphis just looked at him.

"Seriously? That isn't funny, Ran."

Sometimes he exasperated her so that she just felt like hauling off and slapping him.

"I don't know what else to say. Lately the only time you ever talk to me is cause you're mad at me. I just hate how this is. It sucks. You won't even look at me."

"Look, don't take it so personal, okay? I am exhausted and I just want this to be over. All of it."

"Me too."

"No…really over."

"It will be soon, Sunday night."

That seemed to be everyone's answer, big solution for everything. Sunday night would magically make everything alright.

"Will it? Will it really? Or will it just be the start? Because I am not so sure anymore. Gah, Randy, I can't take this. It's so sickening."

"Babe…"

"The guilt alone is eating me alive. It's killing me."

He closed his eyes.

"Vince is a real piece of shit for saying what he said to you and he knows it. You can't listen to him. Don't let that shit get to you. He talks out of his ass and because of who he is, he gets away with it. I'm telling you, if you'd just said the word, I would have punched him in his face."

"And all three of us would have been fired on the spot. That's the only thing that could make this whole mess even worse. Your out of control temper is not helping matters. You and Phil are two hot heads."

It was true but it still touched a nerve any time any person compared Randy to his arch nemesis, Phil Brooks.

"Look, it'll all blow over soon. Next month something else will go down and the fans won't give a shit anymore. That's just how things work in this business."

"I know that but it's kind of beside the point, don't you think? That's just it. Don't you get it? Don't you see? It's not a business. It's not just a goddamned storyline. This is my life. Nobody seems to understand that. Understand it or give a shit. It's our lives. It is our pain that is being broadcast for the whole world to see and for what…entertainment? Vince is whoring it out, airing all this dirty laundry and we are his willing participants, why? To make money? To draw a bigger pay per view audience? What the fuck, Ran? That makes me sick. All of it. And none of this ever would have happened if I hadn't lied and cheated. I own that, as much as it sucks, as terribly painful as it is, I can't get mad at what Vince said because it's true."

Randy walked over to her. She was so upset. He genuinely felt bad for her.

"Babe…"

"I'm scared. I feel so weak and ashamed for feeling that way and for saying it but I am afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of what it's going to be like that when you and Phil go at each other. And afraid of having to walk out there in front of all those people judging me, hating me…blaming me."

"Memphis…"

"All my career, all my life even, I have been ridiculed. Things were just starting to make sense, to be okay. And now they are not. I don't want to work like this. I don't want to live like this. It's the same feeling I felt when I first started here and you and I weren't getting along. It's the same fucking awful feeling," her voice began to break.

"Don't cry. It's gonna be okay."

"Ran…"

"It has to happen. You can't change it, you can't stop it. That guy hates my guts. And guess what? The feeling is mutual. Every time we walk by each other, we want to kill each other. The confrontation, staged or real, was bound to happen. And you know what? If we make a little money out of it, so be it. It's just the name of the game."

"How can you say that, even think like that, like it's okay? That's disgusting, Randy. That is not a game I want to play, not anymore. I never did. That's what I don't get about you. Some things are off limits and they should just remain that way."

"I didn't do it. Damn, Memphis, I didn't do it but it's done. What do you want me to do about it? Vince has spoken. They have promoted the hell out of this thing. Everybody was talking about it and putting their two cents in it anyway."

"I know."

"It's gonna happen and I won't lie…I'm okay with it. I know that's not what you want to hear but I'm not gonna lie to you. I know where I stand but I need to know where your head is. I guess I just want to know what this means for us."

"You tell me."

"Don't do that. Come on."

She blew out a deep breath.

"I still want to be with you, if that's what you're asking. You know that. It would probably be a whole lot easier if I did not feel that way but I do and…you can't help how you feel."

"Way to make a guy feel good," Randy mumbled, half joking.

"That's not what I mean. I want you. I want to be with you, point blank. I just want us to be okay. I want us to be without this drama, this heavy black cloud hanging over all our heads. And yeah, I want Phil to be okay, too. He deserves that. He deserves way more than that."

"You care a whole lot about Phil. Sometimes I feel like you care more about him than you do me."

"How dare you! Don't you ever go there with me! I am here, Randy. Look around, dammitt. I am with you now, aren't I? Where am I sitting right now? I am on your bus. I had to make a choice and I chose you. Despite the pain and trouble it has caused so many of us, I don't regret that. So as long as you live, as long as we are together, don't you ever say that to me."

"Come here," he beckoned. "I didn't mean to get you all upset. I'm sorry."

"No," she swatted his hand away. "Just stop it. Leave me alone. I just need to think, okay? I am upset. Everything about this situation upsets me and I am just trying to deal with it, get through the rest of this week somehow. I know you mean well, I know you just want to talk but I can't right now. It's just gonna lead to a fight and I don't want that to happen. So let me get through this, let me get through being heckled by hundreds of thousands of people, let me get through watching you and Phil beat the hell out of each other. And next Monday morning, I pray that you are right and everything is okay."

Randy just nodded. He knew there was no comforting her, no reasoning with her. He got it. He stood and walked back towards the main bedroom on the bus, to the bed they shared. They were in agreement on one thing…they couldn't wait for it to be over. But probably for different reasons. He was trying to be a better man for Memphis, a better human being in general but when it came down to it, Randy just did not have the heart that Memphis had. He didn't give a shit about Phil or his feelings at all. And he couldn't hardly wait for Sunday night. Win or lose, this would be one for the record books.