Chapter 8—Trouble with Wade
A/N: WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
*the next morning*
Liz was getting dressed for another date with Wade. She dressed in a pink and nude bodycon dress, black platform heels, and jewelry. She let her curly hair down and double checked her make up.
"You ready, love?" Wade asked. Liz smiled and nodded.
…and that's all Liz could remember. She laid alone in the unfamiliar room. She knew she was sharing the room with Wade once she realized she was at Wade's house but he was nowhere to be found. Liz tried to sit up, but she winced in pain and out of instinct she drew her hand to her abdomen. It was tender to the touch. She sat up slowly and carefully; every part of her body hurt. Liz shuffled to the full-body mirror and gasped when she saw all the angry blue and black marks that stared back at her. Her eyes filled with tears as more memories slowly came back to her in bits and pieces.
"You look nice tonight," Wade said as he sat across the table from Liz in the five-star restaurant.
"Thanks, babe," Liz said with a smile.
Wade smirked and licked his lips. "I can't wait to get you back home," he said seductively.
Liz sighed. "Actually, we need to talk about that." She said softly.
"About what?" Wade asked.
She paused. "Wade, I don't know how to put this delicately, but I can't have sex with you." she said.
Wade frowned. "Why not?" he asked.
"I want my first time to be with my husband. My last boyfriend had a problem with it and he broke up with me because of it. So, if you don't think you'll be able to wait with me, you need to tell me now." She explained.
He thought for a minute. "I'd wait forever and a day for you, love," he said.
Liz smiled. "Thank you." she said with a bright smile.
The ringing cell phone distracted Liz. She saw it was Randy calling, but she didn't answer; she let it go to voicemail. Liz decided that she needed a shower, so she staggered towards the bathroom and turned on the water. When the spray was warm enough, Liz stepped under it. She yelped; the warm water stung the scratches and cuts on her body. Eventually she was comfortable enough to relax; the warm, liquid massage cleared Liz's mind enough to allow the previous night's events to flood her memory.
"Come on, babe. I can make you feel real good." Wade purred as he crawled up the bed and hovered over Liz as she was lying on her back.
Liz struggled to push Wade off of her. "No, Wade! I had a good time at dinner, but I just want to go to change clothes and go to sleep right now,"
Wade didn't stop. He reached under Liz's dress and tried to pull down her panties.
Liz started to cry from the horrifying memory. She sighed and wrapped up her shower. When she stepped out, she examined her body yet again. Blotches of blue, black, purple, and yellow danced across her smooth skin.
She kicked Wade away and tried to run. Before she could get far, Wade grabbed her wrist and threw her on the bed again. He held her hands over her head with one of his own hands as the other hand struggled with the belt of his pants. Liz used her free legs to kick at Wade, but it wasn't working. Wade tore her dress in an attempt to pull it off.
Liz kicked again and finally hit her target. Instead of deterring Wade, the kick intensified his rampage. He struck her across the face; Liz cried out in pain as she wiggled away. She tripped over Wade's discarded shirt and fell on her face. While she was on the floor, Wade stomped her and kicked her midsection. Liz wailed loudly until Wade stopped.
He grabbed her by her throat and squeezed until Liz's face was blue. When he released her, he balled up his fist and punched her in the face; it left her with a black eye. Liz attempted to fight back, but Wade was too quick. He grabbed her hair and dragged her back to the floor.
"Ha. The only thing you had going was your pretty little face. Now that you've got that nasty shiner, your value has gone down a bit." Wade said bitterly. He kicked her once again and spat on her. "You should go get cleaned up; you're filthy." He said.
Liz sighed and wrapped a towel around her body. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw Wade had just walked in. She gasped softly. When Wade saw her, he frowned. "Oh my goodness, darling. What happened? Who did this to you?" he asked in a concerned panic as he looked at the bruises that marked Liz's exposed skin.
She frowned. "You did this to me, Wade. You beat me until I couldn't move," she said angrily.
Wade shook his head and covered his mouth. "I don't believe it. I must have been drunk, love. I would never do something like that on purpose. I love you too much to lay a hand on you," he said as if he had rehearsed the lines in front of a mirror.
Liz just stood there in confusion. Wade slowly walked up to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry, love. It won't happen again," he said in a prepared tone as he gently stroked her back and head simultaneously.
She sighed and returned the hug. "It's okay. I forgive you." she said.
"Thank you, darling. I don't know what got into me."
Liz sighed and broke the hug. "We need to get ready," she said quietly. There was no real work today; it was a day for everybody in WWE to get in a good workout or rest. Liz had a training session with Dolph at the performance center.
Wade offered a small smile and nodded. Liz winced and hissed softly with every move she made. Her muscles were sore and every time she moved, there was a stinging pain. Wade watched in what could be mistaken for sympathy; he secretly admired his handiwork. He took a deep breath and when about his business.
Later that morning, Liz sat in an ice bath prepared by WWE's doctor. It worked wonders; all of her soreness was gone after half an hour in the bath. When she was done, she dressed in some yoga pants, a razorback tank top, and a tight lightweight zip up workout jacket. She met Dolph in one of the practice rings.
"You're late," he said as she stepped into the ring.
Liz nodded. "I know. Sorry about that. I uh—lost track of time," she lied.
"You ready?" Dolph asked. Liz nodded.
"Alright," Dolph said as he bounced in the ring a bit. "Lock up!" he said.
Liz did what she was told. "Go behind then freestyle!" Dolph instructed. Liz did the go behind but Dolph caught her off guard when he forced her into a forward roll. She yelped as she landed on the mat as Dolph covered her for a pin. She whimpered in pain at the landing. Dolph jumped up and tried to help her up.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded. "I'm fine."
As Dolph pulled her up, part of Liz's jacket sleeve retreated and showed the now bright purple mark on her wrist.
"Woah. I'm so sorry, Liz. I didn't mean to hurt you," Dolph said as he eyed the bruise.
Liz quickly covered the discoloration. "No, it's okay. It's not your fault." She said quickly.
Dolph eyed her. "Did Randy do that?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. It's nothing; don't worry about it," she said quietly.
He sighed. "If Randy is hurting you, it's okay to tell me," Dolph said.
Liz nodded. "I know. But he isn't hurting me," she said. "Can we just focus on my training?" she asked with agitation.
Dolph looked at her and could tell that there was something she was holding back. "We can get back to your training on one condition." He said.
She sighed. "What is it?" she asked.
"You have to promise me that you would tell someone if Randy is hurting you," he said.
Liz chuckled dryly. "I promise you that Randy isn't hurting me. I haven't spoken to him in weeks. I swear," she said. "But if he was hurting me, I promise that I would tell someone." Liz continued.
Dolph nodded and accepted the vow. "Alight. Since you're so okay. Run the ropes," he said.
She hesitated and took off in a sprint to run the ropes. Before she reached the ropes, Dolph stopped her. He gave her a sympathetic look and hugged her. Liz couldn't be strong anymore; she broke down in Dolph's arms.
"He—he hurt me. He said it was a mistake; that he was drunk. But I'm scared," she sobbed.
Dolph sighed. "Who, Liz? Who are you afraid of?" he asked.
Liz didn't answer him; she just continued to cry.
Dolph clenched his jaw; he had a few run-ins with Randy in the past and he couldn't wait to get his hands on him. "Be safe, Liz. Take the rest of the day to rest," he said.
Liz nodded and carefully left the ring. She made her way to the showers and turned on the hot water. While the water warmed up, Liz stripped out of her clothes. She flinched as the hot water made contact with her sore body. When she was done with the shower, she dried off and pulled on some loose fitting clothes that were comfortable enough in which to travel.
Outside the performance center, Liz hailed a cab and eased inside. She told the driver her destination and sat quietly during the car ride. When the cab pulled up to the hotel where the few superstars and divas who didn't live in near Orlando were staying, Liz paid the driver and got out. "Thank you." she said softly.
Liz slowly walked up to the counter and requested a single room. She paid for the room and accepted the key the clerk handed her. She thanked the older man and went to the elevator. The elevator took her up to her floor where she saw Randy leaving a hotel room. Liz took a deep breath and tried to ignore him.
"Hey, Lizard," Randy said when he saw the young girl.
Liz offered a small wave and kept her focus on her destination. Randy sighed and followed her. "Can we please talk, Liz?" he asked as he followed Liz to her room.
She sighed and paused for a moment. "I don't want to talk right now, Randy. Some other time, maybe," she said quietly. Randy frowned; he realized that Liz wasn't being herself. He noticed that there was something bothering her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She averted her gaze to the floor. "I'm fine," she said.
"Is there any way that we could just hang out? We don't have to talk about what I said. Could we just hanging out like we used to?" Randy asked with hope.
Liz shook her head. "No. I gotta go." She said as she turned to leave. Randy was left in the hallway, confused as ever. He shook his head and pressed the elevator button. All the time he waited, Randy couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that had settled upon him. He had a feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He checked for his phone and room key; when they were both accounted for, Randy discarded the feeling and went about his business.
In the hotel room, Liz put her bags down and immediately fell into the bed. The king sized bed wasn't too soft or too hard. It was perfect for Liz's tired and aching body. She ended up falling asleep there for a few hours.
Before Randy could even get settled in the gym, Dolph and ambushed him with a punch to the face.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Randy asked angrily.
"What's your problem? You took a shot to your ego when Liz turned you down so you had to put your hands on her!" Dolph yelled.
Randy frowned. "I never hit Liz. What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I saw her bruises, Orton! You did a number on her! I can't believe she hasn't called the police on you yet." Dolph said.
"I already told you, Ziggler. I never even touched her. She hasn't spoken to me in weeks. Besides just now. I saw her at the hotel and she didn't even want to talk then. So I don't know what you're talking about." Randy said.
Dolph raised an eyebrow and studied Randy's face as if he was looking for a lie. If that's what Dolph was looking for, there wasn't one. Randy was telling the truth.
"Well she's terrified of whoever banged her up. She wouldn't even tell me who it is." Dolph said.
Randy shook his head. "She would have told me if something like that was happening. She wouldn't keep that from me."
"Dude! I saw her. She was all bruised up and in pain. Something is going down and she's not telling anybody about it. Probably because whoever it is has threatened her or something," Dolph said.
Randy nodded and thought for a moment. "She's still going out with Wade. Maybe it's him." He suggested.
Dolph nodded. "I'll go find out," he said.
Randy stopped him. "No. Don't go up to him like that. If it is him, he's going to go after Liz," he said.
"No he won't. He doesn't even have to know Liz told me. Well, she didn't tell me. I'll just tell him I found out on my own. I'll talk to you later, dude." With at, Dolph was gone before Randy could even attempt to change Dolph's mind. He shook his head and thought about Liz and how hurt she must be. He hated that he didn't know something this serious was going on with her. He felt like a terrible friend.
Liz was awakened by someone yanking her up by her hair.
"Are you trying to upset me, darling? You better have a damn good reason for trashing my name and embarrassing me, bitch," Wade said angrily as he threw Liz to the floor. "You told that pretty boy, Ziggler, that I was hurting you," Wade said.
Liz whimpered and tried to explain herself, "I—I didn't tell him…", but she was interrupted.
"Then you tried to leave me. How do you think all that makes me feel, love?" Wade asked rhetorically.
"I'm sorry, Wade. Please don't hit me," she begged.
Wade furrowed his brow. "Hit you?" he asked. "You mean like this?" Wade drew his hand back and slapped her across the face as hard as he could.
"or do you mean like this?" he drew back his hand and back handed the young woman.
Liz screamed and attempted to fight back. The attempted failed because Wade only got angrier. He clenched his fists and hit her like he was back in his bare knuckle fighting days.
She kept apologizing for whatever it is she did wrong. It was no use, because Wade didn't let up. Liz resorted to begging. "Please, Wade! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to; I'm so sorry. Please, stop!" she pleaded desperately.
As Wade continued the assault, Liz had started to think of ways to get out of the violent situation. She eyed the lamp on a nearby side table and grabbed it. Liz hit Wade over the head with the lamp as hard as she could; he fell to floor unconscious. While Wade was knocked out, Liz ran out of the hotel room. She didn't want to go to Randy's room, so she went to Phil. She banged on his door but there was no answer. Just as she was about to walk away, the door opened.
"Please help me, Phil," she said out of breath. Punk was shocked by what he saw standing before him. The once vibrant, cheerful woman was now a beaten, sorrowful woman. He nodded at Liz's request and showed her inside.
Liz was about to tell Punk what happened when she saw AJ Lee laying in one of the two beds in the room. "Oh. I didn't know you had company, Phil. I'll leave if—" Liz started to say, but Punk interrupted her.
"No. Stay," he turned his attention to AJ. "AJ? Could you leave for the night? I'll call you tomorrow," he said.
AJ nodded and stood to leave. "I'll see you later," she said as she left.
Once AJ was gone, Punk sat down on one of the beds with Liz. "What happened to you, Lizzy?" he asked angrily yet concerned.
Liz had planned on telling Punk the truth, but she saw the anger behind Punk's eyes. She knew he would go after Wade if he knew the truth. Instead, she lied. "Bar fight," she said softly.
Punk eyed her and sighed. "Yeah. That's why I don't go out to those places," he said.
Liz was relieved that Punk bought the lie; at least it seemed as if he believed her. He looked over her slightly swollen face. "Let me get you some ice. I'll be back," Punk said as he left the room.
Just then, Liz got a text message.
5:28pm Randy—We really need to talk. It's important. Call me ASAP.
Liz sighed and ignored the message. She just waited for Punk to return with the ice. Before he could come back, Liz got another text message. It was Randy again.
5:30pm Randy—Stop ignoring me! This is important. We need to talk. No excuses. Call me right now!
Liz groaned and gave in. She called Randy and listened to the line ring.
Hey, Liz. Meet me in my hotel room in 10 minutes.
For what?
You know what for, Liz. Don't play dumb. We need to talk about what's going on with you and Wade.
What are you talking about?
Randy sighed. I know about the abuse.
Liz paused for a moment. What abuse?
Listen. I know you're scared, but I can help you if you let me. You know I'm always going to be around if you need me.
I know. But I'm okay. There's nothing going on. I'll talk to you later.
No! We need to talk now!
Liz hung up and sighed. Just as she ended the call, Punk walked back into the room with plastic storage bag filled with ice. He covered the bag in a fluffy towel and gave it to Liz to put on the areas of her swollen face.
"Thanks, Phil, but I need to go," Liz said once she got the ice.
Punk frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.
She took a deep breath. "I'm just going to get some rest. Thank you for your help. I'll see you around," she said as she quickly walked out.
Punk was left just as confused as Randy had been earlier that day.
When Liz walked out of Punk's hotel room, she was intercepted by Randy.
"Please talk to me, Liz. I can help you!" Randy pled.
Liz didn't say anything; she just walked past him. Randy quickly grabbed her forearm tenderly to stop her. She cried out in pain and quickly tried to pull her arm away from Randy's gentle grasp. Randy didn't let her arm go. Instead, he gently rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie to reveal old, yellow bruises and fresh black, blue, and purple bruises.
Randy's eyes widened in shock. "Motherfucker. I'll kill him," he said through his teeth.
While he was distracted, Liz pulled her arm away and rolled her sleeve back down.
"Did Wade do that to you?" Randy asked.
Liz was quiet; she kept her eyes on the floor.
"Answer me, Elizabeth!" Randy shouted.
"Shhh! No. It's just ring bruises. I'll be fine," she said with a harsh whisper as she glanced at the hotel room where she left Wade unconscious.
Randy noticed her line of vision. "Is he in there?" he asked angrily.
"Yes, but it's okay, Randy."
"No, it's not, Liz! I'm going to go in there and kick his ass. Let's see how he likes it." Randy said as he charged towards the hotel room.
"No, Randy! Don't provoke him. Just let me handle it. I can take care of it." Liz begged.
Randy looked at her with sorrowful eyes and sighed. "Promise me, Liz. Promise me that you will handle him," Randy said.
Liz nodded. "I promise," She said.
He sighed and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. "I meant what I said, Liz. I love you so much. I want you to be happy and safe even if you aren't with me. As long as you're happy and safe, I'm okay with us not being together," he said.
Liz didn't say anything. She just broke the hug and walked away.
PLEASE REVIEW for a sneak peek at chapter 9
A/N: Thank y'all for reading. I'm assuming you like the story, but I can't be sure if you don't review.