I Never Was Yours

-June 23, 2014; Washington, D.C.-

"Girl, that brace looks nasty," Cameron cringed as she looked at the hinged metal brace encasing Tessa's left knee. "You can move with that thing on?"

"Almost like normal." Tessa flexed her knee, watching it carefully. "I'm just happy they're letting me wrestle."

"It can't be that bad then, right? If you've been cleared?"

"No, um, this is just a precaution. The pain went away after about two days," Tessa explained as she began wrapping tape around her left wrist. "I had another week to get back in the ring or the title would have been vacated."

"They move quick, don't they?"

Tessa shrugged – it was something that came with the job. She had known for years that it took minutes to find a replacement if someone was injured and she didn't want to be the one who got replaced.

Tessa smiled at Cameron as she threw the tape onto the bench and squatted to test out her knee and the brace. Cameron winked at her when she was able to stand back up without any difficulty.

"If it weren't for the metal, you wouldn't know anything was wrong."

"That's what I'm going for," Tessa said though it wasn't as confident as she had intended. She really hoped that nobody knew anything was wrong – but she wasn't thinking that way about her knee. "I'll talk to you later, okay? I need to find Foxy to talk match stuff."

"Good luck, girl!"

Cameron's smile was infectious and, despite any anxieties she was feeling, the corners of Tessa's lips tugged upwards. She nodded and waved as she pushed open the door and walked into the busy hallway. There was no missing all the people who glanced down at her left knee, even if it was only briefly. She was almost undeterred by the looks – people staring was hardly out of the norm – but more than a few looks lingered. The last thing Tessa wanted was any more questions about her capabilities.

After her match she walked backstage, relieved that her knee had been able to withstand the physicality. She had been told to act as though her knee was injured and she did just that, especially when Alicia Fox targeted it in the early moments of the match. When it came time to finish the match, Tia locked in the Cloverleaf though she was sure to make it clear that the pressure on her own knee was causing significant amounts of pain. She and Alicia were praised for their match, though it wasn't that substantial given the minimal time the Divas had had.

As she continued back towards the locker rooms, Tessa ran into Rami.

"How does it feel?" he asked, gesturing to her knee.

"Good," Tessa told Rami with a relieved sigh. "A lot better than I was expecting."

"You're coming out with me, right?"

"I am, yeah, I want to get out of my gear and get the brace off my leg. I can be like ten minutes if you wanted to wait out here for me," she said as they stood outside the Divas locker room. He nodded at her and she disappeared inside.

The room was empty because the other girls were wandering the halls or watching the show, so Tessa was able to change without being distracted by conversation. She knew that there wasn't enough time for a shower so – as many of the talent did regularly – she sprayed herself with some perfume after she was dressed before she hurried back out to see Rami.

Holding onto his upper arm, Tessa smiled up at him. Things had been less tense as she grew more comfortable with keeping secrets. It wasn't an ideal situation but she was getting used to it and that meant that her actions were less jittery and chaotic. That was until she was in the presence of Colby.

He came around the corner so quickly and unexpectedly that Tessa couldn't help but freeze at the sight of him. Rami looked down at her when she stopped suddenly and Colby's eyebrow quirked.

"What's up, Tessy?" Colby asked, sounding more casual than Tessa thought he should have.

"Don't call me that," Tessa said through gritted teeth. "You don't get to call me that."

"Since when?" he asked with a disbelieving laugh. "I've always called you Tessy."

"Things change."

"Come on, Tessy. We're still close, aren't we?"

Rami took a step forward, Tessa still holding onto his arm. "She told you to stop calling her that, so stop calling her that."

"Oh, so now you're coming to the rescue?" Colby asked with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rami asked lowly, looking back over his shoulder at Tessa who had started to pale.

"It doesn't mean anything," she answered quickly. "It's nothing."

"Nothing? Christ, Tessy, you and I both know that if he had a pair I wouldn't have to act like your boyfriend now, would I?" he laughed as Rami's face contorted in confusion. "He doesn't know anything, does he?"

"I told him all of it," Tessa said firmly and confidently. Inside she was panicking.

"All of it?" Colby asked her sceptically. "So he knows that we were together before he was called up? My birthday? That you told me you would leave him every time we were together?"

"What is your problem?" she asked him with a small cry, feeling Rami tense. "What are you trying to do?"

"He deserves to know the truth," Colby told her before he looked directly at Rami. "Sorry, man, but you aren't the only one. Never were. Every time we were together, sex or not, she told me she was going to leave you."

Rami was stoic, Tessa was standing right beside him but she could barely even feel him breathing.

"Why are you doing this?" she questioned breathlessly.

"Because I'm tired of you acting like we never happened."

"I never left him for you! I never chose you! I saw him and you ceased to exist. I chose him over you every time! He is more important to me than you are! I don't know why you keep deluding yourself into think we were ever going to happen!"

"Then why my birthday? You just can't stay away."

"That was not supposed to happen. I was drunk and I was scared!" she shouted at him, tears stinging her eyes. "I'm happy! Let me be happy!"

"I'm not doing this because I want you to be sad, Tessy," he said sincerely, his face falling ever-so-slightly. "Rami deserves the whole truth and you haven't given it to him."

Tessa bit into her shaking bottom lip and looked up at Rami with sad eyes. He was looking at Colby, heartbreak written in his eyes. She moved her hand from his bicep and went to hold his hand but he moved it out of her reach.

"Rami," she pleaded as he looked at her one last time with watery eyes.

He didn't say anything as he turned away and walked down the hall, but she saw his fists clench by his side and how he furiously lifted one to wipe at his cheek.

Tessa stepped forward, readying her hand. When she was an arm's length away she drew it back and slapped Colby at full force.

"What the fuck?" he asked, stepping backwards and out of her reach.

"I can't believe you," she spat, her breathing getting more erratic.

"Were you going to lie to him for the rest of your life?"

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

"That's really what you think? Your relationship was based on a lie, just like it was six years ago. You're a pathological liar, Tessy, and I can't believe no one's called you out on it."

"I'm a pathological liar?" she questioned. "You're just as bad as I am! What about Leighla? Why am I the bad guy? You're just as bad as I am!"

"I broke up with her," he reminded her. "I actually broke up with her."

Tessa shook her head. "Because you wanted to be with me. It wasn't because you felt bad it was because you thought I was going to be with you. She still doesn't know, does she? God, unlike you I don't have to ruin other people's lives to be happy. Do me a favour and don't talk to me ever again. I love you Colby, I do, but you only seem to exist when you're making my life hard. I'll always choose Rami over you if I'm given the choice, okay?"

Colby's stern expression fell at Tessa's words – for which she was a little grateful. It meant that her message had finally gotten through to him. At the same time, it broke her heart to watch.

"What happened to never regretting me?"

"Things change."

Pulling out her phone, Tessa hesitated to even unlock it. It wasn't right to call Rami – it wasn't fair. He needed time and she supposed she needed it too. She unlocked it and called Claudio – he would be able to answer her questions.

"Tessa," he answered, sounding neither happy nor impressed. Her eyes fell shut.

"Hey, C," she replied softly. "Is he - is he doing okay?"

"About as well as last time," he told her honestly. "He's going to ride with me."

"That's what I wanted to know. I'm sorry, C. I really am."

There was a momentary silence on Claudio's end. "That's not a conversation you need to be having with me, Tessa."

She nodded even though she knew there was no need – her eyes remained closed. "When should I talk to him?"

"Wait a few days," he advised. "I don't know if this can be fixed, T."

"I know," Tessa whispered. "I know."

She hung up the phone and pushed it into her handbag. As she lifted her duffel bag off the ground, Tessa willed herself not to cry; all she had to do was get to the car before she started so that nobody would see her. She knew that it would take no time at all for everyone in the company to know that she and Rami were fighting and it was bad enough that she would have to be around it the next day, she just wanted to spend as much time away from it as possible.

a/n: yo I got back from the US yesterday and holy fucking shit I had so much fun and made so many new friends like goddamn. That being said, I also had to put my dog down about 8 hours after I got off the plane, so there's that.

I was supposed to update before I left but I ran out of time. So here it is! Thanks to KarleeKathleenDaniels, CarolReigns, Straight Edge Queen, Star-Moonlight1, XoxoShonKV, Guest, BellaRayne and AeonBlue for leaving their reviews! :D

The next chapter is the final chapter, then the sequel From The Ashes will start!

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