17. Kelly and The Better Man

"You know, I'm pretty sure we'll have to actually get out of bed one of these days."

Kelly giggled as Justin wrapped his arms tighter around him, burying his face in her hair.

"I'm going to have to disagree, Mr. Gabriel."

She shifted under the covers so that she could turn to face him, planting a long, deep kiss on his lips. He grinned and reciprocated, running a hand through her long hair as she stroked his stubbly jaw. Eventually, he pulled away with a sigh.

"As amazing as this is, the real world beckons."

"Unfortunately," she said with a sigh of her own, laying back on the bed.

"Unfortunately." Justin leaned his body weight onto an elbow so that he could face Kelly. He smiled down at her as he stroked her cheek and played with her hair; his usual displays of affection. "You've called sick into work two days in a row; you've ignored every single phone call and text that's come through since you got back from that party and you've barely even said a word about it. Something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I've been hung-over; so sue me!"

He shook his head and chuckled.

"I don't believe that for a second."

Kelly rolled her eyes and sat up in the bed, wrapping the covers around her. Justin kept his eyes firmly on her as she did so.

"My boyfriend, the mind-reader," she muttered. He shrugged and sat up beside her.

"The first part's right; the second most definitely isn't. I'm your boyfriend. It's my job to know when something's up and to be there for you whenever that's the case. You've done enough of that for me recently."

She gave a sad smile and rubbed his hand as they paused for a moment to remember his recently deceased friend.

"I know I'm going back home in a few days, but I won't have any peace of mind if I know there's something bothering you. You've been my rock since Paul died; now let it be my turn."

Kelly's eyes watered as Justin took her hand in his and lay a soft kiss against it. Almost instinctively he opened his arms and she moved into them, sniffing as he held and rocked her.

"Are the girls okay?"

"Oh god, yeah, they're fine. It's just... It sounds so stupid..."

"I bet it doesn't."

She sighed and shook her head in disgust remembering the night in question.

"What do you do when you feel the people you love most in the world are keeping things from you? When suddenly you feel that the people you trust most in the world can't be trusted anymore?"

Justin sighed and rubbed her arm sympathetically.

"Maybe... Maybe if you love them so much you have to be patient with them, and understand that they're probably just trying to do what's best for you. As hard as it sounds, sometimes the things that hurt us take a long, long time to become clear, but in the end they always do."

"But why do I need to be protected? I'm an adult, Justin. Sure, there are things in life that are really hard, but I can deal with them. Why won't anyone just let me deal with things?!"

In exasperation Kelly once again lay back on the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Justin let out a chuckle as he shifted them slightly.

"Quit laughing at me Justin," she whined, snatching the covers back.

"Spoken like a true adult."

With an amused smile he shook his head and got out of bed so that he could go to the bathroom. Kelly peeked out from under the covers to watch him as he stood in front of the sink, splashing water over the face and staring at himself in the mirror for some time. When she felt him turn to look over at her, she quickly dove back under the covers and held her breath. After a lack of response she once again peeked as he continued his bathroom routine; washing his face and brushing his teeth as if she wasn't even there. It wasn't until he began peeling off his boxer shorts that he called across the room to her.

"Considering we've been boyfriend and girlfriend for several years now, I don't get why you still feel the need to try and secretly check me out."

She giggled and finally dragged herself out from under the covers. He gave her one of his seductive grins as he wrapped a towel around himself and went back to sit beside her on the edge of the bed.

"So, who's keeping what from you?"

Kelly sighed and rested her head against the bed frame.

"Something really... weird happened at the party. That's why I hopped in a taxi and went home instead of staying with the girls. And I feel really bad because I haven't spoken to any of them since then – not even Alicia – and I feel like I'm overreacting but I just don't know. And it's just that-"

"Whoa," Justin interrupted, putting a hand over hers. "I love you Kells but you know I'm still not up to speed with all that girl talk of yours. You're gonna have to be a little more... clear."

"Sorry," she giggled sheepishly. She sighed again and enjoyed the feeling of his hand in hers for a little while longer; allowing it to calm her down. "I'm going to tell you something and you have to promise to be reasonable about it."

"Okay..."

She took a deep breath and within seconds was off.

"So we were at the party and of course we kind of all split up but then I was with Alicia and Maria but Eve and Kaitlyn had totally disappeared and so I went off to find them and I ended up bumping into Eve and she was with her ex Mike, but the thing was Eve was acting so weird and she was in such a hurry to get me out of the club and then out of nowhere my ex-boyfriend Dolph – you know, that ex-boyfriend – shows up right behind her and then right behind him is Kaitlyn! And they all had really guilty, embarrassed looks on their faces and Kaitlyn ends up throwing up and before anything else could happen I ran out and jumped in a taxi and went home and I just can't stop thinking about him showing up out of the blue again and Eve and Kaitlyn disappearing with him! I know I may be overreacting but something just doesn't feel right. Y'know?"

Justin took a deep breath as he nodded, taking it all in and trying to make sense of it.

"So..." he paused for a moment in thought, knowing that at a time like this the absolute right thing must be said. "So, why is it so bad that you saw your ex? People bump into exes all the time; it happens. I mean, it happened with Eve, right?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "But this is different. Our relationship... It all just ended so badly and I've never got that closure. I know Eve managed to, even after all these years, but just the thought of even speaking to him still makes me wanna throw up. Just looking at him that night made me feel like I'd lost all these years of progress and that I was back in high school. It's such an awful feeling."

Justin nodded in understanding.

"It's just that feeling of people underestimating you and going behind your back to try and protect you. It was the same back in school and in that stupid moment I felt it again. Dolph always had this way of making me feel as if I was so lucky to be with him, and I sort of guess I was. He was my first everything and I don't think he'll ever let me forget that."

She looked down at their entwined hands, feeling ashamed to look at him following her admissions.

"Do you want my opinion?"

She nodded.

"I think the worst fear we can have is the fear of having to look at yourself and really see yourself. It's hard to come to terms with your past when you've worked so hard to make your future a better place, but you're never going to be able to find peace if you can't at the very least be honest with yourself. I know you want to keep me in mind and I love that about you, but if your mind is going to be on this ex-boyfriend of yours, don't you think it's just going to get in the way of our relationship? I can't tell you that Eve and Kaitlyn have something to hide and I can't tell you that they don't; funnily enough they're the only two who can. And they're two of your best friends in the world; don't you think they deserve for you to hear them out? You're very lucky to have them in your life, Kelly. Don't be afraid to value them. I wish I still had that opportunity. From everything you've told me about this Dolph guy, I hate his guts for the way he treated you, but he can't hurt you anymore. I'm not going to stop you from going to speak to him if you think that's what's best for you. It'd be better than you sitting around moping while I'm away."

He sighed heavily and held tighter onto her hands.

"You have a chance to fix things. Why not do it?"

She gulped and nodded at his words, reciprocating his warm smile as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead before heading back to the bathroom. She sat silently in thought, taking a deep breath as she heard the shower starting. The sound of his phone buzzing on his bedside table made her bite her lip and eye the device cautiously. She was fully aware of what she would see if she looked at the screen, but this didn't stop her from once again looking over at his latest message from JoJo. With a resigned sniff she turned away and finally got herself out of bed, padding over to the bathroom.

She quietly pushed the door open and was ambushed with the feel of steam and the smell of Justin's shampoo and soap. She smiled to herself as she looked in the mirror, before washing her face and brushing her teeth in enough time for him to finish and step out of the shower. She leaned against the sink and grinned as he wrapped his towel around his middle as he made strong eye contact with her.

"So, I made it out of bed today," she said as she inched towards him. "I think I deserve a prize for that."

He licked his lips as her fingers began tracing over his damp chest.

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

It didn't take him long to grab her by the middle and engulf her in a passionate embrace that found the two of them once again enveloped in another sweaty tryst between the sheets.

"Are you sure you're okay going in there?"

Kelly looked up at the swanky Believers gym and took a deep breath. Justin squeezed her hand for moral support and eyed her cautiously waiting for a convincing response.

"Eve's one of my best friends. We've been best friends since we were kids. I can do this."

He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"That's my girl. I'm going to head to work; are you gonna be okay catching a lift home?"

"Yeah," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. She waved him off as he stepped back in the car and walked into the fancy building as he drove off. Out of instinct, as she did so she looked back to make sure he really was driving in the direction of his work place. She let out a sigh of relief as he took the first left.

"Whoa," she breathed as she looked around. This had been the first time that she had stepped foot in the place since it opened, and clearly Maria and Eve weren't lying when they said that this place was to die for. This Roman Reigns must have been rolling in it considering how high-end his new gym was. It probably wouldn't take long for him to ask Eve out, and when he finally did she could not wait to see what his house looked like...

"Kelly?"

She snapped back to attention as a frowning Eve hurried over to her as she stood lingering around the reception area.

"Hey Eve," she said quietly.

"Oh Kells."

Eve pulled her in for a hug and let out a sigh of relief.

"We've been worried sick. After you left that night we just had no idea what to do! What are you doing here?!"

"Alicia sent me a text telling me you got a job here, apparently as a way to get me to come out of hiding. I feel awful about the way I reacted that night and just had to come see you."

Eve gave a relieved smile and ushered the blonde woman into the staff room. Kelly looked around nervously but nobody in the room seemed to even notice her entrance. Besides, with the way Eve moved through the room with the comfort of someone who was in their own home, she was sure she had her covered.

The two women sat on a couch out of earshot of anyone else, quickly getting into catching up. Kelly was excited to hear about Eve's cool new job and advancements with Roman, while Eve gave sad and respectful nods as Kelly explained that Justin would in a few days be flying out to South Africa for his best friend's funeral. Just a few days off the grid and the friends had missed what felt like a year's worth of events.

When the conversation had eventually dwindled, Eve took a deep breath and gave Kelly a frank look.

"So," the brunette began. "I guess you want to talk about Dolph Ziggler."

Kelly didn't hesitate to nod and give a quiet but firm 'yes'.

"I don't care about him being in town," she said quickly. "And I don't care about him being at the party. That's a whole other bag of issues that I'll just have to deal with. I just want to know what you and Kaitlyn are keeping from me."

Eve looked away, knowing that she couldn't bring herself to lie.

"Did you know he was in town before the party?"

Eve nodded.

"And did you know he was going to be at the party?"

Eve shook her head.

"But you knew he was there and you tried to hide that from me?"

After some hesitation, Eve nodded again.

"Oh Kelly," she said with a sigh. "It's just such a crappy situation."

"So could you just tell me what exactly the situation is?!"

Eve looked at her, noticing the mixture of frustration and worry in her features.

"You've come so far since high school, Kelly. The last thing you needed was for that asshole to pop back into the picture and jeopardise that; especially considering everything you and Justin are going through right now. And then Kaitlyn..."

Kelly frowned.

"What about her?"

Eve sighed.

"You know how drunk she got at the party. She was just in a bad state and was upset about a lot of things and when she saw him I guess she felt the need to fight for your honour all over again. Me and Mike had to literally drag the woman away from kicking his ass."

Kelly looked down, still frowning and trying to make sense of it all.

"So... Kaitlyn tried to fight Dolph because of me?"

Eve nodded quickly, biting her lip.

"Something like that. I don't know the ins and outs of it but Dolph said some things and provoked her and she flipped."

Eve put a hand over Kelly's and gave her a small smile.

"Please don't be mad at her. Kaitlyn's a hothead and may not make the best decisions at times, but you have no idea how much she looks out for you. Honestly. And I'm sorry that everything has been all tip-toeing and secretive and I promise you that it's not going to be that way anymore. I mean, if you can't share all your baggage and drama with your best friends, who can you share it with?"

Kelly gave a tearful sniff and nodded at Eve's words. She was right. Who else could she turn to?

"I've been so afraid to tell you guy this," she said through sniffs and tears. "But Justin's having an affair. I've been suspicious for a little while but now I know for sure and I just don't know what to do."

Eve's jaw dropped. She looked nervously around the staffroom – which had by now gotten even less busy – and pulled a sobbing Kelly in for a hug.

"Oh Kells!"

"It's happening again," Kelly wailed. "I really thought that with Justin I'd found a better man than I'd ever had in Dolph and I was so wrong! I was wrong then and I'm wrong now! Why do I keep getting it wrong?!"

She wailed and sobbed into Eve's ever-open arms. Eve remained speechless, not being able to do anything but hold her friend and listen to her cries of help; quite literally.