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Chapter 24

"Is this the part where you kiss me again and we never talk about it afterwards?"

Dean felt her gaze piercing into him and he took a couple of steps away from her. She'd brought up the one thing he was hoping she wouldn't bring up. He couldn't do this right now. No, he just couldn't. Not right now. Not when his thoughts were plagued with images of her being married off to Seth or Roman while he stood on the side, helpless.

Every word she'd spoken to get him to understand Randy's predicament had felt like a slap in the face and Dean didn't even realize how furious thoughts like that made him. Anger was his safe haven, it kept the feelings that weakened everyone at bay.

"There is nothing to talk about," he growled.

"Isn't there?" She inquired, her voice small. He looked at her sharply, her big brown eyes were staring at him, filled with such curiosity and innocent wonder.

"I'm going to bed," he snapped turning on his heel and storming off to his bedroom. If he spoke to her now, Dean knew he would end up saying something he would regret. He heard her footsteps a short while later heading into her own bedroom and he let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Why the fuck did I ruin everything by kissing her?

~oOo~

Dean barely slept the entire night. The moment the first rays of the sun hit the windows, he was strolling out of his room dressed in a pair of shorts and running shoes. Nothing would calm him down like a morning run.

He hesitated in front of Scarlett's door but remembering her queries from the night before, he didn't take any action and instead made his way downstairs. He stopped to pick up a bottle of water from the kitchen and chuckled when Vitani slinked into the kitchen to curl around his leg.

The early morning sun was still waking and its rays felt nothing more than a feathery touch of heat across his back. All the while that Dean ran, his thoughts remained a jumbled mess. The lack of control on his own thoughts pushed Dean to sprint a longer distance than usual and when he felt his legs giving away, Dean gave himself a break. Slowing down to a walk and finding an empty bench, Dean took his seat and pulled out his phone from the pocket of his shorts.

"Ambrose, it's fucking 7 in the morning. You better have a damn good reason for calling," Roman's sleep laden voice came down the line and Dean rolled his eyes.

"She asked about the kiss, Rome," Dean said. He heard sheets rustling on the other end as he waited for Roman to say something.

"I thought you two already talked about the kiss already," Roman said, after he'd let out a yawn.

"No we didn't. She asked last night," when we were about to kiss again Dean added as an afterthought.

"You mean you two have just ignored it altogether?" Roman asked.

"She never brought it up and neither did I. Up until last night," Dean told him. He could practically see Roman running a hand across his face to rid himself of the sleep.

"Man you know you'll have to talk about it with her eventually. She's going to want answers and I know you want answers too."

"I don't want any answers," Dean's response was too quick, even he knew that.

"Hm. Don't run away from her, Dean. Scarlett's not the type of girl you run away from him. She's the type you run towards. You're on your own over there, don't spoil the time you have with her," Roman advised. Dean thought through what he'd been told before he heaved a sigh.

"She doesn't deserve me, Rome," he said at last.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Dean heard the ire in Roman's voice and he leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee.

"You know what I went through, you saw what I'd become."

"That Dean is long gone. Don't let your past be a wall in the path to your future," Roman said to him.

"Future," Dean tested out the word then let out a scoff. What future did he have besides wrestling?

"Dean, if I know you as well as I know you then do me a favor and go back home to Scarlett. You're never going to get the workout you want without having your mind be at peace," Roman said gently.

"Fuck off," Dean snapped.

"I love you too. Now get back home," Roman responded before the two hung up. Dean ran his hand through his hair and sighed deeply. He'd hoped talking to Roman would put his mind at ease, but it hadn't. If anything, it made his thoughts whirl even more.

~oOo~

It was when he spotted the dark blue BMW that made him sprint straight through the doors of his house and find an utterly relaxed Renee sitting on the couch of the living room.

"I figured you'd be gone for a run," she said. Her voice was low and seductive but Dean's mind was too preoccupied with worry for the girl upstairs.

"I heard you were in Vegas. I thought I'd drop in," she said sweetly.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He hissed. Nobody entered his home unless they were invited. Nobody.

"Oh come on, Dean. Why are you getting so hyper?" She asked, rolling her eyes and flicking her blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" Dean growled. Renee's eyes flashed but she moved towards him.

"Your house, huh? You never said that to me all those times you and I holed up in here," she whispered. Her hands slithered onto his chest and Dean pulled away from her.

"Get out before I call the cops," Dean's voice was a low growl and there was a fire in his eyes. He noticed her hesitation in her next step towards him and that boosted him to pull himself to his full height and tower down on her.

"I said: Get. The. Fuck. Out!" He yelled the last word at her and he saw something flash in her eyes. The next thing he knew, her arm had gone around his neck and she'd pulled him down to her lips.

It didn't take long for his reflexes to kick in and move to push her away but she was quicker and had her hands pressing right between his legs, almost forcing his body to respond to her touch.

"Oh!"

Dean shoved Renee away from himself and turned to find Scarlett's standing at the foot of the stairs looking anywhere but at them.

"I don't believe it," Renee whispered as she stared at Scarlett.

"I don't fucking believe it!" She screeched turning her angered eyes to him.

"You brought that…that thing here?!" She yelled at him.

"Watch your tongue and get the fuck out of my house. You're not only trespassing but forcing yourself onto me," Dean hissed at her through gritted teeth.

"So now it's forcing? What about all those times you pushed me against these walls and fu-."

"GET OUT OR I'M CALLING HUNTER AND GETTING YOU FIRED!" Dean roared, his voice boomed all across the house and Renee shrunk under her fiery gaze and towering frame. He knew she loved her job more than anything and she knew that due to the money he brought in to the company, the management would acquiesce his request with ease.

She sent a loathing look towards Scarlett and glared at him before stalking out the door.

"I mean it, Renee. If you come near Scarlett or myself again, there will be hell to pay," he called after her as she headed out the door. The weight of his words caused her to stumble but she slammed the front door and few seconds later they heard the tires screeching.

"Scarlett-."

"I'm actually not feeling well. Going to go have a lie in," Scarlett responded quickly before she turned on her heel and quickly made her way back up the stairs. Dean groaned and leaned back against the wall, holding his head in his hands.

~oOo~

It was an hour later that he could bring up the courage and make his way to her room. He knocked on the door softly and when he got no response did his need to see her kick in, making him crack open the door and peak in. He saw her lying on the bed, her back turned towards the door.

Pushing the door open, Dean walked into the room and walked towards her. As he got closer, he saw her body curled into a ball with her arms wrapped around a pillow. He gently sat down next to her, ignoring the wet patch on the pillow her arms were wrapped around and the wet tracks on her face that made his heart twist painfully.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice sounded like a strange mix between a whisper and a growl. She responded by curling further into herself and pulling the pillow closer to her.

"I'll be fine in a bit. I just need to be alone," she told him. He didn't need to be an expert to see she was blowing him off. So Dean did what he thought would be best. He stretched out next to her and wrapped an around her waist, pulling her body close to his as he rested his head against hers. Her body went rigid and Dean noticed the way her breathing picked up ever so slightly.

"Two years ago, Renee and I became what you would call 'friends with benefits'. I didn't want a relationship and neither did she, but we wanted to blow off some steam. We slept with each other a couple of times and that's it. I got annoyed with her sudden obsession and I took a step back, but she didn't get the message," Dean told her, holding her tighter when he felt her began to try and move away from him. He was spooning her now; his body perfectly in line with hers.

"Ever since I made the stupid decision to sleep with her, I've regretted it," he murmured, pressing his lips against her temple. Her hand slid down form the pillow to cover his that was wrapped around her waist.

"There is no need to tell me all this. What you do in your personal life is not my concern," she said softly, before pushing his arms off of her. But Dean was relentless and took her waist again, firmly holding her in place.

"Let me go," she ordered. It was the first time he heard the anger in her voice.

"No. Not until you hear me out," he said, frowning.

"I don't need to hear about your escapades with Renee, Dean. Please. Just let me go," she said exasperatedly. She tried to move away from him again and once more he refused to give her the space. She pushed at his arms, tried to kick her way free, but never did his hold on her diminish.

"I won't tell you about my "escapades". What I will tell you is that the reason I kissed you the other night was because I wanted to," he whispered into her ear. She went still in his arms and when Dean didn't feel the rise and fall of her chest, his hands immediately went to her shoulder and massaged gently.

"Breathe," he coaxed her. She took a gulp of air and then curled into a ball again; away from him. Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair again.

"That's the first time you've admitted it was you who wanted something, not a 'we' or 'they'," she said softly after a few moments of silence. Perplexed, Dean sat up and looked at her back. The tension released from her shoulders a bit and Scarlett slowly turned her head, her body unfolding from its protective cocoon.

"Every time I've asked something, you've always said 'They want you here' or 'they don't care'."

He couldn't find the words to answer her. But it didn't seem like she was waiting for it. In fact, she was looking at him with such pain-filled eyes that Dean was forced to look down at his hands in what could only be described as guilt.

He'd been right to read her pain, but he had no idea what was really going on in Scarlett's mind. The moment she'd stepped down the stairs and her gaze had fallen on Dean in a lip lock with the girl that had humiliated her, she'd felt the world slip from beneath her as something cold gripped her heart and ripped it into shreds. It wasn't the fact that he was kissing another woman that had caused the tears once she'd safely returned to her room, it was the fact that she would never be good enough for anyone. That self-loathing feeling returned and her mind abused herself in a way that she never thought was possible. The worst part was that all of it was true.

She was scarred. She was mutilated. She was grotesque. How could anyone want her? How could she let herself think that someone would want her? Specially Dean Ambrose. The man who made women stop breathing with just a glance, the man who had been nothing but kind to her and shared with her the hospitality of his home.

She'd cursed herself thousands of times for letting those damn feelings take a hold of her in her weakest moment; to make her feel things for Dean that she knew would eventually lead to nothing but her getting trampled on.

And then he said it. "I wanted to kiss you."

No he didn't. He was just being nice. Dean had never said that he wanted anything. It had always been "we" or "they". Never "I". He'd told her about his tumultuous relationship with Renee because he thought of her a friend. Their kiss had been in the heat of the moment and that was it. She should never have brought it up the night before. His hesitation from the night before was a clear indication that she was too far in over her head.

"Just let me have some time to myself, Dean," she almost begged him to leave her alone.

"Scar, I just don't want to see you upset," he told her, sighing and once again running a hand through his hair.

"I'm not upset at all," not with you, never with you. She added in her head. He gave her a look that said he didn't believe her but he didn't push it. Instead he took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"I'll wait for you downstairs, come soon," and after that he stood up and was gone from her room. Leaving behind the scent of his cologne on the pillow he'd been leaning on. Scarlett pushed the pillow away from her and hugged the pillow she'd been holding earlier.

"I promise, from now on. I'll never let myself slip again. I'll treasure our friendship, Dean. I promise," Scarlett vowed to herself, erasing the memory of their kiss from her mind (temporarily at least). He'd confided in her as a friend and she would honor it.

Those feelings for Dean were a bitter reminder that she would suffer for the rest of her life, just like she'd made others suffer before the fire. This was her fate and life was screaming at her to accept the solitude that she was cursed with.

I am very curious to know your thoughts on this chapter. Let me know in a Review, I look forward to hearing from you guys. :)

- K.