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Chapter 48

The room was silent save for the occasional beeping of the heart rate monitor when Seth entered. It had been two days since the accident with Punk and the doctors had kept Scarlett sedated since. Dean hadn't left her side for a minute and this time, Vince had called them and delivered an earful for missing time. Thankfully, Hunter had taken care of the situation and had informed them that they had three days off before all three of them were needed back. There was a lot of damage control that had to be done with the fire and Punk perishing in it. But the issue had been reported as nothing more than an "unfortunate accident" along with social media lamenting the loss.

But there were only eight people that truly knew of Punk's true nature. AJ had been released from the hospital and had returned to work with Randy keeping a close eye on her. The woman had shed more tears upon finding out about Scarlett's condition than she had upon learning of her husband's death. She'd already given her statement that the two had split few weeks prior to his death due to his infidelity but had said no more.

Dean hadn't left her side and Roman and Seth had to manhandle him out the door and Seth had forced Roman to take Dean to a hotel to get him cleaned up, rested, and fed. The blue eyed man had put up a good fight but fatigue had finally caught up to him and he had allowed Roman to drag his exhausted body out the door; leaving Seth to return to Scarlett's side.

For the first time in his life, Seth was grateful that nobody seemed to be paying much attention to him.

Seth took a seat next to Scarlett on the chair that had been previously occupied by Dean. Her face was still pale and swollen but her breathing was steady. Reaching forward, he touched her face with shaking hands; his touch as light as a feather. It was the first time Seth had stepped into this room in three days. He couldn't do it; he couldn't find the strength to look at her in this condition.

He'd been horrified when he'd first laid an eye on her badly beaten body once Roman had delivered her into Dean's arms outside of the burning B&B. There had been so much blood and Seth had taken a step away from the two of them because he'd been convinced that she was gone. Roman and Dean had opted to completely ignore him since then and Seth hadn't minded one bit; knowing that the two were worried sick. If they'd had paid any attention to him, Seth would never be able to look at them in the eye anymore.

The woman lying in the bed was extraordinary. He'd always cherished her friendship and the time he got to spend with her. To him, she was the person he could rely on without any worries, someone whom he could talk to about anything. She reserved her judgement and Seth was always appreciative of that.

But that was before.

Seth was ashamed of himself. It was one of the reasons why he was glad he'd been left alone lately. Scarlett was his best friend's girlfriend and he had no right to feel the way he did. No right at all.

He had brushed off the way his heart would skip a beat every time her eyes twinkled as she spoke him or the way he'd lose his breath when she let out the deep breathy laughs; he even brushed off the jolt of electricity that passed through him every time she touched him. He had originally thought that it was just a fleeting reaction but it was when he began to see her face every time he closed his eyes that he realised just how deep he was in.

The solution had been simple. Push away the feelings by finding more women. He'd spent quite a bit of time sleeping with women whose names he couldn't even remember; tried to flush out his own feelings. All the effort went into vain when his brain pointed out that the women he was sleeping with bore a striking resemblance to Scarlett, minus the scars. That had put an effective stop to his weekly trysts.

It had taken a full night of arguing with himself for Seth to reach a conclusion: bottle up the feelings and don't let anyone know. He couldn't turn his back on Dean and Scarlett no matter how hard he tried, so he settled on the next best thing. The solution had been simpler in his head than it had been to actually carry it out. He'd forgotten how comfortable Dean had gotten with Scarlett over the short time. The way his hand would find its way to her waist, the way she'd lean into his touch, his fingers slipping underneath her shirt to rub her hip when he thought no one was watching. It had been torture.

Resentment had begun to bubble within him as he witnessed the two coming closer and closer. Foolish! His mind had screamed at him to remind him that Scarlett was not his to be envious over. How difficult it was to turn a blind eye to the obvious affection the two shared, nobody would know but him.

Then when she was kidnapped by that jackass, Seth hadn't been able to think properly. He'd pulled away from the rest of them, opting to be on his own so that the others wouldn't pick up at his feelings. Specially Roman. The Samoan never missed anything with his ability to observe everything that went on around him. Thankfully, he'd been too busy worrying about Dean and Scarlett to pay much attention to an equally vulnerable Seth Rollins.

Seth cared far more for Scarlett than what was allowed as a friend and after coming so close to losing her to a psychopath, he had to rein in his emotions tightly. Dean would have his head if he found out. Dean was his best friend and his brother, he couldn't lose him. But he couldn't let go of his feelings for Scarlett either. So he'd stay quiet and wouldn't let anyone even get a hint of what he was feeling. Ever.

Fucking hell, Seth Rollins was in love with his best friend's girlfriend.

Letting his head drop down next to her, Seth rapidly blinked away the tears in his eyes. He was the world's biggest asshole for falling in love with his best friend's girlfriend. He was also a sadistic bastard that would bear the torture of seeing her smile and look at Dean with the love that would never be his. He'd die a thousand deaths before he became the reason for Dean and Scarlett's unhappiness.

Without lifting his head, he turned to gaze at her. This time, he let his guard drop. He looked at her like a man would look at his woman; the adoration, the love, the fear, the joy, everything was out in the open. He already belonged to her and always would, regardless of whether or not she knew of the place she held in his heart. He had her to himself for the night and Seth would take this moment and cherish it for the rest of his life. Tonight, he would allow himself the fantasy that she was his.

He threaded his fingers with hers and just looked at her, the corners of his lips twisted up in a soft sad smile. When he'd first met her, Seth hadn't given her much thought. But after the way she'd treated them at her B&B and the honest care, he'd began to regard her as a close friend. He should've known he was going off the deep end that night in Vegas when he'd pushed her towards Dean.

"She couldn't sleep and since I'm in the middle of entertaining a guest, I thought you could comfort her better," Seth said grinning when Dean's cold gaze turned to him.

"Seth, you know the drill. None of that shit in my home," Dean growled, his arms tightening around Scarlett. Seth felt a pang of something when he saw the protective gesture but pushed it away.

"Don't worry. She'll be gone before you wake up," Seth sent them a wink before he sped off down the hall. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, his heart was racing and Seth was berating himself for practically gift wrapping her and sending her off to Dean in the middle of the night. Hell, she'd looked like a vision sitting near the pool with the moonlight illuminating her. His heart squeezed and Seth clutched his chest.

"No," was all he whispered to himself in a determined voice.

That day onwards, Seth began training himself to never let his guard down around anyone. He'd been overjoyed to learn that she'd accepted Hunter's job offer but had played it off as an overly excited friend. Because that was all he would be to her. A friend. So Seth had to make sure he was always in character.

Judging by the fact that no one seemed to have picked up on it, Seth was convinced that he'd done a fine job of playing his part. That was all he had to continue doing.

He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers. She saw him as a friend and he would honor whatever relationship she built with him. As long as she would need him, he would be there.

He would love her in silence.

We never really did get a good look into Seth's head, did we?

Next chapter will be updated tomorrow.

Don't forget to leave me a review! ;)

- K.