Author Note: Thanks goes to AngelVangaurd, Leasha Orton and JeweledLotus for the great reviews. Thanks also goes to MissMoose7 and jparr261 for becoming followers of the story. You readers are amazing. It keeps me writing and determined to make it to your liking. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.

"One life, one choice, gotta do it right

Once chance proving the world you were right

Like a match waiting for a spark to ignite

Sitting, contemplating if you're gonna make it through tonight

And rise up like a phoenix, fly through the light"

'This Life' by: WWE and $CFO featuring Cody B. Ware

Chapter 10: Aftermath

Rydia sat in the passenger seat silently. She never made a sound or spoke no words to either man. So many things were running through her head that made her angry, sad, and happy all at once. She had realized all at once that the people she came to trust were hiding the fact that Nick was around. Her heart was racing with the lingering adrenaline. The image of Roman's fist connecting with Nick's face made her know that he'd do anything to protect her and it made her smile on the inside.

Roman snuck a glance at her while at a stop light. She never moved from looking through the window. He knew that she was hurt in more ways than one. The light turned green and he turned into the parking lot of the hotel. Once the vehicle was stopped, Rydia exited almost instantly. "Rydia, wait.." Roman called out.

"How long did you guys know?" She asked without facing them.

"Since Tuesday night. Mia begged us not to tell you. We thought you should know." Seth answered.

Rydia turned to face them. The hand print still visible on her face; but this time it was also met with streaks of tears. Roman took a step closer to her. She sucked in a harsh breath of air, trying to calm herself down. "Rydia..." He whispered choking on his own words.

"I'm going inside. I just want this day to be over." She stated and proceeded to walk towards the entrance of the hotel.

Mia and Dean arrived at the hotel. Her heart was frantically racing. She didn't know what she would tell her sister when asked why she had lied. The only thing that came to mind was that she wanted to protect her; but failed to succeed in that ambition. "Mia, you have to be prepared for anything when you go in there." Dean explained.

Dean knew that anything would be possible. He didn't know Rydia well enough to know what she was like while emotionally high. Mia took his hand, twining her fingers with his for comfort. It was probably the hardest thing she ever had to walk into. Her hand took hold of the handle and she turned it slowly. In the few seconds it took to open the door, Mia's mind flashed with several different ideas of what would happen when she entered.

"Rydia!" She spoke loudly.

Rydia turned to face her sister. She had been laying on the bed with Roman and Seth overlooking her. She slowly stood up and closed the distance between them. Mia swallowed the lump in her throat hoping not the see the anger that Rydia was known to have in the past. Dean stood behind her, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"How long?" Rydia asked softly.

"Rydia..." Mia whispered.

"How long, Mia!" She yelled.

"He showed up the first night we went to the club together with Nikki and Brie."

The anger was boiling to the surface within Rydia's blood. She couldn't believe that her own sister would keep something so important a secret from her. What was worse, was that she begging Roman, Seth and Dean not to tell her anything about it. She felt like she couldn't trust anyone at all. Her fists were clenched at her sides tightly for a while before releasing them in a shove on Mia's shoulders. She stumbled backward into Dean's chest.

"How could you keep that from me? You knew what he did to me and yet you didn't think you should have told me that he was stalking me!" Rydia yelled.

"I'm sorry; but I was only trying to protect you." Mia defended.

"Give her some slack. It was my idea to keep it from you." Dean interrupted.

Rydia shifted her glance from her sister toward the man behind her. Dean pulled Mia to the side, holding her hand tightly. In a split second, Rydia's hand connect with his cheek. The force jerked his head to the side. Roman and Seth instantly came to Rydia's side. Roman touched her arm gently, trying his best to calm her down.

"Was that necessary, Ry?" Mia asked.

"You obviously don't give a damn about my feelings, because you agreed with that stupid idea to keep it from me."

Dean turned his head back to center and looked at the hurt woman before him. He was beginning to think that maybe keeping it from her wasn't such a good idea at all. "I do care and you know I do. I was the one who helped you get through all your hardships in life. I helped you through everything. You are my sister!" Mia cried the tears rolling down her tanned cheeks.

Rydia ran her hands through her hair trying to make sense of everything that was going on around her. She hated the thought of fighting with her own flesh and blood. The fact that she had shoved just minutes prior made her sick to her stomach. Falling to her knees, the tears spilled over her lashes. Mia scrambled to the floor, wrapping her arms around her. "I'm so sorry." Mia whispered. Seth, Roman and Dean did their best to leave without them noticing. It was a private moment between siblings and it didn't need an audience.

"You alright man?" Seth asked Dean placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Mia released Rydia out of her arms and cleared her face from the tears that were drying upon her skin. Mia could see the hand print on her sister's cheek and felt like it was her fault that it even happened in the first place. The regret was eating away at her conscious. "Mia, I'm not safe anywhere am I?"

"We will keep you safe." Mia answered.

"We?"

"Roman, Seth, Dean and myself."

The mentioning of Roman's name brought back every moment they had shared in the past week. Seeing him stand up for her and shield her from her own personal demons made her understand that they had a bond of some form. She didn't know where it would take her; but she wanted to explore it despite the danger not to.

Mia helped Rydia to her feet and to the bed she had be laying upon. Her hand touched the softness of her hair. Rydia's eyes searched Mia's face, looking for any sign as to what she was thinking about. "Let him in, Mia. He cares so much about you." She commented.

"I know he does. I've already let him in a little bit."

"I'm glad..."

Her eyes closed, fluttered open and then closed once again before falling asleep. Mia smiled and leaned down to place her lips on her forehead. She couldn't believe that in one short week Nick had become a threat to not only Rydia but to herself as well. In one short week, she had grown attached to Dean Ambrose; the man who she despised for the longest time.

She slowly got up from the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb Rydia. Mia tip toed out of the room and found herself walking the hallway towards the room she knew Dean was staying in. Her fist knocked against the door loud enough that he'd hear. She wanted his comfort now more than ever. Despite Rydia's collapse on the floor, she knew that she wasn't totally forgiven.

After a few moments of waiting, Dean finally opened the door. His eyes were glazed over with evidence of being tired. "Mia...are you alright?" He asked softly and out of instinct he reached his hand out to her.

"Can I come in?" Mia asked pleadingly.

"Of course." He replied stepping away from the threshold.

She stepped inside and waited for him to close the door before turning to face him. Before he could blink, she was in his arms clinging on for dear life. Her cries broke his heart to hear and he honestly didn't know what to say to her to fix the problem. Instead, he did what he could and that was hold her for as long as she wanted.

"Do you want to lay down?" He asked hoping that it didn't sound as bad as it did to him.

Mia couldn't answer; but nodded her head anyway. He lead her to the bed he was occupying. She curled up against the edge, burying her face into the pillow. Dean walked around to the other side and crawled in next to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Shhh, I'm here." He whispered in her ear and kissed her shoulder.

"This is my fault. I should have told her the truth."

"Mia, stop blaming yourself. She will forgive you. You're family and she needs you just like she needs us."

She rolled over to lay facing him directly. His hand moved up her arm, cupping her cheek. There was a red splotch on Dean's cheek that she assumed was from when Rydia had slapped him. Her hand reached up to touch the spot. "I'm sorry. That slap was meant for me. You shouldn't have taken it." She stated and blinked her eyes to let more tear drops fall.

"I said what was the truth; so no, that slap was meant for me. By the way, she hits hard."

Mia let out a laugh mixed with a cry. She knew all about Rydia's strength behind her slaps. They grew up so close in age that it happened quite a bit. Rydia was born in April and Mia was born in March the following year. "We will get through this. Nick isn't going to stop trying and we need to stay close."

"Thank you..."

Her lips captured his chastely. The pounding of her heart echoed throughout her head. His lips caressed hers in a soft array of chaste kisses that left her feeling completely safe in his arms. Her exhaustion was becoming harder to fight and she finally just gave in to its calling. She snuggled her head into the crook of his arm and fell asleep under the watchful eye of Dean.

"Sleep well, princess." He whispered.

He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He thought back on how long he had been chasing her and now that he finally had her, he was more determined to make her happy and protect her from everything that caused her pain. If that meant dealing with a crazed ex-boyfriend of her sister, then that's what he was going to do.

Rydia slowly opened her eyes to a dark room. She knew that it was still dark outside and that she hadn't slept long at all. The replays of that evening ran through her mind rapidly. Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, she pulled out her phone. There were two text messages on the screen from only twenty minutes prior. The first one was from Mia stating that she was going to see Dean and the second was from Roman. "Coffee in the morning?" It wrote.

"Sure, I'll meet you in the lobby at 7. I have training after with Randy. Do you want to go?" She typed and hit the send button.

She didn't expect a response considering how late it was; but the sound of her alert buzz made her smile. Her finger swiped the screen to access the message. "See you then and yes I would like to go with you. Get some sleep beautiful."

"Alright, thank you for standing up for me by the way."

"No need to thank me for that. I'm gonna stand up for you no matter what. He's not gonna get anywhere near you."

His protective nature was overwhelming her senses. Her heart was pounding against her chest and it made her wonder if it would explode with all the emotions she felt. She didn't know what to say in response to that; but she had time to dream about. The earlier exhaustion returned and claimed her for slumber.