Dean's and Renee's respective mornings weren't that different. They both woke up with regret.
When Dean opened his eyes, he felt strange. For a moment he didn't know what was going on and where he was. He looked to his left, but what he saw just added to his confusion. Roman? Why not Renee? Then the awakening came. This room was not his and Renee's. Renee . . . did they break up? Dean had to think hard to remember the events of the last night. There was a fight. But what was the result? Temporary or permanent separation? Gosh . . . words couldn't describe how terrible he was feeling.
What was the time? Half past six. Dean was still tired but with these thoughts in mind he couldn't fall asleep again. "Roman," he shook with the lifeless body of his friend. With continuous disturbance Roman eventually had to wake up.
"Not now, Seth," Roman mumbled.
"Roman," Dean spoke louder this name. This was urgent.
Roman hesitantly opened his eyes. "Dean?" he asked, surprised to see him lying next to him. But he didn't care that much. He stretched his body because he was only in transition from being asleep to waking up completely.
"Listen, Ro, did I say something last night?" Dean was thinking that maybe Roman had an idea what the actual status of him and Renee was.
Finally, Roman was starting to focus, but he was still unable to give the conversation as much importance as Dean demanded. "No; I don't know. The only thing I remember is that you were naked." Roman suddenly sat up. "You're not naked now, are you?"
Dean didn't think so, but he checked to be absolutely sure. "No." He kept looking at his underwear. He murmured, "This is not mine."
Dean's mumbling didn't interest Roman. Now that he was awake he wanted to know the reason why Dean was occupying his bed when he had a comfortable bed himself. "Did Renee got tired of your shit and told you to fuck off?" Roman joked but the smile quickly disappeared from his face.
"I think we broke up."
That information left Roman speechless. Now he was fully awake. But what happened, he wondered. Would it be inappropriate to ask?
Then Dean added, "Or we will soon."
"Wait," Roman found the courage to interrupt. "So . . . have you or haven't you broken up?"
"The thing is, I have no idea. It's not like she said 'I break up with you,' or anything that would clearly state it's over, but I have this feeling that she wants us to part ways for good. I mean, who says those things openly these days anyway?" Dean argued.
"But there still is a chance . . ."
"Well, I guess it's just a matter of time . . ."
This passive attitude bothered Roman. "Why do I feel you're giving up already?"
"I'm not, okay? But we both know that these things aren't for me."
Unlike Dean, who was still in bed, Roman was getting up and looking for clothes to wear. Talking while lying in bed next to each other was too weird so he wanted to avoid it from now on.
"You were doing fine until recently." He hoped that it would cheer him up, but that didn't happen.
Dean found an argument to counter Roman's. "Because of Cassie's help."
"Cassie, Cassie," Roman sighed, "you know she's the reason you're swimming in this shit in the first place, don't you?"
"No, don't make a criminal out of her. All she did was helping me. But when we're looking for a person to blame, I'd say you are just as guilty."
That took Roman by surprise. "What? Are you kidding me?"
"You were the one who advised me to tell Renee."
Roman took a deep breath to get emotions under control. He didn't want to turn into Seth or Dean who acted without thinking. "Look, Dean. First of all, I said you should tell her if," he emphasized, "you decide to go. I never said that going to that wedding is a clever thing to do. But if," he stressed that word again, "you go, Renee needs to know about it. And second of all, I'm not always right. You really thought I could predict woman's reaction?" he joked to ease up the situation.
"Well, that doesn't matter now anyway. She hates me."
Sad, resigned face of Dean Ambrose was one that wasn't quite known to Roman. It was painful to see it. Dean was feeling bad; guilty and miserable. "Come on, that was yesterday. Apologize and life goes on," Roman meant to give him some inspiration. But Dean disapproved of those words. Even without speaking, it was clear that he refused the option to apologize. He was way too proud and still believed that beneath everything there was his right to see his friend – even though she was his ex – for the last time.
After a moment of silence, Roman spoke again. "Dean," he addressed him. "What if it's really over between you and Renee? What are you gonna do?"
One certain thing interested him. Fortunately, Dean knew exactly what Roman had in mind. "You mean whether I get back with Cassie?"
Roman unhappily nodded. He wanted to know, yet he didn't want to know the answer.
Well, Dean chose not to answer anyway. "I need to go back to my room," he said instead, and finally he, too, got out of bed.
"Like that?" Roman asked, what made Dean stop and reconsider. He was still wearing only boxers; Roman's boxers.
"I came here naked," reminded him Dean, raising the question of why should it be a problem now if it was okay earlier today.
"Yeah, but that was when everybody was sleeping. Just put something on."
Dean thought about it but then he replied, "Look, it'd still be your clothes. But what's the matter? Scared of people knowing I spent the night in your room?" Dean was teasing him.
"Let's compromise," suggested Roman. "I'll go to your room to get your clothes, and then you can go wherever you want. Deal?"
Dean shrugged his shoulders. "If it makes you feel better," he said, not giving a fuck.
Roman stayed a little longer, watching Dean, trying to figure out if he could trust him that he'd stay inside while he would go get his clothes. No, of course he couldn't trust him. Roman told him, "Please, stay here, and don't open door to anyone."
"Yes, mom," joked Dean.
One more hateful and suspicious look from Roman, and he was gone.
He wanted to get this through as soon as possible. No hesitation, no procrastination. Since it was a big risk to leave Dean unattended, he walked fast and arrived with no delay. He got the key card so knocking was not necessary. He let himself in, quietly, because he thought Renee could be still sleeping. On his mission he gave out an impression of a thief, that's how sneaky he was, but Roman was enjoying it. He had a plan; go inside, get the clothes, and leave before Renee sees him. But once he got inside, all that was forgotten.
The awful smell hit him first. Somebody was on an alcohol spree. Evidence was all around. On the table, on the floor, on the bed. Gosh, there was even a small pyramid made out of mostly empty bottles. Roman didn't know what to think about it. It cleared up a bit when he saw Renee. More precisely, when he saw that she was not alone. Renee was asleep, as was her partner in crime. Roman walked further to see the person probably responsible for this mess. Now that was interesting, ran through Roman's mind.
He walked carefully, not to wake them up. Only when he was standing right in front of the bed they were so peacefully lying in, Roman clapped loudly and shouted, "Morning, lovebirds!"
And the wide smile of Roman Reigns was the first thing they saw.
They were screwed. Seth and Renee couldn't remember last night. And they had no idea why they were in bed together. For Roman, their terrified looks were hilarious; for them it was cruel reality.
Renee swallowed over-forming saliva in her mouth. "We didn't . . ." she said – or asked actually, holding her aching head.
Seth wasn't wearing a shirt but that didn't have to mean anything. The part which could resolve their confusion was hidden under the sheets; then the legs were out again, just as the upper part of his body. Terrified Renee anticipated the news. Seth slowly looked under the sheets. His face got sour. "This is awkward," he said, and suddenly it was clear.
Renee felt sick. This was not good. This was so not good. Disaster. Renee looked at the enemy that Seth had become, and in that moment she realized that her whole world had fallen apart. Guilt was what she felt, and she knew that the feeling was deserved. Gradually, it became harder and harder to handle the situation and prevent emotions from taking control. That can't be, Renee tried to persuade herself. The consequences would be far-reaching. All this made Renee nauseated. She abruptly jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
Seth watched her attempt to flee the reality. Roman, on the other hand, only glanced at her and then stared constantly at Seth, judging him. A look of disapproval was what Seth could have seen if he stopped watching the way that Renee had marked with her bare feet seconds ago. "That was cruel," Roman uttered.
"What?" Finally Seth transferred his attention to Roman.
"You're not naked." Roman was sure of that because when he entered the room, Seth wasn't covered up in anything. And he saw that Seth was wearing his underwear. "Liar," he accused him.
Realizing he wasn't very fit and his head was killing him, Seth's first attempt to get up was unsuccessful. But he was in surprisingly good mood. He laughed, even though he was in pain. "It was an innocent joke," argued Seth. "Of course we didn't sleep together. We weren't that drunk, okay?" Seth kept on smiling. Now he was out of bed and surely he was wearing underwear.
"Oh, Seth," sighed Roman. "I doubt Renee found it funny." Then Roman shouted toward the bathroom, "Renee? You're all right in there?" And then he again looked at Seth, disapprovingly shaking his head.
"Jeez, if something happened, she'd remember," Seth tried to come up with something that wouldn't make him look like an idiot, but he himself knew that he shouldn't have made that joke. Not with Renee. Not now. Or, better, not ever. "I'll go check on her," he said, and immediately went to do so.
Meanwhile, Roman started cleaning. This mess had to disappear. He started with opening the window to make the unbearable smell go away. Of course it made Renee puke.
As he was standing by the window, he noticed a strange dude crossing the road. What made Roman chuckle was the fact that he was only in his underwear; he wasn't even wearing any shoes. A drunk idiot, Roman thought of the guy.
"Shit," he shouted, and hid his mouth with one hand to reduce the visibility of the shock. Idiot, indeed, Roman labeled Dean, who turned out to be the mysterious guy. Roman fought the urge to yell at him. He was angered; but equally amused. Roman mumbled to himself, "One is joking about having had sex with his best friend's girlfriend and the other one is walking by the street almost naked." Roman wondered how he made such "intelligent friends."
"Ouch," noise came from the now open bathroom.
"I hate you," Renee was shouting at Seth, beating him with a towel. Roman heard her admitting, "I really thought we slept together."
"I'm sorry."
Roman interrupted their little "post-coitus" fight, "How you're feeling?" He directed the question at Renee.
"Better now that I know nothing happened." She really looked relieved. Although she was still a little greenish, one didn't need to worry about her mental health. But to make the guys sure Renee was fine, she added in a serious manner, "I'm okay. Kinda," she didn't want to lie.
"Not to make you worried again, but we really need to clean this up and get rid of Seth."
"Hey, I'm right here," Seth spoke, his pride hurt.
Roman went back to cleaning, hoping someone would join him. Picking bottles off the floor he explained, "Dean will be here soon." That was questionable. For all Roman knew, Dean might have gone who knows where and return only in a couple of hours – if at all.
Now Renee remembered. She knew what happened last night, and the thoughts that she had at night were back in her head. "So?"
"Dean cannot find Seth in here."
"What if he does? I mean, does it really matter?" She was thinking about that making-him-jealous thing again.
Roman stopped picking litter and looked at her very seriously. "Yes, it does. He could very easily make his own image of last night when he sees you two together."
"I'm aware of that," Renee admitted.
Now even Seth was curious, but also worried. He found it strange that Renee would be okay with Dean's seeing Seth – only in his boxers – with her.
But Roman was the one to talk to Renee about this. He argued, "He'd get jealous. He'd go mad. Crazy. Seth would be the first one to blame and Dean wouldn't hesitate to reward him with a beating. Do you want that to happen?"
She probably didn't realize that. "No," she said quietly. "I wouldn't let that happen."
"When he gets something in his mind, he gets hysterical and he doesn't care who gets in a way. You couldn't stop him. In worst scenario, you'd end up with a bruise as well."
Imagining that, shivers ran through her back. The terrified look returned.
That was when Roman added, not sounding so tense now, "Or he would laugh at how unconvincing that play you put on is. But you don't know. You simply can't predict how Dean will react."
Seth agreed with Roman. The face expressions that changed every three seconds were a bit confusing but definitely disapproving of making Dean jealous.
Roman finished by saying, "Seriously, Renee, that would be a really, really," he stressed, "stupid thing to do."
As soon as Renee nodded, she had to put a hand on her mouth. That movement made her sick again.
Seth furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lip when she passed him by as she trying to manage to get to the bathroom in time. "Well, look what I've done. I wanted to make her happy, but I made her sick instead."
"How much have you two drunk anyway?" Roman asked. There was so much trash everywhere. Empty bottles. Spilled liquid. Cashew nuts.
"Not that much. I felt worse," Seth compared the experience of last night with the other ones he had.
"Great to hear," Roman replied, and smiled viciously. "Go get the broom and then you can sweep the floor."
"I'm not feeling that good," opposed Seth. Cleaning? That was a big no for him. So instead of listening to Roman's orders, he lay down in bed again.
"Seriously? Renee's got enough problems of her own and you refuse to help? I'm not even supposed to be here. Why should I do everything?"
"Then don't. It's not like we can't find anyone to do the cleaning for us . . ."
Roman considered the option of forgetting about his tidy and organized nature and instead joining Seth in his laziness. Well, it really wasn't up to him to clean the mess he hadn't caused.
"Take a chill pill, Ro. Relax."
Finally, he lay down next to Seth. "This feels better," Roman admitted.
"Right?" With a smile on his face, Seth reached under the bed. "Beer?" he offered Roman a full bottle, and he didn't hesitate to take it from him.
"It's not like it's our room anyway . . ." Roman said while opening the bottle. Mess or no mess, now with beer in his hand, Roman couldn't care less.
Lying as if nothing mattered, Renee found them enjoying the carefree moment. "So is Dean supposed to find me with you both now?"
"Ren," Roman spoke with great difficulty. Mostly because he was busy with drinking the beer while lying, but also because it was a serious topic he meant to open. "What's your situation?" He wished to finally hear the truth about her and Dean.
Renee found herself a comfortable place to sit down. She had a glass of cold water on the table next to her, and to feel even better she put her legs up on the side of the bed. Seth could reach her feet with his so he playfully touched them and then they tried to connect their toes, while Roman was made to wait for Renee to speak. She had to calm herself first; she didn't want to have another embarrassing moment of rushing into the bathroom.
"The situation is that now we wait for Dean. And then," it was evident that she really didn't care, "you two can decide."
Seth and Roman looked at each other in surprise. But they somewhat liked the chance they'd been given. "Let's Dean amaze us," Seth uttered.
And like that, the three of them waited. And waited. And waited. Until . . . "He's not gonna come," Renee said.
"Give him one more minute," Roman asked for a favor for his friend.
"Seth, what you told me last night . . . do you still think I should do it?"
"What?" Roman didn't understand.
Renee explained to him since he wasn't present at her and Seth's conversation last night, "He said I should break up with Dean."
"Why would you say that?" Roman hit Seth, who was still lying next to him.
Renee was the one to answer that question. "He said that Dean's unreliable, and that he's more of a burden to me."
"Whoa, I never used those words," Seth was offended by her incorrect paraphrasing.
"Well, do you still think we should break up?"
Maybe it was best that Seth had trouble answering that question, because Dean could hear every single word. He was standing right outside the door, but the ongoing conversation prevented him from knocking on the door. Now he was taken aback by his supposedly friend's words. But he understood and wasn't mad at Seth for expressing his honest opinion. Renee would be better off without him, he realized. They should break up . . . Dean suddenly smiled. He remembered how Renee once told him not to do something just because you should. He definitely wasn't going to.
Therefore he knocked.
"Dean," Renee gasped.
He skipped hello. His right hand found its way on Renee's neck to enable him gain control. Renee knew what would come. A kiss. But she was a little surprised when Dean only gave her an innocent kiss on her forehead. He then smiled awkwardly and whispered into her ear, "You're not gonna be the one that got away." And he revealed the reason why he had been keeping his left arm behind his back until now. It wasn't a dozen of red roses. Dean held a teddy bear. Light brown stuffed animal with big eyes and snuggly body.
"Keep him," Roman cried.
Only now Dean fully noticed the room in its complexity. The mess, the smell, the two guests now sitting on his bed. But that didn't alarm Dean or made him suspicious. None of those things that he saw really mattered to him. The only thing he cared about was his girlfriend's forgiveness; the one he didn't consider relevant just a few hours ago.
He said – to his girlfriend only, "I'm not gonna go. If it's the wedding or you, I choose you. I'm sorry I didn't make it clear yesterday." Renee still didn't say anything, so he continued, smiling now, "And I'm sorry I made you go through this," he said in regard to the mess. When he realized she got drunk because of him, he felt awful. Besides, he could see that Renee was still a little hangover. In fact, Renee was quite pale and she looked fragile.
"Renee," Seth tried to get her attention. "Keep him," he agreed with Roman. If Renee wanted them to decide, their decision was unanimous.
"Maybe I'm stupid, but I don't want to end this relationship," Renee said. "And maybe I'm even more stupid because I'm telling you this, but . . . go." It was not giving him permission. This was much more.
"No," Dean opposed.
"Yes. It's what you want. Just because I have doubts about her intentions doesn't mean I need to doubt yours. I said I trust you, and I do. So . . . go." Dean still hesitated. He couldn't hide that this decision surprised him, and also confused him. "You see me here with Roman and Seth and you say nothing. I know, it's not the same, I've never had anything with them, but still, they're men and they're pretty attractive," Renee tried to explain what stood behind her decision. "You know that nothing will happen between us; you trust me." Dean nodded, although he couldn't shake the confusion, which was now also building on Seth and Roman's faces. "You don't tell me to not hang out with someone. You don't make me stop being friends with someone; why should I do that to you?"
"Renee, you don't need to make me get my way."
"I know, I know. But I don't want to change you or your surroundings. I fell in love with you, not the person I wanted you to be. If she's the person you want to keep in your life, do it. I'm not your girlfriend to make you question your decisions and argue with you because of them. I'm here to support you. I love you. Unconditionally," Renee finished her confession. At the end, she was smiling. She didn't have this speech prepared but she liked how it turned out. Maybe spontaneity wasn't that bad after all, she thought to herself as she saw Dean smiling back at her, wishing to lose the crowd and be alone with the most amazing woman he ever loved.
But the crowd was present and Roman and Seth made themselves heard.
"You should marry that woman," Seth called.