"So that is what happened after you left, Jon. I didn't just take advantage of Colby. He made it painfully obvious that he didn't want me after he fucked me. He pushed me away from him like I was some hooker he just used. So no, I am not as delusional as you. I know I don't stand a chance with him because he and Dixie are right for each other. You just don't want to accept that. You should feel guilty and be begging for forgiveness instead of trying to blackmail him away from his own woman."
"No, I won't fucking accept that. She does love me, Joe, whether you believe it or not. I know she does. She is confused and Colby is playing mind games with her making it worse. So no I don't feel guilty. I did at first but not anymore. You ever heard 'all is fair in love and war'? And you know, it was fucked up that you screwed Colby when he was drunk, but I can't believe he fucked you too. This is just too goddamn weird for me, man. I wish you hadn't told me. Why the fuck did you feel the need to tell me anyway?"
"I fucking told you so you would stop looking at me like I took advantage of him. I didn't force him into anything. He was drunk yes, but willing. He still wasn't sober when you woke us up but I didn't make him fuck me. I am just fucking lucky he didn't cut me out of his life, so I won't make that mistake again. I will take my secret to the grave. And I will hold you to your promise to take it to your grave as well, because if you tell anyone, I will fucking kill you."
"You don't get it. Death would be better than having to watch the woman I love walk away from me for another man. So if I tell her and she still chooses him, so be it. You can kill me and I will welcome it. But I won't go down without a fight and I will take you both down with me if I have to. She is letting him worm his way back into her good graces by reminding her of how he used to be, but he isn't that man anymore. He is manipulating her and I won't let him anymore."
"Fuck. Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. She doesn't love you."
"Yeah, you are one to talk. I know she does and you can just shut up because I am not listening to any more of your bullshit. You don't know what I have with her. You are just jealous because I know the one I want loves me back and because Dixie still has Colby's heart. Hear this, Joe. He. Will. Never. Love. You."
"I wish I knew what a real asshole you could be before, Jon. You know what, fuck you" Joe sneered, the biting words cutting him deeper than he thought they would. He knew Colby didn't love him, but Jon didn't have to rub it in. It made him wonder how Jon could pick up on his feelings and Colby never saw it. Or maybe he never wanted to see it. He hated acknowledging that Jon was right but he did think pushing Colby back with Dixie was the best thing. After Jon's words, he really wanted Dixie to stay with Colby even more, wanting Jon to feel the pain of rejection that he had to feel.
Colby came back from the doctor's area and saw his teammates sitting in silence, across the room from each other. Before he could say a word, Joe grabbed him and pulled him away. "Don't go fuck right now boys. We have to be on in five" Jon mockingly called after them, earning a middle finger.
Colby backed up against the wall and Joe was uncomfortably close and wild-eyed. He was almost scared of what Joe would do. "What is it, bro?"
"He is going to tell her, Colby. He is going to tell her everything. Everyone is going to know! What the hell are we going to do? I won't be able to face my family, my little girl, the fans, any fucking body! What will Mia say?!"
"Okay, calm down. I told you, she would never believe him if he does tell her. She will just think he is lying to get even with me."
"Are you sure, man? Maybe you should have just told her when she was coming clean to you about everything else."
"Hell no. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want to forget it ever happened, Joe. Never happened, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember." The irony of him telling Colby to come clean wasn't lost on him, considering he had never done the same with his girlfriend, or Colby for that matter.
Colby didn't want to even hear about it anymore, but part of him was afraid that Dixie would believe Jon and be even more upset that he didn't tell her. He was sure she wouldn't want to be with him after that, and what Jon had said about her never letting him touch her again ran through his mind.
One of the production guys called for them, so they got ready to go out. They had to put the drama of their personal lives aside for the time being and concentrate on doing their jobs and be united as the Shield.
Back in Iowa, Dixie was still upset that she couldn't get Jon to call her back or respond to her texts. She knew he was hurt, and she was furious with herself for giving in. With Colby now gone, she was able to see things more clearly. She loves him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that if she did stay, things would only be different for a little while, just like before. She couldn't deny that she was still attracted to him and liked being near him but it wasn't the same as before. She didn't know how good things could be and how exciting life could be until she met Jon. He always seemed to 'get' her and he knew things about her that she could never open up and tell Colby about.
It hadn't been 24 hours yet and she already missed him. She didn't understand how she could miss Jon more than she ever did Colby. She wondered if she had really blown it this time and if Jon was done with her. The more she thought about it, the more scared she became. Her heart was screaming at her to listen and stop thinking. Her heart had made the choice who it wanted, and it wasn't Colby. At least not anymore. She knew she couldn't keep going back and forth because both of them deserved better. Jon had been the better man all along, forgoing his own feelings for hers; agreeing to give her space and she was the one that couldn't stay away from him.
She sat down and thought about it, staring at her phone and begging him to call. The thought that he was through with her was tearing her heart out. She thought back to the night she left Colby, and even with all her guilt for that, she never felt as bad as she did right then, knowing that Jon was upset and had no one to turn to anymore. She also thought about what he would be doing after the show with God knows whom, and it stung; even though she knew she had no right to feel jealous after everything she had put him through; after promising him she would never hurt him again.
The longer she sat there, mulling everything over in her mind, the more she knew she had to see him. She had to make it right with him, and finally put an end to the charade. She had to get out of that house and away from things that reminded her of Colby and their life together if she was ever going to have the chance to make things work with Jon. She knew she finally had to let Colby go and forget all the things that might have been. She just hoped it wouldn't be too late.
After the show, Joe and Colby rode together but Jon got a car by himself. He started thinking about Dixie and wondering if she was thinking about him. He missed her and wanted to hear her voice, but his phone was still shattered into a million pieces, probably now in the trash at the hotel. He thought that he would call her when he got to the hotel but had no idea how to get her cell number. He never wrote down numbers anymore since he had a cell and he didn't figure Colby would be in the sharing mood. His mind wandered to thinking about how Dixie would react when he told her about Colby. He was certain she would be angry, not only about Colby lying but cheating with another man and lying about it. Especially considering how indignant he had acted with her.
When he made it to Fairfax, he checked into the hotel and proceeded to try and find Dixie's number. He called information, thinking he could find the landline number. He even tried asking for it in Colby's name but with no luck. He guessed then that they must have had private numbers. He made up his mind that he would go the next morning to a Verizon store and get a new phone. Hopefully they could restore his numbers, or he was going to steal Colby's phone and get her number out of it. He smiled to himself, thinking Colby would be pissed off if he got caught.
Colby settled into the hotel room with Joe as well and tried to call Dixie. She didn't answer and he assumed she either had gone out or went to bed early. Joe was irritated with Colby jawing about Dixie. He hadn't stopped bragging about their steamy shower sex or how he had filled her full of doubts about Jon. "Yeah, she sees what we have and knows he can't compare to me. It was great this morning when I shut him up after he realized she was in bed with me. Wish I could have seen his face! Fucking asshole."
"Yeah, I am happy for you, Col. You two belong together." It pained him to say it but he did want Colby to be happy. He was seeing an arrogant side to Colby coming out that he hadn't seen before. Joe had the thought that if he had been more like that all along, more like Jon, they wouldn't be in the mess that they were in. That was probably part of what attracted Dixie to Jon in the first place, his cocky, arrogant side. Colby thought since Dixie was petite that she must be fragile, and he never wanted to hurt her or scare her by being forceful: in the bedroom or in daily life. After what he saw Jon doing to her, he would say that nothing was further from the truth. But Joe didn't know what Colby knew about her, didn't know why Colby was so soft-spoken with her, or why he treated her so delicately.
"Thanks, man. Yeah, we do. I am glad she finally sees it and can get over this fascination with that 1960s throwback, James Dean wannabe greaser. Why the fuck did we ever become friends with him? He is so different from us. If we hadn't been thrown together, I would never have tried to befriend someone like him."
"Yeah, I never knew he would be so fucking shady."
"Me neither."
Dixie saw Colby calling and didn't want to deal with him. She was busy packing and on the computer finding flights to Virginia. The earliest one she saw didn't leave until the next morning. She made up her mind that she wasn't going to let Jon go and if he wouldn't listen to her, she would show up to the arena and make him listen. She ignored a couple of more calls from Colby, wanting only to talk to Jon and explain things. She didn't want to hear anymore out of Colby making her doubt what she knew in her heart was right. She looked around the house at their memories and suddenly, they didn't mean as much to her. She wasn't sure what happened, but somehow Jon shutting her out had forced her to realize that it was him she couldn't live without. She felt like she had already been without Colby for a long time before now. Nothing Colby could do could compare to Jon. She knew they could give each other the family they always wanted and they would always understand each other. He had shown he would do anything to make her happy and she wanted to do the same for him.
She finally was able to make herself go to sleep and set her alarm so she could get up early and catch her flight to the man she loves. She didn't care about the job or the house, or anything in it anymore. She had to go get her man and tell him, praying that he wouldn't turn her away. The next morning, she was on a plane to Chicago. She had a small layover before she could finish her trip. She knew she would be landing in a town about twenty miles away, so she had called and reserved a car to drive the rest of the way to Fairfax. While she was waiting, she tried to call Jon again with no answer. She left another voicemail but remembered what he said about wanting to delete messages without listening to them after Joe and Colby had blown his phone up. She decided to text him, hoping he would at least see what she had to say then.
'I am so sorry. I never wanted you to find out like that. I was going to tell you but I didn't have the chance before Colby messed things up. I am sorry that I cheated on you. It was a mistake and I know that. Please talk to me, baby. I miss you and I want to apologize.'
When he didn't answer, she texted more.
'You mean so much to me and I can't lose you. Nothing else matters to me anymore, only being with you. I love you. I do. I love you. I will be there soon to see you and beg your forgiveness in person. I just want you to know how sorry I am that I hurt you.'
"God, Jon, please say something!" she yelled at her phone.
'Please just let me know you are okay and that you got my messages. Please don't shut me out like this.'
She heard them call for her flight so she sent him one last text.
'You are the one. The only one. I love you.'
Dixie got on the plane, hoping that when she landed there would be some kind of response from him. She was starting to really worry about him. She was scared that he was done with her, but she was also worried that maybe he had lost it a little and wasn't thinking clearly. She knew how he could get when he was upset, and was afraid something was wrong. She wished she had asked where they would be staying before they left.
Jon got up the next morning and asked the front desk clerk to look for the closest Verizon store. She found one and called but they didn't open until ten. He cursed under his breath that he had to go to an appearance with Joe and Colby and wouldn't be able to make it in there until that afternoon. He thanked the woman and went back upstairs. He was tempted to knock on Colby's door and see if he could wrestle the phone away from him, but figured it was password protected anyway.
Colby was beginning to get concerned when he hadn't heard from Dixie either. He thought for sure that he had made his point about Jon and she would come running back to him. He worried that maybe he misjudged how deep her feelings went. He shook those thoughts away, dismissing them. He knew he had gotten to her and made her question what she felt, but also how Jon really felt as well. His thoughts then drifted to what Jon had said about telling her about him and Joe. It sickened him to think of what Joe had done but since he couldn't remember it, he tried to forget it even happened. He couldn't forget that morning though. His mind was still fuzzy, but he remembered making Joe scream in pain and winced when he saw the blood on his cock. He was angry but he never wanted to hurt Joe like that. It shocked him so he pushed Joe away and went into the bathroom. Ever since then, he hadn't wanted to talk about it. He wondered if Dixie really would believe Jon without any proof. Joe would never betray their secret so it was two against one. He wasn't going to let that mistake cause Dixie to leave him forever.
That afternoon, Jon finally made it to the Verizon store before they closed and the guy working there convinced him to buy an iPhone. Jon argued that he couldn't work it, but decided to go ahead and get it. He really didn't care that much anyway. He didn't need a phone that did a bunch of fancy stuff that he didn't know how to use. He said as long as he could make calls on it, he would figure out the rest later. He told the man what happened and he asked if he had Verizon Cloud. He told him he did, only because Colby convinced him it was a good idea. "Well, you should thank your friend, man. He just saved you a big hassle setting it up for you. We should be able to restore everything that you had on your other phone that was backed up."
"Oh cool. Yeah, I will thank him later. He will be happy," Jon said sarcastically. "So I will still have my old phone number?"
"Yes. And once we activate this one, you will get calls, voicemails and texts that were on the other one. It may take a while for everything to back up, but I will set that up for you."
"That's awesome, dude. Thanks."
Jon paid and the clerk did his voodoo on the phone, or that is how Jon saw it, to get it working. "Okay. I don't know how long it will take for everything to download, but you are all set."
"Thanks."
"I would just recommend not throwing this one, man."
Jon laughed, "Yeah that is good advice. Later."
As he walked out, he stared at the new cell, wondering when it would finally finish. He wanted to call Dixie and find out what was going on. He was upset that she slept with Colby, but tried to remind himself that he was the one screwing her when she was still officially with his ex-best friend. He told himself that he would be calm and not scream and yell at her because he didn't want to scare her. He knew about her childhood as well and never wanted to make her afraid of him.
He walked into the arena and headed straight to the locker room to get changed. He didn't feel like any drama with anyone and didn't want to talk to anyone. He was getting changed and he was surprised when Drew Galloway (McIntyre) walked up to him. "Hey, mate."
"Uh, hey Drew."
"Look, I heard about all the stuff going on with your mates and I just wanted to say, if you ever want to talk, I will listen. We aren't best friends, but we are friends, and that hasn't changed. I know what it is like to have shit happen and people judge you and look down on you, so I understand. I just want you to know I am not doing that. You can't control who you love and women can make you do mental things."
Jon reached his hand out and bro-hugged Drew. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it. You don't know how much I needed to hear that right now. Fucking everyone else hates me."
"Not everyone, Jon. Most people just don't want to get in the middle of it. So, if you need new travel buddies, you can ride with me and Heath."
"Maybe. Are you sure Heath would be okay with that?" Jon asked, pointing in the redhead's direction.
"Yeah. Heath is a good guy; he don't judge. One of the things I like most about him."
"Thanks, Drew. For real."
"No worries. Just let us know."
"Sure thing."
Drew walked back to where Heath and Stu (Wade Barrett) were sitting and getting dressed. He kept looking at his phone, mumbling under his breath about technology and wanting it to do whatever it was going to do.
Joe was outside when he saw Dixie arrive and was shocked. She was walking like a woman on a mission and he was curious about what she was up to. He sent Colby a quick message to let him know that she was in the parking lot. Colby saw the text and wondered what she was doing there. His eyes lit up, happy that she wanted to surprise him and come see him. He made his way to the entrance and saw her walking up with Joe not far behind her. As soon as she saw him, her stomach churned. She didn't want to do this right there but she had to see Jon.
Colby smiled and picked her up, swinging her around before kissing her. "Dixie! I am so glad to see you, mama! This is a great surprise! I was worried when I didn't hear from you but had no idea you were planning this!"
She pushed Colby away and looked around. "Where is Jon? I need to talk to him."
"Jon? What?"
"Colby, I don't want to get into this right now. We will talk later, but right now, I need to see Jon. It is time for the truth."
His heart started pounding, scared of what was going on. He wondered if Jon had mentioned something to her and she had come out there to hear the truth. He had to think of something fast and keep her away from him. He tried to tell himself that there was no way she would believe him, but he was afraid that he underestimated her. If she loved Jon enough to leave him for Jon once, then she would probably trust him enough to know he wasn't lying to her. He knew she wouldn't understand if it came from Jon, so he decided to tell her himself. He would tell her what he wanted her to know, but not everything that happened.
"Dixie, wait. Before you go see him, there is something very important I need to tell you about."
"Can it wait?"
"No, it can't. I should have told you before but I was scared. It is very important and I need to talk to you about it. You are the only one I can."
She sighed, "Okay. What is it?"
"Not here. Come in here with me," he told her, pulling her into an empty office. "Sit down, babe."
She sat down in the chair and looked annoyed as he sat down in the floor beside her. "Alright, Col. You have my attention. Tell me."
"First, please just listen because this is hard for me to talk about."
"I'm listening. Go ahead."
"Okay, some things happened and I never wanted to tell you because I was ashamed. Then last night, all the memories came back to haunt me and I freaked out. I know now that I can't handle this alone so I am telling you. I hope you don't think differently of me after this, because I couldn't take that, baby." He forced tears to come to his eyes and her expression softened, knowing it must be serious.
"I won't, Colby."
"A few months ago, I went out with Jon and Joe and got really drunk." He paused, trying to figure out the best way to say this. "The next thing I remembered was Jon waking me up and I was naked in bed… with Joe."
Dixie looked at him horrified. "WHAT?!"
"Please, let me finish. I don't know how it happened, but Joe, he….he…hurt me."
"Oh my God, Colby!"
Colby started to cry and Dixie got down in the floor with him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was so ashamed that I didn't want anyone to know and I swore Jon to silence too."
"Are you telling me that Joe raped you and you are still friends with that son-of-a-bitch!?"
"No, he didn't rape me. I mean, at least I don't think he did. I didn't have bruises, but he pushed himself on me and took advantage of me while I was so drunk I couldn't stand. I was sore when I woke up and he didn't even deny it. He just said he was drunk too."
"That bastard! How could he do this to you!?"
"I felt so dirty and I just couldn't tell you, baby. I am sorry. I was afraid you wouldn't want me anymore if you knew what he did to me." Colby was really letting the tears flow now, part of it really how he felt afterwards but part for her.
"Come here, baby." She cradled his head against her chest and let him cry. She was furious at Joe for doing that to him, all the while acting like the protector. "Shhh, it's okay. Why are you telling me now, Colby? What happened that upset you so much?"
"Joe…he was drunk and pushed me against the wall when he was talking to me. He was mad about me getting in that accident and he was yelling at me. He grabbed my hips and it scared me. I didn't know what he was going to do."
"He is not going to do anything to you, baby. Not anymore. I am going to murder him. How could he!? Oh hell no!"
"Dixie, no. Joe could really hurt you. Don't do anything stupid. I just want to forget about it, but I had to talk to someone and the only other person who knows is Jon."
"Jon…"
"Yeah. He never wanted me to talk about it because it grossed him out so I just had to deal with it alone. I had to live with my best friend treating me like some whore he took home to fuck."
Dixie was livid with Joe but upset with Jon too. "Why didn't he tell me?"
"I made him promise to never tell anyone."
"Joe is gay and never told anyone? What the hell?"
"He isn't. I guess he was drunk and I was the easiest and closest option. Dixie please don't say anything. I just needed to talk. I needed someone who loves me to listen."
"Col, I can't promise that, baby. He hurt you." She stroked his cheek and kissed him on the forehead before she stood up, quickly darting out of the room. Colby shot up after her, calling her name.
"Dixie, wait!" He was starting to think that maybe it had backfired telling her like that. She had always been protective of him, and now she was pissed off. He wondered what she was going to do. 'At least she is not mad at me' he thought.
Dixie stormed down the hallway looking for Joe. When she didn't see him, she pushed her way passed Stu and Drew, flinging the door to the locker room open. Colby couldn't stop her as she rushed in. She didn't even see Jon sitting there as she charged Joe, raising her hand back and slapping him across the face as hard as she could. She was enraged and didn't care who was around. Joe stared at her wide-eyed, tasting blood.
"You sorry mother fucker! You fucking raped Colby! How could you!?"
A/N I don't know much about technology either so bear with me please! :)