Chapter 33

A courier sent over the documents for Emery to sign later that evening and she did without hesitation, even drawing a big middle finger to show Vince exactly what she thought of him at the end of her signature. She slid the papers back in the envelope, sent them off with the courier and went back to lay down. Emery couldn't believe she was doing this, but still planned on going back to Sedona until Sunday. Mark didn't want to be around her any longer than necessary and she didn't blame him. Her flight wasn't until the morning, due to a storm raging outside, so she was stuck until then with Mark in a hotel room. The last time they were in this close proximity had been when they called it quits and both had walked out, after confessing they loved each other, but it wasn't enough. There was no love here – only pain, hate, lies, fear and tears.

This was driving him insane and it was not helped that, somehow, Orton and Douche Boy London had started a group text chat with him in it. He was still trying to figure out how to get out of it. "How the fuck do I stop this fucking group shit?" He growled, tempted to smash his phone.

"Give it here." Emery narrowed her eyes when he continued pressing buttons on the phone and it didn't do any good. "Do you want me to fix it or not?" She snatched it from him when he reluctantly handed it over, did a few swipes and click – done. "Here you go."

She tossed it back at him, feeling restless and really wished David had brought her belongings because then she wouldn't be bored out of her damn mind in this room. The lightning flashed across the sky, thunder rumbling shortly afterwards and she walked over to the window to watch the rain fall. Mark was just as restless as she was and, if they were still together, if that's what their relationship could have been classified as, he would have found a way to occupy them both.

"Do you want to use my laptop?" He offered finally, a bit tired with her incessant pacing. "Or maybe a hot bath?" Randy had explicitly stated she was not to have whiskey or Twinkies.

"No. Thanks anyway."

Emery had so many questions for him, but none of them would come out. Why did he save her? Why did he give a damn what happened to her? Why did he stay with her the entire night, apparently cleaning up after vomit episodes? Paul could've easily helped her and stayed with her, but no…Mark did. It confused her because he hated her, at least that was her assumption.

Try to avoid lying to the next man you love.

Those words made all the other questions instantly vanish out of her mind, the pain in her eyes unmistakable while she continued watching the rain beat against the glass.

Shrugging, he rifled through his duffel bag, retrieving his own clothes and slipped into the bathroom to change for the night. Mark did leave the door open, knowing she wasn't going to be peeking, in order to keep an eye on her. He didn't trust Emery to stay put. Slipping into black drawstring pajama bottoms and a black beater, Mark brushed his hair out. He wondered if being stuck in this room with him was wreaking havoc on her the way it was him.

His laptop was standard and didn't have nearly enough power to run her WoW game, which was one of the only reasons she used hers these days. There were other games, but she wasn't interested in playing them. The only thing that interested her was the man in the bathroom that made her blood boil in both good and bad ways. Her body wanted him along with her heart, but her mind kept replaying their fight over in her head. He would never forgive her for what she did. Mark said it himself – love wasn't enough between them. They had caused each other enough pain to last both a lifetime, possibly two, and Emery refused to set herself up for another disappointment.

When he came out, Mark went straight for the laptop on the table. It was just some off-the-shelf thing, nothing like her Alienware had been. He used it for checking e-mail, booking his room and travel arrangements, it was also great for keeping touch with his family. If he was honest, he also played a few games: Solitaire and now Civilization 4, something Paul had introduced him to last night as a way to keep himself occupied and awake while tending to her. This was stupid and awkward. Why was he doing this? Oh yeah, he knew why. Mark had told her several times that she was a sucker for pain.

Apparently, so was he.

"Uh… there's Civ 4 on it?"

"What?" Emery snapped her head to stare at him, drawing her brows together and could tell Mark didn't have a clue what he was doing. Sighing, she walked over and turned the laptop a little toward her, typing a few things. "First, you need to make a log-in account." When Mark just raised a brow at her, Emery took a deep breath and sat on his lap since there wasn't another chair at the table. "Okay, do you see what I'm doing here? You have to move these blocks and create your own world in the Stone Age and build it up to today's age. Your own empire, whatever you want." She was going to kill Paul for introducing him to this ridiculous game. "Personally, I think you'd like World of Warcraft better, but…anyway, that's basically the gist of what Civ 4 involves."

"I meant for you to play and I'm not interested in World of Warcraft, as if I need something else to become addicted to." He frowned, wondering what she was doing. "Woman, these aren't blocks. This is my Settler… He follows the explorers, builds a city where I tell him too and then I run each city to build up my empire."

She had started a new game. Good, because he had worked hard on his and what the HELL WAS HE DOING? When Emery stared at him like he was someone besides the Undertaker, Mark turned his face away, pretty sure his ears were turning red. She was sitting on his lap, trying to explain a game to him like he was a dipshit and he was blushing like he was 13! Compared to her, he was clueless on this stuff. If she made ONE snarky comment, he was going to offer her a Twinkie.

"Who are you and what have you done with Mark Calaway? Are you actually telling me the big bad Undertaker is ENJOYING a computer game?" This was too perfect; this was hilarious and Emery bit her bottom lip, feeling the laughter shaking her shoulders. He shoved her off of his lap and she lost it, not remembering the last time she actually laughed. "You're a dork! You're a big nerd now!" She accused through gasps of breath, falling on the bed in a fit of giggles and kicked her feet, her stomach killing her. Emery didn't think she'd ever laugh again in her life and felt tears slide out of the corners of her eyes down her face for a good reason instead of a broken heart.

"Enjoying ONE fucking game does not make me a nerd." He growled, not as amused as she was with this and folded his arms over his chest, watching her having a giggling fit on the bed. Mark wasn't all that mad though, because she was kicking her feet and showing off what her mother gave her. Bless that woman. "Please… by all means, enjoy yourself at my expense."

"Two! You enjoy two games or did you forget the one we played together when you came to first visit me in Sedona?" Emery remarked once she calmed down, staring up at the ceiling with her legs spread out and her chest rose and fell somewhat fast.

It'd been so long since she laughed and it felt great. That meant she still had life inside of her and her heart wasn't completely dead. One day, she would find who she was meant to be with. Mark wasn't it and she had to accept that. Maybe this would the beginning of her moving on from him.

"By all means, continue with your game. Don't let me stop you…Dead Nerd."

"I will, Twinkie."

He had moved on from dork chick, even in play he would never call her that again. Mark had called her Queenie, and his Queen, but those… those would change the mood in this room in a heartbeat and he had honestly missed the sound of her laughter. He had been worried, after seeing her and how she had reacted, what Randy had told him about her week of binge drinking and junk food dieting, about her mental health. Hearing this beautiful sound from her… Emery could laugh at him all she wanted.

"Randy has such a big mouth. It was only a couple boxes." Emery muttered good-naturedly, slowly pulling herself up on the bed and felt her stomach growl, immediately reaching for the phone. "You're feeding me since I'm stuck with you." She didn't wait for him to give his approval and dialed room service, ordering a few things including some cheesecake. She had an appetite again and cheesecake sounded really good for some reason. "Thanks." Emery looked up at him, seeing him nod and once again, those questions burned in her mind about why he'd helped her. "For what you did for me last night too. Thanks." Mark would not hear that again from her, if she could help it and laid on her stomach with her head on the pillow, once again looking outside.

"It was a matter of practicality." He noticed she probably had swallowed a lot of pride in thanking him, of all people. "I worked with ether, you should remember. Ministry." A twinge shot through Mark, foot in mouth syndrome had hit with that 'you should remember' comment, though he hadn't meant it the way it sounded. "Point is, I know plenty about ether and I'm the one who diagnosed your poisoning." And told Larry how to treat it, then did the rest, but he wasn't looking for a medal. "Paul wanted you to go to the ER…" He had said no.

It stung to hear that come out of his mouth, but Emery pushed it aside since it didn't matter anymore. Just one of the many reasons they weren't together. "I should remember considering I'm the one who wrote you using it in some of your matches." She remarked in a softer voice, honestly proud of her work she'd written regarding the Ministry storyline. Not the Corporate Ministry, but just the Ministry of Darkness itself. "So you saved a woman you hate. Pretty smooth, Calaway. You could've just sent me to the hospital like Paul wanted. Then you wouldn't have to put up with me now." Emery immediately regretted those words as soon as they came out of her mouth and shut her eyes, heaving a sigh.

Unfortunately, he had learned a long time ago that Emery was socially awkward and stupid. She said some of the dumbest crap at the stupidest of times, like it was a giant soap opera. "You may have written to use the ether, but obviously you never took into consideration that there can be side effects. We had to learn as we went." Mark explained, careful to keep inflection from his tone, letting it remain neutral. "I was… equipped to deal with it, so I did. Taking you to the hospital seemed risky given that Batista had already kidnapped you from a supposedly safe location once." His eyes flickered to her forehead, where the other man had signed his autograph. "I'm sorry that you were dragged back into this."

"Not your fault, Mark. This is all on me. If I would've just been honest and told Vince to shove the proxy idea up his ass, none of this would be happening right now. Everyone would know where the ideas came from and Matthew wouldn't be seeking revenge for what happened to him. This is all my fault…I deserve everything that's happened to me." Those last few words were said in a whisper, but loud enough for Mark to hear as Emery remained where she was, feeling fresh tears swell behind her eyelids.

She was nothing more than a dork chick – a pencil pushing geek – and nothing would ever change that.

What David and Matthew were doing was her penance.

"Have you ever considered just apologizing to the guy?" Mark asked curiously, watching as she retreated into herself. "Matthew, did you ever tell him thanks for what he did, or apologize?"

He knew for a fact Matthew had taken the blame and crap from the wrestlers, wondering if the man had ever been told how much he was appreciated, which he doubted. Otherwise, he wouldn't be pulling these video shenanigans now. Money only went so far. He had been one of Matthew's tormentors, when he had thought Matthew was in charge, dropping and locking his ass in a rental came to mind. Mark parked his ass, knowing it was all moot anyway. Emery would go back to Sedona, make one more appearance, and then wash her hands of this business. He didn't know if he blamed her anymore.

"No because he sucked at his job."

Emery snorted, recalling all the times Matthew had bitched and whined to her about how the wrestlers were treating him. All she'd told him to do was go to Vince. She couldn't control anything the wrestlers did, she just wrote the ideas and watched them come to life on-screen. His job was to deal with the wrestlers and he didn't live up to expectations.

"He called me after I was reinstated into the company, when he was demoted, and begged me to let him be my proxy again. I didn't do it…because Cheryl was much better at the job than him. And I don't regret telling him that because it's the truth. Sometimes, the truth fucking hurts."

That was a lesson she'd learned the hard way.

"A minute ago you were whining and basking in self-pity… now you're… it is ironic."

She obviously didn't view Matthew in a very good light, at all. Mark wondered if it was lost on her how she was treating Matthew, or viewed him, was the same way she was now suffering herself in its own little way. He did usually enjoy sorting out puzzles, minds, but hers was off-limits.

"Cheryl is better at the job." Then both of them actually. Cheryl didn't have Emery's brilliance, but did possess the people skills Emery lacked. "I think your food is here."

After getting her food from the door, Emery began eating quietly on the bed, mulling over Mark's words. She did believe truly she was getting what she deserved by Batista and Matthew, but it still didn't piss her off any less about the situation. Matthew could've came to her like a man and expressed his grievances. Emery would've been understanding; she wasn't the best with people, but according to Randy and Paul, she was a great listener and friend. That's what Emery could've been to Matthew if he would've came to her without bitching, moaning and complaining. Just talking to her like a regular person would've been enough. She would've talked to Vince about what was going on to try to smooth it over because Vince valued her opinion and views about things, at the time.

No, Matthew had to be a sneaky, vengeful son of a bitch and went behind her back to try to get her fired, which Emery would never forgive. Why should she apologize to someone like that? Someone who was purposely ripping her world to shreds? Hell no, Matthew could rot in hell for all she cared alongside David Batista! No other words were spoken between them as Emery finished eating and tossed her garbage away before laying down, feeling exhausted again. Tomorrow, she would be home in Sedona and immediately start the search for a new house – a new beginning – far away from the WWE and Mark Calaway.

He kept his opinions to himself after that. Mark knew already he was a selfish prick who didn't care all that much about too many people and he was fine with it. But then again… it wasn't him being targeted and he had to wonder if, after Backlash, this would all be over. Only he got to break into Emery's house and pull antics like Batista had. Mark hadn't been intending to kill her, dumbass David could've with his lack of intelligence. Sighing, he dropped down on the bed, there was only the one, deciding tonight he was sleeping properly.

Providing her presence let him.