Chapter 32
After that chaotic and brutal start to Raw, everyone was on edge.
Nobody knew what to do or how to react to Dean's brutality against his own brother. Whether they loved or hated each other, they were still family and blood. The USO's were sickened by the display and warned Roman if EVER pulled something like that on them, they would outright kill him. Roman could only nod at his cousins, believing them and still tried to wrap his mind around what Dean did. He knew where the man was coming from and why he did it, but Roman had tried dissuading him from the plan. Dean didn't listen and now he was suspended for the next week and $50,000 poorer.
Baron was the second match of the night against Dolph Ziggler, who wasn't a favorite in the locker room. The man was full of himself and thought he was god's gift to wrestling. Baron couldn't wait to get his hands on him and prove him wrong, though he wouldn't break script the way Dean had. With an End of Days, after a decent contest, Baron was declared the winner and held his arms up in victory, smirking viciously down at Dolph Ziggler on his back. At ringside stood his trophy from WrestleMania – the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal victory that had sent his career skyrocketing straight to the main roster from NXT.
Just as he stepped through the curtain, Gabriella stood there waiting for him and he immediately pulled her into a one-armed hug. "I'm going to the hospital after my segment on commentary." Charlotte was facing Paige and she would be out there to basically talk up their upcoming bout at Extreme Rules. "Wanna come with?"
"Yeah." Baron had planned on going up to the hospital as soon as he showered and changed. "I'll wait for you at the back entrance."
"Thanks." Gabriella leaned up to brush her lips against his cheek, squeezing his hand before taking off to finish getting ready for commentary.
Baron frowned, knowing Gabriella was worried about Jecina and he didn't blame her. Hell, he'd befriended Moxley in the short time he'd been on the main roster, sharing a few conversations with the man and thought he was cool. Even though he was hard to get along with, Baron never had a problem with Jon and hoped he pulled through what Ambrose did to him. Everyone had worried expressions on their faces and catering was basically shut down besides the food that had been set out prior to Jecina leaving.
Walking up to the makeup table, Lilianna sat down beside Gabriella and closed her eyes to let the artist work her magic. "Are you going to the hospital after your segment?" She asked quietly, popping one eye open to see Gabriella nod. "I'm going after I'm done too. Wanna go with me?"
"Actually, I asked Baron to go with me…" Gabriella didn't want to wait until almost the end of the show, knowing Jecina needed someone to wait with her while Jon was worked on.
"Okay, no biggie, I'll head over after I'm done with the show. Make sure you let Jeci know. I sent her a text, but she's not answering me." Concern laced Lilianna's voice at the mention of her best friend, hoping Jecina was all right being alone until Gabriella could make it up there.
Gabriella nodded, her makeup finishing up and stood up from the chair, pulling her phone out to try to text Jecina. She didn't expect the woman respond, but wanted to let her know that she'd be up there as soon as she could. "See you up there, Lili." She murmured, walking off to head to gorilla position since she was up next right after the current match ended.
After her makeup and hair was done, Lilianna walked off to head to AJ's locker room and stopped at the sight of Roman headed in her direction. Did he know what Ambrose had planned for Moxley? Dean told Roman everything; they were closer than brothers and she wouldn't put it past him to know exactly what that prick was planning for Jon. Gritting her teeth, Lilianna suddenly stopped and forced Roman to come to a halt, folding her arms in front of her chest. They just stood there for what seemed like hours, but only minutes, sizing each other up and Lilianna finally broke the silence.
"Did you know?"
"Know what?"
She rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Don't play dumb, Roman. It's never suited you well. Did you know what that asshole was planning on doing tonight?"
Roman gritted his teeth, not appreciating being talked down to by his ex-fiancée in the hallway. "I don't have time for this, Lilianna…"
"So, you did?" Lilianna wouldn't let him walk away from her easily, golden brown eyes narrowed to slits.
"No, I didn't, actually. Shows how much you know. Assuming shit."
"Assuming shit?" Lilianna echoed, raising a brow. "I haven't assumed anything about you, Roman. Oh you mean you sucking your momma's tit? Hell, that's not an assumption, it's a FACT, idiot."
"Lilianna…" Roman's tone held warning, his thick black brows lowering to his nose. "Don't bring her into this…"
"Why not? She's the reason we're not getting married, you know. She's the reason we're not together anymore, or haven't you come to that conclusion yet?" It was no surprise to see his eye roll and she felt like belting him in his face, tears swelling in her eyes. "No, you haven't. You do realize that, if you keep letting her dictate your life with your relationships, you'll wind up alone, don't you? You'll wind up jacking off with your hand, unless you sleep with rats, because of your MOTHER."
Roman heard enough and slammed her back against the wall none too gently, his forearm against her throat. "ENOUGH!" He growled, not fazed by the tears beginning to rush down her cheeks and pulled back, knowing his temper had just gotten the better of him. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about and YOU chose to walk away from me! YOU chose not to bite the bullet and swallow some of your fucking pride for the greater good! So don't blame me for this or talk about my Mom again! She's the best woman on this planet and you'd be damn lucky to have her as a mother-in-law, if you'd give her half a chance instead of being a righteous CUNT all the time!"
Her back was on fire and Lilianna clutched her throat where Roman's forearm had been, thankful he hadn't crushed her windpipe with that stunt. "Fuck you and your Mom, asshole!" She croaked out, hating this man with every fiber of her being and never thought she'd hate a man more than Randy Orton. "I feel sorry for the next cunt that falls in love with a momma's boy like you because you'll never be a man until you stop sucking her tit."
He had to walk away. He had to walk away right now before he wound up putting Lilianna's head through the wall. "Stay the fuck away from me tonight or I will give you a Superman punch, and your fuck toy, AJ Styles, won't be able to stop me from doing it." That was the only warning he'd give her as Roman stalked away, leaving her there pressed against the cinderblock wall.
Lilianna immediately went to the nearest bathroom to check how bad the damage to her throat was and could already see some bruising forming. "Fuck." She whispered, not believing Roman had violently put his hands on her and looked down at her trembling hands. "Fuck…" Never did she think Roman would be capable of physically harming her, no matter how angry he became. Dead wrong, again. "I can't go out to the ring like this…"
Unless she wore a turtleneck out to the ring that covered her throat. Sleeveless, it would work since she was simply valeting AJ and The Club to the ring for the match. Did she have one? No, but maybe wardrobe did. She couldn't walk around the arena like this though…who could she call since Gabriella was busy and Jecina was gone? Naomi…they were still friends despite what happened between her and Roman. She would help Lilianna and hopefully not ask any questions as she whipped her cell phone out to send a text to Naomi.
Five minutes later, her cell went off and it was Naomi demanding to know what was going on. They shared some texts back and forth before Naomi agreed to go to wardrobe to see if they had a sleeveless turtleneck top Lilianna could wear. Instead of outing Roman, she simply told Naomi her last match had bruised her neck a little, which was believable enough. Ten minutes later, Naomi arrived at the women's restroom and dropped the sleeveless turtleneck top off, which was white, along with a pair of black leather shorts. It would have to do. Lilianna thanked Naomi for her help, they hugged and went their separate ways while she quickly dressed in the bathroom. Later, she would put salve on it once she was alone and ice her throat, hoping the bruising wasn't worse in the morning.
Gabriella jogged up to meet Baron at the back entrance, after informing Stephanie they were leaving to go to the hospital. She didn't blame them, wishing them well and asked them to tell Jecina to contact her about Jon's condition as soon as she could. Her outfit was simple jean shorts and a black tank top, simple wear since they were going to the hospital, black and white tennis shoes on her feet. It was probably horrible of her to devour Baron visually since their friends were in trouble, but Gabriella couldn't help it. Skintight jeans and a black rock band shirt clung to his arms and chest like a second skin, showing off his defining muscular form. The shirt honestly looked ready to bust off him at the seams and he had a black skull cap on his head, his hair pulled back in a low tail at the nape of his neck.
"Sorry, I tried to go as fast as I could."
"I know, it's okay. You ready to go?"
"Yeah, we can get something to eat after we check on Jecina and make sure she's okay."
Baron agreed with that, placing a hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the arena. "Jon's a tough son of a bitch, Gabi. He's gonna be fine." No matter how many chair shots the man took, he'd get back up and deliver tenfold to Ambrose once he returned.
"Yeah…" Gabriella already had her bag in hand, the rest of her luggage at the hotel. "Thanks for coming with me. I hate hospitals."
"I know you do." Baron chuckled ruefully, squeezing her shoulder. "I remember the first time I had to go to the hospital in NXT. You were completely freaked out cause I got busted open and were the first volunteer to ride to the hospital with me. You didn't want me drivin'. The whole ride there, you kept sayin' how you hated them, but you'd be there for me through anythin'. It meant a lot to me that you went with me, even though it was just a superficial wound."
Blinking up at him, Gabriella stopped to look up at him with a soft smile, not believing he remembered that. "Wow, you have a good memory." She complimented, her cheeks flushing red and had to look away from him. "Baron…"
"Let's get to the hospital." Baron cut her off, not sure what she was about to say, but now wasn't the time for a heart to heart or any kind of conversation.
"Okay."
"Hey, where ya been?" AJ demanded, once the locker room door opened and Lilianna stepped inside, finishing his pre-match stretches to warm his muscles up. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Flat lie. Lilianna was far from fine, but she'd deal with it on her own and didn't need anyone prodding into her personal life and drama. "Where's the baldy twins?"
AJ chuckled at her nickname of the guys and continued with his regimen. "They went to grab some water since we're out." He gestured to the empty cooler in the corner of the locker room. "I swear, Karl is a fuckin' camel when it comes to drinkin' the shit."
"Oh." Lilianna didn't want to make conversation with him and simply sat down on the bench, folding her arms in front of her chest.
AJ found it weird she was wearing a turtleneck, not recalling Lilianna ever wearing one…ever. He was surprised she wasn't in her ring gear, but then again, she wasn't wrestling and just valeting them tonight. Something was off about Lilianna tonight. She was unusually quiet and put rubbing her throat through the material of the turtleneck top. Hmm…AJ shrugged it off, needing to focus on the match tonight because he planned on proving to Roman and his cousins The Club was superior to them.
Once Karl and Luke returned with ten bottles of water, it was time to head to gorilla position for the match. Unbeknownst to Lilianna, Naomi had gone straight to her husband, Jimmy, and told him what she had to do for Roman's ex. So when she walked into gorilla position with the turtleneck top, Jimmy eyeballed Roman and recalled the man being on edge after returning from catering. They were sharing his locker room for tonight because of the match and didn't want to leave Roman alone due to Dean's suspension. Naomi had been crying, telling him that Lilianna's throat was bruised and she had no idea what happened. He didn't THINK his cousin would do anything to the woman, but then again, look what Ambrose had done. One thing he did notice was Lilianna was avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room, not just Roman, and remaining silent.
Good, maybe the bitch will finally shut up for a change, Roman thought, waiting for his entrance music to hit after Lilianna walked out with AJ Styles and The Club. His blood boiled every time they walked out together and Roman knew it was jealousy. He was jealous Lilianna was working with another man and being tossed in his face at every turn. Tonight, he was about to teach AJ Styles a lesson and do it right in front of Lilianna, practically stalking to the ring after the USO's made their entrance.
The match was underway and the first fall went to The Club with Karl pinning Jey, eliminating him, with a handful of tights. Lilianna laughed, waving her fingers in his direction with a smug smile, since she was considered a heel now, along with AJ and The Club. Only minutes later, Karl was pinned by Jimmy and then AJ delivered a Phenomenal forearm to Jimmy, eliminating him. It was a 2-on-1 affair now with AJ and Luke against Roman Reigns. Just the way they wanted it – they had the advantage and upper hand now. Lilianna was practically foaming at the mouth in delight, nodding when AJ gave her a look and clapped her hands, cheering him on wholeheartedly. She wanted to see Roman get his ass handed to him after what he did to her earlier in the hallway and touched her covered throat as a reminder.
However, Roman wasn't going down without a fight. He speared Gallows instantly and pinned him, which left him down to just AJ to destroy. They brawled and it spilled out of the ring, landing by the announcer's table. Just as Roman was setting AJ up for a powerbomb, Lilianna acted on pure instinct and grabbed a steel chair, jamming it as hard as she possibly could between his legs. Roman roared out in pain, dropping AJ and fell to his knees, cupping his throbbing jewels. AJ gaped at Lilianna, not expecting her to do that and knew it wasn't scripted to happen, seeing the absolute fire in her eyes.
What the hell was going on in the WWE tonight?
Everybody was jumping script and acting crazy!
Once backstage, Stephanie was there and fined Lilianna for jumping script, but didn't suspend her. She'd already lost one big star in the company because of his actions, she really didn't want a repeat. Roman must've provoked her somehow; Stephanie knew putting Lilianna with AJ would rub salt in the wounds of both parties, but business was business. Lilianna nodded stiffly at Stephanie and stormed off, needing to get to the hospital to check on Jecina.
That wasn't meant to be because AJ was hot on her trail. "Hey, hold on a damn second!" He spun her around by the upper arm and blinked when she slapped him.
"DON'T. FUCKING. TOUCH. ME." She growled, refusing to let another man manhandle her the way Roman had earlier that night. "I'm in a hurry, Styles, what the fuck do you want?"
"What the hell was that about out there and why did ya just slap the shit outta me?!" He snarled, rubbing his blazing cheek and could see the slight fear enter her eyes the moment he did grab her upper arm. "What happened earlier before the match, Lilianna?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Just know that mother fucker had it coming out there tonight. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on my friends and make sure they're okay." Lilianna hesitated walking away and then turned to look back at AJ, who still looked pissed about the slap. "Sorry for…that." Then she took off down the hallway, not letting the tears fall until she was in her rental car on the way to the hospital.