xXx 2004 Phil Brooks/CM Punk xXx

Samoa Joe had told me he had business to attend to today, and asked if I would mind keeping an eye on Skylar since she seemed to have a problem with being around people right now. I told him I didn't mind, but I told him I wasn't going to babysit unless I could get some shit done as well. I had just said that so I could get some alone time with her. I knew no one would come out to the shooting range with us, so we would be safe to spend time together there.

Licking over my lips, I held the gun up and aimed it towards my target, allowing my finger to pull the trigger and then I watched as the bullet quickly penetrated the target right where I had been aiming at. I removed the ear muffs from my head as I looked around when I heard the door opening. She came through and flashed me a soft smile, closing it behind her.

Her and I hadn't been able to spend as much time together since the whole Homicide thing. Samoa Joe and I had been talking more and more. I had been feeding his head full of bullshit about how hot Kelly was in bed, and he had expressed his aggravation about how Skylar wouldn't do shit before, and now that Homicide had pulled that almost-rape card that she wasn't going to do shit for a long time.

"Hey," I welcomed her with a smile as I watched her hop up on the counter to sit down.

"Hey," She replied, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

I could tell she still hadn't replied back to normal, though I wouldn't really expect her to. Homicide had did something really fucked up, though I had made sure he paid for it. Samoa Joe just yelled at him and pushed him into a wall. He kept asking me over and over again why I was doing it, and I didn't say a word, I just hit him harder.

"How are you doing?" I asked, walking over to her.

I jumped up on the counter top beside her, allowing my legs to dangle down with hers. Mine were a good foot or so longer than hers, which made me chuckle a bit, though she didn't seem to find it funny. I could tell that Skylar was going to take some time to get back to the way she had been before.

"I feel like shit," She admitted, "I saw Homicide though," She murmured, looking over at me, "He's black and blue. Who done that?"

"I did most of it, Samoa Joe may have done a little of it."

"Won't they wonder?" She asked, "About why you kicked his ass so badly?" She asked, her lips pursing together in a straight line.

I had thought about that and came to the conclusion that I really didn't give a shit if people wondered about it or not. If anyone questioned me on why I did it, then I would simply tell them I don't like assholes who try to rape girls. Everyone knew we didn't rape girls. Fuck, even Homicide knew that. He had never tried that on any girls before, so I knew he was just too drunk to understand what he was doing. Hell, when I had started kicking his ass he kept trying to tell me he knew she wanted it. Though, I knew differently. I knew Skylar couldn't stand him or any of the other guys in the house.

"I don't really care what they think," I shrugged.

"How are things going withher?" Skylar asked, not daring to say her name.

"I think Samoa Joe is getting annoyed with the lies I'm telling him," I murmured, "He was complaining about how you won't do anything sexual with him."

She seemed to shudder at the word sexual. I jumped off the counter, deciding I wanted to make her remember why Kelly was around to begin with. I moved so I was standing between her legs, though I noticed that she wasn't as open to let me do it as last time. I placed my hand on her chin and forced her to look at me. I looked into her eyes and noticed they seemed to have a vacant emotion in them. I sighed as I leaned in and went to kiss her lips softly, though she moved her face to the side so I kissed her cheek instead.

"Hey," I murmured softly, frowning when she moved so I would kiss her cheek, "What's wrong?"

"I just. . . I don't wanna be like that right now," She mumbled.

"What did I do?" I asked, wondering if I had said something wrong.

"You didn't do anything," She shook her head, her eyebrows smudging together in the middle of her forehead, "I wasalmost raped, Punk," She shuddered, shaking her head. "I feel so. . . I feel so dirty."

I frowned, wishing I could make her feel better about things, though I knew that wasn't going to happen. She would only feel better with time. She needed to get over it and forget all about Homicide. He hadn't even went through with the rape, so I had no clue why she was taking this so hard.

"Come on, Skylar, just kiss me and you'll forget about him," I said, hoping to take her mind off of it, even if what I was saying seemed a bit selfish.

I was thinking about her, I just didn't have a way with words. I wasn't the romantic guy who could sweep a girl off her feet. I could only use actions to explain my feelings. Words were pointless with me because they always got jumbled and came out the wrong way. However, if Skylar wouldn't let me show her with actions, then I was pretty much fucked.

"Practice your shooting, Punk," She sighed, running a hand through her hair, seeming quite frustrated with me.

"I want to practice something else," I murmured, moving my face back close to hers, once again failing with my words.

"No!" She shouted, when I moved my lips towards hers, only connecting them for a second before she moved away from me, "Please, don't," She asked, her eyes getting coated over with tears instantly.

I backed away from her, frowning and shaking my head. My approach at making her forget about Homicide had blew up in my face. I had probably been too forceful and only reminded her of what he had done. I sighed, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry, I was. . . I just wanted you to forget all about him," I murmured softly, shaking my head, "You're better than him, do you understand that? Do not fucking let that piece of shit get to you." I told her.

She frowned, "I'm sorry, Punk, it's just. . ."

I placed my finger over her mouth silencing her. I leaned down and kissed her forehead. I knew she needed some time to herself. She needed some healing time. I looked over and saw the gun laying there fully loaded. I walked over and moved it so a new target was out. I lifted up the gun and smiled at her.

"You wanna take out a little frustration, princess?" I murmured softly, as I looked over at her.

She gave me a small smirk as she hoped off the counter and then walked over to me. I stood behind her and placed the gun in her hand. She shot off several rounds, missing the target sometimes, and then hitting it other times. I wrapped my arms around her midsection as she practiced. I really hoped she started to feel better soon, because I missed being affectionate with her.