Nika knocked on Seth's door and waited. It didn't take long before she heard footsteps on the other side. He opened with his phone in his hand and looked surprised to see her. She had showed up unannounced.
"Nika? What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Can't a gal visit her favorite brother?" She asked.
"I'm your only brother," he chuckled.
"Are you sure about that? Dad got around in his youth," she said.
"Stop!" He laughed. "Come on in. I just made a fresh pot of coffee."
"You're a life savior," she said.
She followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He poured two cups of coffee and sat down across from her. She took out her phone and he twisted a sideways smile at her.
"Who are you texting?" He asked.
"No one," she answered.
"Are you keeping secrets from me?" He asked.
"Yes," she grinned. "You don't need to know everything about my life."
He laughed and took a sip of his coffee. His eyes gave him away though. He was curious.
"Let's watch some cat videos," he said.
He reached for her phone but she quickly pulled it back and put it in her back pocket.
"My battery is low. We can watch on your phone," she said.
Before he could answer that, she got up and walked around the table to sit next to him. He took out his phone and searched for cat videos. She kept her eyes glued to his screen. If a text came through soon, she would know for sure he was behind it.
Meanwhile Roman sat in his house and had just gotten a single word sent to him from Nika. Go. That meant she had arrived and was ready. He had a text ready to send back to the number that had sent him her nude photos the day before. A text where he taunted the other person about having decades old pictures and that he should send some new ones that showed her tattoo. He sent the text and blew out his breath. His part was done. It was up to her now.
"That's a cute cat," Nika said.
"You think every cat is cute," Seth said.
"True," she laughed. "What can I say? I'm a cat person."
"Crazy cat lady," he said.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," she said.
No text came through. They watched three videos and then his phone suddenly started ringing. She caught the name on the screen a split second before he stood up.
"I need to take this," he said.
"I'll drink all your coffee while you're gone," she said.
"Go ahead," he said.
She took a sip of her coffee and pretended not to have any interest in the phone call. He disappeared down the hall and into his bedroom. She got up and tiptoed down the hall. She leaned her ear up against the door and heard him talk on the other side.
"What the fuck are you talking about? She doesn't have a tattoo. Well, I haven't seen a tattoo. She would have shown me if she got one. Yes, I'm sure. He's just trying to push your buttons. We will push back. He'll dump her in no time," he said.
She had heard enough. She walked back to the kitchen and sat back down. He came back a few minutes later with a frustrated look on his face. He tried with a smile but again his eyes gave him away.
"Anything new going on in your life?" He asked.
"No," she answered.
"Nothing at all?" He asked.
"Still no," she answered.
"Come on, Nika. No new cat or anything to tell me about?" He asked.
"Not today," she smiled sweetly. "What about you?"
"No, nothing," he sighed. "You know you can tell me anything, right? I won't judge you. Even if you show up with your face full of piercings, I'd still love you the same."
"Are you looking down at people with piercings?" She asked.
"That's not what I meant," he sighed again. "I just mean that nothing you do will make me angry."
"Good, because it's my body. I get to do with it what I want," she said.
"Of course," he said.
He looked down in frustration. He was probably trying to come up with some other way to make her talk about her tattoo in case she had one. She grabbed her cup of coffee and emptied it. He looked back up at her and tried with another smile.
"I'm thinking about getting another tattoo," he said.
"Cool. Let me see it once it's done," she said.
"What about you? Don't you want one? Maybe we can go together," he said.
"No, I'm good," she said. "Thank you for coffee, Seth. I gotta run."
"Already?" He asked.
"It's a busy world," she said. "I got someone waiting for me."
"Who?" He asked.
She smiled innocently and stood up. She wasn't going to give him Roman's name despite him already knowing about them. He followed her to the door and gave her an awkward farewell. She got back into her car and drove to Roman's house. She walked inside and went to the living room where he was waiting. He stood on the floor and they just stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Well?" He asked.
"It's him," she said. "That motherfucker!"
She screamed the last two words and he hurried to her to pull her into his arms.
"He stole my pictures but he's not the one sending them," she said.
"Who is it then?" He asked.
"Motherfucking Randy!" She growled.
"Randy is the one behind it?" He asked.
"He asked me out when I was 22. I turned him down. Seth tried so hard to convince me and even tried to make me break up with my ex. You know, the ex who was the first one to get those pictures," she said.
"What the fuck?" He asked.
"Over the years he's asked me out several times and I've always turned him down. Seth hasn't kept quiet about wanting me to get with his friend either. I just always brushed it off. I never connected the dots. He's gonna keep scaring people away until I'm so broken that I got no one else to turn to," she said.
"It's almost been two decades. He should know by now this plan isn't working," he said.
"What are Randy and Seth if not persistent assholes?" She asked.
He chuckled and pulled her in for a hug.
"How do you wanna handle it?" He asked.
"I wanna watch his world crumble to the ground," she said. "He's fucked with my life for so long. It's time for the mighty Seth Rollins to get a taste of his own medicine."