Chapter 27

Four days, four days before the big match he was going to have against Damian. Waiting was hard for Finn, he wanted to beat down Damian right now, take the title away from him and bring it back to his sweet Mina, make her proud of him, be her champion. Sometimes, he also doubted himself, the idea of a defeat crossing his mind as fast as a lightning breaks the sky; he hated these moments where images of Mina being disappointed and turning her back on him would hit him, making him nervous and unpredictable. One of these moments occurred when Mina brought back his gear to JD, she had greeted everyone with a hug, even Damian, he had become furious and had started to insult the Puerto Rican before being stopped by the others. Finn didn't know why, but it was harder and harder for him to not to hate Damian. Worst of all, JD seemed to be on his side too. Why would the friend he knew since childhood suddenly betray him and support his rival? He had tried to sort it out with his fellow Irish lad, but JD had started to tell him he had lost his mind, that he was not truly in love with Mina, that she deserved another man and other nonsenses. Fin had gotten mad and started yelling at him. He had yelled at Mina too, the time she had told him she didn't need him to bring her the belt. She was defending Damian, he had said hard words to her that day, saying she was a cheating whore. When she had slapped him across the face, he had tried to apologize for his behaviour. The stress was hard to handle.

The only moment he was feeling in peace was when he could talk with Rose. The ginger seamstress had a faint and soft voice that always calmed him. He knew he could trust her when things were not going the way he wanted, she was neutral. Even when she would tell him to think about his feelings he couldn't get mad at her, she just seemed so genuine, she truly cared about him, without any other intentions, right? He truly had a friend in her, he also got to know that before working here, she had trouble to find a job because of her shyness, caused by violent parents, she was scared by loud voices and angry people. Working for the WWE and then for Mina had helped her like some sort of therapy.

Damian entered the club house like a zombie. Not really conscious of what was surrounding him. Dom had driven the car to the arena to avoid any accident. He couldn't remember when was the last time he hat a complete night of sleep, or how he had been able to fall asleep on his own before knowing how it felt to fall asleep in Mina's arms. Wherever he was, his bed always felt empty without her, he was constantly reaching for her touch, her smell and her warmth. Every night, despite being exhausted, he had a hard time to fall asleep, he was feeling cold inside, like if something was missing. He was unable to forget about Mina, missing everything from her, them singing together, their sweet snuggles under the bedsheets, her head on his torso, with her hair strangling him… She had become his happiness, and he was now sure that she was his soulmate, his forever someone. "If only I could go back in the past and erase all my mistakes." He was repeating himself. When he could drift into sleeping, he was disturbed by nightmares, always the same kind; Mina being lost to him forever, Mina leaving him alone in Hell, Mina hating him, Mina being beaten again and him being unable to help her…

He let himself collapse on the couch, drinking a huge cup of dark coffee, hoping it would help him stay awake for his day of work. He had to hold on, at least until his match against Finn. "I can't mess up that match." He was scared to lose everything in four days: his friend, his title, his soulmate, his job… Hunter had warned him that he needed to find a solution for his performances being more and more unsatisfying or he would have to send him back home for an undetermined amount of time.

- "Wake up Priest, do something" Rhea's voice made him jump.

He didn't answer, not understanding the subject of the conversation.

- "Don't wait for your problems to be solved magically!" she shouted, shaking him like an apple tree. "Move! Do something, go talk to her, seduce her again, go have a good fuck with some ring rats, but for fuck sake stop waiting here like a radish!"

- "What should I do? Every time I try, things get worse."

Rhea and Dom pinched their nose and sat down next to him.

- "We'll help you" Dom said.

Mina ran to the ropes of the ring that was in the training room. She needed to be ready for the next Monday, to stand for herself; letting Finn show her as his trophy against Damian was not an option, neither was letting Damian decide for her one more time. Three days, that was the time she had left to figure out what to do, giving spears and submissions was not going to help. She clearly had been allowed in the match to end the quarrel that was slowly destroying the Judgment Day, in other words, Hunter wanted her to make the decision for both of them.

After two hours of intensive training, she went back to her workshop and started her sewing machine. Seth had come with a crazy idea of clothes for the next PLE, and of course, Rose and her had to figure out how to put together the outrageously coloured garment. She heard laughs coming from behind the huge metal shelf that was hosting all the fabric rolls. To her great surprise, she found both Rose and JD, chatting and smiling to each other.

- "Oh, Mina, I came here to see you and Rose offered me to stay and wait for you. How are you doing?" JD hastily said.

- "Sure JD" Mina smiled. "I'm a little bit stressed but everything will be fine" she lied.

- "Whatever you choice might be, I'll be there to support you. Do what you feel is right, I'll handle Finn and Damian" he said.

- "On your own?" Mina grew a huge mocking smile. JD was a good wrestler, but under no circumstances was he able to deal with both Finn and Damian at the same time.

JD teasingly grumbled before leaving the workshop. Rose headed to her sewing table but Mina stopped her.

- "Not so fast, honey" she teased. "Am I seeing things or there is something between you and our favourite Irish heartbreaker?"

- "Not like this" Rose blushed heavily. "We were just talking."

- "Yeah sure!" Mina said, looking at Rose with insisting eyes.

- "Okay, okay… he asked me if I was single. I said yes. I think he is trying his luck." Rose confessed.

The afternoon went flying as Mina and Rose were talking about the ginger seamstress's love life. She was single for a couple of years now, way too shy to dare to try approaching men. She only had two ex-boyfriends, not the best experiences she ever had, according to her. One was just a high school seducer she fell for when he approached her. He was her first so she didn't think twice, they had stayed together for several months. The other was a self-centred man that was just using her as a nice trophy and ended up cheating on her with an other egocentric woman. Rose have had her revenge by telling him in front of a bunch of his friends that he was an awful lover, with a short dick, which was true. Mina had learned that Rose had a weak spot for foreign accents and found JD attractive, even if she didn't know if she could trust him regarding his reputation. Mina had advised her to be honest and to ask him what he wanted and then decide if that was acceptable for her.

At the end of the day, she climbed in Finn's car with the two Irish men, heading to the hotel for a well deserved night of sleep. They checked in and went up to their rooms. Before Mina could close her door, Finn came in.

- "Come in my room tonight baby girl" he demanded. Seeing Mina shaking his head he changed his demand. "Or maybe I can share yours?"

- "No, Finn, I-I want to stay alone tonight" she answered, suddenly scared by his reactions.

- "Come on baby girl, I need you next to me" he said with pleading eyes.

- "No Finn, please, I'm tired. Goodnight" she ended before closing the door and locking it. She heard Finn sigh heavily and then go back to his own room.

She was not in love with him, and had hoped that putting some distance after telling him she just wanted his body would make him give up. She had been wrong.

The next day Finn knocked on the workshop's door. The match was in two days and he needed to sort things out with Mina to be sure everything went smooth. She had refused to share her bed with him the night prior, and his horniness had led him to restlessly masturbate while groaning her name. He needed her, with him and under him. However, he didn't came to see his dear Mina, but to talk to Rose. The only one he thought was on his side. When she opened the door and told him that Mina was not there he explained everything to her, how desperate he was to win her heart again, how she was denying him access to her room, how much he loved her.

- "Why can't I just be happy with the woman I love?" He asked.

- "Finn, maybe you don't love her the way you think you do" she said with a soft tone. If he refused to hear the truth, maybe another angle would work. "What do you know about her?" she asked.

- "Everything I need to know" Finn answered.

- "What is her favourite colour?" Rose tried.

- "Easy, black" he said, rolling his eyes.

- "What is her favourite meal?" Finn seemed to think. "What was her grandmother's name?" No answer. "Where is she the most ticklish?" Again, no answer. "Did you even tried to know?"

Finn was looking at his feet, realising that he never bothered to ask Mina about her personal tastes. One more time Rose was right, he was not a good boyfriend for her, just relying on what he already knew about her. How come he never thought about asking her about her family, about what she liked? He didn't know, he just wanted her by his side. He looked at Rose with sadness.

- "Thank you Rose." he simply said before leaving the room, head lowered with questions and regrets.

Raw was tomorrow. Mina was running in her workshop, constantly forgetting things, unable to focus and to stay sit on her chair. Her legs shaking so much from stress that she had trouble making good seams on her projects. Rose had to handle most of the work for her, redoing the missed points, retaking measures, changing the needles that were broken.

- "I don't know how to avoid the catastrophe that is going to happen tomorrow" Mina sighed.

- "Who do you want to see champion?" Rose asked.

- "I don't know, and I don't care about the title. If I help Finn, he will be even more pushy and Damian might lose his job, I don't want that. If I help Damian, our situation might be back at just going back and forth and Finn will hate both of us. I don't want that either. In any case, the Judgment Day is screwed because of me. There is no good solution" she said, looking at her feet.

- "Why would it be your decision to make?" Rose asked. "Ask Rhea, Dom and JD, this is their faction too."

Mina sighed in resignation. She was right, her love triangle was not the only one involved in this fight.

The black-haired woman headed to the woman changing room, knowing this was the place she could find Rhea and ask her for advice. She waited for her to exit the shower stalls and hugged her when she did.

- "Let me guess, you don't know what to do tomorrow, nor how to get out of the mess of your feelings, right?" Rhea asked.

- "Yeah, there are only bad solutions" Mina sighed.

- "You don't have to choose a winner" Rhea said. Seeing her friend's puzzled expression, she laughed. "If I were you, I'd pin both of them and win the title for myself."

- "But I can't-"

- "Here is your winneeer, and neeeeeeeeeew Wooorld Heavyweiiiight Champion, Theeee Wiiiiiiiitch" Rhea chanted, imitating the announces of Samantha Irvin, making Mina chuckle.

- "What a prestige, being heavyweight champion but being unable to reach the top of the fridge." Mina teased.

- "Whatever you do with this match, I'm with you, you can even let these two idiots knock each other out. For your romantic situation, I suggest you listen to Damian's story." The wrestler said.

- "To hear the same thing again?" Mina hissed.

- "If he was lying, he would not be so depressed. I know the guy, it takes a lot to put him this miserable." Mina lowered her head. "Finn had gone nuts, this we know; but Damian, girl, he is barely his own shadow, I think he truly loves you more than anything else." Rhea answered

- "So why did he tell Finn to ask me out?" Mina asked, puzzled.

- "My opinion there, but he was sure you would hate him and he wanted to make sure you would be happy even without him. Know he is torturing himself for making things worse. He is scared to screw up again, but for sure he loves you. The question is, what do you feel for him?

Mina had been unable to answer that question, she had loved him with her whole heart, had been hurt by him again and again, and what now? Attached to him? for sure she was. Still in love? Maybe.

She had driven to the hotel with Rose, not wanting to share the car with Finn, nor with Damian. She felt somewhat relieved to be able to blast music while driving, Rose following her singing AC/DC's Highway to Hell. They probably looked like two teenage girls but didn't care. Mina needed to release the tension in her mind, Rose needed to explore the new herself she was letting bloom.

After having had a shower, she got ready to go to bed, knowing perfectly she would be unable to sleep. Tomorrow night she will have to make a choice, The Witch would have to carry the fate of the Judgment Day on her shoulders. She chuckled, it would have sounded great in other circumstances. Just when she was about to switch off the light, a knocking came on the door. She got up and opened the wooden panel to discover Damian, uneasily standing in front of her in the shadow of the corridor. She let him in, more by reflex than with actual intention.

- "Hum… just wanted to tell you to be safe tomorrow" Damian said.

- "I will, thank you Damian" she smiled.

Once he was under the light, she noticed he had lost weight, his bones were popping out on his face, and his clothes, always perfectly adjusted, seemed lose on him. His eyes were underlined by huge black circles that were usually concealed with makeup during the shows. How long had he been like this?

- "Be safe too, please" she added with a voice she would have wanted less serious.

She was worried about him, the man she had in front of her was not the one she knew, he looked like he was about to collapse. Will he even be able to fight tomorrow?

- "I will, I promise" he answered with a low voice. "Just being in the ring with you makes me feel better, Love."

- "Are you sure you will be okay? You look exhausted" she tried to make him talk. She somehow didn't want him to leave.

- "Don't worry about me, just take are of yourself, please." He said. "Come on man, try something, you might get fired tomorrow." Hesitating, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked in her emerald green eyes

"How are you still making me drown into your eyes like this?" He wanted to pull her in his arms, to tell her everything that was weighing on his heart. Just being able to touch her like a friend would do was lighting a flame in his heart. Yes, he needed her. Tears started to fill his eyes, he fought to hold them back.

- "Whatever you choose to do tomorrow, I will respect. I learnt my lesson, I won't decide anything for you." He said.

That was one of the hardest thing he had to tell. He wanted so badly to tell her to give him a chance, or to avoid putting herself in danger, or simply tell her he was going to protect her, but he knew she wanted to make her own choices. She was not the fragile woman he saved, she was strong and free. "Sometimes loving someone is letting them go."

- "Thank you, Damian" she said, then cupped one of his cheeks with her hand, her thumb softly stroking his tired skin.

He was taken aback by this gesture. He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm before letting his tears run freely, sobbing quietly.

- "I-I need to go" he said before heading to the door.

She grabbed his arm to make him look at her.

- "Sleep tight Damian. I know you room is next to mine today, I'm just the other side of the wall, if anything is wrong, just hit the wall." She said with a comforting half smile.

He left the room and headed to his, where he collapsed on his bed. He knew these words, he had told her the same after rescuing her.