CHAPTER 14

i thought that we were meant to be you took my heart and made it bleed i gave you all my ecstasy

Days had gone by since Joe's true intentions came out. Royce had been sick since that night, Nikki had to take her to the emergency room as she was low on fluids and made herself sick from crying nonstop. Her family didn't know her arrangement with Joe but assumed something bad went down between them, Royce not being herself. Neels and her spent their date in the hospital. He bought her food and brought movies to play on his laptop, he even went out to get them ice cream and slept with her on the bed til the next morning.

Joe drank until he passed out, so far all of his money went towards any alcoholic beverage that was in his sight. Seth and Dean had to take his wallet before he maxed out his credit cards. His heart felt like someone put a dagger in it and left it there. He didn't even feel like this when he divorced Galina. Maybe for a few days or two. But all he wanted was to call his bestfriend and tell her how much she meant to him. In fact he did call, mostly when he was drunk. Leaving countless a number of voicemails, resulting in her blocking his number.

Today was the first time Royce would be seen going out in public since she got hospitalized. WWE was hosting an event for all of the superstars, giving fans a chance to meet them and hang out. There was also going to be an event where the top wrestlers sat at a panel and answer questions from fans.

Royce looked at herself in the mirror, she looked horrible. Her eyes were puffy and blood shot red, her skin was drained of color.

"Knock knock," Brie entered the bathroom. "Guess who I brought."

"Who?" She wondered.

"Your favorite makeup artist!" Brie laughed and held up her makeup brushes.

Royce smiled and took a deep breath. "I give you permission to beat my face. I look like I've just risen from the dead."

"Come on," Brie grabbed her hand and sat her down on a chair. "Let's make you look like the queen you are."

Royce sat back and let Brie work on her. Eventually Nikki and Sasha came in and helped with her hair and outfit.

"Done!" Brie widely grinned and handed Royce a mirror.

"Woah," she laughed and looked. "It doesn't look like I've been in the hospital for days."

"You look gorgeous, and even more with this outfit on so go get dressed." Nikki instructed.

"And that's how it's done." Sasha smirked.

———Being around the fans really uplifted Royce's spirit. She'd been smiley the whole day, especially when she talked to the kids. She still found it crazy how many children looked up to her. So far, her and Joe steered clear of each other but of course you had fans who wanted a picture with both of them.

Now was the time where they would sit and answer questions from fans. The seats were all assigned with name cards. Royce looked and seen Becky was on her right but.. Joe on her left.

"Can we switch seats?" Becky asked.

"No everything is already assigned, now go." Stephanie shooed her away.

"I tried." Becky walked up to Royce and frowned.

"It's okay." Royce rubbed her forehead and took a seat.

Moments later Joe sat down next to her, Seth on his other side.

"Hey Royce." Seth waved.

"Hi Seth." She gave him a small smile.

Joe briefly looked at her and gave her a nod, she nodded back and turned back towards Becky. The questions soon began coming in, some for all of them and some for only certain wrestlers.

"Hi, my names Taylor and I have a question for all of you." A fan spoke.

"Hi Taylor." Everyone smiled at her.

"What's your question?" Finn grinned.

"What's something you're jealous of to the person to your left, in a good way though."

They all started going down the line and saying their answers to the person to their left.

"Something I'm jealous of Roy would have to be her strength and her wild spirit. She is literally the strongest out of all the girls and could probably launch Dean into the crowd. But also her wild side is something I somewhat envy because she's so out there and her free spirit lights up any room." Becky said and hugged Royce.

"Thanks Becks." She smiled and forced herself to turn towards Joe. "Uh, for Roman.." She thought for a moment. "I think I'm jealous of his bravery and courage/strength. It took a lot for him to announce that he was fighting cancer and especially announcing to not only a huge audience but the whole world on television. I know if I was going through that, I wouldn't be able to tell the whole world. So I really admire him for that, it takes courage to do something like that. And yeah, he just has a lot of strength."

Everyone clapped since she mentioned his leukemia story. He smiled and patted her thigh.

"Thank you." Joe looked at her sincerely and rubbed her arm before he spoke about Seth.

———Once the event was over, the group had to stay behind for a meeting.

"Can we talk?" Joe whispered in her, standing behind her.

"No." Royce coldly said.

"Royce... Please." Joe begged.

She shook her head no and walked out of the room.

Joe sighed and followed her out. "Royce!"

"Please Joe just leave me alone. You've done enough." She exasperated.

He grabbed her arm and turned her around. "Don't run away Royce. Don't run away from me and what happened between us!"

"What difference does it make? Because in the end, when you lose somebody, every candle, every prayer is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody that you cared about used to be." She said as her heart broke.

Standing in front of him hurt like hell. It was useless to continue and put on the strong front. There was no point. If this was the end then she'd make him pay by seeing the pain he caused her, emotionally.

"You didn't lose me though baby, I'm still here. I'm still here with you. Just please give me this chance to at least explain." Joe took her hands in his.

"Explain what? If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it. Okay Joe, I caught you. I did everything I could for you, I put you before I put myself. There's a difference between someone who wants you and someone who would do anything to keep you. Remember that." Royce whimpered while she slowly pulled her hands out of his warm touch. His touch that she loved so much, that made her forget everything and everyone.

"You were by my side when I needed a friend. You made me laugh. You made me dance. You told me that I would find love again... And, I understand if I have to wait for you, and I will. I'll wait. And when you're ready for me, I will be ready for you." He stated.

"That's the point... I was always there for you and all I needed was for you to tell me you felt something.. And you didn't." Her voice cracked.

"But I felt it, I swear-

"Yeah and you're a little too late. Because all I did was pass the time for you."

Joe remained quiet. He was stuck. "I don't know what to say.."

Royce shrugged. "It's okay," she replied. "I know what we are.. and I know what we're not."

———

❤️: 6.4 mil 💬: disabled@RoyceWWE: don't underestimate the allure of darkness. even the purest hearts are drawn to it.

———

❤️: 5.1 mil 💬: disabled @RoyceWWE: you fucked me up both physically and mentally i can't believe

———to be continued quotes from puckermob.com and upjourney.com-Lang Leav

go add: End His Reign One More around

for more roman reigns

❤️