Into The Deep End - A Roman Reigns Story

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The next couple of weeks seemed to go on forever, and T.K. wanted out of the hospital in the worst way. He longed to be back in his own home and back in his own bedroom, not trapped in this disgustingly white, suffocating room with all these annoying machines. However, whenever he tried to turn to his side in an effort to get more comfortable, the pain in his back gave him a stark reminder of why he was there. There was no way he would be allowed to leave the hospital just yet. He was miserable, and his only comfort was that he had his mother around to take care of him and encourage him, as well as Joe and Mia, who was eager to help out her older brother, still blissfully ignorant of the real reason he was injured.

The police showed up at the hospital to ask the bedridden teenager about the shooting. Sasha did not leave his side during the interrogation, a skeptical expression on her face the entire time because she knew this was just lip service and the police would not make that much of an effort to find who did this to her son. This wasn't the first time this was happening around their neighborhood or anywhere else and their track record in solving these cases was not stellar. T.K. told them what happened without actually incriminating himself or Lamar. Sasha could almost understand his reasons for trying to protect the other boy. Friends didn't snitch on friends. She didn't like it, but her only consolation was the knowledge that her son had a code of honor that he evidently took very seriously. She only wondered if Lamar would have done the same for him had the roles been reversed.

T.K. was finally discharged from hospital a week after his admission. The Doctors deduced that he wouldn't fully heal from his injury for another two months, which automatically ruled him out of the basketball Championship finals. The Mason Hill Knights had to go on without him, but the team, led by T.K.'s best friend Steve, dedicated their title-chasing run to him. However, it wasn't enough for T.K. This was Mason Hill High's first-ever final in the basketball championships, and for T.K., the school's star player, to miss it in his final year, was devastating. Coupled with the fact that Lamar's whereabouts were still unknown, the teen was an emotional and physical mess. He withdrew into himself even more and became surlier each passing day. He kept trying to turn down Sasha's help, and his mother, at a loss for what to do to make him feel better, was sure she was experiencing déjà vu, having gone through this with Joe already. And speaking of her boyfriend, he had to leave town again. He may have pushed back his return to in-ring action but it wasn't stopping the WWE from wrangling him into more signings, media interviews and the like. They talked on the phone and Joe gave her as much advice as possible, having been through the emotional turmoil that T.K. was currently enduring. But it only made Sasha wish that he was around.

Meanwhile, high drama was breaking loose in the WWE world, and most of it hit quite close to home. Colby and Lauren had apparently split up in very acrimonious circumstances. There had been rumors – eventually confirmed to Sasha by Joe and Trinity – about Colby having an affair with one of the NXT Divas. Lauren found out, and in retribution she posted nude pictures of Colby all over the internet, from his Twitter page to his Facebook account. Sasha was shocked by the whole thing. She never thought things were that bad between the couple. And she sure as hell never imagined Lauren would retaliate in that manner. Also, CM Punk, who had left the WWE several months ago, had finally broken his silence about his departure and released a podcast during the week. Among other things, he'd accused Joe of receiving favorable treatment from the higher-ups at the company, mostly at Punk's expense. Trinity sent Sasha the clip of Punk talking about Joe and listening to it made her blood boil. She didn't know Punk very well when he was around but for him to make such a remark she thought was wrong and unfair. Joe had worked extremely hard to be where he was in his career, perhaps more so than others simply to prove that he had made it on his own merit. Knowing her boyfriend and his ego, and his tendency to let people's criticism weigh him down, Sasha knew he was not taking this very well. Without a doubt, it was going to be an interesting week in the light of everything that had happened.