My Protector

My Protector Part 6

I wake up the next day with pain in my neck and ribs. We had gone to another hotel after Raw and I immediately changed and went to sleep. I go into the bathroom and look in the mirror. I look worse than I did before. When I lift up my shirt my ribs are poking out which scares me. I take a hot shower and for a while just stand under the water. As I'm getting dressed I'm so cold I put on a large hoodie. I come out the bathroom and see Dean standing there. "Oh well look who decided to join us." he says jokingly. I give him a weak smile and sit in the couch with my feet up.

"Want to go with us to get something to eat?" Dean asks. "Not really. I'm kind of tired." I say. "Tired? You slept all day." Andy says. "What? No I didn't." I say. I turn to look at the clock and surprised that it says 3:30 PM. "Oh..." Ryan sits on the couch and looks at me. "Are you okay? You don't look so good and your not eating much." he asks me. He asks me this question a million times a day. "Yes. I'm fine.  For the billionth time, I am okay." Dean and Andy look at me as if they are seeing a ghost. "What are you looking at?" I ask.

Dean and Andy walk towards the door and ask if Ryan is going. "No. I'll stay with Nicole. Keep her company." Ryan says and sits on the couch near my feet.

Dean and Andy leave and Ryan looks at me. He keeps staring at me which kind of creeps me out. "Um, is there something on my face?" I ask. Ryan chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm just worried about you, thats all." he says. I pull my feet towards me and sit Indian style. "Why are you worried about me?" I ask. Ryan sighs and looks at the floor then back at me. "You're wasting away. You're like a ghost.  You don't eat. Sometimes you don't sleep. And when you do its for almost the entire day. If you keep going like this I won't have anyone to look after." he says.

I feel the tears sting my eyes and roll down my cheek. "I'm sorry. Its just things have been really difficult lately and know your trying your best-" He cuts me off and puts his arms around me. "There's no need to be sorry. I'm here for you. I'm your guardian so you tell me if you need anything." he says. We watch TV for a while and Andy and Dean return. Dean hands me a plate with food on it. I guess I'm eating pretty fast because I hear Ryan tell me to slow down.

I stop and see that I've eaten more than half the plate. I put the plate on the table and hold my stomach.  "Are you okay?" Dean asks. I stand up and walk away from the couch. I nod and then run to the bathroom. After my disaster of heaving up everything I ate, I brush my teeth and wash my face. I dry my face and look in the mirror. I see the dark circles under my eyes.  When I walk out everyone is staring at me. I walk into the bedroom and sit on the bed. Then I go underneath the covers and curl up into a ball.

I end up falling asleep with my headphones in and when I come out it's already the next morning. Andy is sitting on the couch watching tv and eating a bagel. I tiptoe into the bathroom and when I come out he's standing near the door. "Um, hello to you too." I say. "Well at least you woke up in the morning this time." he says. I roll my eyes and start to walk into the kitchen area when Andy grabs by arm. When he grabbed my arm he pulled up my sleeve and I quickly snatch away. "What was that?" he says reaching for my arm again. "Nothing."I say pulling my sleeve down. 

He grabs my arm again pulls up my sleeve. "Nothing?! This isn't nothing! You're hurting yourself!" he yells. "Will you keep your voice down? I'd rather not have the entire place hear this conversation." I say in a kind of whisper. "And don't say anything to Ryan." "Why? You have a problem." Andy says. "Don't you think I know that? I don't eat. I sleep all day. I can't keep anything down. I don't want you to say anything to Ryan because I know he's already worried." I say. "Nicole, you are like a ghost. You probably don't even weigh 100 pounds soaking wet. He needs to worry." he says.

At that moment, Ryan comes in and looks at us. "Did something happen?" he says. Me and Andy make eye contact and then he looks at Ryan. "No everything is fine." he says. He shoots me an angry look and walks away. "Is everything okay? Because it doesn't look like nothing happened." Ryan says looking at me. "Everything is fine, Ryan." I say and walk back into the room. Later that night Ryan comes and checks on me. "Hey. Are you okay?" he asks softly and turns on the light. "Yeah. I'm fine." I say. We sit without saying a word until I say something. "Is Andy mad at me?" I ask. "No. I don't think so. I mean I wouldn't be mad." he says.

"You wouldn't?" I ask. He shakes his head. "No. And I don't think Andy is either. He's probably just really worried and overwhelmed." I nod to show that I understand and look at my hands. He uses his finger to make me look up at him. "It'll be okay. I promise. Now get some sleep. Surprisingly you didn't sleep all through the afternoon." he says. "How do you know I didn't sleep?" I ask. He looks around him and leans close to me. "You snore." he whispers.  I scoff and laugh while hitting him with a pillow.  "You should talk! The door vibrates when you snore!" I say laughing. "Why are you beating me with a pillow? I'm too nice for this." he says chuckling. I hit him a few more times and then lay down still laughing.

"Get some sleep little one. I'll see you in the morning....hopefully." he says. I laugh and roll over on my side. "Good night, big guy." He turns off the light and leaves the room. I felt great and that's a way I haven't felt in a long time.

The next morning I still feel okay from last night. I walk out the room and see Dean. "She's awake in the morning! It's a Christmas miracle!" he says. I laugh and walk over to Ryan.  I sit next to him and he puts his arm around me. "Looks like you two are getting along well." Dean says. Andy comes out of the bathroom and looks at me without saying a word. I look down and Ryan rubs my shoulder. "I'm sorry.  Am I missing something here?" Dean asks. "It's nothing. Just let things pass on." Ryan says. Later that night we go to Smackdown and I'm not feeling so hot.

Ryan is about to leave for his handicap match against Tyson Kidd and Antonio Cesaro. He crouches down to hug me and then pulls away to look me in the eye. "Are you okay? You're burning up." Ryan says. "Yeah. I'm fine. Good luck with your match. I mean its not like you need it." I say. He gives me a smile and kisses my forehead. When he walks away I put my headphones in and walk around. The song Anthem of the Angels comes on and I think about my dad...and then myself.

There is nothing left of you
I can see it in your eyes
Sing the anthem of the angels
And say your last goodbye

Suddenly I can feel my body give from underneath me and I pass out. I go in and out of consciousness but I am unable to open my eyes. I can hear Ryan saying my name and asking me if I can hear him. Then, I hear silence followed by someone whispering my name while stroking my cheek. I slowly open my eyes and my vision is blurry. When my sight clears, my heart flutters when I see who it is.

"Dad?"