Checks & Championships

25

//Present Day//

Marlana's P.O.V

The next morning when I woke up, I had this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I roll over, grabbing my phone and saw that my mom had tried to contact me by phone call, and my text. She had left me a few voicemails, and so I sit up and put my phone to my ear to listen to them. 

As I begin to listen to each of them, they all sounded the same. That she was worried about Eric, and that she really thought that he was dying. 

Roman enters the room, and brings me over a cup of coffee. "What's wrong?" He asks me as I throw my phone on the bed, and take the cup of coffee from him. He picks up my phone and looks at my call log, and then my text messages and he sighs deeply. "I'll talk to her today." He says and gives me my phone back. 

I get up off the bed, and make my way into the bathroom. I grab my dry shampoo and put it in my hair before brushing it out, and pulling it into a ponytail. I proceed to brush my teeth and Roman walks in as I finish getting my leggings and sports bra on. "Do you have plans with Rachelle today?" He asks me and I nod at him before spraying my perfume on my neck, then my wrists, rubbing it together to keep the smell. 

"Yeah, we need to run over some spots for Raw tomorrow night." I tell him, and he nods and walks up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "You're so beautiful, Marlana." He tells me, and I look into the mirror to see him place a kiss to my right cheek. 

"Thank you." I say with a smile, and turn around to face him. "When are you talking to my mom?" I ask him, and he picks me up and sets me on the bathroom counter. 

"I was going to drop you off at the PC then go, and pick you up on my way back. That gives you a while to do what you need to do." He tells me and I nod, looking down at my hands. "What is it?" He asks me and I look up at him, his brown eyes full of worry. 

"Nothing, I'm just nervous." I tell him and he stands up, placing both of his hands on my shoulders and licks his lips before speaking. "I will get this taken care of. If I see that he is sick, I'll write her a check. This way you don't have to deal with it." He tells me and I look back down at my legs. 

"I need to fight my own battles, Roman. I can't have you just deal with it for me. I'm not built that way." I tell him and I hear him sigh before lifting my chin up so I look at him again. "I know babe, but let me do this for you. If you go over there, she will just manipulate you again. She can't do that with me." He says and I sit there for a moment, playing with the end of his shirt. 

"I know." I tell him, and he steps back so I can hop down off of the counter. I walk into the bedroom and put on one of Rachelle and I's merch tanks on and grab my water bottle. I go to leave the bedroom when Roman grabs my wrist and spins me around to him. He crashes his lips onto mine, and holds my head as his moves his tongue inside of my mouth. 

He pulls away slowly, but not before kissing me one more time. He opens his eyes and looks at me before placing a kiss to my forehead. "What was that for?" I ask him when he removes his lips from my head and they form a smile. "Because I love you." He tells me and I smile back at him, before wrapping my arms around him in a hug. 

Roman's P.O.V

As I make the drive to Marlana's mother's house from the PC, I am reminded of Marlana's words to me a few years back about what she went through in the divorce. She was only 13 when she had to grow up, and be an adult. She has always had to be the mom to her siblings because her dad worked so much just to provide for them. 

I don't understand how someone could not love their own children? Having my own kids made me grow up a hell of a lot, so why couldn't Melinda? 

I think a lot of the woman that Marlana has become has a lot to do with this though. At just 13 he had to be promoted from just a kid to an adult.