Cody's eyes slowly opened, the sun peeking through the blinds of the hotel room made him wake up. He still felt tired, especially his body. The adrenaline had finally come down but being awake and reminiscing the night before, it all came flooding back. He had been laying on his stomach with one arm under the pillow. The other one was tangled with his best friend's who was still sleeping on the other side of the bed. He hadn't been able to fall asleep since he got into his own room. His mind kept replaying the events that happened a few hours earlier. The reaction from the crowd when he returned, but also seeing his other half cash in and make history. He remembered looking at the clock and already seeing it was one in the morning. Deciding to go to the one place he knew he could stay, he ran to the lobby and thankfully seen a tub a butter pecan ice cream. Once he purchased it he ran up to Stella's room. Cody knew she was exhausted but for him, she'd do anything. They put on a movie but didn't really watch it. They talked and caught up on each other's lives like old times, it was like he never left. He laughed so hard his stomach was sore. He missed hearing her laugh and seeing her smile. Especially her scent, Stella always smelt so good he enjoyed her presence much more than he realized. Cody couldn't remember the last time when he smiled so much. But being around Stella he was always smiling or laughing. She brought out the best in him. When the clock struck four in the morning she lied her back on the mattress and told Cody to shut up as she lost the battle with her tired eyes.
He noticed the bruise on her head that would no doubt turn into a scar. He remembered seeing her go through the table and praying she wasn't severely injured. It terrified him for a moment but even more when he seen her jump off the gurney and run back into the ring. But that's who Stella was. She's a fighter. His fighter. When his dad was alive he often praised Stella for being a star. Not just in the entertainment world but in life. A bright star in fact. One that lights up the dark sky. In this case she lit up Cody's sky. He remembered when he found out his dad passed, he called Stella from a hospital pay phone, and within twenty minutes she was there.
"Cody!" A young Stella ran through the hospital halls.
He looked up from the floor as he leaned by the wall outside of his dad's room. "Stella..."
She immediately grabbed him and held him, he wrapped his arms around her, practically squeezing her ribs they could crack but she didn't care. Cody sobbed into her arms.
"Please don't ever leave me Stella." He weeped.
"I got you Cody, I got you." She whispered.
"Please tell me there's a waffle house nearby." Stella's morning voice was raspy, she stirred in the bed before forcing herself to sit up.
"Right across the street your highness." Cody smiled. "Good morning Stell."
"Don't talk to me until I've had coffee in my system." She groaned.
Cody chuckled, she was still the same. "Alright well that sounds like my next mission for today." He got up and put on his shirt and shoes, before grabbing his wallet. "I'll be back in a few okay? Then we'll go get some breakfast."
Stella gave him a thumbs up. "I'm gonna hop in the shower and get ready."
He nodded. "Alright, be back soon."
He made his way to the door.
"Cody."
"Stella—"
They both said each others name at the same time and laughed.
She walked towards him and hugged him. "Just didn't realize how much I missed seeing you and grabbing breakfast with you."
He held her for a moment. "It's nice to be able to do this without worrying about one of us having to catch the next flight or going back to work soon."
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"How's your dad doing?" Cody asked as they munched on their breakfast, both stealing food from the others plate.
"Good, I finally got him to move into the house." She replied, waiting for him to move his fork out of her hash browns.
"Didn't want to take it huh?"
"No! Which irked me to my core, because he deserves it. Plus I was tired of his apartment he lived in. The doorman always acted like he didn't know who I was when I entered the building and always had to call my dad to let me up the freaking elevator."
Cody laughed and sipped his coffee. "Mr. Earl was always nice to me when I was there visiting with you."
She glared at him. "Ha ha. Your siblings doing good?"
"Yeah, Dustin actually called me last night. I guess the camera crew got a picture of me you after you won the titles. Asked about how it felt being back with you." He said.
"Did you tell him your heart is finally full again?" She winked.
"No, actually told him I'm dreading being with you 24/7."
Stella threw a piece of bacon at him. "Asshole."
"I'm joking!" Cody laughed. "You know Im happy to have my best friend back in my life."
"I guess me too." She shrugged before smiling at him.
He reached over and grabbed her hand.
Little did they know, this was the start of a long shit storm.
