Playing With Fire

Part 7

When she woke up the room was still dark. She knew immediately that she couldn't stay, that he could not know what he'd accidently confessed to her that night. If she left now he wouldn't, so she slipped out of the room as quietly as possible.

She was almost numb, going through the motions throughout her day. She had breakfast with Mella. She knew Mella had picked up on her tension, but she wasn't ready to talk about it, and Mella had always been good at reading her. She'd seen the look in her eyes that told her her friend was worried about her, but she hadn't said anything.

She'd spent a few hours in the gym on her own. She pushed herself harder then she probably should have but she'd been doing everything she could to hold it all in. She knew once the dam broke, it would all be over.

She managed to make it through until Smackdown, and she was able to push it all down deep enough that she could function, putting her focus on anything and everything else. Even if they were fighting with each other, it was still so good to be there to watch Becky and Charlotte that night. They were her girls, her wrestling soulmates. The bond the four of them shared wasn't something she'd ever thought she'd have, and it had completely changed her life. Even if they were seperated for now, she knew someday they were gonna all tear it up again. For a little while it was enough to keep her distracted.

It was so odd to see Finn though. He too, knew something was wrong, and like Mella, he could tell she didn't want to discuss it. The concern in his eyes everytime he looked at her made her heart ache. Now that she knew, she could see the subtle tells, and it was so hard to concentrate on what they were supposed to be doing which was getting ready for what she knew would be their hardest match of the whole tournament.

It hadn't gone well. They'd tried. They had certainly given Braun and Ember a tough battle, and there had been moments, like when they pulled off their move on Ember when she thought they were going to do it, but in the end Braun was just too much. Finn kept trying, and taking a lot of punishment for it. She knew Finn. He would never give up. He would literally let Braun beat on him until he passed out, which is what he'd done. She'd rushed in the ring afterwards, so worried she'd finally forgotten all of her troubles, at least for a moment, too concerned about how much damage he'd taken. He at least was able to walk out on his own, though to be fair it had mostly been her doing the walking. He'd barely been able to stand, but somehow they managed to make it backstage to the doctors.

She'd hovered nearby as the doctors examined him, and was relieved to find out he hadn't sustained anything more serious than a whole lot of bruising. They'd been concerned about his breathing, but couldn't find anything to indicate a more significant problem and advised him just to rest. She'd helped him to the men's locker room after, and he'd promised he could manage.

As soon as she was changed and packed she'd made her way back to the men's locker room, and Tye, who'd been leaving, stopped and went back in to check for her. Finn was still moving very slow, but Tye had helped her get him and his things out to her rental car. She'd originally been planning on leaving that night, but she knew she wasn't leaving Finn's side until she knew he was okay. Instead, she headed back to the hotel, shooting a quick text to her fiance that she'd changed her plans, and not even bothering to wait on a reply. Finn still had a room, and she didn't bother to think about why she shouldn't be assuming she could stay with him.

He was so messed up, and apparently he'd taken the painkillers the doctor had given him because he was a little loopy too. With the help of one of the hotel employees, she got them and all of their stuff to his room. Finn had stumbled in and fell backwards on the bed, and she thanked and tipped the employee before she went to check on him.

She knew he was high on the painkillers when he'd grinned at her.

"Hi Bayley."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great," he said and he tried to sit up, but as soon as he did he started coughing, and his face grimaced in pain. She reached out to support him through the coughing fit.

"That's just the painkillers talking. You need to rest," she told him as she gently helped lower him back to the bed.

"Okay. Will you keep me company?"

"Of course," she replied and laid down next to him, turning so she faced him, "I don't know why you let him hurt him you so bad. I hate seeing you like this."

"We had to win."

"We didn't though and now you're hurt."

"I know. I'm so sorry," he said the genuine regret in his tone making her wish she hadn't said that.

"I don't care about losing nearly as much as I do that you can barely breath right now."

"This was too important."

"Why? It's not worth you getting injured."

"Because this is the only shot I get. They'll never let me have you like this again. We have to win."

"Finn?" she questioned. His wordimg had her heart in her throat again. Did he really just say that? He didn't seem to understand her question though.

"We're gonna do this. I promise. We're gonna show them."

"Show them what? I don't understand," she said, but she didn't get an answer because he started coughing again. She helped support him and when he was able to breath again she realized she was now laying right up next to him with her arms around him. He looked at her, and she knew she was in his personal space, but before she could move he was running his hand through her hair, staring at in a dazed wonder. She had no idea what was going through his drugged mind.

"So pretty," he whispered, and she she could feel her cheeks warm in response even though she knew he wasn't fully in control of his actions. She didn't say anything for awhile as he continued to play with her hair. The soothing action  was starting to lull her to sleep, and she was startled a little when his hand shifted down to cup her face. Before she knew what was happening he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. She'd barely realized what was going on before he'd pulled away again, but her heart was racing a mile a minute. Her lips tingled, and she felt like she was the one who couldn't breath.

"Finn?"

"Love you sweetheart. Sweet dreams," he said sleepily before his eyes drifted closed.

Oh God. That hadn't just happened had it? It was one thing to know Finn had feelings for her, but this was a whole different ball game. She wasn't ready for this. What the hell was she going to do? If she hadn't been so tangled up in him she might have bolted, but she couldn't move. In fact after a few minutes and once her heart slowed, the feeling of sleepiness returned and she knew once again she was going to fall asleep in his arms.