Masked//Roman Reigns Love Story

20. Can I?

Wednesday, November 6, 2013
5:30p.m.

It almost baffled me how vividly I remembered the night of my rape. To me, instead of holding onto every little detail that unfolded, I should've been trying to bury it as far into a grave as I could get it. Just like with the attack I suffered a few hours after my birthday was over. I remembered everything. Somehow, I saw the entire scene like I was watching it from a third person perspective. All I wanted was to forget it happened, but I couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back under water.

"Are you sure you didn't get a good look at the person attacking you? Just close your eyes, breathe, and really think about everything that—"

"Look, I already told you that I have no clue what this person looks like in the face. Hell, I couldn't even tell you skin color. The only thing I saw was black, the person was dressed in all fucking black. You saw the cameras Nick gave to you. The figure was in all black. Head to fucking toe. And no amount of that hypnotic shit you keep trying to do to me is going to change my fucking answer. Now leave me the hell alone! Now!"

I blinked my eyes and steadied my breath for a few moments. When I reopened my eyes and was out of the water, I looked up to see that same white, blonde headed troll still standing at the foot of my bed. Her mouth was slightly ajar, showing signs of shock and uneasiness.

"Why in the hell are you still standing here?" She still didn't move. "Oh, so you're deaf now? Well, you don't need to hear me throwing you out this damn hospital because that's what's about to happen," I shouted before muttering some rather unpleasant things in Spanish.

I lunged forward, one of the IV's in my arm falling out in the process. My right fist was on its way to punching the woman in the face, but Joe rushed into the room at the right time to spare the woman.

"Just go, please. I'll take care of it," he softly ordered before wrapping me up in his arms.

The comforting scent of his cologne and his strong arms wrapped around my bruised body made me feel secure. I felt as if nobody could get to me like this and I trusted that he would protect me at all costs if it came down to it. When I wasn't with him I was...

"I'm so scared," I admitted through tears.

I'd spent more than half of my day thinking about whether I'd make it to the end of the week.

How much did my attacker know about me?

Was it a one off?

Were they going to find me again?

"Baby, I know, okay. You don't need to tell me anything because I can see it all in your face. But listen to me... Aj is here, I'm here, your dad, grandma, Trin, Nick, everybody that cares about you is here. I promise we're gonna keep you safe. I promise," he whispered into my ear.

"Okay... I'm gonna be okay, you know?" I tried to reassure him even though I hadn't believed it myself.

"I know, it just bothers me. You have two broken toes on your right foot and can't wrestle at Survivor Series. That was going to be your first pay-per-view and win or lose, I know you were looking forward to it. And we don't know if this was a personal vendetta, so it's not safe for you to be out and about regardless of the injuries. This ain't fair to you," he ranted.

"Joe, I know. It's not fair to you that you have to see me like this, that you had to see me so messed up these past two days. That's why I left in college, so you didn't have to see me like this. I don't want anyone seeing me so weak," I frowned, dipping my head.

A period of silence fell over the room. I couldn't tell if it was the same for Joe, but for me the silence was deadly. I felt like I made things awkward bringing up what happened in college. Just as I was about to take it back, my breath caught in my throat when Joe softly rested two of his fingers under my chin. I took the signal and pulled my head up so that we were eye to eye. I was so nervous looking at him, but I held the eye contact because I needed him to look at me and know I was okay. Or not so much that I was okay, because that was debatable, but to know that I was living. My heart was beating and my lungs were working.

"Maria, you're not weak, not even a little. And one thing that pussy didn't take from you was your beauty. You're still absolutely stunning," he whispered, sending chills through my body.

His eyes had noticeably turned darker, almost black. I didn't understand how he could lust over me like that. I mean, my hair was done nicely into two french braids that were done by Trinity. But besides that, I had on no makeup, I had a small cut near my hairline and probably looked like I'd gotten no sleep because I didn't.

"Did you mean what you said to Danielle? About loving me?" I asked.

The smallest grin broke out on his face and I unwillingly grinned back. "You know I don't like to say things I don't mean. I meant everything that I said about you, especially the part where I said I love you," he said.

"How do you love me, though? Like as a sister, a friend?" I tried to hide the worry in my eyes but the slight bewilderment in Joe's eyes told me that I hadn't hid it that well.

"Like a best friend," he answered and I felt a very physical sting in my heart.

"And like a girlfriend, maybe even more. Actually, I think it's best if I tell you that I'm in love with you, still," he finished.

"Well, I'm in love with you too, still," I told him honestly, without having to force it.

I didn't feel any pressure to say it because I genuinely meant it and I'd been wanting to say it for a long time. I just didn't want to look like a fool. I actually told him that I was in love with him after one year of dating him. I didn't think I'd admit something so serious so soon but I felt like it was the right thing to say and the right time to say it. Like that moment in college, this just felt right.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, hesitantly.

I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak. Before I could think about anything else, Joe had latched his lips onto mine in a feverish kiss. It'd been about three years since I was so close to him, since I'd touched him in such way and it felt so good. I let out an involuntary moan as he yanked at one of my braids. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth and our tongues began to dance together. I didn't try to overpower him and he didn't try to overpower me. I let my hands snake behind his neck and slowly caress his soft skin. His lips tasted like cherry.

I pulled away to catch my breath and my stomach felt unbelievably light. Just the sight of Joe sitting across from me, his pupils completely blown, and his full lips quirked into his signature grin did things to me. It made me crave him more. I lowered my lips onto his again and he responded back passionately.

When I was young, grownups were always the first to tell me that there was no such thing as 'love' when you're young. They tried to put an age on when people were capable of feeling such admiration for a person, but you can't do that. No one is the same and we all develop at different speeds based on our life experiences. My entire life, I felt so much, that's just who I was as a person. Love was one of those feelings and I felt it with Joe. Maybe it was time to stop running from that fact and just let it overtake me. It could be a very good thing.