Who Do You Love - Dean Ambrose

Rush of Blood

The ride back to the hotel was – to say the least – awkward.

Dean was up front both driving and ranting while I was in the backseat barely saying a word. Seth and Roman sat in silence on either side of us and although it was obvious they could hear every bit of it, they were doing a great job in pretending they were deaf. Maybe they were used to Dean's angry monologues, but I still wasn't and my frown made that clear.

"What the hell happened in there Lauren? Because about a fuckin' hour ago you promised me you weren't interested in takin' a job with the company. Then suddenly I've got fuckin' Stephanie on the line tellin' us to drive you to the show tomorrow night so you can – and I'm quotin' here – help them out."

"It's not a job," I interjected hotly the second Dean finally paused for breath, "Well, not exactly."

"Not exactly, huh?"

"I mean, so okay, Hunter might have said something about towels and making drinks and things like that but – ,"

Dean groaned heavily,

"Jesus Christ – ,"

"But we didn't actually talk about hours or money or contracts, so it's not a job job."

To my mind it sounded like reasonable logic but Dean's wry snort said otherwise,

"Welcome to the business. What did I tell you? It isn't like the regular world. Whether you realise it or not – and how the fuck can you not have – you've gone and got yourself a job and once they suck you in, ain't no fuckin' way out of it."

"It isn't like that," I blinked feeling sideswiped. Did he always have to be so bleak? "They just want me close for when the test results come back in. I mean, if I just start to hang around backstage with nothing to do, wouldn't people ask questions?"

"Maybe but what happens after that Lauren? What happens when the results come back?"

"Um, he wasn't sure – ,"

"Or more he likely didn't tell you, because trust me – if you are his kid – ain't no way he's sendin' you back to Minnesota – ,"

"Wisconsin,"

Dean growled,

"Look whatever, the bottom line is the boss' going to want to keep you around, which means – goin' back to my earlier point – you're stuck and ain't no way you're gettin' out of it."

I scowled at the back of his hairstyle stubbornly,

"Well maybe I don't want to."

"Lauren, don't – ,"

"I'm serious Dean. What else do I have? I've got no other family, I quit my job to come out here and the only thing I own is my mother's house. All I have back home is Kelly and she's married and pregnant so she's got her own life. Why is it so bad that I'm trying to start over – why is it so bad if I start over here?"

Roman shifted uncomfortably beside me and as the plush leather creaked, he let out a sigh. I wasn't sure if it was driven by the heat of the conversation in general or the fact that he realised I'd said the wrong thing. Glancing up towards the rear view mirror, I watched Dean's eyes twitch angrily.