Who Do You Love - Dean Ambrose

Chapter 7: Won't Take It Lying Down

I woke in the morning to the ringing of my phone and groaned in confusion and unhappiness as well. It was one of those awakenings that takes a moment to register and where you have to work out exactly who and where you are. Even as I was trying to figure that out however, I was rolling and groping across the nightstand for my cell.

My hand crashed into the half-full mug of sweet tea and rocked it, slopping some over the brim,

"Crap,"

But with my phone still juddering impatiently in the background, I didn't have a whole lot of time to complain and so shunting aside my unloved alarm clock I snatched it up triumphantly and squinted at it,

"Oh."

Hunter (Dad) Cell.

My father was calling me and I suddenly stiffened, trying to work out what the hell he might want. Was he simply calling to catch up on how things were with me or had he somehow rumbled about last night? Maybe Dean had called him and told him? Which didn't seem likely and – wait – to that point, where was Dean? The left hand side of the bed was empty and also pretty cold. I blinked. Where had he gone?

Glancing around I hit the call button and mumbled the single word sleepily,

"Hello?"

"Sorry kiddo, hope I didn't wake you?"

"Um, not really, no," I lied, craning my free ear in the direction of the hallway and trying to hear the shower which seemed tellingly quiet, "Is – uh – is everything, you know, okay with you guys?"

Hunter chuckled softly,

"Everything's fine."

Leaning over the mattress to our cases, I hooked Dean's lazily across the floor with my foot, quickly scanning the haphazardly packed contents and noticing that some of his fresh clothes were gone.

"Oh, okay, well that's – that's good then. So, this is just a catch up call?"

"Sort of," Hunter offered back at me idly, "Stephanie reminded me your reunion was last night. I was just kind of wondering how it went? I take it Ambrose behaved himself for you?"

I paused momentarily and shivered a little as I debated exactly what my stepmother might have said. Obviously Hunter knew about the party – I'd told him about it when I'd pleaded for time off – but did he know about my angry ex-boyfriend and the distinct possibility he might have turned up? I mean, I wouldn't exactly have blamed Steph for telling him but I really, really hoped she'd kept her mouth shut. On the flip side however, he didn't seem angry or tense or grumbly with bloodthirsty revenge, so I came to the conclusion he was genuinely asking and slid from the bed with an unseen nod,

"Dean was great – um – made the night bearable."

Well that was true at least – in more ways than one.

Crossing the room shivering, I unhooked my velvet bathrobe and clamped the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I quickly slid into it in an attempt to keep warm.

"I'm glad to hear it. So everything went well then?"

"Kind of," I shrugged, padding out into the hallway on the hunt for my boyfriend, "Met some people I used to know. Got caught up with what they're doing and everything – you know – just checking inwith how they are."