Cuts Heal In Time (CM Punk)

Chapter 18: Everything Changed

Bella had gotten the opportunity to fight against Eve, making her submit after six minutes. She was building a stellar reputation within the WWE. She could fight against anyone and put on a good match.

After her match, Vince was waiting for her backstage, and he said they would be having a meeting with creative soon. He didn't say what the meeting would be about, but based on the small grin on his face, she assumed it was good news.

Now she sat in catering with Randy, watching the main event. It was Punk versus Mark Henry.

Punk confidently walked down the ramp, receiving a huge pop from the crowd. Mark Henry came out next.

Punk started off strong, getting in some early offense. But when he went for a dropkick, Mark Henry literally swat the dropkick to the side. Then he began to dominate Punk with his strength

"I would not want to fight against Mark Henry," Bella told Randy as she popped a carrot in her mouth.

Randy stole a carrot off her plate before saying, "I have, and it is not fun."

Punk continued to fight back, getting little bursts of offense in, but Mark Henry continued to control him with slow and powerful moves.

Punk began to retaliate with a nice bit of offense in with some kicks. The crowd began chanting "yes" and cheering madly, which brought a smile to Bella's face. 

Punk continued controlling the match and went for a bulldog, but then Mark Henry tossed him over the top rope. Bella cringed at the impact.

Punk then got counted out, but he retained the title.

After the match, John Laurinatis came out on the ramp with David Otunga and announced that Punk would be defending regularly, and teased that "dark clouds" are coming.

Bella ran a hand through her hair in annoyance. John Laurinatis was the worst, and he was targetting Punk for no reason. The higher ups in the company had such a big problem with Punk being the face of the company for no reason at all.

While Punk was still down down, Chris Jericho emerged from the crowd with a microphone.

Then he took a bottle of whiskey out and poured it on Punk who was laid out, outside the ring. Bella gasped, and she could feel tears welling in her eyes. Chris Jericho had taken things way too far.

He continued cutting his promo on Punk and then smashed the whiskey bottle on him.

"I'm sorry Randy. I have to go get him," she told Randy, leaving him behind and going to the gorilla.

She waited there for Punk, but he walked right by her. She followed him all the way to the bus. He had tears in his eyes that never fell. As soon as he got on the bus, he sat on the couch and put his head in his hands.

Bella stood a couple feet away from him with her hands on her hips, not sure what to do. She didn't know what she could do to help him, but she absolutely hated seeing him like this.

Not knowing what else to do, she sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, rubbing his back. She wanted him to know she'd be there for him like he always was for her.

She knew he wouldn't want to talk about what just happened. Chris Jericho had made things beyond personal by talking about Punk's father and then assaulting him with whiskey.

Punk's shirt was soaked with sweat and alcohol, "You should take a shower, get all that stuff off you."

He nodded his head without saying anything, getting up and getting in the shower.

Bella didn't want to overstep, but she wanted to help in any way she could. She pulled out a change of clothes for Punk to put on and waited for him with them, on his bed.

He came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and Bella passed him his clothes.

He tried to muster up a small smile before going back into the bathroom to change. He had never been embarrassed like that before on live tv. His family should've been off-limits.

He entered his bedroom, and Bella sat on his bed with her arms held out for a hug. He gave her a hug, then laid his head on her lap. He wasn't really in the mood to talk, but he was glad he was on the bus with Bella. She never judged him.

After a couple minutes of playing with his hair, she was the first to speak up, "I've been thinking about what I could say to you, but I couldn't come up with anything."

Punk didn't say anything.

She took a deep breath, "You and I are a lot alike. We don't like to talk about our families."

Her lip began to quiver, "But tonight, you had no choice. You had to face a part of your life that you'd prefer to avoid."

Punk felt one of her tears drop on his face, so he grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

"You don't have to tell me about your life story, but I want you to know that you're not alone."

He finally spoke up, "Bella, you don't have to talk about this-" but she cut him off, "I want to. You already knew that I grew up living with Jade. But the reason I did was because my dad abandoned my mom and me, and she was a severe alcoholic. It got so bad that CPS had to interfere," she quickly wiped her eyes before another tear could fall. She had never talked about this with anyone but Jade before. She'd never felt comfortable talking about this, but it was Punk. In the short time they'd known each other, she began to trust him with her life. And he needed to know that he wasn't alone. He stroked her hand with his thumb wanting to provide her with comfort, "It happened when I was ten. I wound up in this hospital."

"Bella-" he started, but she cut him off, "Phil, I don't talk about this with anyone. It kills me to have to relive these moments. So if someone ever tried to tell my story, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'm so sorry Chris used your past as a weapon against you."

He pulled her in for a hug and she rested her head on his chest. Feeling his heartbeat was exactly what she needed to calm herself down.

Punk carefully grabbed her chin and turned her face toward him, so he could look her in the eyes, "Bella, I-" but she cut him off by pressing her lips against his. There was something about his softened features and inviting eyes that completely pulled her in.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he grabbed onto her waist. Her plump lips were bewitching. He never wanted to be so close to someone before.

She loved the feeling of his cold lip ring against her warm lips. He wanted more. He pulled her on top of him and with his hands on her hips, he pressed her against him, causing her to moan softly. With her lips parted, he introduced his experienced tongue to her mouth. She begin to grind her hips against his own, before she realized what she was doing.

She put her hands on his chest, pushing herself away from him, looking mortified.

"I don't know why I did that."

Punk tried to grab her hand, but she pulled away.

"You- you have a girlfriend."

"She's barely my girlfriend."

"I'm sorry. I have to go," she said, her eyes welling with tears as she practically sprinted out of his room and off the bus.

He didn't go after her, but he touched his lips with his fingers, longing for his lips to touch hers again.