Jaylynn curled up on her bed, trying
to quiet the sobs that shot through her body. She had called
Stephanie and told her how things had went. She regretted telling
her about Shane smacking her, but she knew she had to for the simple
fact that they'd either have to figure a way to add the new bruise
to the storyline or cover it up for Raw and Smackdown.
Stephanie had been understandably
upset after hearing that her older brother had acted so
violently...or that it was all actually true that he was the one
doing the stalking. Stephanie had admitted that a part of her had
refused to believe it was true. And Jaylynn had to admit that she
felt that way too.
She still couldn't believe she had
overlooked so many obvious clues. She knew deep down that she had
suspected Shane, but hadn't wanted to admit it to herself.
Her bleary eyes focused on the clock,
"3:02" she murmured. It had been two and a half hours since she had
left Shane at the penthouse. She sat up, running her fingers over
the side of her face. It was swollen and she knew that she should go
and put some ice on it. Before she could move, someone pounded on
the door, making her jump.
"Who is it?" Jaylynn called out. "It's
Shane. I know you don't want to talk to me, but there's one more
thing that I have to tell you. And I think you'll want to hear it."
Shane McMahon said. Jaylynn hesitated. Could she really trust him?
Surely he wouldn't try something where so many people could hear.
With a sigh, Jaylynn switched on a
light and opened the door. "What?" She asked. "Oh God, your face.
I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It was an..." Jaylynn cut
him off. "An accident. I know. What do you want?"
Shane slid past her into the room.
Jaylynn hesitated about closing the door, but finally let it click
shut. "Jaylynn, this is so stupid. I only did those things so that
you'd realize how much you need me. How I could protect you." Again
Jaylynn interrupted.
"Against who Shane? You were only
protecting me against you. And you didn't even do a good job at
that!" Shane moved towards her, their eyes meeting. Jaylynn thought
to herself, 'His eyes look darker than I remember.' Then she caught
the small of alcohol on his breath.
"Jaylynn, you need to remember that
I'm still going to be your boss." Shane reminded her. "Not anymore.
I'm not completely stupid Shane. Not only is all the evidence
against you stored with someone safe - someone outside the company.
But I signed a contract today that gives Stephanie full creative
control of my character and storylines. You can't hurt my career
now." Jaylynn told him.
Shane stepped closer to her and the
alcohol smell got stronger. How had she missed it earlier? Fear
clouded her vision. This wasn't good. As if reading her thoughts,
Shane grabbed her by the arms and slammed her back against the wall.
"We can do this the easy way or the
hard way." He hissed. Jaylynn struggled, panicking. "Shane, let me
go!" She said, hating how her voice shook.
A sneer twisted the features on
Shane's face. Features she had memorized over time. Features she now
didn't recognize. "Then I guess you choose the hard way." he said
before throwing her onto the bed. Her head cracked against the
headboard and everything went dim for a second.
A moment later she felt Shane land a
blow to the side of her face again. Jaylynn kicked out but Shane
caught her leg and dug his fingers into her calf painfully.
Shane grabbed a fistful of her hair
before throwing her across the room. She slammed into the door,
feeling pain shooting through her body. Then strangely, everything
went numb.
Shane advanced on her again, but
Jaylynn landed a kick to his kneecap, causing him to stumble,
roaring in pain. Jaylynn scrambled to her feet, waiting for him to
strike out at her again.
He grabbed her by the throat, slamming
her back against the wall. The alcohol on his breath sun her eyes.
She brought a knee up, hitting the target of his crotch. Shane
doubled over and Jaylynn brought her elbow around to elbow him in
the head.
Shane stumbled drunkenly, and Jaylynn
threw open the door. Shane managed to land one more quick blow to
the back of her head, but Jaylynn refused to give up. Finally
escaping into the hallway, she fled in one direction, hoping Shane
wouldn't follow her.