The sound of a heart monitor beeped softly somewhere nearby, steady and slow. I blinked. Fluorescent light stung my eyes, and the sterile scent of antiseptic was thick in the air. The white ceiling above me looked unfamiliar, but the pain that radiated through my ribs and arm reminded me exactly where I was.
Hospital.
My throat was dry as sandpaper, but I managed to turn my head slowly—and there he was. Cody. Sitting in the chair beside my bed, elbows on his knees, hands clasped. His eyes were red-rimmed, like he hadn’t slept, and his suit jacket was wrinkled like he hadn’t moved from that spot in hours. Maybe longer. “Cody,” I whispered, voice hoarse.
His head snapped up. And then—relief. Pure and unfiltered, washing over his face as he shot up from his chair. “Angel,” he breathed, stepping close to the bed. “You’re awake.”
He exhaled a sharp breath and gave a small, tired laugh. “You scared the hell out of me, you know that?”
I managed a faint smile, even as pain flared through my chest. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks,” he said with a chuckle, though it sounded a little broken. But then something shifted in his expression. The smile faded. Guilt settled in.
“I saw the video,” he said quietly. “Everything. Cena. Rock. What they did to you. That… that’s on me.”
“Cody,” I murmured, already shaking my head.
“No, it is,” he pressed, eyes full of regret. “I walked away. I left you there. I should’ve—”
“Stop.” My voice was firmer now, rasping but clear. “Don’t do that. This wasn’t your fault.”
He started to object, but I pushed myself up slowly, biting back a sharp wince as pain lanced through my side. My ribs were on fire, and my arm was stiff in a brace, but I needed him to hear me. “I did the one thing you told me not to do,” I said, locking eyes with him. “I let my emotions take over. I didn’t think. I didn’t listen. I let them bait me, and I paid for it.”
“You were protecting me,” he whispered.
“I always will,” I said softly. “But that doesn’t mean I get to be reckless. You don’t get to blame yourself for my choice.”
He went quiet. That familiar smile—the one he used to calm me down after bad nights—appeared for just a second. But I saw it. That flicker. A darkness in his eyes. Something deeper. Something colder. I narrowed my gaze, studying him carefully. “Cody,” I said quietly. “What happened after you left?”
He didn’t answer at first. Just looked down at his hands. His voice was low when he finally spoke. “I felt… nothing. I couldn’t even be angry at Cena. I just kept thinking about how it happened again. How everything I worked for got ripped away.”
I reached for his hand with my uninjured one, curling my fingers around his. “Hey. Look at me.”
He did. “I know this hurts. I know you feel like the world just took a piece of you and spit it out. But don’t let it changeyou.”
His brow furrowed, but I didn’t stop. “You are still you, Cody. The man who fights with honor, who never gives up, who makes people believe. Don’t let what they did twist that. Because people like Cena? They always fall. One way or another. The truth always wins. You win in the end.”
My voice softened, but my grip tightened. “I will never stop fighting for you. For what’s right. As long as I’m breathing, I’ve got your back.”
He looked away for a moment, swallowing hard. When his eyes returned to mine, there was a ghost of a smile. “Man, I don’t deserve a best friend like you.”
“You’re right,” I teased weakly. “But you’ve got me anyway.”
He chuckled, then bent forward slightly, resting his forehead against my hand. “Thank you, Angel.”
But even as he smiled, I could still see it. That shadow in his gaze. Subtle. But growing. Something inside of him had shifted. And I wasn’t sure how long I had before it took root. But I’d be there. Fighting for him. Every step of the way.
I was sitting up a little straighter now. It still hurt like hell—my ribs felt like they were held together with duct tape and prayer, and my arm was strapped in tight—but I wasn’t about to let pain dull the moment. Cody hadn’t left my side since I woke up. He was sitting close again, elbows on the edge of the bed, like the weight of the world was still on his shoulders. We were quiet for a few minutes—just existing in the same space. Sometimes that was enough. Other times, it meant everything. Then I heard the door open.
Heavy boots. Measured, deliberate steps. I smiled before I even looked up. I knew that sound. “Hey, boys,” I rasped, voice still scratchy but full of warmth. Kane stepped through the doorway first, ducking slightly under the frame like he always did. Undertaker followed, looming as ever, his long coat billowing around his legs like a dark storm cloud. They looked like they'd walked straight out of the shadows. Grim. Intense. Cody stiffened just barely.
Most people wouldn’t catch it, but I did. The way his shoulders tensed, the subtle shift in his posture. It made me smile. Everyone reacted like that the first time. Even Cody. Kane’s eyes scanned the room, locking on me. I could see the concern hidden behind the stoic expression. Undertaker’s gaze was even colder. Calculating. Protective. “We heard what happened,” Kane said, his voice low and rough.
Undertaker stepped forward, arms crossed, towering at the foot of my bed like a silent sentinel. “Who did this to you?” he asked, voice a low growl that could shake mountains. I didn’t even hesitate.
“Cena,” I said simply. “And The Rock.”
Their silence was louder than anything. Undertaker nodded once—slow and deliberate—then turned and walked back toward the door. Kane followed him without a word. “They’re gonna pay for that,” Kane muttered on the way out.
I just gave them a fond, crooked smile as the door shut behind them. “Love you too,” I called softly. When I turned back, Cody’s brows were lifted slightly, his mouth parted like he wasn’t sure what to say. “You okay?” I asked, amused.
He huffed. “Yeah. I mean, I knew you had big brothers. I just didn’t expect… those two.”
I grinned, wincing just a bit at the tug of pain in my side. “What, did you think I made up the part where I grew up in a household of chaos and fire?”
He shook his head, but he was smiling now. That small, tired smile I hadn’t seen in a long time. “They really just… left,” he said after a beat.
“They don’t waste words when it comes to family,” I said. “They’ll handle it their way.”
He gave me a look. “That supposed to reassure me?”
“Absolutely not,” I said with a smirk. “But it should scare the crap outta Cena and The Rock.”
I leaned my head back against the pillow, still watching Cody from the corner of my eye. “Told ya,” I added softly. “It’s gonna come back to bite them.”
He chuckled under his breath, but the smile stayed a little longer this time. My ribs still ached, and my arm throbbed, but somehow, in that moment—sitting in a room full of pain, with the looming threat of war outside—I felt peace. Because my brothers had my back. And so did Cody.
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