Chapter Sixteen

Dave laid on the bed with his head resting on his hands trying to ignore the sounds of Hunter and Ric with their women of the night. Just the thought of Ric naked was enough to take him to his bad place let alone the thought of him fucking. So he was happy to hear his room door slip open quietly. Sitting up he watched Tyson's bald head peak around the wall. "You alone?" He asked quietly and Dave nodded waving his hand towards the empty and untouched bed.

"The baby is out with Jay and Jericho." Dave confirmed and Ty made his way to the other bed perching on the edge as he watched his friend. "Randy safe with them?" Ty asked frowning and Dave nodded smiling slightly. "Yeah Jay and Jericho are safe from Hunter's influence. Jericho's too smart and he watches Jay too closely to allow him to buy into Hunter's crap. Besides thanks to Copeland Hunter don't think much of them so he pretty much leaves 'em alone." Ty nodded and frowned at the sound coming from the other room. "So why ain't the baby in there?" Ty asked using Dave's nickname for Randy Orton. Dave chuckled softly flashing a rare genuine smile. "They had a big ol' spat. Seems the new chick wants to put the belt on Randy instead of Hunter. Lemmie tell ya that didn't go over well with ol' Hunter. He raised a huge fit screamin' and shoutin' and throwin' shit sayin' that Randy didn't deserve the belt."

Ty grinned picturing the scene. "That must have gone over well with The Baby." Dave nodded remembering the scene. "Oh yeah. To say that li'l Randy was disillusioned is putting it mildly." Ty rubbed his hands together. "And when you add it to all that shit you've been whisperin' in his ear…" Dave smiled sweetly and Ty laughed louder. "You are an inspiration man." Tyson praised and Dave grinned bowing. "Thank you… thank you very much." Ty shook his head at Dave's antics then remembered his reason for coming to see Dave in the first place. "Have you thought more about tellin' that new chick what's they have over you?"

Dave scowled at Tyson and turned on the television. "I told you there's nothin' to say to her. The second that she finds out what I did she ain't gonna be wantin' to help me." Tyson scowled in return turning to glare at the wall before turning back to his friend. The argument was old and had been fought many times before. If Dave weren't such a good friend he wouldn't bother, but he owed Dave for all the times that he'd been there for him over the years. This was one fight that he thought was worth fighting. "It wasn't your fault, Dave," Tyson said quietly and watched Dave's jaw clench.

"I killed a man. How could it now be my fault?" Dave ground out. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't intend it to happen." Ty said stubbornly. He knew that he sounded like a broken record, but they'd been fighting about it for so long that he didn't know what else to say anymore. "whether I intended it or not it doesn't make that kid any less dead now does it?" Drop it!"

Ty looked into his friend's eyes and sighed knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with his friend. It hurt him to remember the carefree man that he used to be before the incident. Dave was a kind hearted man that had been changed by an angry spoiled rich kid with a chip on his shoulder. It wasn't fair or right and Ty just couldn't sit around and watch his friend suffer anymore. People always say that he would never get over what happened until he learned to forgive himself and while that may be true Tyson felt that personal forgiveness needed the help from a forgiving stranger.

He'd already decided to tell the woman what had happened before he'd come to see Dave, but he wanted to give his friend one last chance to agree if only for his conscience's sake. He had sworn to Dave never to tell a soul what had happened when he got him the shot in OVW, and so far he had kept his promise. Standing he moved towards the door. Before he opened it through he paused needing to make one last effort. "I know that you ain't gonna listen to me, but I'm gonna say it any way. What happened to that kid wasn't your fault. I was there and I remember what happened even if time has twisted your memories around into a ball of self blame. It's a shame that kid died, but it comes down to the fact that he and he alone had the power to stop what happened. Despite what you and his family thinks you could not have done anything differently. Regardless though… you have made yourself suffer enough. You don't deserve to suffer that bastard in the next room too." Tyson quietly opened the door and slipped out leaving Dave alone to brood with only his thoughts and an old memory for company.

Across the country a man sat quietly huddled in a corner trying to stay out of the way of his much larger lover. He'd already received a busted lip, an eye that was already swelling shut, and several ribs that felt broken for his efforts in calming the big man. He should have known though. He should have known that there would be no soothing him this time. He should never have tried to hide the woman's relationship with Raven from his lover, but he'd always been afraid this would happen.

The big man's sanity had always been questionable but the smaller man knew this new information had only pushed him over the edge. He didn't know where the call had come from. The smaller man had been waiting for Hunter to drop the bomb, but the number on the caller ID hadn't been him. He'd tried to do his best by Sean's friend, but now he had to think about himself. 'Cause if he wasn't careful it would be him that ended up dead.

Read chapter Seventeen of ?? of Monster in the Shadows