An Angel's Inner Demons

Angel breathed a sigh of releif as she entered the Legacy locker room, finding it empty. After winning her high profile number one contender match with Maryse, she really need a shower. She walked into the stall and stripped out of her gear, thowing it out into the empty locker room. Turning on the water she let it spray down on her before she started removing the tape around her wrist. She'd always said that the tape was her way of honoring her father, but their was a must darker reason behind it. After removing the tape she looked down at the scars across her wrist, a dark reminder of her early teenage years. Seconds later she felt a hand grip her wrist, and looked up to see her boyfriend, Cody Rhodes, glancing at her wrists, a look of hurt in his blue eyes.

"What are these?" he murmured softly "I thought you told me you didn't do this anymore."

"Cody, those are old, just scars nothing more," Angel said. "I'm not doing that anymore.

"They don't look old" Cody murmured, running his finger over one scar that looked particularly fresh "I don't remember this one."

"It's always been there," Angel said quickly. "I wouldn't go back to that."

"Angel!" Cody tried to argue back but she wrenched her arm away and ran off before he could say another word.

Angel couldn't let Cody find out she'd gone back to cutting again. She couldn't let anyone know how truly iunstable her relationship with her father was.

"Angel?" Cody had come to her hotel room and was knocking persistently "Angel let me in, we need to talk!"

Angel sighed softly, opening the door.

"I don't want to talk about it," Angel said.

Cody looked at her arms and noticed with sadness that there was a thick armband covering her one wrist "Angel..." his voice was full of sadness "Please..." he laid a tender hand on her cheek "Don't shut me out with this, I'm begging you."

"I can't talk about it Cody, I just can't!" Angel said, her eyes becoming misty.

"Angel WHY?" Now Cody's eyes were filling with tears "I want to help you, why won't you let me?"

"It has nothing to do with you Cody, I just.......nobody can ever know the truth," Angel said softly.

"Nobody?" Cody's lisp became very pronounced "Not even someone who loves you?"

"Nobody, not now, not ever," Angel said.

"Angel PLEASE tell me!" Cody was growing desperate "If you don't let me in...you'll lose me."

"Cody.......don't......don't say that, don't leave me!" Angel pleaded.

"Then tell me what's going on!" Cody pleaded "We promised..." he murmured softly "No secrets between us."

"I know, I know," Angel said softly. "I've just been keeping this secret for so long, it's all I know how to do."

"Can I come in?" Cody whispered "I know it's hard when you've kept something secret, but this is something you shouldn't hide."

"Alright, I'll try to let it go, for you," Angel said.

"That's my Angel" Cody whispered, slowly shutting the door behind them "I'm going to help you through this Angel, you'll see."

"I don't know Cody, I've been doing this for a long time," Angel said. "It might be too late to save me now."

"It's never too late" Cody murmured "I'm sure your father's said that often enough, look at his career, look at the low he came up from!"

"That's just it Cody," Angel said. "He's.....he's the reason I do it."