Brooke stood outside the courtroom doors, Zack standing next to her. She took a deep breath.

"It's going to be okay," Zack assured her, reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

She just nodded. "Yeah...Yeah, you're right."

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she pushed the doors open, and they walked into the building.

"Today, Zack and I are going to my hearing concerning my restraining order against Jace," Brooke explained. "If everything goes well, I shouldn't have to see Jace ever again. I can finally live in peace."

Now that they were actually inside the building, Brooke stopped again.  She stared for a few more seconds, and as she was about to walk again, the doors behind her opened.

"Hey there, Brooke."

She didn't move, and Zack was squeezing her hand again.  She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh.

"I don't want to talk to you, Jace."

She heard his footsteps, but Zack let go of her hand and turned around.  Brooke opened her eyes, and saw the scene before her.  Zack was staring down Jace, who wasn't as close as she'd expected, probably not wanting to be too close to Zack.

Suddenly, she started talking, surprising not just the guys, but herself.

"Jace, I have let you control my life for too long." When he raised an eyebrow and smirked, she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue.  But Zack gave her a reassuring look, so she did. "We dated for two years, and even after we broke up, I let my fear of you control me.  I never wanted to do anything; I was afraid you'd  be wherever I went.  Even when I got the restraining order, I wasn't sure you'd actually stay away from me.  You were never one for obeying the law.

"But now, I have Zack, and I'm working on making myself the person I was before you came into my life, destroying everything.  You ruined my life.  People always say to forgive and forget, but I can't and I won't.  I'm letting you go, Jace.  I've given you enough of my time.  I'm not letting you control me anymore.  I hope the next girl realizes how much of an asshole you are before it's too late."

Jace looked surprised, and it was quiet for a little while.  When it looked like he was finally going to speak up, Zack beat him to it.

He looked at Brooke. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Brooke and Zack turned around and walked into the courtroom, leaving Jace to think about what she'd just said.

***

"See? Everything went fine."

Brooke and Zack exited the courtroom, preparing to leave. After they stopped at the hotel to get their things and change into something more comfortable, they were going to head to the next city.

Brooke's restraining order was renewed, this time for much longer, and the judge even added a couple of hundred yards, ensuring Jace was never near her.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just always nervous about this sort of thing. I'm always afraid they won't rule in my favor."

"Well, they did," Zack said. "So you should be celebrating."

She laughed. "I guess so. Honestly, though, I just want to go to sleep."

"I got up at 7 in the morning for this hearing," Brooke said. "I am not a morning person. Waking up early, combined with the effect the hearing has had on me, has me exhausted."

They found the car, drove back to the hotel, and took turns changing clothes and packing all of their things.

Brooke changed out of her dress into a sweatshirt and leggings, and soon, they were back in the car. Before they were even on the highway, Brooke had fallen asleep. After a few minutes, Zack could hear her soft snores, and he smiled.

"You don't deserve this. You don't deserve any of this." He spoke softly, as to not wake Brooke up.

He knew she didn't like being showered in compliments, although it was one of his favorite things to do. He'd try to limit them, so she didn't feel uncomfortable. Now, though, as she slept, he could say everything he'd wanted to say. Even if she didn't actually hear him say it, he'd be able to feel better by letting his feelings known, by not bottling up everything he wanted to say.

"You deserve the world." He continued. "Jace couldn't give that to you. Hell, I probably can't give it to you, but I will try my hardest to give you everything you've ever wanted. Your happiness is so important to me, and I love seeing you smile. It's one of my favorite things about you, your smile. I love seeing you happy. I don't know why I'm the one who makes you happy, but I'm not going to question it." He laughed, softly.

"I want to protect you from everything, but I know I can't. I know that you'll have to protect yourself sometimes, but I want you to know that I'll be with you every step of the way. You're not in this alone.

I love you, Brooke. I love you so much. Don't ever forget that."

***

"I don't want to wrestle tonight," Brooke whined, frowning. "I just want to sleep all day."

She and Zack were now at the arena, in Catering. They were filming a live event that night, then in two days was Raw, and next Sunday was Payback.

Zack laughed. "You can't do that, Brooke. That's not how it works."

"But I'm so tired," She complained.

"You just have one match," He tried reasoning with her. "When it's over, we'll go back to the hotel, and you can sleep for as long as you want."

"Fine..." She mumbled, standing up. "I have to get dressed. I'll be back."

After putting her gear on, Brooke began walking back to Catering. At the end of the hall, Hunter rounded the corner.

"Brooke!" He noticed her immediately. "You're just the girl I was looking for."

"Oh?"

"Come with me to my office," He said. "We need to discuss a few things."

Brooke followed him to his office, and once inside, she spotted Jon – the producer of Total Divas. She hadn't seen him since she'd been asked to do the show.

She took a seat, and Hunter reclaimed his spot behind his desk.

"This isn't about your match at Payback, so you have nothing to worry about," Hunter told her. "Jon just has something to ask you."

"We're finishing up filming for season one," Jon explained. "And now we're asking the cast if they'd like to come back for season two. Before you answer, don't feel like you have to return. We've already had one person say they're not returning."

"Oh, wow, I completely forgot that there would probably be more than one season," Brooke said, laughing. "But... I don't think I can come back for season two. I haven't been dating Zack for very long, so I'd like to focus on him. Plus, it'd be really nice to get some privacy again." She chuckled.

"It's completely fine," Jon assured her. "We loved having you on the show. I hope you'll consider coming back on later, though. We'd love to have you back."

Brooke smiled. "We'll see. My life is kind of crazy right now. I don't really have time to focus on the future just yet."

They all said their goodbyes, and Brooke exited the room. She had a few more minutes before she had to be at Gorilla, so she headed to Catering. Zack was where she left him, and she sat down where she'd been just minutes before.

"Guess what?"

"You're not just the Divas Champion, but you're also winning the United States Championship?" Zack guessed.

"What? No." She laughed, and he smiled. "I'm not doing Total Divas anymore. I'm on season one, and they asked if I wanted to come back for another season, but I said no."

"It's going to be weird not having cameras following us around anymore," Zack said. "But it's your choice. I would've been fine with whatever you decided."

Brooke checked the time on her phone. "I have to go. I'll meet you back here after my match."

"I'll be here."

She smiled. "See you in a bit."

***

I've never had a story make it to 20 chapters before aye :D

Brooke finally confronted Jace yay! I was inspired by the song Paint You Wings by All Time Low. I just felt like Brooke needed closure, you know? She's never going to see Jace again, and she needed to tell him how she feels.

(Here's the song, if you're interested.)

https://youtu.be/Gv_fLzIzvTg

And as always, be sure to let me know what you thought! :)