WARNING: RAW 4-19 SPOILERS
Returning to the Lion's Den
Prologue
'He saved me,' the thought swirled around in her head like a mantra. 'He had a choice: to save himself…or to save me—at a danger to his entire career.' Her boots clanked against the floor as she speed-walked through the hallways. 'And he chose me.' She turned a corner, spotting the trainer's room in view. 'Why?'
Lita slowed as she stepped by the doorway, feeling a sudden apprehension. The last time that she'd been on friendly terms—well, any terms, really—he'd humiliated her. He'd gotten her fired. It was only thanks to Christian that she was still on RAW. 'Linda was pissed enough at Eric to give me a job on Smackdown.' Yet, she was utterly glad that Christian had used his favor. Smackdown was not the place for wrestling women—only Playboy barbies still accepting mud matches and whatnot generously. Of course, Christian had only wanted to sleep with her—but, when she was oblivious, he was the utmost definition of sweet.
"Ma'am, are you here to get checked out by the trainer or are you here to visit someone?" a southern-accented voice jolted her out of her thoughts suddenly. She looked at the speaker. Lita recognized him from her visits to the trainer before—although then he was just settling it. He was a young guy, maybe about 19 or 20, with a mess of darker hair, and a dazzling smile.
"Um, yeah, I'm here to uh…" Lita stammered. She was unsure of what to say.
The man's eyes twinkled in merriment, and he smiled again. "Matt Hardy?" he prompted, and she nodded numbly. "C'mon, follow me," he told her, and she obliged. As Lita walked through, she kept her eyes to the floor. She didn't want to recognize anyone here and start a fight.
"How is he doing?" her voice was quiet and more shaky than she wanted it to be.
"He'll be okay, but he took a nasty shot to the nose. It would have broken if he didn't turn away from the shot. Anyway, as it is, he has a minor concussion and a bad nose bleed." He led her into a side room and she stepped forward tentatively.
Matt was sitting with his back upright against the wall, holding an ice pack to his head as he eyed the trainer. A tissue box said next to him, as well as a wastebasket quickly filling up with bloody Kleenexes. His body was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his dark brown eyes registered his pain as the trainer moved his leg back and forth. He didn't notice her come into the room, and for a while, Lita was content with that.
Studying him, Lita felt many emotions surface. Her eyes trailed over his face. Was this man the same one that had broken her heart not once, but twice? She could remember all too well the expression on his face as he screamed and ridiculed her in the ring after what she thought was her final match, but somehow, he didn't seem like the same person. The redhead bit back a sigh of frustration. She was confused beyond belief. Just by looking at him, emotions would rack her body. Anger, acceptance, and something she couldn't quite decipher.
"Lita?" he spoke up, and she almost jumped. 'Damn it, what is with me?! Kane comes after me for a minute, doesn't threaten me further, doesn't even TOUCH me, but fifteen minutes later I'm still jumpy.'
"Hi, Matt," she spoke back, keeping emotions from coming into her tone.
He moved the ice pack to the back of his head. "I suppose you want an explanation, huh?" he said, speaking more to himself than to her. Still, she nodded.
"Yeah, that'd be nice," she replied.
"Yeah…" he trailed off and looked at the trainer. "Can we have a bit of privacy?" The trainer nodded and walked out of the room. Silence settled over the two, along with nervousness. However, Lita felt a streak of anticipation.
She was finally going to get some answers.
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Author's Note: Okay, so it's not the best piece of writing, but whatever. ^.^ You know the drill: I own nothing but the story itself. If you want it, you can have it, I just want a link. Please review!