Chapter 12
John held the phone to his ear and hoped that this time Lita would answer.
It had been several days since Lita decided to stay at a hotel by herself and not with John at their home in Boston. It had been several days since they had even spoken to each other.
"Hey baby, it's me again. Call me babe, I miss you." John said to the automated voice response he was now used to hearing.
As John closed his cell phone he could feel sweat form on his brow. "Oh my God" he thought to himself, "I've really blown it". John had no idea where Lita was staying or how to even reach her. Raw would be in two days and Lita was scheduled to appear. He knew he would see her there, but that wasn't exactly the place he wanted to talk about things since the last time they were together. The only reminder that John had now of Lita was a slap to the face. Alone at night in his bed he could swear he still felt the stinging. If this was John 5 years ago he would have simply found someone to keep him company and get him through the pain. Anyone would have done. A groupie, a diva, anyone to fill the void of a warm body missing from his side. But John was a different man, especially since finding Lita. He had slept alone thinking of her. The days dragged on, but he refused to give in to temptation. The emptiness in his bed was killing him. He had to keep reminding himself that it would be two more days until he would see Lita again. What he feared most though was how long it would be before he actually had her by his side, in his bed and in his arms once again. The reality of that never happening again tortured John throughout every minute of every passing day.
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Several days later, Stephanie and Hunter were at the arena reviewing the night's show on last time before the first match. Neither John nor Edge would be performing although both would be at the arena. Even though each of them were requested to take a week off, Stephanie had made personal calls to both and demanded they be at the show. In light of what Candice had told her, she wanted them to be there. She was also sure to warn each of them that if either made any attempt to start another fight, they would both be serving a 90 day suspension with no questions asked.
"Thanks for helping me Hunter. You should probably go get changed." Stephanie said as she smiled at Triple H.
Triple H looked at her with an evil grin then scooped her up in his arms for a kiss. The simplicity and almost barbaric way in which Hunter demanded a kiss always seemed to turn Stephanie on. As Stephanie and Triple H lost each other, and the time, in their embrace Lita walked through the doorway. Both Hunter and Stephanie jumped when they heard her walk in. Each of them were just a little embarrassed for getting caught.
Stephanie watched Lita as the young woman stood with her arms folded across her chest. It was obvious to Stephanie at first glance that Lita was on some sort of mission. It was also quite obvious that she hadn't gotten much sleep. Lita was at her wits end and had made a decision she had been stewing over for days. In her mind, this was the first step toward getting some peace in her life once and for all.
"I want to be moved to Smackdown immediately." Lita demanded.
Stephanie turned to Triple H who raised an eyebrow. Lita continued.
"I'm tired of my storyline with Edge and I can't stand all the backstage drama anymore. If I can't be moved to Smackdown, then I'm quitting. I don't care about the Woman's Tile or the money anymore." Lita declared.
Stephanie knew Lita had been through a lot in the last few weeks. She didn't blame her at all for wanting to switch shows and she didn't mind making the change. But before she allowed Lita to make that kind of decision, Stephanie wanted to make sure Lita knew everything.
"Hunter, go get Edge and John and bring them in hear." Stephanie asked Hunter.
As Triple H walked off to bring back John and Edge, Lita's eyes almost popped out of her head. She didn't want to see either one of them right now. As far as she knew neither one was even there at the arena. Lita could now feel the strength she had in making up her mind starting to fade. It was one thing to make demands with Stephanie. It was a completely different thing to hold to those demands when the two people it would affect the most would be there to convince her to stay.
"Stephanie, I don't want Edge and John here. This has nothing to do with them. Lita said.
Stephanie walked closer to Lita and took her hand in a gesture of friendship and comfort. She wanted Lita to know that what she was about to do was for all three of their benefits. She also wanted Lita to know that she could be trusted in what she was about to tell them.
"Lita, there's something all of you need to know. This little game my brother's been playing has gone on long enough." Stephanie revealed.
Lita stared at Stephanie with a quizzical look just as Hunter returned with John.
"Edge is on the way." Triple H told Stephanie.
"Whoa, wait a second big guy, you said nothing about Edge being here." John said angrily until he saw Lita there in the room.
After not seeing Lita for over a week, John almost instinctively walked over to her to take her face in his hands and kiss her with all the passion he'd been saving up through the days, but he didn't. Instead he looked at her with soft eyes. He hated that she had been through so much and he was partially to blame. If only they were alone, he would show her just how sorry he was.
"What's up Stephanie?" Edge asked as he walked into the room.
Immediately his eyes fell on John's and the two shared an evil stare in each other's direction. Before getting too worked up though Edge turned away and looked at Lita. He gave her an awkward smirk only because he didn't know what else to do. He had been feeling like a royal ass over the past week and seeing Lita only reminded him of that fact.
"I know this is probably pretty awkward for all of you." Stephanie started out. Awkward was putting it gently. Stephanie continued. "But I came across some information this past week that you all need to hear."
Stephanie had been contemplating in her mind over how to handle the news that Candice had given her. She thought about confronting Shane with the news first just to get his side of the story, but the more she thought back to her conversation with Candice, the more she realized that Shane didn't deserve that kind of consideration. She could tell when Candice told her everything that she was telling the truth. Going to Shane would only give him a chance to weasel out of the situation. Stephanie knew that Shane would never admit to anything and would simply blame Candice. Now that Stephanie had Lita, John and Edge in the same room, she knew this was the right thing to do.
"It seems that my brother Shane has been using the three of you to make John look bad with the hopes that he could choose the next title holder." Stephanie said with a deep breath.
John, Edge and Lita looked at each other still unclear with what Stephanie was trying to tell them. Stephanie looked over at Triple H who gave her a nod. He wanted her to tell them everything regardless of the consequences. Stephanie took another breath and continued.
"With a little help, Shane set you up in Toronto Lita so it would look like John was hitting you." Stephanie revealed.
"What?" Lita who was sitting now rose to her feet. "What the hell are you talking about Stephanie?"
"You had someone to help you get drunk Lita. The person that was supposed to look out for you was sent by Shane to make sure you'd injure yourself."
Everyone knew Stephanie was referring to Candice.
"So that little bitch made you fall?" John got up and asked. He was infuriated and wanted to kill someone, anyone.
"Wait a second John." Stephanie said. "I've already taken care of Candice. After tonight she's no longer a part of this company. But in all fairness, Shane put her up to it. In order to prove his theory that you were hitting Lita he needed physical proof. He used Candice in order to keep his hands clean. I think Candice kind of got in over her head. I love my brother and always will, but I don't agree with any of this. You all deserve to know the truth."
"Love him or not the little shit's going to die." Edge revealed with anger washing over his already hardened completion. "He told me weeks ago that John had been abusing Lita but I didn't actually believe him. Then when I saw the marks on her face I went ballistic. It all makes sense now. Son of a bitch!"
All three were shocked by the news. All three had been lied to and made fools of. Worse yet, all three had their lives fucked with and turned upside down.
While Triple H and Stephanie tried calming Edge, John and Lita down, Shane unknowingly walked into the room without realizing the circumstances he was intruding on.
"Steph, dad needs you in the control room." He said nonchalantly and was greeted by the faces of three angry wrestlers.
John was the first to head in his direction.
"You son of a bitch!" He said as he went after him with his fists clenched.
But before John could get to him, Triple H cut him off.
"Whoa, whoa whoa. Temper John. What the hell are you so upset for?" Shane asked, truly not knowing that Stephanie had just told them what he had done.
"Wouldn't you like to know you asshole." Edge said. Now it was his turn to go after Shane, but again, Triple H stopped him
It was clear by now to Shane that he needed to get out of there quickly. As he backed away with his hands raised in the air he thanked his lucky stars that Triple H was there to save his ass. Triple H could care less about Shane, but at the same time he didn't want to have to deal with what little would have remained of him had John and Edge been able to get to him. They had a show to do and there was no time for revenge now.
"You people are crazy. Stephanie, you need to get more of a handle on the talent around her." Shane said as he finally turned to leave.
This time Lita went after him, but Stephanie was able to hold her back before she got too far.
"Beating him up now won't prove anything." Stephanie said trying to calm everyone down.
"Maybe not but it sure the fuck will feel good." Edge returned harshly.
"Let me take care of Shane. You guys need to take care of yourselves." Stephanie maintained. "Lita, you have the first match. After that you're free to leave. We can talk later about Smackdown but I want you to think a little longer before making a final decision. Edge, John I want you both to head back to the hotel. I'll see you all next week."
As Stephanie and Triple H headed out the door to get ready for the show, Lita, Edge and John stood before each other with out words.
Edge scratched the back of his head. He looked over at John briefly and then moved over to Lita and grabbed her hand softly.
"I'm sorry Lita, I should have listened to you." He told her.
John watched him carefully. Even with the news that Shane had been playing with their minds the whole time, John still had issues he knew he would need to overcome. Edge cared for Lita. If all of this proved anything, it was that. John would simply have to live with that fact.
As Edge gave Lita one last glance he looked to John and gave him a nod. It was his way of saying that he held no hard feelings toward the man.
"If you decide you want to take Shane out bro, I got your back." Edge told him with a smirk and then left.
And now there were two.