Don't own anything.

Well, this took long enough. I had relatives over, so I couldn't get on the computer much. But, this is finally out and the story is almost over.

I just wanted to say that the conversation later in the chapter might not make a whole lot of sense. I thought it was kind of cool, so that's how it is. Anyways….

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there. It could have been a minute, an hour, even a whole day. She didn't know. She just sat there, motionless, shaking occasionally. She could only sit there.

Her brain couldn't develop any real thoughts. Thinking was out of the question. Her thoughts were lost in the sea of events that happened moments ago. If anyone had come by, she wouldn't have known. She couldn't focus on anything. The world was lost to her and all she had was herself, lost as well.

The last person she had seen was Matt. She remembered that. The very person that she had hurt and might as well have destroyed came to her aid. After what she'd done to him, he still came. He still, possibly, cared about her.

She knew that Matt never trusted Eddie. Matt thought Eddie was no good, in it for himself. He was just using them. At first, she might have believed that because she didn't know much about him. But, after that day in the locker room when they first talked, she knew him. And Matt was wrong.

Behind his cocky, mysterious exterior lay a genuinely nice, funny guy. She was interested in everything he had to say because he was intelligent and entertaining. She liked seeing him laugh. He was enchanting in a way. All Eddie wanted was to be friends with them, and he felt that he could trust them.

Matt also suspected that Eddie was going after her. She didn't want to believe that. She thought that was ridiculous. Eddie wanted to be friends.

Maybe he was going after her. In a way, Matt was right.

She believed Matt now. He was right in not trusting Eddie and he was right in loathing him. Eddie couldn't be trusted and he abused women. She wished she had believed him earlier, before all of this happened, but it was too late. She couldn't turn back the clocks and prevent it from happening. The least she could do was lock Eddie up.

And talk to Matt.

The first boy she truly fell in love with and could see herself spending her life with. The one she trusted with all her secrets and could depend on the most. The one she let go.

She finally let her senses come back to her. She realized that her legs were cramped from the position she was in. She wiped her face to get rid of the tears that had stopped coming. She slowly pulled herself up to a standing position with help from the wall.

She looked around at the room. Some furniture was toppled over and some things were broken. She felt weak and wanted to go back to her sedative state, but now was not the time for that. She knew she looked terrible, with her messy hear and tear stained face. Bruises would start showing soon. She straightened up, got her bearings, and staggered to the door. She wondered if Eddie was out there, knocked out or ready to attack her. She felt afraid.

She didn't think Eddie was capable of that: hitting a woman. She knew he had hurt Chyna, but she thought he had changed. Who knows how many others he had abused before her and Chyna? Unlike them, she would have Eddie put in jail.

She opened the door a crack and looked out in the hall. There was no trace of Eddie, as far as she could see. She stepped out of the room and tried to remember where the Hardy's locker room would be. She didn't exactly know where it was, so she chose one way, and luckily it led to their room.

Amy started to open the door, but let go of the doorknob. She had forgotten that her and the Hardys hadn't been using the same locker room for months. How strange it felt to have to knock, when she'd used to simply walk in. She raised her hand, hesitated for a moment, then gave a light knock.

"Hold on," someone said behind the door. She recognized that voice to be Matt's. The same voice she used to love hearing. The voice that made her melt and still was able to do so. She was nervous and didn't quite know why. She was just going to thank Matt and then, most likely, be out of there. She didn't expect that he'd want to talk to her.

The door opened and then stopped halfway, when Matt saw her standing behind it. He was surprised to see her, but felt a little agitated. He stood there for a few seconds holding the door looking at Amy who was standing in front of it. He opened the door wider and Amy walked in. He closed the door, walked to the bench, and continued packing his bag. Amy stayed by the door.

Silence. Amy wasn't sure if she should talk first, and then where would she start? Matt had a thousand questions to ask and was concerned for Amy, but he didn't want to say anything. He was calming down from his attack on Eddie, who frankly deserved it a lot.

"Thanks," Amy mumbled then spoke louder. "I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" Matt asked looking up at her.

"For stopping Eddie," Amy said. "I'm not quite sure why you did it, but I appreciate it."

Why did he do it? The answer was easy. Eddie had it coming. All along he knew that Eddie was trouble and when he took Amy from him, he had wanted to get his hands on him. He knew that wasn't the most of it. What Eddie was about to do was wrong. It was a horrible thing for someone to do and Matt couldn't believe that Eddie had the audacity to hit a woman. And he cared about Amy. It would have hurt him to see her hurt.

"That's all I wanted to say," Amy said. "I'll be going now."

She turned to leave.

"Wait!"

She turned around surprised.

"You didn't deserve that," Matt said. "For someone to hit a woman, is terrible and wrong. No one deserves being abused."

He cared about her. Amy smiled at the thought.

"How long has this been going on?" Matt asked.

"It's the first time he was actually going to hit me," Amy said.

"What about those bruises on your arm? Were they really from the ring?" Matt asked.

"We got into a fight one night and he gripped my arms tightly," Amy said.

Matt growled.

"It's okay. I'm fine," Amy said trying to convince him.

"No, it's not okay, Amy," Matt said. "Don't you see. He was going to hit you, possibly more than once. Don't you see how wrong that is? The idea of anyone hurting another person sickens me. He should be put in jail for that. Why didn't you tell anyone or do anything to stop him?"

A few tears slipped down Amy's cheek.

"I thought I deserved it," Amy said. "All the names he called me, being ordered to do things for him, getting hit in the face…"

Matt had come over to her and grabbed her lightly by the shoulders.

"No Amy. You didn't deserve that. How could you think that way?" Matt said. "Listen Amy…" He was trying to get her to look at him. "You don't deserve that kind of treatment. You are a beautiful, smart person and most importantly, you're strong. You can't think of yourself the way he wants you to think. You can't blame yourself for what he did to you."

Amy had her head down as more tears fell. She had a great desire to be in Matt's arms.

"Eddie is a weak and selfish person," Matt went on. "Eddie deserves being punished for his cruelty. You, you don't deserve how he treated you. You deserve someone that will treat you well."

Matt hugged her and Amy could feel the love, that had never left her, seeping through. She wanted them to stay in this emotional moment. She felt safe in his hug. The thought of Eddie escaped her mind and only a comfortable silence remained.

Matt loved holding Amy again. He thought it would never happen again. He thought he had lost her forever, but they were brought together again. However, one nagging feeling was still left in his heart.

"I care about you," he said quietly in her ear. "I care about you so much."

"So do I," Amy whispered.

"I missed you," Matt said. "So much, you don't know how much it hurt."

"I'm here now," Amy said looking at him. His eyes were so warm.

Matt pulled away and frowned. Amy saw that something was wrong.

"I think, a few weeks ago, even maybe a few days ago, I would have loved this moment with you. I would tell you that I still loved you and that I couldn't live without you," Matt said.

He walked back to the other side of the room and sat on the bench.

He sighed. "I hated Eddie because he took you away from me. I hated you because you left me," he said honestly. "I loved you so much."

"What about now?" Amy asked quietly.

"It hurt," Matt said. He paused. "Things have changed."

"What are you saying," Amy whispered. "Can't things go back to the way they used to be?"

"When?" Matt asked. "When we were dating or when we were best friends? Either way, it will never be the same between us."

It was hard for both of them.

"I need time," Matt said. "I need to sort things out alone. Please can you leave now."

Amy stood there shocked, in disbelief. She looked at Matt, sadly, and walked out quietly, another tear falling.

***

The next day, Matt and Amy tried to avoid each other. Occasionally, they would pass each other in the halls, but neither would say anything. That's the way it was before and that's the way it would be for some time.

***

Later that night, Amy and Trish planned to go to a restaurant to get out of the hotel, eat, and relax. It had been a hard day for Amy. She couldn't stop thinking about Matt. She was hoping that a night out with her friend would help her keep her mind off of him. She needed a break from the heartaches of love.

"Hey, do you know who asked me out today?" Trish asked excitedly.

Amy shook her head.

"Chris (J)," Trish said with a huge smile on her face. (all right, I like Jericho+Trish as a couple, so I just threw it in)

"Wow," Amy said non-enthusiastically. "That's great Trish."

"It was so funny, but very sweet at the same time. He couldn't say anything to me without stuttering. It was very cute. He's taking me to dinner tomorrow night. He has such a great smile. Great eyes. Funny…" Trish said then stopped. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you this. You have your own problems and here I am talking about Chris."

"No, Trish, it's fine," Amy said. "You can tell me anything. I want to hear more about you and Chris."

"Ok…" Trish started talking again, happily, while Amy walked beside her quietly, nodding and smiling occasionally, even though she was only half listening.

They got to the lobby and Amy immediately stopped walking. Trish, who was in her own world, hadn't noticed and continued walking and talking. Soon, she realized that Amy wasn't beside her and turned around.

"Amy?"

Amy didn't say anything. She kept staring ahead of her, a look of hurt appearing on her face. Trish followed her gaze and gasped.

Matt was with another woman. They were hugging and laughing with each other, generally having a good time with each other.

Matt had met her earlier that day. She was a very nice person. They talked over lunch and Matt found her to be fascinating. So, he asked her out on a date. He liked her, but he was hoping that the date would take his mind off of Amy for a while. He was also hoping that it would help him sort out how he felt about Amy.

Until Matt saw Amy, he hadn't known she was there. He could see how hurt she was. He couldn't look at her and he felt ashamed.

Amy was frozen, too shocked to move. This hurt more than Eddie abusing her did. She wanted to escape. She ran out of the room, thinking what a fool she was for believing that maybe they still had a chance.

Trish watched Amy leave. Poor thing, she thought. She gave one glare to Matt before following Amy out of the lobby.

Matt watched them leave, a horrible feeling twisting his gut. If anything, he had just screwed up what could have been.

To be continued….

Well, there it is. Please r&r. thanks.