My Enemy's Enemy
Chapter 2
"They say to keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer. But what if you don't know which is which?"
Vanessa kept her head down as she walked through the hallways, ignoring the looks that came to her. She concentrated on her feet, placing one foot a ways in front of the other, shifting her weight expertly to the side of her body where it didn't hurt quite as bad.
"V!" she acted like she didn't hear the voice, keeping her head down so her blond hair shielded her from others' eyes. She felt a hand grasp her arm, and she reflexively flinched, not moving. The hand was gone as soon as it came. "Sorry," came the apology, and she recognized the voice, cringing inwardly at what he would say once she looked up. "Vanessa? Are you okay? C'mon, look at me, sweetheart," Chris Jericho said in a rush. She closed her eyes, slowing looking up. "Damn it to hell!" he cursed savagely, seeing the colors that danced across her face. She jerked backward at the volume of his voice.
"Hello Chris," she said evenly, forcing up a smile, hiding the pain that spilt across her face as she did so. He turned from his frustrated pacing to look at her.
"You're going to go back to him, aren't you?" he asked quietly. Vanessa closed her eyes and bowed her head.
"It's what I have to do," she replied glumly.
"You don't have to do it!" Chris cried. "If you go back, he'll just do it all over again!" He looked at her for a response, but all she did for a moment was open her eyes slowly. "He shouldn't treat you like…like he does! You deserve better! You can't just go back!"
"Chris," she said in a tiny, wavering voice, her eyes trailing to a spot on the wall behind him, "I love him."
"How can you love him?" he asked desperately.
"Love is blind," she countered.
"Yeah, and if you weren't lying, it'd have to be blind, deaf, mute, and really dumb!"
"Who are you, Jericho, do be the judge of who I love and who I don't?"
"I'm your friend!"
"Oh, really?" she snapped. His expression faltered, and he reached out for her. She stepped back, looking down to the left, away from him.
"I'm sorry, V, but you just… You can't go back," Chris said pleadingly. Vanessa looked up again, heaving a sigh.
"I really you could understand, Chris, I really do, but you can't."
"Why can't I?" he said, staring down at her. "I don't understand, that's where you're right, but maybe I can. This is all I know, V. If you keep going back, he's going to keep hurting you. Whatever you tell me, I know you don't like it. And don't try that everyone has faults bullshit now," he added warningly, seeing her mouth open. "You don't love him."
"I do!" she said forcefully.
"Can you look me in the eye and say you love him?" Chris questioned, knowing the answer was no, "Can you look me in the eye and say that you want to go back?"
"Chris," she said, meeting his eyes, "I don't want to go back. I have to go back."
"Vanessa!" yelled a third voice. They both turned to see Rob Van Dam jogging toward them.
"Nice of you to join our little love fest," Vanessa commented sarcastically.
"What are you two arguing about?" he asked, moving his duffel bag to his other arm.
"Why she shouldn't go back to that bas–"
"Nothing," Vanessa said firmly, cutting Chris off. She grabbed the handle of her suitcase. "I'm going to leave now, Test is waiting for me." Vanessa started to walk, but only got three steps before Rob stopped her.
"You can't be going back to him!" he cried, his eyes wide. She gritted her teeth, her jaw muscle burning with fierce pain.
She turned to face him and said calmly, "I've had this discussion with Jericho, and I'm not about to repeat it twice. I am going back, and that is final."
"But you can't!" Rob said, his voice turning into in angry tone.
"It should be my choice who I love and stay with, right?" she spat, knowing the answer.
"Yes," Rob admitted with a sigh.
She stuck her chin up in determination, "Then I choose to stay with Test."
"You can't! He'll hurt you!"
"He already has!" she snapped loudly, taking a few deep breaths as Rob looked at her, shocked by her outburst. Vanessa took the chance to walk away quickly.
Rob went to follow her, but Chris put a hand on his shoulder. "She won't listen to any of us," he said quietly. Rob sighed, bowing his head, knowing that Chris was right, but not liking it at all.
"You think that if we beat that idiot so hard that he wouldn't be able to stand, much less hurt her, she would mind?"
"I sure wouldn't," Chris answered, lightening at the image of Test with two broken legs. After a moment, he sighed, looking down the hall that Vanessa had walked along. "She'll come around," he mumbled, mostly to reassure himself.
"What if she doesn't?" Rob replied, a dreading feeling goring into his stomach. "You saw it. She's always going back to him. Does it really matter the number of weeks she's done it, in her mind? It's the same old routine, Chris."
Chris walked down the hall, keeping pace with Rob as they headed to the men's locker room. He didn't answer Rob, and mostly because Rob had sounded like the negative part of his thoughts that he tried to hide. He couldn't answer Rob, because he didn't have an answer. No matter how much he wanted one.