A few chappies in a row ... what can I say? I've got the story in me, and it wants to come out.
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Kane dried his face and unlocked the car, walking around to the passenger side to retrieve Lita. He lifted her out gently, cradling her head so as not to wake her. He carried her through the back entrance into the hotel, understanding how suspicious the scenario would look to the night watchman.
Once they'd taken an elevator up to the top floor and Kane had made it to Lita's room unseen, he quickly unlocked the door and laid her on the bed as soon as possible. Dropping her set of keys on the nightstand, he went to make a quick retreat.
"Kane?" her voice stopped him at the door. He turned around.
Lita was pulling herself to a sitting position, eyes blinking confusedly at the light. "I'm still pretty drunk, huh?"
"Yeah, you weren't asleep very long."
"Last I remember we were leaving the bar."
Kane sighed. He hadn't revealed himself after all. "Yeah, you didn't miss much."
"I guess not. The others back yet?"
"We just got here. It's only 12:30."
"Oh, okay, that's not that bad. Hey, can you do me a favor?"
Kane hesitated. That might not be the best thing to agree to with Lita in her current state. "All right."
She pointed to the red light blinking above her telephone. Kane breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can't really remember how to check messages right now."
"Understandable," he muttered but punched in the code anyway, handing her the receiver. "It says you only have one."
"Thanks," she beamed up at him, the angel, the Dragon Lady with mussed hair and liquor on her breath.
Kane involuntarily shuddered and nodded, leaving quickly.
Acutely aware of her own inebriation, Lita listened carefully so she wouldn't have to get Kane to come back over and show her how to replay the message.
It was from Rob.
"Hey Li, I was just gonna tell you I watched the show and how, you know, awesome that was and everything. Especially with bringing Dawn Marie in. That's what I love about you. You're so cool about things like that. Other girls would be weirded out about it or whatever, but it doesn't even bother you. Anyway, I'm back home now, so you can call me whenever you get this; I don't care how late it is. I just, you know, would like to talk to you. Later."
Lita stared at the receiver in her hand. Such a familiar thing, yet it now somehow looked alien. Rob's message had done little to reassure her. And she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about with Dawn. "Things like that?" Would did that mean?
She dialed Rob's number slowly with numb fingers, avoiding stumbling over the digits. It rang several times. Right before Lita hung up, she heard someone pick up.
A lightly Midwestern-accented woman's voice answered. "Hello?"
Lita paused in shock. "Hello?" the voice asked again, a little more irritated.
Lita found her voice and tried badly not to slur. "I'm sorry, I was looking for Rob, but I must have the wrong num-"
"Oh, I'm sorry, let me get him for you. He told me he was expecting a call."
"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting this," Lita thought.
"Hi. Still there? Okay, here he is."
"Hello, this is Rob."
"Hey," she stated blankly.
"Li? Is that you? You sound awful. Is something wrong?"
"I don't know," she replied shakily, biting back sobs.
"Hey, look, did Nicole answering the phone freak you out? Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned that before. She's just staying over here for a while until I've got a little bit more independence back, you know? That's all."
"So, is she like, a nurse or something?"
"Naw, I don't need that much help. She's from here in Battle Creek, too. We were friends in high school."
"Oh. Okay."
"Li, come on, don't make a big deal out of this."
"I-I offered to come take care of you."
"Li, be realistic. You would be miserable stuck at the house all day. And the guys there really need you."
"Yeah, I guess so..." she reluctantly agreed.
"So what's up? Besides shocking the wrestling world by bringing back three of the most popular women ever, of course."
"Yeah, that was something else I wanted to talk you about."
"Okay." He sounded as confident and unhastled as ever, but there was something underlying his tone that time, a kind of cautiousness.
"I was just wondering what you meant on the message, about, it was cool of me to bring in Dawn, or whatever. What do you mean?"
Even with the receiver pulled away, she heard him swear under his breath. "Li, I thought you knew about that. Hell, everybody else does."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the little meaningless, totally unimportant, so insignificant I nearly forgot about it thing Dawn and I had going for a while there in ECW."
"Wait a minute. When was this?"
"You know, the last few months before I went up North."
Lita's mouth moved in a gasp, but no sound came out. Her mind felt pulled in every direction as if by invisible magnets. She had to have misunderstood. This couldn't be the exact truth.
"But ... Rob ... I mean ... That's when we were dating."
"Yeah, but, come on," he pleaded, but he still sounded confident she'd given. ("Always so sure of himself," Lita thought bitterly.) "Li, it's not like we were really anything serious back then. Not like me and you are now."
"Nothing serious, Rob?" Her voice had gone cold, which was a bad sign for both of them. A bad sign for anyone within a mile radius, in fact. "Sorry, Rob, if I'm overreacting, but I was under the impression that sleeping with someone made it pretty serious."
"Come on, we were both a lot younger and stupider back then. Things have changed now."
"No, apparently things don't change much at all. You and Nicole have a nice night."
She slowly returned to the receiver to its place on the telephone. She stared at it for a moment, and the tears came. Sobbing, she rushed from the room.
Kane was startled from a light doze by a banging at his door. He opened it to see his untouchable angel, his Dragon Lady, with tear-streaked make-up and bloodshot eyes crumpled sobbing against the wall.
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Okay, so things are getting crazy. I blame everything that ever goes wrong on the stupidity of a boy or the coldness of a girl. Often it's the combination of both. Anyway, I'd like to hear your opinions on the subject.
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Kane dried his face and unlocked the car, walking around to the passenger side to retrieve Lita. He lifted her out gently, cradling her head so as not to wake her. He carried her through the back entrance into the hotel, understanding how suspicious the scenario would look to the night watchman.
Once they'd taken an elevator up to the top floor and Kane had made it to Lita's room unseen, he quickly unlocked the door and laid her on the bed as soon as possible. Dropping her set of keys on the nightstand, he went to make a quick retreat.
"Kane?" her voice stopped him at the door. He turned around.
Lita was pulling herself to a sitting position, eyes blinking confusedly at the light. "I'm still pretty drunk, huh?"
"Yeah, you weren't asleep very long."
"Last I remember we were leaving the bar."
Kane sighed. He hadn't revealed himself after all. "Yeah, you didn't miss much."
"I guess not. The others back yet?"
"We just got here. It's only 12:30."
"Oh, okay, that's not that bad. Hey, can you do me a favor?"
Kane hesitated. That might not be the best thing to agree to with Lita in her current state. "All right."
She pointed to the red light blinking above her telephone. Kane breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can't really remember how to check messages right now."
"Understandable," he muttered but punched in the code anyway, handing her the receiver. "It says you only have one."
"Thanks," she beamed up at him, the angel, the Dragon Lady with mussed hair and liquor on her breath.
Kane involuntarily shuddered and nodded, leaving quickly.
Acutely aware of her own inebriation, Lita listened carefully so she wouldn't have to get Kane to come back over and show her how to replay the message.
It was from Rob.
"Hey Li, I was just gonna tell you I watched the show and how, you know, awesome that was and everything. Especially with bringing Dawn Marie in. That's what I love about you. You're so cool about things like that. Other girls would be weirded out about it or whatever, but it doesn't even bother you. Anyway, I'm back home now, so you can call me whenever you get this; I don't care how late it is. I just, you know, would like to talk to you. Later."
Lita stared at the receiver in her hand. Such a familiar thing, yet it now somehow looked alien. Rob's message had done little to reassure her. And she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about with Dawn. "Things like that?" Would did that mean?
She dialed Rob's number slowly with numb fingers, avoiding stumbling over the digits. It rang several times. Right before Lita hung up, she heard someone pick up.
A lightly Midwestern-accented woman's voice answered. "Hello?"
Lita paused in shock. "Hello?" the voice asked again, a little more irritated.
Lita found her voice and tried badly not to slur. "I'm sorry, I was looking for Rob, but I must have the wrong num-"
"Oh, I'm sorry, let me get him for you. He told me he was expecting a call."
"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting this," Lita thought.
"Hi. Still there? Okay, here he is."
"Hello, this is Rob."
"Hey," she stated blankly.
"Li? Is that you? You sound awful. Is something wrong?"
"I don't know," she replied shakily, biting back sobs.
"Hey, look, did Nicole answering the phone freak you out? Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned that before. She's just staying over here for a while until I've got a little bit more independence back, you know? That's all."
"So, is she like, a nurse or something?"
"Naw, I don't need that much help. She's from here in Battle Creek, too. We were friends in high school."
"Oh. Okay."
"Li, come on, don't make a big deal out of this."
"I-I offered to come take care of you."
"Li, be realistic. You would be miserable stuck at the house all day. And the guys there really need you."
"Yeah, I guess so..." she reluctantly agreed.
"So what's up? Besides shocking the wrestling world by bringing back three of the most popular women ever, of course."
"Yeah, that was something else I wanted to talk you about."
"Okay." He sounded as confident and unhastled as ever, but there was something underlying his tone that time, a kind of cautiousness.
"I was just wondering what you meant on the message, about, it was cool of me to bring in Dawn, or whatever. What do you mean?"
Even with the receiver pulled away, she heard him swear under his breath. "Li, I thought you knew about that. Hell, everybody else does."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the little meaningless, totally unimportant, so insignificant I nearly forgot about it thing Dawn and I had going for a while there in ECW."
"Wait a minute. When was this?"
"You know, the last few months before I went up North."
Lita's mouth moved in a gasp, but no sound came out. Her mind felt pulled in every direction as if by invisible magnets. She had to have misunderstood. This couldn't be the exact truth.
"But ... Rob ... I mean ... That's when we were dating."
"Yeah, but, come on," he pleaded, but he still sounded confident she'd given. ("Always so sure of himself," Lita thought bitterly.) "Li, it's not like we were really anything serious back then. Not like me and you are now."
"Nothing serious, Rob?" Her voice had gone cold, which was a bad sign for both of them. A bad sign for anyone within a mile radius, in fact. "Sorry, Rob, if I'm overreacting, but I was under the impression that sleeping with someone made it pretty serious."
"Come on, we were both a lot younger and stupider back then. Things have changed now."
"No, apparently things don't change much at all. You and Nicole have a nice night."
She slowly returned to the receiver to its place on the telephone. She stared at it for a moment, and the tears came. Sobbing, she rushed from the room.
Kane was startled from a light doze by a banging at his door. He opened it to see his untouchable angel, his Dragon Lady, with tear-streaked make-up and bloodshot eyes crumpled sobbing against the wall.
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Okay, so things are getting crazy. I blame everything that ever goes wrong on the stupidity of a boy or the coldness of a girl. Often it's the combination of both. Anyway, I'd like to hear your opinions on the subject.