Her Father's Daughter
December 17th, 2010
Chris Jericho hurried from his car as soon as he got to the house that Lita and Matt shared together. He was near positive that his driving on the way here hadn't won him any friends, but he didn't care. Lita had sounded ready to break down on the phone, and he was worried about her. "...now he wants custody of Jessica!" Lita's words flashed through his mind as he jogged up the sidewalk to the front door. 'That son of a bitch,' he thought, grinding his teeth. Matt didn't deserve Lita; he never did. Chris pushed the unkind words for Matt out of his head momentarily as he rung the doorbell. There was a rustling inside, and then the door opened. Chris took one look at the redhead, and mentally cursed Matt for his idiocy. The redhead's eyes were bloodshot, her face wet. It was obvious that she had been crying. Chris hugged her tight to her, trying to find the words to comfort her.
She hugged him back tightly, fighting the tears coming to her eyes again. Waiting for him to come, Lita had begun to think calling Chris was a mistake. She had, after all, just dropped a bombshell of a secret on him, without telling him what she planned to do. Her life was falling apart, and she didn't know where Chris or Matt fit in at the moment. Now, in Chris's arms, she knew she had made the right choice. Father of her baby or not, Chris was her friend, and he would always look after her. "I'm sorry I got you into this," Lita murmured as she pulled away from him, her tone guilty.
"It's not your fault, Lita," he told her firmly.
"I should've been more responsible... I should've known that my period was coming up in a few days. I should've waited for Matt... We already had Jessica, and she was only five... Of course Matt and I would get back together, it was just a matter of time," she trailed off.
Chris cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Listen to me Lita. Besides the fact that hindsight is always 20/20, I want to tell you something. You and I both knew what we were doing that night, Lita," he spoke his words calmly. "If we hadn't done what we did, Tara wouldn't be here right now."
"But neither would all of this mess," Lita whispered. "Matt wanting to take Jessica from me..." she trailed off.
"Matt is a full-fledged asshole," Chris said, venom in his voice. He toned it down immediately. "What I'm saying is... If it wasn't about Tara, it would be about something else. That man is always finding trouble with you."
"It's my fault he wants to take Jess away," she whispered, ducking her head away from his grasp. "If I hadn't..." she trailed off.
"Lita, you had every right to sleep with someone else. You two were having problems. He was sleeping with Dawn Marie or whoever!" he saw her flinch, but continued. "Listen to me, Lita. Matt Hardy has no reason to do this whatsoever, and he's not going to get away with this. I know you think it all has to do with the night we slept together, and I know you're regretting it, but Li... If I had the chance to go back in time, I wouldn't."
"Why not?" Lita whispered, finally meeting his eyes. Chris clenched his jaw, wondering how to possibly say this. He knew now was the time to put everything on the table, but part of him urged against it, insisting that it would just put more strain on the stressed redhead. Nonetheless, Chris took a breath, and then spoke.
"Because I think that Tara's involvement in your life is worth a lot more than you and Matt staying together for a little longer—you and I both know your relationship wasn't going to last that long," he hesitated, biting his lip.
"There's more," Lita whispered, sensing immediately that he was holding back.
"Yeah, there is," Chris said, and paused. He took a deep breath, and took Lita's hands in his. "I would never take back that night, Lita...because I love you."
Author's Note: -drops head in shame- I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated the story, and sorry it's so short! I hope you guys liked it though! Please, please review!