PART 3
-Two
Weeks Later-
Lita walked back to the Women's Locker Room,
holding the pack of ice the trainer had given her up against the back
of her neck. Damn Molly Holly and her damn little sidekick Gail Kim.
It had hurt like a bitch when Gail had hit her with that wrench. She
should have known that when Molly drug Terri out to the ring it was
to get her to come out there. She knew that Lita couldn't just sit
around and watch a woman like Terri, whose in ring skills went as far
as a few catfights with Stacy Keibler, get the crap beat out of her.
She knew she would rush to the ring to help her, and she knew that
Gail Kim would be waiting in the audience. It had been a setup the
entire time. When they had given Lita the double DDT in the center of
the ring, she had felt a pop in her neck. She didn't think anything
was really wrong, but after her surgery she didn't want to take any
chances. When she went to the trainer, she was scared to death that
the trainer was going to tell her that she'd re-injured her neck,
that she was going to have to have another operation, one that would
require her to miss even more action. She hadn't been so scared
since the last time she had been hurt...
Then Christian
showed up.
He practically flew into the room, immediately
going to her side. He apologized for not being there to help her, and
made sure the trainer had ice for her neck. It was all very cute...
but at the same time, it was very odd. Even after the talk they had
had a few weeks ago, Lita still wasn't sure what Christian wanted
from her. She wanted to believe that he genuinely liked her, but it
seemed as though everybody in the company felt that he was up to no
good. Lita sighed, thinking back to the telephone conversation she
had with Christian's brother Edge a few days ago.
"I
don't know Li," Edge had said uneasily. "Christian's always
up to something. You can't be so sure you're not just a part of
some scheme he's got brewing up in his head."
"So, you
don't think there's any chance that he actually cares about me?"
she asked, and Edge swore he heard hopefulness in her voice. He
raised an eyebrow at her question... why would she care if Christian
liked her or not? She never did before...
"Lita, do you have
feelings for him?" he asked suddenly.
"What? I, I... no, I
was just wondering, that's all," Lita answered quickly.
"Look,
maybe there is something nobody else sees. Maybe he really does care,
and he's really trying to turn a new leaf, but I wouldn't count
on it. He hasn't given me any reason to trust him, and I'm not
going to start just because he helped out one of my friends," Edge
said pointedly. Lita sighed, nodding to the phone.
"Okay...
thanks Edge."
Reaching the locker room door, Lita pushed
it open and went inside. As she met eyes with Trish, who was sitting
down and talking to Ivory, she sent her a small smile. The blonde
woman quickly excused herself from Ivory, getting up and heading over
to Lita. She took her by the arm, leading her over to the television
in the room.
"Um, Trish? What are you doing?" Lita asked,
a look of great confusion on her face.
"Well, I saw what
happened to you in the ring, and I also saw this," she said,
turning the television on and pressing the play button on the VCR.
Lita watched intently, watching herself on the screen. It was video
footage from when she was in with the trainer a few minutes
ago.
"You saw me getting ice for my neck?" she asked,
still puzzled. Trish sighed, shaking her head.
"Just shut up
and keep watching," Trish instructed. "Now, I know Christian came
in to check on you," she said, pausing and pointing at him as he
appeared in the room. "But I want you to watch this... just keep
your eyes on him the whole time."
Lita still had no idea
what in hell Trish was talking about, but she kept watching. She saw
nothing about Christian that sparked her eye. Nothing at all... until
he turned away from her. There it was... that smirk, the one that was
ever present on the man's face when he was up to no good. Why would
he make a face like that? Lita's stomach dropped as Trish rewound
the tape so they could watch it again. This time, she paused the tape
just as Christian gave his little smirk. The redhead looked down at
the floor... maybe Christian was just out to get her.
"Oh...
wow," was all she could manage to say.
"Lita, I'm sorry.
I know you liked him, but I just had to show you this. I don't want
you getting hurt," Trish said sympathetically.
"I... I
know Trish," Lita replied sadly, hugging herself protectively.
Seeing the look of despair on her best friend's face, Trish pulled
Lita into a hug.
"Are you okay?" she asked, concern
gleaming in her brown eyes. Lita gently pushed away from her,
nodding.
"Yeah... I'm just going to go take a little walk.
I'll be back in a little while," she said, turning away from
Trish and walking away. Trish sighed as she watched Lita walk out the
door, pulling it shut behind her. These Canadian men were so
confusing. As much as she wanted to believe they were being genuine,
for Lita's sake, she couldn't shake the feeling that Christian –
and Jericho as well – were up to no good.
-In The
Hallway-
Lita locked her gaze on the floor as she walked briskly
down the hallway. She didn't want to say anything to Trish, but she
still had some hope left inside her that she had a chance with
Christian. That smirk didn't necessarily mean he had something big
planned for her, did it? Then again, it was Christian... like Edge
said, he was almost always up to something. Why would this be any
different?
Still, a part of Lita felt like this was
different. When they had talked outside the arena a few weeks ago, he
had seemed so shy, so sincere in his words. They hadn't talked
since then... even though they had agreed they would meet up and
discuss everything, neither of them had the nerve to approach the
other about it. And all the while, Lita had been waiting for him to
come talk to her, and planning what she would say to him. The time
never came. What was holding him back? Was he really that scared of
how she would react? All of the events concerning them lately made
him seem like he really did care...
And then there was that
damn smirk.
Even though she was no longer watching the tape,
she could see the look on his face as plain as day. So then maybe he
didn't like her. Lita was so confused. If that was the case, and
Christian really was out to get her, why? Sure, Lita was never all
that nice to him, but the two of them hadn't been actual enemies in
well over a year. What did she ever do to him to make him want to
plot against her? That reminded her of another thing Edge had said
during their telephone conversation.
"The thing you have
to understand about Christian is that he doesn't need a reason to
be an asshole... he just is one."
She just didn't
understand. Sure, Christian had always seemed to be annoying for no
reason, but Lita just didn't think anybody could be that cold to
someone that didn't do anything to them first. She thought back to
the past, trying to think of a time where she wronged him, a time
where she had done something to him that could have given him any
provocation to hate her enough to plot something like this. As hard
as she tried, she came up with nothing. She had interfered in a few
of his matches, given him a few hurricanranas, but that was about it.
Why would he – or anyone for that matter – despise her that much?
She always tried her hardest to be a nice person, so that things like
this didn't happen. As Lita turned the corner, she gasped. Stepping
back behind the wall, she peeked out and eyed her discovery, an
uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Lita's eyes
widened as she discovered something that very well could be
Christian's reason...
Standing up against the wall, talking
to the Canadian man, was none other than Molly Holly.