Part Three

Lita sat listlessly on the steps to the large house, subconsciously biting her fingernails. She had been sitting there now for over an hour, not able to get the nerve to knock. Hell, she didn't even know if Matt was home or not. No matter, she wasn't sure she could face him again anyhow.

It'd been two days. Two long days without sleeping or eating for that matter. Two days of tears, of fear, and of worry. She was beyond tired, and was sure she looked like hell. It was certainly how she felt.

She'd flown home yesterday, choosing a later flight to ensure she wouldn't be on the same flight as Matt. It wasn't her preference, far from it. She wanted nothing more than to talk with him, to explain her actions and convince him that she acted out of love for him. But she knew him, knew he was dealing with this in his own way. Matt had never been one for displaying his feelings openly. It'd taken a lot of time for him to come around to being as open with Lita as he'd grown to be. And she'd loved him for that.

And for that same reason she also knew she needed to give him a little bit of breathing space. But after having thought back on the altercation with Kane in the parking lot, Lita knew she couldn't delay talking with Matt too long. His health and safety, as well as her own, depended on it.

Turning her head, she strained to hear any sign of life within the house. There was none. Pushing her hands against her knees, she rose to her feet, sighing in defeat. He wasn't home, and she only hoped he was somewhere safe. She didn't trust Kane. She wouldn't put it past the monster to come to North Carolina and attack Matt or herself after the way she defied him in the parking garage. Thinking about that nightmare of a conversation again, she knew that
the large man was maniacal enough to follow through with his threats to put Matt in a wheelchair for good. Lord knows he'd tortured her boyfriend enough. She supposed now he may be her ex-boyfriend, a thought that brought a fresh round of tears to her eyes.

Wiping her eyes, she moved slowly towards the driveway and to her car. She'd come back later. Maybe Matt would be home in a bit. Perhaps he was with Jeff and Beth, Shane, or his dad. She hoped he was with people who loved him as she did. He deserved that much. Just as she was opening her door to leave, she heard the familiar sound of an engine coming down the lonely country road. Her breath caught in her throat as he turned into the driveway and slowly pulled up beside her. She dropped her head as he slowly climbed out
of his own car, knowing his eyes were burning into the sight of her standing there.

Well, here goes nothing... and everything, she thought.

"Lita."

She looked up at him, her teary hazel eyes meeting his own dark chocolate ones. The emotion held within them was unmistakable, making them even deeper pools of brown. "M...Matt," she finally spoke. "I was hoping maybe we could talk for a few minutes."

The elder Hardy just nodded, acknowledging the fact that sooner or later, they were going to have to talk about the mess they were in. "Yeah, I suppose," he admitted. "You wanna come inside?"

Lita shook her head negatively. "No, that's ok." She pointed to the porch steps once more and moved to sit down once more. "Here's fine." Matt come over and carefully sat down beside her. Lita noticed how he still favored his sore knee and frowned.

"So," she began.

"So," he echoed.

The tension was awkward, a situation the two had never experienced before. Finally, Matt looked at Lita closely, noticing her puffy dark eyes and pale skin for the first time.

"Lita, are you doing ok?"

She was surprised by the question, figuring he'd start yelling at her or something. She'd kind of hoped he would. She didn't expect even an ounce of compassion. "Yeah, fine."

"You don't look so fine. But I guess given the circumstances..."

"Well, I haven't exactly slept since... you know."

Matt run his hands through his hair anxiously. "That's not good for you. You know, in your condition."

"I'll be fine Matt. But thanks. Um, how are you doing?"

"Rotten," he said. "Lita, I just don't understand how you could... could do such a thing." He spoke softly, his words stinging with hurt now more than anger. "I thought you loved me."

"I do Matt. I do love you." Her voice was filled with a sense of urgency. "It's because I love you that I had to do whatever it took to protect you."

"Dangit, Lita," his eyes flashed. "You didn't have to sacrifice yourself. Do you know how I feel, knowing that he touched you? Knowing that he was intimate with you?"

Lita felt queasiness in her stomach at the memories that Matt was recalling. "I.. I.." she started, but Matt cut her off.

"I'm supposed to protect you, Lita. Not the other way around. Not that way. What kind of man am I if I can't protect the woman I love from such a vile monster?"

"Matt, I was scared. I didn't know what to do. He'd already hurt you so badly. I know you wanted to protect me, that you have your pride. But you can only do so much against that monster. And when he had you trapped in that chair, choking the life out of you in the ring, it scared me to my very core. You were unconscious, Matt. He was killing you. You couldn't breath. I just reacted... I just gave in. It was the only way I could see to get him to stop harassing you. To finally leave us alone." The tears rolled freely once more
down her face.

"But why did you go with him? Why didn't you tell me what he'd asked you to do? We would've figured something out Lita. You didn't have to go through with it."

"Matt," she was crying hard now. "He... he told me if I said anything to you, you'd take your last breath. And he meant it. As soon as the show ended, he forced me to leave with him right then. I didn't even get to check on you, to make sure you were going to be alright. I was so worried, and so scared."

"Oh God," he murmured, realization dawning. "That's why I couldn't find you that week, wasn't it?"

Lita nodded. Taking a deep breath, her words spilled from her
heart. "Matt, we weren't together yet. I didn't cheat on you. We were just starting to relate again. It was while I was trapped with that... that beast that I realized again that I truly never stopped loving you. That the things you'd done to help me were truly coming from your heart. And I swore if I got back to you, I'd love you the way I use to once more. The way you deserve. And I do love you that way. What I did – I just wanted it to be over, so we could go on with our lives."

Matt sighed. "Lita, this is all just so hard. I have so many emotions. I can't concentrate. I can't think."

"I know."

"But the baby, it could really be his?"

"Yeah," came the soft reply. She reached for her stomach unconsciously. "It was horrible Matt. What he did."

Matt swallowed hard, tears of his own threatening to spill over. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head violently. "No. I can't. Not yet. Maybe not ever." She broke down again, dropping her head to her knees.

Matt reached behind her, pulling her to him, hugging her tightly. After a long moment, she pulled away, calming her sobs. Holding his face between her hands, she looked him squarely in the eye. "Matt, this baby isn't Kane's. It's yours."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do," she said, reaching to take his hand. She gently pulled it over her heart. "In here."

"Lita, I'm so confused. I want to believe that it's my baby. But I can't get past ... all that's happened. Not now anyway."

Lita dropped her head, understanding his feelings. "I know," she whispered. Looking up into his eyes once more, she felt compelled to be truthful with him. She didn't want to live with any more dishonesty. Not anymore. "Matt, I pray we can work through this. I want to."

"Lita, I can't make you any promises."

She sighed. "Fine. I can't blame you for how you feel. I'll go now and let you be. But hear me out please. I need to make sure you know everything."

"There's more?"

She took a deep breath. "Kane threatened to hurt you again. He caught me leaving the parking garage night before last. You know, the night it all happened. He said he'd put you in a wheelchair for life. Make you pay for my transgressions if I reconcile with you. He implied he'd take away our baby."

Matt's eyes narrowed in hate. "I hate that jerk. Stay away from him Lita. I swear, I'm going to kill his sorry butt."

"I will Matt. I'm more worried about you though. If I don't-"

"Lita, don't do anything stupid. Or make any more rash decisions. I can take care of myself."

"I know. I don't know if he'll ever leave us alone Matt. But you need to know it's not over. Not yet. He's sick. And he's getting a perverse joy out of torturing us. I feel responsible."

"Don't blame yourself. Blame him."

Lita stared at the young man before her, amazed at how he was dealing with this whole situation. Her heart broke for him, for herself, and for what she hoped was his unborn child. In that instant, she made a decision. What would be her final decision to do what she could to make things right again. So that Matt could go on with his life. "Matt, before I go, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you through all this, for causing you such pain. I'll wait, if you'll have me. And if you decide you don't, I know I'll just have to somehow accept that." She reached up and caressed his cheek softly. "I realize that mistake I made, and the pain I caused. There's nothing I can do to change what happened, but I need you to know that what I did, I did out of love. It's ok if you don't love me back." She reached up and kissed him softly on the lips. "I love you, for always." Turning away, she stepped off the porch and headed toward her car.

"Lita?"

"Yeah?" she answered, turning around, praying he'd stop her. Tell her not to go, take her in his arms and tell her he loved her again.

"Be safe."

She half-smiled, disappointed, yet accepting. She got in her car and started it, not able to look at him standing on the steps. She backed the car down the driveway and left, alone once again. "Damn hormones," she sighed, wiping away yet another round of tears.

Pulling over, Lita mulled over the idea that had niggled at the back of her brain all day. Coming to a decision, she decided to follow through on her idea. Her idea that would protect Matt, herself, and she hoped their baby. It would be the ultimate sacrifice. One she hoped that Matt would someday forgive her for. Again, she would act out of love. Pulling back on the road, she drove towards her home. She had a lot of planning to do.

To be continued.....................