Nothing That I Feel

Chapter 6

Chris Jericho looked across the table at the restaurant at Jeff Hardy, trying desperately to conceal his irritation at the other man. Irritation, however, was not quite the word for it, not after what had happened this morning. The blonde Canadian raked a hand through his hair, silently recalling what had happened.

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"Hi, Chris," Lita said softly as she woke up. Chris looked over at her, smiling at her. They had roomed together the night before, and Chris was pleased that she had had a good night's sleep—most likely due to the Tylenol PM she had consumed, but all the same... A good rest seemed to have benefited her, a slight color returning to her cheeks. The ugly bruises still marred her body, but Chris felt comfort in knowing that she would be on the rebound soon.

"Hey, Sunshine," he responded, sitting down next to her on her bed. He had just woken up, and started coffee, the coffeemaker having woken Lita up. They sat in a comfortable silence, until Lita broke it.

"You know how you told me that there was a bunch of guys that wanted to help me?" she asked him, and he nodded. She fiddled with her hands for a moment before speaking. "Well..." she met his eyes. "What about Jeff?"

Chris hadn't said a word. His eyes dropped to her hands, his throat tightening. He didn't have the heart to tell her that Jeff Hardy refused to believe that his brother had hurt Lita. Knowing the answer from his lack there of, Lita bowed her head. A few moments later, they made eye contact. The expression on her face burned into Chris's mind—as well as a new distaste for the younger Hardy.

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"What do you want from me?" Jeff asked bluntly as soon as the waitress delivered their drinks and left. "I told you what I think. Matt would never hurt Lita."

Chris gritted his teeth in order to stop from screaming at the man. How he longed to beat some sense into Jeff... "And I'm here to tell you that's a load of horse shit." Jeff sighed heavily. "Look at me, Jeff," Jericho ordered, his tone sharp. "The girls went in and got Lita from Matt's dressing room," his throat tightened at the image of Lita, curled up on the bed in the medic room, bruises all over. "She was bruised and battered," he told Jeff. "God, I'm not lying to you. We got her into the medic room, and Matt came running in, and just about admitted that he was the one that beat Lita."

"Chris, I don't buy it," he replied. "Why would he hurt Lita? He loves Lita," Jeff protested.

"God damn it!" Chris exclaimed, slamming his hand palm-down on the table. "The only reason that you're denying this is because you want to keep your faultless world and not have your life interrupted. Newsflash, Jeff. Life isn't perfect. Matt is beating Lita, and you're doing everything short of encouraging him. Look at me when I'm talking! You refuse to admit it because you don't want to ruin that perfect world of yours. You think whatever the hell you want, but let me tell you this: you're hurting Lita. The truth is so obvious, and you're still going with Matt."

"The way you tell it is like I'm the bad guy," Jeff protested.

"Damn straight you're the bad guy!" Chris yelled, and tried to calm down. Anger raced through his veins. "You'd rather let Matt continue to beat Lita then help her!" he accused.

"I called Matt!" Jeff shouted, cutting Chris off from anything he was about to say. "He denied everything."

"Of course he would!" Jeff simply glared at him. "So, it's our word against his? You'd trust your backstabbing, lying scum of a brother over me, Benoit, Edge, Christian, Trish, Molly, Jackie, Stacy, Rob, Victoria, and Kurt? There are ten people to back me up if you think I'm delusional," he pointed out.

"Maybe you're not the one who's delusional. Maybe its Lita," Jeff said, and Chris gaped at him.

"I can't believe you just said that. I can't believe you fucking said that!" he said, his anger increasing. Chris stood up, every muscle in his body telling him to lunge across the table and beat the Hardy senseless.

"I-I didn't..." Jeff trailed off, and simply watched as Chris stormed out of the restaurant. He put his head in his hands, closing his eyes tightly. 'God... How could this have gotten so screwed up?' he asked himself, and swallowed. 'What if they're right? What if Matt really is hurting her? I'd never forgive myself if he was... But for God's sake, he's my brother! Maybe there's another reason,' he knew he was hoping for the third option out. He lifted his head, and leaned against the back of the booth. Jeff had been denying every word—every entirely plausible word—that Jericho had said because he didn't want it to be true. His own blood, beating Lita? He thought back to his words, and remembered what he had said about Lita being delusional. Jeff closed his eyes, and fought the urge to smack himself on the forehead. What was he doing?

No matter who was behind it, Lita was hurt. Jeff was her best friend, and he wasn't there for her.

Jeff threw a ten on the table—more than necessary to pay the drinks—and nearly ran out of the door. He had to talk to Lita, and apologize.

He just hoped Chris would let him.

Author's Note: I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please, please review!