Part Four

"He's just really starting to worry me, Ames," Trish said, eyeing the redhead almost sadly.

Amy sighed as a thoughtful gaze filled her hazel eyes. A few weeks had passed since Jay had gone down with his injury, and the Canadian was definitely not handling the situation as best as he could. In fact, he was taking it worse than all of them had expected. Amy's greatest fear was that Trish would give up on him.

"Trish, I know first hand how low you feel when you're in that scenario. The best thing you can do for him is to be up his ass. Make sure he knows that you support him and that he'll be okay," she explained, thinking back not only to her own injury, but to Adam's as well.

"I am doing that," Trish replied with a nod, "but it seems like it's not enough. He's still drifting..."

"Trust me, it's probably not as bad as you think. There's no denying that he's really down on himself, and he will be for some time now. But I guarantee the support will sink in on him. He's a trooper, Trish... he'll be okay," Amy insisted.

Trish couldn't hold back a sigh, raking her fingers through her blonde tresses. She wanted to believe Amy, but her advice just didn't seem to be enough, not in this case.

"I just don't know..."

"Trish, just keep talking to him. It's going to be tough, but you'll lose him a whole lot quicker if you guys aren't communicating. I hate to admit it, but that's what ultimately caused our break up," Amy said, lowering her head sadly.

Trish glanced up at her friend, a speculative look in her eye. She didn't have to ask who Amy was talking about... she referred to things concerning her and Adam as 'our' all the time, even months after they broke up. Only that wasn't quite the way she remembered things happening.

"Amy, that can't be true. You and Adam spent more time together when your relationship was falling apart than you did while you guys were happy. You talked all the time," she said.

Amy sighed, rising from her seat next to Trish.

"That's just it, though. We talked all the time, but we never talked. If I had been there for him like I should have during his rehab, we'd probably still be together."

A sympathetic gaze took over Trish's features. Reaching out to her, Trish placed her hand around Amy's, giving it a gentle, consoling squeeze. Studying her closely, she arched a brow. If she didn't know any better, she'd say Amy still had serious feelings for her ex-boyfriend.

"You still think about him," she said.

Though she originally intended for her statement to be a question, the answer was obvious anyway. Amy nodded her confirmation, biting her lip softly. The two women fell into silence, and after a brief moment, Amy pulled her hand away.

"I'm gonna leave you alone to think for a little," she said, reverting back to their previous conversation about Jay. She sauntered over to the door, glancing back at Trish once she'd reached it.

"And Trish... don't let what happened to us happen to you and Jay. It's the worst feeling in the world knowing you have no other choice but to break up with someone you truly love."

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The redheaded diva pulled the locker room door shut behind her, holding on to the handle for another minute before releasing her grip. She took a deep breath, turning away from the door. She took only one step before smacking into someone, an apology slipping from her lips as her eyes became level with a man's chest.

"Excuse me - oh... hi," he replied anxiously, and Amy's eyes widened, immediately recognizing the voice. As if it could be mistaken for anyone else...

"Adam..." she breathed, glancing up to meet his green eyes.

Well, speak of the devil. The fact that she had been talking about him only minutes earlier made the encounter all the more awkward. An uneasy smile curled her lips as she tried her best to force a grin.

"How are you?" he asked, backing up a pace and then shifting back and forth from his right to his left foot.

Amy tore her gaze from him, her eyes fixing on the floor just below them. Part of her appreciated the niceties, and that he was taking the time to use them... but the fact that he didn't sound too sincere tore at her heart strings. Hell, just looking at him made her want to melt into his arms. She couldn't let him to do this to her.

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied with a shrug, eyes still cast downward, transfixed on her sneakers. "How 'bout you?"

Adam swallowed hard, a thick lump forming in his throat. He hated that things had to be like this between them. Sure, they could have been a lot worse... they were still civil with one another, and there was hardly any bad blood between them. But it still wasn't right. The reality of seeing her before him and knowing he could no longer touch her was torture. It was like an entire section of his heart was taken from him and held in front of him, just out of his grasp.

"I'm fine as well," he lied, after some hesitation.

Somehow he knew she was lying as well. Neither of them were fine when they spoke to one another. They could manage on their own, but seeing each other in such close proximity only ceased to remind him of what they had... and he missed it. He missed her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Amy lifted her head, tucking a loose auburn strand behind her ear. Her mouth opened slightly as though she was going to speak, but not surprisingly, no words came out.

"I..." Adam said, looking away as his heart began to beat rapidly against the inside of his chest. He took a deep breath, surveying his surroundings... and then he frowned. "I better be going."

An unmistakable feeling of hurt stung at Amy's heart, but despite the protests in her mind, she stepped out of his way. Focing a smile as best she could, she gestured for him to pass.

"I guess I'll just... talk to you later, then."

"Yeah..." was all he could manage to say, mustering up an awkward looking wave before stepping past her.

As he went on his way, Amy found herself again chewing on her lip... this time, in an attempt to fight the tears that had begun welling up in her eyes.