Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that are mentioned in this fic. They are the sole property of the WWE and themselves.

Chapter 8

Paul's heart broke when he realized that Trish had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red and her face was completely drained of color. He reached his hand up to wipe away a stray tear that still remained on her cheek but Trish swatted his hand away violently. The look of shock was evident on Paul's face.

"Don't you touch me Paul," she screamed. "Don't you EVER touch me again," she stated firmly.

Tears began to form in her eyes again as she began to pound her fists into his chest relentlessly. He grabbed a hold of her wrists trying to control her but shoved her back into the door, not knowing his own strength. "Oh my God Trish, are you alright," he asked with great concern in his voice. "I didn't mean that diva."

Trish became enraged at the sound of his pet name for her. She shoved him back with all her might causing him to stumble a bit. "Don't fucking ever call me that again Paul," she demanded. "Please, just go. I don't want to see you right now."

Chris enveloped her in his arms trying to get her to calm down a bit. "Trish honey, relax," he whispered. Trish's body was trembling from the incredible pain and anger that she was feeling. She didn't know whether to cry or to beat the living hell out of Paul.

Chris motioned to Jay for them both to take off. "Trish sweetie, Jay and I are going to go. I think it would be best if you talked to Paul alone." "You two need to work this out and I honestly don't want to get in the middle," he explained.

"Screw that Chris, I don't need to talk to him." "I don't want to see him at all," she stated furiously. She broke free from Chris's grasp, clearly angered.

Paul didn't know what the hell was going on. He was completely taken aback by Trish's outburst. He had no idea what he had done but wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Trish, you asked me over here to talk to you." "I can see that you are obviously pissed off at me," Paul stated rubbing his hands through his hair in frustration. "Please," he begged. "Tell me what I did to cause you to get so upset."

Trish looked deeply into Paul's eyes seeing the same pain that she felt in them. It broke her heart to know that she had caused it. He had no idea what she was mad at him about and she figured she at least owed him that much. Defeated, she nodded to Chris and Jay to leave her alone with him.

Once the guys left, Paul approached her wrapping his arms around her middle, pulling her tightly against him. This time Trish didn't push him away. Instead, she held onto him, enjoying the warmth that surrounded her.

The embrace lasted only a moment before Trish realized exactly what she was doing. No way was she going to crumble under his touch. She was beyond pissed at him and she wanted him to know it. She shoved him away again roughly, leaving Paul confused as hell again.

"What the hell is wrong with you Trish? First you're hitting me and pushing me away, then you're hugging me and now you're pushing me away again." "Tell me what is going on Trish," he demanded, his voice harsh. "NOW!"

Trish flinched a bit from the tone of his voice. She had never seen him get so angry with her before. It's not like she was afraid of him or anything but she certainly didn't want to see him getting anymore pissed off than he already was. She had to tell him now before he lost it completely.

"Paul, you want to know what is wrong with me?" It wasn't really a question but more of a statement. "You make me sick," she hissed. "How can you claim to love me so much, yet you are busy getting your freak on with some random slut?" She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to answer. He didn't even get a chance to think, let alone answer before she screamed at him again. "Well answer me, DAMN IT!!"

Paul didn't know what to say. He didn't know how she found out but he felt like the biggest ass that walked the face of the Earth. He thought that what he felt a few weeks ago was bad but it was nothing compared to how he felt at this very moment. Paul lowered his head, completely ashamed of himself.

Trish's nostrils flared in annoyance. "Who was she Paul? Was she a good fuck? Does she spread for Dave and Ric too or are you the lucky one?"

Paul was taken aback by the question. He had never seen Trish so infuriated with him. He wished that he had never done it. "It doesn't matter Trish. You know how I feel about you."

Trish rolled her eyes in disgust. "Oh please, spare me your sentiments. I see how it is with you. You're no different than any other man."

Paul was about to apologize again when realization washed over him. "Wait a minute here Trish. Weren't you the one that said that you were going to be with Randy? Weren't you the one that turned me down? Okay so I screwed up in the past where you are concerned but I am a better person now Trish. I tried doing the right thing by setting you free. What do you expect me to just sit around and pine over you? I am going to move on and find myself another woman to love me, if that is even possible. You made your decision and now you have to live with it. You chose him over me Trish. I had no say in the matter. I don't owe you a thing."

Trish felt like ripping her hair out. She was the one that said all those things. How come she felt so horrible then? Why did it kill her so much that he was with someone else? "Yes Paul I did say I wanted to be with Randy but at the same time it hurts like hell knowing that you are just screwing random girls. At least I have feelings for Randy. Can you say the same thing about your new woman?"

Now it was Paul's turn to become enraged. "Do you even listen to yourself when you talk Trish?" "How is it any different with me than it is with you," he asked, sarcasm radiating from his voice. "You spent the week with Randy doing God know what with him. How the fuck do you think that made me feel? You didn't even have the decency to call me once. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

Tears began to form in her eyes again as the reality of the situation was sinking in. He was right. She had no right at all to feel the way that she did. She was being completely unreasonable. She wanted the best of both worlds and it wasn't fair to either man. Randy deserved to have someone loving him unconditionally and so did Paul. She didn't deserve either one of them. "You're right Paul. There is no difference." Trish lowered her head in embarrassment. She was an imbecile. She was too caught up in what she needed to even care about their feelings. "I am sorry Paul," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I am so sorry."

Paul's weakness was seeing Trish crying. No matter how angry he was with her, when she turned on the faucets, his heart would break. "He approached her slowly, gently placing his hand on her shoulders. When she didn't pull away, he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his arms. "Trish, I am sorry too. I am sorry because I haven't been here for you as a friend. The truth is that it just hurts too much to be around you. I don't know how I am supposed to get over what I feel for you if I am constantly around you." "Please, you have to understand that," he pleaded. "I would never in a million years hurt you intentionally Trish. It just is what it is."

Trish knew that Paul was right. It was hard to be around him too. This storyline wasn't doing either of them any good. "Is there anyway that we can get out of this storyline? I mean I don't mind being a part of Evolution but this "on-screen" love story isn't doing either one of us any good," she stated unpretentiously.

"Nope, unfortunately Vince is very adamant about having it continue," he explained. "I already tried to convince him otherwise and he won't budge."

Trish pulled away from Paul's embrace, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was an absolute mess. She had been crying for the last hour and she needed to stop if she was going to look presentable for television. "Look Paul, I know this is hard for the both of us. We just have to figure out a way to make our friendship work." "I am lost without you in my life," she confessed. "I promise that I will try and contain my jealousy. You just have no idea what it felt like when I walked into your locker room expecting to see you, hoping to maybe rekindle our friendship. I heard her call out your name in the heat of the moment and it felt like a thousand daggers piercing my heart. It felt like you were cheating on me even though we are not together. I know that sounds crazy to you but it is just how I felt."

Paul understood exactly what she was saying. The way he felt when he watched Randy and Trish dancing at the club made his blood boil. They were both going to have to get used to it if they were going to remain friends. "I know exactly how you felt Trish, believe me. I can't apologize enough for making you feel that way, even if it was unintentionally."

"Well I am sorry too Paul. I will try and be a little more discreet about my relationship with Randy. I don't want you to have to see things that make you feel uncomfortable. Neither one of us should feel that way. With time, I know it will get easier."

Trish stuck out her hand in a friendly gesture. "Friends?"

Paul took her outstretched hand and pulled her towards him into a "friendly" hug. "Of course we are friends honey. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

They both pulled apart quickly not wanting to stir up any more feelings. The last thing they needed was another intimate moment to pass between them. They had to keep things strictly platonic if they wanted this to work.

"Well, I better get back to the locker room. The guys should be arriving soon and I don't want them to get the wrong idea if I am in here with you, especially Randy. Are you going to be alright?"

Trish nodded her head. "Yeah Paul, I think that I am. It is going to be tough but I think we can both manage. I think the biggest thing for me was that you weren't talking to me and it was driving me crazy. I can't bare not having you as my friend."

"I feel the same way diva. I will always be here for you. Please know that."

Trish smiled sweetly, feeling this huge weight being lifted off of her shoulders. "I do now." She still wasn't completely convinced that she could keep her jealously contained but she certainly wasn't going to show it to Paul. There was no way that she was going to mess up their friendship.

"Umm Paul, just one more thing before you leave."

"Sure what is it," he asked questionably.

"Who was she?"

Paul shook his head in disbelief. "You never give up do you diva? I am not even going to dignify that with an answer. With that said, Paul gently kissed the top of her head and walked out of the locker room, leaving her blatant question unanswered.