For the next couple of weeks, Trish kept her distance from Dave. Every single time she saw him, she would head off in the other direction, afraid of what Christian would do to her if she even looked at him. Christian had found out that she was in his dressing room that night and she paid dearly for it. She tried to explain to him that nothing happened but he just wouldn't listen to her. He warned her that if he found her near Dave again, that she would regret it for the rest of her life. She knew that he meant every word of it too.
Trish was absolutely terrified of Christian. Her hand was still fractured and her ribs were still sore from the last time he had unleashed his fury on her. In just a matter of months she went from the happiest women in the world, finally finding the love that she deserves, to being someone's lap dog.
The only time she felt free in the past few months was when she was in Dave's arms. He was so gentle and caring with her, comforting her, never once asking her for anything in return. He was the perfect gentleman in every way. She was still ashamed of herself for misjudging him. That was exactly what Trish's problem was too. She had always misjudged men. The good ones turned out to be the bad ones and vice versa. That was why she was in this mess in the first place.
Trish entered her hotel room, immediately throwing her gym bag onto the table then plopping down onto the couch. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Her nightmares had returned and it was really taking its toll on her. The bags under her eyes were really beginning to show and even with makeup it was becoming hard to hide the affect it had on her. She was becoming thin and frail, a mere shadow of her former self. Even Linda McMahon had questioned her the other day when she saw her in passing.
Trish sighed deeply, her head falling backwards onto the couch in deep thought. How was she going to get out of this before it was late? She knew that she should just go to Flair as he had suggested. Actually she was surprised that he hadn't approached her a second time. She was thankful for it but at the same time she was confused. Had he changed his mind about helping her?
Trish glanced around the room feeling an odd sense of comfort. Without the guys, she was actually able to get some peace and quiet, not having to worry whether or not she had done something wrong. She was thankful that they had to head over to the arena early for a meeting with Vince. Even if it was only temporary, she was still thankful nonetheless.
This wasn't something that happened very often but Trish had an appointment that could not be broken so Christian had no choice but to go without her. Of course before leaving he had grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, warning her about betraying him in any way. Trish knew better than to mess with him. She knew the consequences if she did and it scared the hell out of her.
A knock on the door broke Trish out of her reverie. She had no idea who it could be considering that she didn't have any friends. It was probably one of Christian's ring rats, she thought. It made her sick to her stomach thinking about how he would go into the other room and have sex with countless women while she was forced to sit with Tyson and listen to them. It's no wonder she had no appetite any longer. The thought of it made her want to vomit right there.
Trish opened the door to find a very concerned looking Ric Flair. To say that she was surprised to see him would be an understatement.
"Oh My God Ric! You can't be here." "You have to leave now," she demanded.
Ric held up his hands in indication that everything would be okay.
"Don't worry doll, I know for a fact that Christian and Tomko are sitting down with Mr. McMahon as we speak," he assured her.
Trish didn't know how he knew about that but didn't bother to question it. Nothing surprised her anymore. "Well come inside then if you must."
Ric entered the hotel room and closed the door behind him, taking a seat on one of the stools in front of the breakfast nook. Trish followed his lead, sitting down next to him. She knew that she was going to get a lecture from the older man. She could see it in his eyes.
Ric took Trish's tiny hands into his own. "Doll face, what are you doing," he asked with great concern in his voice.
Trish didn't know what to say to him. The look in his eyes told her that he knew something. What that was though, she didn't know. Had he gone digging into her past like he had claimed he would do? Did he find out about her like Christian had? She began to panic a bit, her eyes becoming shifty.
Ric watched the expression on her face immediately change, knowing without a doubt that his suspicions were dead on. She was being abused, he was sure of it. She showed all the signs of a being a battered woman. He prayed that he was wrong in his assumptions but her face told the whole story. It broke his heart in two. He thought of how he would feel if any man ever laid a finger on his daughter. He would tear them limb from limb. Trish was no exception. He wanted to beat Christian and Tyson to within an inch of their lives but knew that wasn't the solution. Trish needed to find her own way out of this and seek the help that she needed. He would merely guide her along the way. The last thing he wanted to do was force her into doing anything. She had enough of that already.
"Trish, you don't have to say a word. The look in your eyes explains it all." Ric paused for a moment, taking a sip from his bottle of water. "He abuses you. I know he does."
That did it. Trish opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Instead, tears began to flow freely down her cheeks, indicating to Ric that he had hit the nail right on the head. He had hoped that he was wrong but deep down he knew the truth.
Trish launched herself into Ric's arms, holding on for dear life. She was unable to contain herself any longer. The truth was out in the open and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt a huge weight being lifted off of her chest but at the same time she was terrified. Terrified of what Christian would do to her if he found out. Even though it wasn't her fault he would blame her just the same. Then all hell would break lose and she would regret it for the rest of her life, as he had so delicately put it.
Ric didn't say a single word to her. He simply held her in his arms until her sobs became almost nonexistence, just as Dave had done a few weeks earlier. He no longer felt her body racking with tears, just a few sniffles here and there.
Trish finally pulled herself from his arms, once again, thankful that somebody had been there for her. Trish hated her stepfather with a passion and Ric Flair had always seemed to be generally concerned for her welfare. He was the closest thing to a father that she could think of. If anyone could help her, he could.
"Ric, I honestly don't know where to begin," she explained, the frustration evident in her voice.
"You can tell me whatever you want to tell me doll. I am not going to push you into anything," he stated sincerely. "When you are ready to talk, I will be here to listen."
Trish smiled at him weakly, trying to show him that she could do this. She had to do this. She wouldn't be able to move on with her life if she didn't. She was sick of being a coward. He was going to hit her anyway so she might as well be hit for actually doing something.
"Christian has me in quite the predicament Ric. I am like a rat trapped in a cage with no way to get out. I honestly feel like a prisoner doing time for some horrible crime that I have committed. I have to get out but I don't know how."
Ric's heart broke listening to the desperation in her voice. He had to get her out of there right now.
"Trish, you are coming with me. I cannot allow you to stay with him another minute." "Christian will not be able to lay a finger on you with Evolution around to protect you," he promised. "I will make sure I do everything within my power to keep you safe."
Trish knew that Ric meant well but she had no choice. She wanted to leave so badly it hurt but if she left then he would let tell them everything. She couldn't risk it. She fought so long and so hard to keep her past hidden and Christian held that threat of spilling the beans to everyone high above her head.
"Ric, I can't. My whole life will be destroyed if I leave with you."
Ric was confused as hell. He couldn't fathom why she wouldn't just get up and walk out the door, never looking back.
"I don't understand sweetie. Why not?"
Trish knew that he didn't understand. I mean why would he? He had no idea just how bad this whole situation was.
"Ric, I know that it doesn't make any sense to you but trust me, there is no way."
Ric knew that she was as stubborn as they come but to withstand beating after beating, it just made absolutely no sense to him at all. He went over and over it in his head trying to figure her out to no avail.
Then out of nowhere, the light bulb went off in his head. He wasn't sure why he didn't think about it earlier but he finally knew the answer. Christian was holding something over her head. What that actually was, remained to be seen. He vowed that he would help her and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Meanwhile, back at the arena, Christian and Tomko had just finished up with McMahon. Christian walked down the hall with a spring in his step, not being able to keep the smile off of his face. He finally was getting the break that he so deserved. A shot at the Intercontinental Title was exactly what he had been waiting for. Not only would he be getting that shot but also it would be against his biggest enemy of all time, Chris Jericho as well as "The Animal" of Evolution, who held the belt, in a three-way dance. There was definitely no love loss between he and Dave but being able to see the look on Trish's face when he beat the hell out of her former lover Chris, was sweet justice.
Dave and Randy arrived at the arena earlier than they had expected. Of course Dave going 85mph the whole way might have had something to do with it. Now they had 2 hours to spare and absolutely nothing to do.
After they put their stuff away in their lockers, they decided to head off to the gym and then possibly get a bite to eat before they had to report back. As they headed off down the hall, Randy was saying something to Dave but Dave was off in left field somewhere. Dave really hadn't been himself lately and it was really starting to bother Randy a lot.
"Hey man, what the hell is wrong with you," Randy questioned.
Dave had absolutely no clue what Randy was talking about. Of course he wasn't paying attention to him, the thought of holding Trish in his arms, lingering in his mind. She seemed so strong on the outside but inside she was as fragile as a piece of glass. He wanted to help her but couldn't figure out how to do so without drawing attention to himself.
"What do you mean man," he played dumb.
"Dave, I was just asking you what we were going to do tonight after Raw and you weren't even listening to me. You were totally zoned out man. What's up with you lately?"
Dave didn't get a chance to answer Randy because standing right in front of him was a man that he despised, a man that was doing everything within his power to destroy Trish Stratus. Dave didn't say much about it to anyone but he knew for a fact that Trish was in over her head where Christian was concerned. Something definitely was not right. Well he wasn't going to stand for it anymore. He was going to get her away from him if it was the last thing he ever did.
"Do you want something," Dave questioned in a sarcastic manner.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," he smirked, a bit of sarcasm in his tone. "You have something that I want and mark my word I am going to get it from you. Be prepared buddy, because I am coming to get your title from you."
Dave didn't back down at all. He got right back up in Christian's face.
"Oh you think so huh jerky. Well why don't you put your money where your mouth is then huh? Why don't we make a little wager?" Dave silently prayed that this would work.
"Alright, I will bite Gargantua. What is your little wager?"
Dave's nostrils flared in anger. He was seconds away from jumping on "The Creepy Little Bastard" for his comment but held himself back. This had to work.
"Well, since you are so convinced that you can beat me, why don't you put your money where your mouth is, or in this case, your woman. If I win, I get Trish Stratus and her services."