Pairing: Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus
Disclaimer: I do not own Chris Irvine or Trish Stratus or any of the lyrics of "How Do I Live" by Leanne Rhymes.
Author: Lindsey
Rating: PG-13 (language, implied rape)
Summary: Chris and Trish are learning the true meaning of the phrase, "moving on."
Characters: Chris Jericho, Trish Stratus, Rich Ward, Edge
Title: Moving On
How do IGet through one night without you?
If I had to live without you
What kind of life would that be?"How am I supposed to do this?" Chris asked Rich in the studio. "How am I supposed to write when I can only think of one thing?"
"Man, this is ridiculous! You can't keep wallowing in yourself! I know it hasn't been that long since she dumped you, but this is getting old, fast!" Rich replied.
Chris' head fell.
"And how many times over the past two years have you told me that you wanted to end it? She's no good for you, man! Get that through your head!" Rich yelled.
"I can't do that! I'm the victim here! I'm supposed to be grieving!"
Rich grew even more frustrated and left the room, throwing his pencil and legal pad down on the floor. Chris just sat there in his studio chair and violently tugged on the hair that was dangling in his face. He grunted loudly and kicked the soundboard in front of him.
Seconds later, Rich came back into Chris' studio and slammed a six-pack of Miller's on the soundboard.
"Here." Rich said and sat back down in his chair.
"What the hell is that?" Chris asked, confused.
"You have to get drunk. You write the best when you're drunk."
Chris didn't budge. Rich grunted and leaned over to grab one. He popped the top off of it on the soundboard and handed it to Chris. He took it and examined it. Finally he gave in, shrugging his shoulders and said, "Fuck it!" He turned up the bottle and downed it, gulp by gulp. When he was done, he slowly pulled the empty bottle down from his lips and looked over at Rich. He was satisfied and laughing.
"God damn, that was fucking good!"
Both men broke out in laughter and Rich grabbed a beer for himself.
"I feel better already!" Chris said, smiling.
"See, that's the Chris we all know and love!" Rich said and took a drink of his beer. "You haven't been able to do that in years. And you wanna know why?"
Chris looked at him for the answer.
"Trish!" Rich said. "She never let you have any fun, but you're free of that now, aren't you?"
Chris popped open another bottle. "Yes, I am!"
"Ultimate bitch!" Rich said.
He and Chris laughed heartily again and downed their bottles. When he finished, Rich picked up his pencil and legal pad from the floor. Chris switched the tape recorder back on.
"Alright! Back in business!" Rich said, clasping his hands together.
"So, we need to get this last line of the chorus finished."
Meanwhile, Trish was sitting alone in her house, on the floor of her bedroom, wondering why she had dumped a man she loved for a man she only had pure lust for. She grunted loudly and got up from the floor, stomping her way down the stairs and into her kitchen, where she grabbed her bottle of Vodka. In the most unladylike characteristic of her existence, she drank it fast, the remains spilling down onto her clothes.
"Trish, what the hell is wrong with you?" Adam asked from the front door.
This startled Trish and she dropped the bottle, sending it crashing to the floor in tiny pieces. She jumped back when she felt a piece of glass rip into her flesh. Adam ran into the kitchen, just as Trish grabbed her bloody arm.
Adam sat her down at the table and went to get the first aid kit that he knew Trish kept in a drawer in her kitchen. Trish moved her hand and saw the glass sticking out of her arm. That's when she first felt the pain.
"Shit!" She cursed, just as Adam came back into the room. He sat down next to her and proceeded to remove the glass from her arm carefully and bandage up the small wound.
"I can smell all of that alcohol on your breath from here." Adam said, angrily as he put the bandage on Trish's arm. "Why are you doing this to yourself? You dumped him for me, remember? Why don't we just go upstairs and you can take all of your frustrations out while we're fucking." He grinned.
She looked at him blankly. "I wouldn't be drunk like this if there wasn't something missing from you." She snapped.
Adam finished bandaging her arm and pushed it off of the table back to her. "What does that mean? What do I not have that that cock sucker does?"
Trish flipped him off and ran back upstairs.
"Any time, bitch! Do you know how much of a whore you are?"
Trish slammed her bedroom door and tripped, slamming head first into the floor. Immediately, she burst into tears. Downstairs, Adam laughed at the thud he heard from knowing she fell.
Oh, I need…I need you in my arms, need you to hold,
You're my world, my heart, my soulAs she lay on the floor, she thought back to the huge mistake of when she broke things off with Chris.
He was so vulnerable at that moment when she told him she had been sleeping with Adam. The hurt in his eyes came in the form of his glazed tears as he stared off into space while she delivered the heartbreaking news that she no longer wanted him.
If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything good in my life"Just look at me now." She said through her tears. "I'm lying on the floor, covered in vodka with glass in my arm!"
But she tried to fight the feelings of self-pity she had. "No!" She yelled, getting up off of the floor. "This isn't how this was supposed to be! I dumped him! Not the other way around!"
How do I live without you?I want to know
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?
"Get over yourself." She heard from behind her. She turned around to see Adam standing in the doorway.
She looked him up and down.
"You're an asshole." She fell onto her bed, crashing onto her pillows.
"I wanna see yours up in the air." Adam said, grinning.
"Fuck you!" Trish snapped.
Adam walked over to her and lay on top of her. She tried to push him off, but he had her pinned down. Without her permission, he ripped off her jeans and panties and had his way with her, all while she screamed and cried, trying to fight back.
Later on that night, Chris sat outside of his house, looking up into the sky. He was too drunk to move.
Rich had left a while ago. After realizing he left his guitar in Chris' studio, he decided to go back for it.
His house was empty. Rich checked in the studio and pool, but didn't see Chris. He went out to his backyard and saw him looking more drunk than when he left him. Chris fell over onto the ground and Rich took that as a sign that he needed some help. He rushed over and lifted him up. That's when he saw the empty bottles of beer and Tequila.
"Jesus Christ, Chris!" He yelled as he pulled Chris off of the ground.
"I…I…where's Trish?" Chris asked. His words were completely slurred and he stumbled as he stood up, almost falling, if it weren't for Rich. "Where…where is she? I…I…need her!" He leaned on Rich as he helped Chris back into his house. Chris mumbled meaningless sentences the whole way.
When they reached the house, Rich laid Chris down on his couch and put a trashcan on the floor in front of him. Chris was rocking back and forth and tried to get up a few times, but Rich pushed him back down.
Chris grew angry and pushed Rich off of him, sending him into the floor. Rich sat back down on the couch and tried to calm Chris down.
"Chris, it's ok! Just relax!"
"Get off of me! I'm fine!" Chris tried persuading, but Rich knew better. When Rich still wouldn't let him up, he swung at him, hitting his shoulder.
"Where's Trish!" He yelled, louder. "I need her! Where is she?"
Rich didn't say a word. Chris grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to him. "Where the fuck is she? I love her! That bitch! She can't do this to me!" He grunted loudly and his face contorted in pain. Tears began to fall out of the corners of his eyes and he screamed, still struggling with Rich to let him go.
Rich let him take out his angers by being Chris' personal punching bag. Chris continued to cry and finally, he slumped down in the couch. Before both of them knew it, he was leaning over the side, puking up his overload of alcohol. Rich quickly ran into the kitchen to get him a towel and some water and gave them to Chris. He used them and fell back on the couch in tears.
Without youThere'd be no sun in my sky
There would be no love in my life
There would be no world left for me
And I
Baby I don't know what I would do
I'd be lost if I lost you"She can't do this to me!" Chris cried. He fisted Rich's shirt again and started to cry harder. "Doesn't she know how much I love her?"
"Probably not…" Rich said. He really had no idea what to say to make things better for him. His best friend was grieving and he felt helpless. "Maybe you should tell her."
"I can't call her! Especially like this! She'll laugh at me!" Chris said. His eyes were swollen and his whole face was wet and red.
"Ok…we can give it a few days. Are you still feeling sick?"
Chris calmed down a bit. "Yes. I think I'll sleep here tonight." He rolled onto his side, clutching his stomach.
"Do you want me to stay here?" Rich asked, standing up.
"No, go on home. As long as I don't try to go anywhere, I think I'll be fine." Chris said. He sniffed and finally wiped his face.
"I'll be back first thing in the morning, then. Alright?" Chris nodded and he left.
Chris tried to sleep, but he kept thinking back to her and every time, he cried all over again. His thoughts went extreme and he realized that Trish made him happy. He needed her to be happy. He loved her, whether she knew it or not. He had never taken a break up this hard before. That's why he knew he loved her. It was different with her and he knew she felt the same. Now, all of that was gone and the feeling he had in his heart was so painful, he could have died right there.
If you ever leaveBaby you would take away everything good in my life
And tell me now
How do I live without you
I want to know
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive
It was one in the morning when Adam finally left Trish alone. She didn't want to move, but knew she had to. Her bed was covered in blood. As she tried to strip her bed, she found it very difficult. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. She pulled on one of her sheets and fell back on the floor, hearing and feeling a loud snap in her lower back. She stopped moving for a few seconds and pain flooded into her. Then, she found that she couldn't move. She laid down on her floor, hoping it would pass quickly, but with her every movement, the pain grew worse. Something was wrong.
While in excruciating pain, she rolled onto her stomach and crawled over to her nightstand for her phone. She only knew of one person to call. She carefully dialed his number, with still shaking hands and heard it ring.
Chris jumped up when he heard his phone ringing. He looked up at the clock that read 1:12.
"What the hell?"
His answering machine took the call as he laid there and listened.
"Chris…" He heard an obviously crying Trish on the other end of the line. "Chris, are you there? Please pick up!" She cried slightly. "I need you…please! Please be there!" She was crying hard now. "I'm so sorry! Chris…please?" He listened to her cry for a few more seconds before she hung up. Chris groaned and went back to sleep.
Trish laid back on the floor and wept hard. The pain wasn't going away. She dialed 911 and an ambulance took her to the hospital.
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?Please tell me baby
How do I go on?
If you ever leave
Baby you would take away everything
I need you with me
She was admitted overnight. The most lonely feelings invaded her as she lay there, wide awake. It was probably sometime around four. She wanted Chris so badly. It was killing her being all alone there.
Baby don't you know that you're everythingGood in my life?
Rich went back to Chris' house first thing in the morning, like he had promised. Chris was sound asleep on the couch, still in the same position as he left him. Reluctantly, Rich woke him up.
Chris looked up at him, groggy and hung over. "What?"
"Wake up time." Rich said, giggling. "Come on. You smell like liquor."
"Oh my God! My head!" Chris said, grabbing it as he tried sitting up. He collapsed back down on the couch.
"Come on man! It's gonna hurt, but you have to do it. I'll help…come on."
Rich helped as much as possible to get Chris off of the couch and upstairs to his bathroom. Chris slowly brushed his teeth and washed his face.
"Well, at least you didn't pass out." Rich joked.
"Think again." Chris said. "You weren't there the whole night." He tried to grin, but his headache wouldn't allow it.
"You want me to stay here with you today? I don't have anything else to do." Rich said.
Chris looked up at him with gratitude. "What a mistake that was! Thanks, man!"
Trish wanted so desperately to get up and just walk out of that hospital, but she couldn't. Her tests and x-rays had shown that she pinched a nerve.
'None of this would have happened if I hadn't dumped Chris. Adam wouldn't have been in the picture, so he wouldn't have done those things to me. There wouldn't have been blood all over my bed and I wouldn't have hurt myself trying to clean it all up. God! I'm so pathetic!' Trish yelled in her head. She started to cry again.
And tell me nowHow do I live without you?
I want to know
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?"I love you, Chris" She whispered, just as the sun was coming up.
How do I live without you? How do I live without you baby?Then, she finally drifted off to sleep.