Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far.

Part Six

She walked slowly, carefully, a frown on the brunette's face as she made her way through the backstage area, completely unsure of what was going to happen now. Eve hadn't seen Jeff since he'd tossed her out of the car and driven off, but she did know that he'd managed to make it to the next city despite how high he'd been. Of course, she only knew that because he'd had her bags taken to her room by one of the hotel workers after she'd gotten there. And given the expectant look on the man's face when he'd brought her the bags, Jeff had probably promised him that she'd tip him for it... Which she'd done, the diva blinking back tears as she'd fished around in her purse for some cash to tip the guy. A guy that had no way of knowing just how it was that she'd ended up arriving at the hotel without her bags or her cell phone, which she'd found shoved in one of the side pockets of her suitcase.

She hadn't seen or spoken to anyone in the company since CM Punk had walked her to her hotel room, the man watching her carefully each step of the way, like he was worried she was either going to collapse or burst into tears. She'd done neither, though she had shed a few tears once she'd been alone, then again once her bags had been brought to her, but as she stood in the backstage area of the arena now - her feet throbbing in the slip-on shoes she was wearing - Eve's expression was calm, any sign of tears long gone. Aside from the fact she couldn't keep from limping slightly, no one would ever know that she was in pain. She didn't want anyone to know; despite knowing that it wasn't her fault, she didn't want others to know what had happened. Or, at least, she didn't want the entire freaking company to know what had happened. CM Punk knowing was bad enough... And no, that wasn't fair. He'd been nothing but nice to her after what had happened, and the man hadn't given any indication that he planned to spread the story. He wasn't exactly a gossip, unlike certain other people backstage-

"I can't believe you!"

Eve jerked at the sound of the voice, a frown on her face as she turned to see Maria Kanellis striding towards her, the slim blonde form of Kelly Kelly just a few feet behind her. Maria was the one that had spoken, and the woman looked more than a little angry. Eve quickly ran through her actions over the past couple of days in her mind, trying to figure out what Maria might be angry about, and she couldn't find anything noteworthy. She shook her head, knowing that her confusion was written all over her face.

"I don't understand-"

"You ditched Jeff!" Maria declared, hands coming to rest on her hips, and Eve had to force herself not to take a step back in shock... Though she knew she hadn't been able to keep the surprise off of her face at the other woman's words.

"I what?" Eve managed to say, her gaze flicking from Maria to Kelly and back again, the woman starting to shake her head, opening her mouth to defend herself, but Maria didn't really give her a chance to do so.

"You heard me! You ditched Jeff. He told us that you were supposed to ride with him and you didn't. You just took off with someone else."

Eve shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, and Maria crossed her arms over her chest, giving her a dirty look.

"You're his manager. His friend. Or you're supposed to be. And then you just ditch him... Leaving him with the bill for the rental car and everything after you scratched it. That's really crappy, Eve. You're lucky Jeff's such a nice guy. He should totally be making you pay for the damages to the car, and he's letting you off the hook. You don't know how lucky you are to have a friend like Jeff... And if you're not careful, you're going to lose him," Maria declared, saying the words in such a rush that Eve had absolutely no chance at all to interrupt her and set her straight - not that Eve thought she would accept the truth now that Jeff had fed her those lies she'd so obviously eaten up - the older diva then spinning on her heel and stalking off, leaving Eve alone in the hallway. Well, nearly alone. Kelly Kelly was still there... And the expression on the blonde woman's face was nothing like the one that had been on Maria's face.

Kelly quickly glanced back and forth down the hall, apparently making sure that no one else was around before she approached the brunette. "You okay?"

Eve took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders before she spoke, determined to keep her voice firm, forcing herself to stay calm despite the fact that she rather felt like bursting into tears after hearing what Maria had said... After hearing what Jeff had apparently claimed had happened. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. But we can pretend you are. You're limping a little. Maria didn't notice."

"She was too busy biting my head off to notice anything. Jeff's a big, strong man. You'd think she'd let him fight his own battles. Or does she still have dreams of one day ending up in his bed?" Eve questioned, knowing it was a bit cruel, but also figuring that not only was Maria not there to hear her words; Maria had been pretty cruel herself a few moments before. Besides that, the older woman's crush on Jeff Hardy hadn't exactly ever been a secret in the divas' locker room. Probably not just the divas' locker room, either. If Jeff didn't know about it, it was probably only because he'd been too drugged up to notice.

Kelly snorted. "I'm not sure she'd even require a bed if she got a chance with him," the blonde woman said, smiling slightly at Eve's surprised look. "What? I can be catty, too. Especially when someone hurts my friend... And in all honesty, over the past year or so, you've been a better friend to me than Maria ever has. And if she would believe that you'd mess up a car, then ditch someone and leave them to deal with it, then she doesn't know you very well. What really happened?"

"You don't believe Jeff." A statement, not a question, but Kelly still took it as such, the blonde woman shrugging as she replied.

"Nope. Because I know you. And I know him. He has a past of mistakes. Screw ups. He can be nice enough... When he's not on something. I've seen him when he's on something. It's not pleasant," the younger diva said, and Eve frowned, forgetting her own worries for a moment as she took in the look on Kelly's face. Ignoring the pain in her feet, she stepped closer to the blonde, concern etched on her face.

"Kelly... Has Jeff ever... Has he ever hurt you? Has he done something to you?"

The blonde girl shook her head. "No. Not like you mean. He's never hurt me. My feelings, maybe. 'Cause he's a real jerk when he's on something. Calls people names. Not that I haven't heard some of them before... Just not from people I thought were my friends, you know?"

"Kelly..."

"This isn't about me," Kelly said before Eve could think of anything else to say, anything to comfort the younger woman. The blonde heaved out a sigh. "You want to tell me what really happened with you and Jeff?" the young diva continued, and Eve looked away, hating that she was starting to feel like crying again... Determined not to let her tears get the best of her. No one backstage tonight was going to see her cry. She was going to hold her composure.

"Not really, actually. Talking about it's not going to do any good," she finally stated, and Kelly crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one side as she looked at the brunette in front of her.

"You really think that bottling it up inside is going to be any better? Because I really doubt it," the blonde woman said, looking for all the world that she intended to try and get the information out of Eve, and Eve knew that it wasn't out of any sort of malice. Kelly meant well. She always meant well. Sometimes the girl was too damn sweet for her own good... Which had led to her getting hurt more than once. But while Eve knew that all Kelly wanted to do was help, she also knew that right now was not the time and the backstage area was not the place to rehash what had happened to her with Jeff. She was just opening her mouth to tell Kelly not now, that she would tell her later, when the blonde's demeanor quickly changed, the tense look sliding off her face as Kelly suddenly smiled.

"So I'll have those magazines to you by tomorrow morning, okay? You just have to read this one article, I know you'll love it," the blonde woman said, confusing Eve thoroughly, the brunette opening her mouth to ask Kelly just what the hell she was talking about when the blonde girl's gaze cut over to a spot over Eve's shoulder, the brunette quickly glancing over to see who was there, fearing that it would be Jeff Hardy - she wasn't sure how she was going to face him, especially now that she knew he'd been telling lies about what had happened - the diva more than a little relieved to see that it wasn't him.

It was CM Punk. She wasn't entirely sure that was much better... What if he said something in front of Kelly? Asked her about her leg or made a remark about Jeff or...

"Kelly... Eve," the man said simply, acknowledging them both with a slight nod, though his gaze was on Eve. His dark eyes seemed to bore right into her, holding her gaze for a moment that she wasn't sure of the length of, and then he broke the gaze, giving her a once-over that Eve knew was nothing more than him looking for any obvious signs that she wasn't okay. The man nodded slightly after a few seconds, then went to make his way past them, his hand coming up briefly to rest on Eve's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, though he said nothing more, and Eve couldn't help but watch his form as he moved down the hallway, her gaze followed him until he turned the corner and went out of sight. Shaking herself slightly, the brunette returned her attention to Kelly Kelly, finding the blonde woman eyeing her with the slightest of smiles on her face.

"What was that?" she wanted to know, and Eve shrugged.

"What was what?"

"The look... The touch... The thing where neither of you could take your eyes off the other. I might as well have not been here," Kelly said, then frowned slightly. "Does it have something to do with whatever happened?" she asked, suddenly serious, and Eve gave a weary sigh.

"I'll explain it all later," the brunette said, and Kelly gave her a look.

"You better."