Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to all that have reviewed/favorited/followed this one. :-)

Part Eight

"He did what?!"

Eve heaved out a sigh, the dark-haired woman jerking her hands through her hair as she looked at the outraged blonde that was seated in the lone chair in her hotel room. The good news was, while Kelly looked incredibly angry at the moment, she didn't seem to be angry at Eve. Instead, she was angry - furious - at Jeff Hardy. "You heard me."

"Of course I heard you, I'm just... I'm trying to figure out how, in whatever world he lives in, Jeff thought it was okay to do that to you!" Kelly sputtered, shaking her head. "You should tell Maria the truth about what happened."

"And what? Have her call me a liar? Jeff could tell her that the moon is made of green cheese and that the Harry Potter movies are based on a true story, and she'd probably believe him."

"She's not that bad. I mean, I'm pretty sure she realizes that Harry Potter's just a story. I think. But I get your point. But still... You said you were hurt when he pushed you out of the car. You could show her the scrape on your leg."

"She'd claim I got them from something else," Eve said on a sigh, wincing slightly as she shifted the way she was sitting. She'd cleaned the scrapes again earlier, before Kelly had come to her room, and they still stung a bit. She hadn't shown the cuts and scrapes to Kelly, either, and she was hoping that the younger woman wouldn't ask to see them. It was bad enough knowing that CM Punk had seen the damage that had been done. Eve wasn't big on the idea of showing it off to anyone else. "It's all about who she wants to believe, Kelly. And from what I saw earlier, clearly she wants to believe Jeff."

"Stupid bitch," Kelly muttered, then shrugged at the look that Eve gave her. "Yeah, it's rude. I don't really care. She believed everything Jeff said without even giving you a chance to explain your side. If she was really the friend she claims to be..." The blonde trailed off, then shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Maria can believe whatever she wants to. I believe you."

"And I'm grateful that you do. I don't know what I would do if everyone just believed Jeff, no questions asked. No... Nothing." Eve shook her head, then closed her eyes for a moment, hating that she felt tears coming on and trying to keep them from falling.

Kelly heaved out a sigh, the younger woman getting up from her seat and coming over to where Eve sat on the bed, sitting next to her and putting her arm around the older diva's shoulders. "I know this sucks, Eve. I can't even begin to imagine... I would have been really scared. If it had been me."

"I was really scared," Eve admitted on a sigh, the brunette opening her eyes. "All I could think was that I needed to get back to that rest stop and call someone..." The older woman trailed off, staring at the wall without really seeing it, thinking about it all. She hadn't told Kelly the entire story yet, just what Jeff had done; she hadn't gotten to what happened afterward, the part where she'd been rescued.

"Well, the important thing is that you're okay now," Kelly said, then suddenly frowned. "You are okay, right? I mean... Nothing else happened, did it. No one..."

Before Kelly could finish her inquiry, there was a sudden knock on the hotel room door, and the blonde woman frowned as she rose to her feet. She quickly glanced back at Eve, then made her way across the room, probably intending to tell whoever was at the door to just go, especially if it was someone like Maria or Jeff coming to cause more trouble. It wasn't either of them, however, the blonde diva blinking in surprise when she opened the door to find CM Punk standing there. He frowned slightly at the sight of her, his gaze moving back toward the room number that was on the wall next to the door.

"I thought Eve was in this room," he said, then winced a little, like maybe he thought he shouldn't have told her who he was looking for, the man starting to take a step back, then frowning when Kelly reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, fisting her hand in the material and preventing him from leaving. "Um..."

"This is her room. I just stopped by to talk to her. 'Cause, you know, she's one of my best friends," Kelly said, frowning a bit as she eyed the man, the diva thinking about what she'd seen earlier that night... The look that Punk had given Eve before he'd gone on his way. The way Eve had looked at him as well. Clearly, there was something going on, and she kind of figured that it had something to do with what had happened to Eve earlier. And since there weren't a lot of options for the role that Punk would have played in the whole mess... "You know what happened earlier, don't you? What Jeff did?"

CM Punk didn't respond to Kelly's questions, instead just looking at her for a moment before carefully pushing past her and into the room, making his way over to where Eve sat on the bed... Kelly hurriedly shutting the door once more and turning to see how her friend would react to the man's sudden presence.

"You okay?" he asked, and Eve looked up at him, meeting his gaze only briefly before she looked away.

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are. Did you put anything on the cuts on your feet?" he asked, and Kelly frowned.

"Your feet? You just said you had a scrape on your leg."

Punk winced slightly as he realized that Kelly apparently didn't know all of the details about what had happened earlier. He sent Eve an apologetic look as the brunette woman rose to her feet, flinching a bit at the soreness of her feet. "It's nothing, Kelly," Eve said, and the blonde gave her a disbelieving look.

"Why don't I buy that?"

"I don't know. But it's nothing you need to worry about," Eve said, then held up a hand when Kelly looked like she was going to protest. "Please. Just let it go for now. Please."

Kelly frowned, then heaved out a sigh. "Fine. For now." She glanced at Punk, then looked over at Eve, reading the expression on her friend's face, then nodding slightly. "I'll see you later," the blonde said as she grabbed her purse and the key card to her own hotel room, then headed for the door, pausing to look back at Punk. "If you upset her, I'll run over you with my car," she declared, and Punk arched a brow at her.

"I can think of someone else that deserves that threat a bit more," he said, and Kelly conceded that with a slight nod before leaving the room, Punk staring at the closed door for just a moment before turning his attention back to Eve, the diva still not meeting his eyes. After a moment, she sat down again, wanting to get off her feet, and she jerked in surprise when CM Punk suddenly fell to his knees in front of her, the dark-haired man pushing his hair back from his face as he looked up at her. "What's going on?" the man asked, and she shrugged, looking away.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, but you do. Obviously you told Kelly at least part of what happened today. I'm guessing she knows Jeff left you. I'm guessing she didn't know until I showed up that I was the one that picked you up... Or how badly you're hurt."

"It's not like I lied. I told her about my leg, just not my feet and the whole 'my shoes were still in his car' thing. And they're just cuts. They'll heal."

"Not if you don't take care of them," he told her, the man heaving out a sigh as he moved so that he was sitting on the floor instead of kneeling on it. "Since I figure they're a pain for you to get a good look at, I'll check them out for you later if you want. But first... I think we need to talk."

Eve shook her head slightly, hating that she felt like crying. Tears were a weakness, and she was sick of feeling weak. "I don't know what we need to talk about."

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you? Well, that's okay. 'Cause I'm stubborn, too," the wrestler said, surprising Eve into looking at him when he reached out and put his hand on top of hers. She'd been clutching at the bed's comforter so tightly that her knuckles were probably white from the effort, and she forced herself to loosen her grip as she felt Punk's thumb moving gently over the back of her hand. His voice was quiet when he spoke. "You want to tell me why you walked out with Jeff Hardy tonight?"

"Not really," she replied, and he sighed.

"Yeah, I figured as much. I bet Kelly would tell me. Because she seems concerned about you. Like a good friend. But I'd rather you tell me yourself. Because I don't want to go behind your back to get information," Punk told her, and Eve closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath... The opening her eyes and looking at him, meeting his gaze, his dark eyes filled with concern. Concern for her.

She took a deep breath to try and keep herself from crying. "He lied. To Maria and to Kelly and to who knows who else. He told them that I ditched him. Of course, since he didn't know how I'd managed to get to the hotel, he couldn't exactly tell them who I ditched him for... Not that Maria needed to know that. She'll believe anything Jeff says."

"And Kelly didn't believe."

"No, she didn't."

"That still doesn't explain why you walked out with him, Eve. After what he did to you-"

"I'm just a diva, Punk. You don't know what it means to be a woman in this business," she said quietly, and he nodded.

"You're right, I don't. But being a woman in this business doesn't mean that you have to put up with an asshole like Jeff Hardy treating you like dirt-"

"He could turn everyone against me and ruin my career. I barely ever wrestle. I don't do interviews any longer and they handed that job over to someone else. I need someone to manage. Otherwise, the company may not see a reason to keep me around. No one would believe me if I told the truth about what Jeff did."

"Kelly believes you. I believe-"

"Would you believe me if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes? The truth, Punk. Would you have believed me?" she asked, and he held her gaze for a long moment, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"Yes, Eve. I would have believed you. Jeff Hardy's messed up. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure I would ever feel the need to believe a guy like him over you," the man stated, maintaining eye contact as he spoke, wanting her to see his honesty. Wanting her to trust him. The hardest thing was, she found herself both wanting to trust him and being afraid to trust him. After all, even if she'd known Jeff had problems, until today, she'd thought she could trust him not to hurt her, and he'd proven her wrong about that. But then again... The man sitting there on the floor of her hotel room was the one that had found her, the one that had taken care of her. If there was anyone she could trust, it was him.

Eve took a deep breath. "Just because you and Kelly believe me doesn't mean anyone else will," Eve said quietly. "Especially if he's already telling lies. He'd probably even come up with a reason for why I've got these cuts if I tried to use them as proof." She shifted self-consciously. "Not that I'd show them to anyone, because..." She shook her head, trailing off, and CM Punk sighed.

"It's not your fault. You know that, right? What he did to you is not your fault. He's the bastard, Eve," the wrestler said, and the diva sighed, closing her eyes.

"I know. I know it, I really do. But it... It doesn't stop the way I feel. Like... I did nothing wrong, and it's not my fault, and I have nothing to be ashamed of, but... I am. Okay? I *am* ashamed, and I don't want people to know that someone did that to me, and..." She trailed off as her voice broke, the woman wiping angrily at the tears that refused to go away, and then she felt the bed shift as someone moved to sit beside her - Punk, obviously, since he was the only other person in the room - an arm coming to wrap around her shoulders. He tried to bring her closer to him, urging her to rest her head on his shoulder, but Eve resisted at first, knowing she'd probably lose it totally if she gave into the comfort that he was offering... But he was persistent, somehow keeping his grip on her both gentle and firm, and it was only a few seconds before she gave in, leaning against him as she cried on his shoulder, the man's arms coming to wrap around her more fully.

"Shh... It's okay. You're safe now. Kelly and I know the truth. You're not going to ride with him again. You're going to ride with one of us. Kelly knows I'm on your side. If he ever tries to pull anything... I'll beat the shit out of him, and I won't regret it. I'm going to beat the shit out of him anyway for what he's already done-"

The woman shook her head, pushing herself away from him, bracing her hands against his shoulders to keep him far enough away that she could look him in the eye. She knew her eyes were puffy and red from crying - thank goodness she'd already taken her makeup off, or else she'd look like a raccoon - but she figured he was well aware that she'd been in tears, so it didn't matter all that much. "No, Punk. You can't just do that-"

"Yes, Eve, I can-"

"And everyone will want to know why. And he'll know why, and then he'll make something up to make you look bad. To make us both look bad. Even if we tell the truth, even..." She shook her head. "People won't believe it. And it's not like he physically assaulted me," the diva said, wincing as she got to her feet and made her way over to the window in the room, CM Punk instantly following her.

"I'm pretty sure that mark on your leg is from when he shoved you out of the car. And on top of that, we both know that what he did could have ended up worse than him knocking you around. He left you alone, barefoot, with no phone, with nothing but your purse, in the middle of nowhere. If someone besides me had stopped... You know what could have happened, Eve. You know, I know it, and I'm thinking Kelly knows it, too. Hell, even Jeff Hardy, somewhere in that asshole brain of his, knows it. The difference between him and the rest of us is that he just doesn't give a shit."

She closed her eyes. "I can't handle this right now," Eve finally whispered, and he sighed, moving to stand in front of her, his hand on her chin as he guided her to look at him.

"I know. Today was shit, and you're overwhelmed, and I'm guessing you don't know what to do. I don't have the right to push you. I just want you to be safe."

"Punk..."

"We both know you're not safe with him. I'll keep my distance, for now. But I'm keeping an eye on him. And if you ever need anything, you can come to me. I won't bring you into this. But I can't guarantee that I can wait for you to give me the go-ahead to go after him. Just so you know. I'll pick my time, I'll pick my place... But one of these days, I'm going to hurt him. That's a guarantee."