Wow. Almost 1/3 of this one posted now.

Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to review; I really appreciate it.

Part Twenty

Edge's plan had worked.

It wasn't too much after the man had left the locker room that the show had started, and she'd quickly heard that she'd been banned from ringside for the six-man tag team match that he and Jeff were both meant to be a part of that night. It had been stated that the move was being made for her safety, and Eve hadn't been able to help but wonder exactly what Edge had insinuated he would do in order to get the job done so quickly. Whatever it was, it had worked, which meant that she didn't have to worry about that. And, once the divas' match had rolled around, she'd easily slipped out of Edge's locker room, leaving a quickly scribbled note of thanks to the man that she'd left unsigned just in case. After all, he'd know who had left it anyway, but she didn't want anyone else that might stumble upon it to know. The divas' locker room had been empty when she'd gotten to it, making it easy for her to get her stuff and just get gone. All in all, her escape had taken less than five minutes, and she'd been back to the hotel before the show was even over.

So now, nearly an hour after the show ended, Eve was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom of her hotel room, the diva frowning slightly as she took a closer look at her split lip. She'd used ice on it, which had been a good choice because it had started to bruise, though that had thankfully been kept to a minimum. The small, slightly purpling mark was barely noticeable, and Eve knew she could easily cover it with makeup. The cut on her lip was bad, either, the ice keeping her lip from becoming very swollen. With any luck, no one would even be able to tell anyone had hit her. She could keep the charade going for awhile longer... At least until the right time to turn against Jeff Hardy came around. The funny thing was, despite everything that had happened, Eve still wasn't sure that Jeff would ever even think she might turn against him. His ego had reached such a point that sometimes she got the feeling that he honestly thought he could do anything and everyone would still be behind him.

"Yeah, well, this is one fan - and friend - that you've managed to lose, asshole," Eve muttered as she stared at her reflection, the woman jerking slightly at the knock on her door. She frowned slightly as she stood there, quietly debating whether to answer it or not, part of her afraid that it would be Jeff, still pissed off about her flushing his drugs down the toilet. She knew that wasn't something he'd get over quickly, and she wouldn't put it past him to come looking for her... Or, maybe, because he now knew that Edge knew what had happened - and had to realize that Edge had helped her tonight by getting her banned... Well, maybe he would be more careful. Of course, she'd thought he would be more careful after people had seen him yank her off of Maria by her hair and slam her into the wall and instead, this had happened. Still... When she'd reasoned that Jeff would be more careful for awhile, she hadn't really been planning to flush his stash down the drain, either. That sort of changed things.

And there was still someone knocking on her door.

Taking a deep breath, Eve dropped her makeshift icepack into the sink, then made her way toward the door, lifting up on her toes to look through the peephole, taking in the sight of a man in a hooded sweatshirt with his head down. When he looked up, it was easy to see who it was, and the diva sighed before opening the door, reaching out a hand to tug him inside her room so she could close the door again quickly.

"A hoodie? It's, like, eighty degrees out even at almost midnight," the woman said as she looked over at CM Punk, and he shrugged, unzipping the sweatshirt and pulling it off, leaving him in the t-shirt and baggy shorts he was wearing. He was wearing flip-flops on his feet.

"I was incognito," he replied, smiling a little when she rolled her eyes... Then frowning as he stepped closer to her and got a better look at her. Eve had to fight not to flinch when he reached out toward her, lightly brushing his finger over the bruise that she knew was there. A small bruise, yes. Easily covered by makeup, yes. The problem? There wasn't any makeup covering the bruise at the moment, which meant he could see it clearly. "Something tells me that, despite the threats Edge supposedly made toward your safety earlier, he's not the one that did that."

"Edge didn't hurt me," Eve told him, sighing as she jerked a hand through her long, dark hair. "I didn't intend for you to see this."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I stopped by, isn't it?" Punk replied. "Since Edge had never bothered to threaten you before - not that he out and out threatened, just went on and on about what a shame it would be if you got hurt - I kind of thought it was strange that he started now. I mean, why wouldn't he have done it back when he was the champion and Jeff was going after the title? Why wait until a six-man tag team match with no real implications for anything?"

Eve shrugged. "I guess you just never know how a person's mind works," the diva said, crossing her arms over her chest in an unconsciously self-protective gesture, and CM Punk heaved out a sigh at the sight of it, the man shaking his head and coming over to where she stood, resting his hands on her crossed arms for a moment before gently pulling them down so that they hung at her sides. He took her hands in his.

"Talk to me, Eve. Tell me what happened."

"I should have been more careful-"

"Don't you dare blame yourself-"

"I don't. He didn't have a right to hit me, but I knew he'd lose it if he caught me doing what I was doing," the woman said, then quickly confessed. "I searched Jeff's bag for his stash, then flushed it down the toilet. There were three different bags. Pills, and then two others that I think were pot and maybe cocaine."

Punk closed his eyes, shaking his head, his hands unconsciously tightening their grip on hers. "Geezus."

"It was an impulse," she confessed. "I'd been thinking before, wondering how he managed to get it through security at the airports and stuff, and... I just thought he probably kept it close. I looked for it in his bag. There's a pocket in the bottom lining. It's where he keeps his stash. Part of me wonders how much of Jeff's money I flushed down the toilet."

"I hope it was a lot of it," CM Punk replied, using his grip on Eve's hands to pull her closer, wrapping his arms around her as she found herself suddenly pressed up against him. She didn't fight the contact, though, instead resting her head on his shoulder, her arms coming up to wrap around his waist.

"I didn't do it to be brave or anything. I just... Did it. An impulse. I knew that if he caught me, there would be trouble, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. If Edge hadn't..."

"So this is where Edge comes into the story."

"He hit Jeff, and he grabbed me and got me out of there. I didn't even know it was him until he had me in his locker room. He told me that he would get me banned from ringside and to duck out during the divas' match because I'd probably have an easier time getting out without being seen if all the women I was sharing a locker room with were otherwise occupied," Eve told him, then lifted her head from his shoulder, pulling back just enough that she could look up at him, their arms remaining around each other. "From what he said... He said that it seems that more than one Hardy brother likes to hit women... Or something to that effect."

Punk nodded, making a face. "Not surprising, really. I wasn't around until a few months before Lita retired, but... I've heard things said. Just watching some of the old shows... Matt didn't treat her well. It's, unfortunately, not too much of a leap to think he was abusive, especially with the things he said and did when he realized he'd lost her forever."

"He has creepy eyes," Eve said, her statement earning a raised eyebrow from the man she was with.

"Excuse me?"

"He does. They're kind of dead, or... flat. Like something's off or something. And if he used to knock Lita around then, well... clearly there is something off about him."

"What about my eyes?" Punk questioned, and Eve responded with a roll of her own eyes.

"No, your eyes are not creepy. I like your eyes."

"I like yours, too," he replied, leaning down to kiss her, frowning when Eve hissed at the contact. Lifting his head again, he looked down at her, his gaze first on the bruise, then on her actual mouth. His eyes narrowed as he saw that there was a cut on her lip to go along with the bruise. "Damn it."

"I'm okay. It's just a little sore," she whispered, and he sighed, leaning down to kiss the side of her mouth that wasn't cut and bruised, then stepped back from her, his hands sliding up and down her arms as he looked at her.

"I wish I'd been there to stop it-"

"It's not your fault. I made the choice to do something dangerous and... That's what happened because of it," Eve stated, then reached up to cover her mouth as she yawned, and Punk gave her a look.

"I should go... Let you sleep," he muttered, turning to leave... Stopping when Eve reached out and grabbed his arm. He turned to look back at her. "Eve?"

"I don't want you to go. I don't... I'm not asking you... I'm not saying... I'm not ready for us to..."

"I know."

"But I want you to stay."

"Then I will."