Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Twenty-One

"You owe me money."

Eve jerked slightly at the sound of the voice, the woman lifting her chin as she turned her head to look at the man that was glaring down at her. It was late Friday morning - the morning of SmackDown - and she was seated at a table in a fast food restaurant... They'd gone for Chick-Fil-A this time and, unfortunately, it was the same one that Jeff Hardy had decided to go to. "I don't think I do," Eve replied, shrugging her shoulders. "And unless you want to explain to Kelly why you think I owe you money, then you'd better leave before she gets back to the table."

"I know why Edge got you banned from ringside on Monday-"

"Well, no shit. He punched you in the face and got me out of the room after you attacked me. Of course you know why he got me banned from ringside. It wasn't for my own safety; it was so I wouldn't have to get within fifty feet of you."

"You're still my manager," Jeff spat out, and Eve nodded slightly.

"I suppose I am. Funny, isn't it? How I'm still your manager after all of this. Why is that? Why haven't you gotten rid of me yet?" she wanted to know, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at him. The question, in this case, was an honest one. She'd been absent from ringside on several occasions recently - because of being banned from ringside - and he clearly didn't like her any more than she liked him. She'd even flushed his damned drugs down the toilet. It didn't make a lot of sense.

"Maybe I just want to see how long it takes you to break," he said with a smirk, and Eve smiled right back at him, knowing full well that he was aware they were in a very public area and wouldn't dare put a hand on her. Not here. Not now. Not when regular people that didn't know or care who he was were here and wouldn't hesitate to call the cops on him.

"And maybe you're worried that people will ask you why. Why you got rid of me... Or why I walked away. Because Edge knows what you did on Monday night, and half the roster saw what you did the week before. They saw you grab me by the hair and yank me off of Maria. They saw you slam me into the wall. They saw John Cena get between us and dress you down for what you did. John Cena, the fine, upstanding citizen that he is, got between us like he thought I needed protection from you. So you have to make people think that it was just a... blip. A mistake. That you would never be like that. That's why you haven't gotten rid of me yet. Isn't it, Jeff?" she asked, and while he still glared at her, a hint of discomfort was in his expression now, and Eve knew she was at least partially right. Maybe he had other reasons for keeping her as a manager at the moment, but his fear over people asking questions - and her giving the true answers - was at least part of the reason.

"No one would believe you over me," he told her, and Eve smirked.

"Really? You sure about that? Well, maybe they wouldn't. And maybe the fact that others have seen you slip up means they wouldn't have to believe just me," she said and then, not being able to stop herself, she leaned forward, and she just said it. "And maybe, just maybe... You're starting to wonder just how it is that I really made it to the arena the day that you left me at the side of the road... bloody and bruised."

"What are you-"

"Kelly's coming back now, Jeff. I suggest you leave," Eve interrupted, glad to see the worry on his face as he contemplated her words, the man taking several steps back, just barely managing to avoid walking into the empty table behind him. He left then, heading back to the table that he was sharing with Rey Mysterio, trying to look like nothing was wrong.

Kelly sent a glare his way before she sat down. "What was he doing over here?"

"Trying to demand money from me," Eve said casually, taking a bite of her chicken sandwich, and Kelly frowned as she reached for one of her waffle fries. Eve had opted for a bowl of fruit with her meal instead of the fries, and she was finding herself feeling a little jealous of Kelly and her fries. They looked great. And while they'd both been hungry a little while ago, Kelly had insisted on waiting to eat until at least ten-thirty so that lunch would be served and she could get the fries she wanted. Eve was beginning to understand why she'd been so insistent about it.

"And why would he think you owe him money?"

"Because I went into his locker room and flushed his drugs down the toilet on Monday at RAW," the older diva said in a completely matter-of-fact tone, and Kelly instantly started coughing. Eve's eyes widened, thinking Kelly was choking on her fries, but the blonde shook her head, holding a hand up as she grabbed her diet coke and took a long drink.

"I'm sorry. I must be hearing things. Because I thought you said that you flushed his drugs down the toilet," Kelly said once she'd managed to stop coughing, and Eve shrugged her shoulders.

"At the risk of causing you to choke again... That's what I said. It was a crazy impulse. I did it, he caught me, he hit me-"

"He what?!" Kelly sputtered just a little too loudly, the diva rolling her eyes when Eve gave her a look. She lowered her voice as she spoke again. "He what?"

"Backhanded me," Eve replied, tapping the corner of her mouth. "Split my lip and left a bruise, but it's mostly healed now. The bruise is easy to cover with makeup. Edge caught him. He came in, hit Jeff, picked me up and took me to his locker room, then arranged for me to be banned from ringside. He let me stay in his locker room until the divas' match, which he thought would be the best time for me to slip away without being noticed, since the women's locker room would be empty and all."

"Good thinking Edge. Kind of scary, though. Having Edge of all people be the hero."

Eve shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not so sure that it's a weird thing, though. I mean... From what he said... I don't think Jeff's the only Hardy brother that he's known to knock a woman around," the brunette said, watching as the words she was saying registered with Kelly, the blonde woman's expression darkening. She took a vicious bite of one of her waffle fries.

"Matt. Yeah, you're right. He probably hit Lita. He seems like the type, actually. Even more than Jeff does. I mean... With Jeff, I think it's the drugs that messed him up more than anything else," the blonde said. "I'm not excusing him or anything, because he made the choice to do the drugs and he has to realize that they have a bad effect on him. So it's still on him, drugs or not. But Matt... He just seems like a jerk to me. Arrogant, you know? That whole Mattitude thing he did and then... After Lita came back from her neck injury, he treated her like crap for actually wanting a wrestling career. She'd lost a year and a half that he'd been able to have, and he didn't understand why she wasn't following him around like a puppy or something. I never understood why she took him back, even for a little while," Kelly said, disgust in her tone and on her face, and Eve arched a brow at her friend.

"Wow, Kels, tell me how you really feel," she muttered, the blonde wrinkled up her nose, looking a bit sheepish.

"Sorry. I get passionate about things." She shrugged. "I can't help it."

"Well, I don't mind your passionate hatred for the Hardys, but... You might not want to show it so much in a public place," Eve said, then sighed. "Jeff knows that you know, by the way. Or, he thinks you know and just happens to be right," the brunette confessed, and Kelly frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... When he came up to me a few minutes ago... I kind of sort of... I said something about him maybe wondering about how I really got to the arena the day he left me on the side of the road. Before I let him think that I walked back to the rest stop and called a cab service. That I was too embarrassed to call a friend and have them come to get me. But now... Now he's maybe thinking that he was wrong to think that. That I was lying to him about that... Because of what I just said to him. And odds are, Kelly... He's going to think that you're the one I called. You're the one I'm always with now," Eve said quietly, and Kelly shook her head.

"He won't think it's me," she said. "Not if he really considers it. He may think that you've told me the truth, but... He knows that I'm not the one that picked you up at the rest stop. Of course, from what you said, you never actually made it to the rest stop because you-know-who found you first, but... I was with Maria that day. We rode together. We showed up at the arena together... And I'm the one that asked him why you weren't with him... And then he spun the story about you ditching him, which Maria bought and I didn't. But I traveled with Maria that day, and unless Jeff was too stoned to remember it, then... He knows it wasn't me that picked you up."

"Or he should know it," Eve said. "This is Jeff we're talking about. If it's not about him, he may not care enough to remember it properly. Whatever the case... I'm pretty sure that he now realizes that you know the truth about what happened."

"Which means he also knows that I've chosen you over him. I wouldn't be sitting here right now if I didn't believe you," Kelly said, then smiled. "I'm glad he knows. Now I don't have to pretend I don't hate him-"

"But what if he tries something-"

"He won't. Because if I say he did something, he knows that you'll be able to back me up and say he really is like that. And he also now knows that I would back you up if you told the truth. Not only that, but if he realizes that whoever you called that day... Well, he thinks you called someone; he doesn't know someone saw you and picked you up... He knows that person knows the real truth, too. And now he's wondering. Cena stuck up for you. Could it be him? Maybe you called Melina. She's been on your side a bit, too."

"She did stand up for me in the thing with Maria, saying Maria started it. And she offered to give you a ride back if I wanted to get out of there early," Eve mused. "He could think it's her. I don't know if that's a good thing. What if he..."

"I don't think he will. He's starting to worry that he's messed up. That people will believe you, or at least wonder. That's a good thing, Eve," Kelly told her. "Although, I can't help but wonder how he would react if he knew the truth. If he realized that it wasn't me or Melina or anyone that picked you up that day. If he found out that it was CM Punk."

"And if he found out that one of the reasons Punk cashed in his money in the bank contract at Extreme Rules was because of what happened that day? Because of what Jeff did to me?" Eve fought back a shudder at the thought. "Wonder all you want, but I wouldn't want to be there when he found out. Especially not alone with him."