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"Okay, you got my attention." Amy eyed Trish with her arms crossed, slow anticipation on her face. "Go ahead... What do you want?"
The short blonde glanced over her shoulder at her boyfriend. Chris abruptly stood up and headed for the door.
"I'll leave you two alone." With that, he slipped out, and Trish let out a sigh.
"Amy, this isn't going to be easy for you, but you need to hear something."
As the redhead stood and watched, the Canadian diva turned and reached for a tiny tape recorder on the nightstand. She presented it to the other woman and pressed the play button.
Amy was unamused as the tape inside began to play, but then she arched an eyebrow as Adam's voice suddenly sounded. He was having a conversation with someone... And when she heard the feminine voice, she knew it was Dawn Marie... When had this taken place?
Trish remained silent, allowing the redhead to listen to and absorb every word. It reached one very key, pinnacle point, and Amy's expression drastically changed to one of extreme shock, then anger.
"Look... What happened betwen us the other night was strictly a good fuck. I don't care about you, so get over it."
"So... What you're saying is... You *used* me."
"Yeah, I *used* you. Amy was out with my so-called best friend, and that's the *only* reason it happened. And from now on, you're gonna just fuck off - understood?"
"What the... What the hell is this?!" the redhead demanded. She looked incredulously from the recorder to Trish's eyes, her own eyes alternately filled with hurt, then fury. "What is he talking about? 'That night?!'"
The petite blonde eyed her friend with sorrow. She truly did feel badly about how Amy was taking this, and about how hurt she felt... But she *had* to know.
"I'm sorry, Amy. You don't deserve this... But you had to know." The blonde turned the tape recorder off with a flick of her thumb, her free hand going to the taller woman's shoulder.
"What is the meaning of this, Trish?!" Amy demanded as she shrugged the other woman's hand away. She wasn't playing stupid and knew what Adam had meant on the tape. Quite obviously, he and Dawn Marie had slept together... And while she'd been hanging out with Jay rather than him.
"Amy... Adam is all wrong for you," came the softly spoken reply. "Don't you see? He implicated himself right there on tape."
"That's not what I meant," the redhead said, her face red with anger. She balled her right hand into a fist, seething.
Trish frowned, instinctively taking a step back. She suddenly realized that Amy seemed to be angry at *her*. Could that be possible? And would her friend actually take a swing at her? But she was only trying to help!
"I'm not sure I'm following you."
"Why are you doing this, Trish?" the distraught diva asked, shaking her head. "Please explain that to me."
The blonde was suddenly wishing she'd majored in psychology in college, rather than pre-med. She was almost at a loss for words in spite of the simplicity of the reason.
"I'm your friend," she responded. "And I thought you should know. That's all."
The redhead merely glared at her silently for a moment. Trish got the notion that if the saying 'If looks could kill' were literal, she would've keeled over right about then.
"Well, thank you, Trish," the taller woman snapped. "Thanks for your concern. I think I'll be going now." She turned in a pivot and charged for the door.
The blonde stood rooted to her spot for a second, too shocked to move.
"Amy?" To say the least, she felt as though she should call out to her friend, say *something*.
The redhead stopped with her hand just brushing the doorknob. She slowly turned to look back over her shoulder, her expression sour.
"I-Is there anything I can do?"
Amy stared at her for a beat before shaking her head.
"You've done more than enough," she replied. Then, she faced forward again and let herself out.
Trish closed her eyes the moment the door clicked shut, a long break escaping her. She felt horrible and knew that,
despite her good intentions, she'd just made everything worse.