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Amy continued to cry, her head on Jay's shoulder as she spilled her heart out fully to him.
The short-haired blond man held onto the redhead, and it took everything in him not to clench his hands into fists. He couldn't believe it, couldn't believe the nerve of his so-called, poor excuse of a best friend... To him, it was unbelievable that Adam could do such a thing to this precious, beautiful woman... He thought about the situation and knew that, had he been in the taller man's shoes, he never would have cheated on Amy. It was simply inconceivable.
"Do you... Do you think I can stay here the rest of the night, with you?" she asked, sniffling. She raised a hand, weakly wiping at her nose.
Jay didn't even have to think about it. He nodded as he eyed her with vast sympathy and tenderness.
"Of course you can, Amy." He reached over to the nightstand and handed her a tissue from the box sitting there.
She nodded gratefully and blew her nose. She couldn't help but feel that she'd been a fool throughout this entire thing. It brought fresh tears to her eyes. She shook her head.
"What?"
"I've been so stupid, such a fool!" she moaned.
The blond man held up a hand in protest.
"You've been no such thing," he insisted.
"But I have," she said. "All this time, I've had such a great friend in you, and yet I was so easily swayed by Adam."
Jay blinked, his head cocking as he eyed her. She was really beating herself up over this, and yet, it wasn't her fault at all.
"Amy," he said, taking hold of her hands, "listen to me... You are not to blame for the way Adam treated you."
"Yes, I am," she insisted.
"No... You don't know him the way I do," Jay went on.
The diva simply stared at him with tragedy written in her deep hazel eyes.
"When we were in college, something very similar happened." He swallowed hard, thoroughly embarrassed by what he was about to admit to her. "I was dating a girl, someone I really liked a lot... And Adam just swooped in and that was the end." He looked away for a beat but continued. "She dumped me for him. They dated for awhile until he cheated on her. It was the same scenario."
Amy stared at Jay, speechless for several moments. Then, she found her voice again.
"But don't you see? It is the exact same situation... almost." She shifted her eyes elsewhere, shyness now mixing with her previous embarrassment. "You and I were getting closer when Adam interfered..." She shook her head, closing her eyes at the thought of everything that had happened. "... I looked his way and allowed myself to be taken in by him when, meanwhile, I could have had something incredible with you, Jay." Amy opened her eyes again, training them on his blue orbs.
Jay felt a rush of warmth sweep through him and squeezed her hands more tightly. She knew how he felt about her. Her heartbreaking experience had maybe sharpened her senses, or maybe it had been his story. He really wanted to kiss her, but now was definitely not the time. Instead, the short-haired Canadian moved his hands, placing them on the redhead's cheeks.
"Amy, none of this was your fault. I should have been more open with you about how I felt." He shook his head. "You're a very sweet, trusting and giving person, and that's why you gave your heart to Adam. You had no way of knowing he would betray you like this." He couldn't help but damn himself, as he'd known all along about his best friend's past. He should have warned her before it happened. He could have prevented this thing from even happening.
She nodded, her gaze lowering in sorrow.
"I guess you're right. And I'm sorry."
The blond man raised his eyebrows in a questioning gesture.
"For what?"
"For passing you by when we had that chance... For looking Adam's way instead of keeping my focus on you," she said self-deprecatingly.
"Oh."
A single tear trickled its way down the redhead's cheek yet again. This fact was not lost on Jay, and he gathered the young woman into his arms again, hugging her against him.
She held him back, tightly, and they stayed that way in silence for several minutes until they heard the voice.
"Amy? Amy!"
The redhead instantly stiffened and pulled back, straightening up. He was still searching the hotel hallway for her. Why hadn't he given up?
Jay straightened as well, his handsome features growing angry. He shook his head and muttered just loudly enough for the diva to hear him.
"If he dares come here..." His hands clenched into fists.
"Come on, Amy!" Adam's voice grew louder until they both knew he was just outside the door. And then, sure enough, a knock sounded. "Jay! Open up, I need your help!"
The Canadian set his jaw, stood up and met the redhead's eyes. Those hazel orbs were full of countless emotions he couldn't quite place, but she didn't tell him anything. So, he marched right to the door.
"What is it, Adam?" He opened it, cracking it just enough. He knew his friend would most likely want to just barge in, so he fixed the chain lock promptly in place.
"I can't find Amy. She... She's run out on me."
The redhead seethed as she listened from the other end of the hotel room, knowing full well her now ex-boyfriend couldn't see her, just as she couldn't see him.
"Really? Well, I wish I could help you, man," Jay said, "but she isn't here. I was just about to go to bed."
Adam murmured something and sounded sad, but Amy didn't care. Next thing she knew, Jay shut and locked the door again. He turned to her.
"He's gone. He doesn't have a clue that you're here."
Amy smiled bitterly as she approached him, the expression fading in an instant.
"Thank you."