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Amy walked alongside Jay, her bag in tow, as they entered the arena. Ignoring the stares from their fellow Superstars, they wended their way through the backstage area, and she hoped they would not run into Adam. She knew it was inevitable that she'd eventually have to face him, but at the moment, she wasn't ready for that.
They briefly stopped as Jay was about to turn to enter his locker room. He met her gaze, concern clearly etched on his handsome face and in his blue eyes.
"You need me for anything," he said, "just come and I'll be there for you. No matter what, Ames."
She managed a tiny but genuine smile and nodded.
"Thank you."
The short-haired man smiled, reaching for her hand and giving it a slight squeeze. He then reached for the door handle of the locker room.
"I'll see you later, then."
"Later, Jay."
After the Canadian had disappeared through the door, Amy steeled herself and headed for the women's locker room. She knew she needed to face a few of the other divas. Trish and Lilian would be the easier two, but Dawn Marie? She would need every ounce of her wits and to swallow her pride to speak with her.
Briefly closing her eyes, swallowing hard, the redhead pushed her way into the room. She caught the gaze of Lilian the moment she entered, the blonde ring announcer flashing her a brief, small smile and mouthing a hello. However, her expression turned to one of concern as she eyed the other woman.
Amy set her bag down and opened it, rummaging through her belongings. She thought she would probably feel more comfortable once Trish arrived - but not when Dawn Marie did.
"Hey."
She looked up as the voice sounded directly behind her and saw Lilian's concerned face.
"Hey. I... Actually, I have to talk to you," she admitted.
"Sure," the blonde said in a hushed tone.
Amy straightened back up and faced her, her gaze darting around the room. Very few of the other divas were there, but she wanted to speak as softly as possible. The last thing she needed was for everyone to be in her business. She reached for Lilian's wrist and gently pulled her into a corner.
"I wanted to apologize," she whispered. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for not believing you the other night."
The slim ring announcer smiled and touched her arm.
"It's okay. I understand how you were feeling," she assured her. "If the shoe were on the other foot, I would have reacted the same way."
Just then, the door opened and some more divas entered the locker room. Somewhere in the middle was Trish, and Amy noted that she looked pretty tired, as though she hadn't slept much the night before. She squeezed Lilian's hand and went to the Canadian diva, her heart thumping as she caught the gaze of Dawn Marie - the last woman to step into the locker room.
"Trish?"
The little blonde raised her gaze, meeting her eyes. Yes, she definitely looked tired.
"Hi, Amy."
"Can we talk for a moment?" the redhead asked. She glanced around, trying her best not to look directly at the brunette who seemed to be avoiding her as well as she went about her business.
"Sure," Trish said. She sat down and pulled the other woman beside her.
Amy's gaze trailed downward as she sought the right words. Then, "Well, two things... One, I wanted to apologize."
"For what?"
"For the way I acted toward you last night," the redhead admitted in sotto voce. "I know you, and I know you were only looking out for me and always have only my best interests at heart."
"Well, yeah," Trish said softly, nodding. "I do."
Amy licked her lips and then continued.
"I also wanted to thank you," she whispered. "For, you know..." She paused and gave her friend a knowing look, along with a tilt of the head. "... Looking out for me."
The blonde shook her head and gently patted her hand.
"Don't thank me, Amy."
The redhead pressed her lips together, her gaze traveling elsewhere, and she sighed. She knew she had to go and speak to Dawn next.
She rose and made a beeline for the brunette, startling her when she tapped her on the shoulder a moment later.
"Oh!" Dawn exclaimed, her brown eyes widening. Quickly, she gathered her wits and calmed down. "Hi."
"Hi," Amy said. It was definitely an awkward moment as she faced the woman who had slept with her now former boyfriend. But she needed to do this. "Can we talk?"
The other woman blinked, somewhat dumbfounded. She couldn't imagine why the redhead would want to talk with her - unless by "talk," she actually meant "kick her ass." Inwardly, she shuddered at that thought.
She nodded, swallowing hard although she couldn't detect any malice on Amy's face.
"Not here." The high-flying diva made a gesture with a slight tilt of her head.
Dawn nodded yet again and followed her toward the door. They exited together in silence, and Amy quickly located an empty locker room a few doors away. She was wary as they made their way toward it, as she had the fear that Adam would be lurking around out here and try to approach her.
Once they were inside the room, Amy allowed the door to close behind her. She folded her hands as she stood there and eyed the brunette.
"Well... First of all, I just want you to know that I'm not mad at you," she revealed.
Dawn Marie was surprised, but she didn't say a word.
"You're not the one to blame," Amy continued. "But I do have to thank you."
"What?" This was just about the last thing she would have expected to hear. "Why?"
"You opened my eyes to the type of person Adam Copeland truly is," the redhead said. She could barely keep the scowl from her face upon speaking his name. "And if not for you, I never would have found out what a jerk he is. You, Trish and Lilian - you all have really looked out for me and done me a favor. So, thank you for that.
The brunette eyed her wordlessly, not knowing what to say at all. The truth was, she was just extremely
grateful the other woman wasn't kicking her ass right at that moment.