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Ashley held her breath for a beat as she rummages. She couldn't help herself, although she knew he'd never hear her and figure out what she was doing... Not while he was currently in the shower.
Matt had just returned home from his SmackDown dates for the week. He would be here for the next three days, which, due to her still casted leg, would mean they would spend them together. The blonde wasn't so sure she felt happy about that. She knew he was cheating on her - *still* cheating on her. Of course, Matthew Moore Hardy would never admit to such a thing, under any circumstances. But she wasn't stupid, and she knew to trust her instincts, not to mention the overwhelming evidence...
... Several days ago, Matt had told her he had an appearance in Denver, Colorado. SmackDown *was* currently in that area, but she had heard nothing about a Denver appearance. And then, sure enough, after she phoned someone in WWE management, it had been confirmed that there *wasn't* any appearance - at least not by Matt.
Ashley was fuming. And she continued on with her search as she went through her boyfriend's suitcase. She knew she would find something incriminating - a shirt that reeked of another woman's perfume, a box of condoms, something.
"What do you think you're doing?"
She looked up sharply, utterly startled as she'd been so intensely focused on searching that she hadn't heard him finish his shower. He stood there glaring at her in a towel, another smaller one clutched in his right hand as he wiped at the back of his hair.
"I... I was looking for gum," Ashley said lamely. She hated herself the moment the words left her lips, because that explanation had to be the dumbest in the world. Even *she* didn't buy it.
"Sure you are," Matt said in a flat tone. He walked over to her, to where she was sitting on the floor by his suitcase. "You stupid girl," he snapped. "First of all, you're not gonna do your leg any good sitting there like that. Second..." He grabbed her forcibly by the right arm, yanking her up so hard, she let out a small cry of pain. "... You're full of shit, and we *both* know it. What the hell are you snooping in my stuff for?!"
Ashley winced and rubbed at her aching arm as she tried her best to stand on her one good leg. She could hardly look at him without flinching. What the hell had happened to this man? She no longer knew him. Where was the kind, sweet, gentle Matt Hardy she'd fallen in love with? Or had he even *been* any of those things? She was beginning to wonder. Thoughts of Amy, and how Matt's relationship with her had ended, quickly flitted through her mind.
Hardy glared daggers into her, his dark brown eyes extremely hard.
"You know, this is the part where you *speak*, Ashley."
"I know... I-I'm sorry," she said, swallowing hard. She despised the way she was behaving at that very moment, like such a coward. She'd never been afraid of him before. However, after their fight on the night of WrestleMania, things had changed. After all, that was the night he'd slapped her. What would be next, a punch? She shuddered as the dire thought came into her head.
"What exactly was it you were looking for? Really?" the dark-haired man asked. He eyed her suspiciously, yet curiously and, to Ashley's thinking, with a slight tinge of amusement as well.
She stared at him, anger suddenly returninig to her. How dare he act like this toward her!
"I think you already know the answer to your own question, Matt," she snapped, courage replacing her fear. "If not, figure it out!"
"Getting defensive now, are we?" Hardy asked rhetorically, snidely. "Your stupid jealousy has got to stop, Ashley!"
"Jealousy? Jealousy? If you weren't screwing around on me, there wouldn't *be* any jealousy!"
"Oh, shut up!" he bellowed, his face reddening in extreme anger. He moved his face closer to hers, his dark eyes widened as he spoke his next words. "You don't know what you're talking about, plain and simple... You're all confused. You must have gotten some crazy ideas in your head from talking to my ex-girlfriend."
"What?" Ashley made a face of vast confusion, though she was surprised as well. She hadn't told Matt she had become friends with Amy, let alone that she'd actually spoken with her about him.
"You're talking to Amy about me, aren't you?" he barked. "Comparing notes... Why? So she can poison your mind with lies about me?!"
"Matt, I don't know what you're talking about - no one is poisoning my mind!" the blonde exclaimed, gesturing with one hand. Boy, he had really grown paranoid over these last couple of months, and she didn't like it one bit.
"Yeah, sure... And what about loverboy?"
Ashley blanched at his usage of that final word.
"That's what I thought," he went on. "Damn it, I still don't even know who he is, but I *know* there's a guy."
"I'm leaving... I don't have to take this!" The blonde hobbled around the room, her crutches in view. However, she didn't quite make it to them.
"No you don't!" Matt made another grab for her arm, causing Ashley to lose her balance at the unexpectedness of it. She cried out, not from the tightness of the grip on her arm but for the fact that her left foot hit the floor as she instinctively tried to get her balance. Pain shot up her bad leg.
Matt's demeanor changed instantly and dramatically as he turned his grasp into an embrace. He held the blonde tightly against him by the waist, his face softening as he moved it toward hers and nuzzled her.
"Aww, baby... C'mon, I didn't mean it. C'mon, Ash, don't go." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then one to her lips.
Ashley shut her eyes tightly, struggling somewhat as he tried plying affection on her. What the hell was this? What the hell was wrong with him? She squirmed and stiffened as his lips touched hers. Kissing him was one of the last things in her mind right now. She wanted to get out of here.
"Ash... Ash, tell me you love me."
Her lips pressed tightly together, her heart thundered in her chest. Again she wondered what in hell was wrong with him. Was he bipolar or something? This was crazy! And while she thought she *did* love him, she certainly didn't want to say it right now. However, she knew she had to if she ever wanted to get him off her back.
"I love you, Matt."
Hardy chuckled and pressed another kiss on her lips. Ashley shut her eyes yet again, wishing she were anywhere
but here. Visions of Carlito suddenly came into her head. She wished he were here to save her. And then, she wondered
why that word had come into her mind. *Did* she need saving?