Frozen

____________________________________________

Trish awoke reluctantly, her head pounding somewhat, as she'd spent a good portion of the previous night crying.

She felt so empty - so horribly empty and alone. And on top of all of the emotional anguish, the little blonde felt a most dulling *physical* pain as well. Besides her headache, her eyes actually hurt. All of her crying had seen fit to that, and the emptiness she felt was, oddly, even a physical sensation.

"Good morning, sweetie..."

The greeting came from Lilian, the ring announcer emerging from the bathroom and a shower. The other blonde had already dressed and was brushing out her long straight hair. She appeared to be in a good mood, although Trish knew her to be a morning person.

"Hey..." She forced a smile for the other diva's benefit.

Lilian sighed sadly and came over to sit on the edge of the Canadian's bed. She paused in her task of styling her hair as she looked down at her friend.

"I know how terribly you're feeling right now," she said. "The morning after is always the toughest."

Trish nodded but kept silent. She knew that if she said a word, she would start bawling again in a second.

Lilian recalled something she'd found peculiar from the night before and perked up.

"Oh, I almost forgot... Edge called your cell phone last night."

The heartbroken woman in the bed looked up sharply.

"He did?"

"Yes... He was actually looking for Lita," the RAW announcer clarified. "He asked me for her room number." Lilian tilted her head slightly as she studied Trish's face. "He sounded pretty urgent about it, too."

The petite Canadian blinked as she thought about the meaning behind all of her friend's revelations. Then, "He wanted her room number...? You mean Edge was *here*?"

Lilian nodded.

"Oddly enough, yes." He was in this very hotel. I was about to give him the number, but the line suddenly went dead. I wonder if he ever found her?"

Trish's gaze was down as she considered what had happened. What had Edge been doing here? He was a SmackDown superstar. It was so strange. Unless...

"Oh, my God..." she breathed, her brown eyes closing as she cursed herself mentally.  “Lil, he must have found out-" She pressed a hand to her mouth before speaking again. "Oh, no... I hope Christian didn't manage to-"

The slim blonde ring announcer's eyes widened at the unmistakable implication.

"Oh, Trish! You don't think-"

"Damn it!" the Canadian diva spat, her small right fist pounding the mattress in her anger at herself. "If she slept with Christian, I'll hate myself even more than I already do..." Tears welled up in Trish's eyes.

"Don't say that..."

"But it's my fault!" the blonde wrestler exclaimed. "Lilian, I chickened out of telling Lita the truth last night! And I was also too damned ashamed that Chris... that he did that to me to admit it to Lita..." She pressed a hand to her brow and shook her head sorrowfully. "I fed my best friend to the wolf - that wolf being Christian... I am just *so* horrible!"

"Trish, stop it," Lilian cut in. "You are *not* to blame, not at all! Besides," she continued, gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding the hairbrush, "we don't know that Lita slept with Christian. Maybe Edge stopped her from doing something she'd regret."

The unhappy blonde looked up and eyed her friend. A sniffle escaped her as she wiped at her teary eyes.

"You think so?"

"I think it's a good possibility. If you'd heard Edge's voice last night... I mean, he sounded frantic," the other woman said.

Trish bit her lip, hoping Lilian was right. If Christian had managed to make do on the disgusting bet he and Jericho had made, she'd never forgive herself.

Pushing back the blanket, the Canadian rose from the bed.

"I'm going to shower," she announced.

Lilian watched after her as she entered the bathroom, a sadness going through her. She hoped Trish would be all right.





Part 12

Back