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Tori led the frightened redhead to her hotel room, which she would share with her.
In silence, she swiped her keycard through the door, and the two divas entered, Lita clutching the bag she had slung over one shoulder. The blonde couldn't help but think the other woman was holding onto it almost protectively.
"Here we are..." Tori said as she locked the door behind her. She turned back to face Lita, who had sat down near the edge of the nearest bed but had not put down her bag. "You're safe here..."
The redhead lifted her bowed head just slightly to meet her eyes. She hadn't spoken all that much at all since Tori had found her in the women's locker room back at the arena. From what the muscular blonde diva knew, Lita seemed to pretty much only talk with him, anyway. Funny how most people never found that fact to be all that strange. But now... Now, she was beginning to wonder.
Tori sat down beside the other woman, her gaze going to the redhead's bag.
"Do you want to put that down?" she asked gently. "You don't have to just hold onto it..."
Lita gave a slight nod, then slid the strap slowly from her shoulder and let the bag slide to the floor at her feet.
The blonde blinked with concern as she eyed the redhead, who seemed almost catatonic at this point. She didn't want to do or say anything to further upset Lita, but she was dying to know what had happened that had her so upset. The one thing she did know was that this had to have something to do with him, the man she was never seen without. It seemed he was her entire world. She wondered what the hell had happened...
Finally, she spoke again, but not to coax Lita to talk about her ordeal - whatever it had been.
"Hey...Why don't you go and wash up and get ready for bed?" She noticed how tired the redhead appeared - although weary was more like it. Whatever she'd been through, it had undoubtedly been very taxing.
Without a word of response, the redheaded diva leaned over, going through her bag until she came up with a nightgown and a small cosmetics bag. Then, she rose and hurried to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Again, Tori's curiosity peaked, and she frowned as she thought about the man with whom Lita was involved. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd done something to her. And the DX diva was willing to bet anything that whatever he'd done, it had been unspeakable...
The blonde sighed as she rose and went around to the other bed, which she would sleep in for the night.
Sleep... What a comforting word. Unfortunately for her, Tori had a bit of an insomnia problem these days. She didn't know why, either - her life was pretty great, and she was not a worrier by nature. But she definitely was a night person - and, for some reason, sleep did not come easily for her. And, having found a fellow diva in such great distress earlier in the night would certainly not help.
Tori reached into a pocket of her black leather purse and pulled out a small bottle. About three weeks earlier, on a day when she'd been home, she'd seen her doctor, and he'd prescribed some sleeping pills for her. At first, she'd been reluctant to even fill the prescription, but she'd relented and found that they did the trick in helping her to get a restful night's slumber.
The blonde woman looked up as the bathroom door finally opened, and Lita padded out in her nightgown, a simple light blue dress-shirt type with white pinstripes. She was ilent as she made her way to the bed upon which she'd perched several minutes earlier, then slid all the way in and leaned against the headboard, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging herself protectively.
Tori eyed her quietly, wishing that the redhead would just speak, spill her guts. It wasn't that she was nosy, or that the suspense was killing her - she genuinely wanted to help.
As though reading her thoughts, to her surprise, Lita suddenly spoke.
"H-he...He's different now..."
"What?" Tori leaned forward on the edge of her bed as she studied the other woman intently. "Lita, what do you mean? Who changed?" Even as she asked the question, she knew she already knew the answer.
"Essa..." the saddened redhead responded in a soft, yet even voice. "He's just...changed. He...he..." She swallowed hard, tears beginning to fill her hazel eyes, and she knew she was going to lose it at any moment. She'd vowed never to tell another living soul...
"Lita...?" Tori's brown eyes widened slightly in alarm as she reached over and placed a hand on the other diva's arm. She was dismayed to note that the redhead was shaking ever so slightly.
"He raped me..." the redhead confessed, her voice nearly breaking.
"Essa Rios - the man I've loved with all my heart, body and soul - the
man who's always been so gentle with me...He raped me, Tori...!"