Gone

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Adam was exhausted and sweaty after his match. He headed down the hallway, back to his locker room, his mind on only showering and getting back to Amy. He was anxious to get out of here and take her back to the hotel.

The tall blond man smiled as he pushed his way into the room, the urge to just go to her and kiss her long and hard hitting him. He was having a good night for sure. But as he entered the locker room, his smile suddenly faded.

She was crying... Amy was sprawled on the couch, her arms folded on the arm of the furniture, head lowered onto them, and she was sobbing. He could hear it, and he could see her shaking.

"Amy?" he asked softly. He winced as he made his way straight to her, concern consuming him. He knelt down before her, his hands gentle as he placed them on her knees.

The redhead's sobs stopped for the briefest moment, and she raised her head to look down, their eyes instantly meeting.

Adam winced as he took in the extent of sorrow in her lovely face. Her hazel eyes were bloodshot, her face tear-stained. She'd obviously been crying for awhile, and he couldn't help but wonder why. Somehow, he didn't think this had anything to do with her hormones going all haywire from being pregnant. Besides, she'd pretty much been fine before tonight.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone soft and soothing. He slid his hand up her arm, caressing her lovingly. "Why are you crying?"

Amy sniffled, shaking her head. She was being ridiculous - wasn't she? Why should it bother her or hurt in the least that he'd never truly loved her? Why should that upset her at all, especially when she knew in her heart that she'd never really been in love with *him* because her heart, just like her child, had belonged to another man?

"I... I talked to Matt," she confessed, and Adam stiffened. "I *confronted* him."

"You what?" the tall blond man asked. He was shocked, as they'd agreed to both just ignore the elder Hardy after all the comments he'd made about them on his website.

"I couldn't help it," the redhead stated. She raised one hand to her face, pushing stray strands of hair away. "I know it was stupid, and..." She shook her head again as she was once again overcome by tears. Damn that bastard to hell! "He called me a whore, so I confronted him. He *knows* I'm not that! He *knows*!" She grew angry again and smacked her hand down on the arm of the couch, sobs coming again.

"Oh, baby." Adam temporarily pushed his fury to the backburner as he instead concentrated on her and on stopping her tears. He pushed forward, his arms going gently around her waist, pulling her to him. Remaining on his knees before her, he buried his face into her stomach, tenderly kissing her there. He nuzzled her, then placed his ear against her abdomen. The gesture was so sweet, so tender that it caused the redhead to cry even harder. Nonetheless, she lowered both hands to his head, twining her fingers into his hair as she held him in place. God, she loved him. He was giving her strength right now, and so much love.

The blond man closed his eyes, his emotions doing battle inside of him. He wanted to make her feel good, take away her tears and sorrow. He felt her small, soft hands stroking his sweaty hair, holding him more securely against her. He pulled back after awhile and gazed up into her still sad face, his heart in his eyes.

Amy blinked with emotion as she moved her hand from his hair to cup his stubbled cheek. He was really so amazingly sweet, and she wondered what she had ever done to deserve him. He was like a godsend. Sometimes, she really felt like pinching herself to see if this was real and that she truly had him. However, instead, she bent over, forward, her face closer to his. His breath felt so warm on her face, and her eyes closed as their lips met.

Adam felt as though he were spiraling, falling as the kiss continued for a long, drawn moment. She invoked in him feelings he'd never known. She'd always been quite good at doing that. And it upset him so badly to know that she was hurting. He began to feel his anger seeping back in, and he knew he was going to have to do something to expend it.

Abruptly, he pulled back, noting the look in his fiancee's eyes. Hurt... She looked so hurt, but he wasn't sure it was from him breaking the kiss so suddenly or from her incident with Matt a little earlier. Fortunately, however, she didn't seem to be reading the true emotion that was bubbling to the surface inside of him.

"I'm going to go grab a shower," he said. He began to get back to his feet, his hand pressing to her cheek. She turned her head slightly to nuzzle him, her own hand coming up to grab his. "You stay here, and I'll be back soon. Okay?"

The redhead nodded.

Good... She seemed to be a bit calmer now. He was glad he'd managed to comfort her well. He went to his stuff to retrieve a bag of soap, shampoo and other stuff as well as street clothes to change into. He would indeed be showering, but first, he had a stop to make on the way.

"Hurry back here," Amy said softly, her hazel eyes full of love as she gazed up at him.

The tall blond man offered her a small smile and nodded.

"I will." With that, he ducked out of the room, his features hardening the moment he was out in the hallway and had the door closed behind him. He briskly made his way down the corridor, his hand clenching into a fist as he had one definite purpose in mind.  
 
 

Part 55

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