______________________________________________________
Dawn Marie sighed as she exited the diner for the night. Her shift had just ended, and for that, she was grateful. All she wanted to do was get home, soak in a nice, hot bath and have some quality time alone with her husband.
The day had been mostly uneventful, and blessedly so. Although she had expected Lita to approach her and demand more answers - or even worse, start a fight again - it hadn't happened. The redhead had kept to herself when they were around each other, and spoken and socialized with Trish and Chris. She'd blatantly avoided the brunette, and Dawn had to admit to herself that she was grateful.
She was sorry she'd lost a good friend... But the redhead was a feisty one, and a formidable enemy. The other day, when they'd gotten into a scuffle, it really hadn't been much of a fight - at least not on Dawn Marie's side. She was no fighter.
The woman hastily pulled out a cigarette and her lighter as she approached her car. Her fingers shook as she lit her smoke, then reached for her car keys. Dawn unlocked the driver's side door quickly, then slid into the vehicle. Tossing her purse onto the passenger's seat, she shut the door, buckled her seatbelt and put the key in the ignition.
Just as she was pulling out of the parking space, the sound of her celll phone ringing in her purse startled her. Nearly jumping in her seat, she floored the brake, jolted by the force of the car stopping short. Luckily, there hadn't been any cars coming her way and she wasn't blocking oncoming traffic. The phone kept ringing, and she grabbed it from her purse. A quick glimpse at the number displayed told her nothing - she didn't recognize it.
"Hello?"
There was no response of a hello back, but the brunette was able to detect the distinct sound of a person breathing on the other end.
"Hello?" she repeated.
"So, I've finally got you," a masculine voice declared in a soft tone.
Dawn Marie instantly felt chills running up her back. She knew all at once who was on the other end. She felt suddenly incapable of speech, as she was nearly frozen with fear.
"Aww, come on, Dawnie - I know you're still there," the voice taunted. "I know you didn't hang up on me."
The brunette opened her mouth, her lips moving, but all she could manage by way of a voice was a pitiful little squeak.
"How did you get this number?!"
"What's the matter, you don't want to talk to your ex-boyfriend?" Adam asked, his voice tinged with amusement. He couldn't help but enjoy this. And frankly, after everything Dawn Marie had put him through, why shouldn't he? And hell, he was behaving pretty tamely in comparison to what he *could* be doing right now. He had Dawn and Christian's home address - he could have just as easily gone to their house and wreaked havoc on their property - or on his loving stepbrother himself.
"No!" Dawn shouted. She cried out in pain as she suddenly became all too aware that she'd forgotten about
her cigarette. Tossing the remainder of it out the window, she glanced at her burned hand. It was a tiny
burn on the outside of the first joint of her middle finger, but it hurt like hell nonetheless. She knew
once she got home she'd have to put salve on it. "Leave me alone, Adam Copeland! Stay *out* of my life!"
The brunette pressed the button to end the call, then pulled the rest of the way out of her parked position,
the car screeching as she shot off in the direction of home.