Nothing I've Become

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"I can't believe what you did!" Dawn Marie cried as she entered the steamy bathroom. Christian was in the shower, sluicing away the blood - the blood of his stepbrother.

There was no answer for the longest time, and the brunette wondered if her husband had even heard her. However, she got her answer finally, as the blond man turned off the water. She saw the towel hanging on the shower rod slip inside and the silhouette of him dry off before swathing the towel around his naked hips.

"Don't worry about it, honey," he said as he slid the filmly glass shower door open. He smiled and winked at her, and Dawn was downright shocked. Conning and scheming was one thing, as was even stealing Adam's money, but what Jay had done was beyond anything her mind could comprehend.

"'Don't worry about it?'" she said incredulously. "Jay, you *stabbed* Adam! You never said a thing about physical violence. You could have *killed* him!"

Inwardly, the blond man wondered if he had indeed done just that and succeeded. Yet, at the same time, he didn't get the impression that his stepbrother was dead... It sure didn't *feel* like he was.

"Dawnie, will you calm down?" he said, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders. "For crying out loud, you're shaking."

"Well, how the hell can I *not* be?" Dawn Marie exclaimed, her brown eyes filled with something he'd never seen directed at him before. She looked ashamed, fearful. He didn't like having those emotions directed at him by his own wife.

"Listen to me," he said seriously, looking her straight in the eye. He reached up and gripped her chin - not hard enough to really hurt, but firmly, as though sending her an unmistakable message. "Everything is going to be just *fine*. If you're so worried, we'll just pick up and go somewhere new."

The brunette flinched, and at that very moment found herself yearning for a cigarette. However, she knew how much Jay hated it when she smoked, and she knew the dirty habit was only a temporary method of releasing stress but did not solve or end all her problems. She twisted out of her husband's grasp.

"No! Jay, I'm sick of moving around like a nomad! I just..." She exhaled a deep breath, her eyes closing wearily. "... I just want to be *normal* again. I'm tired of running... I'm tired of hiding out because of what he did to Adam. I'm tired of the fact that I lost a friend *because* of it. I'm just... *tired*, Jay."

Christian crossed his arms, his long, wet hair spilling droplets of water onto his bare, chisled chest.

"Really? Well, maybe you're tired of *me*, too?!" His face was full of anger, blue eyes sparking. He rarely got angry with his wife, but on those rare occasions, he really hated it.

"What did you have before me? You had nothing, Dawn - *nothing*!"

She flinched again, the words stinging. She thought of saying she *did* have something before him - Adam - but decided against it. She'd never seen him so angry before, so who knew if he might suddenly fly into physical violence?

Christian's demeanor suddenly changed again as a smile came to his lips and his features softened.

"Hey now." He put an arm around Dawn Marie's waist and nuzzled her. The brunette was startled by his sudden mood change. "Like I said, it'll all be all right."

Dawn swallowed hard, her eyes closed as he started kissing the side of her neck.

*

Lita stared down at the man laying on his back on her bed, his eyes closed. She couldn't remember feeling as horrible as she did right now, and she couldn't deny the tears as they came yet again.

Edge had finally fallen asleep... Initially, she'd been terrified he had been injured far worse than he had let on, but she detected the rising and falling of his chest with his breathing. Nonetheless, she wept.

The redhead rose from the bed upon which she'd still been sitting and raced for the door to leave the room. Her crying was about to get louder and she didn't want to disturb Edge, especially if his sleep was peaceful. Also, she was not going to allow him to question her crying - she had every right to do so if that was how she truly felt.

A deep sense of mortality had struck Lita from the moment Edge had collapsed on her floor and she'd seen that he'd been stabbed. How very close she'd come to losing him! She couldn't bear the thought of it.

"Damn you, Adam Copeland," she swore softly, the sobs overtaking her body. She wrapped her arms around her legs as she drew them up on the couch she sank down onto. Cody came over, whimpering, and nuzzled her. That only made her sob just a bit harder.
 
 
 
 

Part 37

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