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Christian suddenly opened his eyes as he slowly awoke. As he rolled over onto his side, his arm stretched out over her side of the bed, seeking her sweet, warm form...
... He felt the crisp coolness of the bedsheet instead. Dawn Marie was not there, not laying beside him.
The blond man, suddenly wide awake, bolted up to a sitting position. He scanned his wife's side of the bed, and sure enough, she wasn't there. In fact, it appeared that she hadn't been there for quite awhile.
"What the-" He stared with angry blue eyes at the vacant side of the bed, as though uncomprehending how she could not be there. Of course, the incident from the previous night had to have everything to do with Dawn's disappearance. How had he been stupid enough or blind enough to believe that her love for him was strong enough to erase what he'd done from her memory?
Nonetheless, it enraged him. How in hell could she leave him after everything they'd done together, after everything they'd shared? They had built a life together, made promises... They had taken that sacred vow in the most beautiful of alliances - marriage.
And yet, she was gone.
Christian slipped out of bed, his mind reeling from this impossibility. He made his way to the closet, yanking the string that lit the single bulb ahead, and stared at the clothing within. He didn't even have to move any of the garments to note that all of her stuff was, by some miracle, still there. Maybe she *hadn't* left him after all. But then, where the hell was she? He'd never woken to find her side of the bed cold... Even on days she got up before him, her warmth and fragrance still lingered beside him.
She was working the late shift today, he remembered. There was absolutely no reason for her not to be here. He decided to leave the cold, empty bedroom and check the kitchen, living room and bathroom.
"Dawn?" he called as he entered the small hallway. "Dawn Marie?"
There was no answer. She definitely was not in the house.
Christian scanned the kitchen in a hurry. The table was where his wife normally kept her purse. That wasn't there, but her lighter and an open box of cigarettes were sitting atop it. He supposed she'd forgotten to put them back in her bag when she'd left, and that to him meant one thing...
... She'd been in a real hurry to get out of the house - away from *him*.
"God damn it!" he shouted, his right hand violently sweeping the cigarettes and lighter to the floor. He tore at his hair as he raged.
*
Lita eyed the brunette with uncertainty. In spite of the woman reporting her husband to the police, she still wasn't sure she trusted her.
She was due at work in less than an hour. And damn if she didn't want to go. How could she? The man she loved was laying wounded in her bed after suffering a stab wound! She couldn't just leave him... But how was she going to explain her absence to Stephanie? She supposed she could lie and call out sick, but what about tomorrow? And the day after that, and so on?
"It's okay, Lita," Dawn said, a placating hand pressed to her arm. "I'll stay here with him. I'm not due until tonight anyway."
The redhead eyed the other woman warily. Could she really be trusted to keep an eye on Edge after everything she'd done, everything she'd pulled? And that was to say nothing of the fact of the brunette's past relationship with the injured man. It wasn't that she was jealous, or that she didn't trust her boyfriend... But what if Dawn Marie tried something inappropriate?
She blinked, shaking her head as she told herself to get rid of such thoughts. It was really ridiculous when you got right down to it. And she *did* need the money, so it was best she just go to work.
Finally, she sighed and spoke.
"Okay," she relented. "You can stay here with him. But *please* don't let him do anything that will further his injury, and call me if there's an emergency... Or even if you think there *might* be one."
"I will," Dawn Marie said, nodding. Her expression was morose as she shifted her gaze to the sleeping man in Lita's bed. "And I'll keep the door locked and stay inside. Cody will protect the fortress."
The Doberman raised his head and cocked it as he regarded her. It was pretty clear he understood exactly what she was saying.
"Good," the worried woman said. "Okay, I really better be going or I'll be late. See you later." She grabbed her purse and swung it over her shoulder.
"Bye."
Dawn Marie, followed by Cody, who whined a bit, walked Lita to the door. She waved to the redhead, then shut and locked the door before heading back to the bedroom.
Edge was still apparently sound asleep. He hadn't so much as moved a muscle since she'd last been in the room moments earlier.
"Well," the brunette said on a sigh as she eyed the slumbering blond and then the dog and back again, "looks
like it's just me and you boys."