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Half an hour later, Lita was on a search engine online, doing a search for local news items. Within minutes, she uncovered the story of Christian, the young man whom Edge had attacked a couple of nights previous.
Despite what she hoped, there wasn't a whole lot of information - at least none different than what she'd heard on the radio last night.
The redhead had been hoping to learn more about Christian - so as to get a clue, even one extremely minute, why the other man had attacked him.
Lita was on the computer for two and a half hours by the time Jeff returned to the living room, a glass of iced tea in each hand. He placed one beside her near the keyboard as he sat down, pulling his chair closer to her.
"I don't get it, Li...Why the sudden obsession with this guy?"
"What?" The redhead turned her head sharply to her left to stare into the young man's almost guileless face, her heart quickening. She hadn't told him a thing about Edge...
"This Christian guy - he's someone that comes into the diner once in awhile, right?"
"Well, he's sort of a regular diner there..." she replied.
"And it looks like you've developed a little crush on him," Jeff said, a slight grin taking form on his face.
"No!" Lita insisted, and she couldn't help the tiny smile that came to her lips, as she was relieved to see that he hadn't suddenly become psychic after all. Thank goodness for that.
"Well then, what's up with all of this?" the rainbow-headed man asked, gesturing toward the PC with one hand.
"Just a little private investigating...I'd like to visit Christian in the hospital," she added. It was true - since she couldn't find any pertinent information, she wouldn't mind paying the blond man a visit.
"Li, you're weirding all out on me here..."
The redhead gaped at Jeff.
"You, Jeff Hardy, are telling me I'm weirding out? Jeff, you're really one to talk! You're the weirdest person I know!"
"I know, but you're acting totally different kind of weird..."
Lita looked at him seriously for a beat, considering telling him the truth, then changed her mind.
"Okay, fine...Whatever." She turned back to the computer screen to find the name of the hospital Christian had been brought to. She'd heard it on the radio two days earlier, but she'd forgotten.
"Lincoln Memorial..." the redhead mumbled a moment later as she read the words across the computer monitor.
"Are you serious?" Jeff asked as he brought the glass down from his lips. At his other side, Liger was seated on his haunches, his head resting on his master's knee. "You're really serious about visiting this guy in the hospital?"
"You bet your ass I am, Jeffy..."
*
Lita hated to just run out when Jeff had been nice enough to allow her use of his computer, but she couldn't help it. She was feeling way too antsy and couldn't get everything off her mind - Edge in particular... Somehow, she wanted to put the pieces of the mystery together.
Why on earth had he attacked Christian? Why had he tried to attack her? Who had he mistaken her for when he'd grabbed her? All of these questions, plus more, pervaded her mind.
After parking her car around the corner from the facility, Lita walked briskly to the hospital. She made certain to pace herself, for she didn't want to upset the patient in any way.
Upon entering the hospital, the redhead found out where the nurses' station was located, then promptly got Christian's room number.
After exiting the elevator on the appropriate floor, she quickly located the room. The door was open, and, tentatively, she stuck her head in.
The blond man in the bed, although sleepy-looking, sensed her presence and turned his head in her direction. Seeing her, his face took on a look of slight surprise.
"Hey...Lita...come on in..."
The redhead bit her lip as she entered, then cursed herself for not having stopped for flowers or something.
"Hey...How are you?" she asked as she sat in the chair beside the bed.
"Better - but I still feel like hell..."
Lita was silent for a beat, then was about to ask her first question when she was startled by the sudden sound of heels clacking on the tile floor. Then, as she looked up at the person who'd entered the room, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Dawn Marie...?"