______________________________________________________
Lita huddled almost into herself, shaking slightly as they continued to drive in relative silence.
Damn it, she was cold. It was August and it was quite warm, so how could she feel that way? The air-conditioning wasn't even on in the car, either. No... It was a chill from within - she knew that. She couldn't believe how close she'd come... How close she'd come to becoming Kane's wife. She shuddered just thinking about it, nearly crying out as she thought about how very grateful she was toward the two blond men who had saved her.
Through the passenger's side window, she got a glimpse of Chris Jericho. The otherwise lively, talkative and sometimes *loudmouthed* man seemed to be either asleep or very relaxed. He *had* been through plenty that night, after his match.
On that thought, she turned her head to the left and gazed at Edge. The tall Canadian was focused on his driving, that customary intensity he always possessed clearly evident in the expression on his face. And oddly, he'd been Jericho's opponent that night, yet they had both rescued her. They'd put each other through hell and still both cared enough about her to do that. She found herself getting choked up, and tears sprang to her eyes.
Edge briefly took his eyes off the road to glance at the redhead by his side.
"Hey... Don't do that," he said gently. The sound of Lita's sobs wrenched his heart, and he felt helpless to do anything to comfort her at the moment.
"I... I can't help it," she moaned. The tears drenched her cheeks, and she reached up to wipe at them with the back of her hand. "It's just... God, Edge - I've been through *so* much lately, and I..." She swallowed hard, her gaze down at her lap, then raised her head to look out the windshield at the dark road ahead. "... I feel like my whole world has collapsed around me. And Matt... God, poor Matt!"
The blond man's jaw clenched slightly at the mention of the darker Hardy's name, but he didn't say anything just yet.
"It's all my fault he got hurt," Lita moaned. "So many people have gotten hurt because of me." She shook her head, wringing her hands helplessly.
Edge took his eyes off the road again as he eyed the distraught redhead. His heart went out to her, and he hated seeing and hearing her so upset. Removing his right hand from the steering wheel, he reached out and grasped her much smaller one in his. Damn, she was actually cold - she felt like ice.
"What happened to Matt was *not* your fault, Lita. He chose to go out there in the matches against Kane. He made that choice himself... and it's because he cares about you." Inwardly, he thought about how also, during that last contest at SummerSlam the previous week, the winner would get to marry the beautiful redhead. He couldn't really blame Matt for trying.
Lita shook her head, her gaze traveling to their clasped hands. She realized she was gripping him pretty tightly, but he hadn't complained.
"It wasn't supposed to go this far..."
"Matt... loves you," the Canadian managed, the words leaving his mouth with a bitter taste. "That's why he risked himself time and again."
"No," she denied, shaking her head again. "I mean... Well, yes, Matt loves me, but it's not like that."
Edge turned from the road ahead to eye her again, and in the darkness, Lita could see the confusion on his face.
"It's not like that," she repeated on a sigh. "If Matt had won the Death 'til Us Part match, we weren't going to get married. He loves me, but not in a romantic way - he's like a protective big brother."
The blond man gaped at her in shock, his face full of questions.
"But... then... Why?"
"Kane *thinks* we were together, but we weren't," she admitted. "Not like that, anyway. Since our last breakup last November, we got to talking again and decided we were better off as just friends. And then, Kane started coming after me, and Matt was there, and..." Her voice broke again as she recalled her dear friend being brutalized by the Big Red Monster on numerous occasions in the not-so-distant past.
"Oh, God..." she moaned, breaking down yet again. "I'm in such trouble."
Edge allowed his fingers to caress her much smaller hand, tenderness sweeping through him. He wanted so fiercely to protect this woman and take away all her pain.
"You're safe now, Lita," he said softly. "I promise you that... If Kane comes after us and tries to do a damn thing to you again, I'll kill him myself with my bare hands - I swear..."
She met his eyes in the darkness and gave his large, warm hand a squeeze. She had to mentally
acknowledge that he made her feel safe - something she hadn't felt in months.