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Rob sat up on his and Stephanie's hotel room bed, the television remote in his hand as he flipped the channels absent-mindedly. He couldn't get his mind off of what had happened the previous night, and despite the fact that Adam was with her, he couldn't stop worrying about Amy.
He had been so surprised to learn of the redheaded diva's past relationship with Paul Levesque. Not only that, but he'd been equally shocked that Stephanie had known about it - and the brunette normally told him everything. It had been that way between them basically since they'd started dating almost a year and a half ago.
RVD stretched out on the bed, turning over in the direction of the bathroom. "Steph? Come out here," he called.
A moment later, the young woman stepped out of the small lavatory and glanced over at him. "What's wrong?" She flopped down on the bed beside her boyfriend, noting the odd look on his face. "You look very distracted - preoccupied," she said as she leaned closer and placed a hand against the man's cheek.
"I don't understand it..." Rob said, glancing down for a beat before raising his eyes up to meet hers. "There's something about this whole Amy-Levesque thing that bothers me."
Stephanie removed her hand from his face and looked away, straightening up and pulling herself into a sitting position. This particular topic concerning her redheaded friend never failed to make her uncomfortable and nervous.
"I don't get it, Steph...I knew Amy way back when we were both in ECW together. She's an old friend. Why did she allow herself to go through what she had with that worthless piece of crap?"
"I...Rob, she was scared to death of him. I was scared to death of him, and the only relationship I ever had with Paul was in the storylines!" the brunette exclaimed. When he only stared at her sadly, she continued. "Honey, do you remember the night that we had the storyline with Lucy, Hunter's bulldog?"
"Of course I do," the man replied. "How can I forget? You didn't seem yourself all that night..."
"Right," Stephanie said with a short nod. "That was because it was the night Amy confessed to me...You see, Rob, I was in the locker room after that segment, and I was just about shaking because of what Paul did to me - what he almost did to me out in the ring." She paused for a beat, collecting herself, her eyes downcast for a moment before gazing into her boyfriend's eyes again. "Paul was a little rough with me that night. Amy saw how uset I was when she came into the locker room, and...she comforted me. We talked a little, and she...Well, she told me."
"From what you've told me about Paul, I can't believe she would ever be with someone like him."
"He hides his abusive self very well from others. From what I understand, he never laid a finger on Joanie when he was dating her..."
"Well, maybe that's because she was strong enough to force-feed his balls to him," Van Dam said, and, despite the words, there was no humor in his voice whatsoever.
"Maybe," the brunette said. "But he has one face he shows to everyone in public - and then another to people he's more closely involved with - people like myself, in a business sense...people like Amy in a personal sense."
"That man needs psychiatric help," the young man spat, now showing all the anger he felt against Levesque for what he'd done to his friend and his girlfriend. "Anyone that would do something like that to another person - especially a woman - has to be mentally unbalanced." His left hand clenched into a fist.
The youngest McMahon nodded in agreement.
"I hope she's at least doing a little better now that Adam's with her," RVD said, his gaze taking on a slightly faraway look. He couldn't help but continue to worry about his friend.
"Oh, she's in very good hands," Stephanie stated, the beginnings of a smile taking form on her lovely face. "He'll treat her well, and she'll be safe with him."
"I know he's a good guy," came the reply. "I just worry about whether or not she'll be okay with him. I just mean that, given what she's been through with one man she thought she could trust, what's to say she'll feel comfortable with him - and rooming with him?"
"Believe me, Rob - Amy will be more than fine." Her smile widened a bit as she met her boyfriend's eyes, her gaze steady. "I think this is just the thing she needs. Not only will Adam protect her, but he'll make her feel really good. Just being with him will accomplish her feeling better."
"You know what I want to do?" the man suddenly said, sitting up directly beside Stephanie. "I want to do something to make that bastard pay for what he did to her. We should make his life miserable as payback for what he's done to Amy. I bet Adam would want in on that, too..."
"You're right...I know he would. And that's a great idea, Rob. I would love to take some form of revenge on Paul - not only for Amy, but for myself as well." The brunette's blue eyes had a sharp gleam in them as she spoke. "I'm going to speak to Amy the next chance I get...and I'm going to try to convince her into reporting that psycho to Eric Bischoff. He should get what he deserves..."
"Oh, definitely..." RVD was silent for a moment as he thought about something his girlfriend had said not three minutes earlier. "Steph...Do you really think Amy will be all right with Adam?"
"As I just said, I know she will," the brunette replied with a smile, "because I strongly suspect that she's in love with him."
Her boyfriend arched an eyebrow as he turned his head to fully gaze into her pretty face.
"And not only that, but I have my suspicions that the feeling is one-hundred percent mutual..."