______________________________________________________
The moment Lita ushered her into the hotel room, Trish broke down, bursting into tears.
"Oh, God..." The redheaded diva wrapped an arm around the small blonde, exchanging a helpless glance with her boyfriend, Edge.
The tall blond man, who'd been sitting on the bed, rushed over to the two women. He gave Trish a quick once-over, a look of concern etched on his handsome face. Together, he and Lita led the distraught blonde to the small table across the room.
"Trish... honey, what happened?" The redhead's voice was calm and soft as she spoke to her best friend. She knelt in front of the little blonde as the young woman sank down into a plush armchair.
Edge stood nearby, beside his girlfriend, his concern growing as the diva continued to sob. There was something about Trish's crying that struck him - it wasn't merely out of ordinary sorrow or heartache. No... the sobs coming from the petite diva were mournful in a different sort of way. But he still couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Trish raised one hand to her forehead, some strands of her golden hair becoming partly plastered to her face thanks to her tears.
"Trish...?" Lita reached out and grasped the other diva's hand.
The blonde paused in her weeping as she met her best friend's concerned hazel gaze. Terror swept through her as she wondered how in hell she was going to tell - how could she explain when she hardly believed it herself? She felt as though she were in a living nightmare.
"I... He... he..."
Lita and Edge exchanged glances, the blond man's brows knitting together in confusion as the redhead's eyes widened. The tall Canadian knelt beside Lita, coming to eye-level with the sobbing woman.
"Trish, look at me," the blond man said. Only when she did, did he continue. "Does this have anything to do with my brother?"
The diva squeezed her eyes shut upon the mention of Christian, her hands balling into fists. In seconds, she drew her small form into a tight position on the chair, her knees drawing up against her chest. She was actually whimpering.
"Oh, my God..." the redhead muttered. "What the hell is happening to her, Edge?"
The tall Canadian shook his head, his gaze briefly meeting that of his girlfriend's before returning to the little blonde.
"Only she can tell us, babe."
Trish's crying ceased for a moment as she looked imploringly at her friends, her tearful brown eyes traveling from Edge to Lita.
"H-help me...!"
"Sweetie, we *want* to do that," the redhead replied calmly, her hand gentle as it came to rest on the blonde's knee. "But you have to tell us what happened."
"Chris... Ch-Christian!" was all the diva could manage.
Edge's teeth clenched in anger, but he wasn't quite sure what had him so agitated. Still, he knew that whatever had Trish so upset, it had to do with his brother.
"What about Chris and Christian? Talk to me, Trish..." the redhead said with concern.
"I... I feel like I'm losing my mind... Which one...?" The petite woman buried
her face in her hands, sobbing for a long moment before looking back up. "I think I'm
in the middle of a big conspiracy," Trish continued. "I think I'm in big trouble!"