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Trish huddled almost within herself on the hotel room bed. She was still full of misery over her situation - a situation she had put herself into.
She was still deceiving Chris. He knew absolutely nothing of her recent night with Christian, let alone her past with him. It felt almost like a lifetime ago since they'd been a couple, but all those feelings came rushing back to her in the midst of the love triangle.
Jericho had invited her to go out to dinner and a movie afterward. The little blonde had sadly declined. Going out might have taken her mind off her troubles if it had been a night with the girls, but this wouldn't have worked. Being with Chris would have been a tormentous reminder of what she was doing to him, and to Christian.
Christian... She wondered what he was doing that night, at that very moment. The not-so-distant memory of his agony-filled face, his teary blue eyes, tore at her heart. It seemed that anytime he was unhappy, she had everything to do with it. Why didn't he understand that they were just no good together? Or, more aptly, she was no good for him - or maybe anyone. After all, Chris would eventually have to find out what was going on, and then she would have yet another broken heart left behind her.
Trish bit her lip and rose from the bed. She had to go see him and talk. If she saw him tonight, at least she could officially put things to rest once and for all. That morning didn't count because she'd been so cowardly and just left with apologies.
Well, this time would be different. She squared her shoulders and edged to the hotel room door, exiting with the keycard in her hand. She fingered its plastic edges nervously as she meandered down the hallway to his room.
Again, she bit her lip as she knocked on the door. There was no immediate response, and she wondered if he was actually out. Christian had never been one to party all that much, so she squashed that thought. More likely, he was doing the exact same thing she'd been doing moments earlier - brooding alone in his room.
She knocked again, rapping lightly, but loudly enough to be heard. Sighing, she called to him.
"Christian, it's me."
This time, she detected the unmistakable sound of someone creeping towards the door. Locks were undone and then it was opened, and he gazed out at her. Their eyes instantly met.
"Trish," he breathed. He was shocked to see her standing there. She was a most welcome vision as he drank her in, her long blonde hair loose and slightly mussed. She was wearing a white tank top and pink jogging pants with white trim running down the outer sides of the legs. She looked a bit tired but breathlessly beautiful. And she was about the last person he would have expected.
"Hi," she said softly, and by some miracle, she somehow managed a tiny smile. Of course, she was not at all feeling it. How could she when she was here for the purpose of breaking his heart for the third time? But he's better off, she told herself. He's far better off without me in his life.
Christian stepped aside as he held the door open slightly wider. She could barely look at him as she stepped inside, her arms wrapping around herself as though she felt a chill.
Finally, the moment he closed the door, she managed to raise her head. Meeting his deep pools of blue, she shuddered inside. How on earth was she ever going to be able to do this? The blonde realized that she didn't even possess the strength. She thought she had, but she'd always been so weak where hurting this man was concerned...
... And yet, why was it that she'd always managed to do it so effortlessly?
"Christian, I... I came here to talk to you. Seriously," she began.
The short-haired blond man eyed her with such tenderness in his orbs, she nearly burst into tears. Slowly, he shook his head. There was a definite melancholy about him, perhaps more so than usual.
"Okay... I'm actually surprised, though."
"Huh?" Trish's breath caught in her throat as she gave him a questioning look. Her heart was hammering in her chest at his nearness as well as for what she was minutes from telling him.
He shrugged as he continued.
"I'm surprised that you stopped by... After this morning, I figured..." Christian let his voice trail off as he was unable and unwilling to finish the thought.
The petite blonde raised a hand to her lips. She honestly felt like crap and didn't know what to say.
"Oh."
There was a brief bout of silence between them, and she raised her gaze so that it took in his handsome yet sad face. His sorrow just about broke her heart.
"So... What did you want to talk to me about?" the Canadian man questioned.
Trish glanced down, her willpower demanding against letting go of the tears she was suddenly holding back. She couldn't go through with this. She didn't have it in her to do it - not again. Instead, she closed the small distance between them and shocked even herself by her actions and words.
"Christian, I..." Her hands were suddenly on him, and she was up on her tiptoes, her face so near his that he could feel her sweet, warm breath on his chin. "... I love you."
He closed the remainder of the distance and crashed his lips on hers in a hungry fit of passion.