Tears of a Stranger


Trish bit her lip as she walked slowly down the hotel hallway.

She was a bundle of nerves as she contemplated her visit to Amy - but that was silly.  Amy was her best friend, and she wanted and needed to be there for her in her hour of need.  The only problem was that the redhead didn't know herself exactly why she was in this current state.

Trish raised her hand to knock on the door to what she knew was Amy and Adam's room.  She heard noises coming from within and hugged herself, holding back a shiver as she waited.

The door opened, and the blonde woman gazed up at Adam uncertainly.

"Hi...Can I-"  She stopped abruptly as she noticed, beyond the tall blond man that the redhead was seemingly sound asleep, curled up on the bed in the middle of the room.

Adam slipped out into the hallway, holding the door open just a crack with his foot as he regarded the little blonde.

"She's finally asleep," he said in sotto voce.  "And by God, I'm hoping it's a peaceful sleep this time..."

"I hope so, too," Trish whispered.  Then, raising her gaze to meet his, "I heard from Kurt what happened at the arena tonight."

"Oh..."  The tall Canadian man ran a hand through his hair.  "Yeah, that was pretty bad."  He trained his green gaze down for a beat, then met her eyes again.  "Trish, I...I hate to say this, but I'm starting to think you were right..."

The blonde arched an eyebrow at that statement.

"Things have been so weird lately," he continued.  "I...don't know what else to think...But like you said at the hospital the other day, she's probably exhibiting classic patterns..."  He closed his eyes tightly, hating the weariness he felt - but mostly hating the horrific situation.  He was becoming more and more certain that, at one point in her life, his fiancee had been kidnapped and raped.  And she didn't remember that it had even happened...

All of a sudden, Adam and Trish were startled as they heard a scream coming from within the room.  The petite blonde's brown eyes widened as she met the man's eyes, which were filled with as much alarm as she felt.  Quickly, they both shoved their way into the room.

At first, Trish felt a small measure of relief that Amy was actually awake - but that was short-lived.  The redhead stared at them with wide, terror-filled hazel eyes for a beat, then, as she got to her feet, began shaking almost uncontrollably.

"Oh, my God - Adam, what-"

Trish thought at first that Amy was merely shivering - but being mid-April, it wasn't even cold.

"Ames...baby?" the Canadian man said softly, tentatively.

The tortured diva stared blankly at him for a few seconds until she suddenly spun on her heel and took off for the bathroom.

"Oh, God...!"

Amy bolted directly to the toilet, lifted its lid and seat and retched violently.  In seconds, her stomach was completely empty.

"Oh, my God!" Trish exclaimed as she chased Adam into the lavatory.  "She's having more classic symp-"  She swiftly shut up as the blond man turned sharply toward her, his green eyes wide as he gave her an almost fierce look of warning.

"Not now, Trish..." he said softly.  At the moment, all he had in mind was to tend to the misery-filled redhead.

The petite blonde stood by helplessly as Adam rushed to fill a plastic cup with water.  Then, not wanting to be in the way or feel useless, she turned to grab a washcloth off the sink and moistened it with cool water.

Amy was nearly panting, and neither Adam nor Trish was sure if it was from her fright or from the vision or from the effort it took to purge her stomach.  She gratefully allowed the blond man to hold the cup of water for her so she could drink.

"Here, sweetie..." Trish said afterward.  She placed the washcloth she was holding against her friend's face, blotting away the thin sheen of sweat that had formed on her face.  The blonde woman was willing to bet it was a cold sweat, too.

"I...I heard..."  The redhead's speech was slightly broken as she gasped breaths of air.  "Angelica..."

"What, baby?" Adam asked, his eyes widening slightly in alarm at the sound of the name escaping the redhead's lips.  Very briefly, he met Trish's gaze and saw that she too looked frightened.

"Angelica..." Amy repeated.  "The woman that was...was...raped by that maniac...Her name is Angelica..."












Part 23

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