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Although Lita had only just regained consciousness a short time earlier, Edge had insisted on taking her out of the hospital. The doctor had stressed that removing the redhead from the premises was a mistake, but the blond man hadn't cared. As far as he was concerned, Lita was far better off nowhere near the place. Besides, if need be, he could always bring her to another hospital.
At the moment, the small group was back at the hotel... The scene of the crime.
Lita, although weak, was alert and awake. Every so often, she would let out a soft whimper. The blond man wasn't sure if it was from physical or emotional pain. Either way, it wrenched at his heart.
Chris and Trish, huddled together on an armchair across the room, spoke to one another in hushed tones. The blonde diva had since stopped crying, but she was obviously still terrified - and horribly worried about her redheaded friend.
Edge felt sick as thoughts of what had been done to Lita plagued him. His stomach clenched uncomfortably, and his heart pounded like mad in his chest. He couldn't shake the overwhelming urge to storm out and search for Christian. He wanted nothing more than to beat his little brother senseless.
Somehow, the blond man was managing also to refrain from giving in to the awful urge to run to the bathroom and vomit. He'd felt as though he were going to lose his lunch ever since finding out what had happened to Lita.
Speaking of the redhead, she was curled up in his arms on the hotel bed, positively clinging to him. It was almost as though she were a drowning swimmer and he her only buoy. Her face was pressed against Edge's chest, one of her hands tightened around the cloth of his shirt. She seemed terrified to let go or of him letting her go, but the Canadian had no intention of doing so.
On the other hand, Edge wanted to get up, march right out of this room and find his brother - and kill him. A part of him still held onto the idea that he really didn't know that Christian was responsible for beating and raping Lita - but he knew better. Instinctively, he knew, no matter how hard he wished it were not true. Not his brother, his own flesh and blood!
Suddenly, his tormentuous thoughts were interrupted as Jericho approached the bed, standing over it.
"Edge... Can I have a word with you?"
The taller blond man looked up, eyeing the other man curiously. He really didn't want to leave Lita alone - not even for a minute, but there was an urgency in Chris' eyes. Besides, now that they were back here, he suddenly recalled that Jericho had disappeared for awhile when they'd been at the hospital. He'd wanted to question the man as to where he'd gone and what he'd done.
Edge nodded and began to gently untangle the redhead from him.
"No..." Lita murmured. "P-please... don't leave me, Edge!" There was naked fear in her hazel eyes as she gazed up at him beseechingly. The tall Canadian's heart nearly broke at that look in her eyes, on her face. If he could do anything at all to ease her pain and anguish, by God, he would do it in a second. Hell, he wished he could magically go back in time and prevent what had happened to her.
But there was no way he could do that... And he knew he had to listen to whatever Jericho had to say to him.
"Sweetheart, don't worry..." he reassured her. He reached out and smoothed some strands of her long red hair from her haunted face. "I'll be right back. Chris and I will just go and talk, and I'll be back."
Lita didn't reply, instead merely stared up at the blond man. She swallowed visibly, and that was when Trish, who'd been silent throughout the exchange, came over. As Edge rose, the little blonde took his place on the bed, gathering the battered redhead into her arms. Lita seemed to cling to her friend as the two men departed to the bathroom to speak in private.
Y2J shut the door behind them, a grave expression on his face. He raked a hand through his hair, pacing himself for what he had to tell the other man.
"Chris?"
Jericho raised his gaze to meet Edge's green eyes.
"When we were in the hospital," the older man began, deciding it best to just come out with it right away - no beating around the bush-, "I came back here... You see, I had a feeling..."
The taller man didn't speak, but a feeling of extreme discomfort gripped him. Somehow, he knew what Jericho was about to say...
"Edge, I confronted Christian... He did it - he attacked Lita."