SERIES: Revolution Infidelities
PART: 1 of 4
RATING: PG-13 (Adult thematic material, content, violence, dark themes)
FANDOMS: Wrestling
PAIRINGS: Lita/Edge – Past Matt/Edge
SLASH/GEN/HET: Gen with a Het edge
DISTRIBUTION: To myself only – email for permission.
CATEGORY: Drama
FEEDBACK: PLEASE?!
NOTES: Though I don’t take a position either way on whether or not the whole Adam/Amy/Matt thing is a work, in this fic, we’ll pretend it’s a shoot.
DISCLAIMER: Not Real. Not Mine.
SUMMARY: Matt and Amy’s breakup and her affair with Edge, as seen through the eyes of various people close to them.
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Nora hesitated before the shut door. She had no idea what to do – while her heart insisted that she comfort her friend, but her sense of delicacy lay scorched and wounded. She should have stepped in with an opinion at some point, expressed her displeasure. But her friend was not a listener and would probably have ignored her, probably with a hearty “fuck you? thrown in for good measure. At least she had been left the option of helping now. Against her better judgment, Nora knocked, rapidly and without cadence.
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“Amy? It’s me.?
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Behind the nondescript wood, the plain plastic numbers reading “24?, a watery moan sounded. Nora wondered what her friend had to cry about -having two men at your beck and call wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Nora knew too much about the business to play that kind of game – politically, it was an unwinnable game for a woman. An unhappy ending guaranteed for all involved.
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For someone who had been a silent witness to the entire sordid affair, she felt oddly detached from Amy’s sorrow.
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Nora would never be able to remember how it had begun - affairs in her line of business had a way of materializing and dissolving rapidly, and she was never one to find much to take joy in gossip. Small signs had appeared in their shared rooms, ones that should have alerted Nora to the situation; Adam’s cell phone, lying on the nightstand after an evening of drinking. Trojans wrappers tossed into the trash, crumpled and almost invisible among the empty Evian bottles and take-out containers. But Nora had ignored them all, not wanting to understand, until Amy plainspokenly told Nora that she had been sleeping with Adam Copeland on the road.
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Nora wasn’t sure how to react to her friend’s confession. Amy seemed to be rather blasé about it, as though the sex she had been having was a necessary biological function.
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“Do you love him?? Nora had asked.
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“He dives well.? Amy responded. “We’re just friends.?
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To Nora, the explanation seemed incomprehensible - sex without love wasn’t part of what she considered a healthy relationship. The world worked differently for others, and she understood that. So Nora sat by - making herself unavailable by absenting herself in the evenings.
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As with all things dangerous, Amy and Adam’s momentary Eden had its calm before the serpent. They had been happy together - whatever their version of happy was - they never shared a smile or a telling look when united. . Nora, like a penitents at an alter on Armageddon, had been too busy keeping her eyes averted to brace for the ending - an ending that came loud recrimination, the hiss of gossip in the background, but little emotion from Adam. Amy had locked her out of the room the afternoon of the breakup, and now she wouldn’t let Nora back in.
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“Come on, Amy. Let me in.?
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Something shuffled behind the door - a raw-sounding rumble of noise. The lock slipped open abruptly, and the redhead filled the door, wearing her sorrow almost prettily.
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“You need to eat something - you look pale.?
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“I can’t move.?
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Amy’s voice - the tremble hidden in those words - made Nora take pause. “Give me your hand.?
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“I can’t move I can’t move…?
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Nora did the walking for her, helping Amy into bed. “Drink this.?
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She shook her head. “Matt knows everything – Lisa told him - that bitch had such a big mouth on her.?
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“I can’t say I blame her.? The words slipped out unconsciously.
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Disbelief showed on Amy’s face. “You call yourself my friend??
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“It was a dirty secret, Amy – it was causing you pain.?
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“I only wanted a few more days…?
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“If it was just sex, why does Matt care??
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“What are you, Nora, a fucking robot??
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A glimmer echoed in Nora’s expression, like a rock breaking through water. “I’m sorry I’m not rah-rahing for your extra-relationship affair.?
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“It was only sex, Nora,? she whispered. “Sex. Why didn’t Matt understand??
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“I thought you’d have learned something about the business by now. Or at least of the way men think.?
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“But this is just as much Adam’s fault as it is mine.?
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“No one else is going to see it that way. Besides Adam’s wife.?
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“But why -“
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“Don’t you realize what kind of business we’re in, Amy? Haven’t you ever looked at what kind of people sign our checks every week?? She tossed the pizza onto the bed. “They’ll always take Adam’s side over yours - and it doesn’t matter who started it. You’re going to be the whore who blew a big-money angle, and he’s going to be the good old boy who knows how to play the game. Good girls don’t cheat - men can do whatever they want, but women are raked over the fire for every little mistake. That’s the way it’s always been.?
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“I signed my contract - I knew what I was getting into, backstage. But Matt and I had our lives planned,? Amy said. “We had it all figured out, for years ahead. Now I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m going to do when I get there.?
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“Tomorrow,? Nora sat on the bed as she said this, “You’re going to Atlanta. Then you have to be on a plane back to North Carolina.?
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“But then I have to go home - no, I have to buy a new house.?
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“And you’re going to need someone to help you move, aren’t you?
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“I’ll call my father.?
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“No, I’ll help you. I’ll help you move, and I’ll help you eat this pizza.?
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Amy seemed dazzled by this sudden turn of events. “Why would you want to do that??
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“Because I should have done something to stop you when I had the chance.?
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“I never would have listened.?
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“I know. But I would have made you.? Nora opened the box. “The girls in this business have to stick together. It’s the only way to survive.?
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Amy dabbed the corner of her eye with a thumb. “Adam never bought me pizza. You’re already a better lover than he is.?
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“Flatterer. I hope you like pepperoni.?
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