"I just wanted to stay in tonight, Kurt!" the young woman cried, her heart pounding uncomfortably fast in her chest.  "I thought we could just spend the evening alone."

"Look," Kurt Angle said with annoyance, nearly gritting his teeth as he stared down into the redhead's face, "my brother is in town, and it's not often I get to see him.  I feel like hanging out tonight.  And frankly, I don't care if you wanted to stay in or have alone time or not. I don't want to do that."

"Fine...then go - have a blast.  And go get stinking drunk to the point that you can't even stand!" Amy Dumas shouted, praying inwardly that she wouldn't suddenly start crying right here and now.  It was bad enough that she and her Olympian boyfriend had been fighting over the last couple of months and that with each argument, it was just getting worse and worse.  It was horrible, and Amy was just about at her limit.

"See ya!" Angle said nastily, waving at her with one hand as she spun around on her heel and made her brisk way over to their rental car.  What a jerk he was turning into!  She was at least grateful for the fact that they were going to be taking Shane McMahon's car, so the boss' son would be the one driving.  She was terrified of Kurt behind the wheel, especially on nights he hung out with friends, as his drinking was sometimes a bit reckless.  Actually, over the course of the past month or so, he'd been getting worse.

Damn it... the redhead thought as she reached for the key to the rental car and unlocked the driver's side door.  The truth be known, she felt like absolute shit.  Not only had Kurt's drinking been getting more and more out of control, but his temper was extremely short these days - particularly with her - and it seemed that he wanted little, if anything to do with her.  It seemed to Amy that, for him, spending any amount of time with her, or even speaking with her, was a chore... A chore he no longer wanted any part of.

"Amy!  Amy, wait up!"

She turned around abruptly at the sound of the voice, and Shane McMahon, who'd also been in the arena parking lot, waiting in his rental car, approached her.  The young man's face looked concerned as he eyed his friend.

"Are you all right?  I didn't hear everything you two said to each other, but I saw how upset you looked..."

"I'll...I'll survive," Amy said, barely able to look the man in the eye.

Shane shook his head.  "I know Kurt's one of my best friends," he began, "but damn it!  You're a good friend as well...I hate to see you two fighting.  I hate to see you so unhappy."

The redhead shrugged, then crossed her arms under her breasts.  "Lately, I think he just doesn't give a damn about me anymore."  She sniffled, lifting a hand to her face as she attempted not to cry.

"I think everything's getting to him lately...He'll snap out of it."

The diva shook her head.  "I doubt it, Shane...I really doubt it.  And I think you're wrong about everything getting to him - I don't think that's the case.  I think he's just tired of being in a relationship with me."

The dark-haired man gazed at her sympathetically.  He couldn't comprehend how the Olympian could treat this beautiful, sweet woman so badly.  Being a close friend of the couple over the last nearly year and a half they'd been together, he knew she was nothing but supportive and loyal.  Plus, she was a wellspring of understanding.  There was nothing she wouldn't do for Kurt.  She deserved so much better than what he'd been giving her over these last couple of months.  And unfortunately, what he'd been giving wasn't much.  If anything, all she received from him these days was heartache and pain.

"I hate to say this, but...I think you may be right."

Amy stared directly into Shane's brown eyes, her breath catching in her throat at his words.  She bit her lip for a beat, her eyes downcast.  Then, after a moment, she spoke again.  "Can you please just...keep an eye on him tonight for me?"

"I will," the young man promised, placing a gentle hand on his redheaded friend's shoulder.  He felt so badly for her.  She looked about seconds away from breaking down right here.  He turned his head back toward his rental for a split second, noting the look of annoyance on the face of Angle as he stared out the passenger's side window at them.  He could only imagine exactly what the man must be thinking as he was over here, consoling his girlfriend, who was upset because of his actions.

"Thanks, Shane...and please...please don't let him drink too much..."

"I'll try to get him to limit himself," the boss' son promised.

"Thank you."  The redhead seemed to wince a bit before entering the car.  She turned back for a second to see the young man still standing there, gazing at her with sympathy in his eyes before she drove off into the night.