Dr. Wallace had instructed the injured redhead to go to any hospital or doctor's office within a week to have the stitches removed.  She also told the young woman to take it easy during the week and not wrestle with her battered back.  Finally, Wallace had handed the redhead her business card, telling her not to hesitate to call any time if she needed to talk.

Stephanie, Rob and Adam had all stayed close to the hospital during the diva's ordeal, all opting to be with her.  The brunette had driven her boyfriend's rental car to the hospital, so the pair rode in that to the next town.  The tall Canadian, however, had left his rental in the arena parking lot, since he'd rode in the ambulance with Amy.  The redhead would be traveling to the next stopover with him.

After paying her hospital bill, Amy painfully made her way down the hallway toward the exit, Adam right beside her.  In truth, her back hurt like hell, and she winced with every little step, every movement.

The Canadian man eyed her sympathetically, wincing a little himself.  He could not even begin to imagine the pain the young woman was in, or the terror she must have felt at the hands of her abusive ex-boyfriend.

Ex-boyfriend... The concept just seemed to refuse to sink into Adam's head - he couldn't believe that his friend Amy Dumas had carried on a secret relationship with Paul Levesque.  It seemed unreal.  Amy and Paul were so different from each other - pretty much like night and day.  He wondered, not for the first time, what the redhead had ever seen in the man.  And how long had she endured his horrific abuse?  Adam suddenly realized the diva had never actually revealed when she had ended it with Levesque.

During her brief stay in the hospital, the redhead had called the rental car company, asking them to send a guy to pick up her vehicle, as she no longer needed it.  She'd asked Adam if she could share a ride with him.

The blond man hadn't hesitated to agree to the request.  He could plainly see the fear in the young woman's eyes - the maniac had attacked her once, so what was to say he wouldn't make another attempt in the future?

Back at the arena parking lot, they slipped into Adam's rental car, and the diva winced, sucking in a gust of breath between her teeth at the pain when her lower back brushed against the passenger's seat.  She clenched both hands up before her as she waited for the unpleasant feeling to subside.

"I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain, Ames," the handsome Canadian said.  "I really do."

"I'll be okay soon enough," she said in an attempt to assure not only him, but to convince herself as well.

They drove with very little conversation for the first few miles of their trip, each of them consumed by their own thoughts.  After awhile, however, the suspense of everything surrounding this woman, whom Adam never would have guessed so mysterious, got the better of him.

"Okay..." he said, breaking the silence, for he hadn't even switched on the car's radio.  "...I'm sorry if I'm prying here, but...well, why did you and Levesque keep your relationship a secret?"

The redhead, who had been hugging herself protectively in her seat, turned her head to study him.  She wasn't surprised by the blond man's question, but at the same time, she wasn't offended by it, either.

"Well," she began as she ran the fingers of her right hand through her long auburn locks, "it was initially my idea to keep it from everyone - because...let's just say I knew my friends wouldn't approve."  She gazed at him pointedly, although Matt and Jeff Hardy were really the friends she had in mind who would have vehemently objected.

"Okay...I get that."

"And then," she continued, "after awhile, I wanted to tell them.  I didn't want to 'sneak around' anymore...this was in the midst of Paul's surgery - but by that time, he decided he wanted to continue the way we'd been going all along."

"But why?" Adam asked.

Amy glanced ahead at the road beyond through the windshield.  "I wish I knew...but I didn't."  She shook her head as memories came flooding back to her...

Her hands bound behind her back, mouth duct-taped, a gag inside, uncomfortable, making her feel as though she might throw up - he would probably laugh if she were to asphyxiate on her own vomit.  She was terrified he might blindfold her as well - but then, maybe it would be better if she didn't see everything he was going to do to her...

The redhead shuddered, a chill creeping up her spine as she willed these horrible thoughts from her mind.  She shut her eyes tightly, feeling tears about to spring to them, but sucked them back in before speaking again.

"Anyway, he just changed - after his surgery, as I said yesterday.  Sometimes, I think the reason he refused to let the world know about our relationship was so that he could get more pleasure out of knowing he could torture me...and no one would know about it...i-it was all a game to him - still is," she murmured.  "He knew I was...honoring keeping us a secret - so he knew I would never tell when he...h-hit me."

The Canadian briefly shifted his eyes from the road and turned to gaze at her with horror.  His mind was nearly spinning with all of the madness the redhead had endured.  "How long were you two...?"

"We started dating in September of 2000, and I broke up with him in late January of last year - so, it was about a year and four months."

"That long, huh?"  Adam was surprised.  "And when exactly did he start to change?"

"Maybe July of 2001...it...it really was a surprise," the diva admitted.

"So, you actually put up with at least six whole months of..."  The blond man stopped himself, wondering why in hell he was putting her through this unfair interrogation.  "God...I'm sorry, Ames," he said, glancing into her face, which currently wore a hurt expression.  He just couldn't understand how someone as mentally and emotionally strong as Amy could have put up with six minutes of abuse of any kind, let alone six months.

The other fact he had to acknowledge was that he felt a bit hurt and insulted that she'd disregarded him and allowed herself to end up with that miserable son of a bitch Levesque.

"I-it's okay."  She swung her eyes to meet his.  "I...for some reason, I don't mind telling you all of this."  She bit her lip as she continued to stare at him.  "You...make me feel at ease."

"Do I?"  Adam gave her a soft, slightly sad smile.  He really felt rotten for having just hassled her a moment ago.  Yet he knew it all boiled down to one thing, and one thing only - his own selfish pride.

He'd been harboring feelings for the redhead for a long time now, only he hadn't wanted to admit it to her out of fear of her pushing him away.  And now, he sensed those insecurities had not been groundless.  First, she'd already been involved with someone in Paul Levesque, and after that had ended, she'd probably had a measurable fear of men.  And considering everything that miserable son of a bitch had put her through, he didn't really blame her.  In fact, given her situation, he wouldn't really be surprised if she swore off men - all men - for good.

"Well...yeah," Amy said softly.  "You've always been such a good friend...easy to talk to, a great listener..."

Adam sighed as he ran a hand through his blond hair and stared out the windshield.  The redheaded diva obviously saw him only in the friendship light.  He only hoped she wouldn't recoil back in horror if and when he finally told - or showed - her how he truly felt about her.