Chapter 8
"Gabrielle."
When Paul heard what he said, his eyes flew
open and so did Trish's. What the hell was that? he thought, his
heart pounding. Where did that come from?!? But when he looked down
at Trish's hurt and confused expression, he knew. He didn't want to, but
he found himself wishing it were Gab lying under him instead of Trish. No
matter how hard he tried to deny it, one look in his heart told him the truth.
He still loved Gabrielle. And he cared about Trish too much to do this to
her while he still loved another.
He took his hands away from Trish and sat
up, but she scrambled up as well. With a voice riddled with turmoil, pain,
and fear, she said, "No, Paul, it was just... just... a-a mistake, that's
all; it's OK, I understand. Please, don't." She went to kiss
him, but he stood and looked down at her. As he slowly shook his head, he
could see her eyes start to fill with tears. It killed him to see her like
that, but he couldn't go through with it. She didn't deserve this.
"Trish," he spoke softly, "I
don't think it really was a mistake. I think..." Here he trailed off
and sighed, hating to say this to her. "I still love Gabrielle.
I've just been trying to deny it. I've been so mad at her, I didn't want
to love her anymore. But I do. I do. I'm sorry, Trish,"
he finished. He knew the words were hurting her; she looked like she'd
been shot.
"But," she stammered, the tears
in her eyes affecting her voice, "But you... we were..." Trish looked
up at him imploringly. Paul thought if he looked hard enough, he might
just see her heart breaking.
"I can't. You deserve better
than this. I care about you too much to just use you like that," he
said, sighing again, "I better go." He looked into her watery
eyes as he spoke again, "I'm really sorry, Trish." Then he
gathered up his clothes and left for his room, almost feeling like crying
himself.
Trish stared after Paul with her mouth
agape and tears running down her cheeks. She tried to form words, to
scream after him, to wail, but her voice just wouldn't work. This can't
be happening, she thought, not now. Not after being that close.
My fucking GOD, he was kissing me, he was touching me... he was LOVING me!!
I did everything I could, I tried so hard. But it doesn't even matter.
She collapsed on the bed, clinging to the comforter as she bawled her pain out
into the pillow. He still loves her. What the hell do I do now??
She laid there and cried for what seemed
like hours. She kept thinking about the last things he had said to her,
about the way he'd acted all week, and especially what she had been doing
herself the whole week. And as she watched the sun rise after a sleepless night,
she knew what she had to do.
"I can't do this, Dwayne. Not
anymore."
"What in the hell do you mean, you
can't do it anymore?? Of course you can, and you WILL."
Trish wiped at a stray tear as she growled
in frustration at the man on the other end of the phone line. After last
night, she had known that she had to call Dwayne and tell him it was over; she
was done playing this game.
"I told you," she said while
trying to keep her calm, "Paul said Gabrielle's name last night, right when
we were about to... seal the deal. He really loves her and I'm not going
to interfere with that. I can't hurt him anymore!"
"Look, you little wench. If you
don't want your dream man handed to you on a silver platter, fine then. Be
ungrateful. But you are not ruining Gabby for me! I've worked too
damn hard, she belongs to ME," Dwayne replied heatedly.
"God, Dwayne, get a grip on yourself.
Blackmailing a woman into rape doesn't mean you own her. You're
destroying Gab's life, and I refuse to be a part of your twisted little world
any longer," she said, starting to get pissed. "You somehow got
me to help you by dangling Paul in front of my face, but it's not going to work
anymore. I can't do this. I won't do this," Trish hissed
into the phone.
"Dammit, Trish!! Go ahead and be
a blonde bimbo, then. Just don't you dare screw this up for me.
You'll regret it. And you know that I mean that."
"You know what Dwayne? Since you
like games so much, here's a new one for you. It's called
'Hide-and-Go-Fuck-Yourself'. Why don't you go give it a shot?" she
yelled before slamming the receiver down. She silently thanked God that
Dwayne didn't have the number of the cabin. At least she didn't have to
worry about dealing with him until she went back to work the next day.
She turned from the phone and was going to
head to the kitchen, but she froze. Standing in her doorway was Paul, and
he did not look happy. Trish's heart stopped. Oh God, no,
she thought. "Hey Paul," she said, plastering a smile on her
face, "just had a little fight with a friend, hope I didn't wake you.
Want some breakfast?"
She tried to rush by him, but he grabbed
her arm and wouldn't let her pass. He yanked her back in front of him and
glared into her eyes. "Don't," he said venomously, "just
don't even try." The fake smile on Trish's face fell, and she knew
that he had heard her.
"Paul, please, I can explain,"
she begged, "It's not what you think."
"Oh, it isn't, is it?" he
sneered, "Alright, then you better explain. Explain to me why I come
to your room to see if you're all right, and find you talking to... Dwayne...
and saying something about blackmailing my girlfriend!"
Trish gulped, afraid. This was the
last thing she had wanted to happen. She didn't know how she was going to
explain, but she knew that she had to. "I... I think you better sit
down," she said finally. When Paul sat down on her bed, she started
to tell him everything from the very beginning. How Dwayne had approached
her a few months ago and told her he had seen the way she stared at Paul.
How Dwayne had somehow convinced her that it made sense to break up the two
lovers; that way they could each have the one they wanted. She told Paul
about the careful planning Dwayne had done and, though it killed her to watch
his reactions, she told him everything Dwayne had told her about his encounters
with Gabrielle. Finally, Trish told him how she had been poised to swoop
in and pick up the pieces.
"But I just called Dwayne, as you
heard," she said, "and told him I refused to do it anymore. I
saw the look in your eyes last night Paul, I know you really do still love her.
So I told him I quit. I can't stand seeing you like this."
Paul just sat there, staring at the floor.
She knew he was still absorbing everything she had just told him, but she was
starting to get nervous. "Paul?"
"So you told him you're through...
that you won't play his game anymore," he said quietly without looking up.
Trish smiled feebly.
"Right."
He looked up at her, and the anger in his
eyes wiped the frail smile off her face. "And that's supposed to make
everything OK?" he said through clenched teeth, his voice slowly getting
louder, "That's supposed to make up for you two ruining her life? OUR
life?!? What the fuck is wrong with you!!? You think I'll just
forgive you because you finally had a goddamned moment of sanity?!" He
stood up from the bed and she recoiled in fear as he continued speaking.
"To think, I was up half the night hating myself for what happened between
us. I felt HORRIBLE for you." He paused just stared at her
before going on. "You lied to me. The whole time, you were behind
this with Dwayne. I was stupid enough to think you cared about me, and you
would have ripped out my heart for a fuck."
She shook her head wildly, desperate to
tell him he was wrong. "No, it wasn't like that! I do care
about you, Paul, I really do!! It wasn't going to be just a fuck to
me!"
He cut her off. "Shut up.
Just do yourself a favor for once and shut up. I'm leaving. And
don't you dare try to talk to me tomorrow night at RAW. It wouldn't be a
smart thing to be anywhere near me." And with that, he walked past
her and went to his room, slamming the door behind him.
As Trish heard the sounds of Paul preparing
his luggage, she slumped into a nearby chair and cried. There was nothing
else she could do.
back to Chapter 7
