A/N. Surprise surprise, another oneshot from me. :) This one is based on the song 'I'd come for you' by Nickelback. I don't own the song, or Jeff Hardy, just Ella. Please excuse me if this isn't any good, I've never used Jeff Hardy for a fic before - but I HAD to write it, it wouldn't leave me alone.
ITALICS is the past, or a dream ( it will make sense along the way) BOLD ITALICS are song lyrics.
That being said, I hope you enjoy. Feedback is both craved and appreciated.
I'd come for you.
When Ella walked through the front door of her house on a Wednesday evening, she had planned to kick off her shoes and fall onto the lounge with a glass of wine and her boyfriend. What she hadn't planned on was nearly being knocked to the ground by a whirlwind that was Jeff Hardy, packing up all of his belongings. In fact, of all the things that could have possibly been happening in her house, this was so unexpected that Ella had to fight the urge to laugh. When she had calmed herself, the slow feeling of dread began to form instead.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she followed him into the bedroom to watch him randomly throw his clothes into a suitcase.
"I'm leaving" Jeff said shortly. He glanced up at her then and Ella could see the tears in his eyes. That was what scared her the most. Ella had never seen Jeff cry.
"What? I…I don't understand." She stammered. She felt her body begin to shake. Jeff was scaring her and there was a terrible weight in the bottom of her stomach.
"I can't stay here anymore Ella. I've…I've been offered another contract with the WWE and I'm taking it. I leave tonight and I won't be coming back." Jeff explained. His voice was unsteady but his movements didn't slow.
Ella felt as though there wasn't any air in her house anymore. She couldn't get herself to take a breath and in the frustration she swiped her tears away, as if they were what were causing the breathing problem.
"I thought you were happy here. Happy with me?" Ella asked, leaning against the wall of the bedroom for support.
"I am Ella. But I have to do this. This is my future. I had to make a choice. I'm sorry" and with that he grabbed his suitcase and walked out. Ella couldn't move to run after him. Couldn't move to vent the anger and hurt she was feeling by throwing anything within reach. She lasted the full three minutes it took for the sound of Jeff's truck to disappear down the driveway, and then she collapsed to the floor in tears.
"Just one more moment
That's all that's needed"
Three months later
"Like wounded soldiers
In need of healing"
Ella was curled up on her place on the lounge. In fact, this was where Ella spent most of her time these days. Her mother had attempted to convince her to start sleeping in her bed of a night time, but Ella couldn't bring herself to lie in a bed where she had lain with him on the happiest nights of her life. Her family and friends didn't want her to die. To throw her life away. If she crawled into that bed now, without him, she knew she would die right then and there. As it was, she hadn't even stepped foot into the master bedroom since her father had come to visit and found her on the floor, exhausted by tears, and had carried her out. She wouldn't go back in there now. Not ever.
So she slept on the lounge.
She had returned to work reluctantly after taking three weeks off. She woke up, went to work, came home and lay on the lounge. Mostly she would watch movies. Anything but romance. Sometimes she would sit in the silence and let her thoughts chase each other around in her head until she felt so sick she had to rush to the bathroom. Then she would crawl back to the lounge and hide under the covers until she fell asleep.
Jeff had snuck up behind her, taking her by surprise. Squealing, Ella turned to see the love of her life naked from the waist up, rainbow hair loose, falling about his shoulders, and armed with various markers and pastels. The look in his enchanting green eyes was mischievous.
"Don't even think about it!" Ella warned, reading his mind. Jeff kissed her in response- a long, lingering kiss that he knew made Ella forget her own name, let alone why she was mad at him.
Taking advantage of her vulnerable state, Jeff dropped the pastels on the floor and used both his hands to slowly massage up her back, taking the T-shirt she was wearing, with him. He listened as Ella sighed and felt her move against him. He grinned. He had won.
After lifting her shirt over her head, he removed the rest of her clothing with the same slow, painstakingly methodical movements, until she was standing naked in front of him.
"Don't think you've won this Hardy" Ella muttered. Jeff might have taken her seriously if her eyes hadn't drifted shut and she hadn't let out another one of her sexy little sighs when he brushed her golden blonde hair from her neck to kiss the sensitive area behind her ear.
Taking her hand, Jeff guided her down onto the floor and nudged her until she lay down on her stomach. Once again he brushed her hair off her back and then ran a hand over her creamy smooth skin that was so much better than a canvas.
When he was sure that she was going to co-operate, Jeff moved away to gather his markers before coming back to sit gently on her butt, being careful not to put his entire weight on her.
Ella relaxed underneath him as she felt his hands push and manipulate the bright colours of the pastels over her back in some dream-like pattern that could only come from his mind. He hummed one of the songs he had written for her as he worked and Ella tried to concentrate on visualising the pictures that were coming together on her skin.
Jeff's hands and fingers skimmed over her back, tickling her sides gently and exploring the lines of the bones that were hiding beneath her skin. It seemed like they had been there forever; comfortable and content. As he continued to draw, Ella became aware of the heat on her skin from his touch.
"Don't move babe" Jeff muttered as she squirmed underneath him, "I'm nearly finished"
Ella forced herself to still under his hands and tried to relax once more. Eventually he announced he was finished and immediately stood up and let her free.
Ella lay still for another moment, then gently sat up, not wanting to ruin the latest artwork that Jeff had created on her skin. When she finally stood, Jeff moved to stand in front of her and Ella saw that the look in his eyes had changed. His eyes were no longer filled with mischief, but dark and filled with desire. Ella smiled shyly at him. They had been together for a year now, but when he looked at her like that, Ella could still feel herself blush in the same way she had when he had first told her that he wanted her.
As he took her into his arms, Jeff began singing softly to her, speaking words of songs that filled his head and words that made Ella weak in the knees. The pastels on her back distorted as his hands claimed her back again, pulling her against him.
"There's going to be paint everywhere. Again" Ella commented as Jeff guided her onto her back and moved over her. Ella could already see that some of the paint had transferred onto his bare skin. She marvelled at how beautiful his muscled form looked, decorated with such bold colours.
"Don't worry about it. We're just making art babe" He muttered as he began to kiss her neck…
"What are you doing?" She asked as she followed him into the bedroom to watch him randomly throw his clothes into a suitcase.
"I'm leaving" Jeff said shortly…
"I leave tonight and I won't be coming back"
"Time to be honest
This time I'm pleading
Please don't dwell on it
Cos I didn't mean it"
Ella woke herself up with a strangled cry. The sound was becoming more familiar to her than her alarm clock. Every night she would be tortured with a dream so sweet she could almost taste it, and every night it would quickly shift into a living hell.
Sitting up, Ella tried to make out the landmarks of her house in the dark. She frowned as she thought she recognised the smell of paint. Just another way her mind inflicted the torture. There had been no paint in this house for three months. The feature wall of the master bedroom, painted white especially for Jeff's artistic impulses, was still bare. It stood, stark and cold, mocking Ella and reminding her of the love she had lost.
Sighing, she moved to get up to get a glass of water and realised something was holding her back. Letting out a short scream, she began to struggle. Arms went around her and held her still, a hand covered her mouth to prevent further screams.
"Shhh babe, it's just me. Calm down baby girl. I just wanted to talk to you"
That voice. The last words she had heard in that low, husky voice, was 'I'm not coming back'. Yet here he was. Here to see if she could be crushed just that little bit more.
Ella felt her body still against his strength, melting into him as though they had never been apart. Her body was a traitor. A moment later a lamp came to life and there he was. Sitting on the lounge as if he hadn't ever left, holding her to his chest as though he had never ripped out her heart.
"What are you doing here?" Ella asked. She was grateful to hear that her voice was filled with loathing. That's right. She hated him and, if he didn't look in her eyes, he might just believe it.
"I just flew in. I had to talk to you" Jeff told her, his voice still low and calm. Ella hated him for it. She was falling apart against him and he was cool and collected.
"Why? You took all your stuff. I don't have anything left" Wow, wasn't that a statement that spoke volumes? She thought.
"I have to tell you some things. I… I have to make it right" his voice wasn't as steady anymore and Ella's curiosity got the best of her anger.
"Tell me what?" She asked. If he was waiting for an invitation, then that was the best he was going to get.
"I was such an idiot. And I know that's cliché, but you lived with me for two years, you know it's true. I was wrong. I had so many people tell me for so long that I had thrown my whole life away when I left wrestling, I started to hate myself. When they offered that contract, I panicked. I thought I had to make a drastic choice so I didn't screw up again. I didn't realise until I left that the drastic choice was the screw up." The revelation came out of Jeff in a rush and Ella was still processing the information when he continued,
"I was wrong. I was stupid. I made up this whole situation that I thought was wrong with my life and I fucked up the only thing that was right with it."
"What's your point Jeffrey?" Ella asked. She sounded cold and almost hated herself for it when she saw the look of pain that flicked through his eyes.
Jeff took a deep breathe and Ella could actually see him going over what he was going to say, "I stayed away for so long because I was afraid that you would hate me. That you wouldn't forgive me. But every day I stayed away my soul was…inside out. I have to make it up to you."
Ella felt her heart lurch and she fought the urge to throw her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. It wasn't okay. He had hurt her and she was beyond repair. That was the end of it.
"Babe?" Jeff whispered.
"No" Ella said, her voice almost getting lost in her tears that had started to fall.
"No." She said more firmly, "It's too late. You can't fix this". She kept her head down. If he saw her tears, saw her eyes, they would betray her. Jeff had always been able to read her.
"Okay" Jeff said. Ella couldn't believe it. He wasn't even going to fight. She snuck a glance at him and saw that he had tears of his own that were turning his green eyes into sparkling emeralds. Ella nearly lost her resolve in that moment, but took a deep breath and struggled out of his arms.
Jeff looked at her as he stood from the lounge. Ella looked up to see him wipe the tears from his eyes, and then looked back down at her bare feet. She couldn't look at him again. It was killing her.
"I'm going to go. I just needed you to know that I'll be sorry forever for hurting you." He told her. Out of habit, he reached out and brushed her hair off her shoulder. Out of habit, Ella slightly leant into the touch.
"I covered up that white feature wall too," Jeff whispered as he made his way to the front door, "I know how you hated it when it was white" and with that, he was gone.
Ella forced herself not to break down at the sound of the door closing. Instead, she forced herself to move into the master bedroom. Opening the door, she took a deep breath before flicking on the light. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed the feature wall. As her eyes took in the vision before her, the tears began to flow freely and choking sobs escaped from somewhere deep inside her. It wasn't a picture Jeff had used to cover up the mocking white wall while she slept. It was words:
"By now you know that
I'd come for you
No one but you
Yes I'd come for you
But only if you told me to.
I'd fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I'll always come for you
No matter what gets in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No matter what, remember
You know I'll always come for you"
Ella fell to a sitting position and leant against the wall of the bedroom. After three months she was right back where she started. She stared at the words until daylight.
Six weeks later.
Ella had only been able to do two things about Jeff's confession and work of art. One was to close and padlock the bedroom door. As much as she hurt to be without him, Ella was convinced it had to be better than being in constant fear of him leaving again if she went back to him. The second was agreeing to go on a blind date.
That was how Ella found herself in a seedy little restaurant, looking over at an equally seedy little man, who was looking at her like she was the daily special. She suffered through the boring conversation and the terrible meal for a respectable amount of time, before she politely complained of a headache and asked if he would take her home.
As they drove to her house, Ella allowed herself to close her eyes and relax. In mere moments she would be at home. Away from the seedy little man, away from the seedy little restaurant where she was expected to make lively conversation and be happy about her circumstances. She would not be going on a date again for a very long time. Possibly never.
When she opened her eyes again, it took her a moment to realise that they were nowhere near her home. In fact, they were no longer even heading in that general direction. Her heart skipped a beat and went into full blown overdrive when the man stopped the car on the side of the road.
"What are you doing?" Ella demanded, injecting more confidence in her voice than she actually felt.
"I thought this would be much cosier than that restaurant" The man replied and with that he grabbed her and pulled her towards him.
"No!" Ella screamed at him, trying to push herself away, but the man had a hold of her wrists. As she struggled to get free, his mouth went to her neck. The feeling of having some disgusting pig touch her in a way she used to crave to be touched by Jeff, gave her a burst of energy. She made herself stop struggling, fighting the urge not to be sick. When the man let go of her wrists to run a hand up between her legs, she gathered all her strength and shoved him away from her. Without hesitation she threw opened the passenger door and fell out of the car.
"FUCK!" the man screamed. The anger in his voice was enough to propel Ella to her feet and off running down the road. She didn't look back until she heard the car engine start and, when she did; she saw the car screaming down the road, away from her.
Once the car lights disappeared, Ella slowed to a stop and dropped to a sitting position on the side of the road to try and catch her breath. As her mind ran over what had just happened, she started to sob uncontrollably. Frantically searching through her bag, Ella grabbed her mobile phone. Taking a deep breath in attempt to regain control, she punched in a number.
"Hello?" a sleepy voice said after what felt like an eternity.
Ella almost hung up, but took another shuddering breath instead, "Jeff?" She whispered.
"Ella? What's wrong?" Jeff was immediately awake.
Ella didn't say anything for a moment, willing herself to be in control. It didn't work. Just the sound of his voice brought back the tears "I...I'm lost" she finally got out. She could hear the sounds of Jeff getting dressed and was half tempted to hang up the phone. Why didn't she call someone else? Anyone else? Because, your first instinct always has been and always will be to run to Jeff She told herself.
"Ella baby, what happened? Can you tell me where you are?" Jeff asked over the sound of a door slamming.
Ella looked around her; it was too dark to make out specifics. She knew she was on a back road because of the dirt and she could make out the outline of a big barn.
"I...I went out on a date," Ella admitted, "But not because I wanted to. It was a blind date. A friend insisted I had to start leaving the house before I withered away and died. I didn't want to." The last half of the explanation came out in a rush. He'll think it's my fault she thought.
"Shhh baby girl. Calm down, it'll be alright. Can you see anything?" Jeff asked. His voice was low and soothing, trying not to make her panic anymore. God she had always loved that about him. The crazy, vibrant whirlwind had always been her anchor.
"I'm on a dirt road. I think I can see a big barn. I was at that horrible seedy little Italian place near home but when he drove me home, we went in the opposite direction. I don't think we were driving for very long."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few moments, "its okay Ella, I think I know where you are. I'll be there in ten minutes. Hold on for me darlin'." Jeff pleaded.
"Wait. How can you be here in ten minutes? You're not in town" Ella asked, sniffing a little.
"I never left town darlin. I'll be with you in a few minutes. Stay where you are" Jeff told her firmly before hanging up.
Ella put her phone back in her bag and looked around, wiping the tears from her eyes. How did she get here? How had absolutely everything gone so wrong? Standing up again, she moved completely off the road, wrapped her arms around herself and waited.
Soon enough, lights appeared on the road ahead of her and Ella backed up a couple of paces. Jeff's truck screeched to a stop and before Ella could register what was happening, he was out of the car and standing in front of her.
"I forgot how quick you could move when you wanted to" Ella whispered. She couldn't meet his eyes so instead she stared at his chest.
"God Ella, what happened?" Jeff asked.
"He... he attacked me. He…I don't want anyone touching me like that but you" Ella admitted, her voice dropping to a faint whisper. Jeff pulled her into his arms in an instant. Ella felt his hands skim her body, checking for injuries. When he seemed satisfied, he held her tightly to his chest. Ella relaxed into the warm embrace and smiled faintly as she felt him kiss her forehead.
"It's okay darlin'. You're safe. I've got you" He whispered in her ear; and Ella believed him. She felt better already now she was warm and safe.
"I'm so sorry. I should have talked things through with you that night. I should have called and told you how much I loved that feature wall. I should have forgiven you" Ella told him.
Jeff shook his head and held her tighter, "Don't Ella. I understand. What I did was unforgivable"
"But I do forgive you."
Jeff pulled back long enough to look down into her eyes, "You do?"
Ella nodded and Jeff leant down to brush his lips gently against hers.
Ella pressed herself against him, "I can't believe you drove out here to get me after I ignored you"
Jeff let out a laugh and Ella nearly melted to the ground. It had been so long since she'd heard him laugh. In that moment it may have been the best sound in the world.
"Baby girl. Haven't you been listening to me? I'll always come for you… I was just waiting for you to ask me."