Keri hadn't waited for him to drive her to the doctor's like he'd told her. He was positively livid.
He'd looked in on her when he'd got up and seen her fast asleep on her bed. Dead to the world. Matt must have gone in after him the previous night and thrown a blanket on her but she'd still been fully dressed.
He'd lounged around the house all morning, just watching Matt take her some food up or run around for her like he usually did – the poor sod. But then lunch time had come and he'd gone up to his room to get ready.
When he'd gone downstairs, Matt had been just coming into the house after seeing her off. And to make matters worse, he'd found out she'd taken his car.
"She said you gave her the keys and said she could use it," Matt shrugged.
"And you believed that shit?" he asked with irritation. "What would make you think I'd ever do something like that for that witch?"
"Maybe the fact that, since she came yesterday, you've been uncharacteristically worrying about her."
"I do not worry about Keri!"
Why did it seem he was just constantly repeating himself?
He stormed into the lounge and dropped himself in a chair, arms folded across his chest as he thought of all the things Keri could do to his beloved car just to piss him off. The last time she'd had the keys to it she'd tried to sell it.
"Can you do me a favour?" Matt asked as he followed him and sat across him.
"What?"
"Tell Keri she's coming on the road with us."
"What?" he spat out. "Why?"
That was the last thing he'd want. Having her close 24/7? He'd be a complete wreck!
"She needs looking after. I have a feeling she got herself into trouble again."
"Has she said anything?" he asked.
"No. It's just a feeling. I don't really want to leave her here by herself."
"She'll have Shannon. And I'm sure Kimo and Yuk won't mind dropping by when they come back from the road."
"Jeff, just tell her."
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because she listens to you."
He scowled. Keri didn't listen to him. It was just that he always managed to threaten her into doing what he wanted. And it helped that he never fell for those big eyes like everyone else did – which was pathetic, if you asked him. How the hell had she managed to wrap everyone round her little finger like that? Actually, how the hell could everyone not see the cold, vindictive bitch she was underneath all that fake sweetness?
"I don't want her on the road with us," he insisted. "She could ruin everything for me."
Especially with Maria. His girlfriend was quite good at telling when something was bothering him.
"No she won't. If she ruins things for you at work, she'd be ruining them for me, too. I'll owe you really big if you do this for me," Matt said. "Besides, you're the one who's been worrying since she got here that there was something wrong with her."
"I do not worry about Keri," he snarled, repeating his words again.
Why wasn't his brother listening to him?
"Whatever. But if she's with us, at least we can keep an eye on her and make sure everything's okay."
"She'll make my life a living hell."
In more ways than his brother knew.
"Jeff, come on. I won't be able to concentrate on anything if we leave her."
He sighed. His brother really knew how to play his cards. Wrestlemania was coming up in a few weeks, with it their big match, the one they'd dreamed off since they were kids. If his head wasn't in the game then the match would be ruined and this feud they had going at work would have been for nothing.
"Fine. But you have to keep her away from me."
Work was where he went to get away from Keri. Now he'd have nowhere to run. This couldn't end well.
"Thanks Jeff. I'm going to head off for a while so she cools off about it before I see her. Call me when she comes and tell me what the doctor said, though."
Jeff sat there waiting for her for what felt like hours. Matt had already run away like the coward he was and was spending the day at Shane's. That meant he'd had a whole lot of time to just think.
To think what a living hell he'd just agreed to put himself into.
He would be in constant contact with Keri, day and night.
The sound of her voice turned him on, her cheap perfume turned her on, everything about her turned him on. How the hell was he going to hide that from everyone for so long?
It was a stupid idea. Matt would just have to find another way to make sure she was safe. He couldn't do that to himself. He just couldn't.
So when she walked into the house shortly after that, he was more than prepared not to relay Matt's message.
But she looked terrible and all his earlier worries returned.
He waited until she'd thrown herself onto a chair before he asked what the doctor had said.
"He said what I said. I'm fine. They took some blood for tests; I'll get the results in a few days," she answered in irritation. "I just need to rest, drink plenty of fluids and eat well."
"Was he sure?"
She just looked at him and rolled her eyes.
So if she wasn't sick, then Matt was right. She was in trouble. That meant he had no choice but to tell her she was coming on the road with them so he could keep an eye on her.
Damnit!
"I want you to pack enough clothes for a week. You're coming with us tomorrow," he stated.
"What?"
"You've been lying to me since you came yesterday. You're in trouble again and I can't trust you not to do something stupid if we leave you on your own."
"I'm not in trouble! And even if I was, I'm twenty-fucking-four. You can't tell me what to do," Keri snapped. "The fuck do you think you are?"
"Matt thinks you're in trouble. He's worried to death about you," he said, his eyes not leaving hers. "I couldn't care less if someone was to walk into that house and beat the crap out of you or even kill you. But Matt would be devastated. So I'm telling you now; you're coming on the road with us until Matt trusts that everything's okay."
She muttered curses under her breath but didn't say another word to him. Mentioning how worried Matt was had done the trick as it normally did. Honestly, if it wasn't for how much she was scared of losing Matt, he probably wouldn't have talked her out of most of the shit she'd done. He wasn't proud of using his brother's love against her like that, but it had the desired effect.
And he was quite positive Matt knew by now what a demon he'd brought into the family anyway, even if he always defended her.
She was still muttering to herself when he picked the remote control for the stereo up, so he was sure he hadn't heard the last of this. Keri never gave in without a major fight. He was willing to bet the moment she stopped swearing at him she would launch herself at him. She did that sometimes when they argued; she took the fights to the next level. He never fought back of course; he didn't hit women no matter what they did.
He bit his lip to stop himself groaning when he remembered some of the times she'd attacked him. For a little thing, her punches hurt like hell. Sometimes he lay there and took the punches. Other times, he restrained her. These were the only times he got to feel her little body all up on his, writhing against him as she tried to get a few good blows in. And it was always heaven and hell combined.
One day.
One day he'd get to sleep with her. He just didn't know how, yet.
But it didn't happen like that. She didn't launch herself at him.
At first he thought she'd rushed out of the room to look for Matt and try to convince him what a bad idea this was. So he followed her lazily, knowing Matt had already disappeared to avoid the situation.
But then he heard the loud retching coming from the kitchen.
"You couldn't have done that outside, before you came into the house?" he snapped in disgust, stopping at the door when he saw her pitiful frame bending over the sink.
But she didn't even acknowledge him. She ran the water and splashed some on her face before she lay her head down on the cool counter next to the sink and groaned.
God, she looked terrible. How could this doctor say she was fine when it so clearly wasn't the case? She looked really, really tiny and it hit him again how much weight she'd lost. She'd worn a baggy t-shirt but the way she was leaning, he thought he could actually see a few bones jutting out. She looked tinier than before, like she was about to break.
He didn't like feeling anything towards her but he could feel something tugging at his heart which felt suspiciously like protectiveness. Of course, he'd always protected her, but only because he'd had to, only because if he hadn't Matt would've blamed him for it.
This protectiveness was different, like he actually wanted to take care of her, to make her feel better.
Slowly, he walked towards her and grabbed a cloth from the side before putting it under the running water and wringing it out. Then her pushed her hair out of her face and gently wiped her forehead. She felt really warm to his touch and he mentally kicked himself for not going to the doctor's with her, anyway. He could have taken Matt's car. Maybe his presence there would have pushed the doctor to do more.
She needed taking care of. She needed protecting.
He couldn't understand where these feelings were coming from.
The hatred and all the emotions that came with it were easier to deal with. The sexual frustrations... well, those could be easily taken care of by a few sweaty nights if he ever got the chance. In the mean time, Maria was taking care of them well enough.
But the protectiveness... that was completely alien. He didn't know what to do with it.
He couldn't be nasty to her now, because at this point in time it would be like kicking a little kitten. And he wasn't a nasty man, anyway. It was just that Keri was... well, she was Keri. She brought out the worst in him.
So what the hell was he supposed to do?
"You okay?" he asked.
Obviously, that question coming from him shocked her as much as it shocked him.
"Yeah," she answered awkwardly, pushing his hand away so she could sit at the kitchen table.
He sat down awkwardly in the chair opposite her. He didn't know why, he could have just easily left the room. She'd said she was okay. That was all he needed to know. So what the fuck was he still doing there?
He watched her for a moment. Her eyes were trained on him suspiciously as she sat in silence. Damn, she looked really bad. He was sure now that the doctor had got it wrong and something was indeed wrong with her. Hopefully the tests he would do would provide some better answers and they could get her back to normal again.
And then everything else would just fall into place. The protectiveness would go away. The awkwardness would go away.
"I'm guessing nothing I can say now will convince you that I'm alright," she stated with a sigh.
He shook his head.
"Can you get me some water?" she sighed.
He smiled a little when he realised she wasn't going to fight him on it anymore. It was probably the easiest argument he'd ever won.
"I'm only doing what you say because I want to," she said as if she'd read his mind. "We both know you can't make me do anything I don't want to do."
He laughed out loud at that one. He always made her do things she didn't want to do. Of course that one worked both ways. Keri could be quite manipulative when she wanted to be, and often he played into her hands like an idiot.
"Of course not," he smiled.
"Glad you agree with me," she said with a smile of her own.
It wasn't one of her fake ones. It wasn't even one of the evil ones. It was a genuine smile. Directed at him. And it felt freaking good.
But it disappeared quickly from her face as she looked away from him and cleared her throat.
Had he just had a moment with her?
Fucking hell! This shit was getting crazier by the second.
"Um... I'll get you some water, and then maybe you should go lie down," he said as he quickly stood up. "I'll bring you some food up later, if you want."
He didn't wait for an answer as he put a glass of water in front of her then quickly walked out of the room.
Something was going very, very wrong. First the tears, then protectiveness and now the freaking smiles...
It was a lot easier dealing with wanting to fuck her. He could fuck her even though he didn't like her. People did that all the time. Then they moved on. That was nothing to panic over.
But this...
He needed to purge whatever else he was feeling from his system, before he even had a chance to think about it.
By the time he took a snack up to her room, he was back to normal again. He'd assured himself there was nothing to panic about. He was a good person; he would have felt that way about anyone had they looked as bad as Keri had earlier.
So everything was fine.
She was still sleeping so he left her food on the bedside table and quickly walked out. He'd wanted to look at her while she was sleeping, so badly... But that wouldn't have been good for his state of mind.
Because he still wanted to nail her. Real, real bad.
Matt walked in just as he walked down the stairs.
"Where is she?" he asked straight away.
"Asleep."
Matt sighed in relief and walked ahead into the sitting room.
"What did the doctor say? You didn't call me like I asked, I was worried."
He hadn't called because he'd been too busy freaking out.
"He said she's fine," he answered as he dropped himself into one of the chairs. "But she really is sick. She threw up earlier and she looks really bad."
"So do you think it's a good idea, bringing her on the road with us like that?"
"It's better than leaving her here by herself. Someone has to make sure she eats and takes care of herself."
"And that someone is you, is it?" Matt chuckled.
"No. It's you. She's your problem now."
"I'm just saying, you've never been this concerned about her before," Matt said. "It just seems... odd."
"Well, don't get used to it. I'm not dealing with her anymore," he said firmly as he found the TV remote.
Matt chuckled and stood up.
"I'm going to get dinner started before I make travel arrangements for her."
"I hope you know what you're doing, Matt. You know what she's like," he warned.
Matt sighed.
"She won't mess anything up for us, Jeff."
"Maybe not for you," he grumbled.
"She knows what wrestling means to us. She won't get into trouble."
He wished he had his brother's optimism.
"I'll have to have a word with Vince first chance I get so she's allowed access backstage. I don't want to step on his toes."
He grunted.
"Good luck with that."
Their boss hadn't been in a good mood lately, and since the Hardy feud wasn't getting as good ratings as he wanted, he'd hardly be in a mood good enough to allow Keri to stay. Normally Vince encouraged friends and family backstage, but when he was walking around like a sore bear... Well, he didn't want to be in Matt's shoes.
The rest of the night didn't go quite so smoothly.
Keri came downstairs looking so much better. The sickly pallor had left her face but that disturbing glow was back. But he couldn't focus on that when the tiny shorts she wore stole all his thoughts. The girl had a butt on her; that was for damn sure! Yes. Definitely made for wearing those indecent little things.
He crossed his legs to hide his reaction. It only ever took seconds to get him like that. It was a wonder no one had ever noticed.
"Hey, baby. You feeling better?" Matt asked when she dropped herself on the chair next to him and leaned into his arms.
See, if he was his brother, he'd have done her right there and then, right through that damned couch, right till her back broke.
"Much," she smiled, pinning her legs underneath herself and making herself more comfortable before wrapping her arms around Matt's torso.
He watched the way her face lit up when she smiled. God, how was he supposed to handle being around her for so long at work? He'd be able to hide among his co-workers but the fact still remained that she'd be there. Close. Everywhere he went.
Did Matt say how long she'd be on the road with them? They would be back home in a little over a week, maybe by that time Matt would feel it was safe enough to leave her home alone. Maybe.
His thoughts were again disrupted when he heard her laugh. She never laughed with him, of course, but he'd always thought it was a beautiful sound. It was just a shame that he knew how fake it was. Everything she did was designed to make those around her notice her, fall under her spell, buy her bullshit. It was after all, why she was such a successful little scammer.
Immediately, and thankfully, his thoughts turned to all the nasty things she had done, things that made her just a little bit less attractive. Less attractive enough for him to look away. Less attractive enough for him to think a little bit straighter through the fog.
He had to make the most of it while it lasted, before he became a mindless dick again.
"I'm going to bed," he grumbled.
"Thought we were watching a movie," Matt protested.
"Changed my mind."
He didn't look back as he walked out, and he had to run up the flight of stairs as if the hounds of hell themselves were after him. There was no way he was going to talk himself into watching that movie across from Keri. He couldn't torture himself like that.
The second he closed his bedroom door, he pulled his phone out and dialled a number. There was only one person who could balance things out now, only one person who could center him.
"Hey, baby."
"Hey, Ria. Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No. I just stepped out of my shower."
He immediately pictured his girlfriend's wet, naked body.
Yes, this was the perfect antidote.
I know Maria is the girlfriend in the other one, but like I said, I was only going to post one. Too late to change that now.
Thank you for your wonderful reviews. Always appreciated. I wish more of you would review, though. This story is getting enough hits, just not reviews. Thank you for taking the time to read, anyway.
So Keri's going on the road with them, and this is where shit starts to happen. She should have just said no, then none of it would have happened!
