Chapter Four
"I think Dad is starting to get suspicious" Helen sighed
After the incident at Subway, Mark tried to catch Helen off guard to see if he could get her to tell him what was going on.
"I don't think it's going to be a secret for much longer"
"She's right" Jeff plopped down into a seat next to her in the stands "Maybe it's about time we told him"
"How?" Brie asked
"It's not just something you randomly bring up" Nikki finished her sister's thought as usual.
"Well then let's just tell him then" Helen suggested "Tonight"
Nikki and Brie's jaws dropped at the same time.
"You're sure?" Jeff asked
Helen shrugged "Its better hearing it from me than finding out off the Internet"
000
Helen put off telling Mark until nearly the end of SmackDown that night.
She took a deep breath and knocked on his dressing room door.
"Hey Dad can we talk?"
They walked to the front of the arena to where the monitors are. It gave Helen time to think to plan how she would tell him. Jeff said he would be there when she finally broke the news but Helen had waited so long Jeff had to leave, he was going to be a guest on the Cutting Edge that night. At least Brie and Nikki were waiting for her.
Helen stuck her hands in the pockets of her Avenged Sevenfold hoodie to stop them from trembling, but it didn't stop her heart from pounding, she started chewing her lip like she always did when she was nervous.
"Alright" she whirled around once they were finally in the monitor area just as Jeff's music started playing "You wanted to know what was going on well here it is—"
But before she could say another word she heard several loud explosions rocked the building. At first Helen thought it was just Jeff's pyro.
Until she heard the fans screaming in horror.
"Jeff!" Gregory Helms shot past the two of them through the curtain.
"What the hell happened?!" one of the crew guys shouted.
"Jeff's hurt!" another crew guy yelled back "Something went wrong with his pyro!"
"We need EMTs out here!"
Helen's heart skipped a beat. Everything she was about to tell Mark evaporated from her mind. She shot through the curtains to find Jeff writhing in pain on the ground in pain in front of her with his hands over his face.
Helen fell to her hands and knees next to him. If she was trembling before, it was nothing compared to the way she was shaking now.
"What happened?" she asked Gregory softly.
"The pyro went off in his face." He replied.
"JEFF!!" Matt shouted. Helen looked up not seeing him. Everything was blurred. She was detached emotionally. It was a state she went to every time her mother started to abuse her. If she didn't feel she couldn't hurt.
She watched as the medical team loaded Jeff onto the stretcher, she watched them wheel him away, she didn't move from the spot she was in until she heard Mark's voice. It sounded so far away, like they were at opposite ends of a tunnel.
"Helen…Helen" Mark gently shook her by the shoulders. Helen snapped out of it she blinked her eyes wildly "Wha…?" she looked at him confused. Hadn't Jeff just been in front of her?
"Come on we can go to the hospital with him" Mark put an arm around her "Your girlfriends are waiting for you in the car, come on" he guided her backstage. All she could do was follow numbly.
000
"Is Jeff alright?" Aiden asked.
"Yeah he should be okay" Mark replied "its Helen I'm more worried about" He looked over at his daughter who had gone back to practically being a statue the Twins were on either side of her trying to bring her out of it.
"Why? What happened?" Aiden started to panic "Oh God, please tell me she wasn't right behind him when he was going out to the ring!"
"No it wasn't like that" Mark said "Why would she be with Jeff when he went to the ring?"
"Umm….." on the other end of the line Aiden went silent realizing he had said too much.
Nikki snatched Mark's cell phone out of his hand "She hasn't told him yet!" she hissed quietly then handed it back to the Deadman "sorry"
000
They burst through the emergency room doors. Gregory, Matt and Jimmy were standing anxiously in the waiting room. Matt was pacing and kept pulling out his cell phone every five seconds to check the time, Gregory was leaning against the wall with a somber expression on his face, Jimmy was the only one sitting, holding Jeff's Title belt on his lap absently playing with the spinner.
"Any news?" Brie asked lowering herself into a chair next to him. Jimmy shook his head "You only got here five minutes after we did"
Helen was still a statue Nikki sat her in a chair next to Brie "wish we knew what was wrong with her though"
"And you've never seen her like this before?" Mark asked. Looking at his zombie-like daughter, The Twins shook their heads. Matt looked over. He had seen that look before.
"It's a defense mechanism" he said "Jeff said I was like that after mom died. I would just shut down and block everything out if something upset me"
At that moment she sliding glass doors opened and a doctor walked out carrying a clipboard.
"I'm looking for the family of…" he looked at the clipboard "Jeff Hardy?"
The entire group looked up. They crowded around her even Helen who had finally snapped out of her trance.
"I'm Jeff's brother Matt" Matt said.
"Matt I'm Doctor Cullen" Matt and the doctor shook hands "Your brother is going to be just fine. All he has are a few little burn marks on his face and arms, nothing too serious"
They all breathed easier. "Can we see him?" Jimmy asked.
"Sure" Doctor Cullen stepped aside to let them in.
They had trouble finding Jeff's bed at first until he called out to them.
"Yo! I'm the only frickin' guy with rainbow hair in this place and ya'll are all the way over there!"
They turned to see Jeff in a bed halfway across the room grinning like nothing had ever happened.
The girls dog piled Jeff with hugs while the guys laughed.
Helen looked at his face. Jeff had clusters of what looked like needle pricks all over his face.
"Don't ever scare us like that!" Brie and NIkki hugged him around the waist.
"How you feeling bro?" Matt ruffled Jeff's hair.
"I'm good man" Jeff replied "Helen have you told him yet?"
"I was about to but then there was the little emergency of THE PYRO BLOWING UP IN YOUR FACE!" she replied.
"Okay tell me what?" Mark asked exasperated "you're driving me crazy over here!"
"I'm gonna be a wrestler" Helen replied. There she said it. Brie clutched her hand. Helen cringed and waited for the hammer to fall. When it didn't she opened one eye.
And was surprised to see the look of total elation in Mark's eyes "Really?" he asked "You know how?"
Helen brightened "Yeah! Brie Nikki and Jeff have been teaching me for the past few months"
All at once her friends started talking.
"Mark she's really good!"
"She's a natural!"
"If you saw her you'd know!"
"Guys, guys!" Mark put his hands up to silence them "I'm not saying I don't want her to wrestle, I just wanted to know if she could."
"How come you didn't tell me?" Matt asked "I could have helped"
"She wanted to keep it a secret" Jeff shrugged "Besides you had your hands full with Jack Swagger"
"Don't remind me" Matt growled through his teeth.
Gregory chuckled.
About thirty minutes later Jeff was cleared to go home.
Helen started laughing when she saw Jimmy Gregory and Matt carrying Jeff out to the car like he was on a stretcher. "Careful you guys!" she called after them.
"Ride back with me" Mark told her "I want to talk to you"
"If this is about me wrestling…" Helen started to say
"No nothing like that" he replied "I just want to talk"
So after watching the boys load Jeff into the back of Matt's car she got in the passenger side of her dad's car.
"I want to know if you know what you're getting into with this" Mark said
"What do you mean?" she asked "Of course I know what I'm getting into Daddy"
"What about college?" Mark said "have you thought about that?"
"Yeah" Helen nodded "I'm already taking online courses at the University of Texas"
"Okay and what about Aiden?" he continued "You're gonna be on the road for five out of seven days of the week. Where does that leave him?"
"He's gonna come see me when he gets days off" Helen explained "and whenever I get days off I'm flying home"
"But you're going to be tired and you're probably going to be sleeping most of the time on those days off"
"You think I don't know that?" Helen replied "Dad I've thought this through Aiden supports me one hundred percent"
The pair of them were quiet for some time.
"Well if you'll excuse me" Helen said "A Diva needs her beauty sleep" she draped her hand delicately over her eyes. Mark grinned. "Yes your majesty"
"Hey dad?" Helen opened one eye.
"What honey?" he asked
"You seriously think I can make it?" she asked
Mark looked at her. The look in her eyes said 'wouldn't do it without your approval'
He nodded "I seriously think you can"
She closed her eyes smiling. "Love you daddy"
"Love you too kiddo"
Aww! Helen's going to be a wrestler just like her daddy. To all you Twilight fans, I hope you like the "Dr. Cullen" reference I put in there ;)