If You Only Knew.
Chapter 7 – Trying my Last Patience.
The Following Day;
Drea's POV;
Phoebe was grating on my last fucking nerve. I didn't know how Jeff expected me to work on him with her hanging over my shoulder and making snide little comments every 5 minutes. Clearly Jeff didn't notice it and he obviously just wanted me to get along with his new girlfriend but I had tried; I really had. I had made her coffee when she arrived – only to be criticized for the way that I make it, I had tried talking to her about the things that she liked to do but it was obvious that she didn't really have very much of a social life. Eventually I had tried talking to her about Jeff – but she seemed more intent on talking about me.
I really couldn't understand what my best friend saw in her other than her looks.
There was no denying that she was a pretty girl; if she would just find her own look instead of copying mine. That seriously pushed my buttons and I was left wondering if that was what she really wanted. Maybe she wanted me out of the way so that she could have Jeff all to herself – well I had a massive reality check for her; Jeff and I had survived many partners wanting to get rid of us; but it had never worked before and it wasn't about to work now. The quicker that Phoebe realized that; the better it would be for everyone involved.
Last night had been great – Jeff and I just hung out with one another; we talked, we laughed, he held me when I cried and he listened when I needed to just ramble. There was no Phoebe and that had made my night 10 times better.
Jeff and I had shut ourselves off from the world, phoned for takeout and just chilled in the new house. It had felt like a lifetime since we had been alone long enough to just be our usual selves with one another. We ended up talking about the decoration – Jeff wanted us both to work on the painting in the bedrooms because I was an artist with a completely different style to him; which he thought would compliment his. I was flattered that he had asked me because in a way; it made me feel like this was my home.
Being in my best friends arms was comforting and it truly felt like I belonged there. I knew that there was nothing that Jeff wouldn't do for me; just like there was nothing that I wouldn't do for him. I loved him with the kind of passion that I should have loved my husband with and maybe that was why I was finding it hard letting him go.
I felt guilty that I hadn't loved him as much as he loved me.
"You missed a spot!" Phoebe cooed from behind me.
If this girl took the time to listen – she would know that I hate people standing over my shoulder when I am working. It just made me nervous and edgy, which led to me making mistakes.
"I know I missed a spot – I am leaving it free of the colour because another colour has to go there!" I admitted turning and glaring at her. "I do know what I'm doing!" I snapped angrily as I unintentionally tugged on Jeff's hair.
"Ouch!" He exclaimed flinching away from me.
'Well if you told this bimbo to go play with the traffic then I wouldn't be tugging on your hair Nero!' I muttered to myself. "Sorry!" I said out loud instead.
It had felt like the minute the sun had risen this morning Phoebe was at the door. Jeff and I hadn't gone to bed until around 4 in the morning so when the doorbell rang it felt like I had only just closed my eyes but it had been 4 hours – but 4 hours of sleep did not give me the patience to put up with this woman stood behind me criticizing every single move I made. I was a hairdresser after all; I did know what I was doing. Hell I had done Jeff's hair many a time.
"You know I was thinking on maybe cutting my hair again -!" Jeff said as I ran the comb through the part that I had just died before covering it with baking foil to stop it from running in to the other colours.
"No! Don't do that!" Phoebe exclaimed finally moving around so she was in front of him.
I sent a silent prayer up to the heaven's for getting her to move from behind me. If she knew me at all then she would have known that I hate having people looking over my shoulders especially when I was working. It was a trait that I had, had since I was in beauty school. Even my teachers had known to stand to the side of me when I worked; I don't know what it was whether it was a touch of claustrophobia or what; I just knew that I couldn't stand it and it made me irritable.
"Pheebs I have too – it's killing me,"
"But I like your hair long -!" She complained again.
Just the sound of her nails on chalk board voice was bugging the shit out of me. If Jeff wanted to cut his hair then she had absolutely no right to be trying to talk him out of it. I knew from experience that going in the ring with extra long hair was a vice that most competitors picked up on quickly. This of course was dangerous because you were always brushing it out of your face when you got sweaty.
"I can do it for you now if you want Nero?" I asked resting my head on top of his not caring if I got hair dye all over me.
"Would you? That'd be great sugar," He replied. "And could you shave in my sides for me too?"
"You know you take advantage of me!" I laughed standing back up while I pulled the spot that I had missed up so that I could apply the last blond streak.
Ever since Jeff had found his gimmick I had been taking care of his hair for him; the gimmick wasn't really a gimmick because what you saw on TV was really who he was. There was no false pretence; I loved that about him. All my friends were unique in their own way, which was something that I never wanted them to change.
Not only did I take care of his hair; but I took care of everyone else's that we hung out with. I waxed Matt's back and chest and I waxed Jeff's back – I point blank refused to wax his chest because I liked his chest hair. I did their arms and legs too – just because of the profession that they were in; they had to be hair free. Then there were all the massages that I gave and the nails that I did for my girls.
"Hey come on now you know that you can't resist me!" Jeff chimed looking up at me and I could see Phoebe literally seething from her spot in front of Jeff.
"Well there is that!" I giggled softly before quickly averting my eyes to the job at hand.
There was no way that I was going to be chased away from my best friend – there were so many things that we had done together; so many memories that I wouldn't ever trade for anything else.
There were the times that we would lounge out on the sofa in his Pop's house and watch the wrestling matches that we managed to scrape the money together to order on the PPV. We would argue – just for the sake of arguing – over who were our favourite wrestlers were.
There were the times when we watched football and for so long we just sat there and took the piss out of the opposing teams, and then there came the time when Jeff started noticing the cheerleaders. I had definitely taken the piss out of him for such a long time after that – he eventually admitted that he was attracted to them; when he had strongly denied it for so long. I guess my teasing had just gotten to him.
Then there came the time when I had to give him tips on how a girl liked to be kissed and how we liked to be treated. I had been dating a lot longer than he had; because for so long Jeff had just been so into his wrestling and getting into the business. I had to admire him for that – he had seen something that he wanted and he chased it until he got it. No one could say that he wasn't committed to the industry.
I remember sharing our first joint together and I realized quickly that it wasn't for me; Jeff maintained that it was because I was such a control freak and I guessed that he was indeed right. I couldn't stand the thought of not being able to control myself.
I remember the first night that I moved into his Daddy's house – Jeff had stayed by my side the whole night and just held me close while I cried myself to sleep. All I had ever wanted from my Parent's was to hear them say that they were proud of me – but it had just gotten so bad that I couldn't live with them anymore.
I remember us going to our first concert – Pearl Jam had been playing in Raleigh and we had an amazing night until it came time to go home – Jeff's piece of junk car broke down in the car park after the show.
I remember us going to our first bar when we turned 21 years old – Jeff had gotten asked for ID which I had ended up ripping the piss out of him for the whole night.
By the time I had foiled all of the hair that had been died, the doorbell rang. Jeff jumped up out of the seat that he had been sat in for the past 45 minutes and rushed to answer it.
"Why do you have to cater to his weird side?" Phoebe demanded as she stepped in to my space.
Now if this girl had taken the time to get to know me; she would know that I hated people getting in my personal space; especially if they were being confrontational. I could tell from the look on her face that she meant to intimidate me but she had definitely picked the wrong person.
"Look I don't know what your problem is – but I personally adore Jeff's 'weird' side and if you cared for him the way you pretend you do; you would stop trying to make him change and in future – little girl – step in my face again; you are going to regret it instantly!" I scowled and stalked off when I heard the sound of Matt talking in the front room.
Most people thought that it was weird of me to be attracted to Jeff when I looked at Matt as if he were my big brother. I couldn't even explain it myself; all I knew was that I was in love with my best friend and I adored my big brother Matt as if he really were my biological brother. At times I wished that he were my brother; he had never failed to come through for me, he was always there to talk to when I needed to let off steam about my feelings for Jeff and I could trust Matt as if he were Family.
I was glad that he had finally gotten together with Brittany – they had been very similar to the friendship that Jeff and I had. It gave me hope that Jeff and I could indeed get our acts together at some point. Moving in to the front room my eyes landed on Matt and Gil – the boys Dad and my own Dad for what its worth – stood talking to Jeff.
"Papa!" I exclaimed rushing in to his arms.
I definitely owed this man my life; he had taken me in and given me a real home with real parental care that I hadn't ever really had before. I hate to think what would have come of me if Gil hadn't taken me in.
Gil's POV;
Jeff truly did frustrate me sometimes – there was no way that anyone could deny the way he felt about Andrea. They had been best friends for the better half of their lives. I always said that looks come and go, great bodies weren't always going to be there but if you married someone that you could actually talk too then you knew that it could work. Not that Jeff would marry Andrea because he just wasn't one who put much belief in it but I could see them really lasting with one another.
"There's my favourite daughter!" I chuckled hugging her close to me.
Andrea had been in our lives now for as long as anyone could even remember and she felt like she was a part of the Family – she definitely was the daughter that I had never gotten to have.
"Awe Pops I'm your only daughter -!" She giggled snuggling in to my hold.
It had completely dumbfounded me why Andrea's Parent's just couldn't put their trust in her. There had never been anything that she had wanted to do and hadn't been able to pull it off. Growing up for her was hard because she was continuously surrounded by guys but she had made it work for her – she hadn't lost her feminine side but she knew how to play rough with the guys. I think that led to why the guys were afraid of her – it had nothing to do with her strength; it was because she could switch to feminine girly girl in a blink of the eye.
"Makes it all the easier to say you're my favourite then doesn't it!?" I chuckled as I winked down at her.
When she had moved in to the house with us – it was like having a fresh breath of air around again. The sound of her laugh filled the house, her warm nature creeped in to every corner of the place and it felt good to have a female presence around again. It didn't take long for her to manage to get Matt and Jeff under control and that had been when I realized that they needed that female presence in their lives.
Dee; my current girlfriend was forever telling me that sometimes she would look at Andrea and she could see her being a Mother – the way she clucked around the guys; sorting out their injuries when they got any and the way she groomed the boys – it was definitely something that I hadn't noticed until it was pointed out to me.
"Coffee Pops?" Andrea asked.
"Sure honey,"
The two of us made our way back to the kitchen at the back of the house leaving Jeff and Matt to talk and Phoebe to flutter around. I didn't like the girl, I had tried to be nice, I had tried talking to her and I had tried to find some form of common ground with her but there just seemed to be an empty core to the girl. It was almost like she didn't have her own opinion on anything at all and she hung off Jeff's arm like she was surgically planted there. It bothered me to see the way she was around him and the nasty glares that she seemed to throw at Andrea.
If I had my way – my son would be with the woman that he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. And that definitely wasn't Phoebe.
Matt had told me that Andrea rarely hung out with them anymore because of Phoebe, that bothered me somewhat because I hadn't brought my boys up to be the kind of men who forgot their friends just because they were getting a piece of ass; no matter how good it was.
"So sugar –!"
"Yeah Dad?" Andrea asked as she started pottering around making the coffee.
"What do you really think of Miss Squeaky clean shoes? Since it has been forever since I saw you!"
"I don't even know where to start," She sighed heavily.
I closed the kitchen door and told her to start at the beginning – she told me all about her past with Phoebe and the fact that she was now pushing her way in to her life again and as much as Andrea wanted to fight back; she didn't want to look like the jealous best friend so she sat back and just hoped that Jeff would realize sooner rather than later.
It bothered me to hear how the girl seemed to idolize Andrea; copying her look, following her around like a little lost puppy, and the way she seemed to want to control Jeff now; definitely bothered me. I didn't want to have to get heavy with my son about his life because I had never been the type of Father who interfered in his boys life very often, which was a good thing because Jeff knew that I wouldn't get involved if I didn't think that it was necessary but as Andrea reassured me about making sure that Phoebe didn't get things all her way made me feel a little better. So for the moment, I decided to stay out of it.
"Ok sugar, well if it gets worse or you feel like it's getting out of control – you call me yes?"
"I will Pops!" She nodded as she ran my coffee under the cold tap for a mere second just so my coffee wasn't boiling hot then handed me the mug. "I missed you Pops!"
"I missed you too kid – I would have come round but you know me; I don't butt in until its too difficult to ignore the problem and Jeff assured me that you were getting by,"
"I was – I am! I just miss him you know?"
"Of course I know. I wish that I could say it gets better but unfortunately all I can say is that it just gets easier to deal with,"
When I lost my wife, I had thought for sure that I was going to mess up as a Father but I had finally gotten there and I managed to raise my boys to be respectful. I couldn't have been more proud of my Family if I tried.
"Well I guess that is something and it's better than what people have been saying to me lately!"
"Let me guess – it gets better with time?" I chuckled as she grabbed her own mug and we headed out into the front room where Matt and Jeff were still talking and Phoebe was just sitting sulking; or at least that was my interpretation of what she was doing.
"Yeah – don't you just hate that?" Drea asked completely ignoring my son's new girlfriend and patting the space next to her on the larger sofa.
I had to admit that Jeff had really had everything that he wanted put in to this house and as usual it was as unique as he was. Drea looked just as comfortable sitting in this house – since she was as much an individual as my son was. Phoebe certainly didn't look like she fitted here – I had never seen someone look more out of place before.
"Hey – brat where's our coffee?" Matt asked teasing Drea.
"Hey – do I look like a wet nurse to you? You know where the kettle is!" Drea replied sticking her tongue out at my oldest son.
When Drea had moved in to the house; life definitely had changed. My son's best friend had always made herself at home in my house; at my own encouragement and when she moved in; she made it perfectly clear that she was not going to be running after the boys like some slave. It certainly made my life easier – I didn't have to nag at them nearly half as much as I had used too. I think my boys thought that they would have someone to run around doing their laundry and cooking for them when Drea moved in. The minute she had laid down the ground rules; I had known that she was going to fit in perfectly well.
Once she had been living in the house for a few months – the practical jokes on Matt started. Jeff and Drea would dream up new ways of teasing him – mainly because he was the oldest and he took charge of all the wrestling things that they got involved in. The 2 of them together had thought that it was perfectly acceptable to torture him – there was the film wrap around the toilet seat that had nearly caused Matt to crack his head on the bathroom sink, there was the salt in the sugar container, there was the ribbing of any girl who took the slightest interest in him and there was the unravelling of his jean seams. It had certainly livened up the house to have Drea there.
"You know you really are like my little brat sister!" Matt chimed as he headed towards the kitchen leaving Jeff standing smirking after him.
"You're mean!" Jeff muttered as he threw himself down next to Phoebe who happily took delight in fussing over him.
Drea instantly turned away and looked out the window to the grounds of where my son lived. I don't know how many times Matt, Brittany, Claire, Shannon, Shane, Kimo, Yuk, Johnny or myself had told Drea and Jeff that they belonged together but for whatever stupid reasons they had; they refused to even acknowledge what we were trying to say to them. It was almost like they were purposely trying to deny themselves any kind of happiness.
Now Jeff had this viper hanging all over him and getting rid of her was going to prove problematic – I may be an old man but I could definitely foresee the drama that was going to come when Jeff decided to call the relationship quits and I knew that he would.
It didn't matter what either of them did – they would never be truly happy with anyone else. They always made a big show of being with other people but when it came to actual life-long happiness – they were definitely it for each other. The sooner they realized that; the better it would be for everyone involved.
R/N - THANK YOU guys for being so patient with me lately - I can't thank you enough for that. You really are what keeps me writing so if you want more please just leave me little review and/or note :) I love you guys to bits :)
Harley
xoxox