"At What Cost"

9. Fly With Me

The next morning, Melony wasn't sure she wanted to move. Her head felt like it had been attacked with a nail gun, her eyes hurt from the light despite the fact her eyes were still closed, and furthermore, she was afraid that if she moved, she'd puke her guts out.

Despite it all, she knew she had to get up, and despite the hammering in her head, she opened her eyes--

And didn't know where the hell she was.

She sat up quickly, looking around and saw no signs of anyone else. But she knew this wasn't her motel room, and she was pretty sure this wasn't even the motel she was staying at. This was all verified when the door to the room opened, and in walked Jeff Hardy.

She felt her stomach do a summersault.

"Oh good. You're awake." Jeff walked over to her and et a styrofoam cup and a paper bag on the nightstand beside her, "Coffee and cini-minis...or mini-cinis...something!" He shrugged, "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"What the hell is going on?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Ok! Not the answer I was looking for."

"Hardy! You better give me an explanation before I kick your ass!"

"O-kay..." Smirking, Jeff cleared his throat, "You were drunk and ready to leave. You couldn't remember which motel you were stayin' at, and I couldn't find your 'boys' so I got a cab and brought you back to my room." He shrugged, "Satisfied?"

"Hell no!" Mel grabbed the cup of coffee and stood up, glaring at him, "I don't know what the hell you're trying to pull, Hardy, but it's not gonna fly with me!"

"Well, that's good, cause I wasn't trying to 'fly' with you! I was trying to keep you from getting yourself killed!"

She glared, "Where are my shoes?"

Jeff held them up by the straps and she snatched them from him as she sat down to put them back on.

"I was just trying to help you, Melony." Jeff spoke up, his voice softening, "I happen to be one who can push aside feuds and hatred for the sake of someone else. Namely, you."

Melony tried to ignore him. She couldn't escape the fact that what he did was sweet, and something most guys on her enemies list wouldn't have done unless they had other intentions.

But she couldn't let him know that. No matter what he did, he was still her enemy--he was still Charlie and Shelton's enemy.

Oh God--Charlie and Shelton.

Mel stood up and crossed the room, grabbing the motel phone to call a cab. They had to be worried. Shelton had probably gone crazy by now, and knowing Charlie, he'd more than likely called the cops.

Mel told them to please hurry up with the cab, then slammed the phone down and picked her purse up, "Dammit, what time is it?"

"It's..." Jeff glanced at his watch, "9:30. Calm down, will you? You're makin' me nervous."

"I can't calm down, Hardy! I'm with you, after all!"

"Heh--I'm gonna ignore the angry, grating tone and take that as a compliment!"

"You're so full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Not at all." Jeff sat down, leaning back, "Are you?"

She scoffed, "At the moment, does this look like the face of someone who's full of themselves?"

"Well--" He shrugged, "It is a pretty face."

"Glad you think so. Remember this face after my boys take your belts." Hearing the cab pull up outside, Melony stormed out of the motel room without a second look back.

--

Melony knocked on the door to room 207 and winced. She knew Shelton would be happy to see her, but after his initial excitement, he'd likely be pissed at her for leaving without a word.

Shelton opened the door and before she could mumble a hello he'd practically attacked her with a hug that literally squeezed the breath out of her. "Glad to see you too, Shelty." She managed to say with a small laugh, "But you're crushing my lungs, babe."

"Oh, man! Mel! You don't know what the hell you put me through!" Shelton moved aside, letting Melony enter and she noticed Charlie sitting in a chair in the corner, "Yeah, guys, I didn't mean to scare you, I just..."

"Mel, don't worry." Shelton smiled, "Charlie told me this morning that you called and explained everything. It's cool. I'm just happy to see you."

"He...I...?" Melony glanced at Charlie, whose expression she couldn't read. But she knew something was wrong. "Right. Yeah. I'm happy to see you too!"

"Ok--I'm gonna run across the street and get us some breakfast. Don't go anywhere. Seriously."

"I won't!" She laughed, and watched him walk out of the motel room, before she turned to Charlie, "Alright--what's up?"

"What do you mean?" He asked nonchalantly, standing up and walking towards her.

"I mean, what the hell is going on? What did you tell Shelton?" Melony crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him, "I know I was wasted, but I know I didn't call you last night."

"No Mel, you didn't. I was up all night calling you. And after about, oh, lemme think, an hour and a half of hitting re-dial, I finally got an answer. But it wasn't you."

Melony swallowed. Charlie knew, and now she was screwed. "Charlie, I..."

"It was Jeff Hardy. Yes, Jeff Hardy answered your cell phone. Now explain to me, how is that possible?"

She stared up at him, "I was drunk, Charlie. He let me crash in his room. Nothing else happened."

"I don't care!" Charlie snapped. He took a breath and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Mel, I love you. And when I heard Hardy's voice last night, I...God, Mel, I truly wanted to kill him."

"I know, Charlie, and I'm sorry!" She sighed, "I didn't want to be there, either. I didn't even know I was there until this morning!"

He sighed, pulling her into a tight hug before he stepped away from her. "Now, what did you tell Shelton?"

"I told him you called and said you couldn't remember which motel you were staying in, so you checked into another one."

"He believed that?"

"I think he need to, Mel. You had us worried. When I got back, Shelton had almost paced a hole in the floor."

Melony smiled at the thought, then realized what Charlie had just said, "Got back back from where, Haas?"

"I went driving. After the club, I had to clear my head."

Melony searched his face for signs of deceit, "You're lying."

He laughed humorlessly, "No, I'm not. And no offense, but you're not in any position to be making accusations."

--

One more day of driving. One more house show. And she could go home, kick back, and relax.

After her shower, Melony got dressed and fell back on the bed to rest before meeting Charlie and Shelton for breakfast. Despite her best efforts, her thoughts lingered on the events of the previous night, or atleast what she could remember of it.

For what reason would Jeff Hardy help her? He had to have a reason--unless he really was just an all-around nice guy, which she found hard to believe. But besides all that, what right did he have? Was he just trying to piss off his douche of a brother and bitch of a valet? Frowning, Melony sat up, realizing that the Hardy's little bitch more than likely tagged along with them. And knowing that conniving little skank, she'd gone after Haas in an attempt to get back at Mel.

Two can play that game, Mel thought, smiling deviously as she reached for her purse to retrieve her cell phone to call Melina, who had almost everyone else's number. Mel dug frantically though her purse for ten minutes before she realized that she didn't have her cell anyone, which could only mean one thing--Jeff still had it.

Groaning in frustration, Mel used the motel phone to call her own cell. "Hello? This isn't Melony speaking."

Mel smirked, unsure of whether to be angry or grateful that he answered, "Hi, Jeff--do you make it a habit to answer other peoples' phones?"

Jeff laughed softly, "Do you make it a habit to call your own phone?"

She smiled, "Listen, I'm gonna need my phone back, so can I meet you after the house show tomorrow?"

"Why after?"

"I dunno. I thought maybe we could get dinner or something."

"Why the change of heart? This morning you hated my guts."

"You ask alot of questions, Hardy. Just meet me tomorrow, ok?" Without waiting for an answer, Mel hung up the phone, smiling as she mapped out a plan in her mind.