Chapter Ten

Flash back... 2011...

It seemed that life was determined to become more complicated for Kellie. A day or so after the drunken orgy, Tammy slipped into a relapse of her previous mental health problems. The intensity of her feelings for Jon, on top of how she was feeling about Colby, were becoming too much for her to handle and it sent her off at the deep end. This particular morning Tammy had locked herself in her bedroom and was refusing to come out. Guessing that something was seriously wrong, Kellie rang the training facility to say she wouldn't be there and had the other trainers take over for the day.

Kellie didn't know where she would be without William Regal. Whenever Tammy went into one of her moods, and Kellie was forced to stay home with her, he would take charge at the Tampa training facility without any fuss or complaints.

Gently knocking on Tammy's door, Kellie said, "Tammy, please let me in."

It took a few minutes of pleading from Kellie before Tammy eventually opened the door; not before Kellie had reached the point of being near to tears. It had been a long time since they had been in this situation; not long after Tammy had left Jeff Hardy and had turned up at Kellie's apartment all battered and bruised, her lip swollen and bleeding. It had been hard enough for both of them the first time around. The last thing Kellie wanted was for Tammy to go back to that bad place again.

They spent the longest time, sat on Tammy's bed, just talking about it; with Tammy cuddled up to Kellie almost like a small frightened child would. At some point, late in the afternoon, Tammy fell asleep. All the crying and a lack of sleep the previous night had worn her out. Making sure she was settled, Kellie left the room quietly, with the intention of grabbing a coffee. The whole situation had taken its toll. Kellie knew she should eat something, but she was in no mood for food.

Whilst she was in the kitchen, her cell phone beeped. It was a message from Jon. He explained that he had been hearing talk at the training facility and wanted to know if it was okay to come over to see them. Kellie reluctantly agreed. She felt emotionally exhausted, and not really in the mood to deal with people; but if he was to hear the whole truth about what had happened, she would rather it come from her than for him to hear rumours.

That evening was the most difficult. But Jon needed to know the truth. Sitting out on the balcony, Kellie told him all about how Tammy had been physically and mentally abused by Jeff Hardy when they had been together. The hardest part had been telling him about the rape. Very few people knew the truth or the details of what had gone on. Only Kellie, her family and Tammy's parents knew the full details. The rest of the wrestling community knew little bits but only enough to keep them happy.

At first Kellie was scared that this new information would scare Jon away. The last thing she wanted was to ruin Tammy's relationship with him before it had even began. Despite the attitude, Kellie could tell he was a decent guy underneath it all. Jon was quiet for a while before taking out his cigarettes. Taking one for himself, he then offered offered one to Kellie. She took the offered cigarette from Jon, much to his surprise. He never really took her for a smoker.

"I used to smoke years ago when I was going through my problems. But I eventually gave up. Nowadays I'm more of a social smoker than anything."

Jon cocked an eyebrow. "Problems?"

Kellie took a deep breath. At least he hadn't freaked out over what she had told him about Tammy. That was a start. "I went out with Jeff a fair few years back, long before he got with Tammy. He abused me too. He didn't get physical with me like he did with Tammy. But he still mentally abused me and took advantage of the fact that I was really ill at the time... mental health issues."

Taking a drag of his cigarette, Jon said, "this Jeff guy sounds like a complete dick."

Kellie forced a smile. "That's one way of putting it." She paused before adding, "so I take it you haven't been put off by all of this."

Jon shook his head. "Why would I walk away now, after everything that has gone on between us? I hope this doesn't sound too cheesy but I think I fell for Tammy the day I first saw her...maybe that's why I behaved like a complete asshole. I guess I just didn't want to admit I could feel like that about another human being. In any case, if I did walk away, you'd probably beat the shit out of me".

This made Kellie laugh. "Yeah, I probably would. And if it makes you feel better, I don't think you're all that bad. A pain in the fucking ass, yes, but not a bad person."

"You probably wouldn't say that if you knew what I'd been through."

"Try me." There was a hint of a challenge in Kellie's voice.

If it had been anyone else saying it, Jon probably would have punched them square in the face. But Kellie had a fair point. She had told him some really personal stuff. Surely it would only be fair to tell her some if his baggage. He told her all about his alcoholic prostitute of a mother who effectively abandoned him at a young age; how he had fought his way through high school and graduated despite the whole "homeless kids don't graduate" attitude. He had worked his backside off through the Indy wrestling scene for years before he had finally gotten lucky and the WWE had come a-knocking on his door.

"If it hadn't been for wrestling, I honestly think I would be dead now. Or at the very least, in jail."

Hearing him say that broke Kellie's heart. For a few minutes they sat in silence before Jon suddenly asked, "you eaten anything yet?"

Kellie shook her head. "Food hasn't exactly been a priority today."

Standing up Jon got his cell phone out and added, "how does Chinese sound?"

He ordered for all three of them. Not long after the food arrived Tammy eventually made her way out of her room. When she saw Jon, Tammy wasn't sure at first if she could deal with seeing him or being around him. There was an awkward silence.

Looking at Tammy Jon said quietly, "I can leave if you don't feel comfortable with me being here. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Kellie looked between them, feeling apprehensive. When she was like this, Tammy was liable to become unpredictable. Tammy seemed to think about it before saying, "I'm hungry."

Quietly sighing with relief, Kellie got Tammy to sit down at their small kitchen table and piled up as much food as she could possibly fit on the plate. As Kellie and Jon talked about non-consequential stuff, Tammy demolished the lot and even went in for seconds. Jon had ordered enough food to feed a small family for a week. They had a few beers and generally had a sedate evening. As Jon was leaving, he took Tammy to one side and, after giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek, he said, "I hope you feel better soon."