Emo watched his sister over the next few days as she obsessively typed away at her computer. She didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't bathe. By the third day he was getting worried. Simone out rite refused to take off her headphones and acknowledge him. He'd just about reach his wits end.
Simone looked up in surprise as her brother pulled the buds from her ears. "This wasn't my God damn fault!" he shouted.
"I know that." She said calmly. She looked up at him with calm patient eyes.
"What the hell Simone? You freak out and shut me out for three days and then you just sit there like nothing has happened." He paced in front of her in the tiny kitchens of their bus.
"Billy." Her voice was low and soothing. He stopped and looked at her. "I made my choice on my own. I'm sick and tired of being seen as fragile, or broken. I proved to the world that I am not weak. I might have made a big mistake, woke a sleeping beast, but I did it on my own." She smiled. "It's ok big brother. You can go live your life and stop worrying about me for a little while. Tomorrow is Monday, and we'll deal with it when it comes."
He just stood there, mouth agape. When had his little sister grown up and become a woman? She was suddenly making sense. She sounded like an adult. There was nothing for him to say, so Emo simply turned around and walked away.
Simone shook her head. She didn't want Emo to feel responsible for her any more. On top of other things Simone had spent a lot of time looking into self help for anxiety. She had also read every article and watched every video she could find on Jeff Hardy.
She understood a lot more about the man now. She knew all about his struggle with drugs and alcohol. How his house had burned to the ground, and he'd lost his dog. She saw him go from one company to another struggling to find his place. He was a talented wrestler and not to bad an actor. He was a man who not just deserved but needed good things to happen to him. He'd held out one large tattooed hand to her in friendship and she'd thrown it in his face.
Most of his videos were clips of his highflying antics in the ring: Him jumping from impossibly high places, or doing amazing flips from the top rope. It had taken quite a bit of digging to find promos whit him speaking. She realized that his voice was more of a tenor than the baritone that he'd used to growl at her brother. And he has a slight southern accent to his speech that was more endearing than she could have imagined.
Come Monday Jeff Hardy was going to see a new side to Simone Baker.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Monday night RAW." Jim Ross said, grinning at his co anchor John Coachman. "Everyone is talking about Friday night Smackdown and the Emo kid."
"That's right JR, hashtag SiHardy was trending number one Friday night. I personally can't wait to see what these three do next."
"I don't know about you but I was knocked off my feet when that little girl put Jeff Hardy to his butt."
"His butt?" Coach mocked. But his laughter was cut short as the lights dimmed and Emo appeared at the top of the ramp with Si in tow. "This is it JR! Here they come." Emo didn't waste any time with silly dances or crazy showmanship. He just strode down the aisle and climbed into the ring, leaving Simone to trail behind.
"It seems…" he boomed trying to sound bad ass. "That you all have something to say about how I treat my sister." As he said that Simone struggled with the bottom rope and made it into the ring. Emo continued his practiced diatribe, babbling about his sister being none of anyone's business while Si stood center ring and looked out at the crowd struggling with her urge to turn tail and run. "Since I beat Jeff Hardy on Friday night…'
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Triple H shouted as he appeared at the top of the ramp with Jeff Hardy at his side. "You did what Friday night?" He continued on before Emo could answer. "You lost by disqualification when that crazy little girl gave your opponent a neck breaker."
Si cringed and hid behind her brother's back, this wasn't entirely an act. She knew what was coming and also knew that not many people were happy about it. "That means," Triple H shouted over the crowd's booing. "That according to the terms of the match you have lost your rights as her protector."
"What?" Emo demanded, pretending that he hadn't been expecting this.
"That means that for the foreseeable future Jeff Hardy has exclusive rights to your sister. Si, you belong to Jeff. "
Jeff Hardy strode down to the ring. He sat on the roped holding them apart. "Let's go sweet heart." He said not unkindly, into a mic. He waved toward the back room.
Emo held her back when she would have obeyed. "What are you going to do to her?"
"You heard Triple H, I am her protector. So I'm going to protect her. Now let her go." Si put a gentile hand over her brother's and gave him a reassuring smile. He let her go but glared at Jeff as Si left the ring.
"This isn't over Hardy!" Emo screamed, forgetting about his Mic as Jeff placed a hand in the small of Si's back and led her away.