**A/N: As anyone who has EVER read any of my stories knows, you don't get
the next chapter until you have reviewed the first one, and I am very
dissapointed when I found out how many people read and don't review. I bet
that there are a bunch of stories out there that are discontinued because
they don't get reviews! So please, have a heart and review!**
*AT THE BAR*
Jeff sat at the bar twirling his bottle of Coors around in a circle. He sat back on the ligh wood frame of the bar chair and pulled the bottle to his lips. He shot his head up and let the cold carbonation flow down his throat. He pulled the bottle away and dropped it heavily onto the bar top, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He heard yelling coming from his left and blew it off as just another pair of drunkards fighting over who gets the last drink, until he heard a womans voice. His eyes shot open and he sat up straight, looking in the direction of the noise.
"Listen, lady, if you're gonna drink you have to pay!" The bartender said forcefully, grabbing onto the womans wrist. Jeff did a double take. He slapped himself to make sure he was seeing straight. There she was standing. Just above 5'7'', slim figure, deep hazel eyes, rich dark skin, maybe from a hispanic descent, and long, wavy, jet black hair that came just about to the middle of her back with streaks of blonde standing out amongst it. Something set her apart from all the girls Jeff had met before, he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"If I had money I'd give it to you! DID I GIVE YOU ANY!?" She yelled back at him.
"I don't care if you have it or not, but if you drink, you pay now give me the god damned mo-" The bartender was cut off by Jeff's hand landing smack in front of him with a five dollar bill.
"Here." Jeff said. The bartender nodded and took the money.
"Thank's but I don't accept charity." The woman said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It's not charity, you need it. You look tired. Beer won't do you any good, there's a diner down the road. Up for some coffee?" Jeff offered, holding out his hand. The woman looked up at him. Her eyes caught his for a moment and she held back the smart-ass remark she was about to make. His eyes were warm and welcoming, unlike most she had seen on the men she met. She smiled and took his hand.
"I'm Madison Stewart." She said.
"Jeff Hardy." He replied.
"Nice to meet you Jeff, now where did you say this diner was?"
*AT THE DINER*
"We'll take two coffies, please." The waitress nodded and headed off in the direction of the kitchen.
"So, where did you say you were from?" Jeff asked.
"Brooklyn. I've been travelling up and down the coast for a while." Madison replied.
"What for?" Jeff wondered curiously. Madison looked out the window for a second.
"Um. . . for . . . uh, bussiness." She replied shakily. Jeff arched a brow.
"Ok." He said plainley.
"So, you're from Brooklyn. Gotta be tough if you're from up there, so Ah've heard." Jeff wondered aloud, trying to strike up a new conversation.
"Yeah," She laughed, "I think that's why I've survived for so long. Trevon takes so much energy out of me, you've gotta be tough to keep up with him!"
Jeff stopped. 'She has a boyfriend! Well, just look at her, what guy wouldnt be all over her?' he yelled at himself in his head.
"Trevon?" He asked.
"My son." She answered.
Jeff's eyes grew wide. 'HER SON!? Oh great, now she's married. At least with a boyfriend you could have still gotten to her. Damnit SHE HAS A SON!'
"Oh." Jeff said quietly. Madison looked at him oddly.
"Here are your coffee's." The waitress said, placing the two cups down on the diner table. Jeff took his and immediatley began putting in sugar packet after sugar packet. Madison sat and twirled her spoon in the cup, watching intently as Jeff poured on the sugar.
"Is everything ok?" She asked.
"Yeah, fine, why wouldnt it?" He replied childishly.
"Well, you've put about 15 packets of sugar into your coffee. I can see it at the top." She said, pointing to where there was white sugar visible above the cup's rim.
"I like it like that." Jeff said, picking it up and trying to sip around the mound of sugar. He looked up from his cup and sugar crystals dotted his nose and cheeks. He grinned like a 6 year old and set the cup down. Madison gigled and relaxed into the diner booth. Jeff laughed and wiped away the sugar on his face.
"So, you have a son. . . Trevon. . ."
"Yeah, a five year old monster! The boy wants everything." She sighed and sipped at her coffee, "But, you know, the bussiness doesnt bring in that much money, so I guess you could say he is'nt as lucky as other little boys. But he makes the best of it!"
"Does he take after his daddy?" Jeff asked. Madison averted her eyes to the floor. She had to think of answer quick.
"I sure hope not." She replied. Jeff looked at her curiously.
"Why?"
"His daddy ran away when he found out I was pregnant." She said, a hint of sadness in her voice. 'YES! SHE DOESNT HAVE A HUSBAND!' Jeff said excitedly in his head, trying not to grin on the outside. It wasnt the nicest thing to be thinking about at the moment, but it wa the only thing he COULD think about. 'Time to make my move.'
Jeff got up from his side of the bench and went over to hers. He sat down and wrapped his arm around her, trying to comfort her. He knew it had become serious when he heard her sniffling. He tilted her head up and looked her in the eye. Even through tears her eyes looked gorgeous to him. He wiped away her tears and held her to his chest.
"Shhh. . . don't cry, it's ok. I'm here for ya." Jeff lulled. Too bad he didn't know the real reason she was crying. He wouldnt understand. He'd run away and not want to get involved. Who wouldnt be crying in her position? What kind of exmaple was she setting for her son by going out everynight and selling herself to men? No, they were'nt men, they were pigs with nothing better to do than take advantage of women who were willing to give in. She felt so low, so disgusting. She wanted to cry all night, right there in Jeff's arms. She was pitiful. She hated herself. But how else is she going to make money to feed Trevon?
"I feel so bad that I can't give him a normal life like all the other little boys." She sobbed, "I screwed up and now he's not gonna be ok. He's not gonna be like everyone else. All I wanted to do was to give him a normal life. All I wanted to do was make him grow up right!"
Jeff rocked her back and forth held onto her. He felt himself get choked up as she cried. She was getting to him and he had barely known her for an hour! He tried to process what was happening to him. All these thoughts running through his head. He didnt notice a tear slip down his cheek.
*A LITTLE WHILE LATER*
Jeff and Madison stood outside Madisons car back in the bar parking lot. He had payed the bill and taken her back as soon as he could. There was no use making a big scene in that diner.
Madison looked in her front mirror and hurriedly tried to wipe away the tear stains from her cheeks. She turned around and gave Jeff one more hug. He was so nice to her. He made her feel good in those few moments where she was crying. He comforted her. She had never had that before. She was always alone. Always crying. Always in the dark, seldom seeing the light that she needed so bad to survive. The darkness and pain wa wearing her down and this night was exactly what she needed. To go out and to clear her head, and to run into a sweet southern gentleman who was willing to give her a shoulder to cry on, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"So, are ya gonna be in town for long?" Jeff asked.
"Yeah, I'm gonna try to stay down here. The people are nice." She replied.
"Well, I'm getting the weekend off work, I get to come back home. I was wonderin if maybe you wanted to, like, go out sometime. Just have some fun, get a drink. I could introduce you to my friends. They're a real nice bunch. You seemed so tired and stressed tonight." Jeff explained. Madison smiled and nodded happily. This is even better! To meet new people and almost set up a new life for herself. Get back on track. But it's gonna be hard to shake off what she's already built for herself. Then again, there's no use in not trying.
"Sure," She replied happily, "I'll give you my number." She reahed into her purse and pulled out a small white card and a pen. She quickley scribbled down her digits and handed them to Jeff who took it without question. He grinned wide and slipped the card into his pocket.
"All right then, I'll talk to ya soon." Jeff said happily. Madison hugged him once more and then hopped into the driver's seat of her car. Jeff waved to her as she drove off. As soon as she was out of sight he turned and jumped up into the air, skipping back to his SUV.
"I got her number, I got her number, yeah who's the boooomb, I got her number." Jeff sang.
*BACK AT THE HOTEL*
"I got her number, I got her number, yeah who's the boooomb, I got her number." Jeff danced down the hall, singing and occasionaly jumping and clicking his heels together. He reached his hotel room door and slipped in his key card, letting himself into the room. Matt was already in bed and rudely awakened by Jeff flicking on the lights. Jeff just danced himself staright into the room, stripping himself of his shirt and pants, completely ignoring Matt who sat up in bed yelling at him.
"JEFF! WHERE WERE YOU!? MAN YOU HAD ME CRAZY! I THOUGHT YOU'D GONE DONE SOMTHIN STUPID AND GOT YOURSELF IN JAIL!" Matt yelled. Jeff jumped onto his bed and lifted up the covers. He looked up at Matt and smiled.
"I got her number, I got her number, yeah who's the boooomb, I got her number." He sang in Matt's face. He slid himself under his covers and reached over, flicking off the lights, not saying another word and going to sleep. Matt stayed sitting up in bed dumbfounded until Amy reached up and dragged him back down.
"Rlax Matt," She mummbled, "So the kid went out and had a little fun? He didnt do anything illegal."
"Yeah but he undermined my authority over him!" Matt whined.
"Shut up." Amy groaned and fell back asleep.
*SOMEWHERE IN DOWNTOWN RALEIGH*
Madison opened the door to her apartment and saw Trevon playing a bored game with Shia. Madison shut the door, put down her coat and bag, and then looked at her watch.
"Trevon you should be in bed" she said firmly. Trevon gave her puppy dog eyes.
"But mommy I wuz playing a game with Shi-ia" he replied.
"Well, its way past your bed time and Mommy needs to talk to Shia right now hunny. Okay?" she asked, Trevon nodded and slowly walked to his bedroom. After Trevon left Madison sat down next to Shia.
"What's up?" asked Shia.
"I met someone at the club," Madison started and Shia's eyes widened with delight as Madison continued, "Well; I was having problems with the bartender. I was trying to get a drink but realized I had no money so I was trying to get a free one. Then all of the sudden this guy walks up and pays for my drink and-"
"You act all independent and tell him you don't accept charity" Shia finished; Madison gave her a you-really-need-to-shut-up look.
"ANYWAYS, I was about to tell him off until we locked eyes. Then we went to a diner and got some coffee. We talked for a little while, I told him about Trevon. He seemed a little surprised or something when he found out I had a kid. Then he asked about Trevon's dad, so I told him that his dad left me and a little while after that I just broke down and cried in his arms."
"Why did you cry? I mean I know you would never cry over Nate, that asshole" Shia said getting angry at the end of her sentence.
"I cried because I was thinking about Trevon, I mean what kind of mother am I for my son if Im a hooker?" she started to cry. Shia put her arms around her best friend and cried with her.
*AT THE BAR*
Jeff sat at the bar twirling his bottle of Coors around in a circle. He sat back on the ligh wood frame of the bar chair and pulled the bottle to his lips. He shot his head up and let the cold carbonation flow down his throat. He pulled the bottle away and dropped it heavily onto the bar top, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He heard yelling coming from his left and blew it off as just another pair of drunkards fighting over who gets the last drink, until he heard a womans voice. His eyes shot open and he sat up straight, looking in the direction of the noise.
"Listen, lady, if you're gonna drink you have to pay!" The bartender said forcefully, grabbing onto the womans wrist. Jeff did a double take. He slapped himself to make sure he was seeing straight. There she was standing. Just above 5'7'', slim figure, deep hazel eyes, rich dark skin, maybe from a hispanic descent, and long, wavy, jet black hair that came just about to the middle of her back with streaks of blonde standing out amongst it. Something set her apart from all the girls Jeff had met before, he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"If I had money I'd give it to you! DID I GIVE YOU ANY!?" She yelled back at him.
"I don't care if you have it or not, but if you drink, you pay now give me the god damned mo-" The bartender was cut off by Jeff's hand landing smack in front of him with a five dollar bill.
"Here." Jeff said. The bartender nodded and took the money.
"Thank's but I don't accept charity." The woman said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It's not charity, you need it. You look tired. Beer won't do you any good, there's a diner down the road. Up for some coffee?" Jeff offered, holding out his hand. The woman looked up at him. Her eyes caught his for a moment and she held back the smart-ass remark she was about to make. His eyes were warm and welcoming, unlike most she had seen on the men she met. She smiled and took his hand.
"I'm Madison Stewart." She said.
"Jeff Hardy." He replied.
"Nice to meet you Jeff, now where did you say this diner was?"
*AT THE DINER*
"We'll take two coffies, please." The waitress nodded and headed off in the direction of the kitchen.
"So, where did you say you were from?" Jeff asked.
"Brooklyn. I've been travelling up and down the coast for a while." Madison replied.
"What for?" Jeff wondered curiously. Madison looked out the window for a second.
"Um. . . for . . . uh, bussiness." She replied shakily. Jeff arched a brow.
"Ok." He said plainley.
"So, you're from Brooklyn. Gotta be tough if you're from up there, so Ah've heard." Jeff wondered aloud, trying to strike up a new conversation.
"Yeah," She laughed, "I think that's why I've survived for so long. Trevon takes so much energy out of me, you've gotta be tough to keep up with him!"
Jeff stopped. 'She has a boyfriend! Well, just look at her, what guy wouldnt be all over her?' he yelled at himself in his head.
"Trevon?" He asked.
"My son." She answered.
Jeff's eyes grew wide. 'HER SON!? Oh great, now she's married. At least with a boyfriend you could have still gotten to her. Damnit SHE HAS A SON!'
"Oh." Jeff said quietly. Madison looked at him oddly.
"Here are your coffee's." The waitress said, placing the two cups down on the diner table. Jeff took his and immediatley began putting in sugar packet after sugar packet. Madison sat and twirled her spoon in the cup, watching intently as Jeff poured on the sugar.
"Is everything ok?" She asked.
"Yeah, fine, why wouldnt it?" He replied childishly.
"Well, you've put about 15 packets of sugar into your coffee. I can see it at the top." She said, pointing to where there was white sugar visible above the cup's rim.
"I like it like that." Jeff said, picking it up and trying to sip around the mound of sugar. He looked up from his cup and sugar crystals dotted his nose and cheeks. He grinned like a 6 year old and set the cup down. Madison gigled and relaxed into the diner booth. Jeff laughed and wiped away the sugar on his face.
"So, you have a son. . . Trevon. . ."
"Yeah, a five year old monster! The boy wants everything." She sighed and sipped at her coffee, "But, you know, the bussiness doesnt bring in that much money, so I guess you could say he is'nt as lucky as other little boys. But he makes the best of it!"
"Does he take after his daddy?" Jeff asked. Madison averted her eyes to the floor. She had to think of answer quick.
"I sure hope not." She replied. Jeff looked at her curiously.
"Why?"
"His daddy ran away when he found out I was pregnant." She said, a hint of sadness in her voice. 'YES! SHE DOESNT HAVE A HUSBAND!' Jeff said excitedly in his head, trying not to grin on the outside. It wasnt the nicest thing to be thinking about at the moment, but it wa the only thing he COULD think about. 'Time to make my move.'
Jeff got up from his side of the bench and went over to hers. He sat down and wrapped his arm around her, trying to comfort her. He knew it had become serious when he heard her sniffling. He tilted her head up and looked her in the eye. Even through tears her eyes looked gorgeous to him. He wiped away her tears and held her to his chest.
"Shhh. . . don't cry, it's ok. I'm here for ya." Jeff lulled. Too bad he didn't know the real reason she was crying. He wouldnt understand. He'd run away and not want to get involved. Who wouldnt be crying in her position? What kind of exmaple was she setting for her son by going out everynight and selling herself to men? No, they were'nt men, they were pigs with nothing better to do than take advantage of women who were willing to give in. She felt so low, so disgusting. She wanted to cry all night, right there in Jeff's arms. She was pitiful. She hated herself. But how else is she going to make money to feed Trevon?
"I feel so bad that I can't give him a normal life like all the other little boys." She sobbed, "I screwed up and now he's not gonna be ok. He's not gonna be like everyone else. All I wanted to do was to give him a normal life. All I wanted to do was make him grow up right!"
Jeff rocked her back and forth held onto her. He felt himself get choked up as she cried. She was getting to him and he had barely known her for an hour! He tried to process what was happening to him. All these thoughts running through his head. He didnt notice a tear slip down his cheek.
*A LITTLE WHILE LATER*
Jeff and Madison stood outside Madisons car back in the bar parking lot. He had payed the bill and taken her back as soon as he could. There was no use making a big scene in that diner.
Madison looked in her front mirror and hurriedly tried to wipe away the tear stains from her cheeks. She turned around and gave Jeff one more hug. He was so nice to her. He made her feel good in those few moments where she was crying. He comforted her. She had never had that before. She was always alone. Always crying. Always in the dark, seldom seeing the light that she needed so bad to survive. The darkness and pain wa wearing her down and this night was exactly what she needed. To go out and to clear her head, and to run into a sweet southern gentleman who was willing to give her a shoulder to cry on, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"So, are ya gonna be in town for long?" Jeff asked.
"Yeah, I'm gonna try to stay down here. The people are nice." She replied.
"Well, I'm getting the weekend off work, I get to come back home. I was wonderin if maybe you wanted to, like, go out sometime. Just have some fun, get a drink. I could introduce you to my friends. They're a real nice bunch. You seemed so tired and stressed tonight." Jeff explained. Madison smiled and nodded happily. This is even better! To meet new people and almost set up a new life for herself. Get back on track. But it's gonna be hard to shake off what she's already built for herself. Then again, there's no use in not trying.
"Sure," She replied happily, "I'll give you my number." She reahed into her purse and pulled out a small white card and a pen. She quickley scribbled down her digits and handed them to Jeff who took it without question. He grinned wide and slipped the card into his pocket.
"All right then, I'll talk to ya soon." Jeff said happily. Madison hugged him once more and then hopped into the driver's seat of her car. Jeff waved to her as she drove off. As soon as she was out of sight he turned and jumped up into the air, skipping back to his SUV.
"I got her number, I got her number, yeah who's the boooomb, I got her number." Jeff sang.
*BACK AT THE HOTEL*
"I got her number, I got her number, yeah who's the boooomb, I got her number." Jeff danced down the hall, singing and occasionaly jumping and clicking his heels together. He reached his hotel room door and slipped in his key card, letting himself into the room. Matt was already in bed and rudely awakened by Jeff flicking on the lights. Jeff just danced himself staright into the room, stripping himself of his shirt and pants, completely ignoring Matt who sat up in bed yelling at him.
"JEFF! WHERE WERE YOU!? MAN YOU HAD ME CRAZY! I THOUGHT YOU'D GONE DONE SOMTHIN STUPID AND GOT YOURSELF IN JAIL!" Matt yelled. Jeff jumped onto his bed and lifted up the covers. He looked up at Matt and smiled.
"I got her number, I got her number, yeah who's the boooomb, I got her number." He sang in Matt's face. He slid himself under his covers and reached over, flicking off the lights, not saying another word and going to sleep. Matt stayed sitting up in bed dumbfounded until Amy reached up and dragged him back down.
"Rlax Matt," She mummbled, "So the kid went out and had a little fun? He didnt do anything illegal."
"Yeah but he undermined my authority over him!" Matt whined.
"Shut up." Amy groaned and fell back asleep.
*SOMEWHERE IN DOWNTOWN RALEIGH*
Madison opened the door to her apartment and saw Trevon playing a bored game with Shia. Madison shut the door, put down her coat and bag, and then looked at her watch.
"Trevon you should be in bed" she said firmly. Trevon gave her puppy dog eyes.
"But mommy I wuz playing a game with Shi-ia" he replied.
"Well, its way past your bed time and Mommy needs to talk to Shia right now hunny. Okay?" she asked, Trevon nodded and slowly walked to his bedroom. After Trevon left Madison sat down next to Shia.
"What's up?" asked Shia.
"I met someone at the club," Madison started and Shia's eyes widened with delight as Madison continued, "Well; I was having problems with the bartender. I was trying to get a drink but realized I had no money so I was trying to get a free one. Then all of the sudden this guy walks up and pays for my drink and-"
"You act all independent and tell him you don't accept charity" Shia finished; Madison gave her a you-really-need-to-shut-up look.
"ANYWAYS, I was about to tell him off until we locked eyes. Then we went to a diner and got some coffee. We talked for a little while, I told him about Trevon. He seemed a little surprised or something when he found out I had a kid. Then he asked about Trevon's dad, so I told him that his dad left me and a little while after that I just broke down and cried in his arms."
"Why did you cry? I mean I know you would never cry over Nate, that asshole" Shia said getting angry at the end of her sentence.
"I cried because I was thinking about Trevon, I mean what kind of mother am I for my son if Im a hooker?" she started to cry. Shia put her arms around her best friend and cried with her.