As easy as it was for Leila to fall asleep that night, it was the complete opposite for René. He tossed and turned several times, counted backwards from 100 but nothing worked. It got to the stage when Sylvan threw a pillow and was probably very close to throwing something heavier at him while he was still sleeping, mumbling something about him keeping still while he got his beauty sleep.
At dawn, René gave up on sleeping for more than 15 minutes at a time and stood at the window of his hotel room, occasionally glancing back at Sylvan, who, even in sleep, looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, wondering how on earth he could manage to get some sleep and he couldn't. Besides, Sylvan didn't need beauty sleep. He did. Maybe he could get some sleep later in the day, if his schedule would allow it.
He would, of course, see how Leila was. That was the least he could do that day. And maybe see if she wanted to do anything, which he highly doubted. It was more than likely that she would stay in the hotel for the day.
Sylvan stirred a little in the bed, smacking his lips as he did so and mumbling something about Sophie, making René decide that he would leave before his tag team partner woke up completely. He wanted to spend some time alone with Leila and he didn't need or want Sylvan hanging around like a bad smell.
Half an hour later, he was ready so he left Sylvan a note, explaining where he was going to be if he needed him for anything and made his way to Leila and Sophie's room.
The TV was going already so he knew at least one of the twins was awake. After sneaking a look up and down the hallway to make sure no one was watching him, René knocked on the door.
He had to wait longer than usual for the door to be opened and that was because it was Leila who opened it. The annoyed look on his face softened and the tired look on her face softened.
"You slept alright, then?"
"Yeah. I've been awake for a couple of hours though. And Sophie's left me alone for the moment. You've got to love her when she does that. She's gone swimming apparently. So her note said."
Ah ha! Time alone with Leila. Maybe it wasn't the ideal time to spend some 'quality' time with her but seeing that he had to fit in a workout or three as well as some sleep, he supposed it was a good thing that he was seeing her now.
"Are you going to spend the rest of the day out there?"
René laughed and walked into Leila's room. A box of Earl Grey tea bags was on her bed, opened, and a cup was sitting on the table beside her bed, filled with some of the brew. Belatedly, he noticed that her bathrobe was loose.
"Couldn't you sleep?"
"It wasn't that. Thomas phoned at about 5am, forgetting about the time difference, just to see how we were and I let it slip about what I told you last night. I think he was a bit shocked that I had told you and not Sophie but I want to do that today. But he did say that it's only fair that I tell her what happened."
René nodded and ran a hand through his hair.
"Would I be pushing my luck if I got you to make me one of those?" he asked, pointing towards the cup of Earl Grey tea, bringing a smile to Leila's face.
"You'll have to have it the way I do - four sugars and fat milk."
René tried not to cringe but failed, making Leila laugh.
"It's not that bad, just ultra sweet!"
"Like you."
Hell, he hadn't put his foot in it again, had he? The funny smile on Leila's face was replaced by a sheepish one, as if she liked what she heard but didn't want to admit it.
"Thank you for that. I mean that."
Rene knew she meant it - her eyes told him. He could lose himself in those eyes, he quickly decided.
She proceeded to make him a cup of Earl Grey the way she liked it and handed it to him, going over to the TV and setting up the PlayStation 2.
"When or if you finish that, I'll challenge you to a battle on the Muppet game."
He could do that, he decided. Quickly sculling the tea, he crossed the room to where Leila stood with a controller in her hand and took it, sitting on the edge of Sophie's bed.
"Do you usually do this first thing in the morning?"
"Pretty much. It helps me to face the day and I need it today."
René patted her hand and she smiled. Just as the game was set to start, someone knocked on the door.
"For crying out loud!" Leila complained as she got up from the bed, making use of her crutches as she headed towards the door. For all she knew, it was Sophie who had 'conveniently' forgotten her blasted key.
"Bonjour, chérie!"
She was shocked to find Sylvan on the other side of the door, and hastily pulled her robe closed. For her, it was bad enough that René had seen her in her birthday suit but Sylvan as well! It appeared that she had men falling at her feet!
"She's not here at the moment, but I suppose you will want to wait for her."
"Well, my partner left me a note, telling me that this would be where I'd find him. Besides, I'm bored."
Sylvan nodded and waited until Leila had stepped away from the door before entering the room. René was busy on the PlayStation 2, driving around as Animal, causing a large amount of damage to the other Muppets and going "Ha, ha" whenever he did so. He gently grasped Leila's elbow, making her turn around to look at him.
"He told me the condensed version of what happened to you last night. I hope you don't mind. I was concerned about you so that's why … you know."
Leila nodded in understanding, acknowledging that René had done the right thing in telling his tag team partner before freeing her elbow from Sylvan's grasp and slowly heading back to René and the PlayStation.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Leila looked around her and began to laugh. Never in a million years did she imagine she'd find herself in this situation - all alone with her favourite wrestlers. Imagine what her friends would say when she told them!
"What's the joke?"
"This. I have a broken ankle and I'm sitting on a bed wearing only my bathrobe and I have my favourite wrestlers in the room with me. Never in a million years did I believe this would happen! No one will believe me if I told them!"
"Of course they will. Won't they?"
"Without photographic evidence, they won't. Besides, when little sister returns, I'll get her to take the photographic evidence. I'll make her."
René and Sylvan nodded in agreement and Sylvan was quite happy to sit back and watch René and Leila battle it out in the battle league of Muppet Race Mania. It was obvious that Leila had had more experience when it came to playing the game because she was kicking René's arse quite handsomely.
At the end of the battle league, after she had won, she decided not to play any more, instead deciding to wait for her sister. She had heard Sophie wondering to herself about what had happened the night before and knew she had to tell her sister about what had happened between herself and Marc 3 years earlier. Having René and Sylvan in the room didn't help either - she was seriously considering asking them to leave so she could tell Sophie without an audience. And they knew it.
"Would you rather us not be here when you tell Sophie?"
Grasping that offer with all she had, Leila nodded. She saw the evil look that René was sending in Sylvan's direction and struggled to find her voice so she could tell René that that was what she wanted at that point of time.
"I may change my mind though."
René didn't want to smile cockily at Sylvan. He was seriously tempted to hold Leila in his arms, regardless of whether Sylvan was in the room or not. Still, he moved closer to her, wondering how she would react to that but found she was fine with it.
She had been fine with him patting her hand earlier!
Sophie returned a few minutes later, feeling somewhat refreshed after her morning swim. She blanched somewhat upon seeing René and Sylvan in the room and smiled quickly in greeting, before looking at her sister.
In no uncertain terms, Leila told Sophie to sit down beside her. Sophie did so, not even noticing that Sylvan was now sitting behind her on the bed and had draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her moral support. René was doing the same thing to Leila.
She gave Sophie the same story that she had given René about what happened between herself and Marc at that party, clenching her fist as she did so. Sophie was nearly in tears, Sylvan's grip on her shoulder tightened as did Rene's on Leila's. All the while, the words Sylvan said to him the night before repeated themselves several times.
"She told you what happened and that's saying something to me. It tells me that she's starting to trust you. That she's allowing you to tread in her world."
The more he thought about it, the more he realised it was true. Everything she did with him around, everything she said, was another step he had taken to the real Leila. She was starting to trust him and Sylvan also. She was also learning to trust herself again too.
And that was a good thing, wasn't it?