Sorry I took so long to update...things have been hectic lately. I've had job interviews galore and my feet and back are killing me! LOL
Anyway, I hope this doesn't annoy anyone too much, but I've skipped 5 months ahead with this next chapter. And I have to say that Rhiannon's attitude really pisses me off in this chapter for some reason...what are your opinions?
Thanks for the reviews Carolyn, Phoenix and WipeOut18! Much appreciated.
Enjoy!!!
5 months later...
Rhiannon fumbled with the keys to the front door of her small apartment in Louisville, doing her best not to drop the armful of groceries she carried while she placed the key in the lock.
"Here, let me help you with that." Rhiannon felt a twinge of annoyance when she heard the familiar voice behind her and turned to see Jeff watching her with an amused look on his face. He didn't wait for an answer as he turned the lock, opening the door, and took some of the bags out of Rhiannon's arms. She followed Jeff into the apartment, wondering what had caused him to turn up out of the blue like this. She hadn't seen Jeff or Kylie since she'd moved to Louisville and had only heard from them over the phone once or twice in the past few months. All she really knew was that they had finally worked out their differences and gotten together. The other thing was that Jeff had convinced Kylie to start a course in tourism, which is what she had really wanted to get into in the first place.
"What are you doing here Jeff?" The tiny woman asked as she placed the groceries on the bench in the kitchenette.
"I missed ya kiddo." He grinned and leaned against the sink, glancing around the tiny apartment. "Nice place." He commented with a hint of sarcasm and Rhiannon took a deep breath to stop herself from snapping at him.
"Well the rent's cheap and it does the job. Keeps the wind and rain out." She shrugged without a hint of a smile. "So what's the problem, Jeff? Why are you really here?"
"You're not happy to see me?" He asked, sounding a bit hurt and Rhiannon bit her lip.
"This is the first time you've visited me here, I figure that there's something wrong, so why don't you spit it out." She replied, somewhat bitterly, and Jeff stifled a groan.
"I'm sorry. I guess I've been a bit caught up with stuff at home lately."
"Yeah, you and Kylie both. How's the training going?" She asked politely as she began to put away the groceries.
"We gave up on that ages ago. Ky just wasn't really cut out for it, but she does enjoy working out in the gym, though." He replied uneasily, feeling guilty for the lack of contact that he'd had with her. Rhiannon just nodded, her back turned towards him as she loaded the fridge. "Rhian, I'm sorry that we haven't been in touch much lately, I've been having talks with the WWE about going back and that's been taking up a lot of time and energy. And Kylie's been working through the day and doing her course at night."
"Jeff, you don't have to explain anything to me, okay?" She snapped, finally turning to look at Jeff and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "As you can see, everything's fine here. Obviously you and Kylie are doing well, so now that we all know that, why don't you just go home."
"I'm not going anywhere until we get this sorted out." He refused stubbornly, and Rhiannon put her head in her hands in frustration.
"Jeff, I'm tired! I don't need this right now, I just want to take a long shower and go to bed, if you don't mind."
"I do mind, Rhian. You're family to me, and I don't think I could cope if I lost you too." The hurt in his voice made Rhiannon pause for a minute and she realised that she was probably being unfair.
"Well, you haven't. Look, you've just caught me at a bad time, it's been such a long week...if I weren't so tired I could probably deal with my feelings a whole lot better. But as it is, I'm not able to. I'm sorry." Looking Rhiannon in the eyes, Jeff could see the hopelessness that she was feeling and again he felt bad about waiting this long to come down and visit. Wrapping his arms around the woman's shoulders, he gave her a comforting hug, whereby Rhiannon burst into noisy tears.
"Hey, hey, hey...it's okay sis." He held her tight until the worst of the weeping had passed, before making a suggestion. "Why don't I make you a coffee and you can sit down and tell me what's been happening, okay?" Rhiannon eventually nodded and pulled away, reaching for the tissues.
"I'm sorry Jeff. My emotions have just been all over the place lately. I don't know what's wrong with me." Jeff chuckled slightly, remembering what it was like when he was trying to get a place in the WWE.
"It's okay, Rhian. I understand completely."
Once Jeff had made her coffee, they sat down and Rhiannon related everything that had happened in the past 5 months. Within the first few weeks of starting at OVW, she'd suffered a sprained ankle, which was still fairly weak and kept going out on her at the worst possible times. Then there were the migraines that just didn't seem to stop, which her doctor thought were caused by depression, anxiety and exhaustion. He'd put her on anti-depressants at the request of the trainers, but the medication was making her feel worse. She was suffering from nightmares and had panic attacks at least 3 times a week, usually more. And then, to top it all off, every time that the WWE said they wanted to give her a proper trial, it was always called off at the last minute. Most recently they told Rhian that she was just the type of girl that they wanted to bring in, but they just didn't have any room at the moment.
"It just seems less and less likely that I'm going to get a shot in there." She told him hoarsely, blowing her nose and throwing another tissue into the small basket she kept beside her; the pile had grown considerably in the past quarter of an hour, as she had kept bursting into tears at the drop of a hat. "I have no way of knowing how Kiara is, I can't get any information off anyone! I just don't think I'm cut out for this, Jeff. I'm so tired and I keep getting sick, I feel like I'm going out of my mind. The only thing that's keeping me going is the thought of one-day seeing my niece again. I don't think I even care about the wrestling any more!"
"That can't be true, Rhian. I think things are just getting on top of you and it's making things seem a lot harder than they really are. You need a break." He told her gently and Rhiannon laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Well, if I need a break every few months, how far am I going to get in this business? Nowhere." She threw her arms up in the air, frustrated with the entire scenario.
"Rhiannon, your problems aren't just going to disappear. You need to take a step back for a little while and sort out exactly what it is that's causing all your problems. Otherwise, you're going to end up having a nervous breakdown."
"I already know what it is, Jeff. I need to know that Kiara is okay and that Imogen is taking care of her. I need to be there to keep an eye on her and make sure that she's healthy and happy. It's the not knowing that's driving me crazy."
"Well, once I get back in there, I promise that I'll keep you informed about what's going on." Rhiannon smiled weakly at her friend and nodded.
"Thank you, I just wish I could be there."
"You will be. It's just going to take time, hopefully not too much more, though. I'll see if I can get any info on how people think you're doing in OVW and I'll let you know, alright."
"No, I don't want people to think I put you up to it." She declined with a troubled look on her face and Jeff chuckled.
"No one will think that, sweetie. I know how to do these things without arousing suspicion, believe me. Now, you're going to have a shower while I cook you some dinner. No arguments!" He told her firmly, as she looked like she was about to say no. Then, rolling her eyes, she got up and gave him a quick hug.
"Thanks Jeff, I'm sorry I was such a bitch earlier. I am glad you're here, it's really good to see you. I've missed you and Kylie so much."
"We've missed you too, and hopefully next time I can get my girl down here too, then we can really have a reunion."
"That'd be good. Thanks for listening, anyway." She smiled and walked into the bathroom.
"Anytime, sweetie."