Okay, sorry I've waited so long to update. I've had lots of stuff going on these past couple of weeks and have been to exhausted to even switch the computer on, let alone edit and update my stories! LOL So, I figure I'll post two chapters tonight to make up for it. :o)
Thanks again for the reviews, they've been keeping me motivated and I appreciate that.
Hope y'all enjoy!
A week later, Shane Helms and Shannon Moore were walking down one of the corridors with Kiara in tow. Imogen had pulled yet another disappearing act and the guys were trying to help Kiara find her wayward mother before they had to get ready for the show that night.
"Are you sure she said for you to meet her in the women's locker room?" Shannon asked gently, causing the girl to roll her amber eyes in annoyance.
"How many times do you have to ask me that? Yes, she told me to meet her there, twice, in fact. I'm not deaf you know." Shane tried to smother a chuckle and received a glare from his friend for his efforts.
"What? This is the fourth or fifth time you've asked her. The person we need to find is Matt. Wherever he is, I'm sure Imogen isn't far behind."
"Well, at least that should be easier than finding Jeff is." Shannon grinned as they turned the corner that led to the men's locker room. They stopped in their tracks as they viewed Jeff Hardy entering the room in a hurry. "Well, whaddya know, I was wrong. Maybe he'll know were Matt and Imogen are."
Kiara however, was preoccupied with someone who had caught her eye on the other side of the corridor. Shane, noticing this, turned to look and spied a young strawberry blonde woman leaning against the wall. She was chewing on her knuckles and frowning in an agitated fashion. She wore a purple tracksuit and was carrying a sports bag, which told him that she wasn't just here for a quick visit.
Hearing a quiet sob, he looked down at Kiara and saw that her eyes had widened and were filled with tears. The peculiar thing though, was that she actually had a genuinely happy smile on her face.
"Rhiannon!" Kiara cried out and Shane glanced up in time to see the woman turn sharply to face Kiara with a shocked expression. Then in the next moment, a radiant smile lit up her face and in one fluid movement she stepped away from the wall, dropping the bag and took a few tentative steps towards them.
With a strangled cry, Kiara ran to her aunt and hurled herself into her waiting arms. Tears were now streaming down both of their faces as they hugged each other tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again." Kiara sobbed loudly.
"I'm here now sweetheart and I won't be going anywhere." Rhiannon swore, trying frantically to put a stop to her tears. Kiara pulled away, wiping the tears from her face and laughing.
"Did you get a job here? Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, amazed that after so long, her aunt had finally come back to her.
"I didn't want to disappoint you in case this didn't come about. My position here still isn't guaranteed sweetie, but at least I've got a shot now." Rhiannon explained gently, but Kiara wouldn't let that get her down. At least Rhian was trying and deep down, Kiara knew that her aunt would be staying. She wouldn't - couldn't - believe otherwise.
"How have you been, Kiara?" Rhiannon asked quietly when her niece didn't respond.
"I...it's h-horrible." Kiara's eyes filled with angry tears, her amber eyes full of hurt. "I hate it here Rhian. I hate it." She stated emphatically, her voice shaking with the emotion she felt. "I feel so alone."
Rhiannon felt so helpless seeing Kiara in this state. Before the girl had left home with Imogen, she had begun to look ill, but now she looked almost like a walking skeleton. Kiara had grown quite a bit since Rhian had last seen her, and now stood at least an inch above her aunt, which only served to make her loss of weight more obvious. Her pale skin had a grey tinge to it and her eyes had large, dark bags underneath.
"Kiara, what's happened to you?" She asked gently, looking her niece over in concern.
"Not enough sleep, I guess." Kiara shrugged, wiping the tears away again.
"Well, we need to fix that, don't we?" Rhian smiled fondly and Kiara felt a rush of pure happiness flow through her for the first time in over a year. Finally, she felt secure again.
"I've missed you, Rhiannon, so much." She hugged her aunt tightly again, her words bringing tears to Rhian's eyes again.
"And I've missed you even more." She heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Shannon and Shane watching the reunion with some confusion. Kiara turned around to the guys and rolled her eyes.
"Shannon, Shane, this is my aunt, Rhiannon O'Connor. I used to live with her while mom was on the road. Rhian, this is Shannon Moore and Shane Helms, they're friends of Matt's." Rhiannon looked back and forth between the men warily.
"Hi." Rhiannon said quietly, not really wanting to get into a deep conversation with them just yet. She knew these were Jeff's friends as well, but he'd still told her to trust no one when it came to Imogen.
"Nice to meet you, Rhiannon. Jeff's told me a lot about you." Shannon smiled, having already been warned about her possible aloof attitude from Jeff. Shane hadn't been so well informed, however, and was slightly affronted by her coldness.
"You're Imogen's sister?" He asked in a controlled voice, hiding his surprise at the fact well. Rhiannon was somewhat plainer than Imogen, who was model material, but she was by no means unattractive.
"What? She's actually mentioned me?" Rhiannon asked dryly and Shane's eyes narrowed, not really sure what to make of the young woman.
"No, I don't really have much to do with her." Rhiannon rolled her eyes, slightly disbelieving, before mumbling something in a language neither of the guys understood. Kiara, however, snorted with laughter and replied in the same tongue, her eyes wide and she looked at Shane almost mockingly. Rhiannon appeared surprised at what Kiara had told her.
"You know it's rude to speak in a foreign language when having a conversation with people who don't understand it." As Shane crossed his arms in an annoyed fashion, Rhiannon's full, rosy lips lifted slightly at the corners.
"Yes, I do believe you're right. I apologise." She replied, not sounding very sorry at all and Shannon tried to bite back a laugh.
"Hey guys, I see you've met my sister." Jeff came strolling out of the locker room to see Shane glaring at Rhiannon and hurried to try and head off any unpleasantness. "Kiara!" He grinned cheekily at the girl. "I told you I had a surprise for you."
"You knew?" She sounded annoyed, but not surprised as Jeff just winked at her.
"Your sister?" Shane asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.
"Yes, Rhiannon's pretty much family to me now, but I did forget to warn you, she's not easy to get along with in the beginning. The girl's pretty stubborn with new people, it took ages before she'd really open up to me." From Jeff's mild tone Shane didn't know whether to take him seriously, but judging from the ice cold look Rhiannon shot her "brother", it probably wasn't too far from the truth. "Well, I'm sorry to break this up, but I've gotta take Rhian to speak to some people. Kiara, your mother's down near catering."
"No! I want to go with you, Rhian." Kiara grabbed her aunt's hand, her panicked expression breaking Jeff's heart.
"Hey, sweetie, I'm not going far. I just have to get this sorted out so we can get on with things here. We'll have plenty of time to spend together after today, okay?" She gave her niece a big hug.
"But I only just found you. I don't want you to go away again."
"I'm not going anywhere, Kiara." Rhian fought to hold back the tears again as Jeff separated them gently.
"C'mon kiddo, do you really think she'd just disappear after all the hard work she's done to get here? Believe me, she ain't going anywhere." He told Kiara gently and looked to Shannon. "Take care of her for us?" Shannon just nodded, concerned by Kiara's obvious distress and attachment to her aunt.
"And I'd appreciate it if none of you told Imogen that I'm here. I'd like to tell her myself, if that's okay?" Rhiannon asked slyly and Kiara smiled at the glint in her aunt's eye.
"Okay, but you'd better tell me what happens when you do." Kiara threatened with a grin before turning and skipping away, the guys just shook their heads as they followed the girl away. Rhiannon had to chuckle at her niece's behaviour, just happy to see a sparkle in Kiara's eye. Jeff wrapped an arm around her shoulder noticing that her eye's glistened with tears as her niece bounced down the corridor.
"So...was it worth it?" He asked smugly while Rhiannon smiled widely, her face glowing with contentment.
"I think you already know the answer to that."