Thank you to Phoenix, Coors and Wipe Out for reviewing.. :o) (Hey, I got one extra review this chapter, thanks Wipe Out, so my non-begging must be working! lol) I'm glad that someone is liking this story!
Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I just started a new job this week so I've been too exhausted to do anything but fall in a heap once I get home. lol I'll try not to be so slack from now on.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, it was a hard one to write, but I think it turned out okay in the end.
Please R&R!
The next Sunday night, Rhiannon was curled up comfortably in Kevin's arms on the verge of slumber, when out of nowhere, a persistent rapping at the hotel door jolted her awake. She looked sleepily at the clock and groaned when she saw 2.01 am illuminated on the alarm clock on the bedside table.
"Who the hell is that?" Kevin asked grumpily as Rhiannon slowly dragged herself out of bed as the knocking continued.
"God only knows, but it better be important." She replied, no less annoyed than he was at the intrusion.
"Just ignore it. Maybe they'll go away." He mumbled, groping at Rhiannon as she left the bed and threw on her robe. She stumbled blindly towards the door, where the knocking continued with increased intensity. Frustrated, Rhiannon swung the door open, quickly ducking as a wayward fist came hurtling towards her head.
"Hey, watch it!" She snapped, glaring at the silhouette angrily, until she realised who it was. "What in the world are you doing here?" Rhiannon asked with a mixture of suspicion and disdain while Matt Hardy stood staring at her dumbly as she groped for a light switch. When he didn't answer right away, Rhiannon peered closely at the man, noticing that he was fighting back tears. "Hey, what's wrong?" Her entire demeanor changed as she saw how cut up he obviously was. His jaw was clenched with suppressed anger and tears and his normally gorgeous brown eyes were bloodshot from a combination of lack of sleep, alcohol and tears. She took a step closer, glancing behind her to make sure Kevin was still in bed. "Matt? You've woken me up at 2 am, obviously something's bothering you, will you just tell me what it is?" Rhiannon whispered, placing a comforting hand on his arm as he looked away, blinking back more tears.
"Imogen broke up with me tonight." He eventually croaked out, his voice hoarse with emotion as he once again looked her in the eye. "I proposed to her tonight and she told me that she didn't love me. She's never loved me." He rubbed his face with his hands as he saw the heartbroken expression on the woman's face. "I'm sorry for waking you up, but I didn't know where else to go."
"Why don't you come in for a coffee and we can chat, hey?" She asked sympathetically and Matt nodded in relief, moving to enter when Rhian tightened her hand slightly on his arm, staying him for a moment. "But I think I should warn you. There's a very large, angry, extremely blonde man in my bed at the moment, so we might want to keep it down a bit, okay?" Matt stared at her curiously, but only nodded as she granted him entry into the room.
"Who is it?" Kevin asked grumpily from the bed as Rhiannon switched on the kettle.
"Matt Hardy." She replied, serving the dark haired man a reassuring smile as Kevin sat bolt upright at the news. "My sister has issues, he just needs some advice is all. Go back to sleep babe, we'll talk quietly." Her tone of voice left no room for argument, so Kevin lay back down, grumbling under his breath, obviously not impressed. "Sorry about that, dear. He's really a sweetie, but he worries about me having guy friends." Rhiannon explained to Matt quietly as she passed him his coffee, seeming slightly embarrassed about the circumstances, but Matt nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, I was the same with Jeff and Imogen for a while, but only because I knew that he had feelings for her. It was stupid, I know." He admitted, looking ashamed and Rhiannon shook her head.
"Oh Matt, that's all in the past now, and besides, you know Jeff, he can't hold a grudge for long."
"But it was all for nothing." He sighed, staring into the dark coffee blankly. "I love her, Rhiannon, I thought she was the one. I did it all for her, and for what? A kick in the teeth."
"Matt, what did she say to you? What happened tonight?" She asked gently, not wanting to seem pushy, but knowing he would feel better if he got it all out now. Matt was silent for quite a while, taking a few sips of his coffee in the interim while Rhiannon sat back in her seat, observing him silently, waiting until he was ready to speak.
"It was perfect, Rhiannon, everything was set up perfectly. I got us the honeymoon sweet in a hotel across town. I organised a dinner for all of us; me, Imogen and Kiara, at a restaurant overlooking the beach. It was so beautiful...she was so beautiful." He reminisced, his hand tightening around the coffee mug as his anger started to rise again. "She's been acting strange all week, really quiet, but I thought that was just because of the problems the two of you were having. I had no idea what was really going through her mind." He said bitterly, and Rhiannon looked away ashamed as Matt continued. "After dinner, I got down on one knee and asked Imogen to marry me. Kiara was so happy, she had the biggest smile on her face that I've ever seen. But Imogen just started to cry. She said she was sorry, that she never meant it to go this far, but that she didn't love me. She never loved me." A sob suddenly escaped him as he remembered the horrified expression on her face when he'd asked her the question. "She said that she'd tried to end it, but didn't know how. That's when it all started to make sense, her flirting with Jeff and all my friends, all the talk of marriage early in the relationship. She wanted to break up with over a year ago, but she just didn't have the guts." He spat, his face contorted with anger and grief. "And then Kiara started screaming at her, that she couldn't believe Imogen had done this again and that she never wanted to see her again. She ran out of the restaurant and Imogen followed her. That's the last I saw of them." Panic overtook Rhiannon momentarily at the thought of Kiara wandering the streets alone.
"Kiara ran away?" Matt saw the concern in Rhiannon's eyes.
"It's okay, I spoke briefly with Jeff, she went to his hotel room and he's letting her stay the night. I would have gone to him, but I didn't need anyone to tell me 'I told you so.' And I don't think I could have faced Kiara anyway. That's why I thought of you, you're the only other person who knows her as well as I do. Maybe you could explain why she'd do this to me." He asked, his chocolate eyes pleading for answers that Rhiannon knew she couldn't give him.
"You know, you're not the first person she's done this to, and I've always been there to pick up the pieces after she's broken someone's heart, but I've never been able to give them a reason why she does what she does. I'm so sorry." She placed a hand over Matt's as his eyes filled with tears again.
"I can't sleep." Rhiannon and Matt jumped at the sound of Kevin's voice behind them. "I'm going for a walk." He strode out the room without a backward glance, slamming the door so hard behind him that the walls shook.
"Jealous?" Matt grunted the question and Rhiannon nodded with a wry smile.
"As much as he always tries to deny it, yeah, he hates me getting close to any other guy, even though he knows that he's the only one I want." She sighed, resting her head on the back of the couch.
"You don't need that shit, Rhiannon. You're one of the most loyal people I know." Rhiannon laughed lightly.
"How could you possibly know that Matt? You barely know me at all."
"But I know everything that Jeff, Kiara and Shane have told me. And I know what I've seen. The only reason you went back to the ring in the first place was to make sure Kiara was okay. I admire you so much for that." He took a deep breath, looking deeply into her eyes. "And even though you and Imogen never got along, I've never disliked you. I saw you Rhiannon, and I knew you were an amazing person. I knew I could trust you, and that's never happened to me before. I guess that's why I'm here." He admitted truthfully, gazing intensely at Rhiannon as tears filled her eyes. She quickly wiped them away and forced a laugh.
"I don't know what to say, Matt. To be perfectly honest, when I first met you, I really didn't know what to think. I suppose that's because my sister's taste in men was never very good. But I have to say, I don't know what she's thinking, giving you up like that. No one's ever taken care of her and accepted her and Kiara the way you have. I was so relieved when I saw the way you treated them, I knew they were in good hands." She smiled resignedly as she saw Matt's expression tightened again and she decided to change the subject. "Look, I want you to stay here tonight. We've got a spare bed, and I doubt you'd want to chance running into Imogen at the other hotel." She said quietly, gesturing to the single bed beside her and Kevin's double, but Matt shook his head.
"And what would Fertig think about that?" He asked dryly, causing Rhiannon to laugh.
"Do I look like I care? You need support right now, and I'm damn well not going to let you wander the streets all night in the state you're in." She said stubbornly and Matt laughed.
"Well, if you think you can handle the behemoth, then I guess I won't argue. I just don't want to cause any trouble for you, that's all."
"Believe me, I'll be in more trouble with Jeff if I don't make sure you're okay." She joked, causing Matt to choke on his laughter. "Matt, it's late and we all have an early start tomorrow. Please, just stay. We'll work out all the other details tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay." He replied with a grateful smile. "Thank you Rhiannon, you really are an angel." He told her sincerely and the redhead rolled her eyes.
"Alright, I think we've gone way beyond mushy tonight, and to be honest, I don't like mushy. Just get some sleep and I'll be happy." Rhiannon patted him gently on the shoulder, before walking away, a troubled expression marring her features.