I yelled at Matt as he ran, but Matt was too fast and didn't care. He just ran and gored Paul and started punching him. People gathered around them and tried to stop them. But they just kept going at it. They didn't care. I couldn't take it anymore, I ran.
This was going too far. I ran out of the arena and sat on a bench. Jay caught up with me. Blood was trickling down his face from a cut on his head. I knew he had tried to stop it. He didn't say anything at first. He sat down next to me and wiped some of the blood off.
"It's over." He told me. "Vince is with both of em now."
"Vince? Oh my God." I said. "He'll do something for sure."
"He's got two of his best men in there. He won't do anything too drastic."
"I have to get in there." I got up.
"Des, I think it's best if I took you back to the hotel."
"No."
I went back into the arena and went to find Vince. A man was standing outside the door and told me it was better if I just left. I wouldn't. I kicked him right in the balls, and let myself in. Matt and Paul were seated in two chairs, looking down. Vince looked up at me.
"Destiny, I was just going to send for you. I'm glad you didn't leave the arena."
"What's going on, McMahon?" I asked angrily.
"Chill out, chill out." Vince said.
"I know you, McMahon. I know how you work. Don't pull any shit on me."
"Destiny, no one's trying to pull anything. Trust me."
"Now that's something I don't think I can do. I know your past, I know how you work, McMahon. Like I said, I know you. I know what you've done to me, and to others. DTA, don't trust anyone."
"I can see why you'd say that. I'll admit, last year was not my best. But, you know that I have changed."
"Have you? Or are you trying to gain everyone's trust and then drop us when we believe in you."
"Destiny, please sit down. I know how this marriage could put a few on edge. We have to talk about that. Think about how it'll effect the working conditions around here."
"And how the hell would you know?" I asked. "Who told you?" I looked at Paul and Matt.
"It doesn't matter who told me. I know, and I want to work with all of you on this. I know your relationship with Paul. I know the both of you cherish that relationship and I know this is killing you."
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Paul said. "I told her, once she left my hotel room, there was no going back."
"Well, maybe if you weren't so rough on her, and treated her right, she wouldn't have had to be so harsh." Matt snapped back.
"If you weren't such an asshole we wouldn't have had that conversation."
"Both of you, shut up or I'll suspend the both of you, and I really don't want to have to do that." Vince said. "Now, Destiny, I can understand why you might be so hard on me, and on those sitting in this room. This is stressful. But, we all have to work on this."
"Yeah, we do." I replied.
"I'm done with this bullshit." Paul stood up. "There's no point. You can't make me change my mind." And he left.
"Don't worry about him." Vince told me. "I'll work on him. It will all be all right."
"Yes, of course it will." I said, choked up. Then, I left. As I left McMahon's room, Jay was waiting for me.
"Well?" He asked.
"I just want to go home." I told him. "Just, take me home."
"All right." Jay followed me. "Was it really that bad?"
"I-I don't know. I just want to go back to the hotel." I answered. "Please."
"We're getting there." He said. "Tell me, please?"
"I'm just so confused right now."
"Well, if I was in your position, I'd be confused to." He started driving. "It'll all fold out. Just, give it time."
"I don't know if that'll work." I said. I looked at him, tears in my eyes. "Jason, things aren't looking so good. In fact, things are looking really bad."
"Oh, Des." He put his hand on mine. "I promise, thing's will work out."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I don't." He told me. "Look, there's a lot going on. I mean, Paul's got something out for Matt. And, that just boiled over. You've got to chose between your son and family. It's hard, I know it is."
"This is why Paul freaked out." I stuck out my hand.
"Holy shit, Destiny!" Jay yelled. "This would be why Paul would pissed."
"I have to." I said. "This is for my son."
"You would do something like that for him." He replied. "I think it's noble."
"You're the only one. Everyone thinks I'm crazy."
"You are. You were crazy since day one, but that's you. This is noble, something you're doing for your baby boy. The two of you have guts. I'll tell you that."
"Are you jealous?"
"What?"
"Jealous. I know you want to have a family and settle down. I know you do."
"I do, I know I do. And, I also know that now isn't the best time for it." He said.
"Tell me about it. I'm scared to death of doing this. I have a child, that can be career suicide. I was lucky, very lucky that it didn't happen to me. I am so lucky and I thank my lucky stars that it didn't. But, there's a lot at stake here, a lot. And, I try not to be selfish about it, but at times, you can't help it. I would think nothing of dropping everything to be a housewife, and stay with Matthew. I'd let Matt continue to work here on the road."
"That's not you, that's not you at all. You're not a housewife, you never will be." Jay said.
"I know, and then other times I think of me in this business. And, I've got a lot in here, I have a lot invested in it."
"That you do. You have a lot invested here. You're the best. Top of your game." He told me. "You've been able to balance it before. You still can now."
"Yes, but now I've lost the support of the two men I love the most. Paul and Jeff hate me."
"Paul can't hate you that long. He's your father, nothing can change that."
"Yes, but now I've been disowned." I sighed. "I know I said somethings that were harsh. And, I'm sorry I said them. But, I was so pissed off at him."
"And, I can understand why. But, you never had a father, and Paul's the only thing you got. You know that, he knows that. Your his child, and he loves what he's got with you. But, like every father, he's on edge about marriage. I mean, I can understand where he's coming from. And, Paul's an emotional guy. He's shaken up. I know if you give him time to think it over, he'll come around."
I started to let the tears fall. "I need him, Jay, I need him. He is my daddy, and without him, I don't know what I'll do. He means the world to me. I need him, I need Jeff."
"Jeff'll come around too. He's hurt, what you did was wrong. Give both of them time. I can't guarantee that you and Jeff could get anything going, and by the looks of things, that's not an option. But, he could come around. Both of them, they'll come around."
"It's been a year, Jeff's not coming around. He'll never forgive me, ever. Paul, I know it'll be the same way."
Jay pulled into the parking lot. "I'll hold onto Matt. I know you need the time. Come by in the morning, we'll talk."
"OK." I got out and went to Chris's room.
"Hey." He answered. He looked like he just woke up.
"I'm sorry, I know it's late." I said.
"No, it's all right. I was worried about you. Come in." He let me in. I sat on a chair. "What happened?"
"A lot of things. Paul and Matt went at it. Vince got involved. He knows about the marriage. Things are falling to pieces."
"It's all right, Des." He hugged me. "It's all right."
I'm not normally this emotional. I don't go to people looking for sympathy. In fact, I'd rather be alone in my time of need. But, today was different. I needed people. I needed someone, anyone. There was a knock on Chris's door. It was Jeff.
"Hey, if you see Destiny, tell her that Matt's staying with me. I'm going to watch over the punk so he doesn't get in trouble."
"Yeah, sure." Chris replied.
"Wow, he would have talked to me."
"Told you."
"Can I stay here?" I asked. "I need to be with someone. I don't trust myself alone."
"You can stay here as long as you want."
I hugged Chris. It was true. I didn't trust myself alone. I needed to be with someone. I went to my room and got what I'd need for the night. I got in the other bed next to Chris. He fell right asleep. It took me a while. I tossed and turned all night. I couldn't get into a deep sleep. Too much was on my mind.
"Des, lets go." Chris told me. I looked at the clock. It was 10:30. I had just fallen asleep. "Get up, get up. We have Smackdown and we have to catch a flight."
"Damn it all to hell!" I rolled over.
"Lets go, babe, get up." He pulled the covers off. "Now!" He pushed me off the bed.
"Ow." I said. "OK, I'm up, I'm up."
I took my things and went into the shower. I sort of stood there for a while before doing what I had to do. Obviously, last night was still on my mind. I didn't know what to do with myself. Paul meant the world to me, and I made him feel lower than dirt. He responded with his own words that made me feel the same way too. I wanted to make him happy, but I didn't want to back down. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to make other people happy, which isn't me at all. See what happens when I try to please people.
I got out and put a hat on my wet hair and left the room. I got the rest of my things and Chris and I went to see if Jay had left his room, which he did. We met up with everyone in the parking lot and in the lobby, everyone waiting to leave. Chris and I walked over to Jay who was just leaving the hotel.
"Hey babe." Jay said to me. He kissed my cheek. "How are you feeling?"
"All right." I answered. "How's my baby?" I took my son out of his arms.
"He's doing fine." Jay told me.
"I'll take him to the airport with me."
"Sure thing, Mom." He smiled and weakly punched my shoulder.
"Thank God for people like Jay." I said as we walked to the car.
"Great guy." Chris replied. We put our bags in the trunk and I set Matthew up in his seat. "Are you going to talk to Matt at all today?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him. Jeff's probably going to want to keep a close watch on him, and I'm the last person Jeff wants to see."
"You don't know that." Chris said. "He was looking for you last night, wasn't he?"
"He probably was saying that. If I see Matt, I'll talk to him."
"Are you going to talk to Paul?"
"Do these bruises say I'm going to talk to him?"
"OK, fair enough." Chris replied. "You do know that you will have to."
"I know I'm going to have to. But, now, he hates me. And, he's got ever reason to."
"I know for a fact that he doesn't hate you." Chris told me. He sighed deeply. "Des, I don't want to bring this up, but we have Matt and Jeff tonight."
"Shit, that's right." I said. "Matt's pissed off, Jeff hates me. Things couldn't get any worse."
"Matt'll keep it together for the match, he's focused like that. We still have our plan, and it'll work out. I promise."
I didn't believe him, but I told him I did. I didn't say anything when I walked into the arena. I went into the girls locker room, put my things down, changed, and left. I walked around the arena looking for someone to be by. I found Paul. And, I had to pass him.
"Paul." I said. He stopped, but didn't look at me. "I know things between us aren't good, there horrible at best. And, I know that it's my fault, I'm sorry."
"You should have thought of that before." He said coldly without turning around, then walked on.
I took a deep breath and started walking slowly away. I found myself walking around in circles for the half hour before Smackdown. I walked around the same hallway for that whole half hour. No one noticed I was gone, or that I was doing that. Unless they did, and just gave me my space.
I guess maybe I tried to avoid the match. Which, I couldn't do. Chris found me and told me that we had to get to the ring. Our music hit first. I had butterflies in my stomach like you wouldn't believe. I felt so sick. I didn't do anything on the turnbuckle, I just stood there. Then, the Hardy Boyz music hit.
"Destiny, clearly uneasy about being in that ring right now." JR said.
"Look at her, she's shaking." King replied.
"Obviously, all is not well with Team Xtreme."
Uneasy was an understatement. I was down right scared. Matt was pissed, and I could see it in his eyes. I just hoped everyone stuck to what we had talked about. I would hate for this match to go south. With Matt in a very foul mood, who knows what he might do, and Jeff was pissed off at me, I wasn't in the mental state to be anywhere. I think Chris was the only sane one. I started off first, and Matt and I did show some hesitation in locking up. Like we were supposed to.
"It looks like Matt and Destiny showing hesitation locking up." JR said. "These two fellow teammates aren't keen on fighting each other."
Matt and I did what we were supposed to. The match didn't go so bad, until I got stuck in the ring with Jeff, my second time. And, that's when hell broke lose. Jeff threw out the ideas we had before. He wanted to punish me. I deserved it. He wouldn't let me get a tag off, and Matt couldn't do anything but yell. Jeff wouldn't listen.
"Matt Hardy yelling to his younger brother Jeff to let go of poor Destiny." JR said. "Destiny desperately needs to make the tag."
"Yeah, but I don't think Jeff's going to listen to his older brother. He's out for blood. Destiny's blood. Just don't hurt her puppies!"
King, that was the last thing on Jeff's mind, my puppies. Or maybe, they weren't, but King's accusation was far from accurate. I knew I was in for a lot of trouble when Jeff got his hands on me. The look in his eyes and the his grip on my body said it all. I knew I was in for it.
Chris yelled at Jeff the whole time. Matt and Chris tried to break it up, but Jeff glared evilly at Matt and knocked Jeff down. There was nothing I could do. Jeff got me in the Twist Of Fate and then the Swanton Bomb. After, Matt got in the ring and started yelling at Jeff. Matt was now the legal man. He whipped me into the corner and Jericho made the tag.
I rolled out of the ring in pain, and I was in a lot of it. I leaned against the steel steps and felt the tears rise up. I knew I was in an arena with 12,000 or more people and millions would be watching at home would notice, if it was caught on camera. I didn't start to cry, but tears fell from my eyes. I didn't want to finish the match. For the first time in my whole career, I wanted to walk away from a match. And, for the first time in my career, I started to.
I started walking up the ramp, leaving Chris alone to defend our titles. Chris noticed, Matt noticed. And, there was nothing they could do about it. The tears started falling faster. I got half way up the ramp before I stopped. I stopped and stood there, back to the ring. Fans didn't know what to make of what I was doing. But, put the pieces together and figured out that I had something to do with the breakup of the Hardy Boyz and Team Xtreme.
I wasn't going to let this get to me. I turned around and ran straight for Jeff. I speared him and started punching him. Chris and Matt were fighting in the ring and didn't know what to make of it. Jeff had gone in for a double team, but then I showed up. I pushed Jeff out of the ring and made it hell for him. Chris and Matt had to finish the match now, or I would be the one committing murder.
After Chris pinned Matt, he went to me, belts in hand, and pulled me off Jeff. He wasn't too happy. And, when we got to our locker room, he told me. "What the hell were you doing?"
"What I had to. He did the same to me. You think it's easy for me to get in that ring with Jeff? No, it's not. And, I didn't think I could get back in that ring after that. I started to leave. But, I couldn't. I had to show him what I could do. Don't get mad at me."
"I'm not." He said. "I'm just worried."
"Don't." I told him. "I know a lot of shit's been happening, and I am sorry about that. It's taking over my mind. I've got Unforgiven to worry about in a few days and I can't even get in the mood to kick the shit out of Amy."
"I know, a lot's been going down." He sat down. "Des, you'll be just fine. I have faith in you. Unforgiven's no sweat."
"Shouldn't be, I mean, it's only Amy."
"Destiny." Matt said coming into our room. "That match was not at all what we wanted it to be. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's all right." I put my hand on the back of my head, pulled it away, and spots of blood were on my hand.
"What you did to Jeff sure made it better." Matt replied. He sat down. "I was so angry at him. He hasn't said anything about it."
"I don't want a reason. I know why." I said. "I know why he was harsh, it's all right. He's got every right to be angry and pissed at me."
I got up and left. I was hurt, naturally. But I deserved it. It didn't surprise me that he'd use me as his own personal punching bag. As I walked, I thought about all of it, everything that got me to this point. A lot of things got me to this point. This point meaning where I am in my career and with Jeff. It was like night and day. My career was so hot, so high. I couldn't do wrong. But, my personal life was crumbling. I was a mess.
I rounded the corner and saw Mark walking my way. He noticed me and started walking over to me. He knew what happened in that match and knew what I had to be feeling.
"Des." He said lightly. "You all right?"
"I will be." I answered.
"If you need-"
"I'll be fine, Mark." I said. "I just want to be alone right now."
"That's fine."
He patted my back as I walked on. Things couldn't stay this way, they had to change. I was slowly going insane. I needed something to get me out of this. And Unforgiven was that thing.
This was going too far. I ran out of the arena and sat on a bench. Jay caught up with me. Blood was trickling down his face from a cut on his head. I knew he had tried to stop it. He didn't say anything at first. He sat down next to me and wiped some of the blood off.
"It's over." He told me. "Vince is with both of em now."
"Vince? Oh my God." I said. "He'll do something for sure."
"He's got two of his best men in there. He won't do anything too drastic."
"I have to get in there." I got up.
"Des, I think it's best if I took you back to the hotel."
"No."
I went back into the arena and went to find Vince. A man was standing outside the door and told me it was better if I just left. I wouldn't. I kicked him right in the balls, and let myself in. Matt and Paul were seated in two chairs, looking down. Vince looked up at me.
"Destiny, I was just going to send for you. I'm glad you didn't leave the arena."
"What's going on, McMahon?" I asked angrily.
"Chill out, chill out." Vince said.
"I know you, McMahon. I know how you work. Don't pull any shit on me."
"Destiny, no one's trying to pull anything. Trust me."
"Now that's something I don't think I can do. I know your past, I know how you work, McMahon. Like I said, I know you. I know what you've done to me, and to others. DTA, don't trust anyone."
"I can see why you'd say that. I'll admit, last year was not my best. But, you know that I have changed."
"Have you? Or are you trying to gain everyone's trust and then drop us when we believe in you."
"Destiny, please sit down. I know how this marriage could put a few on edge. We have to talk about that. Think about how it'll effect the working conditions around here."
"And how the hell would you know?" I asked. "Who told you?" I looked at Paul and Matt.
"It doesn't matter who told me. I know, and I want to work with all of you on this. I know your relationship with Paul. I know the both of you cherish that relationship and I know this is killing you."
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Paul said. "I told her, once she left my hotel room, there was no going back."
"Well, maybe if you weren't so rough on her, and treated her right, she wouldn't have had to be so harsh." Matt snapped back.
"If you weren't such an asshole we wouldn't have had that conversation."
"Both of you, shut up or I'll suspend the both of you, and I really don't want to have to do that." Vince said. "Now, Destiny, I can understand why you might be so hard on me, and on those sitting in this room. This is stressful. But, we all have to work on this."
"Yeah, we do." I replied.
"I'm done with this bullshit." Paul stood up. "There's no point. You can't make me change my mind." And he left.
"Don't worry about him." Vince told me. "I'll work on him. It will all be all right."
"Yes, of course it will." I said, choked up. Then, I left. As I left McMahon's room, Jay was waiting for me.
"Well?" He asked.
"I just want to go home." I told him. "Just, take me home."
"All right." Jay followed me. "Was it really that bad?"
"I-I don't know. I just want to go back to the hotel." I answered. "Please."
"We're getting there." He said. "Tell me, please?"
"I'm just so confused right now."
"Well, if I was in your position, I'd be confused to." He started driving. "It'll all fold out. Just, give it time."
"I don't know if that'll work." I said. I looked at him, tears in my eyes. "Jason, things aren't looking so good. In fact, things are looking really bad."
"Oh, Des." He put his hand on mine. "I promise, thing's will work out."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I don't." He told me. "Look, there's a lot going on. I mean, Paul's got something out for Matt. And, that just boiled over. You've got to chose between your son and family. It's hard, I know it is."
"This is why Paul freaked out." I stuck out my hand.
"Holy shit, Destiny!" Jay yelled. "This would be why Paul would pissed."
"I have to." I said. "This is for my son."
"You would do something like that for him." He replied. "I think it's noble."
"You're the only one. Everyone thinks I'm crazy."
"You are. You were crazy since day one, but that's you. This is noble, something you're doing for your baby boy. The two of you have guts. I'll tell you that."
"Are you jealous?"
"What?"
"Jealous. I know you want to have a family and settle down. I know you do."
"I do, I know I do. And, I also know that now isn't the best time for it." He said.
"Tell me about it. I'm scared to death of doing this. I have a child, that can be career suicide. I was lucky, very lucky that it didn't happen to me. I am so lucky and I thank my lucky stars that it didn't. But, there's a lot at stake here, a lot. And, I try not to be selfish about it, but at times, you can't help it. I would think nothing of dropping everything to be a housewife, and stay with Matthew. I'd let Matt continue to work here on the road."
"That's not you, that's not you at all. You're not a housewife, you never will be." Jay said.
"I know, and then other times I think of me in this business. And, I've got a lot in here, I have a lot invested in it."
"That you do. You have a lot invested here. You're the best. Top of your game." He told me. "You've been able to balance it before. You still can now."
"Yes, but now I've lost the support of the two men I love the most. Paul and Jeff hate me."
"Paul can't hate you that long. He's your father, nothing can change that."
"Yes, but now I've been disowned." I sighed. "I know I said somethings that were harsh. And, I'm sorry I said them. But, I was so pissed off at him."
"And, I can understand why. But, you never had a father, and Paul's the only thing you got. You know that, he knows that. Your his child, and he loves what he's got with you. But, like every father, he's on edge about marriage. I mean, I can understand where he's coming from. And, Paul's an emotional guy. He's shaken up. I know if you give him time to think it over, he'll come around."
I started to let the tears fall. "I need him, Jay, I need him. He is my daddy, and without him, I don't know what I'll do. He means the world to me. I need him, I need Jeff."
"Jeff'll come around too. He's hurt, what you did was wrong. Give both of them time. I can't guarantee that you and Jeff could get anything going, and by the looks of things, that's not an option. But, he could come around. Both of them, they'll come around."
"It's been a year, Jeff's not coming around. He'll never forgive me, ever. Paul, I know it'll be the same way."
Jay pulled into the parking lot. "I'll hold onto Matt. I know you need the time. Come by in the morning, we'll talk."
"OK." I got out and went to Chris's room.
"Hey." He answered. He looked like he just woke up.
"I'm sorry, I know it's late." I said.
"No, it's all right. I was worried about you. Come in." He let me in. I sat on a chair. "What happened?"
"A lot of things. Paul and Matt went at it. Vince got involved. He knows about the marriage. Things are falling to pieces."
"It's all right, Des." He hugged me. "It's all right."
I'm not normally this emotional. I don't go to people looking for sympathy. In fact, I'd rather be alone in my time of need. But, today was different. I needed people. I needed someone, anyone. There was a knock on Chris's door. It was Jeff.
"Hey, if you see Destiny, tell her that Matt's staying with me. I'm going to watch over the punk so he doesn't get in trouble."
"Yeah, sure." Chris replied.
"Wow, he would have talked to me."
"Told you."
"Can I stay here?" I asked. "I need to be with someone. I don't trust myself alone."
"You can stay here as long as you want."
I hugged Chris. It was true. I didn't trust myself alone. I needed to be with someone. I went to my room and got what I'd need for the night. I got in the other bed next to Chris. He fell right asleep. It took me a while. I tossed and turned all night. I couldn't get into a deep sleep. Too much was on my mind.
"Des, lets go." Chris told me. I looked at the clock. It was 10:30. I had just fallen asleep. "Get up, get up. We have Smackdown and we have to catch a flight."
"Damn it all to hell!" I rolled over.
"Lets go, babe, get up." He pulled the covers off. "Now!" He pushed me off the bed.
"Ow." I said. "OK, I'm up, I'm up."
I took my things and went into the shower. I sort of stood there for a while before doing what I had to do. Obviously, last night was still on my mind. I didn't know what to do with myself. Paul meant the world to me, and I made him feel lower than dirt. He responded with his own words that made me feel the same way too. I wanted to make him happy, but I didn't want to back down. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to make other people happy, which isn't me at all. See what happens when I try to please people.
I got out and put a hat on my wet hair and left the room. I got the rest of my things and Chris and I went to see if Jay had left his room, which he did. We met up with everyone in the parking lot and in the lobby, everyone waiting to leave. Chris and I walked over to Jay who was just leaving the hotel.
"Hey babe." Jay said to me. He kissed my cheek. "How are you feeling?"
"All right." I answered. "How's my baby?" I took my son out of his arms.
"He's doing fine." Jay told me.
"I'll take him to the airport with me."
"Sure thing, Mom." He smiled and weakly punched my shoulder.
"Thank God for people like Jay." I said as we walked to the car.
"Great guy." Chris replied. We put our bags in the trunk and I set Matthew up in his seat. "Are you going to talk to Matt at all today?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him. Jeff's probably going to want to keep a close watch on him, and I'm the last person Jeff wants to see."
"You don't know that." Chris said. "He was looking for you last night, wasn't he?"
"He probably was saying that. If I see Matt, I'll talk to him."
"Are you going to talk to Paul?"
"Do these bruises say I'm going to talk to him?"
"OK, fair enough." Chris replied. "You do know that you will have to."
"I know I'm going to have to. But, now, he hates me. And, he's got ever reason to."
"I know for a fact that he doesn't hate you." Chris told me. He sighed deeply. "Des, I don't want to bring this up, but we have Matt and Jeff tonight."
"Shit, that's right." I said. "Matt's pissed off, Jeff hates me. Things couldn't get any worse."
"Matt'll keep it together for the match, he's focused like that. We still have our plan, and it'll work out. I promise."
I didn't believe him, but I told him I did. I didn't say anything when I walked into the arena. I went into the girls locker room, put my things down, changed, and left. I walked around the arena looking for someone to be by. I found Paul. And, I had to pass him.
"Paul." I said. He stopped, but didn't look at me. "I know things between us aren't good, there horrible at best. And, I know that it's my fault, I'm sorry."
"You should have thought of that before." He said coldly without turning around, then walked on.
I took a deep breath and started walking slowly away. I found myself walking around in circles for the half hour before Smackdown. I walked around the same hallway for that whole half hour. No one noticed I was gone, or that I was doing that. Unless they did, and just gave me my space.
I guess maybe I tried to avoid the match. Which, I couldn't do. Chris found me and told me that we had to get to the ring. Our music hit first. I had butterflies in my stomach like you wouldn't believe. I felt so sick. I didn't do anything on the turnbuckle, I just stood there. Then, the Hardy Boyz music hit.
"Destiny, clearly uneasy about being in that ring right now." JR said.
"Look at her, she's shaking." King replied.
"Obviously, all is not well with Team Xtreme."
Uneasy was an understatement. I was down right scared. Matt was pissed, and I could see it in his eyes. I just hoped everyone stuck to what we had talked about. I would hate for this match to go south. With Matt in a very foul mood, who knows what he might do, and Jeff was pissed off at me, I wasn't in the mental state to be anywhere. I think Chris was the only sane one. I started off first, and Matt and I did show some hesitation in locking up. Like we were supposed to.
"It looks like Matt and Destiny showing hesitation locking up." JR said. "These two fellow teammates aren't keen on fighting each other."
Matt and I did what we were supposed to. The match didn't go so bad, until I got stuck in the ring with Jeff, my second time. And, that's when hell broke lose. Jeff threw out the ideas we had before. He wanted to punish me. I deserved it. He wouldn't let me get a tag off, and Matt couldn't do anything but yell. Jeff wouldn't listen.
"Matt Hardy yelling to his younger brother Jeff to let go of poor Destiny." JR said. "Destiny desperately needs to make the tag."
"Yeah, but I don't think Jeff's going to listen to his older brother. He's out for blood. Destiny's blood. Just don't hurt her puppies!"
King, that was the last thing on Jeff's mind, my puppies. Or maybe, they weren't, but King's accusation was far from accurate. I knew I was in for a lot of trouble when Jeff got his hands on me. The look in his eyes and the his grip on my body said it all. I knew I was in for it.
Chris yelled at Jeff the whole time. Matt and Chris tried to break it up, but Jeff glared evilly at Matt and knocked Jeff down. There was nothing I could do. Jeff got me in the Twist Of Fate and then the Swanton Bomb. After, Matt got in the ring and started yelling at Jeff. Matt was now the legal man. He whipped me into the corner and Jericho made the tag.
I rolled out of the ring in pain, and I was in a lot of it. I leaned against the steel steps and felt the tears rise up. I knew I was in an arena with 12,000 or more people and millions would be watching at home would notice, if it was caught on camera. I didn't start to cry, but tears fell from my eyes. I didn't want to finish the match. For the first time in my whole career, I wanted to walk away from a match. And, for the first time in my career, I started to.
I started walking up the ramp, leaving Chris alone to defend our titles. Chris noticed, Matt noticed. And, there was nothing they could do about it. The tears started falling faster. I got half way up the ramp before I stopped. I stopped and stood there, back to the ring. Fans didn't know what to make of what I was doing. But, put the pieces together and figured out that I had something to do with the breakup of the Hardy Boyz and Team Xtreme.
I wasn't going to let this get to me. I turned around and ran straight for Jeff. I speared him and started punching him. Chris and Matt were fighting in the ring and didn't know what to make of it. Jeff had gone in for a double team, but then I showed up. I pushed Jeff out of the ring and made it hell for him. Chris and Matt had to finish the match now, or I would be the one committing murder.
After Chris pinned Matt, he went to me, belts in hand, and pulled me off Jeff. He wasn't too happy. And, when we got to our locker room, he told me. "What the hell were you doing?"
"What I had to. He did the same to me. You think it's easy for me to get in that ring with Jeff? No, it's not. And, I didn't think I could get back in that ring after that. I started to leave. But, I couldn't. I had to show him what I could do. Don't get mad at me."
"I'm not." He said. "I'm just worried."
"Don't." I told him. "I know a lot of shit's been happening, and I am sorry about that. It's taking over my mind. I've got Unforgiven to worry about in a few days and I can't even get in the mood to kick the shit out of Amy."
"I know, a lot's been going down." He sat down. "Des, you'll be just fine. I have faith in you. Unforgiven's no sweat."
"Shouldn't be, I mean, it's only Amy."
"Destiny." Matt said coming into our room. "That match was not at all what we wanted it to be. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's all right." I put my hand on the back of my head, pulled it away, and spots of blood were on my hand.
"What you did to Jeff sure made it better." Matt replied. He sat down. "I was so angry at him. He hasn't said anything about it."
"I don't want a reason. I know why." I said. "I know why he was harsh, it's all right. He's got every right to be angry and pissed at me."
I got up and left. I was hurt, naturally. But I deserved it. It didn't surprise me that he'd use me as his own personal punching bag. As I walked, I thought about all of it, everything that got me to this point. A lot of things got me to this point. This point meaning where I am in my career and with Jeff. It was like night and day. My career was so hot, so high. I couldn't do wrong. But, my personal life was crumbling. I was a mess.
I rounded the corner and saw Mark walking my way. He noticed me and started walking over to me. He knew what happened in that match and knew what I had to be feeling.
"Des." He said lightly. "You all right?"
"I will be." I answered.
"If you need-"
"I'll be fine, Mark." I said. "I just want to be alone right now."
"That's fine."
He patted my back as I walked on. Things couldn't stay this way, they had to change. I was slowly going insane. I needed something to get me out of this. And Unforgiven was that thing.