Disclaimer: Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.
A/N: BOO! Hahaha! I'm baaaaaaaaaack! Phoenix is... she's disappeared (one can only hope!) Well, actually no she hasn't. She has, for some insane reason, decided to crawl under that stupid little rock of hers and won't budge. Seriously. I've tried. I've tried tempting her but it ain't working. So, everyone enjoy this latest installment from MunkeyBananananaProductions, while I go go pry Phoenix out from under that damn rock with a crowbar... or maybe by tieing up Chris Harris or Andy Douglas (or both) and holding them outside of her rock and see what peeks out! So if I don't return, assume that I'm taking care of Phoenix... violently. Or that she's decided to be a bitch and annoy the hell out me. Either way. ENJOY! (I'm serious dudes... she's insane)... Lizzie
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
Lily groaned.
"Shouldn't you get that?" he breathed in the second of space between kisses, before her lips were glued to his again.
"No. Fuck it." She replied, her voice raspy, tainted with desire and the effects of rapid drinking.
At the hotel, Chris paced his room back and forth, waiting for Lily to pick up the phone. It had been hours since she stormed off in a panicked, enraged state that now he was worried about her and wanted to make sure she was okay. As he waited, he stopped pacing for just a moment and looked over at the second bed that was near his own. Kady was sleeping peacefully, and had fallen asleep practically when her head hit the pillow, and Chris couldn't be more thankful for that. Now with Lily in the emotional state she was in, he didn't trust that she'd be okay on her own.
"Where the hell are you, girl?" he impatiently whispered.
After the fifth ring, he contemplated hanging up and waiting until morning, but out of fear that she could be in trouble or doing something stupid, he paced again. "Lily, what are you doing?"
Back with Lily, she prepared to disrobe her one-night man but the ringing persisted and did not go away as she anticipated it would. Ian, now, was growing annoyed as well and she could tell it with his ever weakening response to her advances. Finally, she pulled away just long enough to turn on her bedroom lamp and reach down the side of the bed and felt for her bag. When she felt the familiar leather material between her fingers, she reached into it and seconds later sat back up with the phone in her hands. Without even looking at the caller ID, she threw the phone as hard as she could to the side, and it shattered against the wall. Ian stared at her, amused.
"There," she told him. "Now. Where were we?"
Chris jumped when the dial tone, the ringing sound cut out for no reason and he pulled his phone away from his ear to check what had happened. Call failure. He wasn't willing to give up and pressed redial, and held the phone to his ear again. But instead of getting a ring tone this time, and automatic voice recording took its place.
"This call cannot be connected. Please try again later."
What the hell? Only seconds earlier he had got a ring tone and now there was no connection? Panic set in and Chris ended the call and grabbed his jacket, and went over to Kady's bed and knelt down at the side she was on.
"Kady?" he whispered, shaking her a little. He didn't want to wake her up, but figured that it was better that she know that he was going somewhere than to wake up and think that he too has left her. "Kady, sweetheart?"
She moaned and her eyes flickered open. "Hmm?"
"Baby, it's okay. I need to go somewhere, okay? You hang here and sleep, I won't be long. I'll call into the desk downstairs and let them know you're here, so they'll keep an eye on you. Stay and sleep, okay?"
Kady was too tired to argue or even move, so her simple reply was, "Mm..."
Chris chuckled and stroked her hair for a few seconds, and then kissed her cheek. "Sleep well."
He stood up and went to the door of the room, taking the key with him for extra security and quietly slipped out, with little disturbance to Kady as she returned to the depths of slumber.
Five minutes later, the elevator doors opened and Chris stepped off and looked around at the brightly lit lobby and felt for his car keys that were sitting in his pocket. The place was fairly empty, with exception to a few hotel staff members and even a couple of other wrestlers still hanging about. It was well into the early hours of the morning, around 2:30 AM, and now the thought of having to deal with another crisis with Lily was so frustrating.
"Chris."
He turned around and, sure enough, Jeff Hardy was approaching him. The two men greeted with a handshake. Chris was amazed to see him looking actually normal for once, as usually they had only encountered one another backstage at shows.
"Hey, man," he replied wearily. "What's up?"
"I was about to say the same thing to you. How's things?"
"Not good," Chris admitted, shaking his head sadly. "The good news is Kady has calmed down. The bad news is I can't find her mother."
"Lily's missing?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. I think she just doesn't want to be found..."
Jeff shrugged. "Then what's the problem?"
"The problem is she's done this too often. Running away from her problems. She needs to take responsibility..." Chris told him, but could feel each word sting with hypocrisy, for the obvious reasons that it took him so long to take responsibility. "Anyway you don't wanna hear it, man. She and I gotta sort this out."
As per his usual laid back, chilled demeanor, Jeff leaned against the wall and was not fazed at all by what his colleague was saying. Whatever Lily and Chris' problems were, he didn't really care, but was concerned about how that kid was doing. What he had seen out in that ring the night before had stunned him as much as it did anyone else and he was surprised that Dixie hadn't unleashed her hellish wrath on all of them and fired them on the spot. The annoying fact that AMW and The Naturals were considered two of the best teams in TNA probably influenced her decision greatly, but like everyone else, Jeff was curious.
"Need any help in the search?" he offered, seeing the stress Chris was under.
"Thanks for the offer, Jeff, but I'm good. If, and when, I find that infuriating woman, I think it's best we be alone."
"Ah. No witnesses?"
"Pretty much."
"How about the kid? She holding up okay?"
"Kady's fine. She's sleeping. In fact..." Chris pulled from his pocket the key to his room and extended it to Jeff. Jeff didn't take it and stared with confusion, so Chris explained further, "You're one of the few people my daughter hasn't attempted to kill and, dare I say, actually acted normal around. I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on her for me?"
"I thought you said she was sleeping."
"She is. But knowing Kadence... she does get bored easily, so if she does wake up I'd like it if she stayed in the room. At least there, any damage from her anger is contained."
Jeff accepted the key and placed it in his pocket. "I'm heading up to my room anyway. I'll check in on her for you."
"You know I appreciate this, right?"
"I'm surprised you didn't get Storm to do it."
"My guess is he's stilled pissed off about what happened. Not that I blame him. Anyway I think he's passed out in his room. Idiot."
Jeff reaffirmed he would keep an eye on the girl and the two men parted ways, with Chris heading to the entrance and Jeff waited for the elevator. It was freezing cold outside but Chris wasn't phased by it and quickly walked to his car, unlocking the door. If he had to chose as to whether he believed Lily was in danger or if she was deciding to be a bitch and simply completely ignore him, he'd choose the latter. But still, given the state of mind she was in when she left them, there was a good chance she was in trouble. Trouble seemed to follow all of them lately.
Twenty minutes of driving didn't calm Chris down and as he drove, his fingers drummed against the steering wheel with building anticipation. He checked the rear view mirror and focused solely on remembering the location of Lily's house. After a further twenty minutes of driving, he pulled into a somewhat familiar street that connected to one where the house was located on and perked up a bit more, mentally pushing away the fatigue that was creeping up on him. He turned the car into the right street and in an instant he spotted Lily's car in her driveway.
Unaware of the imminent confrontation, Lily slipped a loose fitting t-shirt over her otherwise sweaty, fatigued and somewhat satisfied body, before pulling on her underwear. She glanced back at Ian who had fallen asleep only a minute after they finished, which pissed her off to no end. This guy was physically a perfect specimen in every way, but when it came to sex? The dude was just not good at all. She groaned and held her hands to the sides of her head and wanted to scream, the pounding headache doing nothing to absolve her of her misery. Lily then turned to see what the time was on the clock next to her bed and saw that it read 2:46 AM.
"Fuck..." she cried weakly and staggered around the side of her bed and pushed open the door.
Turning the light on when dragging herself into the kitchen proved to be a bad decision; the light hitting her face and Lily fell back against the fridge and covered her face until her eyes had appropriately adjusted to suit the change in lighting dynamics. She then turned to the fridge and inspected the contents, and smiled when coming across the left over chocolate cake from the last week when she had a couple of her old Kentucky friends over for a brief visit.
Upon taking the cake from the fridge and closing the door, she put it on the counter and reached into a cabinet and grabbed a plate. Before she could get the knife to cut it though, she suddenly remembered that she had left her keys in the front door! Lily didn't know why she remembered it now, but she abandoned her efforts for food and calmly left to retrieve the keys.
Chris stopped on the front porch and leaned down closer to see if what he thought he was seeing was real. He never knew Lily to be reckless with such important items as her house keys and it was not like her at all, at least not what he knew of her. At the very moment he took the key out of the lock, the door swung open and almost knocked him off his feet, the outdoor light coming on at the same time.
"Holy shit!" Lily screamed and jumped back, her hand over her heart. Chris, too, stumbled back and stared in shock. Lily Myers was standing at her door in nothing but a loose t-shirt and her underwear? "Chris! What the fuck!"
"Lily! Fuck, wha—" Chris turned away to avoid the extremely uncomfortable situation of seeing his ex in a very compromising position.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"Me! I've tried calling you all night!" he retorted angrily, still avoiding eye contact.
Lily desperately looked around for something to cover herself with, though had no luck and pressed herself behind the door, allowing only her head to peek around the side of it and Chris finally could look up at her and was as embarrassed as she was. Oh boy, could this get anymore awkward?
"Yeah, well I thought by me not answering would give you a subtle hint that I didn't wanna speak to you!" she screamed.
"Look, forget it!" he said, sick of the games and briskly walked into the house.
The momentary embarrassment disappeared when he remembered that this was Lily Myers he was talking to, so it didn't bother him. He was here to discuss Kady and he wasn't about to let Lily get away from this again without getting this straightened out. The thought of doing what was best for their daughter was enough to brush aside any insecure, childish, embarrassed feelings... at least for him. Lily, on the other hand, didn't quite see it like that.
"Chris!" she protested.
"Lily, I've seen you in less, so just let it go. You know why I'm here."
He then walked to her and glared angrily and pressed his hand to the door, shutting it with intended force.
"Chris Harris, get—"
"I am not going anywhere until we sort this out. Kady was crying herself to sleep tonight thinking that her own mother hated her—"
Lily opened her mouth to speak, but they were interrupted when footsteps approached and one of the hallway lights flickered on. A second later, Ian groggily walked around the corner rubbing his eyes, wearing nothing but boxer shorts. He opened his eyes and it was then that he noticed Chris, and was noticed in return. Chris' eyes widened in complete surprise and his jaw almost hit the floor. Lily groaned and her head fell in her hands, and could not believe this was happening. Not now. Not at 3 Am. Not when she was already nursing a killer hangover.
"Who the fuck are you?" Ian snapped, with the full realization of seeing his beautiful woman for the night in very close proximity to another man. Chris was a complete stranger to him and thus was immediately perceived as a threat.
"Lily what is going on?" Chris demanded, the force at which he spoke making her jump again, and she melted and meekly turned away.
Why she was feeling ashamed she didn't know. She didn't need to explain herself to him of all people! The truth was, Lily didn't need to answer him for Chris to know what was going on, and it was a complete shock because the Lily Myers he knew was way conservative and wouldn't go out and randomly pick up a guy. And another truth was... it hurt. A pang of jealously flashed through him and there was nothing stopping him from throwing this guy through the window.
"Lily?" Ian frowned and looked back at her. "You told me your name is Jillian."
Still zoned out from the humiliation and her mind on overdrive to go into damage control, Lily didn't answer.
"Well she lied, asshole," Chris told him. "Get dressed and get your ass out of here, before I throw you through the fucking wall."
Lily was taken aback with the level of aggression he was showing to this random guy she had picked up, and she shoved him lightly.
"Hey! It's not your business to tell me who I can hang with, Harris!"
"You're not gonna whore yourself out just because you're upset!"
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" she yelled, and went to hit him again, but he expertly caught her fist in his hand and, because of her tiredness, she quickly gave up.
"I have every right, Lil, and you know it. I'm Kady's father, so I do have a say what happens in this house now."
Ian scowled and launched himself at Chris, but the other man was too quick and stepped out of the way, letting Ian's weight cause him to fall to the ground. Chris then roughly grabbed him by the shoulders, digging his fingers into the strange man's skin which made him yell out on pain as he was dragged to his feet. He stood no chance against a professional wrestler and Chris twisted his arm around his back and threw him against the wall. Lily then took the opportunity and latched onto his arm, pulling him away as best she could as to diffuse the growing hostility between the men.
"Chris, stop it!" she pleaded.
"Get your stuff and get out," he growled at Ian, who nodded quickly in response, and then was let go.
Chris threw Ian forward and the man then disappeared back into the bedroom, while Lily and Chris remained silent. The silence continued until he reappeared a few minutes later and quickly thanked Lily for the 'good time', which only tensed Chris further and he slammed the door after the asshole. Now he could be fully attentive to Lily who again looked away... she didn't need him judging her now. But disappointment had replaced any anger he had for her, because he never suspected that she'd be capable of something like this.
"Don't say it, Chris," she warned and brushed past him, intentionally knocking his shoulder as she walked by and into the living room.
"You know I will," he replied, following her. "What were you thinking?"
"I was having fun, Chris. Something I haven't done in ages! For once I actually got to go out and do the things I never got to when I was younger!" Lily fumed stopped in the middle of the room. "What is with you? It's 3 AM, couldn't this wait until the morning?"
"No! You wanna know why, Lily? Because I was worried. Knowing how you were when you bailed on Kady last night, and then you're phone suddenly disconnected... what was I supposed to think?"
"That I was maybe living my life? I don't know, Chris. I don't know you anymore. Maybe I never did, I don't know. But I do know that when I was at the club, and when I was with him tonight... it all went away. The pain. The headaches. Fourteen years of feeling like the most horrible person on the planet because I could never keep my kid under control!" during her mini-rant, Lily already had tears streaming out of her eyes like someone had opened the floodgates.
"I can't take it anymore, Chris. I'm human, okay? I know I've fucked up raising Kady, and I have to live with that, not you! And I don't need you making me feel worse, because right now I've pretty much made me feel as crap as I can! In two months you've been able to control Kady and get her to open up better than I have all her life! You've shown that you're the better parent, okay? YOU WIN! Happy?"
Chris watched sadly when she sank to the floor in a mess. Lily sobbed, her body shaking violently each time her cries became too much to keep under control, and sitting there half-naked and completely broken in front of the man who broke her heart and walked out on them was even worse. Kady wanted them both. Lily wasn't sure if that was ever going to be possible.
"It's over, Lil," he softly told her. "She needs us."
"And how are we gonna do that, huh? When it's painfully obvious to even the dumbest of people that you and I can barely coexist. Chris, this isn't working. It won't work. She can't have us both without things turning out like this again... she's hurt me too many times. You both have. And I don't want any part of it anymore..."
Chris edged past the coffee table and knelt down next to her, putting his hand on her back to keep her from tipping over. Hangovers tend to cause severe balance impairment at times.
"Lil... this isn't about you. It's not about me. We have to be her parents now. She's a broken kid and if you and I don't do something now it's only gonna get worse. This was never a competition for her love, and you know it. She doesn't need punishment, Lily, she needs understanding. She needs us to understand her, to help her."
Lily slumped against the sofa and gently pulled at her messed up hair – she couldn't coherently think of sentences let alone ponder the future of her only child. All she wanted to do that night was to go out, get drunk, get laid and wake up alone the next morning to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Why couldn't he let her do that in peace?
"Come on," he continued and stood back up, offering her his hand. "We need to get some coffee into you."
She hesitated, unsure if this would lead to more trouble, but then accepted his offer and allowed him to help her up. In her mind, coffee would be her salvation.
Jeff Hardy stepped off the elevator and checked the tag on the key Chris had given him. Just his luck, Chris and Kady's room was at the opposite end of the hallway to his own. He'd have to make a special trip to their end of the hall to keep his word to Chris. Sighing, he started walking, a smirk forming on his face as he spotted the snack machines. He dug for change in his pocket and got himself something to eat – supplies for the long trek to the end of the hall.
Munching away, he counted the doors, mentally trying to work out where Chris' room was. He picked a door and, as he stepped up to it, checked the number against the one on the key. Perfect. He slipped the key into the lock and turned it, wondering what would greet him on the other side of the door. Would Kady have woken up in the few minutes since her father had left and trashed the room? Pushing the door open quietly, he peeked in, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness the room contained.
Looking around, he couldn't see any signs of destruction. He opened the door fully and stepped into the room before closing the door behind him, making sure he'd removed the key first. He walked carefully over to the beds in the room and quickly spotted Kady's sleeping form. He smiled slightly, wondering what she was dreaming about – if anything. He hoped it was something good. She'd seen enough bad shit that night as it was.
Reaching a hand down without realizing it, Jeff tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The slight touch of his fingers to her cheek startled Kady awake and she sat bolt upright, sending Jeff reeling back in shock. Kady turned to look in his direction and, not recognizing the person in the dark, let out an ear piercing scream. Jeff held his hands over his ears and tried to calm her down.
"Kady, stop! It's me, Jeff. It's okay!" He assured her. Kady stopped screaming and leaned over, switching on the lamp next to her bed.
"Jeff? What the fuck? You scared the hell out of me!" She scolded him.
"No kidding. I think everyone in the damn hotel knows that now." Jeff told her as he tried to get his hearing back to normal.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Kady asked, now that she'd calmed down enough to think about this strange visitor. She looked around the room but couldn't see Chris anywhere.
"Your dad asked me to come up and check on you. He's gone to find your mom... seemed kind of worried." Jeff explained to the best of his knowledge.
"So... you got stuck with babysitting duties. Nice." Kady teased. Jeff shrugged.
"Could be worse. I could be stuck on vomit detail – cleaning Storm up after a night out." He pointed out.
"Ew! Thanks, dude. I can really sleep again now that I have that image in my head." Kady laughed, shaking her head to try and get rid of the mental pictures.
"Sorry. Now that you're awake, though... want to see what's on?" He wondered, motioning towards the Tv.
Kady thought it over and nodded before Jeff grabbed the remote and turned the television on. He was about to sit on the floor when Kady scooted over slightly and patted the bed beside her. Taking the hint, he sat next to her and leaned back against the headboard and began channel surfing, trying to find something suitable for a fourteen year old girl to watch. When the screen showed some sort of motocross event, Kady pulled the remote from his hand and tossed it towards the end of the bed.
"You like motocross?" Jeff queried. Kady shook her head a little.
"Not really. I just like seeing the crashes. Plus, if anything will put me back to sleep, it'd be this." She reasoned.
Jeff laughed slightly and settled in to watch the action. It wasn't long before Kady nestled into his side and he put an arm around her slightly. Not long after that, he looked down to see her fast asleep, a peaceful expression on her face. Once again he found himself wondering if she'd be having good dreams. He carefully maneuvered the remote back up the bed and managed to grab it and use it to turn the television off again. He sat there in the dim lamp light and began humming a random tune that had been playing through his head for the better part of the day.
Chris watched Lily sipping at her coffee and wondered what was going on in her head right at that moment. He wished he could just snap his fingers and be able to read her mind. As well as he'd known her throughout high school, he had to admit that he had no clue who the hell she was now and that frustrated him. He couldn't work out how to approach the whole Kady topic without her losing it again. Deciding he'd have to just do it and deal with the consequences, he cleared his throat to get her attention.
"When you've finished that, go have a shower and then you and I are gonna talk this thing out." He told her firmly.
"Don't tell me what to do. I'm not in the mood to fucking talk." Lily snapped, setting her coffee down on the table between them.
"Too bad, Lil, because it's gonna happen. I'm not leaving here until we work things through, once and for all. We owe it to Kady to get things sorted." He replied, taking a sip of his own coffee and watching her reaction over the top of the mug.
"And what about what she owes us, huh? A little fucking respect isn't too much to ask, is it?" Lily shot back, her defenses on full alert.
"To get it, you've got to give it. We've got to earn it, just like she has to earn ours."
"Stop talking about us like we're together. I'm sick of it."
"Whether you like it or not, Lil, we have to be together on this. We need to present a united front otherwise things are just going to keep going wrong. I know I've had enough of that, haven't you?" He challenged calmly.
"Whatever."
"Do me a favour and quit acting like you are still in high school. Now, you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to go back to her."
No matter what he was gonna ask of her, she wasn't prepared to make eye contact again after the embarressing situation they had gotten themselves into, and that's not referring him seeing her in her underwear. Having him walk in on her and her relatively anonymous friend was not only embarressing, but it was completely uncharacteritic of her and Chris knew it.
"I don't hate my daughter, Chris. You know that, right?" she timidly said, hoping he would understand that.
"I know. But she doesn't. You can give me every excuse you can throw at me, and it won't make a damn difference because it's Kady who needs to hear it," Chris told her. "I almost gave up, Lily. And that almost destroyed me. Now I know for a fact that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself for two hours – sober, that is – without making up to that girl. Don't give her a reason to give up. You're a fucking joke, you know that? A hypocrit. After everything you accuse me of doing and you don't got the guts to admit that you're screwing her up even worse now."
Lily, surprisingly, didn't feel any anger to him for saying the things that would normally piss her off, especially coming from him. She didn't have the energy to fight back, and had to sit there and take it all in. She sipped her coffee and calmly placed it back on the table, clasping it between her hands to feel the warmth.
"I just don't have the energy for it anymore... it's so hard to watch her do that all the time and not learn from it! Five different schools in six years, and that doesn't include transfering from elementary to junior high, to high school... once she almost blew up an entire science block of her school, not just the lab," Lily reminicised the horrible day when she got called up to the principle's office to be told that Kady was being expelled and there were almost criminal charges brought against her, but the public defender hired to defend her got the school to drop any charges they wanted to press. Kady hadn't intentionally meant to blow up anything, of course, but it was her recklessly dangerous 'I-don't-give-a-damn-about-anything' attitude that caused it.
"When was this?" Chris asked, concerned.
"About two years ago. That was a fun time," Lily rolled her eyes. "But see what I mean? It's so God damn hard to see her making the same mistakes and no matter what I do to help her or punish her... it's never getting through to the kid!"
"Lil, are you ever gonna look at me again?"
"Are we ever gonna bring this night up again?"
"Nope."
"Swear?"
"I swear. I have no intention of bringing any of this up again, only if you and I can sort out what we're gonna do about Kady."
Lily smirked and looked out the window, into the darkness. "Well you and I are gonna have to encounter each other more than this night. Never bring this up again."
"Deal."
"Good." She smiled and looked up at him, satisfied with the small deal they made.
"So back on topic here... what have you done to help her, Lil? All it looks like to me is that you've tried to sling endless attempts to punish her further and futher, all the while pushing her away and see you as nothing but a bitch," Chris figured and finished off the last of his coffee, and stood up to put the cup in the sink. "How else is she supposed to respond to you?"
Lily kept silent, thinking over that point as best she could without bringing on an even worse headache. Minutes earlier she had taken two very strong headache tablets and they had yet to take affect. Chris thought about how to keep making her think things through, and what he would say next would put a whole new spin on things for her...
"You say that you want her to learn from her mistakes... so why don't you learn from mine?"
She almost choked on her drink and patted her chest to make sure it didn't go down the wrong way. "What?"
"I left and nearly destroyed everything... you leaving her would be doing the exact same things and we'd be going in circles," he elaborated and jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter, across from her. "Congratulations, Lily Myers. You've turned into your worse nightmare."
Lily laughed weakly, and circled the rim of her cup with her index finger slowly. "Believe it or not, you're actually not the asshole I used to think you were. You're off my 'worst nightmare' list for now. Except when you scared the shit outta me when I opened the door tonight."
"Good to know that you don't wanna kill me right now. Because this is the time when you decide if you'r gonna walk out on Kady for good... don't do what I did, it'll only scare and confuse her. If you wanna bail, then you go and don't come back. I'll take her and you'll never hear from us. We can't keep jumping in and out of her life like this," Chris turned deadly serious upon seeing the clock time move to almost three thirty. Time was running out and they were both tired, and Lily cast her eyes down to her hands.
"I love her, Chris."
"I know you do, Lil," Chris stressed, with a hint of desperation. "I've known that for as long as she's been born. That's why I don't wanna see you blow this, like I did. There's a good chance that I'll never fully gain her trust... but you have it. And if you lose it, it'll be next to impossible to get it back given how much shit we've put her through already. I know how much you love her... and this, what you've done tonight," he gestuered to her physically messed-up, hungover state.
"That's not the Lily Myers I knew. That's not the Lily Myers I knew who would do anything to keep her daughter safe... that's what I'm here. If I didn't believe that you weren't a great mother, Lil... I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here trying to make this work. I would've already hauled your ass into court if I felt you weren't an excellent mother. You've been there for the moments I never got have with Kady – her first steps. Her first words. Losing her first tooth. And I guess the only way I will know about those things is through videos and pictures... believe it or not, you know how lucky you are to have her. I'd give anything to be in your position," he paused and raised an eyebrow. "Well, not right now I don't. But you know what I mean. You're a wondeful mother, Lil... the fact that you put up with her and never gave up on her for so long is a testament to that; you're one of the strongest people I know."
"Except now I have..." she whispered, ashamed.
"No, you haven't," Chris continued. "You haven't given up. You just need a break, and I'm gonna offer you one. I think Kady should stay with me for a few weeks, ya know? To give you the break you obviously need – and deserve – to just do what you want. And if that means going out every night and picking up and bringing home anonymous guys, fine! Go for it. Get it all out of your system. But you have to make things right with your child first, okay? Let her know that you love her, she needs to hear it from you and for you to show her that you love her..."
Lily's bottom lip quivered, she felt like a volcano that was about to explode and trembled violently, the coffee cup still in her hands and it spilled slightly, and she dropped it onto the table
"Shit!" she yelled, grabbing her hand which burned. Chris slid off the counter and grabbed the cup before it fell off the table, but watched Lily.
"Are you okay?"
"NO I'M NOT FUCKING OKAY!" she screamed, and Chris knew she wasn't talking about the burn, but he didn't go to her. Instead, he stood at the table with a damp cloth in his hand and sadly watched her, and wiped up the spilt coffee and waited to see what she was gonna do.
"I'm not fucking okay," Lily repeated, hysterically, and collapsed to the ground and sobbed into her hands. "I'm not..."
The appropriate thing for Chris to do would've been to go to her and comfort her, but he still stood a distance away, for a good reason. He dropped the cloth onto the counter and folded his arms over his chest, stubbornly.
"Get up." He said.
"What?"
"Get up, Lil. I'm not gonna help you. This is something you got to do for yourself now. If you really wanna make things right with Kadence... you'll get up on your own. Show me you're still the strong, brave woman I know you are. Or, alternatively, you can sit there and lose the greatest thing you've ever had, or ever will have... you know I'm here for you, Lil, but this is the step you gotta take on your own. You either embrace your daughter or you let her go. For good."
Chris still knew how to push her buttons and get her to do something; it was a secret gift he knew he could call upon in times like this, and casually waited for her to do something. Lily stared up at him in disbelief and confusion, but he still didn't move and she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Get up, Lily. Go put that burn under some water and then go to bed. You're a mess."
Lily sat there, still calming down from that sporadic outburst of emotion and took deep breathes to aid in her recovery and enclosed her fingers around the side of the chair she had been sitting on. It took all the remaining energy she had mustered from the two coffees she had, and Chris watched with amusement at her struggle to steady herself. This wasn't the first time he had seen Lily hungover, and although it had been over ten years, it was still as funny as ever. She never did hold her alchol well. But after another two or so minutes of getting steady on her feet, Lily shot him an evil look.
"Ya know," she said. "Things between you and I would probably flow more smoothly if you weren't such a stubborn bastard all the time."
"But it wouldn't be as much fun that way," he replied with that same cocky smirk that could be very annoying at times. "Don't you agree?"
"Nope."
"Aww I'm hurt."
"So am I," Lily mumbled, rubbing her hand where the hot liquid had made contact with her skin and she could see it was already forming a tender, red spot.
"Go run it under cold water, and then, like I suggested, go to bed. I'll clean up here and come back for you in the morning," he offered, picking up the cloth again. Lily groaned.
"Why are you so nice to me now?"
"Because," Chris shrugged. "When I see you, I see her. You and I have something to share now, and she's worth more than anything. Including fighting with you. Besides, you're hungover... you never did handle your booze well, Myers. So I take pity."
Lily pressed her lips together and picked up a scrap piece of paper off the table, screwed it up into a ball and threw it at his head. Chris ducked out of the way and grinned.
"Fuck you, Harris."
"Whatever. Go to bed." He then turned to finish mopping up the mess she had made, and Lily watched him for a few seconds, and then looked around at the room, pondering the options. He had come over here to help her, when he was under no obligation to do so...
"What about you?"
"Hmm?"
"You can crash on the couch, if you want. You look too tired to drive."
Chris was surprised at the offer, but shrugged and shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine. I don't wanna leave Kady alone for too long anyway. I wanna be back before she wakes up."
"That reminds me," Lily perked up a bit, figuring that she had caught him out. "Why did you leave her alone?"
Chris remained unfazed and placed her cup in the sink, and laughed. "I didn't. You still think I'm that irresponsible? First of all, you know I came here to sort things out with you. Second, I didn't leave her alone."
"Then who did you leave her with? James?"
"No. Who knows where he is right now. I asked Jeff Hardy to keep an eye on her until I got back. He's a night crawler anyway, so he didn't mind."
"Oh..."
Lily shifted uncomfortably and sighed, defeated as he had an answer for everything and decided to give up there and concede to his words. "Okay then... I'm gonna go sleep the rest of this off."
Chris finished cleaning up the mess and wiped his hands on the towel, and she never thought she'd be saying to him what she was about to, but...
"Chris?"
"Yup?"
"Thanks... for everything... You've really done good."
"Forget it. You would've done the same for me. Oh wait! No you wouldn't have!" he joked. "That means you owe me!"
"Aww dude, come on!"
"Do I have to tell you to go to bed again?"
"Fine, fine, I'm going!" she raised her hands, exhasperated and started to head towards the bedroom at the other end of the house, and Chris followed after her to get to the front door, picking up his car keys and wallet as he passed the table.
"Hey, Lil?"
"Hmm?" she replied, not turning around until she reached the front door.
"So I'll pick you up at around 9?"
Lily didn't respond right away, and then burst out laughing. Chris frowned gsetured for her to explain.
"Okay... something funny? Lily it's too early, come on..."
"Sorry!" she gasped in the moments of breath between laughs. "It's just... that was what you said when you asked me out on that first date, remember? You walked right up to me and just said it. So fucking arrogant in thinking I'd say yes..."
It took a few seconds, but finally Chris caught on and he rubbed the side of his head, containing his own laughter at that amusing thought. Okay. She got him.
"Yeah, hard to forget," he admitted, fondly. "But hey, you did say yes."
"I know! What was I thinking?"
"Apparently what all the other cheerleaders were telling you to think, because I think that's the only reason you accepted."
Lily got control back over herself and calmed down, but still smiled at the memory, one of the better ones of them too. "Awww nah, Chris," she replied, softly. "There were other reasons, for sure. The cheerleaders had nothing to do with it."
That made him feel a little better, to know that none of this had occured for no reason.
"That's good to know..." he trailed off and they fell into silence for a minute or two, but unlike all the other silent moments between them, this wasn't uncomfortable. It was peaceful. "It's great to see you smile again, Lil. It really is."
"That was always a talent of yours, I guess," she agreed. "But it does feel good."
"So... you and I... we're good now?" Chris asked, with a touch of hope.
Lily relaxed, leaning against the door frame, and she stuck out her hand in a formal gesture of acceptance.
"We're good," she affirmed and nodded, imploring Chris to accept and he did, but instead of shaking her hand, he moved closer to her and kissed her cheek, in the ultimate act of forgiveness and an offering of permanent peace.
"You're a good person, Lily," he told her, seriously, as he stepped back and clutched his keys in his hand. "I've always known that, and deep down so does Kady. So I won't come get you... I trust you'll make the right decision." He then turned and walked out the door, and to his car, without looking back once. Lily stared after him as those last words he spoke hung in the air.
A/N:
(Laughs insanely at Phoenix tieing up Chris & Andy. Turns to see the readers finished)
Oh good! You are done! Well, as you all can see I managed to successfully get Phoenix out from under her rock, so that she can post the next chapter but that seems a little way off coz she looks kinda occupied right now. Phoenix, I'm warning you, play nice! We still need those boys. She's a friggen trip, she really is... okay so please review! Tell us how fcking awesome we are, or give constructive criticism, or hey! You can even tell us how absolutely crap it is and how it should be burned. That's okay though. If you opt for the last choice, I suggest you come back with heavy armour and an army for protection coz Phoenix and I are pretty much the definition of INSANE and any flames will be destroyed (along with it's authour! Mwuahaha!) in the most psychotic way possible. But other than that, the next chapter will be up soon, if Phoenix can stop hiding under that rock. Dude! Seriously! What's up with the rock? Lizzie
