Chapter Eleven: Lessons

Taylor's POV:

"Wake up, Taylor," Amy said, nudging me lightly.

It took me a minute to realize I was sleeping in Jeff's bed.

"What time is it?" I asked her, still half asleep.

"Six thirty. Jeff asked me to wake you up and start getting you ready for your first day of school," she explained. "Come on, time for breakfast."

I sat up. If I was in Jeff's bed, where was he?

"Where's Jeff?" I asked her.

She looked at me like she was debating what to tell me.

"He spent the night in the Imag-I-Nation," she said finally.

"Because I was in his bed? You guys could've woken me up," I said, worried I'd upset him.

"No, Sweetie. He does that when he needs to think. He's okay. He'll be here to take you to school," she said to me.

She got me up and we went to the kitchen. I sat at the table and she gave me some orange juice. A few minutes later, she gave me a few pieces of buttered toast.

"If you can eat these three pieces of toast and have a yogurt for lunch at school, I will be very proud of you," she said to me.

I looked at the toast. It wasn't a lot to ask. A few pieces of toast now, some yogurt in a few hours? I could do that, right? It took me ten minutes, but I ate the toast and drank the juice. When I was done, I took a shower and Amy helped me get dressed for school.

Jeff walked in the house wearing the same clothes he was wearing yesterday, covered in even more paints, this time there were oil paints on him. He was obviously painting all night. He looked distracted, almost as if he didn't really know what was going on around him.

"You okay, Jeff?" I asked him.

"Yeah, Taylor. Just give me fifteen minutes to shower and change so I can take you to school," he said giving me a smile.

"I'm in no rush," I said smiling back at him, trying to lighten the mood.

He left me and Amy in the living room, going into his room, closing the door behind him.

Jeff's POV:

I still wasn't sure how to face Amy or what to say to her. Obviously she didn't tell Taylor why I left, which I was grateful for. I needed time to think after what I'd done. Still, Taylor was the priority and it had been nearly a month since she'd been in school. It was time for her to go back and I had to take her in to Union Pines, my old high school, to get her registered.

After a quick shower, where I'm sure I missed some of the paint, I threw on a pair of jeans, a plaid shirt, and sneakers. My hair, which was green now, hung loose around my shoulders. I grabbed my car keys and went back to the living room. Ready or not, I couldn't hide from Amy.

"Amy, do you want to hang out in town today or what because I need to go see Shannon after I drop Taylor," I asked.

"Actually, I told Matt I'd help him pick up Taylor's furniture for his place. He's picking me up here in half an hour."

"Do you mind picking Taylor up when she gets out after school today?"

"No problem. I'm sure Matt remembers where your old high school is," she said to me, smiling.

I wanted to kiss her again, but I couldn't keep focusing on that.

"Thanks," I said to Amy before turning to Taylor. "Ready to go, Kid?"

"I guess so. School's school everywhere, right?" Taylor replied.

"Union Pines is probably small compared to the schools in San Antonio," I told her as I led her out to my car.

It only took us a few minutes to drive to the school. Walking back into the school as a parent was weird. I had been back, but it had been to do fundraisers with Matt and OMEGA. Now I was walking in and heading towards the administration office.

"Jeffrey Nero Hardy! Is that you?" asked Mrs. Walters, the ancient secretary that had been at the school even when I was a student.

"Yes, Mrs. Walters, it is. How are you today, Ma'am?"

"I'm wonderful. What brings you back here?"

"I'm here to register my daughter, Ma'am," I said to Mrs. Walters before turning to Taylor. "Wait outside for a minute, Taylor?"

She nodded and went into the hallway.

"Daughter? I didn't know you had a daughter, Jeffrey," she said looking at me shocked.

"Yes, Ma'am. She's nearly sixteen. Been living in Texas with her mother, Tamara Adams."

"I remember her! The two of you were so cute together! Is she back here, too?"

"No, Ma'am. That's why Taylor is here in Cameron, now, Mrs. Waters. They were in an accident and her mother died a few weeks ago. We're just getting to know each other," I explained.

"That poor girl. I'm sorry she's lost her mama, Jeffrey."

"Thank you, Ma'am. It's been tough on her."

"You wait right here. I'll get Mrs. Castille to set up her program," she said as she walked away.

I got Taylor from the hallway, explaining I didn't want to have to have Mrs. Waters all over about her mother so soon. Then I pointed out that because the school and town were so small, it wouldn't be long before everyone knew she was my daughter and how she wound up living with me. Before we could get into much more, Mrs. Waters came back with Mrs. Castille.

"Jeff Hardy, it's been too long," said the raven haired woman with Mrs. Waters.

"Andrea?" I asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm one of the school guidance counselors now. What are you doing here?"

"Andrea, this is my daughter, Taylor. Taylor, this is…"

"Mrs. Castille, your guidance counselor and a very old friend of your father's," she said cutting me off before turning back to me. "Is this Tamara's daughter?"

I nodded.

"We can talk about that later," she said, leading us to her office. "For now, let's talk about Taylor."

Andrea pulled out a file from her desk drawer. After looking it over, she put it down and looked at us.

"Well, she's ahead of her studies from what I can see from her transcripts, which is good since she's been out of school for a bit now. And I understand that she's still recovering from injuries so she can't take phys ed, but with all the years of gymnastics she's got under her belt, I can easily have her given a pass on those credits. Here is where your first big choice as a parent comes in, Jeff," she started. "Taylor's credits are borderline. Even though she is only fifteen, the classes she was taking, her grades, I can easily start her here at Union Pines as a junior. It might be a challenge for her, but the sophomore level work might be too easy for her. What would you prefer to do?"

I hadn't even thought about anything like that. I looked at Taylor.

"Would you prefer to skip a year, Taylor or stay with the kids your own age?" I asked her.

Taylor looked at me and then Andrea. She seemed unsure. I didn't know if I was making the right choice by asking her what she wanted in this situation.

"I don't think I'm gonna fit in fully either way. I'll skip the grade," she said finally.

Andrea looked at me for confirmation. I nodded.

"I think if she wants to skip the grade she should be able to," I said.

Andrea looked at the computer and typed some things in. After a few minutes, she printed a schedule for Taylor. She handed it to Taylor along with a late pass.

"Taylor, here is your class schedule and a late pass. Your first period class is Honor's History with Mr. Kenton. You'll need the late pass or he won't let you into his class this late. You should get going. Welcome to Union Pines. If you need anything, even if it's just to talk, feel free to come see me, it's what I'm here for," Andrea said giving Taylor an encouraging smile.

Taylor and I got up to go.

"Not you, Jeff. I'm not done with you, yet," she said stopping me.

I looked at Taylor.

"I'll see you tonight when I get home. Try to have a good day, alright?" I said as I hugged her.

When Taylor left the room I sat back down.

"What's wrong, Andrea?" I asked.

"I didn't know the new student was your daughter with Tammy. I knew she was living with her father because her mother died. How is she handling it?"

"She's trying. Taking things as they come," I answered.

"How much does she know about your past?"

"Do you mean the drugs and everything?"

Andrea nodded.

"I told her the truth before I brought her back to Cameron. I didn't want her finding out from anyone but me. She wasn't sure how to take it, but in the end she took it okay because I was honest. It helps that I've had an old friend from the WWE with me since right after the accident helping me with everything."

"What friend?"

"Amy Dumas. Lita."

"She's in town?"

"Yeah. She's been staying with me to help out with Taylor. She's been a huge help."

"Jeff, you need help," Andrea blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"Whether or not a child should skip a grade shouldn't be left to the child. That should've been your choice, not Taylor's. I understand that you haven't been allowed to be in her life for all these years, but you can't just give her everything she wants to make up for it either."

"That's not why I did it, Andrea," I said slightly offended.

"Then why did you let a fifteen year old tell you how to handle her educational decisions?"

"Because I didn't know what to do. And Taylor's right, she's not gonna fit in completely either way here. She's not the same as the other kids here. She's from a big city, she's my daughter, her mother is dead. Being the youngest kid in her grade is gonna be the least of the things that makes her stick out here in Cameron. That much I do know," I snapped.

"Have the two of you thought about therapy? Or some other kind of support?"

"Matt and Dad are helping. We'll be okay, Andrea. I just need time to adjust. Thanks for your concern, but really, between me, Amy, Matt, and Dad, I think we'll be okay," I said to her as I got up. "It was good seeing you again, but I gotta get some things done before tonight."

"If you change your mind, let me know," Andrea said, letting me go.

I got back into my car and drove to my friend Shannon Moore's tattoo shop. The only reason he was there so early was because I told him I needed to talk to him. Walking in, he was half asleep in one of the tattoo chairs.

"Hey, Shannon. Thanks for getting up so early," I said, giving him a fist pound.

"What's up, man? I haven't heard from you much since before you went to San Antonio?" He asked yawning.

"I've been busy with Taylor, but I just dropped her at Union Pines. Andrea Miller is her guidance counselor."

"My ex?"

"Same one."

"So that's what she's doing now," he said thoughtfully. "So what was so urgent that you needed to see me at this unholy hour?"

"Something happened after Taylor crashed and Matt went home last night."

"What do you mean?"

"You know Amy's been staying with me to help me with Taylor, right?"

"Matt mentioned it, yeah."

"Well, after Matt went home last night, Amy and I were having a beer, talking, and the next thing I knew, we were making out on my couch."

"How did Aimes take it, Jeff?"

"I don't know. I spent the night in the Imag-I-Nation. This morning I went back to the house, showered, changed, and took Taylor to school. I haven't spent any time alone with her since then. I don't know what I was thinking, but Matt's gonna kill me, Shannon."

"I don't think he will, Jeff. He's your brother."

"You know how he felt about Amy."

"That was a long time ago. They've both moved on."

"That doesn't mean he'd be okay with me being with her."

"You can't avoid them. This isn't you."

"I don't need this right now. Taylor is my priority. I'm not looking for anything else. She's all I need right now."

"I don't know, Jeff. Something's going on. This happened for a reason. You need to talk to Amy."

Shannon was right. I spent the rest of the day just jamming in the shop with him before I went home to Taylor and Amy.