Chapter Nineteen: Aftermath
Jeff's POV:
I knocked on Mark and Jamie's hotel room door. Jamie opened the door with a worried look on her face and took me straight to Taylor who was sitting on the couch with Amy holding her and Mark promising he wouldn't let anyone else hurt her. Jamie gave me a hug and I looked at her.
"This isn't your fault. None of us thought Beth would do something like this," she said, trying to make me feel better.
"Thanks, but right now the only thing I'm worried about is making sure Taylor's okay."
At the sound of my voice Taylor jumped off the couch and into my arms, dropping the ice that had been on her face before I walked in the door.
"Dad! Who was she? Why did she go all nuts and hit me?" Taylor asked, still scared and shaking in my arms.
I lifted her up and sat back on the couch with her in my lap. I explained everything to everyone. Beth, Ruby, her sudden flare of jealousy, everything was out in the open.
"That little girl is my sister?" Taylor asked.
"Possibly. We'll find out when we go back to North Carolina. I told her I want a DNA test considering how she just showed up here actin' the way she did. But, the time fits with when she broke up with me, Taylor, so it's a real possibility she is your baby sister."
"She's the only reason I was able to reach out to you," Taylor said.
"What do you mean?"
"You were my last text message, and when Beth started accusing me of sleeping with you I shouted, which made the little girl fuss. She went to calm her down and in that time I got out the one text to you while she was distracted."
I had been wondering how, in all of that mess, Taylor had been able to get a text across to me.
"How were you able to come back, Dad? Didn't you have more interviews today?"
"I left, Darlin'. I was with Dixie when I got your text. I showed her and she insisted I take her car back here to check on you."
"I'll have to thank Miss Dixie when I see her."
"Which will probably be tonight," Dad said before looking at Amy. "I'm sorry, Aimes, but unless Dixie cancels, she had already mentioned she wanted to meet with me and Taylor for dinner to discuss this media issue."
"I get it. Besides, I didn't get a chance to tell you. Vince found out I'm in New York. He wants me at WWE Headquarters bright and early tomorrow morning. I should probably go stay at a hotel out there to beat rush hour traffic tonight," Amy said and we could all see Taylor got nervous.
"Don't worry, Taylor. You can hang out with me and Lauren if you want tomorrow. We can work out, go shopping, show you the sites around here, it'll be fun. Just a girls' day, if you want we can ask some of the other Knockouts to go. How does that sound?" Jamie jumped in.
"I guess, if it's okay with Dad and I don't have anything to do for Miss Dixie," Taylor replied.
"I have no problem with it, Taylor. If you wanna go hang out with the girls for a day, have fun."
She went over and hugged Amy.
"Don't stay away too long, please?"
I had realized then that Amy hadn't been away from Taylor for more than a few hours since I got custody of her and they met. This would be the first time and it made me realize just how much Taylor really loved and relied on Amy as a mother. My heart melted and broke at the same time because of how traumatized she was.
My phone rang and I looked at the screen. It was Dixie. I looked at Mark and he snatched Taylor and pulled him into a hug in his lap. She was still shaky, but didn't fight him. I walked into the bathroom and took the call.
"Hi, Dixie."
"Hey, Darlin'. How's our little girl?"
"Shaky. Bruised. But she'll be okay."
"Bruised? Jeff, what happened?"
"Do you remember my ex, Beth Britt?"
"Sweet little blonde girl?"
"Yeah, her."
"What about her?"
"She saw what was going around the media about me and Taylor. She flew into a jealous rage and flew to New York to confront me and my new girlfriend, only she found Taylor alone. She hit her a few times before I got there. It's more complicated, but I made it clear she better stay away from Taylor or I'll press charges."
"I was gonna cancel dinner, but I think the three of us need to sit down and figure out how we're going to handle this press issue. Can the two of you meet me in half an hour in the lobby and we'll go to the restaurant together?"
"Sure, I'll get Taylor and go get ready. We're up in Mark's room. I sent her up here to get her out of the situation with Beth as quick as I could."
"Good call, Darlin'," she said before continuing. "I'm not interrupting anything with you two and Amy, now am I?"
"No, Amy needs to drive out to Connecticut. McMahon wants to have a meeting with her first thing tomorrow morning and she thinks it's best to drive out tonight and avoid the New York rush hour in the morning."
"She's right. But make it an hour until we meet so you can say good bye to her before we leave in case we don't make it back before she has to go."
"Thanks, Dixie."
"No problem, Darlin'. You've been one of my most loyal. I'm not gonna mistreat you. You're family."
"I'll see you soon."
I hung up the phone and went back to the others.
"Mark, Jamie, thank you for taking care of Taylor in this mess. You guys really are great friends. But we need to go. That was Dixie. Considering Taylor got attacked by my ex because of this media issue, she thinks we really need to meet tonight. So, she wants us to meet her in an hour to go to dinner."
Jamie got up and hugged Taylor.
"If you need anything, Honey, call me. I don't care about the time. I'll come downstairs and just watch movies with you if you can't sleep, okay?"
"Thanks, Jamie. I'll do that if I can't sleep."
"And remember, if anyone messes with you, Monkey, I'll put 'em through a table," Mark said with a grin, obviously already picturing the table.
"Thanks, Mark," Taylor said, cracking a smile.
"Guys, thanks again for this. If you guys ever need anything, let me know."
"Shut up and just take care of Monkey," Mark said to me.
I smiled and we left the room together.
Taylor's POV
It was weird going back to the hotel room. I didn't want to be in it. I could still feel her in the room, even though I knew she wasn't there anymore. I could see it and Dad kept reassuring me that she left. Still, I was scared.
Dad and Amy went into their room after I lied to them saying I'd be okay while Amy packed. I went into my room, the room my probable baby sister had slept in, and started looking for clothes to change to. Not sure where we'd be going for dinner, I decided to follow Christy's rule on dressing. A black dress fits any occasion. So, I pulled out a spaghetti strap black dress that went to my knees and found my flats. After getting showered, I threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top as I sat down to do my hair. My hair, which was still pink, was just being put into a bun with some of the strands at the front being curled at the sides. I put on some subtle makeup, other than where the bruising was, I put a little more on there to cover up where I'd been hit, and the lotus necklace Dad gave my mom when they were dating. I didn't go anywhere without it anymore, even if I didn't have it on.
Flashback: Three years ago
I was sitting in the principal's office. I had gotten into a fight after a boy in my class started insulting me for not knowing who my father was. Things had gotten heated and I had broken pretty much every social rule Mama and Granddaddy had ever given me. I knew I was gonna be in a lot of trouble as I watched the look on Mama's face as the principal told her of my actions. She was fuming, even if she looked as calm as a statue. I was looking at the calm before the storm.
When we got home I tried to get away from her. It didn't work. She followed me into my room before I could lock her out. She grabbed me by the arm and flung me into the wall, yelling at me. My back throbbed and my neck started to hurt.
"Damn it, Taylor! How many times do I have to tell you that these behaviors are unacceptable?!"
"It's not my fault, Mama!"
She slapped me in the face. My face stung, but I knew nobody would even notice because the boy in my class had hit me in my face a few times. Nobody would keep track of what made sense as part of the fight versus what wasn't part of the fight.
"Take responsibility for your actions! A lady never gets into a fight, especially not with a man, in public!" she shouted at me as she shoved me back into the wall, my head snapping into it as my body collided into the unyielding wall.
"Maybe if you told me anything about my Daddy people wouldn't pick on me like this, Mama," I said, trying to stay calm and keep the pain out of my voice, knowing it pissed her off more when I showed I was in pain.
"So you're trying to blame me? Your Daddy was an adrenaline junkie who didn't care enough about either of us to do right by us! So, no, I will not talk about him with you! He's a worthless boy from a small town in the middle of nowhere and I'll be damned if you're gonna turn out like him or ever know him!"
Mama was really pissed off now. She started hitting me with my belt which had been hanging over my bed post which just pissed her off more, because I hadn't put it away. She kept hitting me over and over. My ribs hurt where she was hitting me.
"Mama! Please stop! You're hurting me!" I shouted, unable to keep myself from crying out in pain this time.
She got angrier and just kept hitting me over and over, nowhere anyone would see, but I would definitely feel every time I moved or breathed. I couldn't stop from crying. I was scared and hurting. I don't remember her stopping. I just remember waking up in my bed, wishing I could find my Daddy and never have to see Mama again.
Present Day:
Jeff's POV:
I knocked on Taylor's door to get her to come out and say good-bye to Amy. She didn't answer the door. I opened the door and found her sitting on her bed with her back to the wall and her knees to her chest. She was hyperventilating. I hurried over to her and pulled her to me.
"Taylor! Darlin', come back to me. Everything's okay now. Just focus, Honey."
I rocked her back and forth, just holding her to me. After a few minutes, she started to calm down and curled into me. A few minutes after that, she finally snapped out of it.
"What's the matter, Darlin'? What happened?"
"Nothing happened, Dad. Just remembering something I don't want to."
"What is it?"
She looked at her cell phone and saw the time.
"I've gotta hurry up and finish getting ready and say bye to Amy. I can't believe I lost it like that. I'm sorry, Dad. I'll be out in a minute. Go, let me change into my dress."
I walked outside to Amy.
"Is she okay in there?"
"I don't know. She's avoiding the question, but when I went in there she was panicked and hyperventilating. She rushed me out so she could finish getting dressed before she came out to say good bye to you. I'm worried. She was really scared of whatever she was remembering when I went in there."
"Don't push her. She'll talk when she's ready," Amy said as she came over and hugged me, trying to reassure me.
"Really, sometimes I feel like I'd completely mess her life up if I didn't have you around to help me, Aimes. I love you. More than anyone or anything except Taylor."
"As it should be," she said as she smiled at me and then kissed me.
Taylor came outside a few minutes later. Her hair and makeup were fixed, and she was in one of the black dresses she bought when she went shopping with Christy. She walked over to Amy and hugged her. There was a relief and desperation in the way she hugged her. I knew something was wrong, but I also knew Amy was right and she wouldn't talk until she was ready. She kissed Amy on the cheek.
"Be careful driving, please. And come back soon?" she asked Amy.
Amy pulled Taylor close to her again, kissing the top of her head.
"Taylor, I'll be back tomorrow night. I won't let Vince keep me longer. I promise. And I will be very careful driving. Just take it easy and have fun tomorrow with the girls," Amy said, releasing Taylor and looking at me. "You should get going. Dixie's been good to you guys, so you shouldn't keep her waiting."
"I know, but it's hard to say good-bye to you," I said.
I walked over to her and kissed her, pulling her close to me. My heart momentarily forgot all the bad things in my life as she was in my arms, my lips on her lips. We pulled apart and I stroked her face.
"I'll call you when we get back from the restaurant, alright?"
"You better Hardy, or I might beat you up tomorrow," Amy said laughing. "Now go."
I put my arms around Taylor and we left the hotel room. Taylor stayed quiet on the way down. Dixie was waiting in the lobby for us. She came right over to us when she saw us get off the elevator and hugged Taylor.
"Darlin', I'm sorry this happened," she said to her. "At least it doesn't look too bad. There's almost no swelling."
"Mark and Jamie gave me ice to keep the swelling down as soon as I got to their room. As for the bruising, I learned a long time ago to hide bruising from Mama since I was out skateboarding and things like that and she strictly said no. I've got makeup covering it up. So if I can do it, I'm sure if the bruising is still there in a few days when we start taping the makeup team should have no problem covering it up."
"You've got a resourceful girl here, Jeff," she said, finally acknowledging me.
"Miss Dixie, I wanna thank you for letting Dad come back here. I was really scared and since the last text I sent was to him, he was the only one I could get a quick text out to when she turned her back on me. I know you needed him for interviews, but I can't tell you how relieved he was when he got here. The nightmare ended. Thank you."
Dixie hugged Taylor again.
"Darlin' don't thank me. We're a family here. You were in trouble and needed your daddy. We covered the interview. He was missed, but I'm glad he got here before things got worse than they already were."
"Still, Dixie, thanks for giving me all this slack for me to be a father suddenly."
"Jeff, you've been distracted for years. Everyone whose known you knew that you had a little girl out there somewhere and you were always worrying about her. I'm not so heartless that I'd begrudge you the chance to get to know and take care of her," Dixie said to me. "Now let's go. My driver is waiting to take us to the restaurant."
We got to the restaurant and were seated right away. I wasn't sure that Taylor was going to eat. She didn't when she got upset. But she surprised me in a good way when she ordered chicken dish. I looked at her.
"I don't want to. Everything in me is saying I can't, but after the workout and how drained after what happened, if I don't eat I think I might faint," she said to me looking self-conscious.
"I'm just happy you're eating. I know you have problems doing that when you're upset," I said to her as I leaned over and hugged her.
"She eats around me. She knows that I won't let her get away with not eating. Not if she wants to be a wrestler someday," Dixie said with a reassuring smile to Taylor.
"So, Miss Dixie, how are we gonna handle the rumors going around?"
"Well, since we'd already decided that we would not let anyone know that you're really Jeff's daughter before you turn 18, we can't squash the rumors like that. If we tell them the truth about that now you're never going to have privacy again. Your father and uncle have quite the following, Sweetheart."
"So what can we do, Dixie?" I asked.
"Well, we can do an in-ring segment, stating that the two of you are nothing more than friends, but calling that attention might fuel the fire."
Taylor looked at Dixie, concerned.
"So what should we do, Miss Dixie?"
I looked at Dixie, having a feeling about what she was going to say. I also knew it was going to make Taylor uncomfortable.
"Is there any other way?" I asked.
"I don't think so, Jeff. If we do this, more than likely people will lose interest in the whole thing quickly and move on to the next scandal."
"What are the two of you talkin' about?" asked Taylor.
"Darlin', it may be easier to just tease a relationship between the two of you. Obviously nothing overtly inappropriate, but things like Jeff spending more time with you, kissing your cheek, hugging you, things he does discreetly anyway, just on screen and in planned promotions. This way people can think what they want even though you're not actually doing anything. Do that for a little while and then maybe set you up in a storyline with one of the other wrestlers, pulling the attention away from Jeff and you as a couple."
"You want us to go along with this?" Taylor asked.
"Only if you can handle it. If you can't, I'm gonna have to talk to my creative team and see what we can come up with to try to squash this quickly. You're a teenager, Taylor. I'm not gonna force you into anything, and I want you to have a say in what we do about this. Just let me know what you think."
Taylor went quiet and while she stayed quiet our food arrived. We discussed other things while we had dinner since Taylor wasn't ready to make a decision on our problem just yet. I wasn't sure how I wanted to handle it, but Dixie was right. If we incorporated it into the storyline and just kept teasing the story until we started a new storyline the fans would drop it when we moved into the new storyline.
Taylor's POV
I didn't know what I was expecting Miss Dixie to say when she brought up how to deal with the situation that was everywhere now, but it wasn't having me and Dad play into it. What was worse was the fact that Dad wasn't surprised when she brought it up. I wasn't sure what to do about it so I was glad that Dad and Miss Dixie changed the subject while we ate.
"So Jeff, Darlin', I'm gonna need to make sure that you make your interviews tomorrow. Do you want to bring Taylor to keep her backstage with you?"
"Actually, Miss Dixie, I have plans tomorrow. Jamie and Lauren are planning a girls' day out with me."
"What are you planning on doin'?"
"Workout, shopping, site seeing, things like that, Ma'am."
"That works out perfectly," Dixie said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a credit card. "Take this. You'll need some new dresses and accessories for appearances and shows over the next few weeks. You can ask the girls to help you pick out what you'll need. This is your company credit card. Only use it for things that I ask you to pick up, please."
I took the credit card and looked at it for a second. Then I handed it to Dad.
"I promise that I won't use it for anything else, Miss Dixie."
"I know you won't. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be handing it to you. I'd have put it in your Daddy's name so he had to take you shopping."
"That's a lot of trust, Dixie," Dad said.
"She's a great kid, Jeff. She deserves the trust."
"Thank you. She really is."
I blushed.
"So, I'll be at the interviews tomorrow and Taylor will be with the girls so she won't be alone. There shouldn't be any problems. Besides, Beth left New York, she's not a big fan of this city so she took the baby and left."
"Baby?" Dixie asked.
Dad explained about Ruby. I stayed quiet and picked at my food, not sure what to say about that either. By the time they finished discussing that I had ate more than half my plate of food and was done eating. The waiter came by and took away the dinner plates and asked about dessert. Dad and Miss Dixie ordered desserts.
"I'll just have a cappuccino," I said.
"Taylor, you won't sleep after that," Dad said.
"I know. That's the point. I'm not ready to sleep after everything today. Please?"
"Fine. Make that two cappuccinos, please," Dad said to the waiter.
I stayed quiet while I had my cappuccino. When dessert was done Dad and Miss Dixie looked at me. They needed my answer. I was out of my league here. Miss Dixie thought this was the best thing to do. Dad, while reluctant, obviously agreed with her.
"Nothing overly inappropriate, right?" I asked them.
"No, Darlin'! No inappropriate touching. Kisses on the cheek and things like that. Nothing more. I promise," Dixie replied.
"Then I'll go along with what you think is best Miss Dixie. You and Dad both seem to be in agreement about this. I'm out of my element in this world right now, still getting used to it. If you think this is the best way to go, then I'm gonna do it."
"Taylor," Dad started, "this means you need to start calling me Jeff whenever we're in public. If we're not at home or in our hotel rooms, you have to call me Jeff again. Are you okay with that?"
Was I? I had finally realized how much I loved my father. Was I really ready to go back to distancing myself from him again? Thinking about it, it wasn't really distancing myself, just a character. We'd still be a family and it wouldn't change how much I loved him.
"Changing what I call you won't change how much I've come to love you," I said to him.
He pulled me close to him in a hug. A flash went off. We knew it would be all over social media within hours and I was glad this time we had a plan to deal with it.
Jeff's POV
When the tapings started in NYC I was both excited and nervous. I loved wrestling in front of the New York crowds. They were some of the best wrestling fans in the country, possibly the world. Plus, Matt was with me now because, against his Ring of Honor contract, he was doing the NYC tapings for TNA. I had several segments in the week we'd be here including a championship match with Lashley. But worried me most was this was when Taylor and I would be debuting our "relationship."
"Jeff! You okay, Man?" asked Matt as he walked into the dressing room at The Manhattan Center.
I looked up at my older brother.
"What if I should've just told Dixie no and not put Taylor in this position? She admitted she's out of her league here," I said to him.
"Look, it's not like you're gonna be making out with her. You're not gonna be doing anything I haven't caught the two of you doing on-screen anyway when you think nobody's watching you. You'll be fine. Taylor will be fine. Just calm down because if she notices you're freaking out, don't you think she's gonna freak out?"
"You're right. I gotta pull myself together before she gets back."
"Where is the little daredevil?"
"Hair and makeup. They had her dye her hair purple two days ago so they wanted extra time to do her hair before the show starts. She and Christy are splitting things fairly evenly tonight."
"Really? They're putting a lot on her pretty quickly aren't they?"
"Yeah, but it's helping Taylor not to focus on what's being said on Twitter and everything. They also set up her official TNA twitter account since this all went down, so people are tweeting her directly about it. I told her to be more like me, go on once a month to check the tweets," I said with a small laugh. "Pointed out there's only one Hardy who lives on social media and it's you."
Before Matt could say anything, Taylor walked in and he hugged her. She was dressed & ready for the show. The only thing that was missing was her heels. She walked over and gave me a hug, before sitting next to me as I continued getting ready.
"You ready for tonight?" I asked Taylor.
"I'm scared. One of these encounters puts me directly between you and Lashley."
"Wait, what?!" Matt exclaimed.
"After my match with Lashley they want her to come over to me immediately, before he leaves the ring."
"Jeff, Lashley…"
"Won't touch her if he wants to live to see tomorrow, Matt. She'll be fine. I won't let him hurt her. Besides, you know as well as I do when she's nervous and someone picks her up she gets away. Why do you think Mark and Devon call her Monkey?"
"I'll be just out of sight at the top of the stage guys. If Lashley gets stupid, I don't care if nobody is supposed to know I'm back until later in the segment, I'm coming out."
"Uncle Matt, you're already in trouble with your promotion for being here. Do you really think you should be causing trouble with this promotion?" Taylor asked him. "Jeff and I will manage."
"Since when do you call him Jeff again?"
"Unless we're on the Hardy Compound or in our hotel room I've been told I need to call him Jeff for now."
"Isn't this going a little far, Jeff? Wouldn't it be easier to just tell the truth about who she is to you?"
"And take away the last bit of her teenaged years? Matt, she still has some anonymity because she's billed under Tammy's last name and from Texas. We go announcing she's a Hardy and her life is gonna change even more than it did when she came into our lives. Isn't one life-altering change enough for this year?"
"Besides, I agreed to this. Jeff and Miss Dixie gave me the choice."
"The truth will come out sooner or later, guys."
"We know, but for now it's not like anything that can't be looked back and considered a father/daughter relationship is going on. Originally we were thinking until she's 18, but that's not for two years. Now we're thinking until she's at least out of high school."
Matt didn't look happy, but he stayed quiet. At this point, his fiancée, Reby, walked into the room. She kissed him before looking at me and Taylor.
"Hey guys. Is everything alright between all of you?"
"Jeff and Matt are arguing over the way the company wants to handle the social media situation. I'm going to find Amy," Taylor said as she got up.
"Taylor, wait," I tried to say to her, but she kept going, obviously too upset to talk.
"I know I don't really spend a lot of time around her, but obviously she's not okay with you two acting like assholes. She's new to your family, new to this business. Can you knock your shit off long enough to think about how it's gonna affect her to be the cause of you acting like morons?" Reby said looking back and forth between us. "I'm going to start getting some shots of the set-up. Can you two be left alone or will I find out you broke the teenager more when I come back?"
"I'm sorry, Honey," Matt said as he tried to pull her close, but she wouldn't let him.
"You're in my hometown, now, boys. We don't like grown men making little girls cry. Knock it off," she said as she walked out.
"I'm sorry, Jeff. I shouldn't have pushed anything in front of Taylor, especially knowing how upset she gets at times."
"Forget about it. I told you I've wondered if I'm doing the right thing. I just don't know what else to do. If we came out and admitted she's my daughter the press would be all over her. We've kept her sheltered from so much since she came to Cameron. Other than when she's at school, we've kept people from hounding her about Tammy and her past. If people find out she's mine they're gonna wanna know her story. Why her parents split, where she's been for all these years, where's her mother, how'd she end up with me now? These are all questions we've tried so hard to keep out of her everyday life. How can we just take it away now? And if they find out about Nick and Grace they're gonna be all over them down in Texas and Taylor will never forgive that. That is why I ultimately knew this was the best route. When Dixie brought it up. Keep going like this for a while and then put her into a storyline with another wrestler. When she graduates, we can admit she's mine. This way she has time to prepare. This all came out of nowhere, Matt. I'm trying to do the best I can with her, even if I am worried I'm just messing it all up, Man."
"You're not messing it up, Jeff. You're trying and that's a lot more than some guys in your position would do, so stop beating yourself up."
"Beth came and assaulted her because of all of this."
I explained everything I hadn't told Matt about what happened with me, Taylor, Amy, Beth, and Ruby. He just stared at me with his jaw dropped. For the first time in years, Matthew Moore Hardy had no words for what was going on.
Taylor's POV
I stayed with Amy, who was hanging out with some of the Knockouts until it was show time. Christy went out and did the first quarter of the show, which would be part of one day's show. I did the second quarter, which would be the second half of that same show, and it had the Lashley vs Hardy Championship match.
Standing in the middle of the ring, I announced Dad. He came out, his first time wrestling in Manhattan in a long time and got a huge pop. The fans went absolutely nuts. He ran around the ring, literally trying to acknowledge every first row fan. Then he came into the ring and jumped up onto the ropes for the other fans to see. When things calmed down, he came over and kissed my cheek, which made the fans go crazier.
After a moment, things quieted down enough that I was able to announce Lashley. The fans gave him as much heat as they gave Dad love. He came down the ramp, ignoring the fans. The fans got a good laugh and started chanting "You fucked up!" when he went for his jump onto the apron… and fell. I hid from the cameras behind Dad because I had trouble hiding the laugh myself.
When Lashley got up he was pissed off. I went to get out of the ring quickly because he wasn't waiting for the bell, he went right for Dad. The match was a great match, though Dad Swantoned the steel steps when Lashley moved at the last minute. That was the turning point. In pain from his lower back hitting the steps, Dad couldn't move fast enough. Lashley finished him pretty fast.
As I was told to do, I gave Lashley an off-handed announcement as the winner of the match before putting my mic down by the timekeeper, losing my heels and rushing into the ring to Dad's side.
"Jeff! Are you okay?"
Dad looked like he was seeing stars. Lashley grabbed my arm.
"You give the champion of this company some respect!" he shouted at me as he pulled me to my feet.
My nerves were raw. I was in such a bad situation and he was scaring me. When he went to grab both arms, I kicked him in the stomach and hit him with the Twist of Fate, which I had picked up from watching Dad, Matt, and Amy. When I got up, I saw that Dad was up on the ropes. He hit Lashley with a Swanton before he could get up.
Dad rolled out of the ring and then helped me down. He gave me a kiss on my cheek and hugged me. JB handed me my heels as I helped Dad up the ramp. Uncle Matt was waiting for us there with Amy. They took him to the trainers' room because he was having trouble moving and a production assistant came and brought me to Dixie.
"Taylor, have a seat," Dixie said to me as I walked into her dressing room.
I sat down and the production assistant closed the door behind him as he left the room. I was scared I would be in trouble for what I had done to Lashley. Miss Dixie didn't look mad though and I was confused.
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Darlin' you didn't tell me that your Daddy, Amy, and Uncle Matt were training you in the ring already!"
"They're not. I picked that up by watching them. They agree with the other guys in the locker room. I need to put on some more weight before they'll allow me to start actually training. But I pick things up just as much from watching them as I do from being walked through them after all the years of gymnastics. I got scared and just reacted. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have done that, Miss Dixie."
"Shouldn't have done that? Taylor, darlin', you just got one of the biggest pops of the night and Lashley shouldn't have been putting his meaty hands on you."
"Wait, he wasn't supposed to grab me like that?"
"He was told he could grab your arm to turn you to face him and deliver his lines only. Him grabbing both arms, lifting you up, was not part of that instruction. We'd never tell any of the wrestlers around here to do anything that could hurt you, especially not without talking to you and your daddy first to make sure it was done safely."
I got a little upset.
"Dad's gonna be furious. Uncle Matt was telling him earlier that Lashley was gonna do something to me. Dad said if he did he wouldn't live to see tomorrow. I should get to the trainers' room, Miss Dixie, so I can explain this to him before he comes yelling at you."
"Go ahead, Taylor. And just so you know, I think we might be able to do a little more with you in the ring now. I'll talk to your Daddy about it when he's calmer. Now go on, Darlin'."
I nodded and left the room. I found Dad on his way to Dixie's dressing room and diverted him to our dressing room.
"What are you doing, Taylor?"
"Jeff, listen to me. I just came from Miss Dixie's office. Lashley wasn't supposed to do more than grab my arm to turn me around to face him. Miss Dixie said the rest was not part of his instructions and if they had wanted to do something where I was at risk in the ring, they would have talked to us first and made sure it was done the right way so I wouldn't get hurt. She didn't know he was gonna do this."
"What else did she say? If he wasn't supposed to touch you, what did she say about what you did? Speaking of, who taught you how to do that, Taylor?"
"I learned it from watching you, Matt, and Amy. I pick things up different ways, Jeff. I can just as easily pick things up by watching how people do them as by being walked through them. The only reason I did it tonight was because I got scared," I replied and Jeff pulled me to him in a hug.
"I'm sorry you were scared, Taylor. I'm gonna make that overgrown asshole regret ever touching you," he said as he stroked my hair.
It was then that I realized there was a camera crew that walked in behind us.
"What did Dixie say to you about what you did?"
"She said that she was surprised I knew how to do it and that I got one of the biggest pops of the night by hitting Lashley."
Dad laughed.
"That's my girl," he said as he kissed my cheek.
The camera crew left.
"Backstage promo. Sorry, Taylor. I didn't get a chance to warn you."
"It's okay. I didn't exactly give you a chance to find out that I know how to do more than holds before we were in the ring and I hit Lashley with the Twist of Fate."
"What else can you do?"
"I can do the Swanton, Reverse Mule Kick, Baseball Slide, and the Whisper in the Wind from your moves. From Amy's I picked up the Hurricanrana and Moonsault. From Matt, I've picked up the Leg Drop."
"And you learned all of this from watching us?"
"You and your videos. Gymnastics is a combination of training. Videos and walking through the moves. I can pick things up either way."
"Then maybe I should tell the guys to give up on the weight goal and we all just start training you. Matt said you did a solid Twist of Fate out there, but I'd rather know that you were actually being trained in the ring and see what you could do before you go throwing moves on guys like Lashley."
At that point Al Snow knocked on the door.
"Al, what can I do for you?" Dad asked.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to your girl here," he replied.
"About?" I asked nervously.
"I help out with training talent. After what I saw in the ring, how do you feel about meeting me here tomorrow morning to show me what you can do to see what we can teach you? That is, unless Jeff has an issue?"
I could see he wanted to say no, even though he just said he wanted me trained properly. But I also knew he was lying about his age and wrestling when he was 16.
"What time do you want her here, Al?" Dad asked instead.
"Excellent. 10? This way you should still have time to get some rest before tomorrow's show," Al explained.
"I'll be here," I said with a smile on my face.