A/N: Well, I still have no internet connection. The only good thing is that I still have a computer to write this on. Otherwise I might have gone slightly insane by now. Anyway, here's chapter 17. Enjoy bitches.
Chapter 17. Never Far Behind.
"Mom. Can I talk to ya for a sec?" Fallon asked as Rylee stepped out of her bedroom and into the hallway.
"Sure Faz, what's up?" Rylee said following Fallon into her bedroom. Fallon's room had all white walls and a black ceiling. Blue and green fairy lights hung all around the room, and then around the top of her four poster bed. Blue fairy lights twisted around her spiral staircase which ran up into the attic and down into the kitchen. Her balcony doors where open wide. Black veil moving in the breeze coming in from outside.
"Well on the way here. John asked me about Benji." Fallon explained, sitting on her bed, biting her nails, a habit that she had when she got nervous.
"Oh." Rylee sat down, not knowing what to say. She would have to tell him about Benji soon, she just didn't think it would be this soon. "Erm, what did you say to him?"
FLASHBACK
"Did they teach you to wrestle?" John asked, finally happy with the radio station.
"Yeah, when I was four."
"Can I ask you something?" John asked.
"You just did. Shoot anyway." Fallon smirked.
"Well, when Rylee got stabbed, she knew who it was, didn't she?" John said, getting straight to the point, it was his only way to get something out of Fallon.
"Erm, yeah." Fallon said, she wasn't going to lie to him.
"Who was it?" John asked.
"Benji Thompson." Fallon said swerving around a truck. "I don't know much about him. But he made my mom's life a living hell for years." Fallon explained, still concentrating on the road ahead of her.
"I see." John stared out of the window, no wonder Rylee turned pale every time he was mentioned; now it was obvious why her hands shuck when her cell phone rang. "What did he do to her?"
"No one ever told me what actually happened, to be honest with you I wouldn't want to know what he did. You'll hafta ask her about it. Or maybe Laura but, short stuff would prolly kill ya for bringing him up. So it's best you just ask Mom about it." Fallon said pulling up to the house beside Jeff and Rylee in the MClaren F1. Her window whizzed down, and she stuck her head out. "What ya'll doing out here?"
END OF FLASHBACK
"Well, I'll tell him tonight." Rylee said standing up. "You coming outside to annoy tha hell outta Jeffers?" Rylee smiled.
"Damn Skippy!" The pair jumped down the spiral staircase into the kitchen causing Laura to jump and scream.
"Do not do that! Are you trying to give people heart attacks?" She yelled before bursting into laughter. "Jesus, Mary and the orphans!" She giggled out. Following Rylee and Fallon out through the living room, through the French doors and out into the back yard. Dave, Rey, Ashley, Amy, Victoria, Matt, Jeff and Shannon were all in the pool. Trish, Lillian, Melina and Jillian were all sunbathing, while John, Randy and Shane pretended to supervise the barbeque Laura had started. Rylee walked up to John who instantly wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You alright?" He asked, taking a sip from his beer. He rested his head on her shoulder. Taking his chance to sneak a look down her bikini.
"Yeah, but we need to talk later." John nodded as he took her hand in his own and kissed her forehead causing Rylee to smile. "Perv." She laughed. No one noticing the hurt in the face of Jeff. No one expect Fallon.
JEFF POV
John leaned into her and kissed Rylee's forehead, she looked happy. I should be happy for her right? Wrong. I feel like crap, she's happy with him and I'm lonely. I climbed out of the pool and sat down next to Fallon. She instantly snuggled up to me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and squeezed tight, to let her know she was okay.
"Unckie Jeffers." She pouted. I loved this girl; she was like my own daughter. I swear you could see bits of me in her. I mean come on; she's fifteen and has more piercings than half the divas put together. She could drive like me, I did teach her. She was a natural daredevil. Everyone who knew her knew that. She was as good as mine. The countless nights me, Rylee and Laura spent teaching her to wrestle, teaching her to drive, teaching her about art and history. She never did go to school. We taught her everything she would need to know. She had even changed her middle name to Willow when Rylee adopted her, in honour of me. She had watched me wrestle more times than Matt; she had more interest in my music than my own father. But Dad did class Fallon as his granddaughter as well as Rylee and Laura, his daughters.
"Yup Angel." That's what she was, my angel. No one other than me calls her angel. I had to take one of her old boyfriends to hospital after they called her angel, she knocked him out cold.
"You love her right." Fallon whispered, so only we could hear.
"Yeah." I sighed. This girl knew me better than I knew myself, sometimes it scared me. "Too late though isn't it."
"Slightly, maybe. Yeah." Fallon snuggled in closer; she smiled as I played with her hair.
"You wanna dye ya hair?" I asked her, that always made us feel better. Her eyes lit up as she sat up.
"Damn right I do." Fallon jumped to her feet, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. I glanced over at Rylee and John on last time before I walked into the house. My Rylee was stood, leaning her head against John's chest, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as he whispered to her. At that moment, I hated him. Fallon tugged on my arm. "Come on Jeffers."
END OF JEFF POV
"Laura can I speak to you for a moment?" Randy tapped the brunette on her shoulder, she spun around.
"Yup, yup." She answered, a little bit tipsy. He took the beer from her hand a placed it on the counter. "That was mean." She pouted.
"Awww I'm sorry baby." He picked her up.
"PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" She yelled, he tickled her sides. "Noooooo! No tickling!" She yelled in between laughing. "PUT ME DOWN!"
"You wanna be put down?" Randy asked. "Okay then." He said dropping her into the pool. "There ya go." He smirked, trying not to laugh.
"Ama kill you." Laura whispered, pulling herself out of the pool.
"I advise you run now, Randy." Rylee laughed, watching the self proclaimed Legend Killer run away from a 5 foot brunette.
Randy ran through the living room and up one of the sets of spiral staircases, the one that led into Laura's room. "Erm, where to hide?" He asked himself. His eyes darting around the room. "Gotcha." He whispered running into the walk in closet, just as Laura ran up the stairs.
"Randy, baby. I ain't mad." She bit down on her lip. "I just wanna play wit ya baby." She sat down on her bed. Randy stuck his head around the corner of the walk in closet.
"Really?" He looked hopeful.
"Nope." Laura laughed, diving at him. She speared him to the floor. Sitting on top of him, she said. "Never, ever, pick me up or tickle me, in public, ever, ever again. Ya got that?" He nodded. "Good." He flipped her over onto her back. "Damn you Orton."
"Ahh shut up and kiss me." He laughed, leaning down, just about to kiss her.
"IT'S BLONDE!" Fallon screamed from her balcony where she sat with Jeff. Laura walked out onto her balcony, and looked over onto Fallon's.
"Girl, would you be quiet, I was trying to – Mary and Joseph in tinsel town! Your hair! It's blonde. RYLEE!" Laura screamed over her balcony. She watched as Rylee jumped, dropping her plate. She looked up at them. Then she saw Fallon's hair.
"Jeffery Nero Hardy! What tha hell have you done to my baby girl's hair?" Rylee demanded as she stormed up Fallon's stairs.
"Tell her it has to go blonde so that she can have it loads of different colours." Jeff said leaning back in his hair, knowing that he was right.
"Oh right. Yeah, Fallon, baby, it has to go blonde first." Rylee flopped down onto to the beanbag on the floor. "Plus that ain't blonde, baby, that's Manic Panic Flash lightening, it's a bleach to pre lighten your hair so that the colours actually look like what they are supposed to and not like a pen exploded on ya head."
"But Jeff doesn't hafta dye his blonde." Fallon said sticking her tongue out at Jeff. Laura and Randy, having resumed their spot on the floor in Laura's room, much to the delight of one Legend Killer.
"Jeff's hair is naturally blonde, honey." Rylee explained. "Come on, I'll help with ya hair. What colours we having this time?" Jeff passed her the bottles.
"Cotton Candy Pink, Mystic Heather and Bad Boy Blue, oh we got some Ultra Violet, just in case." Jeff explained.
"In case of what?" Fallon asked, looking quite panicky.
"In case I get bored." Jeff laughed, watching Rylee read over the backs of the bottles. Jeff sat down behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. That was how it was supposed to be, family, right?
"Okay, let's get started. Jeff you take the Bad Boy Blue." Rylee said making Fallon sit in front of her.
JOHN POV
"Rylee?" I shouted up the stairs. She had been gone awhile, ever since Laura had yelled for her. I walk along the hallway. I stopped at Laura's door.
"Well, well, well Mr Orton." Laura giggled. I decided to keep walking. I stopped by Rylee's door, knocked and stuck my head around the door.
"Ry?" No one answered. I walked back out of the room and carried on to Fallon's room. I assumed Fallon would have told Rylee about me asking about that Benji, I presumed that's why Rylee wanted to talk tonight. I knocked on Fallon's door. Jeff answered it, laughing. What looked like pink paint was smeared down his chest. "Is Rylee in here?" I asked he looked at me, as if I had no business even muttering her name. I knew he was protective of her, Amy had filled me in. Apparently they used to date. At one point they were engaged, and Rylee still wears her engagement ring, only on the dog tag around her neck. I looked at Jeff; he wore the same dog tag, with a silver ring hanging from it.
"Yeah she's here." He stepped back to let me in the room, closing the door behind me. I followed him out onto the balcony. I followed Rylee's laughter and caught her eye. Then sometime else caught my eye, her hair.
"What have you done to your hair?" I asked, completely shocked. I mean, I could stand the black and red, but bright pink was taking it too far.
"It's not finished yet. We need some raven yet." She explained.
"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.
"She means Manic Panic Raven, its black." Jeff said picking up a bottle and showing me.
"Oh." I couldn't say anything. I had completely forgotten what I was going to ask her. Oh yeah. "Ry, you wanna go out tonight?
"I do!" Fallon skidded out onto the balcony. Her hair was three different colours, blue, pink and purple. Her side fringe was bright pink, the same colour as Rylee's and the same colour Jeff had smeared on his chest. The bottom layer was blue and the top was purple. "I'll go get ready." She ran back out and into her walk in wardrobe.
END OF JOHN POV
"Yeah, me too." Rylee smiled, she looked at Jeff. "Jeffy, you coming?"
"Yeah, sure. Well, best go get ready then." He stood up, then leaned down and kissed Ry's forehead.
RYLEE POV
Jeff leaned down and kissed my forehead. He looked me straight in the eye and smiled. I swear John growled. John stuck out his hand; I took it and pulled myself up. "John." I whispered in his ear to get his attention, since it was focused on Jeff's back. He was probably plotting Jeff's death.
"What? Oh, yeah." John looked at me. I didn't know exactly what to say, but I had an idea of how it was going to go. I never had to tell anyone about Benji. Jeff, Amy, Matt, Hunter and Stephanie were all told by Laura. She was my rock, she helped me through everything.
"We need to talk." I said as I walked out of Fallon's room and into my own. He followed me like a lost puppy. I sat down on my bed, he sat next to me. It was colder in the house than it was outside so I grabbed an oversized football shirt from my drawer; I pulled it on and looked at John to find him looking right back at me.
"Fallon told me about Benji." He said bluntly. Better to get straight to the point right?
"I know, she said. Look, John, there's a lot you need to know about me and Benji."
"I'm listening." Harsh or what? Maybe, he's just pissed off about how close me and Jeff are.
"Well, I met Benji in university; he was in my English class. Laura started dating his best friend Ethan, well; me and Benji always got stuck together when we all went out. He was cute, kind and he seemed to understand me, like Jeff does. But when Jeff came over to see me and Laura he would go ape, he'd want me back in our dorm room by such a time, and if I wasn't he would come and find me and literally drag me back. One night he and Ethan had been out drinking and they came back to the dorm room, Laura was sleeping, so Ethan went and got in bed with her and, I was on the phone to Amy and he assumed it was Jeff, he ripped the phone of the wall and got really annoyed." John wiped a tear from my cheek.
FLASHBACK
I sat on the sofa in front of the TV with Laura; we were watching Raw reruns with a bottle of wine. "Well, I'm of to bed." Laura yawned getting up. "Night girl."
"Night Shortie." I replied as the phone rang. I picked it up, "Hello, Rylee speaking."
"Hey girl. How ya doing?" A certain red head's voice hollered down the line.
"Amy! Hi, I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm great, miss ya though. But me gots a surprise for ya. Me and Jeff are coming to see ya in a couple weeks." She sounded so happy, until her voice dropped slightly. "Oh yeah, and Matt and I broke up."
"Oh no, but you two were great together." I brought my knees to my chest, hugging them tight, it was a reflex I had on hearing bad news.
"It was Adam; he told Matt that I had been begging for it, I had gone to Adam's once to get away from Kane. Once. We didn't even do anything." Amy sobbed.
"You hafta tell Matt." I whispered.
"I tried, really, I did." Amy sniffed, "Look I gotta go, I think Jeff's burnt down my kitchen. Oh wait, he wants to say hi." I heard footsteps on her end. "Love ya girl."
"Love ya too Aimes."
"Hey Buttercup. I miss you." Jeff said, getting straight to the point. "Come back home. Fallon misses you. Steph misses you, Aimes misses you. We all miss you."
"I miss you too baby face." I laughed at the nicknames we had. "You know I can't. Not yet. I will come back Jeff, I promise you, I will."
"I love you." Jeff whispered.
"Jeff." I sighed. "You know I love you too. Look I gotta go, Benji's home. Bye." I hung up the phone before Jeff could say another word. I got off the sofa and walked into the kitchen, taking the dirty wine glasses and empty bottle with me.
"Hey Rylee." Ethan slurred. "Laura?"
"She's in bed Ethan." I said watching him walk into her room. "Hey baby." Benji walked into the kitchen. I went to kiss him but he moved away. He stunk of smoke, lipstick visible on his neck, and it sure as hell wasn't mine. Another late night, another strip club, another whore left in the gutter.
"Who was on the phone?" He demanded, great, he was drunk and annoyed. Just great.
"Amy called, she broke up with Matt –" I tried to explain but he stormed off into the living room, he picked up the phone and pressed redial. He pressed loudspeaker. It rang twice before someone answered.
"Hello? Baby? Hello? Ry, are you there?" Jeff's voice rang around the room. I hated it that Amy had caller ID.
"You slut." Benji whispered. At that moment, he hated me.
"Benji, I didn't do anything. Jeff was at Amy's house." He backed me up against the wall by the phone.
"Rylee?" Jeff sounded panicked now. "Rylee, I can hear you, I know you are there." Benji closed his fist and pulled back.
"Please Benji, please, don't do it." I cried it tore me up inside that Jeff would hear this.
"Don't do what?" Jeff demanded down the phone. "Don't touch her!" Jeff threatened, now fully aware of what was happening to Rylee. He motioned Amy to come to the phone, both of them listening.
"What you gunna do Rainbow boy?" Benji sneered, fist still raised. "You're a nine hour flight away. By then, she'll be dead."
"Benji, please, I'll do anything, please." I sobbed.
"Shut up!" He yelled, slapping me so hard I fell to the floor. "Get up!" I did as I was told. He punched me square in the face, knocking me down again. Amy screamed. Benji must have gotten bored of them being able to hear me being knocked around, because he ripped the phone of the wall. He grabbed my hair and dragged me to our room. "Slut, I wasn't enough for you. All the things I do for you. And you want HIM!" He yelled, referring to Jeff. I had told him, a few months into our relationship about Jeff, how we had, had a long distant relationship for two years while I was in high school, he was always jealous of Jeff and how he could make me so happy. He threw me against the wall, I screamed as my ribs cracked. "Stupid bitch." He muttered. Dragging me back to my feet. "Slag." He mumbled as he pushed me onto the bed, I could hardly stand, I held my ribs, breathing through the pain, even though every breath I took, caused more pain. My ankle throbbed from when I fell, I could feel my heartbeat in my face from where he had hit me. I was sure, with my best friend in the other room, I was going to die. I couldn't take the pain anymore, my world went black and I past out from the pain.
END OF FLAHBACK
"When I woke up, he was raping me." I whispered. Tears rolled freely down my cheeks. "The next morning, he acted as if everything was fine. I went to the hospital, got my ribs and ankle checked, he had cracked four of my ribs and my ankle was sprained. Amy, Jeff, Stephanie, Hunter and Matt flew over that day and took me and Laura home, we saw Fallon, but no one ever told her what really happened. Benji rang constantly, he even flew over and for four weeks he camped outside the house. Fallon was only fourteen; she didn't know what was going on. He eventually left, but as soon as he got back, the calls started again. He even got Ethan to ring Laura to try and break her. We went back to England after awhile hoping that he had forgotten. But he found out as soon as we landed. By the time we got to our dorm room, he was waiting." I tried not to cry, but I failed miserably. John pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tight.
"You know I would never do that to you, right." He whispered. "Rylee," He looked me in the eye, and smiled. "I love you." Is it just me or did he say that?
END OF RYLEE POV
"I love you too."
JEFF POV
Did she just say that? I stood by her open bedroom door. I cleared my throat. She turned to me, with tearstained cheeks. Behind her eyes I could see her wondering why I looked upset.
"We're leaving soon." I informed them. I left straight away, I couldn't comfort her now, how ever much I wanted to, I just couldn't. He was the one that would comfort her now. I walked directly into Fallon's room, without knocking, I entered.
"Don't you ever knock?" Amy demanded, she looked at me. "Oh god. What happened?"
"She told him, she loves him." I confessed, sitting down on a beanbag.
"Oh no she didn't." Fallon whispered. "I have a good mind to go in there a bounce her head off of that wall." Fallon sat down next to Jeff. "Its gunna be okay."
"Faz is right, here's the plan." Amy leaned closer to the two.
Amy helped to finish Rylee's hair. Jeff sat, ready to leave, in a pair of black combats and a white shirt, unbuttoned at the top and untucked at the bottom. Amy dried Rylee's now black and pink hair. She had a side fringe like Fallon, and like Fallon, it was completely Cotton Candy Pink. Amy curled her hair, before Rylee got dressed. She wore a pair of cropped white combats, a black tank top that read, "You Can't Touch This," in pink letters and a pair of black stiletto heels.
"Whatcha think?" Rylee spun around in front of Jeff.
"Beautiful as always." He faked a smile, knowing that when they returned to the house, it wouldn't be him that took her to bed. It would be John. It wouldn't be him that watched her sleep; it wouldn't be him that woke up next to her. It would all be John.
"Thanks Jeffy." She kissed my cheek, leaving behind a little strawberry lip gloss and a faint smell of her peach shower gel. Would it always be like this? Him watching her leave, sure, she was only going into another room. But he couldn't follow her. He wanted to be the one to make her smile. Not John.
Dave Bautista, Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Shannon Moore, Shane Helms, Randy Orton and John Cena, all walked into the hottest club in town. Every girl stopped to watch them, then their boyfriends stopped to watch, Melina, Trish, Ashley, Jillian, Victoria, Laura, Lillian, Amy, Fallon and Rylee walk in and take the arms of the guys. Most of the girls dragging them out onto the dance floor. Rylee took refuge at a booth with Jeff. Jeff followed Rylee's line of sight to find her watching John dancing incredibly close to a random blonde.
"Rylee, I need to tell you something before I get so drunk, that you won't believe me." Jeff whispered in her ear, taking her hand in his own. "I still love you."
"What?" She couldn't believe it; he still loved her after everything they had been through. She thought she was damaged goods to him. Laura had tried to tell her about the looks Jeff cast her way. Steph tried to tell her, how lonely he looked on the road, how he panicked when he couldn't get in touch with her. They were right. He still loved her.
"I still love you Rylee, but I know you love him." Jeff said looking in the direction of John and his bimbo; she was too close for comfort now. Rylee mumbled something; the music was too loud for Jeff to hear. "What?"
"I love you too, more than I could ever love John. Jeff," She forced him to look at her. "I always will love you." She pecked his lips before getting up and heading to the bar. "Hey, can I have a red bull and coke and a beer please." She looked up; a familiar face looked her in the eye, her body freezing, her hands shaking, she scolded herself to regain control. "Oh you have got to be freaking kidding me."
"Rylee." He smirked.
"Ethan. What do you want? Why are you here?" Rylee asked, getting straight to the point.
"Laura, and of course, to help make your life a living hell." He smiled. "Isn't that Laura, over there? With, isn't that Benji?" He laughed, Rylee spun around, to watch Laura struggle against Benji. He looked up at Rylee and winked, as he pulled Laura out of the club. Rylee ran for Jeff.
"He's got Laura." She yelled over the music. Amy ran up behind her.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked, scared by the panicked look on Rylee's face.
"Benji! He's go Laura." She yelled.
"Let's go then!" Jeff jumped up and ran out of the door behind Rylee. Amy ran to get Fallon.
"Fallon. It's Benji, he's back, and he's taken Laura." Amy yelled. A nearby John leaned in, with Trish, Randy and Matt.
"What?" John asked at the name of Benji.
"Benji's taken Laura." Fallon said calmly.
"Who?" Randy, bless him, still had no idea. "Where's Laura?"
"Come on then. Where's Rylee?" John demanded.
"Out front with Jeff." Amy explained as they walked out of the club, Trish leaving them to tell the others. At the exit of the parking lot, Rylee's MClaren F1 sped out, after Benji's rental, with Laura inside. Jeff pulled up in his 2002 Corvette. Fallon threw her car keys at Amy.
"Faz, get in." Fallon did as she was told, climbing into the passenger seat. "Amy, we've got walkie talkies, keep in touch. Now go!" Jeff yelled, speeding away after Rylee.
A/N: OMGosh guess what, once again, I have given in to my loserish tendencies and have used Word Count.
4400 words bitches.
Any who, I still have no internet connection, its 28th June, and I don't know when I'll next be getting one. But fingers crossed it's soon. Review or die. I mean that in all kindness. But, having Laura read reviews out over the phone is always fun fun fun! So get to it. I bothered to write this piece of crap and now take 2 seconds of your already wasted time, to show me some god damn love. Thankin ya! Well, Outies for now, love Abbey.