ch 9
Eve tried to avoid Maggie's stare and by doing so it just helped to confirm that Eve had a secret, she looked over and saw Maggie was still staring at her and quickly looked back.
" You know I'm going to find out, I have my ways " she reminded her.
" Did you change the IV on the patient in room two " she asked.
" Yeah avoid the subject all you want but these walls have ears " Maggie said before walking out.
Back at the house Matt was getting ready to take Faith to pratice when she came bouncing in the living room.
" Two things, one is can we take my car and two is can we pick up April her mom is in a meeting and she can't take her today " she asked.
" The answer to both is yes, infact you can even drive " he said and gave her the keys.
Faith smiled " Cool " she said and Matt opened the front door for her.
April only lived a couple blocks down the road from Faith so it wasn't a long drive to get ther, April came out with her gym bag in hand and smiled when she saw Matt, she wasn't sure what to call him at first. Faith rolled her eyes she knew their first meeting would be like this.
" April this is my dad Matt, dad this is my best friend April " she introduced them.
Matt smiled " Nice to meet you April " he said and got out so she could sit in the passanger's seat.
Faith drove to the gym where they praticed and turned off the car, they got out and a comotion started right away, Matt looked at her with a frown.
" Maybe this is a bad idea, I'll go wait in the car " he said.
Faith grabbed his hand " No, I'm proud that your my dad and everyone will just have to get used to it or maul you " she said.
" Gee thanks " Matt said as they walked inside and past all the gawkers.
" Come on I want you to meet my coach she was an Olympic gold medalist " Faith told him.
" Yeah I had one of those too " Matt said and Faith gave him a wired look " Never mind " he said.
Faith walked him over to a lady who had her back turned at first, she turned when she finished with the person she was talking to. Her eyes widened and she smiled,
" What can I do for you Faith " she asked.
" This is my dad, Matt Hardy " she said.
" Well hello Mr. Hardy, I'm Emily Page, will you be joining us today " she asked.
" I think I'll just watch " he said.
" Alright then, you can sit right over there and if you have any questions feel free to ask " she said still not letting go of Matt's hand.
" Thanks " Matt said and politely pulled his hand back.
" Miss Emily was hitting on your dad " April said as they walked into the locker room giggling.
Matt opted for a place high in the stnds, he left his sunglasses on and pulled his hat down low, Faith and April came out of the locker room and she saw him, she covered her mouth to avoid a laugh as she walked up the stands.
" Give you a hoodie and you could pass as the unibomber " she said.
" Ha ha, see if I let you drive home " Matt told her.
" Would you please come down here with me " she asked.
Matt sighed " Are you sure this is your thing and I don't want to take focus off you " he said.
Faith took his hand again " I don't care I want you here " she said.
As they were walking down the stands, Faith pulled off his hat and Matt tried to grab it but she took off onto the floor with it.
" Is that who I think it is " a girl asked.
Faith smiled " If you mean Matt Hardy then yeah " she said.
" What is Matt Hardy doing here " she asked.
" Watching me pratice " Faith said, this girl was Faith's sworn rival.
" And why would he be here doing that " she said thinking her skills were better than Faith's.
" Because he's my dad " she said and left it with that.
Miss Emily clapped her hands " Alright girls we have two more pratices before we go to the competition and I don't want ANY mistakes, everyone will do their floor routines all the way through, then well move to the balance beam, horse and the rings, pair up and stretch " she told them.
Faith and April paired up as always but this time instead of avoiding them Cindy and her friend Lisa came over by them.
" You are such a lier Faith, Lisa and I are huge Hardy fans and we know for a fact that Matt has no children " she said.
" Yeah its on his myspace and besides he would have to been like sixteen when you were born " Lisa added.
" No seventeen and if you don't believe me go ask him for yourself " she shrugged and went on with her stretching.
Once the floor routines started Matt saw two girls approaching him with pen and paper in hand, he also knew they had been the ones talking to Faith.
" Matt " Lisa said sort of timidly. " Can we have your autograph "
Matt smiled " Sure " he said and took the pen and paper. " Who do I make it out to "
" I'm Lisa and this is Cindy " she said.
Matt nodded as he wrote " Are you friends with Faith " he asked.
" Um sorta, so why are you here today " Lisa asked.
" I'm here to watch Faith " he said.
" Did she win like a contest or something " Cindy asked.
Matt laughed " No, she's my daughter " he told them and their jaws dropped.
" Cindy, Lisa come on girls you're next " Miss Emily said and waved to Matt, he waved back causiously.
" Well " April asked knowing Matt had told them.
" This isn't going to change the fact that I'm going to win the competition " Cindy sneered and Faith laughed.
After Lisa and Cindy it was Faith's turn and Matt leaned forward on his knees to watch her, she was so gracful, every move she landed perfect and he was so proud of her. When she finished Matt stood up and clapped.
" That's my girl " he said and Faith blushed.
" Dad " she wined.
Next was April's turn she had been having trouble with her second flip and she was determined to nail it this time, with the competition so close she had to. She got through the first flip and went for the second one but slipped and landed on the floor hard, Matt jumped up and ran down there, Faith was by her friend's side as well as Miss Emily.
" Are you okay " Faith asked.
" My shoulder hurts " April said almost in tears.
" Do you have a trainer " Matt asked.
Miss Emily shook her head no " Just for the competiotins " she said.
Matt thought for a second " April I think you doslocated your shoulder, I've done it before and I know it hurts hun " he took off his sweatshirt. " So what we need to do is keep your arm from moving as much as possible until we can get you to the ER " he said making her a sling.
" Okay " she nodded trusting Matt. " Can you call my mom " she asked Faith.
Matt picked her up from the oppsite side she was hurt on and carried her out to the SUV, Faith got in the back with her and Matt drove to the hospital.
All day long Maggie had been bugging Eve about her secret until she couldn't take it anymore, she growled.
" UGH fine Matt and I kissed " she said. " It never should have happened and I'm glad the office stopped us okay "
Maggie gasped " Officer, then she wanted details, who kissed who " she asked.
Eve tossed her hands in the air " I dunno, I think he started it and I went along, it doen't matter it can't happen again " she stated.
" And why not " Maggie demanded.
Eve ran her hand through her hair in fustration " Because if things didn't work out Faith would be crushed, she wants to see us together " she said.
" Umhm seems to its not about Faith and its about you being scared for the feelings you have for Matt " she said.
" I don't have feelings for Matt, it was just a simple little kiss, he has probalby put it out of his mind " she shrugged.
Maggie looked up " Well you can ask him because he just walked through the front door " she said.
Eve turned and a horrified gasp excaped her lips " Faith " she cried as she saw Matt carring in a young girl, then she saw Faith.
" Mom " Faith said. " April hurt her shoulder "
Matt set her on a exam table " I think she dislocated it " he told Eve.
" I'll go get Dr. Lewis " Maggie said and Faith, Matt and Eve all gave her a look. " Um make that Dr. Simmins " she said.
Eve smoothed back April's hair " Go ahead and bring her in here " she looked at Faith and asked " Did you call Miss Gavin "
" Yeah she's on her way she's across town " Faith said.
" Alright I'll get her checked in and all while we wait for her mom to get here " she told her.
Matt followed Eve out and left Faith and April together " How long will it take for her mom to get here " he asked.
" Um about a half hour or so depending on traffic " she said.
Matt shook his head " Can't you give her anything for pain " he asked. " I know how much a dislocated shoulder
hurts " he asked.
Eve shook her head " Not without the parents permission, she could be allergic to the medicne or something " she explained.
Matt pulled a face " Yeah but she's like Faith age wouldn't she know if she were allergic to something " he asked.
" Not all the time " she said. " And other times they don't know until a reaction develops, if we treated her and she went into anaflatic shock they could sue us and trust me when I say this hospital can't afford that " she said.
" So now what " he asked.
Eve sighed " Matt I have a lot of work to do my suggestion to you is go home and I'll bring Faith home with me or Lynn can drop her off which ever comes first " she said.
Matt was taken aback by her harsh tone " Yeah alright I have some packing to do, is it alright if I stop in and let Faith know I'm leaving " he asked.
Eve nodded " Make it quick because only one person is allowed back here at a time " she said.
" I won't stay longer than I'm welcome " he said and went into April's room.
Eve sighed she didn't mean to make him feel bad but she didn't know how to handle that kiss between them either.
" Umhm just as I said " Maggie spoke from the doorway. " How are you going to just stand there when you were so rude to that poor man " she asked.
Eve turned " I know what I'm doing " she told her.
Matt knocked on April's door and she said to come in, Matt did " Hey I'm going to cut out of here, hospitals aren't my thing how you doing " he asked April.
She was trying hard not to cry " It still hurts " she said.
Matt frowned " Yeah just try and relax, your mom should be here soon "
" Thanks Mr. Hardy " she said.
Matt would have to get used to that now that he was a father " You're welcome " he said. He looked at Faith " I'll see ya when you get home " he said.
" Alright dad " she said and gave him a hug. " Thanks for helping my friend, I'll bring your sweat shirt home " she told him.
He hugged her tight and looked over at April " Nah she can keep it " he said and April smiled.
Matt walked out and didn't even aknowledge Eve as he walked past the nurses station on his way to the parking lot, soon after he left April's mom got there and they were able to give her something for pain and do xrays of her shoulder after that Eve's shift was over and she drove them home. Matt was loading his car up to leave tomorrow when Eve pulled her car in behind his, he didn't stop or even look her wayand she knew he was still upset.
" Here's your key ma'am " he said and gave them to him.
" Thanks I have to use bathroom " she said hurring inside.
Eve got out and came up the walk, she didn't want to leave things the way they were between them so she tried to talk to him.
" You were right about April she dislocated her shoulder " she said.
" Yeah, how is she doing " he asked closing his trunk.
Eve crossed her arms " She's okay, better now that she's not hurting so much but she's out for the competition " Eve told him.
" That sucks but I'm glad she's alright " he said. " I better finish I have an early flight " he told her.
Eve took a breath " Matt wait " she said gently grabbing his arm to stop him. " I don't want you to leave like this " she said. " I don't want you to think "
Matt shook his head " To be honest Eve I don't know what to think anymore " he stated.
" It's not just us anymore Matt we have to think about Faith if " she paused. " If it didn't work out she would be heart broken "
Matt nodded " I can understand that " he said.
" I still want to be friends " she said.
" I do too but you'll always be more than my friend Eve, you're the mother of my child " he told her.
" You'll be more than my friend too " she said.
The next morning Matt gave Faith a big hug and kiss good bye and said bye to Eve then got in his car and drove away, Faith wanted to cry she missed him already, Eve put her arm around her daughter's shoulder.
" Come on I'll make you some hot cocoa " she said. " He'll be back and living close by before you know it okay " she said and they went inside.
As Matt was driving to the airport he thought about his family and friends back in Cameron and how happy he was to be going home and then the thought entered his mind that he wouldn't be calling Cameron home much longer and he had to tell everyone that he was moving away to be with his daughter. He knew they would understand but it was going to be difficult to leave none the less. Matt got to the airport in plenty of time and as always the flight was late so instead of getting in the air around nine it was closer to eleven, before lift off he made a quick call to his dad, who would be picking him up at the airport, then he settled back and closed his eyes for the long flight home.
Matt's flight got in late Sunday night almost midnight due to a layover in Chicago, his dad was there waiting for him as he walked through the gate Gilbert smiled, Matt got his bags and joined his dad.
" Was your flight okay " he asked.
Matt shrugged " Better than most " he answered.
" How was LA " he asked as they got to his truck.
Matt tossed his bags in " Good " he replied.
Gilbert and Matt got in the truck " You aren't much of a talker tonight, you okay " he asked knowing Matt was still recovering " Your back alright after that long flight " he worried.
" Yeah my back hasn't really been a problem " he told him. " Dad I had to make a decision and "
" You're moving to LA " he finished Matt's sentence for him.
" How did you know " Matt asked.
" Cause I figured you would want to be closer to your daughter and it only makes sense for you to move there " Gilbert told him.
Matt nodded " Yeah that's how I figured it too, I'm gornna see if Jeff wants to buy my place and then use that to get a place there if he doesn't then I might just get an apartment " he said.
His dad laughed " I can just see you in an apartment in LA "
" Yeah maybe not " he agreed.
" Why ain't ya going to stay with Eve and Faith " he asked.
Matt sighed " We decided for Faith sake that we should just be friends "
Gilbert nodded " Oh I see, you're both afraid of getting hurt, ya know Matthew you miss out on a lot of good things that can happen if you worry about the bad things that haven't " he said and that was the end of their conversation about the subject and they mostly talked about Matt's trip and his return and that they were both so proud of Jeff.