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A/N: This chapter for the most part just came to me. And I believe it's golden. :D It's really... "wow"-worthy, you know? Hehehe. Anyway, thank you for the reviews... and enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen:

Jeff stared in disbelief for what seemed like forever. The paper in his hand didn't seem real, as if he was still asleep and was going to wake up any second, the letter from Coral a bad dream. It took him a minute to stop staring at the letter and slip it into his pocket. How was he going to explain this to Shannon? With a sigh, he began to walk down the stairs, wondering what to do. Should he go looking for Coral, even if she didn't want to be found? Or should he just do what she wanted and let her be? Part of him just wanted to give up on her; the girl was damaged beyond belief. Was it really worth spending all his free time to help a girl who constantly ran away from her problems and the world? Yet, the other part of him knew he had brought himself into this mess and he had to help the girl out. Sure, it seemed a little out there, helping a girl he didn't know a month ago… but what could he do? He felt he had to help her; it was something he just had to do. Somehow, he felt that without him, Coral may have left a long time ago. Maybe if he could just find her and talk to her for a little while… maybe; just maybe he could finally talk some sense into her.

When he came back into the kitchen, he found Shannon Moore waiting; an anxious yet annoyed expression on his face. The others were gone, as if they knew a fight would be happening. "Where is she?" Shannon demanded, pointing one of his tattooed fingers at Jeff.

Jeff didn't know what to say. "She's well… she's just…"

"What?" Shannon snapped. "Where is she? I'm taking her back with me no matter what the fuck she feels like. I'm so fucking sick of this girl causing so much shit for all of us. She's got you wrapped around her damn finger and now some kid neither of us even knew is dead because of her. I want her gone!"

Jeff sighed. "She already is."

Shannon stopped mid-pace, looking up with curious green eyes. Anger still raged through them though. "What do you mean?"

The younger Hardy brother sighed, pulling the note from his pocket. Then, he smoothed it open, handing it to Shannon without looking him in the eye. He watched as Shannon quickly read it and tossed it on the counter, acting like he didn't even care. "Well…?"

"Well what?"

Jeff stared at Shannon. "What are we going to do?"

"Nothing," Shannon said simply.

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, nothing. Jeff, she doesn't want to be found, so let her the fuck be. Quite frankly, I don't care anymore, so she can do what she wants. She can explain to the state why she isn't in my custody."

"You can't just let her disappear like this, Shan!" Jeff protested. "She's a young girl in a town she isn't aware of—"

"What does it matter to you?" Shannon roared back. "You know Jeff, this is crazy. She's done nothing but fuck our lives up. She's got you driving hundreds of miles just because she wants everyone to feel sorry for her. Well quite frankly, I'm fucking sick of it. I've tried being nice, I've tried being silent and I've come to the point where I wish she never entered my life!"

"Do you hear yourself right now?" Jeff asked softly.

Shannon nodded. "I do," he said in a cold tone. "Look, you can do what you want, Jeff. But in my eyes, she's no longer my problem."

"You can't just…"

"I can't?" Shannon asked. "You seem to forget, you've been on what can be considered the good end of the stick. Matt, Beth, and I have been treated like shit for no apparent reason. I'm not a bad person, Jeff. Sure, I've made my fair share of mistakes in life, sure I'm not the best person, but I do know I don't deserve her bitch antics. I don't deserve the way she treats me."

"Man, I never said that, but—"

"Why are you defending her?" Shannon asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "You've done everything she's asked… why?"

Jeff shrugged. "I feel like she's the little sister I've never had. She feels like family to me, I guess. You're like family to me… hell… I don't know. I see me in her. She needs help, Shan. More help than I can give her. She needs professional help and if everyone turns on her, she's just going to get worse. The girl needs someone to believe in her… someone who's not going to bail out on her in this life. You've just proved you're another person who's given up on her, Shan. You just showed that she's a lost cause. Do you want to give a young girl that feeling? Maybe she's not here now… but hostility can be felt in the strangest of ways. I for one… well I'm not going to give up on her just yet." Jeff brushed past Shannon, grabbing his keys. "I'm going looking for her, it's up to you if you want to follow me or not."

-

Jeff drove restlessly around Cameron, Vass, and Whispering Pines looking for any sign of the young blonde girl. He began to think maybe he should have listened to Coral… maybe she really didn't want to be found. What were the chances of seeing her on the streets anyway? It would make it too easy for Jeff to disobey her rules. Coral wasn't stupid… she wasn't going to make anyone's life easier, even Jeff's.

"Damn this girl," he growled, pulling down a side road that would eventually lead to Shannon's house. He was exhausted and sick of looking around him, coming up with nothing for over an hour.

So finally, he put the car in reverse and headed home. "Maybe I should have just listened," he murmured while he parked his car. He too noticed as he went up the front steps that both Shannon's and Matt's cars were missing.

"Hello?" Jeff called, opening the front door to Matt's house. "Anyone home?"

Attached to the back of the door, Jeff found a second note of the day. It was from Beth.

Went with Matt to get Lucas' hair groomed. Be back later. :)

- Beth (and Matt)

Jeff sighed while he crumbled the note in his palm. He was alone for the next few hours. Alone with Coral's safety and total wellbeing on his mind. The daredevil knew she was never going to leave his mind until he found her whereabouts. But what could he do? She obviously wasn't going to make it easy for him.

Instead, he decided to catch up with some TV, finding sleep just wasn't going to happen. After grabbing a soda, Jeff made his way into the living room, throwing himself down on the couch with a heavy sigh. The cushioning feeling wonderful to his still-aching back. It only took him a few minutes to grow drowsy.

It was then he heard it. The sound of a crash in the basement. Did someone break in? Jeff feared. It was always a possibility when being a celebrity. A crazy fan could easily break in if they wanted to… that was what Jeff always feared. He stood slowly, hearing his back crack. Then, he made his way toward the stairs, seeing the basement light on. Frowning further, he continued quietly and slowly down the steps, careful so he didn't alert the person he was there.

Apparently, he wasn't quiet enough. There was a sound of scurrying as he came down the last few steps. He turned to his left, seeing nothing. Suddenly, it made sense. Coral! How could he not have thought of her? Turning to his right, he came face to face with the young girl, who was obviously drunk. The smell hit his nostrils like a bag of bricks and even if the smell wasn't present, the appearance she held told him enough that she was indeed intoxicated.

"Coral," Jeff said with slight relief. "What are you doing?"

She cocked her head to the side, a slick smile coming onto her face. "I was surprised you actually went looking for me," she said in a tiny, slurred voice. "I didn't go very far."

He frowned. "You never left the house…?"

"It was the perfect plan, you know. I didn't expect it to work out in my favor."

"You're drunk," Jeff scolded. "What were you thinking?"

Coral shrugged, walking slowly behind the leather couch, pulling out a bottle of vodka, one Jeff knew Matt kept handy in the house for when he had guests over. "I don't know," she finally spoke. "I figured I'd have some fun. I didn't expect to hear what Shannon really thought upstairs today."

"He's just mad," Jeff was quick to reason. "He was worried."

"Please," she scoffed, her anger rising. "I took care of it though."

Jeff paused. "What do you mean 'you took care of it?'?"

She smiled. "Shannon doesn't have to worry about me anymore."

Something told Jeff he on the other hand should worry. "Coral… where is Shannon?"

Coral smiled again. "Somewhere… don't worry about him, Jeff. It's not something we should be worrying about right now. Matt and Beth are gone… we're finally alone again. You know… you look fuckin' sexy right now."

He nearly choked on air. He was aware she was drunk… but what did that mean? "Coral, please. You're smashed. Maybe you should just lie down for a little bit and I'll wake you up then. You've had a stressful—"

"DO NOT TALK TO ME LIKE I'M A CHILD!" Coral snapped. "I've waited for this perfect moment for a while now."

He was beginning to become afraid. There was something about Coral he didn't like anymore… it seemed dangerous. Yet, before he could ask her another question, she fell to the ground, gasping for air. "Coral," Jeff said, fear rising. She began to cough, holding to the ground like a leech. And before he knew it, there was vomit all over. Jeff watched as she got to her feet, running up the stairs toward the bathroom. He followed slowly, unsure what to do. Something inside him told him not to trust her, she was not only still drunk, but unstable as is.

He followed the sounds of her retching in the toilet until he came up to the bathroom. Jeff stood there for a moment, still pondering what to do. "Coral," he finally said, careful with his tone. "Where is Shannon?"

Coral smiled, wiping her mouth. "Somewhere."

"Where is somewhere?" Jeff snapped. "Stop fucking playing games with me! Where is he?"

Coral leaned against he sink, lurking her way toward Jeff. "You know, you're really hot when you're angry."

Jeff felt his stomach churn. "Coral, stop. Stop this right now!"

But she didn't. She came toward Jeff and despite his attempts to push her off him, she latched one of her hands in his hair, pulling him forward onto her. For such a small thing, she had a surprising amount of strength. Then, the bitter taste of bile mixed with the strong taste of alcohol fell onto his lips, as Coral's lips forced their way onto Jeff's. He struggled against her hold, but found it useless. She was like a stone wall – something you just can't move.

"Coral," he groaned.

She moaned in pleasure, taking his groan as one of pleasure as well, which was actually a plea to stop. It was a disgusting feeling that happened to be waving over him, one he wouldn't let happen…

"WHAT IS THIS?" another voice screeched.

Coral snapped up like magic. There stood Beth and Matt (Lucas in his arms), both of their jaws near the floor. "Beth it wasn't what it looked like," Jeff quickly said, shoving Coral out of the way. "She came onto me!"

Beth snickered. "Oh, yeah, okay." She stormed into the living room, tossing her bag on the floor. She shook her head, a string of profanities coming from her mouth. "I should have known! No wonder you're the only one she talks to! Look what she's getting out of it."

Jeff ran after her, shocked by her obviously distrust in him. Had they not been together for over ten years? Couldn't she at least hear him out? "No!" he protested. "I would never. I love you Beth. Only you."

Beth shook her head, shoving Jeff from her view. "I'm going for a drive. If you know what's good for you, you won't follow me." Then, before Jeff could utter another word, Beth stormed from the house, leaving Jeff staring at a wall, wondering how ten minutes of his life could go so wrong.

A/N: That was LOOOONG. Anyway... I'm not saying anything else. I'm gonna let my writing speak for itself. :D Okay, READ AND REVIEW AND UPDATE I SHALL!!