That night, Caitlin tossed and turned, thinking about her situation, and particularly about the role Matt Hardy was playing in everything.
It started back when Caitlin and Jeff first met, years earlier. Caitlin hadn't long left her family home and a kind-hearted trucker had dropped her off in Cameron. She was young, naive, lost and all alone and she had no clue what her next move would be.
Her stomach rumbling signalled that she needed some food and she wandered into a nearby diner.
As she flopped into one of the booths across from the counter and pulled out her purse, tears began to roll down her cheeks.
What the hell am I going to do? She asked herself. I can't keep running forever.
As she thought about what she could possibly do next, a photo of herself and her best friend Laura fell onto the table and when Caitlin looked at it, the tears began to fall harder and she buried her face in her hands.
"Can I take your order?" A female voice above her asked. Caitlin pulled herself up and asked the waitress for a coffee and a burger, before returning to her sorrow.
She had been crying for what seemed like hours before she was interrupted again.
"Are you okay?" Looked up, she saw a man with long dyed blond hair staring down at her, eyes full of concern.
"Oh, yeah," she responded, wiping her face quickly and offering a weak smile in a lame attempt at looking happier than she felt. "I'm fine thanks."
The questioning stranger sat in the booth opposite her without waiting for an invite and looked deep into her eyes.
"You don't look okay. It's a cliche, but a problem shared is a problem halved."
She sighed and flipped her hair out of her face. "I can't go home. But I don't know where to go. I suppose you can say I'm lost."
Looking at the man sitting across the table from her, Caitlin could see in his face that he wanted to ask why she couldn't go home, but was trying not to push her. Quickly she decided that she would try and be very vague about it if he questioned it.
"Okay, you're lost, I can help with that. Let's start at the beginning. Where are you from?"
"Florida," she responded, being careful not to give too much information to the stranger, no matter how nice he was being. He was still a stranger and she didn't want to let her guard down with him too easily.
"Cool, now you're in North Carolina. So, how far and how long to you intend to run?" He gave her a crooked smile and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you tired of it?"
Caitlin paused to consider the question before answering. "I don't know. Sometimes it seems that though nowhere will be far enough."
They continued their conversation for a while, pausing only when the waitress came over to give Caitlin her food and to take the man's order. By the time they had finished eating, Caitlin felt like she had been through the third degree and her head was spinning from all the questions.
"Okay mister interrogator," she said after the latest question. "I have a question for you, and I think it's fairly fundamental: What the hell is your name? You have been sitting here, listening to me and offering advice for nearly an hour and I don't even know your name."
"Jeff Hardy," he stretched his hand over the table for her to shake, but quickly withdrew it when he saw her flinch and shrink away from it. "And you are?"
"Caitlin," she didn't give her last name. Anonymity was paramount in leaving her life behind and she wasn't going to risk that for anything, even someone being kind.
"Well, Miss Caitlin," Jeff drawled. "Now I know your name, I can ask the really big question: Why are you running?"
"I have a very touchy feely uncle." She couldn't explain why she had told Jeff the truth that day. She rationalised that it was probably because he was fairly anonymous and she needed to tell someone and get the weight of her secret off her shoulders. "And I got sick of him touching me. I didn't feel I could tell anyone at home so my only option was to leave."
Jeff's eyes widened and he was just about to respond when a dark haired man put his hand on Jeff's shoulder.
"There you are Jeffro, I've been looking for you." He glanced over at Caitlin, and for a second his eyes narrowed. "What's been keeping you?"
"Matt, I totally forgot." Jeff pulled his eyes away from Caitlin, who suddenly felt scared and lonely again. "I completely lost track of time. I've been sitting here talking to Caitlin."
Matt looked over at her, running his eyes up and down her body, which made her skin crawl. A scowl flitted onto his face for a couple of seconds, but was gone so quickly Caitlin wondered if she had imagined it. Jeff gave no indication that he had noticed it and kept talking.
"I'll be there soon," Jeff was telling Matt. "Once I finish up here."
Matt stalked away, muttering under his breath. Jeff watched him go and once he had gone through the door turned back to Caitlin, giving her an apologetic look.
"You have to excuse my big brother," Jeff began. "He is very focused on work and doesn't understand those of us who have lives. People who aren't as committed as him have something seriously wrong with them."
Caitlin laughed for the first time in ages and she had to admit to herself that it felt good.
"Do you want a place to crash?" Jeff suddenly asked. "I have a spare room you could use, with a lock inside for you to feel safe."
She thought about it for a couple of minutes, weighing up the pros and cons of going home with Jeff. Eventually she decided that she would go, partly because he had shown her so much kindness by talking to her, and partly because she had a knife in her bag that she would use if he decided to take advantage.
Back in her bed in New York, Caitlin smiled at the memory.
I'll always remember that day, she thought. That was the day I met my best friend. It was the day my life changed for the better.
However, she also remembered the shouting match between Matt and Jeff when the former found out that his younger brother had offered her a place to stay. They both thought she was asleep, but their arguing woke her up and she sat silently, listening to what they said.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Matt yelled at his younger brother. "That girl could be anyone. You know nothing about her."
"Matt, she is alone and scared and has nowhere to go," Jeff tried to explain in an even voice. "If I can help her for a night or two, I'm going to do it."
"This is so typical of you Jeff!" Matt screamed. "You could wake up tomorrow and the house is cleaned out. Or even worse, you might not wake up at all!"
They continued arguing for what seemed like hours, and the conclusion was Matt telling his younger brother that he was "asking for trouble" and storming out of the house.
After a week of living with Jeff, the pair had spent a lot of time together talking and had grown very close and when Jeff offered her the room on a long term basis, she jumped at the chance. Her time with the younger Hardy brother had been the first step towards re-instilling her faith in men and she had enjoyed the small town of Cameron. She knew that it would be a long time before she could bring herself to be intimate with a man, but she saw this as a positive step forward.
Matt however, had barely said two words to her, except for the day he came over while Jeff was at the store and asked if he could have a word with her.
"What are you after?" He demanded as soon as he was inside. "Why are you here?"
Caitlin was flabbergasted by Matt's attitude. "What do you mean?"
"Cut the crap, Caitlin, if that's even your name. You have been here a week and already you are acting like lady of the manor. You are some piece of trash that has run away and is now mooching off of my brother who is too naive to see you for what you really are."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, and I'm warning you," Matt stuck a finger in Caitlin's chest and she took a step back, trying to get him out of her space. "If you do anything to hurt my brother I will be back to take care of you myself."
Just then, Jeff walked in the door, carrying two large bags of groceries. Matt instantly jumped up and smiled at him.
"Here bro, let me take that." He reached out and took one of the bags, leaving Caitlin open mouthed at how quickly he could go from bully to nice guy.
"Is everything okay?" Jeff asked, looking from Caitlin to Matt, a worried expression on his face.
"Yep," the older Hardy replied, giving his brother a reassuring smile. "Me and Caitlin here have been getting to know each other a bit better."
Ever since that day, Matt had been polite when Jeff was around, but never made any real effort with her and the threats continued when the two were alone. Caitlin had soon learned to ignore it and focus her time and attention on the people she liked and who liked her and merely put up with Matt and his bullshit. Now she realised how malicious and horrible he really could be and how happy he would be now she was out of the picture.
That fucker will be as happy as a pig in shit now I'm gone, she concluded. I knew he wasn't happy about how I arrived in Jeff's life and that I didn't disappear just as quickly, but this is ridiculous.
As she drifted to sleep, her last discernible thought was about how much Matt had contributed to the bust up between her and Jeff.
Another chapter where not a lot happens but there is a lot of insight that hopefully clears up some of the murkiness about Caitlin and Matt's relationship.
Thanks to Latisha C for her review of the last chapter. You helped me realise that I really had to explain the Caitlin/Matt stuff. Because this is my story everything is clear to me and I sometimes forget that other people need it explained. So thanks, you really helped.
Just a reminder about my "Celebrity Skin" series of one shot fics. Please give them a look over and let me know what you think.
