Chapter 10
Matt met Jeff at the airport, the next day. They had booked the first possible flight to New York.
"So how'd Meg take it?" Matt asked as he sat in his seat.
"I told her that some of our storyline was leaked, so Steph demanded we come to HQ for re-writes."
"Jeff."
"I know, I shouldn't have lied, but, I just don't think telling her I'm going to check on my ex-girlfriend who's flipping out is a good idea. She'd be the one flipping out then."
"True. But, if you want this to work out, you have to come clean." Matt told his brother.
"I will, after we deal with Jess."
"Jess. " Matt said troubled. From everything Jeff told him about last night, Jessica freaked out. He was worried that maybe the pressure of returning was going to be too much for her to handle. He understood that she was scared by someone hiding on her property, but the fact that she was still upset after finding out it was only a kid, showed that there was something else going on.
"What are we going to do about Jess?" Jeff asked interrupting his thoughts.
"I spoke to Jericho before we left; he said she was still sleeping."
"Did she say anything to him?"
"She just kept apologizing for him having to come out. He gave her a sleeping pill and she fell asleep."
"Where'd he get the sleeping pill?"
"She had them."
"Man, what is going on?" Jeff said and Matt just shook his head. He knew that Jeff wasn't in the room when Adam had mentioned about Jessica being hospitalized for a breakdown. Originally, he didn't want to tell his brother because it was Jessica's business, besides, he knew that Jeff would feel responsible. He may have cheated on her, but after last night, Matt knows that there was a lot more going on with Jess that they didn't know about.
Jeff turned to his own thoughts about what had happened the night before. He had never heard her so scared before. There had to have been something else that had happened to set her off. Hopefully by going out to her they would be able to find out exactly what was going on, and how they can help. Jeff wanted to help her so badly that he couldn't even sleep last night. All night, he had wanted to call her house to make sure she was okay, but was too afraid that he would wake her.
After the plane landed, Matt went to get the rental car, while Jeff went outside to call Jessica. He saw that he had already gotten a call from Meg. Ignoring it, he dialed Jessica's number. It went to an answering machine. He started to leave a message, but Chris picked up.
"Hey Jeff."
"Hey. We've landed so we should be there shortly. How's she doing?"
"She's taking a shower now. She just woke up. I called Stephanie, she said to keep her calm and that Steph was on her way, but I guess I should warn you, so is Shane."
"Great." Jeff said sarcastically. "Why?"
"Because he's her friend. He's been there for the past couple of years, so he probably knows more about what is going on than we do. Just be cool when he's here. Try to understand why Shane the way he is to you."
"And why is that?"
"Because you hurt her. We all knew from the beginning that Jessica was practically a McMahon. Shane feels he has to protect her and since you were the reason she quit…" Chris' voice trailed.
"Yeah, I know. Listen I'm not going to make a scene. I just want to help her."
"I know, and you did. I think she really appreciated you talking to her last night. She didn't want to be alone."
"Did she say anything about that?"
"No, but Stephanie was very concerned; like she knew what was going on."
"All right, tell Jessica we'll be there soon."
"All right, later." Chris said and hung up the phone.
"Who was on the phone?" Jessica asked stepping out of the bathroom.
"That was Jeff. He and Matt are on their way"
"I didn't mean to get everyone involved with this. I just panicked."
"Really, it seemed a lot more then panicking. You want to talk about what happened?"
"I think I want breakfast. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning." She said and headed into the kitchen.
"And I think you're trying to change the subject." He followed after her.
"True." Jessica smiled. "I just want to have a simple morning. Please?"
"All right, breakfast it is. What can I make you?"
"I don't believe this? Chris Jericho is going to make me breakfast?"
"This is a onetime offer, take it while it lasts." He joked.
"No arguments here, but I usually just have yogurt."
"That's good" he smiled. "I can make that." He opened the fridge and pulled out two yogurts. She handed him a spoon and they ate. Jericho kept her in conversation, making sure to keep things light. He even had her laughing to his bad jokes, when there was a knock at the door.
"Jessica?" Stephanie called out.
"I'm here." Stephanie came into the kitchen with Shane and her husband Paul behind her.
"Are you okay?" She said and gave her a hug. "What happened?"
"He called again."
"I know. It's gonna be okay. I'm so sorry I didn't call you back last night. I was trying to put the kids to sleep and they weren't having anything to do with that. I didn't even hear the phone ring."
"It's okay. Matt, Jeff and Chris really helped."
"Yeah, Jeff called before, they should be here soon." Chris told Stephanie.
"Okay we'll wait for them." She said. "I want to talk to Jessica alone." She took her hand and led her outside.
"Thank you for coming." Jessica said to her friend.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I don't know. I can't believe I reacted like that."
"Well, I can. Jess, don't be so hard on yourself."
"I gave him back his power. I worked on this for so long. I'm supposed to be in control."
"So you slid back a bit. He hadn't called in so long, it threw you off. You are in control."
"Steph, I couldn't stop shaking; I couldn't catch my breath. I freaked everyone out."
"Jess, that isn't you losing your ground. It's a normal response. Don't do this to yourself. Not after how far you've come. We'll just take it step by step. Don't get upset."
"I'm not upset. I'm angry. Just a few hours ago, I was so happy. I came back, I made my return. I had my life back. In just a few minutes it was all gone, and I was a scared little girl, cowering on her living room floor."
"Well at least you're pissed. Anger is good. Why don't I bring Shane out and you can kick him in the groin again? You'll feel better." With that Jessica started laughing.
"I can't believe he came here after that."
"Well, he cares about you. Besides my father gave him hell for his little stunt, so I'm sure he'll be on his best behavior."
"Good. I'm glad he got in trouble." She fell silent.
"What are you thinking about?" Stephanie asked.
"I guess I'm going to have to tell everyone. You know about me going all mental."
"You did not go all mental."
"Steph, I had a breakdown."
"Because of what was going on. No one's going to judge you any differently."
"Yea right. It's getting chilly, let's go back inside" Jessica headed into the house with Stephanie following.
