******
Jeff had gone out to get her some pain medication for the headaches, so Summer took the time to sit back and reflect on the past week, and one hell of a week it had been. First the whole situation and break-up with Matt, and then her concussion. She remembered the last conversation she'd had with Matt and sighed. This wasn't going to get any easier.
~~~~
"Are you going to watch me tonight?"
"Matt, you know the rule. I don't come to Smack down shows or watch them until I know you're safe."
"Yeah but I'll be fine. I'm only fighting Peter."
"Sorry baby but the same rules apply. I could never deal with it if you got hurt while I was around or at ringside."
"I know I just wish you'd be there for me. I miss having you around. Why did you sign with Raw anyways?"
"Because they wanted me there, and from a ratings standpoint, they needed me too. Plus I didn't even know you existed then. You don't need me on Smack Down anyway, you've got Shannon."
"Yeah but Shannon doesn't keep my bed warm at the end of the night. You do, and I want my girl by my side."
"Matt, you have her. I'm not going anywhere. I'm always with you."
~~~~
When were the flashbacks going to stop? She was trying to move on from all of this mess. She heard a knock at the door and got up to answer it. She wasn't expecting anyone until later, so she didn't expect to see him of all people standing there.
"Well if it isn't Matthew Hardy. I wondered how long it was going to take you to come here."
"Listen Summer, Jeff told me you got injured on Raw, and I was coming here anyways. Baby are you alright?"
He reached his arm to her face and shuddering slightly, she pulled away. This kind of crap was something she didn't need right now.
"Don't worry about me anymore. I'm not your charity case. I'm fine, couldn't feel better if I tried."
"Listen Summer."
"No you listen Matthew. You lost me the night you chose sex over us. I don't even care that you slept with her, just you could have told me the truth when I asked you, and saved us both the undo stress."
Summer suddenly grabbed her forehead. The headaches were obviously getting worse before getting better. Jeff had better hurry up with the medication. She couldn't take much more of this.
Matt saw her bend down in pain and took her arm to sit her on the couch. As he moved a bunch of clothes off the couch and out of the way, he noticed it. Jeff's necklace lying beneath a heap of what looked like his brother's pants and shirt. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"So when did you and my brother start sleeping together?"
"What the hell kind of a question is that?"
"A valid one Summer. Was it before or after the thing with me and Amy?"
"Oh just give me a break Matt. I've never slept with your brother. Jeff's been living here. How can I be a virgin if I'm sleeping with Jeff?"
"Why is he living here? He does have his own place."
"Because he's being a friend Matt. It does happen in life you know. I got injured, and the doctor said I needed someone at home with me. I couldn't ask my boyfriend, because lets face it, I don't have one. So Jeff stepped in for me."
"You're ending it just like that? Without letting me explain?"
"You made that decision pretty clear for me when you slept with Amy. Are you going to tell me that it meant nothing? And that you still love me?"
"I do love you still, but for the record, no, I know it meant something and I screwed up. I'm really sorry, I didn't set out to do this or even accuse you of sleeping with my brother."
"What did it mean to you Matt? What was it like, being with her? Make me understand it."
"I've always been close with her; I mean we used to date. We flirt all the time, and I always drew the line. When we started working the story, well things changed."
"Changed how?"
"She became more to me, and I saw her all the time, taking my mind off you. I lied to you when you asked me if anything was going on."
"I know you did. I think I knew even then, but it's alright Matt. You should be with whoever makes you happy. I've always thought that." Summer whispered holding her head as another headache came and passed.
"Listen Summer, I don't know what I want anymore. It took me losing you to see that. I thought being with her was right, but losing you wasn't right. I'm just really sorry that all of this had to happen to us for me to figure anything out."
"Matt, I hate to say this, but this happening has to be a positive thing for me. I can finally figure out who I am as a person, without always being labeled as Matt Hardy'z girlfriend."
*******
Jeff chose that moment to walk through the front door. He looked at Summer, who had tears forming in her eyes, to his brother sitting in the chair with a huge frown on his face.
"Matt, bro what are you doing here?"
"I came to check up on Summer, and talk to her man."
"She doesn't need that stress right now Matt. She's been through a lot. How could you think coming here would be alright?" Jeff stated trying not to raise his voice, even though he was ready to hit the roof.
"Jeff no offense bro, but she is a grown woman. If she didn't want to let me in, she didn't have too. What's your problem with this anyway bro?"
"You are. Don't let him walk all over you Summer; you've been doing so well."
"Jeff, I wouldn't hurt her man, you need to lighten up."
Jeff couldn't take it anymore. He could tell from the last comment that his brother didn't really think what he had done was anything bad. He felt his anger boiling over the managing point and punched his brother square in the face, knocking him to the floor.
Jeff threw one glance at Summer, who stood looking on completely in shock. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.
"I think I need some time alone, so I'm going to take a drive. Here's the medication you needed."
"Thanks babe, I needed those. I had another couple of headaches while you were gone. Are you going to be alright? Do you want me to come with?"
"I'll be fine, and no I just need the air and the drive."
"Oh.. Jeff?"
"Yeah?"
"For what you just did.. Well... um. thanks." Summer said with a smile forming on her lips.
"You're more then welcome. He had it coming and he deserved it. I'll be back in a little while; I just need to do some thinking."
******
********************
"Jeff you know I don't mind you coming over anytime you want, but do you want to talk about it?" Shane asked as his buddy sat down on the couch in his living room.
"Talk about what?"
"What's eating you up man? That face you've made since you walked through my door is not a 'just want to hang out' face."
"Shane it's a combination of things. I just don't like the way I feel right now."
"Does this have to do with Matt?"
"Yeah I punched him out tonight and I'd never thought I'd go to that extreme with him. He pisses me off, but I still love him, and brothers just don't do that."
"Did you hit him over a girl?"
"Yeah."
"Then a different set of rules apply here. When there is a girl involved, all bets are off on the brother angle. Is it the girl that Matt cheated on with Amy?"
"Yeah, the thing is Shane, she's so wonderful and she had this whole energy around her. It makes you want to be with her all the time."
"So how do you feel about her man?"
"I like her, I always have, but I never did anything about it because she was in love with Matt. I didn't want to cause any stress between the two of them."
"You know what man? Tell her, I mean it can't be any worse then being cheated on. I know you Jeff, and I'm hoping she does by now too. You would never intentionally hurt someone that you care about, so I think you should just be honest with her on this one."
"You know what's really ironic about this whole thing Shane? Vince and Eric actually came up with a storyline for her while she's injured. Remember when she came out for our match on Monday with my paint on her face? Well apparently people in the back were talking and Vince wants us together on screen."
"There's your chance man! You get to kiss the girl in the name of work. Use that to your advantage Jeff. Don't not do anything, because you might regret it later."
"You know me pretty well right buddy? I mean I do some messed up things to my body and I'll be the first to admit I'm different from everyone else, but when it comes to personal stuff and situations, I'm just shy as hell. If I do something and she rejects it, I've lost a friend. I don't really know if I want to take that risk at this point."
"What if she's just as into it as you are? Would you want to lose that too? What's the other alternative? You have to go and tell her. Be yourself because if you try to be someone other then Jeff Hardy, she's going to see right through it."
"I don't know Shane. I just know that this is eating me up inside. I know Matt's going to be pissed and her reaction might not be much better. I don't know if it's worth it."
"I can't make up your mind for you man. Do what you feel is right for you."
********
Summer helped Matt off the floor and smiled. Jeff had done exactly what she'd wanted to do since she walked in on him and Amy. She kind of felt bad for Matt though. It had to suck coming from your only brother.
"Are you alright Matt?"
"Aside from the fact that I just got pounded by my little brother, I think I'm fine."
"Matt you had to realize you had that coming. Not only for what you did to me, but for accusing me and Jeff of sleeping together. He only did what I'd been thinking of doing all week."
"You were really going to hit me?"
"Why wouldn't I Matt Hardy?"
"Maybe because you don't want to ruin this face?"
Summer laughed. It felt so good to laugh like this again. She almost forgot that the reason she wasn't laughing was because of Matt. Walking up to her Matt put his hand on her cheek. He missed her, even though he was the reason they weren't together.
Summer looked up at Matt, trying the whole time to remember that this was the same guy that a week ago had cheated on her. As she looked into his eyes, she saw the Matt from the beginning, and she missed him. Missed how he made her feel.
"I'm going to kiss you Summer, I miss you." She just nodded as he brought his lips to hers. Their kiss started out slow, as they both became used to one another, but as the kiss lingered on, so did the urgency. Matt hungrily stuck his tongue deep into her mouth, urging her for more. Feeling Matt's need Summer matched him, by having her tongue meet up with his, deepening the kiss.
Summer grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him to the couch with her. In the passion of the moment, he started to undo her pants. He found himself wanting to make love to her so badly, even after everything he'd done, and he could see from the way she was responding, that she was ready as well. Summer started to undo the buttons on Matt's shirt and she slowly found her thoughts drifting to Jeff and the electricity she felt when he looked at her. She stopped suddenly and pulled away from Matt.
"I can't do this Matt."
"Why not Summer? I can feel that you want this like I do." Matt said proceeding to kiss her again.
"Do you even have to ask? God Matt, you know what read this. I'm just thankful I didn't send it." Summer pulled away and yanked the letter out of her purse; throwing it to him and watching him open it.
Matt opened the letter and skimmed over the words and sighed. This now made him feel even worse; he had no idea what she was planning for him. Her words stuck in his head as he replayed the letter over in his head.
~~~~
"I know how patient you've been with me, but I'm ready now"
~~~~
"God Summer, what did I do to us?"
"Only you can answer that question Matt. You're the one who wasn't being satisfied."
"You do satisfy me! I screwed up here, and I did something I shouldn't have."
"Matt, let me make something clear to you, and then I want you to leave, because having you here is too much. I love you, and I always have since the day I met you. There was just something about you that stuck with me. When I found you and Amy on the very night that I wanted you to be my first lover, well sweetheart you broke my heart. It's still not mended, it might never be, to be honest with you, but there's someone who is slowly helping it mend. It's nothing serious, he doesn't even have a clue he's doing it, but it's there and I have to be completely honest with you."
Matt came closer to her and touched her face. As much as he loved her and wanted to fix what he'd done, he just couldn't, and he had to accept that. It just wasn't a possibility anymore.
"I'm leaving alright? Thank you for being everything that I couldn't be. I love you so much, and eventually I'd love to be in your life.. As a friend.
Matt let go of her face and walked out the door. It was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, but there wasn't any other alternative.
Summer leaned up against her door and just let the tears fall. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do, and she realized that things were never going to be the same again. She had to pick up and move on.
*****
