The Way to Eden

Jeff spent the day glued to his cell phone. He trained with it next to him. He showered with it on the bathroom vanity. He ate with it next to his place setting. Shane told him he was just getting crazier, but the younger Hardy boy didn't care. Sin said she'd call today and he wanted to be sure he didn't miss it. It might be his last opportunity to convince her to let him help her. And he really did want to help the tall, dark haired fighter. He felt it deep inside that he was meant to help her.

He'd told his friend Shannon about her after he got off the phone with her the previous night. He'd been skeptical at first, then downright negative after he'd heard the whole story.

"She don' soun' safe ta me," he drawled as Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Neitha did Ri, bu' look atter now," he pointed out.

"Yeah," Shannon sighed. "Bu' tha's no reason ta think this Sin woman'll be liker."

Before Jeff could say anything, he heard a rustling sound on the other end of the phone, followed by another sigh from his friend.

"Speak o' th' li'l devil girl," Shannon growled playfully, "'ere she is."

"Jeff, what the hell's going on?" Tara demanded as soon as she grabbed her husband's phone.

"Nothin', baby," he smiled. He still got goose bumps when he spoke to her. He'd never tell her that, though. She's think he was developing another crush and avoid him. The truth was, he'd accepted that she was in love with his best friend. But there was something about her that would always radiate her alter ego, Rio Angele. It didn't matter that she had retired from the extreme fighting club. A part of her would always be Rio. Not that Jeff wanted her to go back to it. He just liked to remember what she was like.

"I heard the name 'Sin' in this conversation and I'm assuming you and Shannon aren't suddenly becoming born again," she retorted, her New England accent coming through clearly. "Spill it."

"She's jus' a fighta inna martial arts club down in Florida," he grumbled.

There was a full moment of silence before Tara had enough. "AND . . ." she exploded.

"Nothin', baby, really," he chuckled.

"Uh huh," she added skeptically. "Nothing."

He heard clicking away like she was typing quickly. Shannon whistled from somewhere nearby.

"Nothing, huh," she repeated. "'Original Sin. Five feet ten inches. Specializes in Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Favorite finisher: daggers to the legs.' Oh, yeah, nothing to worry about here."

"Where'd ya fin' that?" Jeff groused.

"They have a web site," she said smugly. "It gives information on the fighters, the levels, the owner . . . Wait a minute. I know this guy."

"Who is 'e?" Shannon demanded, apparently still hovering over her. He was nothing if not protective of his wife. Jeff couldn't blame him. When Tara was playing Rio, she amused herself by picking off degenerates twice her size and sometimes larger. It was how they met. Shannon took great pride in pulling her out of that world and into his own. He and Jeff talked about it at length now that they were friends again.

"He's one of Henry's former friends," she said distractedly. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting."

"What feelin'?" Jeff and Shannon both asked at the same time.

"Justin said Henry disappeared a few months ago, remember?"

"Yeah," Jeff said in confusion. "So?"

"It's not likely he'll forget us," she sighed. "I'll have to call Todd later and see what he knows about this."

"Todd's too busy chasin' Molly," Jeff grinned. "An' anyway, Henry's probally too busy tryin' ta keep from gittin' caught. Vince ain' gonna lettim git away wit' what 'e almos' did."

"Look, Jeff, you don't fully understand the insanity that encompasses Henry Bender," Tara said. "Experience tells me you won't listen to reason. So please just promise me you won't get into anything too deeply until I'm satisfied she's not a threat."

"Jealous?" he teased.

"Funny," she muttered. "Please promise me."

"O' what?"

"Or I'll tell Matt you're up to no good and he'll handle you for me," she said firmly. Shannon barked with laughter in the background. "This serious, Jeff. Please promise me."

"When ya gonna stop bein' my ninety pound bodyguard?" Jeff sighed, not really wanting to deal with Matt on top of Tara and Shannon.

"When Triple H's ego shrinks back to normal size," she returned. "Do you promise?"

"Yeah," he said trying to sound as dejected as possible. "I promise."

"Thank you, sweetie," she purred, sending another chill down his spine. "Here's Shannon, again."

"Sorry, big bro," his friend said sheepishly when he got the phone back. "Y'know 'ow she is."

"Yeah," he grunted. "She's a lot like you, li'l bro."

Shannon laughed at that. They spoke for a few more minutes before hanging up. Now Jeff sat and thought about them as he waited for Sin to call. He promised Tara he wouldn't get in too deep, but she knew better than to try to keep him from speaking to the woman. He had already decided not to tell Sin about Tara's interest just yet. He could feel her animosity towards the former and final Warrior Series champion and he didn't want Rio's interest to dissuade Sin's communication with him. He looked at his watch and noted that it was about an hour before the matches in Florida were to convene. He just hoped Sin kept her word to call him.

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Eden was backstage at the arena, in full costume, when she grabbed her cell phone. She'd promised Jeff she'd call him before the show, but she hadn't said how long they'd have to speak. She wanted him to think she was very hesitant to call him so that he would try harder to keep her attention. It was a cat and mouse game that she'd been uncomfortable to play at first, but Jeff was making it easy with his entertaining antics. She punched in his number and waited.

"'Lo?" he said eagerly into her ear. She smiled at his voice.

"It's Sin," she said simply.

"I was afraid ya forgot me," he complained good-naturedly. "'Ow are ya, baby?"

"Fine," she said. "You?"

"Good," he replied. "Ya gittin' ready fo' tanite?"

"I'm always ready," she said darkly.

"Wish I coul' be there."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"You didn't seem to enjoy seeing me fight."

"I didn' enjoy th' knives," he confirmed. "Bu' I thought ya had a tremendous talent in the' ring."

"Thanks," Eden answered uncertainly. His charm was beginning to take over again. She needed to slow things down a bit. "But I don't mind cutting people when I feel it's necessary."

"Yeah," he said sharply. "I noticed that."

"Why do you want to get to know me if you already don't like me?" she queried craftily.

"Who said I don' like ya?"

"You may think I'm talented, but I can tell that you don't like my fighting style because of the weapons," she pointed out. "I've already told you I have no intention of ceasing their use in the ring. So why are you still trying to get close to me?"

"'Cause I don' think ya really like it," he said definitively. "An' I also think ya like talkin' ta me o' ya wouldna called, no matta what I said."

Eden began to wonder if, were she not contracted by Henry and had Jeff contacted her under other circumstances, his assessment would have been correct. She shook her head to clear the thought away and got back to business.

"That's not true," she said.

"I think it is," he answered. "Ya like me at leas' a li'l bit."

Eden let only a sigh escape her lips, leading him to think she was unwilling to admit what he thought was the truth. 'That's right, you keep believing that,' she thought.

"See?" he said as if on cue. "Ya cain' deny it."

"I don't know what you're trying to get at," she huffed. "But I don't have any more time to argue. I'm up next."

"Wait!"

"What?" she smiled.

"I hate it when ya try ta hang up mad," he explained. "I'm not tryin' ta piss ya off."

"What are you trying to do then?"

"I jus' wanna unnerstand ya betta," he said. "Tha's all."

"Why?"

"I don' really kno' why," he answered gruffly. "All I kno' is that I need ta talk ta ya. Can ya understand that?"

"Not really," she said.

He sighed heavily into the phone.

"But I'll keep talking to you until I do," she added with a smirk.

"Really?" he asked, full of hope. "Good. Tha's good."

"Maybe," she said noncommittally.

"So ya'll call me regularly? I mean without me beggin'?"

"How about I agree to call you every few days?" she answered in her best apathetic tone.

"Tha's cool."

"Good," she replied. "I have to go."

"Baby?"

Eden felt a pleasant chill travel down her spine she chose to ignore. "What, Jeff?"

"Good luck tanite," he answered with a smile in his voice. "An' try notta cut yo' opponents unless absolutely necessary."

"I'll try," she said dryly. "Goodnight, Jeff."

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Eden sliced through her last opponent's tendon easily, laughing as the woman screamed in pain. She made sure to cut every single one of them that evening to spite Jeff and the damned feelings he was trying to awaken in her. She refused to feel guilty about what she had to do. She wouldn't let his charm influence her actions. She couldn't. She had a job to do and she was determined to see it through, no matter what he made her feel.

When she reached the backstage area to collect her gear and her payment, Sergei gave her a personal round of applause.

"You, my dear, are sensational!" he boasted as he handed her the envelope.

"Thank you," she said with a slight bow to her head.

"I will miss you when you have to leave," he sighed with a sobered expression.

Eden didn't know what to say to that. She'd never let anyone's opinions matter to her other than Samuel's. It simply never occurred to her that anyone else would care about her.

"Yeah," she answered glumly. "I'll miss it here, too."

Sergei smiled and patted her shoulder before moving off to pay the other fighters. Eden looked down at her gear bag morosely before picking it up and moving to the exit. It wouldn't do to dwell on things she couldn't change, she decided. As she passed through the door she brushed by a tall muscular man with shoulder length red hair. He gave her an odd look before moving on into the arena.

"That was weird," she said before turning away and heading back towards her apartment.