The Way to Eden

"She's a lot like ya, baby," Jeff said to Tara on the phone the next day. "Bu' diff'ren', too."

"Start with the similarities," Tara grumbled picking at her sweat pants while she listened. She knew she had to sound receptive or he'd clam up and she wanted to learn all she could about this mysterious woman. Sven had been unable to track down her name and identity as of yet.

"She appears t' be an orphan," he said sadly. "Th' only fam'ly she kno's is th' man who train'd 'er. An' she talks mo' like she fears 'im than loves 'im."

"Have you talked much about him?"

"Naw, she jus' mentions 'im in passin'. She said she was train'd ta use the knives an' tha' she's no' sorry ta do it."

"No offense, but she doesn't sound much like me," she muttered defensively.

"She watch'd ya in th' Series," he replied quietly. That got Tara's attention.

"Excuse me?"

"She said she went ta almos' all of yo' matches. 'Er trainer wan'ed 'er ta be jus' like ya."

"She was a fan?"

"'Was' is th' op'rative word," he sighed. "She was taught ta hate ya afta yo' disappearance. She said she knew ya threw th' match. Said ya turn'ed yo' back on yo' fans."

"Interesting perspective," Tara hissed darkly. The woman wasn't endearing herself to Tara with that statement.

"I 'xplain'ed why ya did whatcha did an' I think she's gonna come aroun'."

"Again, no offense, but I couldn't care less if she did or didn't," she answered. "She wasn't there and has no right to judge me. It wasn't her life or her decision."

"Yeah, well," Jeff went on uncomfortably, "I tol' 'er 'bout what Henry did t' th' forma champs."

"She didn't believe you."

"'Ow'd ya kno'?"

"Intuition."

"Well, I tol' 'er ta check it out onna 'Net. I don' kno' if she will, tho'."

"She will."

"If she ain' like ya, 'ow do ya kno' 'er so well?"

"Her mind works the same way all of the other performers' did when I was fighting," she said firmly. "I survived by learning to read into the other warriors' actions. She's no different."

"She is," Jeff said stubbornly.

"That's not what I meant," Tara countered, although it was exactly what she did mean. She knew that she'd have a hard time getting through to him if she alienated him, however, so she backed off. "Her behavior has to be as violent as possible to survive what she does. I understand it because I've seen it and lived with it myself. She's predictable to me because in some ways she thinks like I did."

"Oh," he murmured. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she waved it off. "I know you're getting heat from all sides on this. I may not feel comfortable with it, but I'm hardly able to pass judgment, am I? You aren't behaving any differently from when you and I first met."

"Yeah," he said softly. "I knew ya'd unnerstan'."

"I wouldn't go that far," she chuckled. "But at least I can try."

"Thanks, Ri."

"Just be careful, okay, big brother?"

"Ya sure this ain' jealousy talkin'?" he laughed.

"You were my first brother, you know," she said very seriously. "You were the first one I let get close and the only one I let into my head in a time when I was truly lost."

"I kno'," he assured her.

"Do you really?" she asked. "Do you really know how hard that was for me?"

"Yes, Tara, I was there."

"Mmmm," she said noncommittally. "You were so pissed when I chose Shannon, though."

There was a deafening silence from the other end of the line. Tara held her breath for a moment, wondering how he would react to this.

"We neva talk'd 'bout that."

"We never wanted to," she replied. "But I think we should now. In the interest of our own relationship, don't you?"

"Ya don' hafta."

"I want to."

More silence.

"If ya wanna," he finally spoke up, and she sighed with relief.

"You think that me choosing Shannon was the ultimate slight, don't you?"

"I admit I used ta."

"It wasn't."

"Yo' gonna hafta 'xplain that one."

"Yes, I love Shannon and yes he made sure I left that world," she started. "But you were the first and foremost reason I left."

"Ta keep Henry from killin' me," he concluded. "I kno' all that."

"But what you don't know is that if you and I never started talking and I continued in the same path I was on, I'd be dead right now."

"What are ya sayin'?"

"I let Shannon think he was the reason I was saved, but it's not true. You were the reason, Jeff."

"But . . ."

"No, listen," she interrupted his argument. "I would never have left that club if you hadn't come into my life. I was fighting at my best and getting past the big guys. But my only goal was to get that belt, pay off all of Ben's bills and then disappear."

"So, you'da lef'!"

"That's not what I mean by disappear," she said ominously, letting the uncomfortable silence help her point sink in.

"You'da thrown a match fo' real?" he asked tentatively after a long deliberation.

"Yes."

"You'da kill'd yo'self?" he demanded with a raising voice.

"Essentially, yes."

"How'd I save ya?"

"You forced me to see that I deserved more than the life I chose," she said quietly. The emotions were strong and her eyes were tearing, but she fought to keep the tremble from her voice. "And because of that, I let Shannon in. He'd never have gotten near me without you, Jeff. No one else could have done what you did."

"So, I was yo' firs' brotha fo' real?"

"For real and for always," she confirmed. "That's why I worry so much about you. If anything happened to you, I don't know how I'd take it. I don't even want to think about it."

"I 'ad no idea."

"Nobody does," she sniffled. "And don't broadcast it, either. You know how sensitive Shannon is on the subject."

"I don' need ta rub it in," he laughed. "I don' mind if 'e believes it was all 'im."

"Oh, he knows it wasn't ALL him," she smiled. "But he doesn't know it was all you."

"We'll keep it between us," he vowed.

"Deal," she replied. "Now please be more careful."

"I will," he promised. "Butcha kno' I cain' stop talkin' ta 'er."

"Yeah," she answered sadly.

"Hey, can ya call yo' otha brotha an' tell 'im ta stip tailin' me?"

"Todd?"

"Yeah."

"He's not 'tailing' you as far as I know."

"Why's 'e always aroun'?"

"Um, he's chasing after Molly, remember?"

"Yeah, but 'e always shows up where I'm at."

"And you're probably near Molly at those times."

"She don' go ta th's clubs I go."

"Oh, no?" Tara laughed. "Have you noticed she's been hanging around Amy again?"

"Well, yeah, I guess they're talkin' some."

"They're talking a lot more now than they used to," she pointed out. "And you can't tell me that Amy doesn't go to the same clubs as you, because I know you taught her which clubs are the best."

"Tha's true," he conceded.

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Jeff hung up the phone a while later feeling better than he'd felt in a while. So he HAD saved Tara from the Warrior Series. He'd always believed that Shannon beat him to it. But she'd set him straight on that. But now that he thought about it, it all made sense to him. He was the one that had initially become her friend and he was the first one she'd allow to touch her. Shannon wouldn't have gotten past her defenses if Jeff hadn't already put the doubts in her mind as to whether she really deserved to go through the pain she was living with. All in all, he couldn't understand how he'd missed that. He supposed he was too busy feeling sorry for himself because she hadn't fallen in love with him.

But what to do about Sin, he now pondered. As much like Rio, she was also miles apart from the other warrior. Rio may have had the fighting instincts to endure the club life but she never enjoyed the carnage she left behind her. It was one of the things that had eroded her will to survive. Sin, on the other hand, was taught specifically to revel in the pain she caused others. He'd seen her laugh when she used the knives. But he could sense the confused girl beneath the surface, especially when he spoke to her on the phone. She'd admitted she'd never known any other life. He had a feeling that she trained so hard and fought so well to please the man who'd raised her. He also suspected that the guy didn't show any reaction unless Sin failed. He wouldn't be like Justin or Sven at all. Jeff felt another wave of sadness for the little girl life Sin had probably been forced to abandon long before she grew up.

He knew she wanted to keep talking to him because she flirted constantly with him. Whether she felt a real attraction or was just responding to attention she'd never been given before, he couldn't be sure of yet. But he was going to continue to work on getting her away from that life anyway. If it developed into something more, then it was meant to do so. If not, well, he was still eternally grateful for saving Rio and he was happy to see her smile, even if it had to be at another man. For now he had to concentrate on breaking down Sin's defensive walls. She may yearn to be free but would still fight him on it. It was the only world she knew.

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Eden kicked the punching bag with all of her might and dislodged it from its chains. Cursing, she kicked it again until it lay in the corner. Her morning training ritual was not going well and she knew why. Damn you, Jeff Hardy, she seethed. He had flitted in and out of her thoughts all morning and it broke her concentration.

It's a damned good thing Samuel wasn't here or there'd be hell to pay for her poor performance. He would have been extra hard on her, would probably have let his training kicks land and may even have hurt her to gain her attention. Samuel always seemed to know when her thinking was off and he would adjust it accordingly. No, Eden was very glad he wasn't here.

The suitcase filled with money emerged in her thoughts. She visualized it as she'd last seen it, before she'd hidden it. She thought about Samuel's reaction when she eventually gave it to him. She even mentally pictured him giving her one of his rare smiles. All thoughts of Jeff were banished from her head.

Picking the bag back up and replacing it on its mounting, Eden took several cleansing breaths before retrying her routine. This time things were smoother. She would get her mind back on her goal if she kept it clear. He wouldn't derail her, she vowed.