Tumors And Hearts

Xx-shannon-xX

Nikki and Jesse had to practically care me backstage after our match against Beer Money. I had decided to try a very risky move to get us the win and it backfired. I was pretty sure I sprained my ankle.

Jesse told us he was going to go get a medic and hurried off through the Impact Zone.

“How’s your ankle?” Nikki asked me. She was holding me around my waist to help keep me upright.

“Throbbing.”

She gave me a concerned look. “Well, Shannon, you really shouldn’t have tried that. You could have been hurt a lot worse.”

I sighed. “I know, but it was just so tempting.”

She rolled her eyes and led me over to a random empty folding chair. “Well, now you know better.” she said, helping lower me down into it.

“Psht. Yeah. Right.” I said.

Once I was sitting, I tried to take off my boot. It hurt a lot and Nikki had to help me again.

“That doesn’t look too good.” Nikki said looking at my swollen, blue-tinted ankle.

“Yeah…” I said looking up at her. She looked really worried.

I grabbed her around the middle and pulled her down so that she was sitting on my lap. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” I said rubbing her back.

She bit her lip – something I noticed she did a lot. “I hope so…”

She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder. We sat there in silence until Jesse finally showed up with the medic.

Nikki quickly stood up as the medic knelt down to look at my ankle. I had to bite my tongue to keep from cussing him out when he touched it.

He straightened up a few minutes later and told me it was sprained. He also told me that if I rested it and iced it down enough, I should be able to wrestle at the house shows this coming weekend in North Carolina.

He offered to get me some ice now, but I told him I would take care of it later. He rolled his eyes and walked away, muttering to himself about wrestlers who thought they were Superman and didn’t need to listen to the medics.

Nikki and Jesse helped me stand up. Jesse put my arm around his shoulder and Nikki wrapped hers around my waist again. They helped me walk to the guys’ locker room so I could change.

When we reached the door Nikki reluctantly let go of me. I promised I would be out soon as Jesse helped me through the door. She yelled at me to take my time and be careful as it swung closed behind us.

I probably should have listened to her. I ended up hurting myself again because I wouldn’t slow down. But I couldn’t help it. I wanted to hurry up and change so I could see Nikki again. I kept getting this terrible feeling that if I let her go for too long I would lose her.

I quickly shook off the familiar feeling as I pulled on my plain white shirt.

Jesse helped me up and we headed to the door. AJ came through the door and held it open for us.

“Maybe you should stay in here, man.” he said stepping aside for us to get through. “It looks like you’re in a lot of pain.”

“I am.” I said as Jesse and I squeezed through the door. “But I’ll be fine. Thanks AJ.”

We found Nikki not too far away. She was watching on one of the TV monitors as Mr. Anderson and Matt Morgan wrestled their match.

“Hey.” I said as she turned around to face us.

She wrapped her arms around my neck as Jesse let go of me and smiled. “You hurt yourself again, didn’t you?” she sounded amused.

“No.” I didn’t meet her eyes as I wrapped my own arms around her waist. How could she tell?

She sighed. “Shannon Brian Moore, what am I going to do with you?!”

“Kiss me?” I said hopefully.

She rolled her eyes before standing on the tips of her toes and kissing me.

I heard Jesse say something, but ignored him. He laughed and there was suddenly a flash of light. Nikki and I broke apart to see Manda standing next to Jesse with a camera in her hands.

“You better delete that!” Nikki exclaimed.

“I’ll think about it.” Manda said smiling.

“Did you need something?” I asked in an amused tone. “Or did you come here just to take pictures of us?”

“Actually, Dixie wants to see you.” she said swinging the camera around on its strap.

“Who?” Nikki asked.

“Shannon.”

Nikki’s eyes widened, but next second they were back to normal. I wondered what that was about.

“Okay.” I said letting go of Nikki and stepping out of her arms. “Is she in her office?”

“I think so.” Manda said.

“Do you need any help?” Nikki asked looking down at my ankle.

“Nah. I think I’m okay.”

Xx-nikki-xX

I watched Shannon limp away and tried not to freak. I’m sure it was nothing.

Manda and Jesse started talking – well, it was more of Jesse was trying to flirt with Manda. I tried to stay calm. I attempted to listen to what Manda and Jesse were “talking” about but couldn’t make myself focus.

I took out my phone and texted Manda, not wanting Jesse to hear what I was asking her.

did she say wat she wanted to talk to shannon about? I hit the send button and impatiently waited for the message to go through.

idk y?

she wasnt gonna tell him about my tumor was she?

idk prolly not

I sighed with relief. Manda sent me another text.

she should tho since u wont

I put my phone back in my pocket and really hoped my Aunt Dixie wouldn’t do that to me.

Xx-shannon-xX

I knocked lightly on the door to Dixie’s office.

“Come in!” she called.

I opened the door and limped inside. “You wanted to see me Dixie?” I said coming to a halt in front of her desk.

She finished typing something on her computer and turned her attention to me. “Yes. Please. Sit.” she said motioning to the seat next to me.

I sat down on the edge of the seat, suddenly feeling a little nervous. I didn’t like the way she was looking at me.

“How’s your ankle?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Okay, I guess.”

“Oh, that’s good.” I still didn’t like the way she was looking at me. “So, how are things with you and Nikki going?”

“Umm, pretty good, I guess.” I said scratching the back of my neck.

“That’s good.” she said with a nod. “You two are happy together?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Silence.

“Umm, is that what you called me in here for?” I asked.

“Yes.” she said smiling. “You see, I really care about my niece and I want her to be happy.”

“Oh, I understand.”

She suddenly leaned forward in her seat and looked me dead in the eyes. “Now look Shannon, I want you to be very careful with Nikki. Promise me you’ll treat her right.”

“I promise.” I said without hesitation.

She smiled and leaned back in her chair again. “Good. You know, she really cares about you, Shannon.”

“I really care about her too, Dixie.” I said. “I love her.”

“Alright. Well, then I guess you can go now.” she said.

I got up and limped to the door, hoping to find Nikki before her match and wish her luck.

I found her a lot sooner than I thought I would. She, Manda, Alex, and Chris were all crowded around a TV monitor just down the hall from Dixie’s office. I limped up behind her and slipped my arms around her waist.

“Didja miss me?” I whispered in her ear.

She turned around and brought her arms up around my neck. “Of course!” she said smiling.

I pecked her on the lips and turned to watch the TV monitor. Abyss was out in the ring with Janice, talking about how he destroyed Rob Van Dam and planned to do the same to his opponent later that night.

“So what did Dixie want?” Nikki asked, drawing my attention back to her.

“Oh... just to talk.”

“About what?”

“Stuff.”

She sighed in frustration. She looked really nervous about something. “What kind of stuff?” she asked.

I laughed. “Relax.” I said tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “She just told me to be careful and treat you right.”

She sighed again, this time it seemed like it was in relief.

“Why? What did you think she wanted to talk to me about?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing.” she said turning to watch the monitor again. It seemed like she was hiding something.

“Nikki...”

“Well, I have to go.” she said stepping out of my arms suddenly. “My match is coming up soon.”

She pecked me on the lips before hurrying off – in the opposite direction of the ring.