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Jeff closed the phone and tossed it on the bed. The doorknob rattled just a bit as Matt opened it quietly. He slipped inside the door and closed it without a sound, turning toward the bed as he tiptoed into the room. He was almost at the bed when the lamp switched on. Matt stopped for a moment, temporarily blinded by the light. When he could see, he looked over at Jeff and smiled.

"Hey, baby!" Matt said, forcing himself to sound cheerful. His mind was reeling, wondering why Jeff was awake. The sleeping pill he has slipped into Jeff's Snapple bottle should have kept him knocked out all night long. As he approached the bed, he could see Jeff's red, swollen eyes. Maybe he had a bad reaction to the pill. "You ok?" Matt asked as he sat on the bed and starting stroking Jeff's thigh.

Jeff jerked his leg away and sat up. "Where ya been, Matty?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain steady. Matt smiled, sliding his hand up Jeff's leg, rubbing the skin along the bottom of Jeff's boxers. Matt held up the can of Pepsi in his hand. "Thirsty," Matt said, shaking the can. Jeff's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't ya just get a drink a water?" he asked. Matt's hand slipped inside Jeff's boxers and he felt it softly rubbing against his balls.

"Needed somethin' to wake me up," Matt said as he leaned forward and kissed the side of Jeff's neck. Jeff stiffened and tried to pull away. "It's 3 in the fuckin' mornin', Matt," he said. "Why ya need to wake up now?" He felt Matt laugh against his neck. "Cuz I want you," Matt said as his hand wrapped around Jeff's cock. "I wanna be inside you, wanna make ya feel good. Somethin' wrong with that?"

Jeff put both hands on Matt's chest and shoved him hard, knocking Matt off the bed. Matt landed hard on the floor, a jolt of pain shooting up his back. Jeff stood up and looked down at Matt, his face reddening. "You wanna make me feel good, huh?" Jeff said, his voice rising. "At 3 o'clock in the goddamn morning, after ya snuck out, after ya been gone for 3 FUCKING HOURS, doin' god knows what with god knows who, and you wanna MAKE ME FEEL GOOD??"

Matt tried to get up off the floor, but Jeff just pushed him back down. "Why the hell does it matter how I feel now, Matt?" Jeff continued, his voice rising with every word. "It didn't matter how I felt a couple months ago when ya started screwin' around. Didn't matter a couple weeks ago when you stopped tryin' to pretend ya care anymore. And it damn sure didn't matter a few hours ago when ya fucked me then left when ya thought I was sleepin'."

Matt had pulled himself off the floor and was sitting on the bed, watching Jeff pace around the room. He was trying to figure out how Jeff had found out. Somebody must've told him, because Matt knew Jeff wasn't smart enough to figure it out on his own. Jeff spun around and looked at Matt. he stood up and walked slowly over to Jeff and tried to put his arms around him. Jeff knocked Matt's arms down. "Don't," he said. Matt looked at him confused. "Jeffy," he said calmly, "I don't know what ya think's going on, but you gotta believe me. I love you. I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Jeff reached up and slapped Matt hard across his cheek. "YOU FUCKIN' BASTARD!" he screamed. Matt reached up and rubbed his face, trying to ease the sting. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked. Jeff's chest heaved as he looked at his brother. "You got the nerve to ask what's wrong with me?" he said. "Why don't ya tell me what the hell is wrong with you?" Matt opened his mouth to speak, only to be shoved to the floor again. "Don't fuckin' bother. All you'll do is lie to me again," Jeff said.

Matt picked himself up off the floor again and stood in front of Jeff. "Stop bein' such a punk and listen to me for a minute," Matt said. Jeff swung at him and Matt ducked just in time to avoid a right hook. Matt grabbed Jeff and shoved him to the bed, straddling Jeff's chest and pinning his arms under his knees. Jeff spit at him and Matt punched him in the face. "That's the way ya want it, huh?" Matt asked. "Fine, ya little bitch."

Matt sat back on Jeff, who was struggling to get out from under his brother. "Yeah, I been seein' someone else," Matt said, smiling at the tears that were forming in Jeff's eyes. "Why?" Jeff asked. "What did I do wrong?" Matt laughed. He reached down and stroked Jeff's cheek. "The question is, Jeffrey," Matt said as he leaned down and ran his tongue over Jeff's lips, "what have ya done right?"

Matt didn't see the anger flash in Jeff's eyes, but he felt Jeff moving under him, trying his best to shove Matt off him. "What have I done right?" Jeff asked. "I loved you. I trusted you. I gave you everything I had, Matt. What else was I s'posed to do?" Matt laughed again. "Well," he said as he sat up and looked into Jeff's eyes, "you coulda grown up a little, not been such a whiny bitch all the time." Tears were flowing from Jeff's eyes. He knew Matt could be an asshole, but Jeff never thought his brother could be so cruel.

"I'm tired of carryin' you, Jeff," Matt continued. "I been takin' care a you since we was kids, and I ain't gonna do it any more. I can't hold your hand the rest of your life." Matt climbed off the bed and stared at Jeff. It felt good to finally be able to say what had been on his mind for months now, hell, maybe even years. Jeff sat up slowly, rubbing his arms. He watched silently as Matt grabbed his bag off the floor and started throwing his things in. "You're on your own now, little brother. In everything."

Jeff tried to stop his tears, but he was in such a state of shock that he couldn't help himself. Matt turned to him, a broad smile on his face. "I am gonna do one last thing for ya before I go," he said. Jeff looked up questioningly. "Wha…what's that?" he asked, his voice ragged from crying. Matt walked toward the door, and grabbed the doorknob.

As he opened the door, he turned back toward Jeff. "I'm goin' to Smackdown," Matt said. "It's time to show the world who the better Hardy is. Time for them to see a MAN, not a little boy. You can't hold me back any more, Jeff. Good luck, little bro." Jeff collapsed in tears as Matt closed the door behind him. He didn't know what he was going to do now. He didn't know who would help him…who would love him. The only thing Jeff knew was that he would show Matt. He'd make Matt pay for hurting him, make him see that he needed Jeff, not the other way around.

Jeff glanced at the clock he had been watching so intently earlier and saw that it was 3:30. Shannon had told him to call, no matter what time it was, if he needed anything. Searching for his cell phone, Jeff thought about everything that had happened. He needed something, alright. And he had a feeling Shannon would be just the person to help him out.


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