Lost But Never Forgotten

1

"Bring home a pretty belt, Mama." Rosalynn was 6. Rosalynn had Rhea's blond hair and blue eyes. She was identical to her mother in every way. They shared a passion for sports. Rhea Ripley was a wrestler. And Rosalynn spent her Monday nights watching her mama in the ring. Her babysitter sat on the couch, already on her phone.

"I'm working on it, princess. I can feel it. It'll happen soon." Rosalynn giggled and threw her small arms around Rhea, squeezing her thighs as tight as she could. Rhea carefully squated down, pressing a kiss to the toddlers head. "Behave tonight, baby. I'll be home when you wake up in the morning." She smiled again before tottering her way to her toy bin in the corner. "Emma, make sure the door is locked before she goes to bed. And please, make sure she's in bed by 9 at the latest." Emma threw her hand up, showing she heard. Rhea sighed as she made her way out the front door. Time to go kick ass.

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Rhea got out of the ring, angry. She'd lost yet another fight. She was too tense, too preoccupied. She had too much on her mind. Did Emma lock the door? Was Rose watching her? She made her way backstage, ignoring medics as she made her way to the locker room. She picked up her phone, clicking on Emma's contact. It rang once, twice, 3 times, before she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Emma. I'm just calling to check in. How's the night so far?" Her voice was calm, just needing to check on her baby girl.

"It's going great. Rose is a little disappointed you lost, but she's ok overall. Are you going to be in the ring again tonight?" Emma's voice was higher than her own, despite the age difference between them. Emma was almost 40. She lived down the street from the small family.

"Not tonight, but they want me to stay to watch the rest of the fights." Emma listened in carefully.

"That's alright. Rose seems pretty tired, so I think I'll put her to bed early."

"That's alright. Let her get her sleep." Rhea chuckled. Rose was always a pain when tired.  "Let me talk to her really fast, actually." There was shuffling, then Rosalynn's sweet voice came through.

"Hi mama".  her words were slow, each coming a few moments after the other as if she were too tired to speak right.

"Hi baby girl. I heard you're tired already." She heard the small hum of agreement through the phone. "Go ahead and head to bed. I'll be home after the show, I promise."

"Mkay." The answer was shirt but took its time forming. "Love you, Mama." She smiled.

"I love you too, baby girl. Sleep well." Rhea hung up, knowing Emma had everything under control.

She changed into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie before slipping on a pair of sneakers. She threw her phone in her pocket as she made her way back out to the gorilla, watching on the screen there as another fight took place. It was going to be a long night.

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Driving down the road, Rhea's phone rang. She carefully swipped the answer button, throwing the phone on speaker before dropping it back into her lap.

"What's up, Emma?" Her voice was loud, trying to be heard over the engine of her truck.

"I can't find her." The words were fast, panicked. Rhea slammed on her breaks, the wheels screeching in protest. A horn blared behind her. Sje carefully maneuvered to the shoulder of the road, throwing on her hazards.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Rheas voice filled with concern.

"I always check on her once she's in bed, and I went to, and she's not in her room. I looked in your room, the bathrooms, the guest room, the kitchen, the living room. She's nowhere, Rhea." Her voice was growing more panicked by the second. Rhea looked around her surroundings, figuring out where she was. A car drove past, but that was it besides houses.

"I'll be home in a few minutes. Call the cops." Rhea hung up, threw the truck into gear, and hit the gas, her tires spinning as they searched for traction. She shot off as they found it, her tires squealing in protest.