I'm not sure how but Damien convinced the nurse to let us check Rhea out...
Gigi had to stay as she had a sore shoulder and it needed to be checked out for safety reasons. Rhea didn't even spare her a glance as we left the room.
Rhea kept close to me the entire way to Damien's car, not looking at me but she was concerned like I'd leave at any moment.
God I was scared.
Damien kept asking Rhea questions about her car and if it was still drivable, which it was just needed to be fixed up first.
Damien dropped us off at Rheas, and Rhea ushered me inside quickly. "I just need to change." Rhea said and ran up the steps, showing no sign of concussion.
I made my way onto a kitchen stool and lent my crutches on the counter, waiting for Rhea to come back down.
I started shaking, just from the uncomfortable feeling of what she was going to tell me. Waiting. Shaking.
Eventually Rhea came down the steps calmingly in a jumper and track pants. She sat on the stool beside me, grabbing my hand. "I'm sorry for leaving you like I did." She said softly, nearly breaking down. Her eyes were glassy and she hadn't even really said anything.
"I'm not angry about it, I know you were angry. It was better than lashing out at me or something." I told her, holding her hand back a little.
"Yeah." Rheas voice nearly broke. "Gigi found me and cornered me in the dressing room."
Gigi cornered Rhea? What does that even mean.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Rhea sniffled. "It goes a long way back to NXT, I have to start there." Rhea cleared her throat. "When I met Gigi, she was a close friend of mine, so what do you do with a close friend, tell them shit. I've told Damien shit he probably never wanted to hear. But I do that, when I trust someone. I trusted Gigi."
Feeling uncomfortable, I shuffle on my seat. I wait as she regains herself and keeps talking.
"I was with a guy at the time who... we did like intense sexual stuff together, you know."
I did in fact know. She'd told me in the past she had a boyfriend who she learnt a lot of this stuff from. That was the guy, then. It wasn't too far back then.
Rhea continued. "Anyway, whatever we did I told to Gigi the next day. I didn't know at the time she liked me. I didn't even know I liked girls then." Rhea coughed, trying to not break down. She could hardly look at me.
Rhea took some time to take some breaths. "Keep going." I told her, just keen to her what happened. What is still happening now.
Rhea nodded. "One night after a show, keep in mind Gigi knows about all the stuff I was into, sexually, my family had come to watch."
Oh.
"Gigi knew my family, as they'd met a few times. That night, Gigi told me she liked me." Rhea cleared her throat, uncomfortable. "I'd never brought up being into girls around her, it never even crossed my mind, so I didn't know what to say back. I got angry and upset, I thought I was losing a friend, you know." Rhea shrugged.
She continued. "After that, Gigi was so angry. She blamed me for leading her on, blamed me for god knows what. Nearly screamed to the entire backstage area and let them all know I liked to use handcuffs or something. She was just saying real embarrassing and demeaning stuff about me."
"Why?" I asked, interested.
Rhea shrugged. "I have no idea. She threatened to tell my family I was bisexual. Tell my boyfriend. Tell my family all the stuff I was into. She really got into my head, Mia." Rhea let a tear fall. "She still does."
"H-how? Is she still threatening telling your family?" I asked, holding her hand tight.
Rhea slowly nods.
"W-what?! You're Rhea bloody Ripley and she thinks she has this control over you? Baby, has it ever occurred to you she's just doing it to keep you around. She obviously hasn't stopped this creepy as fuck crush on you. She's using all of this and you to try and get you wrapped around her finger again."
Rhea nodded with her eyes closed like she knew that. Rhea couldn't stop crying now. "God it's pathetic, Mia. She's a real bitch. She's an absolute cunt of a woman. Ever since she came back, she's threatening me with shit about my family again, she's threatened me with you. Fuck, Mia, I can't risk you."
"What is she saying about me?" I asked, ready to jump from this seat and drive straight to the hospital where a certain orange haired woman is. "I can probably take her, you know."
"Not right now, baby." Rhea got out, motioning to my leg. "I agreed to this stupid tag team stuff because she threatened to harm you, if I didn't." Rhea wiped at her cheeks. "If she can threaten my family, Mia. If she has the guts to threaten me, I' wasn't going to risk her going after you."
I sat in silence a moment, trying to take in what Rhea has just told me. One part of me was so angry and upset for her, that she had to put up with that. Especially back at NXT, when she was still figuring herself out. It would have been so stressful. Another part of me is angry again, because Rhea should have told me sooner. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her, keeping my voice somewhat gentle.
Rhea smiled embarrassingly. "I don't know, it's pathetic, Mia. I was fucking embarrassed, I still am." Rhea continued crying. "Fuck, I'm so sorry. You have no idea, Mia. I'm so so sorry."
"Yeah." I pulled Rhea in for a quick hug, but she pulled me back to cry into my chest.
Gigi was a jealous, crazy and psycho bitch. I knew that. She'd taken Rhea for granted for too long. She was going to pay for it, not even Rhea could stop me.