Fighting Spirit [a Roman Reigns story]

1 End

"I am so infinitely sorry, Rose. I wish we could do something for you," Vince said to me after I told him why I had to end my career. For two days now I had known the test results that turned my life upside down all at once.

"No, I'm sorry. I know I had no influence on this thing, but still I feel guilty about letting everyone down. I will get this over with now. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life." I got up and headed for the door when Vince followed me. He took me in his arms and said again how sorry he was. I pulled myself together as best I could so I wouldn't start crying again right away.

"May I ask you for a favor? Please don't tell the others what happened until after I left the building. I'm not strong enough to tell them myself." I asked my now former boss.

"Okay, I will. Rose, please let us know if there is anything we can do for you," Vince replied.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything you have made possible for me," I said and left the office without another word. I was so lost in thought that it took a few seconds before I realized that Roman was calling me.

"Hey Rose. What's up? Why this mysterious meeting with the Boss? Is everything okay?" he asked me.

"Oh hey Roman. Nothing special. I just had to tell Vince he's gonna have to find someone else for the next push. I have to quit working here for personal reasons," I replied in a cracked voice. Don't cry now.... Wait til you are alone, I though to myself.

"What do you mean by that? You quit? Why?" Roman asked, clearly bewildered.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have something important to do," I said, leaving him alone. I didn't want to see the look in his eyes when he found out what was wrong with me.

Roman POV

I watched Rose go towards the gorilla position and had a very bad feeling about this whole thing. I needed to know what was going on with my best friend, so I turned around and went to ask Vince what the hell was going on. After a quick knock on the door I just walked in without waiting for an answer.

"Vince, can you tell me what's going on with Rose?" I asked.

"Roman, no, I'm afraid I can't. Rose asked me to keep it to myself. At least for now. Now if you'll excuse me, the show's about to start. For your information, Rose opens the show with an announcement. Please watch it," said the Boss and left me alone.

I did what he said and stared at the monitor as Rose's music began to play. 

Rose POV

One last time. One last time I stepped in front of the live crowd and went into the ring. That was really the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. The way down to the ring seemed so much longer than it used.

"Hey guys! How you doing? Are you ready for a night you will never forget?" I said into the microphone and took a deep breath.

"Before we start, I have something I want to say. And I am so sorry if I'm ruining your evening. I am sorry to tell you that tonight will be my last night as a WWE Superstar. For personal reasons I am forced to end my wrestling career," I said and the audience was shocked. There was no sound to be heard.

"And although I am no longer able to do what I love, I would like to ask you not to be sad. Please always remember that you can do everything you want and don't let anyone tell you that this is not true. Life might be cruel sometimes and sometimes you will fail. But remember, you only have to get up once more than you fell down. Everything will be fine. I love you more than I can express. Thank you for everything that you have made possible for me. Now I hope you still have a good time. Laugh, cheer and enjoy," I said, placing the microphone on the mat and leaving the ring as quickly as I could.

Under loud "Thank you Rose" calls, I took the shortest route to the car that was waiting for me. Luckily, there was no one around except the driver of the car. Everyone was busy with the show and maybe too shocked to look for me. I was grateful for that, because I did not want to remember them with sad and shocked faces.