Lass Ride: Crossroads

Chapter 8

It started like any other day. That's what people always said when they were asked about what happened before their child went missing or their friend had a sudden heart attack. There was nothing out of the ordinary. For wrestlers on the road, there wasn't much that could be categorized as ordinary, but as far as life had been going for The Shield, The Four Horsewomen, and Seth Rollins, that day had started like the so-called ordinary day of clichés and true crime documentaries.

They straggled downstairs to the kitchen in ones or twos, most heading directly for the kitchen, the coffeemaker in particular. It wasn't until the coffeepot was almost empty that they started to notice. "Should I save this for Becky," Seth asked, sloshing the last of the coffee around the pot, "or just finish it and put on a fresh pot?"

They all started looking around at each other, waiting for Becky to pipe up; even if she was dead tired, silence wasn't her natural state. "What the fuck? You mean I got my ass down here before Becky did?" Sasha was still rubbing at her eyes, but she had managed to finish two pancakes and a cup of coffee.

"That never happens," Bayley frowned. "Is she sick or something? She looked okay yesterday."

"She seemed fine the last time I talked to her," Dean offered, leaning against the counter as he waited for his toast to pop.

"Same." Roman stood up and stretched. He started to say something more, but then he took the coffeepot from Seth instead. "I'll make the coffee. Go knock on her door and tell her she's going to be out of luck for breakfast if she doesn't get down here soon."

Everyone fell silent for a minute. Roman had been trying to be more accepting of Seth and of Becky's turbulent feelings for him, but he still normally tried to enforce a certain amount of distance between the two. "Uh, sure." Seth downed the rest of his coffee and headed for the staircase. "Be right back."

Seth wasn't sure what had changed for Roman overnight, but he'd take any progress he could get. He and Becky were talking regularly now—and kissing almost as often—and he hoped that she would be able to forgive him eventually. She would likely never forget his initial deception, but that was his problem, not hers. Knocking on her door, he called out, "Hey, Becks? We're running out of coffee. If you want some, you should get downstairs soon."

He waited one heartbeat, two, three, before knocking again. After a minute or so had passed, Charlotte appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "She's not answering? Let me at her."

As Charlotte headed up the stairs, Sasha yelled, "Don't bother! I'm calling her. She has the most annoying ringtone for me, so it'll wake her up for sure."

"Too late. Out of the way, Rollins." Charlotte gently but firmly pushed Seth to the side before knocking twice on Becky's door and then opening it. "Bec—" She stepped inside and did a quick circuit of the room. "She's . . . not here?"

"What the fuck? Get back here, you two!" Sasha bellowed. After sharing a confused look, Seth and Charlotte went back downstairs to the kitchen, where everyone was clustered around Sasha's phone on the table. The screen showed the profile for Becky, listed as Bae. "That's her number, right? We all agree?" Sasha's voice was taut with impatience and a tinge of panic, so everyone nodded or murmured their agreement. "Okay. Now listen." She jacked the volume up, hit the call button, and sat back.

Silence, then three beeps and We're sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again. Sasha tried twice more and then demanded that other people get their phones and try, but they all got the same automated message. "Does anyone have her mom's number?" Charlotte asked. "Or her brother's?"