I was never ready for you to leave again.

Raw was expected to be great as the roster found themselves in Miami just before they were to leave for their European tour. As Lucy waited alongside Mercedes for their match against the Ashley's, she was surprised to get a phone call. Reading the contact name, she grew worried. Sliding the icon to answer it, she raised the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Lucille..." Olivia's distressed voice filled her head, causing her heart to race. Her sniffles made it sound as if she had been crying long before she called. It all worried the woman.

"Olivia? What's wrong?" Lucy's voice sounded with concern. It caught the attention of her nearby teammate, who stood by cautiously. Lucy's heart was practically beating out of her chest, wanting her adoptive mother to be okay.

"She's dead." She managed, a small sniffle causing her words to become choppy.

"W-who?" She questioned, unsure by what she meant.

"Addison."

Everything stopped.

Lucy couldn't believe the words coming from the cell phone. Her head seemed to shake slightly as the words sunk in. Her mother couldn't be dead, she couldn't. She had talked to her the night before about the excitement for the upcoming taping. She had just rekindled the relationship with the woman a month prior. She couldn't be gone now, there was so much they still had to do.

"You're lying." Lucy's voice raised an octave as the emotions started to take control of her body.

Olivia's sniffling halted momentarily as if dumbfounded about the words the young woman spoke.

"You honestly think I'd lie about something like this? I know you don't want to hear it, none of us do. But she's dead, Lucille. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Stop fucking lying! She's not dead! She's fine! She's back home in Picton, getting ready to watch my match." Her emotions were starting to get the better of her, causing her voice to raise to a shout and tears to fall from the corners of her eyes. Her teeth gritted together tightly as she forcefully wiped away the evidence with the back of her hand.

"Lucy...please..." Olivia's voice became distant in the receiver as she slowly gave up on trying to reach her.

In her fit of emotion, she didn't noticed Mercedes flee the scene for help. She came to her senses though when Mick approached her, a concerned look on his face. She wasn't entirely close to the man like she was with Shane, but she appreciated having him on her side through situations like this.

"What's wrong?"

It was then that the emotions caught up to her, that the tears flooded her cheeks, that the sobbing rocked her chest, and that her body collapsed to the floor. She had just started to feel that she had gotten her life back, that she was about to have a normal life. And now, it was gone, all gone.

Her mother was dead.

Mick comforted the young woman as others started to swarm around, wondering what was going on. He did his best to ward them off, to try to give her some space, all while trying to figure out what to do about the night before them. He knew she was in no shape to compete. Quickly, he called upon Ashley to make the match a singles bout, putting the other Ashley at ringside. The women nodded and wished Lucy the best before heading towards Guerilla.

Rubbing small circles on her back, Mick helped Lucy to her feet and started to lead her towards his office, away from the chaos of the backstage life. Sobs caused her to slow down slightly and lose her balance. Mick supported her and spoke comforting words as he helped her out of harms way.

Why?

Why?

Why?

The sleepless nights became constant after learning the news of her mother. It took a moment for the whole story to be released, but when it did, it hurt just as worse.

Apparently, Lucy's birth father found out about Addison's relationship to the woman. Thinking she was long dead, he was furious. He confronted her to try to get as much information out of her as he could about his daughter. And although this would've seen normal for any father who had no idea about their own child, Addison knew that he wasn't like everyone else.

If he found Lucy, she would die.

Trying to protect the one thing that kept her happy in life, Addison feigned ignorance about even having a daughter. But her father wouldn't stand for it. He decided that if he wanted to get the answers he longed for out of her, he would have to take things up a notch, resorting to violence.

Beating after beating, she refused to speak, fueling his rage. Something went wrong, though, as a loud snap filled his ears and he watched as her body went limp. A cold shock came over him, causing his breathing to increase and his body to back away slowly. The sight of blood pooling towards his feet caused him to move quicker.

He never meant to kill her.

Lucy didn't know what happened to him after that; no one knew what happened to him after that. Many speculated he ran away, fearing confrontation from the police as he already had a record going for him. Some thought he was after Lucy, but it was unlikely. There was one thing she knew for sure.

Her mother was dead, and it was all his fault.

She took the incident really hard, harder than most people thought. Already an emotional person, Lucy felt as if everything was falling apart. Her work became meaningless from the constant attacks from the higher ups. Her friends became distant unsure how to tackle the situation she found herself in. Her family tried their best to pick up the pieces of her heart, but she couldn't get past the fact that they weren't family; they were just people who took her in and gave her a bed to sleep in and food to eat. She had a family, a real family, for what seemed like a second. Her and her mother still had their whole lives to get to know each other better, to mend the relationship to tattered between them.

But now, she couldn't. Her mother was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Co-workers tried to help her get back to her feet, but she felt like she couldn't feel her body anymore. Pamela tried to get her to eat whatever room service she could get her hands on, but Lucy wouldn't take as much as a nibble. Rami tried to give a little of his sunshine to help her through the darkness, but she was too far down the hole to even see the light. Restless nights followed her like a shadow, and any time she thought she could catch as much as an hour of rest, she was startled awake by nightmare. Show after show passed her by as she was considered unable by the company to compete at optimum capacity.

Because grief is forever. It doesn't go away, it becomes a part of you, step by step, breath by breath.

And for her to grieve properly, they decided to send her home.

Seeing Lucille's life seemingly unravel before his eyes made Rami's heart ache. How badly he wanted to help her out, but there was nothing that he could do to mend her broken heart. She needed time. He decided the least he could do was send her off with any sort of positivity he could give her.

Lucy was thankful that Shane gave Allen a bit of time off to send her off. It had been a couple months since she had last seen him, and it seemed like he always knew just what to do even in the toughest of situations.

She was mostly quiet in the backseat as Allen drove to the nearby airport. Rami occasionally looked back at her, reassuring himself that she was okay. Some moments she tried to doze of to sleep, but it ultimately failed; she stared out the window instead.

Reaching the airport, the duo followed the small woman as she checked in her baggage and was directed to security. Before she headed up the escalator, she turned back towards the two men. 

The big brown eyes that Rami fell in love with from the first moment he saw her seemed darker, sadder. Maybe it was because of the bags under them from sleepless nights. Maybe it was because of the overall paler complexion that consumed her. Maybe it was because her light seemed to disappear. Whatever it was, it caused the Canadian's heart to sink.

Allen shared some word of encouragement with his best friend before pulling her into a much needed hug. He seemed to whisper something in her ear, but Rami couldn't pick it up. Lucy nodded into his shoulder, letting out a batted breath.

When she approached Rami, he was surprised that she was the first to make a move. Finding refuge in his chest, she wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight hug. He returned it instantly  just as tight. Neither of them said anything at first, letting the sounds of the bustling airport fill the air. Rami shut his eyes tight for a moment, afraid to let her go in the state she was in.

"Please... be strong. Things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can't rain forever." His voice was soft into her hair covered ear. He hoped that if anything reached her, it would be that.

The small hairs of his beard tickled her cheek as she nodded slowly. A sudden wetness in the crook of his neck was the first signs of her crying. She held on tighter. What they could not see, though, was how their hearts were reacting to this.

His heart was full of love for the woman, wanting the very best for her.

Her heart was in many pieces, in need of affection to help put it back together.

When her heart couldn't take it anymore, she pulled away, letting Rami's arms fall sadly to his sides. Her eyes found his once more before gripping the strings of her back pack and heading towards security. Turning back towards the men, she gave a weak wave, to which they waved back. Then she was gone.

I hope you enjoyed. Sorry for the shorter chapter. I've been busy the past week and wanted to get a chapter out to you guys. This one was filled with emotion, so I hope that makes up for it. Anyways, how did I do? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading. And until next time, heart you. <3