Riptide | Rhea Ripley | Enemies to Lovers | Possessive and Spicy

62 - Australia

I woke up and Rhea was gone.

I instantly panicked not feeling her next to me anymore. My mind reeled the worst off as I got out of bed.

Checked the bathroom but she wasn't there.

My heart relaxed when I saw her drinking coffee and buried into her laptop. I made my way down the stairs and come up behind her, laying a soft hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?" I asked her.

She was booking a flight.

I rubbed her shoulder. "You're leaving today?" I asked her, sadness in my voice.

"Yeah." She said.

"Book two, baby, I'm coming." I told her. That made her spin to face me, surprise on her face.

Rhea looked sad when she said. "No, baby. You're not."

I pulled away a moment. "Rhea? I'm coming with you."

"No. You're not." She said again.

Why was she doing this?

"Why?" I asked her, putting a hand on her cool cheek. Her puffy cheek.

Rhea tilted her head a little bit. "I'm going to be away for a few weeks... You have your title match coming up, baby, you're not missing that after everything you've been through. Who knows if you'll ever get the chance again."

But... I literally didn't care about any of that. None of it mattered compared to Rhea. "Rhea... I don't care." I put my face in front of hers, smiling at her. "I'd quit my job to see you smile again."

Rhea smiled at me.

"Hey..." I said, grinning too.

"I'm smiling now." Rhea said, still smiling a little.

"Rhea, stop it." I told her. "Let me come with you."

Rheas smile stopped as she considered it. She was weighing it up. Either way, I was going to be there for her. "For the funeral but then I want you back on a plane for Smackdown Friday."

I realised that's probably the best thing. It was Tuesday, so that gave me Wednesday and Thursday with her, then come back Friday morning ready for the night.

"Alright." I agreed, kissing her softly. Rhea let me before spinning back to the computer and adding my ticket to hers.

I offered to pay for mine but Rhea shrugged it off, and sorted the tickets.

Calling Triple H was easy. He understood why I needed to go with her. He was concerned about me coming back in time Friday night, but I promised I'd be there to confront Charlotte.

I quickly packed and helped Rhea with hers as her movements were slow. The flight was in a few hours so by the time we got to the airport and sorted it all out, maybe grabbed a quick bite to eat, because I don't think Rhea has eaten at all. By the time we do that, it'll be time to go.

I drove, rubbing at Rheas knee the whole way to the airport. I promised to her that I'll pick her up when she decides to come back, and she thanked me for that.

Parking the car, we made our way inside and got our tickets. Went through security and what not, I think a few people noticed Rhea and I but they didn't come up. Probably because they saw the sadness on our faces, which was kind of them.

I convinced Rhea to eat a sandwich, and she took small bites at it, only getting halfway through before offering the rest to me.

I took it and ate the rest of it. At least she ate something.

Rhea was scrolling slowly on her phone, waiting to board when a message came through on my phone.

Damien: You guys alright?

I looked to Rhea and put a hand on her shoulder. "Rhea, Damien is worried about us. Can I-"

Rhea knew what I wanted to ask so she whispered. "Yeah, that's fine. Sorry, I hadn't even thought about them."

"They wouldn't expect you to." I told her, and replied to Damien quickly.

Mia: Rhea and I are heading to Australia, I'll be a few days but Rhea is spending a few weeks there. Her Grandpa passed.

Damien replied straight away.

Damien: Tell Rhea we all love her. Enjoy the time away

I smiled and told Rhea, she seemed to warm a little bit but then went back to scrolling boringly on her phone.

We boarded and Rhea put her headphones on, and I didn't say anything. She loved her music and she obviously needed it. The only thing that worried me was the volume it was at, it was was extremely high I didn't want her to blow her eardrums out.

The whole flight I talked to her a little bit, but she fell in and out of sleep, listening to her music. I made sure she ate as much as I could get her to and drink water.

When we eventually landed, I held Rheas hand all the way to baggage, and she was on the phone to her mom who was picking us up shortly.

Instantly, I noticed Australia was bloody hot. The people were kind and I saw how Rhea already seemed happier.