A/N: First, I want to thank DarkAngelElektra, Esha Napoleon, and AshlynnxHearts for reviewing the first chapter of my FIRST story. You guys are frickin' awesome! Second, I apologize for the time it took to write this chapter. I am not really good at posting chapters up quickly so please be patient with me. Third, DO NOT FRET. I repeat, DO NOT FRET. Batista will have some action in the next chapter. As always, read, review and enjoy!

Chapter 2: Mourning Drive

Regina stared into space out the window of the car, not paying any attention to the radio blaring in the background or to Nate talking on his cell phone. Leaning back against her seat, Regina closed her eyes. Her mind kept retracing back to the last words her brother uttered at the airport:

Angie's dead.

The devastating news hit Regina like a ton of bricks. She felt increasingly numb as if a strong beast power-bombed her ass to the ground. Her stomach cramped so tight with emotion that it hurt like hell. Her body immediately turned into a weeping machine.

That said, walking to the parking lot proved to be an obstinate chore for the young traveler, as she couldn't lift herself up off the bench. An airport worker was hired to carry the suitcases to the car, while Regina clung to Nate for support so that she wouldn't faint or collapse on the pavement.

Now, the mournful siblings were heading home, where Regina would face an unfortunate, emotional reunion with the rest of her family. During the ride, Nate didn't spit out any more words about Angie's death. In addition to talking on his cell, his eyes were fixated on the busy expressway.

The abrupt click of the cell snapped Regina back to reality. She opened her eyes and looked out at her view in front of the dashboard. Traffic was slowly picking up. Nate glanced briefly at her. As much as he loved his little sister, he hated the fact that he was hired by the family to be burden of bad news, but he had no choice. He reached over and gently took hold of Regina's hand, hoping to inject some ounce of strength as he was about to unleash another bombshell.

"So, the police are involved," he said. "We're cooperating with them."

Regina looked at her brother in bewilderment. "Police?" she asked. "What for?"

"They're conducting an investigation on Angie," Nate declared.

"An investigation?" Regina continued to query. Was it her or was each new information about her sister's death getting more bizarre?

"Yeah. We don't know a whole lot though," the elder sibling's voice almost cracked. He tried to maintain his focus on the road.

"Well, what do we know?" Regina was growing impatient. She knew Nate was hiding something else. He wasn't very good at keeping a steady composure under pressure, especially behind the wheel. "What happened?"

Nate quickly rubbed his forehead. Hoping to avoid any sudden collision, he flipped on the right turn signal and pulled the vehicle off to the side of the road, putting it in park. He turned off the engine and pressed the four-way flasher light button on. He slowly turned his body over toward Regina, letting out a heavy sigh. "Sis, um, Angie was killed in a car accident."

"Whhaaatt?!" Regina shrieked. Again, she was having trouble speaking. She tried moving her mouth but no clear words were coming out. "How" and "when" were the only words that she could blurt out. Regina looked away, tears were beginning to tingle her eyes again. She tried to blink them away.

"All we know is that it happened last night," Nate explained. "She was driving back home on I-95 and…" He stopped, hesitating on what he was going to say next. "And what?" Regina pressed on, wiping her tears with her fingers.

"There was a car that was going in the wrong direction and it hit Angie and another car head on," Nate said softly, practically a whisper. "Police said that she and the driver of the other car both died at the scene.

Regina slowly put her head down. My best friend is gone. This is a nightmare. A fucking nightmare, she thought.

"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way, sis," Nate said with compassion.

"What about the driver that went in the wrong direction?" Regina demanded to know, her voice began to shake.

"Apparently, he was taken to the hospital," Nate said. "We don't know the extent of his injuries."

As if the wind knocked her even farther over the edge, the details of the accident slowly began to sink in. Regina unbuckled her seat belt and buried her face in her lap, bawling uncontrollably. "NOOOOO!" Regina cried out. She also screamed Angie's name as well as the Lord's name in vain. Nate took his hand from her lap and gently placed it on her back, massaging her. "It's okay, hun, let it out. Let it all out."

Several minutes of sobbing subsided before Regina regained composure again. She picked up her purse off the ground, opened the zipper, and grabbed her bottled water. She took a long swig of the liquid before twisting the cap again and putting the bottle back in her purse. "Are you ok now?" Nate asked with concern. "Yeah, I'm fine," Regina's voice was low and deathly calm.

"Sis, I know I don't have to tell you this, but we've gotta be strong … for Mom. She's really taking it hard," Nate cautioned.

Regina nodded. Losing a sister may be hard to cope, but losing a daughter, let alone a first-born daughter, is obviously one of the most devastating moments in a mother's life. And Regina's mother is no stranger when it came to family tragedies.

"Mom's the one who got the phone call about it last night. When she called me and Matt … we couldn't understand her," her brother continued. "We thought she was having a heart attack so we rushed over … and that's how we knew about it."

As Nate turned on the ignition and, skillfully, moved the car down the busy road, he continued to explain how he called Regina's office and explained to her boss about the family emergency and to get the number at her Paris hotel.

Meanwhile, Regina wasn't paying any attention to him again. Leaned back against her seat again, she thought back to the last conversation she had with Angie. It was right before she boarded on a plane to Paris. After calling home to tell her mother that her plane was running on time, Regina called her sister's cell. Angie was on the road, making a lengthy trip back to her home in Long Island, leaving her girls, Caroline and Athena, with their grandmother for the weekend. She and Batista were planning to have a long-awaited romantic rendezvous. The enthusiasm of Angie's voice on the other end of the line was contagious. He was supposed to drive home later that night from doing a house show in western Pennsylvania. Thanks to his hectic wrestling tour schedule, their 13-year marriage was often challenged by separation. But this was his only way of supporting his young family. With Angie gone forever, this was the most agonizing separation for the up-and-coming pro wrestler, known simply to fans as "The Animal."

Without any hesitation, Regina interrupted Nate's ranting. "How's Dave doing? Does Dave know?" The elder sibling glanced briefly at her again. "I don't know. Somebody was supposed to call and tell him."

Regina stared out the window again. If Batista heard the news right about now, Lord knows what he must be going through.