Chapter 16 – An Act Of Pure Desperation
Lita simply sat in silence as she watched the black T-shirt clad sound guy fit Randy Orton with a small shirt mic. Her husband was sitting there patiently and quietly also. He was wearing that black dress shirt she'd gotten him for Christmas last year and she hadn't even noticed. He was wearing it with a simple pair of jeans and he looked even more gorgeous than she remembered, and yet it didn't even bring a smile to her face. She was sitting here on the 3-seater deep brown couch in the centre of their living room and the room was full of people and she didn't even care. She didn't care that they were walking all over her clean, fresh beige carpet with their shoes on. She didn't care that they were moving her furniture to make way for their cameras, their lights and their sound equipment. She didn't even care that she was being so completely rude by not acknowledging a single one. Not with a smile or a nod or even so much as offering them a refreshment. She didn't care that right now. As a matter of fact she didn't care about anything right now. She hadn't cared about a single thing now for 8 days.
It had been 8 days since Wrestlemania 38 and Heidi Maree Orton was still missing. Her 18th birthday had come and gone. The day, the night, the surprise party that her parents had planned, everything. Her 18th milestone had been anything but celebration. Day after day had passed since then. 8 days and almost 8 nights. Lita didn't want to admit it but she knew that as soon as another day passed, the hope of finding Heidi safe and sound was getting smaller. The risk of something terrible happening to her daughter was getting greater. The chance that she would ever get to see her daughter's beautiful face again were getting slimmer. Day by day, things were slowly getting worse.
Lita watched as her husband nodded a thank you to the sound guy as he finished off his task and moved back into the huddle of men around a large piece of sound equipment set up not too far from their left. Randy's eyes were so blank as they stared ahead. Not at anything in particular. They were just staring. The circles around them were so pronounced. She knew he'd hardly slept these last 8 days and she had barely slept either. They'd barely spoken to eachother for 8 days as they walked around their house in silence. It was just the two of them and it hadn't ever been like this before. Lita had moved into Randy's home after giving birth to Heidi 18 years ago. They were still here in this house 18 years later but their daughter was not. The house was the same as it always was but it felt so empty. Even a new addition to the household in the form of a Chihuahua puppy called 'Honey' didn't balance it all out in the slightest. The red head knew the house wasn't the same without Heidi and she knew it wouldn't be until Heidi returned, and that was why she didn't want to be here any longer.
Once this was all over tonight, she and Randy had flights booked to Atlanta, Georgia, where they would be staying until further notice. Jeff and Dawn Hardy had insisted that the Ortons be their houseguests and Lita hadn't argued when Dawn had suggested the matter. She couldn't be in this house anymore if she wanted to function. Everything in here reminded her of Heidi and it didn't help that she and Randy were 'photo people' who decorated their entire house with photo frames and photos of their friends and their family. There were pictures of their family everywhere. There were pictures of Heidi everywhere. Lita couldn't bear to even see her daughter's face right now. It made her want to curl up in a ball on the floor and just cry and cry until it was all over. It made her want to smash every photo frame and get rid of every photo in sight, but then there was that part of her. The rational part of her brain that wanted everything in the house to remain exactly the way it was. Exactly the way it was the last time Heidi Orton was here. If it was the last time Heidi would ever be in this house, Lita wanted every memory, every scent, every fingerprint to remain here. Completely untouched. The red head sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. She didn't want to think about the possibility that she might never see her daughter again, but day after day she knew that she might have to slowly realize it and learn to accept it.
"Are you OK, Li?" Randy Orton suddenly whispered in her ear, drawing her out of her thoughts and back into the living room "You look like you're off somewhere else?"
"I was," Lita simply replied, nodding as she locked eyes with her husband.
Blue eyes mixing with hazel.
"Thinking?" Randy plainly offered.
Lita simply nodded in reply. Randy sighed as he reached out his hand and took his wife's in his.
"I'm sorry that I need you here for this right now," Randy said quietly as his eyes fell to his lap.
Lita squeezed his hand and his eyes once again met hers. She forced a small smile at him. He was the most selfless person she had ever met. He was always thinking about her before himself. It had always been like that and it was like that now even though she knew he was hurting just as much as she was.
"I want to be here with you," Lita replied "I know you need me right now and I need you too."
Randy nodded, forcing a smile at her in appreciation before leaning forwards and planting a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.
"Thank you," Randy whispered again, his voice shaky.
Lita looked him in the eyes and couldn't help her hand from coming to rest on the side of his face as she noticed the tears in his eyes. His eyes fluttered shut at the feeling of her hand against his skin and Lita used her thumb to brush aside the stray tear that fell from his eye.
"I love you Randy," Lita spoke softly as she took a deep breath in.
Randy opened his eyes and she wanted so badly to sit there and cry with him right now, but now wasn't the time. There were people here, and just like the 8 nights that had passed, they had the rest of tonight to cry in eachother's arms until they fell asleep.
"I love you too Bella," Randy replied, sniffling deeply as he tried to pull himself together.
"Mr Orton we're ready for you," a tall man suddenly interrupted, drawing both Randy and Lita's eyes.
"Thank you," Randy quickly replied, nodding his head as he took another deep breath.
He quickly brought his hands to his eyes and rubbed furiously at the tears welling. Lita reached out to adjust his collar at the back before her hands came around to his front to take a final look over his shirt. Her hands running down the front of him to smooth out the fabric.
"Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are going to give you an introduction which you'll be able to hear through these monitors here Mr and Mrs Orton," another man spoke as he addressed Lita and Randy from behind the large camera infront of them, Lita assumed that he was directing this entire thing.
His hands were currently pointed at the two large speakers either side of the camera. They were the monitors he was referring to.
The red head smoothed down her hair at the back with her hands before they worked their way to front of her head as the director continued to speak to them. She knew the white singlet and the jeans she was currently sporting were a little plain and weren't really stylish enough for live TV so she at least wanted her hair to look a little more presentable than usual. RAW had been on air for half an hour already, suggested by the large grandfather clock on the otherside of the Orton living room, and it was almost time for her and Randy to go live to the thousands in the arena in Louisville, Kentucky and the millions of people watching RAW from their homes. They were about to make the most important appearance on RAW of both their respective WWE careers. The most importance appearance on RAW ever. This was the most important appearance of their lives.
"There is about 5 minutes left of this last tag team match and then it's time," the director yelled to every person in the room.
Lita watched as sound guys, music guys, camera guys and everyone else in the room scurried into position for the moment they'd all been here waiting and preparing for. Lita took one last look at Randy as she reached over and took his hand in hers again. He glanced over at her for a moment before returning his gaze to the camera infront of him that he was going to speak into in a matter of moments. He looked so nervous. The entire thing had been his idea though, and Vince McMahon hadn't needed any convincing at all when Randy had suggested the idea. He knew that this was the right thing to do. He knew that there was no way he was going to deny anything to Randy and Lita that could possibly fix this situation. Vince had children. He even had grandchildren. He didn't understand what they were going through because it had never happened that one of those children or grandchildren had gone missing, but he could imagine and so he could, if only slightly, relate to the magnitude of it all. Maybe this wasn't the best thing to do right now, only 8 days removed from Wrestlemania 38 and that night, but Lita and Randy had no other option right now. They had nothing else to go on. No leads. No suspicions. No nothing. They couldn't simply sit and do nothing so what else were they supposed to do?
"And we're live in 10 seconds people," the camera man yelled again, almost standing up in his chair as he started looking around the room to double check that everyone was in position.
"Ready?" Lita whispered as she glanced over in Randy's direction once more.
Randy simply nodded, not taking his eyes off the camera infront of him.
"As I'll ever be to do this," Randy simply replied.
"5 seconds," the camera man yelled once more "5, 4, 3, and we're live!"
"But first WWE Universe, we have a matter that involves the WWE Champion in relation to two Sunday's ago Wrestlemania 38 as well as his absence last week on RAW and his absence tonight as well. Ladies and gentlemen we are joined by Randy Orton in his home in Louisville Kentucky at this time," Michael Cole's voice could be heard loud and clearly through the monitors infront of them "Randy has requested this time to make a very personal announcement to the entire WWE and the WWE Universe. Randy, the stage is yours."
"Thank you Michael," Randy replied as he nodded in the camera, as though he could see Michael Cole at his announcer's desk through the camera lens.
Lita squeezed her husband's hand as he took a deep breath. He looked dead into the camera lens and spoke to the WWE Universe.
"Good evening everyone," Randy hesitantly began, not really knowing where to start "To everyone in the stands tonight, the people watching at home and the members of the WWE in the backstage area tonight."
Randy took a deep breath as he paused a minute to collect his thoughts. So many things were running through his mind and right now none of it made any kind of sense. It was all jumbled up. All a massive blur. He knew exactly what he wanted to say but he wasn't sure if he could say anything. He wasn't sure if he could say exactly what he wanted.
"Wrestlemania 38 was the night I was supposed to compete in a mainevent match to defend my WWE Championship," Randy continued "I was supposed to go out there last week and make it a Wrestlemania match to remember. For not only everyone who was watching but for myself and my career as well."
Lita found herself staring at the camera infront of her as Randy continued with what he had to say. She wasn't even sure that the camera was zoomed out enough that she was even in the picture but she looked ahead anyway.
"Unfortunately I never made it to the ring that night to compete and I firstly want to apologize to every member of the WWE Universe, whether you were in attendance or simply watching at home," Randy continued "I want to apologise for letting you all down and for disappointing you all. Wrestlemania is a big deal. It's the biggest deal for the whole year for us WWE superstars and I know it means just as much to everyone in the WWE Universe as well, so I'm very sorry for having to miss Wrestlemania 38 at the last minute."
Randy took another deep breath as his eyes glanced down into his lap and he squeezed Lita's hand in his. She turned to look at him and realized that he needed a moment. The tears were started to form in his eyes again and he wasn't even close to halfway through what he wanted to get out. What he wanted to say. Lita turned back to stare into the camera.
"Hi everyone," Lita spoke, clearing her throat briefly before continuing "My name is Amy Orton. Many of you may remember me by my stage name, Lita, back during my days with the WWE. It's been almost 13 years since I retired from professional wrestling and my career with the WWE. Randy and I married 18 years ago and 18 years old we had our first child. A daughter, we named Heidi Maree Orton. Last Sunday, everyone who was watching witnessed our now 18 year old daughter Heidi open Wrestlemania 38 by singing the national anthem of the United States Of America. It was her Wrestlemania debut and the start of her WWE career as RAW's newest ring announcer."
"I never made it out to my match at Wrestlemania 38 because I left the arena 1 hour after Wrestlemania had begun," Randy took over from his wife as he squeezed her hand to thank her for giving him the moment he needed "Sometime between the start of Wrestlemania 38 and 1 hour into the live event, Heidi was taken from us. Our daughter was kidnapped from the secure backstage area of Wrestlemania 38 and we have not heard from her since. We have not heard from her or seen her since that night."
Randy cleared his throat and closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. He was going to soldier through his emotions because there was so much he needed to say. He desperately needed to finish.
"It has been 8 days since Wrestlemania 38 and me and my wife have no idea where our daughter is," Randy continued, the tears welling in his eyes as he spoke "All we know is that she was taken against her will by more than one person and the only information we have is a text message on our daughter's phone telling us that these people have her and that she isn't safe."
"Heidi Maree Orton is 18 years old and was born on April 11th 2005," Lita continued, the tears welling in her eyes as well as she took over from her husband, knowing this was the part of the segment where they were going to display a photo of Heidi on the titantron for the WWE universe to see.
Vince had shown them the photo personally and it had been of Heidi on stage at Wrestlemania 38 after just having finished the national anthem. She was smiling. She looked happier than ever as she was clearly soaking in the atmosphere. The applauding crowd, the standing ovation, the cheers, everything.
"She is 5'8", 110 pounds," Lita continued "She has waist length long, brown hair, bright blue eyes and tan skin. The last time she was seen she was wearing the outfit that she wore on stage at Wrestlemania 38. A short, one shouldered red cocktail dress, black strappy heels and a silver ring around her ring finger on her right hand with the inscription 'Bambi' on the inside. She doesn't have any tattoos and the only piercings she has are in her ears."
"If you any information regarding the whereabouts of our daughter please contact your local sheriff's department as soon as possible," Randy started again, the tears in his eyes freely falling down his face and it didn't even look like he cared.
Lita glanced in the husband's direction and she could hear the desperation in his voice. Like he was begging. Begging for anyone to tell him anything, to give him any information at all about where Heidi could be. Lita felt her own tears falling down her face. She'd never heard Randy speak like that before. She'd never heard him sound so desperate and so sad. It broke her heart to see her husband like that.
"Any information at all," Randy continued speaking "Please, please contact your local sheriff's department or any branch of World Wrestling Entertainment."
One of Randy's hands came up to his face as he wiped at his tears, as though he had only just realized they were there.
"She is all we have," Randy softly spoke as he wiped at his tears "She is our only daughter. Our only child and she means the world to us. Whether or not you have children of your own, you realize the special precious gift that a child is to their parents. Heidi is everything to us and we are nothing without her. So please, if you can help us please do. If it's rewards you want in exchange for information or if that's the incentive you need to come forward then I can offer it. I would give everything, money, cash, everything I own to find my daughter. Everything."
Randy sucked in a sharp deep breath. He wanted to continue but he needed to calm himself down a little before doing so because he realized that the more the tears fell and the most worked up he got about this whole thing, the less the WWE could actually understand the words that were coming out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted was for people right now to not be able to understand him because he was mumbling and blubbering. He wanted to make this announcement loud and clear so there was no misunderstanding his words.
"I know that my fans and the other members of the WWE Universe will understand my need to be with my family right now," Randy continued as he stared into the camera "However, I do realize that being the WWE Champion means that I have a duty to the fans and the WWE."
Lita turned to face her husband in shock. She hoped that he didn't mean what she thought he meant. They hadn't talked about it but she hoped that he wasn't going to make that decision right now.
"I have worked my entire life to make it to the top and become the WWE Champion," Randy continued, his words slow and precise "And as much as I want to throw it all away right now because of this tragedy I know that I will never be able to forgive myself if I do. My family would never want me to give up the WWE Championship."
Randy turned to face Lita and he forced a smile in her direction. She found herself smiling at him back and she nodded her head. He was right, she didn't want him to drop everything despite the tragedy that had stuck their family. She didn't want him to renounce his championship because she knew he had worked so much to achieve it. She didn't want him to give up his career. She didn't want him to give up his dream. She was happy that he knew that and it made her genuinely smile for the first time in 8 days.
"I hope you will all understand my need to be with my family and close friends for another 2 weeks," Randy spoke as he turned his attention back to the camera and the WWE Universe he was speaking to live at this moment "Then I will return to the WWE and continue to fulfill my role as the WWE Champion. Thank you all for understanding and thank you for listening to us tonight. It hasn't been easy to do this but we weren't sure what else to do and we weren't sure where else to go. So thank you everyone for your time."
"And Heidi," Lita suddenly spoke, almost interrupting Randy's last statement "Heidi Maree. If you're out there sweetheart and you can hear us. If you're listening, we hope you're safe and we hope you still believe that we are coming to find you. We will do whatever it takes to bring you home and we will do everything to make sure the day that you come home is soon. We love you baby and we will not rest, we will not rest until you're home safely with us."
"We love you Bambi," Randy added as he squeezed Lita's hand in his "We'll do whatever it takes. I promise."
Randy and Lita then both went silent as they stared into the camera ahead of them. The camera man watched them intently for a couple of moments before speaking once more.
"And we're out," he finally said, not as loud as he had before but loud enough for most people around him to hear.
That was the cue for them to go off the air. A moment of more than the usual silence. That was it. They were done for the night and they all knew it now. The sound guys, the camera guys and every other technical person in the room immediately started packing up their things. They were now done here and they could go home.
Lita exhaled a deep breath as she let herself fall against her husband's shoulder. Randy turned to face her and enveloped her in his arms as his lips pressed softly against her bare forehead. She let her arms wrap around his body as she felt one of his tears fall onto her bare shoulder. She was sure that now she was pressed against his chest that soon he would be able to feel her tears through his shirt. She felt one of his hands reach up behind her to stroke the back of her head and her hair. She closed her eyes as she let her tears fall, not caring how many people were left in the room. Right now she just wanted to let it all go.
"That was harder than I thought it was going to be," Randy whispered in her ear as he continued to stroke the back of her head, his other hand resting on the small of her back as he held her close.
"It was," Lita agreed, her eyes remaining closed as she breathed in his scent "We made it through though. We did it."
Randy simply nodded in reply. His lips this time pressing a soft kiss on the side of her head followed by one on her cheek.
"I will do whatever it takes to bring Heidi home," Randy whispered, his voice even softer than before.
The words he spoke belonged to just them two.
"I will do absolutely whatever it takes," Randy continued "I promise you Li. Whatever it takes. We're going to bring her home. I promise."
"I know you will," Lita replied as she felt the tears spill furiously from her eyes despite them being closed "Both of us."
The people in the room emptied slowly, one by one. Not a single one dare ruin the moment a man and his wife were currently having in the centre of their living room. The world now knew about their tragedy and those that weren't tuned in to RAW tonight would no doubt read about the story in the papers and in the magazines that would surely cover it. It was an act of pure desperation from two loving parents who were desperately searching for their missing daughter. All they had now was to wait. For news, for information, for anything. Until then, they had eachother. They had a love that was strong enough to overcome all obstacles. A love that had overcome adversity and hardship before. A love for eachother that defied all the odds and that grew strong with each passing day, but most importantly of all, there was a love that existed for their only child. A love that would sacrifice itself for the one person that they loved even more than they loved eachother. All they could do now was believe that that love was strong enough to bring their daughter home.
A/N: HEY EVERYONE! Quick Author's Note – hope you liked the chapter – read and review and let me know please! Not sure what the next chapter will be about or what it will be called – guess you'll have to tune in to find out! Thanks for much for reading, god bless, Mrs Bridget Orton xoxox