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"Okay, honey, I'm back," Trish called as she stepped back into her locker room. "I just had to help-" Her voice trailed off as she realized that the room was deserted.
The little blonde wandered further into the room, gazing around the area with concern. She took in the paper, pencils and crayons strewn out on the low table, and the little knapsack Mandy had brought with her. They appeared... abandoned. She frowned and turned around in a small, slow circle, wondering if perhaps the little girl was playing an impromtu game of hide and seek with her.
"Mandy? Come on, Mandy, I can't play right now. Sweetie, come out, wherever you are."
There was no answer. Only an eerie silence greeted her ears.
"Mandy?" Trish said again, a strange tightness beginning to form in her throat. This was beginning to scare her. She recalled what had happened only moments earlier - she'd heard the cry out from the hallway, ran to the doorway and turned back, telling Amanda to stay right here. Yes, she'd *told* her. That much, she definitely remembered. Then, she'd gone out in the hall, seen Stacy Keibler on the floor after the blonde had turned her ankle. She'd helped the leggy diva to the trainer's room, which wasn't far away, and then come instantly back here to her own locker room...
... Only to find Mandy gone.
The Canadian woman took a deep breath, held it for a beat, then exhaled slowly. Okay, she had to keep her wits about her. Mandy probably realized she was hungry after all and went out to catering to get something to eat. But then she told herself that couldn't be possible - after all, catering was just down the hall further down to the right. If she'd gone there, she would've seen the little girl because she'd have had to pass her and Stacy to get there.
"Okay..." Trish said aloud in a soft voice to herself. "... She has to be around somewhere." She blinked, trying to keep calm and kept her breathing even and regular. This was exactly the kind of situation that would cause her to get into a panic. Leave it to her to be responsible for watching her friends' child only to lose her while she'd been in *her* care. 'Damn it, Trish!' she mentally told herself.
Then, a thought came to her. She felt relieved for the briefest moment as she realized that Mandy might have gone back to her father's locker room. Yes, that had to be it. She was a precocious child and knew where Adam's locker room was since she'd been there earlier in the evening. Maybe she'd meandered back there. Well, there was only one way to find out.
Quickly, she turned back toward the door and stepped back out into the hall. Her steps were brisk as she made her way toward Adam's locker room.
She reached the room in no time, her nerves rattled as she raised a hand to knock. She held her breath as she heard him moving over toward the door, and then he opened it and looked out at her.
"Hi, Adam," she said, grateful that her voice wasn't coming out as a stammer. "Is Mandy here?"
"No - I thought she was with you."
Oh, God... Trish suddenly felt faint. She raised a hand to her brow and held it there for a moment. Somehow, she couldn't even speak.
"Trish?" the tall blond man asked. He peered down at her with questioning concern, his hand going gently to her arm. "What's the matter?"
The blonde bit her lip, terror sweeping through her at the mere thought of telling him what was wrong. He was going to have an absolute fit. He'd hate her - she knew it. Somehow, a voice inside her head was screaming that no, Mandy didn't just get up and walk off somewhere on her own. Something else had happened. She just *knew* it.
"Trish?" Adam repeated, his voice slightly louder this time. "Hey."
She looked up at him, barely aware of the tears that had suddenly formed in her eyes. It was only when she blinked that she realized they were there, as a single one trickled down her right cheek.
"Oh, God," she breathed. "Adam, I... I don't know how to tell you this..."
"What?" he asked. He stared at her, an unexplained feeling of horror suddenly gripping him, but he didn't know why. What he did know was that something was very, very wrong, and Trish was giving him the creeps here. "Come on, talk to me - you're starting to scare me here!"
"Mandy..." the woman spoke. Her voice broke slightly as she let out a choked sob. "... Mandy is gone!"