The Beginning of the End - Jenlisa

Chapter Nine

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Riley had just climbed onto his bed when his NINI made her appearance in his room that night.

"Ready to sleep?" Jennie inquired in a soft aegyo voice, bending down to pick up the shirt Riley had thrown carelessly on the floor.

Riley frowned. Jennie had not complained and she had not rebuffed him – but his NINI hated cleaning up after him.

"Are you mad at me?" Riley ventured, unsure.

"Nope~." Jennie answered as she draped a piece of clothing over the back of his chair; there was a frown on her face as she turned to face him. "Why would I be?"

Riley's answer was simple. "Because I met up with LILI."

"Riley~." Jennie started as she made her way towards him. "I was the one who wanted you to meet her, remember?" Sitting down beside the handsome boy, the brunette encouraged him to sleep underneath the covers, tucking him in once he complied.

"Well, yeah, but..."

"You heard us fighting." Jennie deduced. "I agree that wasn't the best start your relationship with her could have had. But it's only natural that she got mad when she found out that I kept you a secret."

Unsure of how to answer to that, Riley extended his little arms towards Jennie in a silent gesture. Jennie understood, smiling a small smile as she shifted so that her back was to the headboard, welcoming him in her arms. Immediately, Riley snuggled up beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head over her stomach.

"I still love you more." Riley murmured.

"Don't say that." Jennie chided softly, running her fingers through his hair. "She deserves to be loved just as much as I do. And once you get to know her, you'll realize that."

"You speak nicely of her." Riley remarked. "As if you knew she was a good person."

"She is a good person."

"Then why did you break up?" Riley demanded. "Why don't you get along now?"

Jennie's brows furrowed as the interrogatory continued. "We do get along." The brunette answered.

Riley rolled his eyes. "You didn't even come to talk to her, NINI."

"I talked to her yesterday, after I dropped you off at school."

"Did you?"

"Yes.~"

"But then why didn't you at least say hello today?" Riley pressed.

"Because –" Jennie paused abruptly, shaking her head. "Because maybe it's exactly because of that, that we do get along. Because we don't talk – not even greet."

Riley frowned, looking up at her NINI for the first time since they started the conversation. "How does that even work?"

"You don't have to understand this now." Jennie said. "You're too young. Maybe life will teach you this lesson, maybe it won't. But sometime in the future, you'll understand what I'm saying and why."

It didn't take Riley long to catch on, and his eyes burned with stubbornness and determination as they pierced right through her. "It's because you fight, isn't it? Because every time you talk, you end up fighting."

Jennie swallowed. "Yes." Her answer was a whisper.

"Why?" Riley demanded, sitting up. "Why can't you just say nice things to one another?"

"Because sometimes even nice things hurt." Jennie snapped.

Riley reeled back with force of her words, and Jennie sighed, taking a deep breath in order to calm down.

"Look, Riley... Please don't do this to me." Jennie begged. "Don't start asking why. Don't start wishing that your LILI and NINI will got back together. I know it's hard for you to understand. I know you want what every child has – a family. But you'll have to learn to conform to the fact that you have me, and you have your LILI, and we're two different persons that have nothing to do with one another. Be grateful that you have us."

Riley's entire resolve melted at the sight of the tears that shone brightly on her NINI's eyes. "I am." Riley promised, his little arms coming to wrap tightly against her waist as he buried his face into her stomach. "I'm not trying to make you go back to her. I just wanted to know why... I don't understand what's going on."

"Stop thinking about what's going on and start enjoying your LILI's presence in your life." Jennie advised. "Alright?"

Riley nodded.

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now go to sleep." Jennie whispered as she slipped out of Riley's embrace, bending down to kiss his forehead after he accommodated himself on the pillow. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Jennie managed to keep herself together until she exited Riley's darkened room. The moment the door closed behind her, however, Jennie could no longer avoid reality crushing her. The brunette leaned back against the wooden surface, with a shuddering breath leaving her lips as she forced her body to relax.

How was Jennie supposed to do this? How had she assumed that she would?