𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 [𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙞 𝙖𝙪]

Chapter Seven

When the plane landed, Ricky waited until it was his turn to get off the flight and made his way to the baggage claim area.

He stood there waiting for his luggage to come around for what felt like forever. He eventually got it and made his way to the front of the airport, looking for his dad.

He couldn't help but think of all the negative outcomes of that the next couple minutes could bring.

What if he looks different and I can't recognize him? What if he doesn't recognize me? What if he hates me? What if-

A man waving and smiling towards his direction interrupted his thoughts. There was his dad, right in front of him, in person. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to see him in real life rather than in front of a screen, it's been...way too long.

Again, he was way too deep into his thoughts, that he didn't realize the little brunette boy holding hands with his dad. Their dad.

Ricky noticed that the little boy looked nervous, he hid behind their dad's legs as the teenager approached them.

"Ricky, long time no see, how are you?" His dad, Mike, asked him.

"I'm good, mom said this is a good opportunity, so here I am." He coldly replied.

"Right," the tall man looked behind him as he felt tugging on his pants. "Spence, come here," he picked up the little boy and introduced his two sons. "Ricky, this is Spencer, your brother."

"Hey Spencer," Ricky smiled at the little boy and got to admire his face. He only now realized how much they really did look alike when Ricky was his age.

"Spence, can you say hi?" Mike asked the toddler, who hid his face in his dad's neck to avoid looking at Ricky.

"Sorry, he's shy. Kind of like you, right?" The man laughed, to which Ricky smiled at. "Alright, let's go home, yea?" He led Ricky to his car in the parking lot and had him sit in the back next to Spencer.

The first couple minutes of the car ride felt a bit awkward. Ricky tried his best to keep his eyes out the window but he could feel the toddler staring at him from behind. Soon after, he heard quiet snores coming from the same direction so he looked back and noticed the kid fell asleep. Finally, he could relax.

He admired the city from inside the car, it looked nice at night. He saw his school that he was going to be attending soon, as well as a place that looked oddly familiar, but he just let it go.

"So, how was life in Chicago?" His dad asked, sparking up a conversation.

"Huh? Oh it was alright," he responded.

"Any girlfriends? You know you're too young for that."

"Mi-" he stopped himself before he could finish saying his dad's name, "um, yea haha, I had a girlfriend but we broke up before I came here, you know, long distance."

"Right. Well, maybe you'll meet someone here."

Ricky chuckled a bit before saying, "Not so sure about that, I'm probably going to go back to Chicago after I graduate so I don't want to waste time on that."

"You never know, you might like it here and end up staying." Silence filled the car again. "Don't worry, I'm not going to force you into staying, you're old enough to know what you want."

"Thank you," he replied, sincerely.

"Well, we're here, welcome to your new home."

Ricky looked outside his window and saw a big brown, two story house. His dad got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat, to wake Ricky's half brother up.

The curly haired boy looked over and saw his dad carry Spencer in his arms and walk towards the trunk of the car, where Ricky grabbed his suitcase. He pulled up the handle and shut the trunk door as his dad walked towards the front door of his house.

When he walked in, he was welcomed with a warm hug from a blonde woman. He was surprised, but it felt comfortable.

"Hi, you must be Ricky, I've heard so many great things about you," the woman said to him, "I'm Jenn."

At the sound of her voice, Spencer jumped down from his dad's arms and ran to hug Jenn's legs. "Mommy!" He exclaimed.

Ricky smiled at the family in front of him, they looked so happy, so complete. His smile dropped quickly when he came to the realization that he has never had a family like that.

Before he moved, his parents were always fighting, and after, his mom was rarely home, and when she was, her boyfriend, Todd, would be there too, but Ricky never liked Todd.

"Ricky, are you alright?" His dad asked.

"Hm? Oh yea-yea I'm fine," he nodded, "hi Jenn, it's nice to meet you."

After the introductions were made, Mike gave Ricky a tour of his house, which ended in Ricky's new room.

"So, this is where you'll be staying, Spencer's room is next door and our room will be the room after that." Mike explained. "And the bathroom is right across the hall."

"Got it, thanks dad." The man grew a wide smile to what his son had just said, dad, who knew such a small word could mean the world to him.

"Of course. It's late, you should get some rest."

"Okay, yea, thanks. Good night," he sat down on his bed.

"Good night Ricky."