Second Chances (Ricky + Nini)

chapter 1 - it's brutal out here

"I have to tell you something," Nini started, "But you have to promise not to get mad." 

Ricky nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly. 

"And I want you to know that I'm here for you, okay? Whatever you need." Nini said, taking a deep breath. "Todd called today." 

As soon as Todd's name left her lips, Ricky let go of her hands and looked away. She reached for his wrists again, but he turned his body slightly so that he wasn't facing her. 

"Ricky, your mom is sick, they said it's cancer, and she's been in the hospital all week." Nini said. She braced herself for what was to come as she carefully said her next words, " I think it'll be good for you to visit her, Ricky." 

Ricky let out a quiet chuckle. It wasn't a happy one, like when she would tell him a joke, or show him a funny video on her phone. He was being sarcastic. 

"Visit her? You want me to visit her?" Ricky said bitterly and stood up to walk away from her. "Tell me, ever since she moved to Chicago, has she visited me once?! Has she ever shown any interest in my life? Did she ever visit me when I was sick?" 

Nini flinched as he started to raise his voice. 

"Where was she at my high school graduation? Birthdays? Christmases? When I had a skateboarding accident, junior year of high school, DID SHE VISIT ME AT THE HOSPITAL?" Ricky continued.

Nini's eyes began to well up with the way he was looking at her, there was so much pain and anger in those eyes. She knew that it wasn't really directed at her, it was years of pent up frustration and hurt from the way his mom had treated him. She just wanted to hold him and tell him that everything will be okay, that they'll go through it together. In the past they would drop the subject and usually one of them would feel bad enough to apologize, and then they moved on with their lives. But this was different. Nini didn't want Ricky to regret this in the future. She knew that deep down there's a boy who still has love for his mom, it was just buried under all the pain. 

"Ricky, please.. This is different. Don't you want to reconcile with your mom at some point? Todd sounded really desperate on the phone, I think he just-" Nini surprised by her boyfriend's cold tone. 

"Get out." Ricky spat. 

"Baby, please don't be like this, I was just trying to help-"  

"I don't want to hear whatever you have to say. You're going to defend him now? After all that Todd has put me through, you're here defending him.. Next thing I know you're gonna run off to Chicago with him too.." He cut her off once more. "Everybody leaves, right? So why don't you just leave right now ?!" 

Nini looked into his eyes, and she felt her heart break when she couldn't find the man she loved. 

"Ricky, I'm not going-" She tried again. 

"I said I don't want to hear it, Nini!" Ricky covered his ears, tears threatening to fall out of his own eyes. "In fact, I don't want to see or hear from you ever again! Just leave me alone. You're not my family. I just need you to go!" 

"What?" Nini felt like she couldn't breathe, she thought he just wanted her to leave him alone so he can think, but to hear that he never wanted to see her again, and that she wasn't his family tore her apart. She was trying to comprehend what had just happened, but she was too distracted by the pain in her chest. 

"Get. Out. Of. My. House. NOW." 
_____

Nini woke up the next day in Big Red's basement, her eyes swollen and her head throbbing. She had shown up at her best friend's house, a sobbing mess, and he insisted she spend the night. It took about two hours for her to finally stop crying, and when Big Red finally asked her what happened, she just shook her head and cried again.