∞∞∞
∞∞∞
That day, I came to take Jennie and Riley to lunch, but as soon as the front door opened, I realized that something was wrong. Jennie was as pale as a sheet, and she had a glass of water in her hand. There was no other evidence to lead me to that conclusion, but I knew her – and that was enough.
"Are you alright?" I asked, frowning, giving her the chance to tell me about it on her own.
Jennie, on the other hand, nodded. "My head hurts, but it's nothing serious."
Skeptical, I closed the distance between us and placed the back of my hand over her forehead, checking her temperature.
Jennie closed her eyes in relief and then feeling my cold hand touching her heated skin.
"You're burning up..." I whispered my realization, dark eyes meeting brown ones.
"It must be the common cold." Jennie dismissed, swatting my hand away. "Do you think you can handle Riley on your own for tonight? I could take care of him, but he's annoyingly protective. He could make me go to the hospital with the simple promise to shut up – and that would be a drag."
I huffed a half-amused, half-astonished breath. Even after all the time that had passed since I entered their lives, the relationship between them never failed to amaze me. "That's good." I concluded.
Heaving a sigh, Jennie closed her eyes and grimaced subtly as the throbbing in her head intensified.
"Fuck." I cursed before I could stop myself. "How can I help? What do you need?"
"I need you to take Riley to your place tonight." Jennie repeated, exasperated. "Feed him, entertain him – keep his mind off me. And take care of him."
"I will but who will take care of you?" I asked.
"I will." Jennie answered, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about me, alright? I'll take a pill –"
"You already did." I interrupted pointedly, but was rudely ignored.
"– and go to sleep. I'll feel better in the morning."
I sighed, taking a moment to study her pale features. Everything in me told me not to leave, told me to stay, to take care of her, because that might as well be the reason why I was born into this world, but I knew differently. Jennie wouldn't allow me that.
"Are you sure?" I asked one last time, gazing deep into her catlike eyes.
There was no hesitation from Jennie's part as she answered. "Yes."
∞
"I heard you take good care of your NINI." I remarked, later that day, as we sat on the porch, eating milk ice-cream. We had played football beforehand, and with Riley's seemingly endless supply of energy, the little handsome boy had nearly tired me out.
Although Riley looked surprised at my question, the handsome boy answered without hesitation. "Yeah~." He said. "She takes care of me, too."
"Do you think..." I paused. For a moment, the thought of being on the verge of taking it too far occurred to me. But it was soon dismissed. "Would you like to have someone to take care of both of you?"
Riley frowned. "Someone like who?" He inquired curiously.
"Someone like me." I answered simply.
Riley seemed to contemplate the idea for a couple of seconds. "Then we'd have to take care of you, too."
I smiled at the innocence in his conclusion. "Nope~." I shook my head. "I meant... taking that responsibility off your shoulders. Taking care of you... of both of you."
"Then who takes care of you?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.
I shrugged. "Myself."
Everything about Riley changed in that moment. The naiveté he had so openly displayed earlier disappeared in an instant, making place for an amount of wisdom that very few children possessed. A painfully familiar look in his eyes as Riley watched me.
"You want my NINI back, don't you?"
I smiled sadly. Riley was perceptive – like his NINI. "Some things can't be recovered once you lose them, Riley."
The boy blinked. "Why?" Riley asked. "It's not like she's dead."
There used to be a time when life was as simple as that in our own NINI&LILI world as though it's not when reality bites, I realized, staring down at my feet as my child's words rang in my head over and over again. When did life become so overly complicated? And what if I made an effort to revert all it back to what it once was?
∞
I had finished splashing cold water on my face when I heard the door to my bedroom opening. Exiting the bathroom, I leaned against the wooden structure of the door, furrowing my brows at the sight of Lisa standing in the middle of the room, dark shaded eyes set on my figure.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice coming out softer and smaller than I had expected. I felt terrible mulmishimie~ and dizzy, and I nearly fell over when I let go of the doorframe.
Thankfully, Lisa was by my side in an instant, holding my forearms, effortlessly supporting my weight. "You're not feeling well." Lisa answered. "I'm here to take care of you."
I rolled my eyes. "I can take care of myself. Where's Riley?"
"In his room. " Lisa said.
I frowned. Usually, Riley wanted to be there with me when I was sick, pushing me and pestering me and never once leaving my side until I was better. What could have Lisa possibly said to him to make him change his mind and stay away this time?
"I told him I'd take care of you." Lisa said, as though reading my mind.
"He trusts you." I whispered my realization.
Lisa's eyes were soft when they met mine. "I guess he does." Lisa murmured, suddenly vulnerable. "Is it wrong of him?"
A wave of dizziness washed over me before I could answer, and I would have fallen over if had it not been for Lisa's hands stabilizing me yet again. I buried my face into Lisa's shirt, shaking my head languidly in a negative response.
"No." I whispered. "No, it isn't."
"Come on." Lisa coaxed, stroking my hair once before wrapping her arm around my shoulder and leading me to the bed. "Sit." Lisa commanded. "You need to drink something. I'll bring you some water, alright?"
I nodded, no longer having the strength to oppose to her decisions.
"Did you take anything?" Lisa asked.
"Aspirin." I answered.
"You'll need something stronger than that." Lisa said, more to herself than to me, before standing up and walking out of the room, only to return a mere minute later with a tall glass of water and a white pill. Handing the two items to me, she waited patiently for me to finish drinking, crouched down in front of me. "Go to sleep." Lisa coaxed as she took the half empty glass from my hands and laid it on the nightstand.
I complied, the idea of lying down sounding too appealing for me to be able to turn it down, and she pulled the covers over my small body before climbing in bed beside me.
By the time Lisa had adjusted her position so that she could watch over me, I seemed to have already fallen asleep.
∞
When I went to check on my weird enough yet always bickering but very beautiful parents later that night, I found them both on the bed, fast asleep.
My LILI was lying atop of the covers, one arm slung over my NINI's waist, hand intertwined with NINI's on top of her stomach. LILI's head was higher on the pillow than NINI's own, causing some khaki locks of silky hair to scatter on LILI's neck and shoulder. LILI's hold, though, was so protective that I found myself grinning.
My NINI on the other hand, was bundled underneath the duvet. NINI lied with her back to LILI, yet there was something about NINI's posture that screamed vulnerability. It was as though every inch of NINI's body was actually leaning into LILI, desperate for LILI's possessive embrace. NINI was safe, asleep in LILI's presence, and for once, NINI's guards were down.
It occurred to me then that my LILI was the first person around whom I had ever seen my NINI so relaxed, and at the same time, so trusting.