My One & Only

Ch 30: Tension

"Ricky."

Ricky wakes up and rubs his eyes before opening them. He's taken aback when he sees he's stranded in an all-black room that looks like space without stars. He looks around for whoever just called him. Ricky hops out of his bed and begins walking around aimlessly.

"Hello?"

"Ricky, come here."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"You're getting closer."

"Which way do I go?"

"I'm closer than you think."

He was not eased by the voice's words. He kept spinning around but still found no one.

"Show yourself!"

He suddenly feels a presence next to him and slowly turns to his right to see a middle aged woman with a black hood over her face, only exposing her nose to her chin.

The woman smirks. "Boo."

The woman grabs his arm, and he screams.

Ricky sits up from his bed, panting heavily. He glanced around his room and saw he was back in his bedroom. He punched himself a few times to ensure he was real and was relieved when he felt pain on his arm.

He sighs and roams through his curls. "That was one hell of a dream."

Recently, he's been having a recurring nightmare about the same hooded woman coming for him. He wondered if it was some weird sign he wasn't getting, but it didn't seem serious enough to call someone for it. Maybe he'll do something if it keeps going for another month.

He jumps when his phone rings but swiftly calms down when he sees it was just his dad calling. His hand shook when he answered the phone.

"Hey dad."

"Hey kiddo. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, not at all. What's up? You usually don't call this early unless it's urgent."

"You'd be correct."

His heart began beating irregularly. "Is it good or bad news?"

"Good news."

Ricky simmers down. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! I may have proposed to Jenn last night."

Ricky was shook. "And what'd she say?"

"She said yes!"

Ricky beams. "That's great dad! Do you guys have a date?"

"Not yet since we literally just got engaged, but we do know we want it to be next year so we can get to baby making."

Ricky grimaced. "Ew, gross dad."

"Oh, shut up."

"Am I allowed to tell people?"

"Only Nini. We're gonna tell her moms too and our parents, but that's it for now. We're gonna make a public announcement next week."

"Well, I'm really excited for you two."

"Thanks, bud. Tell Nini to expect to be in the wedding. You did ask her to be your date, right? I don't want some random girl like that blond friend of yours in the wedding pics. No offense to her, but I wanna make sure when I look back at my wedding I only see the people I adore the most."

"No worries dad; I get it. I was thinking the same thing and already asked her. I was gonna ask her to be my date anyway. I can't imagine going with anyone else to my father's wedding."