angels like you (rini au)

T W E L V E

~chapter twelve~
tw: mentions of death 😂😂😂😂

Ricky wiped his eyes hurriedly, not raising his head up until he was sure that his eyes were dry enough. He recognised the voice immediately, how could he not?

"Anna, hey. Wait no, not hey. It's 3 in the morning, why are you awake?" He asked her, trying his best not to sniffle too noticeably. She walked slowly over to him, with an anxious look on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked him. "Annie, I'm fine. Why are you awake?" He replied.

She let her head drop slightly, which was an indication that there was clearly something wrong with. "I'm scared," she admitted. "Scared? Of what?" Ricky responded. "Were you and Dad fighting again?" She questioned. He sighed tiredly before nodding his head.

There wasn't really any point of lying. She was a clever little six year old. She wouldn't have bought it if he told her that they weren't fighting. She had heard it all. "Is that why you're crying?" She added, noticing his watery eyes. "Me? Crying? No, no, I was definitely not crying. These are, uh..these are eye drops. I used medicine, I'm not crying," he rambled, frantically trying  to hide the fact that he truly was crying.

Truth be told, Annabella had never actually seen her brother cry. Which was weird because.. everyone cries?

"Why don't I ever see you cry, Ricky? I mean, you see me cry all the time," she asked him curiously. "There is no reason Anna. But I don't like crying in front of you. I want you to think I'm stronger than that, you know what I mean?" He responded as he rubbed his face. "So you were crying because of Dad? Because of your fight?"

He groaned as he was finding it hard to put exactly what he was thinking and how he was feeling into words that would make it easy for her to understand. "It's not just- not just Dad, okay? There's a lot of things right now that are just kind of bothering me. Or stressing me out," he explained. "Me? Am I one of those things? Am I bothering you?" She inquired, worried that she was now becoming a negative aspect of her brother's life.

"No, Anna. You're not bothering me. I'm just a little worried about you sometimes, that's all," he answered. She nodded in understanding as he brought his head up so he was actually looking at her. "You know you're allowed to cry in front of me? It's not weird," she told him, which took him by surprise.

"Are you sure? You won't think I'm weak?" He scoffed, remembering all the times his Dad had gotten mad at him for crying. "Well if you're weak, everyone else is too. Everyone cries. I'll still think you're super strong," she reassured him. "Really?" he asked, and he was kind of surprised at just how smart she was. "Totally. You can cry all you want, I won't tell a soul," she informs him.

"Promise?" He asked, holding his pinky out to her. "I promise. Best friends don't share secrets, remember?" She reminded him, as she linked her tiniest finger with his own. "I remember," he laughed, as he smiled fondly at the memory. "Give me a hug, Annie," he requested, opening his arms to her.

She leapt into his arms, and he held onto her dearly. Almost as if he was afraid she would slip away from him. "I love you Bella, you know that, don't you?" He asked, his words muffled slightly.

"I do know that. Love you too. And I'm gonna miss you."

And that's when the loving brotherly-sisterly moment took a hard left turn, and Ricky froze.