angels like you (rini au)

T W E N T Y FOUR

~chapter twenty four~
tw: mentions of suicide

Ricky stared wide eyed at the ceiling of his temporary room, no sign of movement in him. It was 04:24am in the morning, and he had not slept a wink at all. There was zero noise from outside the house, at least none that he could hear. It seemed as though the whole world had stopped just for him. It was almost kind of..peaceful?

His breaths were quiet and slowed, as he sat up from his bed. Sliding his feet into his shoes, he made his way towards EJ's bedroom. Pushing the door open slightly, he walked lightly on his feet to avoid waking his friend up in shock. Making his way over to his bedside, he glanced for a second at the photo of them on his nightstand.

It was one of them after their first game of the season, one of their best games as a duo. That's what they were, they were a duo. Completely unstoppable. But all Ricky had been doing recently, was ruining the bond they had been establishing since..forever? He reached over to pick up the photo from the desk, before hearing a tired groan from the no longer sleeping boy.

"What are you doing in my room?" He asked tiredly, turning over to face him. Hurriedly, before EJ could see, he put the photograph back down on his nightstand, before resuming their conversation. "Um..I was sleepwalking?" he lied. "So sleepwalked out of bed, through the halls and into my room?" he questioned, rubbing his eyes to wake up more. "Yes? Anyways. I realised I have to uh...go get something from my house," Ricky announced, as EJ groaned tiredly. "Right now? It's 4am? Can't it wait till tomorrow?"

Tomorrow.

Ricky looked around the room nervously, trying to justify his reasoning for leaving the house. He ran his hands through his hair anxiously, and he muttered slightly hoping to come up with an excuse. "I uh, have to get my asthma inhaler," he lied.

Asthma?

EJ sat up not fully getting Ricky's reasoning. "Do you even still have asthma?" He questioned. "Apparently, yes. But yeah, I need to get my inhaler. In case I have an attack in the middle of the night," he explained. "You haven't had an attack since you were 11?"

God, since when did he get so smart?

"Yes, you are absolutely correct but uh...the chances get higher when my anxiety is up so-"

"Your anxiety is up?" EJ asks concernedly, making Ricky roll his eyes in annoyance. "Why? Did you have another panic attack or something?" He asked worriedly. "What? No, of course not. Listen, I just need to get the inhaler just in case. No big deal," he lied. "Cool. Just don't make too much noise when you're leaving, you'll wake my mom up. And we know how cranky she gets when her sleep is disturbed," EJ warned.

Stop being so nice to me, you're making this decision very difficult.

"Yeah, no worries, quiet as a mouse. Won't even notice anything's happening," he insisted. "No worries. See you tomorrow," EJ responded, before turning back on his side and closing his eyes. He watched as his best friend quickly fell back asleep, his eyes turning back to the photo frame. He contemplated for a while, before taking the prized possession with him into his backpack as he made his way out of EJ's room.

He tiptoed carefully down the stairs, not wanting to wake Jane from her sleep. They hadn't spoken since their disagreement, Ricky avoiding her due to guilt. She was the only woman who had been with him, without fail and she had treated him like her own. For him to say she wasn't his mom felt unforgivable. Granted had he actually apologised to her, she more than likely would've forgiven him. But he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself.