Love is a Broken Window | Cricky [C]

8 | Sickness

| Chris' POV |

Over lunch, I explained all the details of tour to the guys. I'll fill in Ricky later. I hope he's doing okay, he did look even paler than normal when I saw him. Getting sick before tour is never a good thing! It'll make you drag the entire tour.

We had a good time together. Even after Ghost explained his unfortunate situation with Kylie, we were still laughing and carrying on. Something, though, still felt like it was missing.

"Chris, is everything okay?" Vinny asked as he caught me staring at the empty chair at the table.

"Huh? Oh, yeah it, it just feels weird being together, without Ricky." I said.

Someone's phone buzzed on the table. Ghost glanced down at it, picking it up. "Speak of the Devil."

I sighed. "Is he okay?"

Ghost took a minute to finish reading the text. "No." He grumbled. "Jani is pissed and doesn't want me staying at their apartment anymore."

"Damn it, I hate him." Balz snit under his breath.

"Since Ricky's not here, can we all just take a moment to agree aloud that Jani is a piece of shit?" Ryan stated.

I chuckled. "I'm laughing, but it's true."

"Is he really that bad?" Vinny asked.

"Oh yeah!" Balz replied. "He's so unaffectionate, a total pig, and steps on Ricky's heart like its a doormat."

"Not to mention all the bruises." Ghost mumbled.

Yeah. That. I don't even want to think about it. I mean, we're all aware that Ricky is clumsy and a lovably dork, but this goes beyond accident-prone. Most his bruises are just about the size of someone's fist. We see him have black and blue spots all along his arms. He comes around with makeup obviously concealing black eyes, and a fake smile to cover up all that emotional pain.

What exactly do you say though? It's obvious he has a weird kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Ricky loves Jani. Sometimes I think, the more Jani makes him cry, the more he loves him. It's twisted and I can't comprehend a way to help him, short of getting him mental help!

"You can stay with me." I told Ghost, breaking the silence. "As long as you need to. I'll go with you to Ricky's to grab your things, since I don't want trouble."

"Thanks." He muttered.

We finished up lunch, all splitting the check. I hugged everyone goodbye, then took Ghost in my car to Ricky's apartment. He lived up on the fourth floor; the top.

As we got out of the car, I looked up at the building. The balconies reminded me of many times I was scared Ricky was going to jump off of them. He's tried, only twice, but was stopped. Other times he's threatened to do it. Now, he knows to keep his mouth shut when he's thinking about something drastic. Or else, he'll get stopped. Another thing about Ricky that scared me to death!

I walked Ghost upstairs. We took the elevator, which brought us out right by Ricky's place. I knocked a few times, waiting on a response. Finally, Jani opened the door. He didn't gave a shirt on and he pants were unbuttoned.

"Can I help you?" He sneered.

"Just came for Devin's things. He won't be staying here anymore." I said coldly.

"I'm aware." Jani replied, stepping away from the door to let us in. "Maybe it quick. We were in the middle of something."

Yeah, I could tell, asshole. Devin walked towards the bathroom to grab his makeup. I went to the couch to see Ricky. He looked even sicker.

"Hey. Are you feeling better?" I asked, touching his forehead.

"I'll be fine." He faked a smile.

I sighed. "If you insist. You know where to reach me if you need anything."

"I know. Oh hey! Give this to Devin! I thought he might need it." Ricky leaned forward and took a paper off the coffee table.

It was a listing for an apartment, up for sale in this building. Right across the hall. Then, I realized it was more than one unit.

"Thanks." I said.

"Yeah, of course. They were a few privately owned units. Apparently there was some illegal stuff going on there. They were always creepy neighbors anyways." He muttered.

I laughed. "If you think they're creepy, it must be bad!"

"They were crazy, dude!" He snickered. "Text me the tour details when you get home."

"Will do. Dev, you ready?" I called for him.

"Yeah, I didn't have much here." He replied, slinging a bag over his shoulder. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem." Ricky grinned. "I'll catch you guys later!"