𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. « 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘯 »

› 21 › illusion

i tug lightly on the chain necklace around my neck, staring absently at the brown door in front of me.

after i left for la, my dad moved out of that small apartment we lived in and moved in with miss jenn. she has a much bigger place - not as big as our old house before my mom left for chicago - but it's better than what we had to settle for before.

but it's never felt like home.

i knock on the door and immediately hear the shuffling of footsteps behind it.

"... did you order takeout?"

"not that i remember..."

the lock clicks open and the door does so too, revealing miss jenn with my dad in the background.

"ricky!" she exclaims, her jaw practically falling on the floor. "we didn't know you were coming!"

"surprise?" i laugh awkwardly, lifting my suitcase into the place and leaving it by the doorway.

dad breaks into a big smile and opens his arms wide to hug me. "now i have to order takeout, to celebrate!"

"i ate at slices on the way here, i'm good," i say, patting him on the back before pulling away.

miss jenn frantically moves in front of me. "do you want some tea? coffee? cola? i can go out and buy something if you want—"

"i'm fine - a little tired that's all."

she presses her lips tightly together before her eyes dart downwards to my chest.

"that... looks familiar," she comments vaguely.

i look down at the dangling chain and immediately tuck it inside my shirt. "you think so?"

"i've been meaning to ask you - it was all over the headlines - did you get back together with... nini?"

i bring a hand to the back of my neck, desperately wanting to get out of this conversation.

"no, no, of course not..." i trail off with a nervous chuckle. "i mean i brought her here though - you were going to invite her to the wedding anyway right?"

"yes, i was," she replies hesitantly. i can sense her trying to get answers from my body language. "do you wanna sit down, dear? catch up? a lot must have happened—"

"no, i kinda want to sleep or something..."

"oh, but i insist!"

"it's a not a big deal, really."

"you know i'm always - your father and i—"

"you don't have to do this," i raise my voice unconsciously. miss jenn is silenced immediately, taken aback.

i let out a regretful sigh and begin to walk past her. "you don't have to act like my mom..."

and i head to my room without looking back.

the moment i close the door behind me, i lean back against it and close my eyes.

i wonder if she heard me.

i did try my best to be as quiet as possible about it...

i'm an idiot.

i open my eyes and pull out my phone, immediately going onto contacts. my finger hovers just above mrs. green's number.

but then i realize nini's is below it. i added her back to my favorites a week ago.

well i'm probably going to see kourtney's mom soon in person anyway so...