My One & Only

Ch 59: At Last

I'm super duper excited for the comments for this part, and I've been waiting to write this for a while because of the things unveiled in this chapter. Enjoy this chaotic yet fun chapter!

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Ricky was out of it all night.

He barely rests during the night, and Lily's silent whimpers after hearing the news didn't help. He maybe got an hour of sleep before his alarm went off. Lily woke up the second the alarm went off, and she got out of bed like a zombie without greeting him. He could tell she was upset, but he admits he found it bizarre she didn't seem bothered when he said Nini admitted to being in love with him. Matter of fact, she seemed more distraught about her not doing the speech. He didn't think much into it since he could not for the life of him stop replaying last night. He was hoping it was some cruel nightmare and pinched himself multiple times in hopes of waking up.

He doesn't get out of bed until Lily is in her casual wear she's wearing to the chapel before getting in her gown. Ricky groans as he checks his phone in case Nini magically changes her mind, and he was disappointed to see no notifications from her. He wondered if she blocked him or muted him by now, which only made him feel worse. He sees a few texts from his parents and friends and is painfully reminded that they probably had no idea Nini left his life, and he wasn't sure if he could tell them without crying. He tosses his phone aside as he rubs his hands down his face. He finds the strength to grab his keys to go to the chapel to begin getting ready.

The second he enters the building, he's greeted by people within the wedding party that were helping the employees. It didn't take long for them to notice something was off about him considering he looked as if he was walking to the gallows instead of a chapel in a few hours. Red was babbling about the wedding in the next three hours, but Red could tell Ricky wasn't listening based on his lack of reaction. Red figured he could try to cheer him up, so he tried to intrigue him with conversation topics that he knows interest him. He still didn't respond to him.

"Ready for your big day?"

Ricky doesn't respond as he stares blankly into the mirror.

Red sighs and snaps his fingers in front of Ricky's face, startling him. "Alright, what's going on?"

"Hm, sorry, were you talking?"

"Yes, but you're clearly upset about something, so what's up?"

"I'm just distracted by recent events."

"Dude, you gotta get your head cleared up since the most important day of your life is today. What on earth could have you this beaten down on a joyous, sunny day?"

Ricky sighs as he fights to hold back tears. "I lost the most important person in my life last night, and I don't think I will ever get over it no matter how many years pass."

Red was taken aback. "Wait, what? Did someone die?!"

"No, the only thing that died was a relationship and a part of my soul. I actually feel so incredibly empty inside that it's scary. I've never felt this way in my life. I don't know what to do without her."

"Who?"

"Nini."

"Nini?! The hell happened between you two last night?"

"She confessed her love for me and told me she was moving to California for good so she doesn't have to witness Lily and I being a married couple since that'd be torture for her. So, she cut me off as a friend so she would find peace."

Red shook his head from disbelief. "Nope, I refuse to believe that. There's no way in hell Nini would break off your lifelong friendship and especially the night before your wedding. Nope, you're lying."