Ricky Got Ghosted

Ricky Was Ghosted

   Ricky could hear the sound of a group of voices outside of his student house as he lay on the couch in his living room. The voices approached the front door. They let themselves in.

"Rickyyy!" Will said as his voice echoed through the house. He slapped Ricky on the back, who was laying sluggishly, face down on the couch.

"Ricky, where the hell have you been?" Cam asked. Ricky hadn't been to class in 3 days. Ricky groaned.

Will showed himself into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, "where the hell are all the Cokes? I bought those 2 cases just a couple of weeks ago," Will said.

"Is it the girl?" David asked, standing next to the couch, looking down at Ricky.

"A girl?" Will asked, returning to the living room, "I didn't know he had a girl."

Louis was spaced out, high from a joint he had smoked when they were on their way to the house, sitting on the La-Z-boy in the corner of the living room. He shifted his attention to each person as they spoke.

"It was just 2 dates," David said.

"Three," Ricky clarified, his voice muffled by the couch cushion his face was buried in.

"Just 3? That's nothing Ricky. Get up. Let's go do something," Will said.

"It's enough to have your heart strung by the force of love," Ricky said.

Louis' jaw dropped slightly and he placed his hand atop his head in reaction to the statement.

"It wasn't meant to be, Ricky. You'll find someone else," Cam said.

"She was one," Ricky said, his face still buried in the cushion. He hadn't moved an inch.

"She ghosted you, Ricky. She acted like she didn't care if she was the one," David said.

"PUH, classic," Will said, "hard to get. A real prize."

"There's truly no pain like not being able to be yourself around the opposite sex. Not even get a chance to show your true self," Ricky said.

Both of Louis' palms were now placed on his cheeks.

"Alright, that's it," Will said, grabbing Ricky by the ankles and dragging Ricky's limp body, offering no resistance, down the hallway and into the bathtub. Louis observed all of this.

Will turned on the cold water, pouring water from the showerhead onto Ricky's clothed body. Ricky squealed.

"We're gonna go to Doolies tonight, Ricky. It's gonna be fun. You'll get over it," Cam said.

"You guys gonna be OK in there," a staff member called in to the washroom, as the four stood around Ricky's body, splayed on the checkered floor of the washroom. Drunken bodies circulated around them, looking at Ricky. The sound of the music bumped and echoed through the washroom. Ricky had vomited onto the floor.

"He looks like he had a good time," one drunken man said, heading to a urinal.

"God damn it Ricky, get it together! She was looking for something else. You can do better," Will said.

"She was with another guuuyyyy. She was beaming," Ricky said, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Don't worry about her. Show her you're living your life. You've moved on," Cam said.

"Did you see her smile. Wrapped in his arms. She was never wrapped in my arms," Ricky said.

"Ricky, you're acting like a damn fool!" Will said, "don't worry about her. Show her you're living your life. You've moved on."

"I wish that was me," a drunked man said, looking at the group from the mirror at the sinks.

"You sure you don't need an ambulance," another staff member called into the washroom.

"We gotta get him outta here," Will said.

Louis peaked scanned around the washroom, anxiously.

"You got this pal!" a voice shouted from one of the stalls.

"C'mon, Ricky, you gotta snap out of it," David said.

"I can't," Ricky said, "She saw me. I feel sick. There's nothing like not stimulating the excitement of a woman. Why couldn't I be like that guy out there."

"She didn't deserve you, Ricky. You don't have to earn anyone. They have to earn you," Louis said. The first words he had spoken all night.

"That's right. Thank you, Louis. Let's get you back out there," Will said.

Louis came to a knee Ricky's and gave him a hug. The group hauled him up, cleaned him at the washroom sink, and assisted him back out to the dance floor, where they danced, and Louis tried to dance, the night away.