California Dreamin

22

-1979

Balance. The nature always revolved around it.
It can never go all too well or all too bad.
In Nina's case, balance wasn't really a thing.
She felt it in her heart when her father died and that year, she knew something was coming. Although she was sick of bad news.

Still, her relationship with Richard was amazing: a full year of love, sex but also many secrets. Richard never told her what he would do at night, even if she asked him in many vulnerable moments of his, like during sex.

"Ba-baby, don't you think this ain't the right time for these...oh fuck-...these q-questions?" He would ask her while admiring her body on top of him, riding him violently, her breasts moving simultaneously.

She tried them all. Until she simply got sick of asking and got used to his habits, hoping he wouldn't get hurt at least or worse, since whatever he did, he did it with Mike so it was certainly not something good.

However, she was happy with him. He was happy as well even though sometimes he seemed unsatisfied. She always believed it was her fault. Little did she know that it was something deeper than that.

He wasn't satisfied with his life. He was sick of El Paso. Same old people, no hope, no future, nothing.
So one day, he decided to leave it all behind.

Without telling Nina.

So when that day she woke up and felt the same way she felt when her dad died, she already knew something was off. Something was about to happen.
She'd immediately check on her mother, who was actually feeling very well that day for the first time in months.

And with that, she soon called Ruth to check on her, the kids and Richard.

"Wait...Nina, didn't he tell you?" The older girl asked, with her giant telephone stuck between her shoulder and her ear, as her hands were busy preparing that day's lunch.

Her heart sunk. She didn't like surprises and ulterior secrets.

"Richard's leaving with Ruben, his wife and their daughter, how did he not tell you?! I can't believe this-"

Nina didn't even want to hear Ruth's lecture against her little brother, not that he was there anyway.

She got dressed as fast as she could and she ran outside her house directed to the bus station.

There they were.
Ruben made his daughter and wife get it first, before following them, while Richard was searching for something...or someone. Ironically, since he told nobody about his departure.

But Nina was there, all sweaty and unable to breathe anymore.
Luckily, Richard saw her right when he was getting on the bus, so he quickly got out and went to her.

"Nin-"

There it was the first slap in the face.
"How could you?!" She screamed on top of her lungs, given that she was also out of breath and she just couldn't speak normally. Tears quickly filling her big eyes.

"I can't believe you just decided to leave without telling me nothing!" She slapped him again.

He just stood there without saying anything. Of course he was getting really angry as Nina kept hitting him but it's not like he had the right to speak up. She was right and he knew it. He was abandoning her. Without even telling her.

"If I didn't speak with Ruth just a few minutes ago, I wouldn't have found out! What the fuck Richard?!" She didn't understand.
Why would he do that? Why would he not tell her?

She felt betrayed, hopeless, alone, abandoned.
And it was terrible. He was the man that she loved. She loved him more than anything and he was leaving out of the blue.

"I have no future here baby-" He started speaking before getting interrupted by some people on the bus who wanted to leave.

"Don't. Don't call me baby. You could've told me at least. This could've been different. I could've been with you, but you didn't want me."
She finally spoke with a soft voice.

Richard couldn't help but cry as well, as he couldn't stand her broken tone, especially if it was caused by him.
"I don't know why I didn't tell you. I just didn't want to make you sad even more. I wanted you to live your last days with me happily, without thinking about me leaving..."

She sniffed. His intentions were pure, but she couldn't forgive him, because she now she was more hurt. She would've rathered him telling her so she could've prepared herself mentally to live without him.

Now she just had to.

"Leave and we're done, forever."
It was her last statement.

"I'm so sorry Kitty-Kat." He simply said, before turning around to get back on the bus.

"I love you." He mouthed right before the doors closed.

She kept crying while watching the bus drive away, carrying the love of her life with it.

And that was the last time they saw each other.