Author: @maichardism
Prompt: Seminarian Alden + Maine in Rehab
Prompter: @K8Jam
His hand slowly turned the door knob, its coldness biting his skin and warning him to run while he still can. He ignored it, and slowly pushed the door open.
Slowly, so whoever inside the room wouldn't be spooked by his presence.
Slowly, so he could mentally prepare himself to whatever he was going to witness.
There are three things that he noticed when he entered the room. First, the room looked special compared to other patients'. It was more spacious, that was for sure. The bare walls were painted pale yellow, which reminded him of his grandma's favorite apron. It was yellow and trimmed with white lace.
His grandma's long gone now. Heart attack. Nobody was with her when it happened, and only her cold body was found two days later.
The queen size bed occupied a huge part of the room. The blanket was yellow, too, but it was darker than the walls. Was it butter yellow? Dandelion? He was never good with colors. Two large pillows were propped on the headboard, and a single caterpillar stuffed toy was at the center of the bed.
And there, sitting on the floor with her back resting on the side of her bed, was Nicomaine. Her dark hair was untied and it covered her face. Her back stiffened when he called her name. She didn't look up. He tried again.
"Nicomaine? Hello, I'm Richard," he introduced himself hesitantly. Do not speak too loudly. Do not approach the patient without permission. Do not touch the patient without permission. "I'm one of—"
"You're not a counselor," she said in a low voice. He suddenly felt intimidated for no reason.
"No, I'm not. I'm here because—"
"Kasama mo 'yung mga dumating na seminarista, 'di ba?" She pushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ears. "So, Richard, sinong diyos ipapakilala mo sa akin?"
She stared directly into his eyes and the enigmatic mirth in her eyes made him nervous.
This wasn't what he signed up for.
---
Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr., or RJ as his lola and his mama called him, was an orphan and a product of a broken family. His parents met when they were still in high school and his mom found out that she was pregnant a month after graduation.
It was good at first, his grandma used to tell him. Richard Sr.'s family supported Rhea and her unborn child while his father continued his studies. Rhea, on the other hand, took online classes in the mornings and at nights, prepared dinner for her boyfriend. They never got married since they were both too young, but RJ didn't know this until he was in college.
It was blissfully domestic and perfect, and young Richard would have been lucky to witness all that.
But, as they say, things change and everything beautiful will be destroyed at one point. It was inevitable.
In her eighth month of pregnancy, Rhea noticed that something was off with her Richard. He would rarely go home, and when he did, he wouldn't even look at her – let alone talk to her. She dismissed it as stress from school, and she continued to be the loving wife and soon-to-be-mother of their little family.
