Sinners Never Sleep | Stikolson *COMPLETED*

Chapter Five

RICKY

After last night TJ didn't sleep in the same bed as me, instead, he opted to sleep on the sofa. When I woke up he'd already gotten dressed and headed off to work without so much as a kiss goodbye. I remember telling Ryan I wanted to be with someone like him, and his reply was that he'd treat me like a prince. I just wasn't good at confrontation, and TJ wouldn't let me go without putting up a fight. Maybe I was destined to forever be forced to live in a shitty relationship.

I shower and apply makeup to my face to cover the newly formed bruises; it seemed that just as the old ones faded they were always replaced. The cut on my lip I couldn't quite cover up, it was still quite tender to touch so I left it alone. I was supposed to be meeting Vinny and his boyfriend for lunch, and as much as I wanted to cancel I knew I couldn't because Vinny was stubborn and would bring the food to me.

Vinny messaged me the address of the cafe, and I was relieved to see that it wasn't that far from my apartment so I could walk. The sun beat down on my all-black ensemble and I ignored the looks I got from people, just because they couldn't pull off all black didn't mean they had to judge me.

"Ricky over here."

I spot Vinny with his hand in the air as I walk into the smallish cafe. I nod in return and make my way towards the table him and Devin had claimed in the back corner away from prying eyes.

"Hey, Vinny. Devin nice to see you again."

"You're inside Ricky, don't you know it's rude to wear sunglasses?"

Vinny looks down at the table while Devin looks at his boyfriend in confusion, of course, Devin didn't know about TJ and the bruises.

"You don't have to Ricky."

I shake my head at Vinny's concern.

"Devin's right it's rude Vinny."

I slide into the chair opposite them and remove my sunglasses. Devin's eyes go wide while Vinny gasps. Was it that bad? I pull out my phone and bring up the camera to be shocked that the foundation was starting to come off because of the heat revealing the bruise.

"Oh, poor baby what happened to you?"

Devin goes into mother mode and gets up before sliding in next to me, he cups my face gently and brushes his finger across my lip causing me to flinch back.

"Do you want to tell him, Vinny?"

Vinny nods and starts to fill Devin in on the details while I try and busy myself, though I feel Devin staring at me the whole time with sympathy in his eyes.

"Let me patch you up Ricky, I always carry something with me to keep me looking fabulous."

Devin takes my hand and pulls me out of the booth earning me a chuckle off Vinny. I let myself be dragged through the cafe and forced into the small bathroom before Devin locks the door behind him. I hadn't known Devin long, but there was something about him that made me feel safe around him.

"Hop on the counter Ricky and let Ghost work her magic."

I do as I'm told and sit on the counter next to the sink and watch as Devin roots around in his bag before pulling out a small makeup kit. I guess that was something I should consider investing in if I wanted to keep my bruises to myself.

"Thank you for this Devin, I haven't known you long but you're so caring. I've never had this many people care for me before."

Devin smiles and starts priming my face.

"Well, now you have me as well as Vinny. This TJ seems like a piece of work and needs to be taught a lesson."

"I also have my friend Ryan, Vinny made me sign up to the same site he met you on so I could vent to a stranger and Ryan also listens to me."

GHOST

Ricky mentioned Ryan's name so carefree, he obviously didn't know who he was talking to on the other side of the screen. I couldn't show my distaste because Ricky would get suspicious and I liked seeing him positive.

"That's nice but remember to be careful when talking to strangers on the internet Ricky. You never know who you're really talking to; they can't all be like me."

Ricky laughs and rolls his eyes, "yes mum I will be careful."

I snigger and continue putting his face on. By allowing myself to concentrate on covering his bruises I was able to put Ryan out of my mind for a few minutes. I knew who he was and what he really did for a living.

"Wow, Devin you have some serious skill."

I put my makeup away and watch with a smile on my lips as Ricky admires himself in the mirror behind him while swinging his legs against the counter like a little kid. He was precious and innocent and needed to be protected from the big bad wolves of this world, and only I could protect him from them.

"My pleasure Ricky, though someone as beautiful as you shouldn't have to cover up."

Ricky's little blush did something to my heart.

"I'm not beautiful Devin but thank you for the nice words, you know how to make someone feel special."

He hops off the counter and gives me a quick hug before reaching around me to unlock the door. I cherish the hug no matter how quickly it was over and nod.

"We should get back to Vinny before he thinks I'm fucking you in the bathroom."

Ricky giggles, "You're funny Devin. See you back out there."

I watch Ricky leave before pulling out my phone and dialling a very familiar number. Josh might be a professional cleaner for a living, but he was the kind of person that you trusted enough to tell your darkest secrets to. I'd known him for years and knew he worked with Ryan a few times; I needed to know where Ryan stood in terms of Ricky.

"Ghost, what can I do for you old friend? It's a little too early in the day for you to have a job."

"I need information, Josh."

On the other end of the line, Josh sighs, "Let me take a shot in the dark and guess this has something to do with Ryan's little pet racoon."

Pet racoon, since when did Ryan have a pet racoon?

"Err I don't know about any racoon, I was thinking more along the lines of a person Ryan knows."

Josh chuckles, "racoon is his pet name for some kid called Ricky, and I see where he's coming from because of the amount of black eye make up the kid wears around his eyes."

Of course, Ryan already had a pet name for Ricky. It made me sick to think of Ryan calling Ricky that and Ricky blushing in return. I clear my throat and try to keep my cool.

"He hasn't put out a cleanup job on some guy called TJ has he?"

"Oh, you mean the abusive boyfriend. Wait for a second Ghost I see what you're doing here. You already have a boyfriend; Ryan is taking care of Ricky's problems. Hell, he already took the trash out at some college campus because they bullied Ricky."

The day Ricky bought an upset Vinny to me after mentioning some murders on their college campus, how did I not put two and two together? The signature screamed Ryan, but I was a little pre-occupied calming down a distraught Vinny.

"If you're still there Ghost let me give you some advice friend to friend. Don't get involved in this matter, Ryan really seems to like Ricky and you already have so much."

I cut Josh off by hanging up on him. So Ryan liked Ricky and Josh wanted to me to keep my nose out of their business. He was right I already did have so much, but I hated Ryan with a passion and he had his claws in something I didn't own. He had Ricky, but it wouldn't be long until Ricky was mine.