I Understand Now (Ricky Dillon Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

Ricky's POV.

Once I get home from school, I head to the fridge to get myself some food, as usual. Mum drove me home, but I dodged every attempt she made at conversation by acting like I didn't really want to talk. She seems adamant to talk to me, though.

"So, how was school?" She asks, walking into the kitchen.

"It was alright," I reply, not turning to look at her. "Nothing much really happened."

"Well, you seem like a bit of a negative Nancy today," Mum remarks. I look at her this time.

"Actually, my name's Ricky," I joke, causing Mum to roll her eyes. "And I'm just tired."

"Ricky, I know you too well to buy that," Mum says. "Just tell me if something happened." I sigh.

"Nothing happened, Mum," I insist. "Ok, well...Ellie's mum doesn't want us to be together."

"Aha, I knew there was something," Mum grins before her expression turns sad. "But why is that?"

"I wish I knew," I admit. "Apparently her mum thinks I'm a 'player' or something."

"What?" Mum gasps. "No one speaks of my son in that way. If I ever meet that woman, I'll have to give her a piece of my mind. Besides, how can she say that when she hasn't even met you?"

"That's what we're all wondering," I sigh. "And she has met me, but we barely spent 5 minutes together, apart from a car ride home. I just don't understand." I cover my eyes with one hand.

"Some people are difficult to understand," Mum says, and I feel her hand on my shoulder. "I just hope you don't feel like this your fault."

"But that's the point," I explain, looking up at her. "I feel like this is my fault. I know that's probably not true, but I can't help but feel like it is. I love Ellie and I want to be with her."

"I know you do," Mum says. "With love comes commitment. If you're really willing to give your all to her, then you'll be committed to her enough to make choices and sacrifices."

"I'm willing to make sacrifices for Ellie," I confirm. "But how should I do that?"

"Well, somehow, you're going to have to prove to her mum that you're not who she stupidly thinks you are. Working out how to do that is never easy, but it can be done."

"I don't know what to do," I sigh, walking out of the kitchen after deciding I'm not hungry. Mum follows me and stops me by placing a hand on my shoulder.

"What is it that's stopping you from knowing what decision to make?" She asks. I think about this question for a moment. To be honest, I'm not even entirely sure what it's supposed to mean. I shrug.

"Just the fact that all signs point to me as the bad guy in this situation," I reply. "I didn't even intentionally do anything wrong. It just seems that way because of Ellie's past, and now that I've come along, I seem like an intruder."

"You're not an intruder," Mum says. "I know you're just trying to do the right thing. Sometimes you might seem invasive when you don't know how to approach a situation, because you just seem stupid for not knowing what to do. I think the first thing you need to do is talk to Ellie about all of this. Most of this drama is about her, so hopefully she knows what to do."

"She's intelligent enough," I say. "She'll be able to make the right decision."

"Well there you go," Mum points out. "Talk to her first, and then see if you two can work things out."

"Ok, I'll do that. Thanks, Mum."

"Don't mention it," Mum assures me.

...

"My dad wants to meet you anyways," Ellie says when I see her the next day, and we're in conversation about this whole ordeal. "I told him about you and he seems interested."

"Are you sure your mum would approve of that?" I ask cautiously.

"Who cares?" Ellie shrugs. "I'm hoping that Dad can convince her that you're not what she thinks if he gets to meet you."

"So he doesn't seem skeptical of me? And he isn't on your mum's side?" Ellie shakes her head.

"Not at all," she replies. "What about your mum? Have you spoken to her about this?"

"Yep, and she told me to talk to you," I say. "I don't know what we should do about this, but meeting your dad sounds like a good place to start."

"I still don't know how to deal with Jen," Ellie sighs in defeat. "It doesn't seem like she's ever going to even want to look at me anymore, let alone talk to me or trust me." She leans her elbow on the desk we're sitting at and runs one hand through her short blonde hair while looking down at the ground. "Why does Sarah always have to step into the picture?"

"There are some things I don't think anyone will ever be able to answer," I admit, placing one of my hands over her free hand. "All I can really say to you is that the worst decision to make is to let Sarah take over. It might seem like it's the easiest option, but it's the worst."

"I know," she assures me, looking up at me. "I was never about to let that happen. I don't want that girl thinking she's stronger than me. Who knows what else she'll try to do if we give her that impression."

"Who knows," I agree. "Trust me, there were plenty of girls exactly like Sarah who tried to brainwash others back at my school in America. They would try to turn perfectly innocent girls against their friends, and convince those girls to be friends with them. It was hard for me to just stand by and watch that kind of rivalry happen. I would've tried to stop it, but what would a boy know about girl drama?" I shrug my shoulders.

"You should've at least tried to help," Ellie criticises, but her tone is gentle. "I know you might've been worried about getting insulted or put down, or that your friends would think of you as a 'sissy' for getting involved in things like that." I blink at her, and she seems regretful for what she just said. "Oh, I didn't mean it like-"

"No, you're right," I cut her off. "I should've made an effort. I remember we always used to have these talks about bullying, and how you should never be a bystander, but I never realised that it would actually apply to my life. I always thought it was one of those stupid precaution things that we were likely to never actually have to worry about."

"Those bullying talks do make it seem that way," Ellie points out. "We have them at this school as well, every now and then. But even if it is just a precaution, it's there're for your safety. That way, you'll know to always be prepared in the unlikely event that it actually happens, like a fire drill or something."

I grin. "If only I had an Ellie Waters back at my LA school," I tease, and Ellie blushes and bites her lip in an adorable fashion. If only, I think to myself.