A light || Ricky and Nini

Chapter 52

Nini POV

It was the weekend and I was originally so grateful. However, if I knew what would happen come Saturday, I wouldn't have wished so hard for the weekend to come. The day of Saturday was amazing. Seb invited us all over to his house, and we got to hang with each other and his farm animals. Everyone was so high on laugher and happiness, you'd swear it could carry through the evening. The issue however, occurred that night. Everyone went home, including Ricky, and I was getting ready for bed when I got the call from Mr. Bowen. I picked up on the second ring after seeing "Ricky's dad" pop up on my phone. His voice is frantic and it sends me into panic. "Nini? Nini?" I hear from the other end. "Yes? What's going on Mr. Bowen?" The line sounds unclear but I hear his voice well. "Shouldn't have let him read the fucking mail. Of course she'd pull shit like this." I'm confused and my panic level is rising. "What happened Mr. Bowen?" I beg. "Ricky. He found the mail stack and Lynn sent a wedding invitation. He's not good Nini. I've never seen him this mad and upset. He's tearing up his room, I don't know what to do." Oh my god. "I'll be right over." I yell into the phone, hanging up and sprinting down the steps. "MOMS I have to go. Ricky. Emergency." Is all I can get out, but I see Momma C nod before I'm flying out the door and down the block. I reach Ricky's house in a record time. I let myself in and I see Mr. Bowen sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes and I hear a crash come from upstairs. Lynn really screwed with the Bowen men tonight and it was breaking my heart. I move over to Mr. Bowen but he shakes his head and wipes his tears. "Go upstairs now, kid. He needs you." I nod and I run up, stopping before I barge into his room. I open the door slowly and step in, closing the door right behind me again. I take in the scene. Mr. Bowen wasn't exaggerating. Ricky's room looks like a tornado went through it. Apart from the clutter taking up his floor that had been clearly thrown around, a bookshelf is splintered and there's a small dent in the wall. Ricky didn't hear me come in and I whisper his name. He turns around, his chest moving quickly from breathing heavily. His hair is everywhere and his face is stained with tears. His hands are bawled at his sides, and the knuckles of his right hand are bleeding. He looks 3 feet taller than usual, and I fight the urge to back away from him and his threatening demeanor. Instead, I walk towards him. He watches me carefully, the tears still flowing down his face. When I'm standing directly in front of him, I reach for his hands to unclench his fists. "Ricky" I breathe out again, trying to get a reaction out of him. "Hey, come here." I say and he shakes his head. "What's the point? You say you love me now but you'll probably get married to someone else someday. You'll be Nini Bowen until you decide you don't love me anymore and you'll be back to Nini Salazar-Roberts joining in holy matrimony to some new jackass." My heart is split into two from his words. This wasn't Ricky though, this anger isn't truly how he feels and I need to break him down in order to get him to listen. "Don't say that." I whisper out. He turns his head away from me and I step forward and his head jerks back to look at me. He watches me as I get closer and when I'm close enough, I throw my arms around him. He doesn't even acknowledge the hug, standing there completely still and I want to cry but I'm determined. I run my hands up and down his back, I press my the side of my face into the side of his. I drag my fingers through the base of his hair by his neck and then I feel him take a deep breath. His body shakes, and then his arms come around me tentatively. I feel his grasp tighten as I tighten mine and then all of a sudden I feel him breathe out against my neck and pull me closer to his body. I want to cry out in relief but I just stand there, holding him close to me. His tears fall on the back of my neck and Ricky is the first to pull back. "I didn't mean that." He says ashamed. "I know." I say quietly and I bring him over to the bed. All of a sudden he reaches for me again, pulling me into him and burying himself into me. "Woah." I say letting out a shaky laugh. "I've got you baby. I've got you." I say repeatedly and he pulls back again, wiping at his tears. "I was just so mad." He says. "This isn't fair. She gets this whole new life and she tries to bring us into it and it doesn't work that way! It just doesn't fucking work that way." My hands run up his arms and I nod, trying to calm him down before he sends himself into a panic attack. His chest is rising heavily again and I feel his pulse on his wrist. "Please breathe Ricky please, with me." He nods and we take a few breaths together. His pulse slows and I feel relieved again until he breaks the silence. "I punched a wall. And a book shelf." He says quietly. I lift his right hand up and examine it. "You really got yourself." I say, letting a few tears fall as I notice the bruises forming under the open wounds. "I'm gonna clean this up." I say, walking into the bathroom to grab alcohol. As I cleaned his wounds, he winced and clenched his jaw and I set down the materials. "You've been so clenched tonight Ricky. Try and relax." I say with a frown. My hands come up to his cheeks and I attempt to massage the area around his clenched jaw. He closes his eyes and breathes slowly. I move my hands up to push his hair away and I get up, straddling info his lap and pressing our foreheads together. "I'm not leaving you. This right here is my life and there's nothing better for me. You are my ultimate dream life, Ricky Bowen and we're going to get married and stay married and have a kid and stay married." I say in a hushed tone with laughter present. "But most of all we'll be in love. Because I can't imagine a day in my life where I'm not loving you, and cherishing you and being here for you." Ricky's eyes are wide with vulnerability and he brings his lips to mine. "I know." Is all he says, very quietly. Those two words though mean the world to me, because it means that he knows I'm not going anywhere. His lips catch mine again. "I love you Nini" he says in a strangled voice that sounds like he's holding back a sob. I kiss his nose and pull him into me.