forget me not

four

Nini took a deep breath as she paced the hospital hallway. Lauren had sent her a text that she was on her way up so she was waiting for her.

she held her breath as the elevator dinged. it opened and Lauren walked out. she was even more beautiful in person. her long blonde hair flowed effortlessly down her back, she looked fabulous in her tight jeans and flowy camisole top, her ankle boots clicking against the tile. Nini gulped as she realized why Ricky loved this girl.

"hi Lauren, i'm-"

the blonde cut her off, "Nina Salazar-Roberts. i know who you are. Ricky told me a lot about you when we were still together." she held her hand out for Nini to shake.

"oh, well i hope it was all good things." Nini responded, shaking her hand.

Lauren didn't respond, smiling softly instead.

Nini flicked her eyes down the hallway, "um okay, he's down here. he still doesn't remember that he and i are together so i just need you to go in there and tell him that you two aren't together and haven't been for years."

the girls walked quickly down the hallway. Lauren walked behind Nini, fixing her hair and outfit as they walked.

Nini pulled open the sliding door to his room. he'd since been moved to a recovery room, no longer needing to be in the ICU. Ricky glanced at the two girls.

"Ricky, i brought somebody to see you." Nini says softly.

Ricky's face lights up with a huge smile, "Lauren!"

Nini breaks a little inside as she watches the blonde hug her fiancé. usually that smile was reserved for her, that beautiful Ricky Bowen smile.

the two pull away and Lauren sits in the chair next to his bed, "i'm so glad you could make it. i know that you hate missing classes at UofU but i really wanted to see you." Ricky says excitedly.

since Nini was leaning against the wall, she couldn't see the smirk on Lauren's face. the blonde leaned over to hold his hand, "well i couldn't leave my boy all alone in the hospital. i know you had Nina here but i know you'd rather have me."

Nini pushes herself off of the wall, marching over to Lauren's chair and leaning down to her ear, "what the hell are you doing?"

Lauren broke from Ricky to turn to the fuming brunette behind her, "i'm fixing him. he told me all about you Nina, how you broke his heart. somehow you tricked him into getting back together with you, i'm not letting that happen again. he's mine." she growled at the girl.

Nini felt the tears pool up in her eyes, she looked away before they could fall. she grabbed her purse off the table and walked to the door, croaking out before she left, "um, i'm gonna go see your dad Ricky. i'll come back tonight."

the boy didn't respond as he was too caught up with the pretty blonde across from him. Nini walked quickly as she tried to hold back her tears. the car ride to Mike's house was long, the radio playing softly around her. it wasn't until the man opened the front door that she broke down.

"i'm gonna lose him." she sobbed into his chest.

Mike pulled the girl inside and closed the door. he pulled her back to him and let her cry. her hysterical sobs floated through the room, bouncing off the walls. when she finally calmed down, he pulled her to the couch.

"what happened?" Mike asked quietly as he held Nini's hand.

she sniffled and wiped her face, "so i contacted Lauren," Nini didn't miss how Mike rolled his eyes at the girls name, "i was trying to get her to tell Ricky that they weren't together anymore so i could take him home with me and get his memories back. she showed up and started to feed into his last memory of them being college students together."

she cried a little more, Mike rubbing her back gently, "i'm gonna lose him Mike. he's the love of my life and i'm going to lose him, again, to the same girl."

"no Nini, you're not going to lose him. you wanna know why? because at the end of the week, Ricky is being released and you're going to take him home to your condo. he's going to see all the pictures of you two together and remember all of your great times together. you won't lose him, not if i can help it."

Nini nodded, sniffling softly, "you're right, thank you."

"any time kiddo, you know i'm here for you. have you eaten today?" Mike asked, getting up to go to the kitchen.

Nini sent him a soft look, Mike immediately knowing she hasn't been taking care of herself. he held his hand out to her, "come on, dinners just about done. you're going to eat with me."

the two shared a lovely meal together, laughing and talking the whole time. eventually, Nini decided to head back home. she wanted to stop by the hospital like she promised but she was feeling so drained and just wanted to sit in her condo alone for the night.

she flicked on the lights as she walked in the door, peeling off her shoes. she dropped her purse and phone onto the couch and started to walk to her bedroom. she tried not to look at all the photos of her and Ricky lining the walls, this was their place after all.

Nini made her way into her en-suite bathroom to draw herself a bath. she stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the warm bubbly water, sighing as she rested against the tub. she wanted nothing more than for Ricky to be here with here but as she thought of the man she loved, tears slipped out of her eyes slowly. within seconds Nini was full on sobbing. she couldn't seem to stop as she thought about what her future holds. she didn't even know if they had a future together anymore.

she dried her tears and stepped out of the tub, wrapping her towel around her body and draining the water. she slowly walked to their walk in closet, spotting all of his clothes sitting on one side of the small closet. Nini grabbed a pair of sweatpants and one of Ricky's shirts, pulling them on quickly and drying her hair, putting it up in a messy bun.

Nini pulled back the covers of their large bed, climbing in and laying on her side as she pulled the duvet up to her chin. tears rolled down her face as she looked at the picture on her nightstand. it was Ricky and Nini, moments after they'd gotten engaged. he'd sweetly surprised her with a walk in her favorite park before getting down on one knee. Red had been waiting in the bushes to take pictures of the proposal, the redhead capturing what became Nini's favorite photo of the two.

she tried to blink away her tears as she pulled the blankets tighter to her. the bed just felt too large without him, too empty. she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. Nini began to think of ways to get Lauren away from Ricky. she wasn't going to steal her fiancé.

she'd make sure of that.