A light || Ricky and Nini

Chapter 175

Ricky POV

I feel Nini press her nose into my shoulder and I close my eyes, rubbing her arm. I don't know what to say and I don't want to say the wrong thing, so instead I reach down and pull the envelope out of her hands. She looks up at me questioningly as I put the envelope under my thigh and I turn to collect her in my arms. Her breathing is uneven when she realizes why I took the envelope from her. She understands though, her free hands coming up to my shoulders and rubbing over and over again. It feels like she's trying to steady herself but both of her hands travel across my body like she's trying to touch more of me. I look down at her and thread my fingers through the back of her hair. I massage her scalp gently and her hands finally still. She takes a deep breath and pulls away from me. "Okay, I'm all good." She says and my eyebrows shoot up. "What? Nins hold on a sec." She shakes her head and stands up, leaning down to grab the envelope and turning towards the direction we had come. "I'm all good. Ready to head back?" I open and close my mouth in shock and stand up. "Hey, stop." I say, pulling on her waist so that she doesn't go anywhere. She turns around to face me, but looks everywhere but in my eyes. "Nini." I mutter and she shakes her head. "If I stop and think about it I'm gonna fall apart. So let's just go back and have dinner okay? I have to apologize to my moms." I shake my head, knowing too well that when feelings are ignored they're more dangerous than just facing them. "Nini..." I warn her and her face contorts just a little bit which means I'm starting to push her to her breaking point. "What?" She says and I look down at her, torn. "You wouldn't let me stew in silence Nini. You've gotta talk to me, or at the very least let yourself feel these emotions. Come here." I open my arms to her and she hesitates before closing the distance between our bodies and pressing her face into my shoulder. "I don't know what to do." She cries out and I nod, rubbing her back and whispering into her ear. "You're not doing this alone. You've got your moms, me, even my dad." I tell her into her hair and I can only hear her muffled crying. I tighten my hold on her and rub the back of her neck. "We're doing this together. Just like you always tell me, okay?" I say and she pulls back. "Promise me?" She asks, her forehead against my chest which muffles her voice. "Always." I say and she lets out a deep breath before looking up at me. I press my thumbs to her cheek bones, rubbing her skin gently and not missing the small smile forming on her face. "What a way to come back from vacation huh?" I ask and she laughs genuinely through her tears, wrapping me back in her arms.

"Hey there hon, are you okay?" Dana greets us when we reach the front door of her house. Nini lets out a shaky breath and moves forward to give her a hug. She mumbles something to Dana and I see Dana smile, pressing her face further into her daughter's shoulder. "That's okay baby, this is a lot. And we truly shouldn't have opened it up." She says and Nini pulls back, offering her a kind smile. "I want to think about this on my own for a little while. I know you want to talk. But I'm not quite ready for this to just be a dinner conversation." She says and Dana nods, linking their arms together and guiding her through the front door. "Take your time, you got it?" Nini nods and turns around, meeting my eyes and putting out her free hand for me to take. I smile and grab it willingly, intertwining our fingers and following the two inside.

"Sorry for the drama tonight Mr. Bowen." Nini apologizes to my dad, her face burning as she re enters the kitchen, just having reconciled with her moms in the living room. My dad shakes his head and stands up, grinning at her. "Come on, my household is the definition of drama. You have nothing to apologize for sweetheart." Nini smiles shyly and makes her way over to give him a hug. "Do you guys mind if I head up for bed?" Nini asks quietly when she pulls away and her moms shake their heads, giving sympathetic looks. "No not at all. We'll see you in the morning." Carol says gently and Nini nods. She walks over to me and I feel her hands gripping one of my wrists before she presses a kiss to my cheek. "I'll call you later." She says before pulling away and leaving the kitchen without another word, the envelope that caused tonight's drama still clutched tightly in her hand.

"She didn't eat." Dana says quietly as we watch Nini exit through the doorway and I sigh, looking at the ground. "I'll bring something up to her. She's out of her mind if she thinks I'm just gonna leave her alone with her thoughts tonight. No offense to your parenting or anything... we just have an unspoken agreement that we don't do that." Carol chuckles and shakes her head. "I figured. If it's okay with Mike you can stay the night with her. I don't think she should be alone either." My dad shakes his head and sighs. "I wouldn't want that girl alone in her bedroom for anything. Of course you can stay Rick." I nod gratefully and walk to the fridge, pulling out precut fruit the top shelf that Nini's always so proud of. "Let me guess, you two have your own comfort foods too?" I laugh and run a hand through my hair. "Absolutely. We've gotta always be prepared." I say, thinking about the times I've been upset and she's brought me oranges and apples for snack. "But anyways, what kinda stuff do I say? I don't know who this guy is or-" Dana cuts me off and gives me a small smile. "You always know what to say to her Ricky. Don't stress." I bite my lip and nod. "I guess I'll figure it out. And I guess I should also ask... what do you want her to do?" Carol looks at Dana, who puts her hands on the back of the chair for stability. "Whatever she wants. It's her father, and it's her life." She says and I nod, giving them a smile. "She's headstrong and will do the right thing. It's literally in her blood." Dana gives me a grateful smile and rubs my shoulder before gesturing to towards the doorway. "We'll see you in the morning okay? Go be there for our girl." I hug each of them before giving my dad a wave and make my way out of the kitchen.