A light || Ricky and Nini

Chapter 185

Nini POV

"Let me drive." I insist as Ricky and I get to the car parked in his driveway. His eyes find mine and he looks unsure. "Nini it's fine, how about-" I cut him off and shake my head. "You're not in any condition to be driving. And I have a permit and you have a license so this is entirely legal. Just let me do this for you." I plead quietly and he nods, handing me his keys and slipping into the passenger seat without further comment.

My heart races as we drive to the hospital. Ricky's hands are woven tightly together and his leg bounces up and down with anxiety. He doesn't have to tell me for me to know that he's scared. "When we get there I'll drop you off at the front okay? That way you don't have to wait while I find a parking spot." Ricky looks over and even though I'm focusing on the road I can see confusion in his dazed expression. "Huh? Oh okay. Thanks." He says, his voice wavering a little bit and I bite my lip. "It's gonna be okay. One way or another this is going to be okay." I promise and his lips part, eyes reddening slightly. "Yeah. Yeah okay." He whispers out and when we pull into the hospital parking lot Ricky seems to be just barely sitting in his seat. "Okay I'll be up in a few minutes okay. Text me the floor." I say and he nods, as we pull up to the front doors. "Okay. I love you." He says, leaning over to kiss me briefly on the lips. I push his hair back from his eyes and give him a small smile. "I love you so much. Please don't kill anyone." He laughs and his genuine smile brings me extreme comfort. "I promise. Go park Nins, I'll see you in a few." He hops out of the car and jogs through the doors and my heart swells for a second. Because through all of this, through all of the pain and the heartache and anger he felt towards his mom, he was still running into the hospital to be by her, to make sure she's okay. It was then I realized I'm dating a man with one of the biggest hearts possible.

After parking the car I check my phone to get the floor number from Ricky. 6. I smile to myself as I get into the elevator. One of my favorite memories with Ricky comes rushing back to me, the day before we left for his mom's wedding. We were reading from a spiritual book and goofing off, and I close my eyes for a split second as I immerse myself back in the memory.

"Ricky stop, you don't mean that." I giggle as he grins, keeping the book open on his lap. "I can't help it Nins. 5 has meant love and marriage since ancient times. Isn't that amazing? So in 5 years I'm proposing to you and your ass better say yes." I laugh harder, doubling over as my cheeks start to hurt from smiling so much. "You better take that back before you get my hopes up. I don't do well with liars Bowen." He laughs hard and pulls on my hand, encouraging me to take the place of the book on his lap. "Nope I'm completely serious. Just you wait babe. Now look at this. Number 6 means family, harmony and healing. So in 6 years we're going to have a family." I laugh and make myself comfortable in his arms. "6 huh? I mean I understand the connection to family and harmony but why do we need healing?" He opens his mouth and mocks offense. "I can't BELIEVE you're going to do something in 6 years that's gonna make us fight." I push at his shoulder, giggling and shaking my head. "No HOW COULD YOU do what you're going to do that's gonna cause an argument?" Ricky laughs so hard he almost falls over with me in his arms and he presses his hands to my waist to stable us. "I love you so much." He says, seriousness seeping into his tone and I grin. "I love you so much too." He smiles, rocking us a little. "Hey wouldn't it be funny if my mom and I solve things completely? Like in 6 months... I don't know I guess that sounds crazy." He laughs and I shake my head. "No I mean obviously when we leave tomorrow you're getting ready to take a big step in a positive direction, but it won't happen all at once. So maybe, maybe all you need are 6 more months." I smile and he kisses my forehead. "Whatever happens, tomorrow... 6 months from now... 6 years from now... I'm glad you're right here next to me."

I'm pulled out of the memory by the elevator arriving on the 6th floor. I step out, looking around and hoping I could figure out the direction to go but it doesn't take much for me to wonder where Ricky is. "LYNNE. NOT BRYNNE." Ricky's voice echoes through the hallway and I panic, running towards his voice and feeling relief when I spot him from across the hallway, leaning against a counter with a nurse behind it. "Okay I'm sorry hon. I got it now. It says here that she can't have visitors at the moment. She's-" Ricky shakes his head and I can see his fist balled at his side. "My step brother is in there. LET ME-" I run over quickly and press my hand to his back, rubbing it soothingly and using my other hand to grab his. "Hey. Hey calm down, I'm here, this woman is only here to help, everything's going to be okay." I coax and Ricky pushes his curls back before squeezing my hand. "I'm sorry for getting so upset." He mutters to the nurse and she shakes her head, giving him a small smile. "It's okay hon, we'll send you in. But the problem is, the doctor hasn't determined anything so you can't stay in there long." Ricky nods, intertwining his hand with mine. "I'll be quick." He promises and the nurse nods, giving us a room number.