𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.

𝟐𝟎 | 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞𝐬.

after visiting gracie in her room, she cried all night in her bedroom. on the other hand, ricky stayed downstairs to give her some space. he sat down on the couch, put his hands against his forehead and started crying. he really didn't mean anything he said to nini. that's until, he heard a loud bang upstairs.

ricky tried knocking several times on her door, but the girl wouldn't answer. "please! go away ricky! i don't want to see you!"

he didn't force it so he left to give her some space and ended up sleeping back in his room.

—

nini woke up the next morning, still exhausted from last night since she didn't get enough sleep. she freshened up before moving to gracie's room. she smiled slightly when she saw her awake and giggling. she picked up the girl and bounces her by the hip. "good morning, gracie."

she went downstairs and sighed in relief when ricky wasn't there. she made some breakfast and ate with gracie. that's until she heard some footsteps. it was ricky. he didn't look good. his hair was a mess and the dark circles under his eyes were evident. "oh uh hi nini."

"i made some breakfast. you should eat." nini replies, sliding him a plate of eggs.

"uh thanks." ricky replies. "look nini i-"

"please don't. can we not talk about it?"

"ok, but i was just gonna say that i already accepted the offer and i'm leaving for la this week. with that, i'll be moving out today." ricky said in a soft tone.

"oh alright. wishing you all the best in la." nini responded, not making eye contact to him.

ricky walks over to gracie, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "bye gracie. i'll try to visit soon. please take care of nini for me ok? don't give her a hard time."

nini started tearing up again until she felt ricky stand behind her. he kissed the top of her head and felt tears coming out as well. "don't worry. by the time you come back home from work. i'll be out of your life for good."

and it was true. he kept his word.

nini and gracie came home to an empty house. his guitar wasn't in the usual spot, his family pictures were nowhere to be seen. nini tried to stop the tears from coming down.

she set gracie back to her crib before proceeding to her bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes. she spotted a black velvet box with a small note on top of her bed. she opened the box to see a beautiful necklace. she whispered to herself, "he remembered."

hey nins,
this is really awkward, but yeah anyways, this is for you, i actually bought this last week. when you told me that you've been wanting this necklace for so long. i decided that this would have been the perfect anniversary gift. anyways, i'll see you soon. let's keep in touch about gracie. i love you both with my whole heart.
- ricky.

despite the conflicts she had with ricky, she decided to still keep the necklace. she wore it and looked at herself at the mirror. the girl gave a small smile as she admired the necklace hung to her neck.