ricky and nini's realizations

chapter 44

nini's pov

i feel a gentle tap on my shoulder, "nini honey. it's time to go home." "no." "sweetie we can't stay. mike is here with him. you'll see him soon enough," my pent up emotion starts to come out, "i can't leave," i say as i fight the tears that i'm sure they can see in my eyes. "i know how you're feeling honey, but now is not the time to be difficult. he'll be okay." a tear falls down my cheek at my mom's caring words that i took harshly. mike chimes in, "she's welcome to stay." nini doesn't look at any parent, just back to ricky's sleep induced body. my moms kiss my head then go speak to mike about something. i didn't have it in me to listen to the conversation. probably just making sure he's okay and talking about ricky anyway. they're standing just outside the doorframe and i say, "bye moms," bye honey. call us when to come get you." i nod my head. mike makes himself comfortable in the chairs on the wall and i lean my head into his bed to get into a comfortable position knowing that i won't be moving anytime soon. my eyes grow heavy from my emotional and physical exhaustion of the day.

ricky's pov

i pry my eyes open through the pounding pain of my head. my eyes can't focus on anything. as i think to myself what's going on, i recall being in an ambulance. i then remember further back when nini was telling me to open my eyes as her hands eased a bit of the pain. my eyes slowly come into focus. i scan the room and see my dad laying in chairs against the wall in a deep sleep automatically proving me with comfort. i look down to myself taking in what's in front of me. nini. it's completely dark in the room and i can't turn my head to look for a clock to find out the hour. she's sitting in a chair beside me with a tear stained face breaking my heart. i then start to remember the basketball game and how i got to this point. i take note of the iv needle in the top of my hand. one of my hands is tightly clutched in one of hers. i use my free hand to reach up and feel what's itching my nose only to feel a tube on my face. so i have an iv and an oxygen tube on my face i objectively conclude. nini stirs for barely even a second before her eyes flutter open. she looks up to me and i can tell she didn't expect me to be awake. her head pops up off of the bed so quickly as she whisper yells moving closer to me, "how long have you been awake?! are you okay? are you in pain? do you need- " i stop her with a weak smile that i could barely muster. "no one expected you to wake up this early. are you okay?" i squeeze her hand. i don't know if i can speak yet because of how much my body feels like it's lagging. i nervously make an effort to spit out some words. my voice comes out groggily, "head is pounding, but better." i see her eyes fill with tears shocking me. "i'm sorry." she tells me. "what?" i ask not being able to follow with a readable facial expression. "i'm so sorry you got hurt," her voice breaks and i just want to engulf her in a hug. "i'm so so glad you're okay. i was so scared. oh my gosh," she says closing her eyes and shaking her head. all i can do it listen. i don't have the energy to stop her rambling as sad as it is to listen to. "you. i-i heard your head hit the ground. so loud," she cries audibly, "it was so loud." i squeeze her hand tighter when she stops. i feel so exhausted and am fighting falling asleep. i need to close my eyes and her to stay right here, "lay with me," i quietly push the words out with urgency. she doesn't let go of my hand as she carefully avoids hurting me and curling into my side on the hospital bed. she brings her other arm to wrap around my torso gently, but as tight as she can before she thinks she'll hurt me even though it's a head injury only. it's easy to pick up on how she's trying to be gentle with me right now. i lay there not being able to do anything more to comfort her. i can tell how scared she is. i couldn't imagine seeing her hurt. ever. i get that thought out of my head before i can even elaborate in my own thoughts. "i'm okay nins," "no, you're hurting." i don't wanna keep replaying it in my head and i can see how tired she is,"let's go to sleep." i close my eyes to rest. not being able to keep my eyes open anymore after those five minutes. i know she's silently crying into my side and i hate it. i really hate it, but there's nothing for me to do except for fall asleep.