ricky and nini's realizations

chapter 48

general pov

a couple weeks pass by and it's time for ricky to get his check up with the er doctor. each day was spent with the same routine everyday: darkness, boredom, salazar roberts moms doing their daily lunchtime check in, mike feeling guilty about ricky being home alone while he's at work, and nini spending the afternoon comforting a restless ricky. he's been getting progressively better which is huge in this short amount of time. he took his rest very seriously because he wants to get back to basketball and doesn't want to endure the uncomfortableness any longer than he needs to. he's not expected to be 100% better yet, but hopes are that he'll be significantly better. ricky goes in for an mri as mike waits in the waiting room sending a text to lynne, "ricky gets his check up today. you need to call him lynne. this wasn't some silly bump or bruise. he had a traumatic injury and you have yet to contact either of us." he released a breath to get rid of some of the pent up anger he always tries to hide from ricky after clicking send. in the meantime, ricky gets comfortable inside of the machinery as he nervously waits for the scanning to be over just wanting to know what the doctor will have to say.

ricky's pov

i walk inside the door with my dad going to the couch or should i say my obvious destination. i slowly sit and move to lay down. this was the first time i've left the house since last being at the hospital after the accident and it took a lot out of me from being in the car and experiencing the bright lights of the hospital building. my dad plops down next to me and pats my leg, "well, with what the doctor said based on your results you can head back to school. i know it'll still be too much, so i'll let you stay home a few more days," i feel so relieved with that. i can't sit at a desk in bright lighting while trying to think and concentrate for eight hours. "when can i play again?" i know i won't hear an answer i like though. "rick, you know that's not very likely," he puts it in the best way he could and in a sorrowful tone just making me more down about it although it wasn't his intention. "whatcha want for dinner?" he asks. "pizza sounds good," i say into the blanket. "sounds good to me too," he stands up patting my leg again. later, i enjoy the simplicity of it just being me and my dad as we eat our dinner. "dad, is it cool if i just wait a couple more days like three maybe?," i throw out a random number, "i wanna get back to school, but i don't think i'm ready like the doctor said." he nods his head in agreeance, "i think you could use those extra days, so whenever you're ready." this opens up conversation of what going back to school will look like for me, "you can't ride your skateboard for a while either. so you better have nini come pick you up. i don't want you walking down the block to her house either, even though it's a short distance. you have to take it as easy as possible. understood?" i didn't even think about not being able to do little things that i like, but at the same time this will all be over eventually. "got it."

nini's pov

it's finally the day that ricky goes back to school and i'm excited to have him back at school with all of us, but i'm also nervous. it seems really soon to me, but he knows what he can handle. i just hope that he listens to his body. i pull up to his house a few minutes early that morning. i look up when i see movement on the front porch and meet his eyes. i give a simple smile and wait for him to get in. "hey, how ya feeling?" i ask as he slides his hand onto my thigh closest to him gripping it. he immediately closes his eyes as he rests his head against the back of the seat. he just looks miserable already. "i'm okay. i took my pain meds, so hopefully they'll kick in soon," he says hopefully. "if you need to stay home, then please don't push yourself to go to school. you know you can take all of the time you need," i encourage while rubbing his forearm. "i'm all good. i promise," he says putting a fake smile on his face. i laugh a little, "you're such a bad liar." he opens his eyes to give me a death stare turning his head toward me, "am not," he protests. it's cute. "that was definitely a straight lie, but i'll let it slide for you," i counteract. he squeezes my leg and closes his eyes again with a real smile on his face not having the energy to laugh. i take that as my cue to start driving and i make sure to do so slowly and takes the turns extra slow. we pull up to the school and i make sure to hop out first, so i can come around to his side before he has enough time to get out. i open his door for him and get a silly response from him, "wow you're such a gentleman nini," he reaches for my hand to hold shutting the door behind him. "oh i'm a wonderful gentleman," i say with a laugh. we begin to walk and he releases his hold on my hand as we start approaching the front doors due to our agreement when in public. i look around for a split second to simply see who all is around us, but mentally shake my head because it shouldn't matter. i grab his hand again and his eyes widen immediately displaying his confused expression while he glances to our hands, "we're almost to the school nins." "i know," i say as i inch closer to his side. "you sure?" he asks and i can see a blush grow on his face making me blush right back, but i look away before he sees it. we enter the foyer where we routinely part ways for our first class, but i pull us to the side, "you text me today if you need anything or go to the nurse and she'll call one of my moms to come pick you up. okay?," i say somewhat demanding because i know he'll just try to act like nothing is wrong all day and he'll be suffering silently. i raise my eyebrows for an answer and he looks down to me pecking my nose. i scrunch my nose in surprise and jolt back giggling, "you got it baby." "i mean it ricky," i say stepping back towards him with my hand still holding his. he nods his head like a little kid on purpose, "good to know that your pain killers are already kicking in," i say matter of factly in regards to his playful behavior. i get a true laugh out of him and he scrunches his face leaning into me, "guess so," he says to agree with me. "i'll see you later," i tell him about to part ways with him. he uses his other arm to hook around my waist trapping me against him and my eyes shoot up to him. "we still have a few minutes," he tells me suggestively. "really? and where do you see a clock at?" i question knowing that he doesn't even know the time just that he used it as an excuse to stand here a little bit longer which makes me happy.  "mm, i don't think i need to check the time to know that i need a few more minutes with you before class," he says leaning down to my height. i know what he's hinting at, but i thought he was joking and wouldn't actually do it.  he leans further into me pressing his lips into mine not asking for permission. we've never kissed like that. there's always some gazing at each other's lips asking for access before we kiss. he kissed me enough to make me feel dizzy. it was a long kiss and he tugged on my lips as he parted. i forget my surroundings and look up into his eyes not knowing how to react. his hand on my waist slides to rub my back some after a moment of staring bringing me back into reality. i move to my tippy toes to peck his lips quickly, but don't move away. instead i release ours hands to put them around his neck. i bashfully speak, "i think that counts as your few extra minutes." "how about a few more minutes," he asks knowing the answer is no, but finds humor in it and i do too. we both smile like little kids at each other, "bye, have a good day and please remember what i said. i'll see you in a little bit." "i will. bye nins." i step away from him dragging our fingers against each other as i walk away.