𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | rini & jolivia oneshots

home for the holidays

       I hate Christmas.

       Mom had left, Dad was now depressed and drank too much, Nini had left to live her dream, and Big Red's family was visiting his extended family in Italy.

       I swore that if I heard another person walking past me humming "Jingle Bells," I would slap them. Mistletoe hung everywhere right now, and every house in the neighborhood was decorated with red and green. It's No-ho-ho for me this time of year.

        Damn, I'm turning into Ebenezer Scrooge this year.

        When there was Mom, we were all one big happy family. Dad used to love taking us to Christmas parades in Disneyland. Nini always made me feel better. Big Red could cheer me up with one of his ridiculous rants.

        I trudged through the snow, kicking at the pebbles. As I stared at all those houses with their festive decorations, I felt a pang in my heart. This year, our house didn't even bother to put up a wreath.

      My house didn't feel like my home anymore. It was like a strange foreign place. It wasn't the home I grew up in, that's for sure. Dad is like a zombie sadly wandering around the house. He isn't abusive, he just looks...sad. His eyes are soulless and he's just fallen into a deep state of depression.

      I've kept myself entertained by watching a series of romance movies. You might ask, Why, Ricky Bowen, out of all the movies in the world, why would you choose those sappy love movies?

      I don't know. It makes me feel closer to Nini. It also reminds me of when Mom and Dad used to be together.

      I grumbled as I opened the door. I didn't see Dad or his car in sight, so I guessed he must have left to go to the bar. I dragged my feet upstairs and went to my room.

It was eerily quiet. It was something I would never get used to entirely, even though I'd been an only child for all of my life. I flipped through my phone and found an unopened voicemail from Mom.

"Hey, Ricky. Sorry to bother you at this hour, and I'm probably the last person you want to hear from. I hope Dad is doing well back there. The truth is, I'm pregnant. You're going to be a big brother! Or a stepbrother. We don't know when the baby is expected, but it's coming. Send my well wishes to Nini's family and Dad!"

I sat there in disbelief. "What?"

Nini's POV

"Brava, brava!" Mr. Fummel said. "You all did an amazing job on the staged production of Aladdin. You'll all come back to school January. For now, ho-ho-ho, have a Merry Christmas!"

I jumped up and down giddily. Finally I was coming home. Denver was great, but it's time to come back to Salt Lake.

I immediately FaceTimed Kourtney. "Hey girl!"

"Neeners! I haven't seen your face in five months!"

"Unfortunately, they don't allow phones here. How's everyone back home?"

"They're good. I sense something going down between EJ and Gina, Seb and Carlos are still going strong, Ashlyn is now promoted from co-captain of the Renaissance Club to the captain, Big Red visited his extended family in Italy, and you-know-who is a mess."

"Hermione Granger?"

"No, idiot, Ricky."

I was worried. "What's up with him?"

"He's having the worst holiday ever. His dad started drinking and is now a living zombie, his mom apparently got pregnant with Todd and he's becoming a big brother, or stepbrother, to be specific. Now he's just lying around sadly watching Titanic. Oh yeah, he's been talking about you nonstop. I'm pretty sure he stored a bunch of love letters in his desk."