3 Years

49 - Vent

If you saw this was published a moment ago, oops. Technical difficulties😅

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After the awkward and uncomfortable conversation with Veronica (or whatever she's deciding to call herself at this point), Nini grabbed her laptop and went onto the patio for a FaceTime call with Kourtney. "Hey, what's up?" she answered.

"Everything," she sighs.

"Wait, let me get wine. And maybe you should too."

"No, I want what I'm saying to possibly make some sense to you, and that definitely won't happen if I drink too much."

"Suit yourself."

A few minutes later, Kourtney came back, and Nini could see the size of the bottle and glass for a moment before it's most likely set on a table. "Is all that really necessary?" she asks, laughing.

"Yes," Kourtney answered simply. "This has to do with the love of your life who you have two children with, who came back from the dead, and surprise, has a wife and kid. Yes, this size glass is indeed needed. So... what happened this time?"

Nini put on headphones, learning from the last time that whatever she can do to minimize announcing information was going to be worth it. She began recalling all the events. "So I texted Ricky and said that the twins were ok with meeting, uh... more people. He answered and asked if he could call me. I said yes but never heard back."

"Yikes," Kourtney scolded, "especially at a time like this."

"I know; it's difficult. Anyway, after feeling ignored for many hours, I called yet again and... got an answer."

"Ooh, interesting. What'd he say?"

"Well... it was... Veronica."

"Seriously? She decided to answer?!"

"Yeah, I was surprised too."

"Did you have an actual conversation with her or just hang back up?"

"I could never do that; that'd be rude, and she hasn't really done anything wrong."

"Yes but...?"

"I just told her to have him call me. I didn't know how else to get out of that conversation and didn't want it to continue any longer. I mean... she offered to take a message to him, but this is something that doesn't need to take the risk of being confused along the way."

"Yeah," Kourtney agreed. "So how are the twins?"

"They're ok for the most part. They claim to be willing to meet new people, but I feel like they'll just shut down when they hear how Ricky knows them or that they're just doing this because they feel pressured."

"I mean... look on the bright side: they might talk to his kid a little since they're closer in age," she tried to reason.

Nini scoffed a little, and her face said really? "Kourt, you know how they are when it comes to emotions and differences. Jayden's a firework; everything builds up until he eventually just... explodes. Lauren is like a, um... a water balloon; she tries to hold in everything for everyone else's sake but then bursts under pressure. In both cases, they have a... a giant wall that they put up for the well-being of others."

"Wonder why they're like that," Kourtney muttered.

"Seriously? This is not the time to talk about mine and Ricky's unhealthy way of handling emotions."

"I didn't say anything!" she defends.

"Not directly," Nini added, twirling her ring.

"Fine, you want real help?" Nini's face just screamed desperation. "Relax," Kourtney emphasized. "How did they react after hearing Ricky was their dad?"

"Locked themselves in their rooms for hours and refused to leave no matter how many times I knocked."

That's just fantastic. "Ok, um..." She was trying to make a point and wasn't expecting to get stumped so soon. "Uh, well... new question: what about how they reacted after officially meeting Ricky?"

"They were fine... mostly. I guess the anticipation was building, and they had a little time to prepare themselves; plus, it was something that I think they've both always wanted deep down, but now... now I just don't know. I'm so fucking lost," she mumbled, putting her head in her hands.

"Well, that's similar now though, yeah?"

"No, not really. Yes, they know it's coming and can prepare, but prepare for what!? They don't know that these people are-" Nini cut herself off, scared of accidentally yelling this information and having someone overhear.

"Take a chill pill," Kourtney advised. "I would offer one or two of us to be there for moral support, but I feel like people should be kept to a minimum."

"Yeah, probably." The two women continued talking, venting to let everything out of their systems. "Enough about me and my... soap opera of a life," Nini lightly laughed. "What's up with you? I know you have a date soon."

"Yes, I do indeed," she smiled.

"Tell me about him again," Nini said, resting her head on one of her fists.

Brody from so many years ago unfortunately didn't work out either. That was probably one of the worst breakups for Kourtney. It was messy and confusing and just everywhere. She had sworn off men for a little while and has only had a few serious relationships since (meaning very few were lucky to hit one year). This new guy was someone she worked with and had already known for quite a while now.

While Nini and Kourtney talked about her upcoming date, something was going on inside the Salazar-Roberts home. Nini had left her phone on her nightstand after the little talk with Nia when she grabbed her laptop. That was fine; she didn't need her phone at the moment... but it needed her.

Her phone's vibration was amplified by the wooden table, desperately wanting to be noticed. Unfortunately, no one was around to hear it. The screen lit up with an old picture of a certain curly-headed boy labeled with a heart surrounded name.

On the other side of town, that same curly-haired man was on the edge of his seat, distressed as he waited and wanted to hear her voice come through.

But it never came.

He tried a few more times before his hope gave out. No one walked by the master bedroom; everyone had their noses in something else that took their attention.

Unfortunately for him, it was going to be hours before that phone was looked at again.

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Sorry if something is wrong with the formatting of this chapter. I had to publish it through the app since the site is down for some reason.

This was the hardest chapter to edit😅

(It literally started working again the second I published this on the app😒)