3 Years

72 - Leaving

Three days. Noah has been completely ignoring Ricky and Nia for three days. He avoids them at all hours of the day, only leaving his room for food or the bathroom. They don't know how much longer this is going to go on, but it was stressful.

He refuses to acknowledge them when they speak to him, quickly doing whatever it is he left his room for before going straight back in without a single word.

Ricky had to cancel on Nini since he knew that that would probably only make things worse with Noah; he felt some guilt though because he had texted her so last minute about it, but she said that she was completely fine with it because of the circumstances and that they can always reschedule.

Nia was going to be out for most of the day since she was going to talk with her mom about her job, so that left Ricky alone to try and get Noah to talk to him. He doesn't want to press, afraid of driving him further over the edge by seeming pushy, but he also didn't want this silent treatment to continue.

Ricky just knew that he wanted to be better than his parents had been for him. His father was (and still is) a fantastic man but did not do well in the feelings department. His mother was only slightly better, yet it is quite obvious what happened with her.

The problem was that his dad would leave him alone, which is what Ricky had wanted at the time, yet they never talked about anything; they would just ignore it long enough until it was no longer a problem, which was a rather unhealthy habit. Ricky wanted to take a better approach to this and have Noah get everything off his chest over being crushed under the weight of it all.

He knew the door was still locked since he could hear when Noah would push in the button so opted for the next best thing: just sitting and talking.

Ricky sat in the hallway with his back against the door and listened; he guessed Noah was either on his tablet or reading. "Hey, bud?" he said. No answer. "Whether you're listening or... tuning me out, I just want you to know that... I meant what I said. The three of us still are and will always be a family. We don't need any pieces of paper to tell us that."

No noise or any other form of acknowledgment came from the other side. He decided to continue anyway. "Mom and I just want different things for our lives. I know you don't understand that yet, but... Anything that happens from this point forward is no one's fault. Nothing bad happened between me and your mom for us to have made the decisions we have. This part of our lives... has just come to an end."

He still made no noise, and tears began to appear in Ricky's eyes as the situation hit him harder. He had vowed to himself to be better than his parents were to him, and so far, that goal has only failed time and time again.

"The person I've been seeing... you've already met her." Ricky bit his tongue, unsure if now was the right time for this yet still knowing there was no point in keeping anything else from him. "Do you remember Nini?" No answer still. "Well, I went out with her a while back; it's only been once so far. I didn't want to tell you from the start because I wasn't sure how you would take it. Bubba, please don't hate me for this. I- I love you, and... I'm sorry."

Ricky leaned his head back against the door, wishing for some sort of acknowledgment. Apparently, there must have been a genie in the room because the door opened, and Ricky fell backward onto the floor, a small thud sounding in the room. When he finally realized what had happened, Noah was standing over him.

Ricky quickly scrambled onto his knees, so he was closer to the boy's height. "Noah, I'm sorry; I really am. I know none of this is what you wanted or expected, a- and that you see our lives before moving as better, but... I- I don't know what else to say." His eyes bounced around his son's face, trying to read his expression and hoping for a positive outcome.

Noah didn't say anything, instead wrapping his arms around his father's neck. Ricky held him close, gently rubbing his back. "I'm sorry," he repeatedly whispered. "I love you."

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, both sniffling and clinging to the other like their life depended on it. Ricky heard Noah mumble something yet couldn't make out what it was. "Did you say something, bubba?"

For the first time in three days, he answered. "P- Pl- Please d- don't leave."

Ricky's brows furrowed as he pulled away. "What are you talking about?"

Noah wiped at his eyes. "I don't want you to move out."

"Wh- What? Where did that come from?"

He shrugged. "Y- You have o- other kids to take c- care of."

"Noah, look at me. You will always be a priority of mine; that will never change. And I don't plan to move out any time soon." Ricky couldn't deny that he wanted some sort of a relationship with the twins, but he couldn't just abandon Noah; it wouldn't be fair. "I know that sharing time seems unfair and scary... but everything will be ok."

"How do you know?"

He couldn't think of a logical explanation. "I just do."

The boy nodded along, still worrisome. "Ok." They hugged again, and Noah repeated, "Please don't leave."

Ricky held him tightly. "I'm not leaving. You don't have to worry about that."

This hug lasted longer than the first one. "How about we have that movie night that I promised a few days ago, yeah? You can still pick, and we'll watch it when Mom gets home."

Noah nodded, still sniffling. Ricky stood and guided him out of his bedroom and to the living room. The boy went to the bookshelf that had anything but books on it and started scanning the spines of each case.

Ricky went to the kitchen and set a bag of popcorn on the counter in preparation. He also texted Nia about the plan for tonight and that Noah was talking again. She responded quickly, saying that it shouldn't be much longer before she's done and can head home.

He breathed a deep sigh of relief, still very much amazed with what his life is. Thank fucking god this went somewhat well.

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Wrote this mess at one in the morning👍