rainbow connection | rini

nine

When Ricky pulled into the driveway, he began to repeatedly tap Nini's cheek. Though the action was very light, it annoyed her awake. She whined and weakly swung her hand forward. As quietly as possible, he helped her into his home. Unfortunately, she stumbled and began to fall, so he slammed the door as he attempted and succeeded in catching her.

"Ricky?" He heard his mother call out.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. "Yeah, it's me." He heard her coming down the stairs, so he guided Nini to the couch and ran to meet his mother at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, hi, honey! You're back early, aren't you?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Listen, I need to talk to you about a small situation."

"I'm listening."

"There's a girl who's half-asleep in our living room and I'd really appreciate it if you'd allow her to stay the night," he told her.

"Ricky, you know the rule about girls. They don't sleep over," she said, her voice stern.

He decided it was easier to just explain. "I do, Mom, but this is serious. Okay, listen, she's my dance partner and she was at the party with one of my teammates but he got her drunk really fast and the way the situation was playing out, it seemed like he was trying to take advantage of her. So, I decided to get her out of the party. But she's really drunk, Mom, and I don't know where she lives so I can't take her home."

His mother sighed and tapped her foot, weighing the options. "Okay, Ricky," she decided, "But she sleeps in the guest room."

"Okay. Thank you so much." He hugged his mom.

"Make sure she eats before going to bed," she told him and began to make her way back up the stairs.

Ricky went back into the den and said to Nini, "Let's go to the kitchen."

"Why?" She asked sleepily.

"Did you eat today?" He asked. Nini rolled her head in his direction and said nothing. "Okay, well, let's go to the kitchen."

"Not hungry."

"Not asking." He helped her to the kitchen and scooped leftover spaghetti onto a plate before putting it in the microwave.

Nini ate the spaghetti very slowly and in small bites. Ricky watched her for a few minutes and then scooped some spaghetti for himself. She seemed to push her food around more than she actually ate it.

"If you don't like it, I can give you something else," he told her. She shook her head.

"It's good, it's not that," she said quietly. Her words were slurred and she looked like she was ready to pass out on the island.

"Well, then. Eat it."

Nini did eat it, but even in her drunken state, she was unable to stomach it. "Do you have a bathroom?" She asked.

Ricky laughed. "Yes, as most houses do. Are you asking me to help you find it?" She gave him a sluggish nod.

He carefully guided her down the hall. Once at the door for the bathroom, he pointed to it. Nini scrambled in, failing to completely shut the door. Almost instantaneously, Ricky heard a horrible retching sound.

"Nini?" He called out. Her only response was more retching. So, he pushed open the door slowly.

Nini was doubled over the toilet, her fingers pressed far back into her throat. Ricky wasn't sure what to do, but after she pulled her fingers out and more gagging followed, he'd made a decision.

Quickly, he wet some toilet paper and gently pushed her upper body away from the toilet until she was leaning against the wall. That's when he realized that she was crying. He felt bad. So, so bad.

"Shh," he cooed as he wiped her mouth clean. "You're okay, it's okay." Her sobs bordered hysterical as Ricky cleaned the hand she'd used to make herself sick. He sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug. "No, no. We're not crying about this. Everything is okay."

Somehow, Nini managed to choke out an apology. Ricky shushed her again. So, they sat in silence, her sobs filling the small space, for an eternity. Eventually, Ricky stood up and pulled her to her feet.

"Let's get some rest," he told her. She nodded.

He led her to what seemed to her to be a guest bedroom and pulled the covers back for her. She kicked off her shoes, pulled off her socks, and climbed in. He tossed the covers over her torso and smiled.

As he walked toward the door, he said, "Goodnight, Nini."

"Wait," she called out. He turned around, a curious look on his face. Gina was already upset with him for leaving her at the party, he definitely wasn't going to push the envelope by laying with Nini in some sort of movie cliche. "Can I have a hug?"

He nodded with a smile and made his way back to her. The two embraced each other for an extensive hug. Nini needed that hug.

Upon waking up, Nini looked around and didn't recognize the room she was in. She let out a groan and pulled herself out of bed. Sadly, she tripped on her own shoes.

Someone knocked on the door, "Are you okay?"

Nini sighed and pulled the door open. "Peachy," She told Ricky. "I tripped on my own shoes, I kind of have a headache, and I don't know what happened yesterday."

"We can talk about that in a short second, but my mom wanted me to ask what you wanted for breakfast," he told her. She sighed heavily, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm okay with whatever."

"Nope," He said, "you have to pick. She will kill me if you don't pick."

She looked at him for a moment and finally said, "Fine. Waffles?" He nodded and then left.

When he came back, he gestured toward the bed and said, "Let's talk."

They sat down together and she said, "I wanna know how I ended up here."

"I brought you here. EJ got you drunk and then he tried to have sex with you and you weren't completely conscious, so I grabbed you and left," he explained. "I know that religion is important to you and you made the promise to be abstinent so I wasn't going to let you just drop all that."

She smiled softly and said, "Thank you. How did EJ react?"

"EJ isn't happy with me. It's shitty, but he and the other guys made a bet to see how fast he could get you to have sex with him. I think some of your teammates are in on it, too." Ricky then realized how bad the situation was and thought that maybe he should have told someone.