Beautifully Broken [BNHA]

Chapter Seven

A/N: Prepare for feels... I was good for all the other chapters but this one was really hard to write, for me, and I may or may not have been sobbing at some point

Ridley stopped at the nursing home after school the following day. She was greeted by a polite middle-aged woman wearing some pastel blue scrubs with cute bunnies on them. It seemed like a nice place, the staff all seemed cheerful and the residents who appeared to be in their right state of cognitive presence all seemed to be enjoying their time.

"Good Afternoon, dear, how may I help you?" The kind woman at the front desk asked.

Ridley offered her a dazzling smile, "Good Afternoon, I was hoping it would be alright to visit a resident."

"Oh sure, honey, who are you looking for?"

"Um..." Ridley hesitated feeling suddenly nervous, "Risa Mori."

The woman's smile fell slightly, "Oh, sure dear. Follow me." She fixed her smile and steered the teen down a brightly decorated hall, past a large dining room, recreation room and ballroom. They took a turn down another brightly decorated hall that had plaques next to every door with all the room numbers and tenants' names etched into them. They came to a stop outside room number 47. Ridley felt her pulse quicken as she saw Risa Mori etched into the nameplate. This was it.

She hesitantly knocked on the door as the kind woman walked away. Her heart hammered in her chest as she waited for what felt like an eternity for a reply.

"Come in." A sweet elderly voice chimed after a moment.

Ridley's fingers trembled as she opened the door. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. It was neat and tidy. There were floral print curtains at the large bay window. Lace doilies covered every surface. There were candy jars filled with an assortment of individually wrapped hard candies. An overwhelming floral aroma permeated the air making it thick and hard to breathe.

Shakily, Ridley took another step forward and felt her heart stutter in her chest as she spotted an elderly woman with snow white hair pulled into a tight bun atop her head. She had gold eyes and looked to be in the process of knitting what looked like bright pink baby booties.

"Rina!" The elderly woman beamed, "Good timing, I've just finished these booties for the baby." She set her knitting aside and slowly got to her feet moving as if every bone in her body ached.

"Uh...Ms. Mori, my name is Ridl-." She cut off as the elderly woman pulled her in for a hug. Hesitantly she hugged her back as her eyes welled with tears.

"Rina, dear, you look thin." The elderly woman released her from her hold and pinched her cheeks, "And pale."

"Ms. Mori...My name is Ridley...I'm Rina's daughter..."

Her gold eyes flooded with confusion for a moment. "You say such silly things sometimes, my dear." She gave her an affectionate pat on the cheek. "Did everything go alright with the baby? I know you were worried about that awful man taking her away."

Ridley felt like someone sucker punched her, all the air whooshed from her lungs. "A-awful man?" She asked shakily as her grandmother steered her over to the window seat.

"Here, darling, some sunshine will do you good." She gave her a motherly kiss atop her head. "Yes, dear, Rose's father, you said you were worried he'd try and take her from you."