A/N: So I sort of just noticed that I forgot to post a chapter and I'm really sorry. I realized that I had written it on a different app and hadn't sent it over so it wasn't on my list. Really sorry for the malfunction. Hopefully this makes things a little more clear though.
Chapter 4
When they got back home, Ric's father was awake and sitting in the living room. By this time it was nearing three in the morning. Ric hung his head at the sight of his father. He knew there would be no kind words spoken to him now. And boy was he right. His father was livid. "What the hell is wrong with you Ricardo? Huh? You go out running around with those thugs and now you're smoking pot and stealing cars? Christ. I would have thought that I raised you better than that." Ric was speechless. He was getting angrier with every word that came out of his father's mouth.
"STOP!' he shouted finally. "Stop and shut up! You have no right to chastise me! You never did anything except put me down when I was a kid. You didn't raise me, you ruined me! You're the reason that I started hanging out with those guys in the first place! You told me that I needed to toughen up and be a man so I did! I'm sick of never being good enough for you! And I'm done trying to make you love me! I give up!" Ric was crying, the big, ugly tears that he once knew so well were streaming down his red-flushed face. He was breathing deeply, trying to control his shaking fists. He was so angry he was seeing red. He stormed out the front door, the only thought he had was needing to get away and get some fresh air.
He sat on the steps of the porch and cried. He cried for the things that he had done and the things that he had just said. He couldn't decide if he meant them or not. His mother had always told him that if you couldn't decide whether something is good or bad, then it's probably bad. Going on that, Ric decided that he probably did mean those words. He was sick of trying to change for the people that couldn't love him for who he was. He swore to himself that he'd never change himself for anyone ever again. As he came to this conclusion, he heard the front door open softly. "Ricky?" came his mother's soft voice. "Are you okay mijo? I brought you some tea for your throat. I'm sorry that I let him bully you Ricky. I thought that he was only saying those things to me. I didn't realize that he said them to you as well. I'm so sorry I didn't help you mijo," she said.
"He only said them to me a couple times Mama. And he never said them to me so harshly. I could hear you and him fighting at night though. I didn't do this because I believed that I was really as weak as he said. I did it because I was so sick of him upsetting you. I just wanted him to quit yelling at you because you loved me unconditionally," Ric consoled. His mother looked shocked. She looked at him as if he was the bravest knight in the land. "Oh mijo. I never knew you heard those fights. Why didn't you mention it Ricky?" she asked softly.
"I didn't want you to get upset. I thought that if I just started to change on my own then neither of you would feeling like you were forcing me," he whispered. A single tear dripped down his mother's face. "I love you mijo. More than anything in the world. I'll always love you. Don't ever forget that Ricky." Ric nodded softly. "I will remember until the day my memory ends, Mami."
Ricky and his mother stood from the porch slowly. Ricky had finished his tea and started back in to finish the argument with his father. He thought that they could talk it out and everything would be okay. But once again, Ric was wrong. It seemed that he had been wrong quite a lot lately. When he and his mother came back in, his father was standing in the entry way with two bags at his feet and a paper in his hand. "These are your clothes," he said, " and this is a plane ticket," he help up the paper. "You're taking the first flight to Miami in the morning. I won't have you in my house. I won't have you bringing around these thugs and their drugs. Or Christ forbid your little boyfriend. God knows you were a fag from the day you were born," he spat. Ricky was frozen. He couldn't even speak.
His mother was the one that spoke up. "No he won't. He's staying right here. He isn't going anywhere. This is ridiculous," she said. That was the first time Ric had ever seen his mother speak harshly. "Go to your room Ricardo. Your mother and I need to speak." his father said. Ricky glanced at his mother and she gave him a reassuring look. He did as he was told.
