COMING MARCH 2013!
A NEW STORY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Riverbkstar !
"Red" will be a 5-Shot FutureFic featuring Ricky and Amy like you have never seen before! I cannot wait for you all to read it!
To see the story before the story, please watch the trailer for "Red" at the link below! Comment and Like the video for earlier publication!
watch?v=dZDti-fY_zo
Ricky inhaled deeply as he turned the final corner of his jog onto Gilmore street. His calf muscles ached as he continued to pound his feet into the hard pavement, throwing himself into a heavy sprint while making his way towards the driveway of his condo. Ricky stopped next to his wife's van parked outside of their white garage that held the car he was still too apprehensive to drive. He lowered his hands to his knees and doubled over in agony, waiting for the burning in his chest to subside. When his heart slowed, he returned to his normal stance and ran his fingers through his sweaty curls.
It had been exactly 13 days since he and Amy had attended his father's funeral and he still didn't know what to make of it all. Ricky had always hated his father and had spent many nights in many different homes just dreaming of the ways he could seek his revenge. However, aside from all the pain and the bruises Bob had caused, he was still Ricky's father and now... he was gone. Ricky couldn't even begin to express how that made him feel. Heck, he wasn't even sure himself.
Ricky shook his head free of his painful thoughts and leaned against Amy's van. He looked around gratefully, happy to finally be back beneath the warm California breeze of early October. The past few weeks had been abnormally cool and the returning warmth of autumn was not only nice, but almost necessary. Ricky pursed his lips, ready to submerge himself back into reality. He pushed himself away from the van and coughed slightly as he jumped onto the porch and pressed down on the brass handle of the front door. Walking inside, Ricky smiled at the smell of blackened french toast and kicked off his lime green sneakers as he locked the door behind him.
"Hi Daddy!" John greeted from his spot on the living room sofa. He was lying on his stomach with his feet in the air, sporting his brand new space ship pajamas and scribbling inside of a diego colouring book with a purple crayon. "Mommy! Daddy's home!"
"Morning John" Ricky mumbled, grimacing as he dragged his sore muscles up the small stoop that led to the rest of the apartment "Did mommy make you breakfast?"
"Mhmm" John chimed "she bund de fwench toast agen"
"I know" Ricky chuckled, running his hand over John's blonde hair. Boy did that kid need a haircut!
"Hey Babe!" Amy called from the kitchen over a song playing on the radio "We're in here!"
Following his wife's voice, Ricky limped over to the kitchen, beginning to regret not stretching before his run. He smiled at the sight of his daughter, now 6 months old, light brown fuzz beginning to grow at the top of her scalp. She was dressed in pink footsie pajamas, splashed with an assortment of cartoon fruits such as strawberries and cherries. She sat in Amy's arms who was parading around the kitchen, shaking her hips to the music escaping the battery radio resting on the edge of the counter.
"Hey!" Ricky said, leaning into to kiss the top of Maddie's head. The baby noticed his presence and cooed, outstretching her tiny fist in his direction.
"Heeey" Amy purred, pecking Ricky's lips as he tucked his hands under Maddie's arms. She handed her daughter over and smiled as her husband affectionately jostled their baby in his arms "How was the run?"
Ricky shrugged his shoulders and slid Madeline into her highchair who excitedly picked a cheerio off of her tray and shoved it into her mouth. Her eyes widened and she kicked her legs in amusement. "Oh you know..." Ricky trailed "Same old. My legs are killing me, I think I'm going to stop for a few days"
"Ricky you know what Dr. Fields said. You need to keep running to keep your temper at bay. He said the next few weeks aren't going to be easy and that its important you control your anger..."
"I know what he said!" Ricky snapped as he sprinkled some more cereal in front of his daughter "And I don't know why you think I'm going to explode into some kind of monster! I'm not that guy any more Amy. I've come to terms with my past and I've said goodbye to all the pain my dad... Bob... caused my mother and me. I'm fine!"
"Have you called him?" Amy asked sternly, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned agains the counter
"Who?"
"Dr. Fields! He told you to call him and schedule an appointment. He wants to see you!"
"I have been seeing him.."
"Umm.. no! We've been seeing him Ricky. We've seen him twice since the funeral and you still haven't given either one of us an answer for why you wanted to throw Bob a funeral in the first place!"
"I don't have a reason Amy!" Ricky stressed, throwing his hands out in front of him "I just need you to get off my back about this. I can handle things on my own. Okay? I don't need you, and I especially don't need your best friend's father to tell me what I can or can't feel okay Amy?"
Amy forced her eyes into tiny frustrated slits and scoffed "Call him Ricky. Today!"
"I have to go shower" He mumbled, rolling out of the room
"I mean it Ricky!"
Following his shower, Ricky had grabbed a slice of burned breakfast and headed out the door in a hurry. He stood at the corner of Beck and Gilmore, patiently waiting for his best friend Jack to arrive and take them both to class. Reading over the next chapter in his english book, Ricky looked up in time to see Jack's silver truck slowing into place beside the curb. He honked his horn and gave Ricky a friendly wave, unlocking his door so that Ricky could hop in.
" 'Sup" Jack slurred, downing the rest of his protein shake in one big gulp
"Nothing much" Ricky replied, quickly buckling in his seat belt
"You ready?"
"Take it away" Ricky said, raising his eyebrows as Jack pulled out into oncoming traffic.
"Listen Jack" Ricky began, breaking the silence of the truck stopped at a red light outside of the campus parking lot "I really appreciate you helping me out these past couple weeks. I just haven't been myself lately and I really don't think I'm okay to drive just yet"
Jack listened attentively as he pulled into the parking lot and began searching for a spot wide enough for his vehicle "Hey, no worries man. I get it. You just had an important person from your past pass away. Its normal that you're feeling anxious or scared or even angry..."
"Hold on" Ricky interjected, cutting Jack off "I didn't say anything about being scared or angry"
"Well.. yea.. I just..." Jack stammered
"Did Amy talk to you? Did she ask you to tell me to go to therapy?"
"She thinks its going to help"
"And what do you think?"
Jack paused and ran his hand over his ball cap in anguish "I think she's right. You can't do this on your own... you need help"
"I don't need help Jack! What I need is for people to stop telling me to talk about it! I don't want to talk about it! Okay?" Ricky spat, unbuckling his seatbelt "I don't need help from anybody. I can get through this on..my...own" He stared at Jack for a moment before popping open his unlocked door to step out of the car
"What about me? You need a ride to work Ricky!" Jack pleaded
"Fuck the ride! I'll walk!" And with that, he slammed the door and staggered away.
Ricky heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped off of the elevator after arriving on the 13th floor of Boykewich International. He veered left towards his small glass office at the corner of the long hall and wiped away the sweat glistening on his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Hey Ricky!" a raspy voice greeted from behind him. Only a few feet away from the security of his office, Ricky reluctantly turned around to find himself standing a couple paces away from Mr. Boykewich himself.
"Oh Hey Leo" Ricky responded, moving to face his boss with a turn of the rubber soles of his shoes "You're not usually on my floor. Is everything okay?"
"I hope so" Leo said, coming closer towards Ricky as he shifted an envelope between his hands "Since when do you come to work out of dress code?"
Puzzled, Ricky scanned his attire and chuckled in relief. He was still wearing the same clothes he had worn to school that day being that he didn't have a ride home and had to take a bus all the way to work. Luckily for him, he kept a spare change of clothes in his office "Oh. I.. umm.. I had a late class today. I didn't have time to go home and change... but I have a spare suit in my office" Ricky cringed. He hated lying; especially to the one person who had made everything in his life possible
"Is that right?" Leo lowered his voice and held Ricky's gaze "Amy tells me you haven't been driving. And that you refuse to see Dr. Fields. Is everything okay Ricky?"
Ricky bit his bottom lip in an effort not to curse. Since when had Amy talked to Leo? "Amy called you?"
"Darn right she called me. She cares about you. She can't help you if you don't open up son. No one can help you if you don't open up. You know that and I know that"
"But I'm fine Leo... Everyone keeps turning this into a big deal. Bob died... so what? I'm over it... but no one seems to believe me"
"That's where you're wrong Ricky. You didn't lose Bob; you lost your father. A man you must have cared very much about as a child despite how much he hurt you. A man you admired and were inspired by until you saw what kind of person he really was. It's okay to hurt Ricky"
Ricky's nostrils flared as he fought the painful lump growing in his throat "See that's where you are wrong Leo. I'm not hurting. He doesn't get to hurt me anymore. I'm only sad because the world didn't get rid of him sooner"
"I'm here for you when you want to face the truth Ricky, but until then... don't bother coming back to work" Leo mumbled under his breath before turning to walk away. He stomped towards the elevator and pressed it's button, watching it light up blue. Ricky watched as the elevator doors unravelled and waited for Leo to step inside. But he didn't. Instead, he turned to face Ricky once more. "And for God's sake Ricky - go see Dr. Fields!" Leo ordered before entering the elevator, leaving Ricky alone in the hallway with tears streaming down his face.
"Ames I'm home!" Ricky called tiredly as he staggered into the living room of his apartment. He dropped his backpack onto the couch and smiled at John, lost in a Curious George cartoon dancing its way across their television set. "Hi John" RIcky greeted, collapsing into place next to his son "Watcha' watchin' ?"
"Cooweyus Joyje" John sniffled, raising the TV"s volume with an absent minded press of a nameless blue button on the remote control
"Oh good you're home!" Amy cheered, hastily entering the living room with a whining baby swung around her hip
"Hi Babe" Ricky grunted, straining to lift himself off of the sofa. He shuffled over to Amy, lightly pecking her cheek before leaning back on his heels to send her a sweet smile
"I haven't had one second to myself all day! She missed her nap today but I just finished feeding her so she should be out in a couple of minutes. Can you take her while I grab a quick shower?"
"Yea I guess so" Ricky mumbled, blinking his eyes in fatigue as his wife thrusted their daughter into his arms before scurrying out of the room.
Stopping in the middle of the hallway next to the kitchen, Amy spun around to face her family in the adjacent room "You're home really early... is everything okay?"
"Yea I guess so" Ricky repeated, trading Maddie from his left arm to his right one "I had a rough day but go take your shower... we can talk afterwards"
"You sure?" Amy questioned nervously
"Yes!" Ricky insisted, forcing his lips into a smile as he watched his wife fade into the dark shadows of the dim hallway. Ricky looked down at his daughter, now resting her tired head against his right shoulder and lowered himself back onto the sofa next to John. He rubbed Maddie's back softly, whispering soothing sounds into her ear as she slowly drifted off. Mesmerized by the way her eye lids struggled to stay open, Ricky exhaled slowly and leaned his head back against the couch cushions, only to be startled awake a few moments later by a loud noise and a screaming baby.
"John!" Ricky yelled over Maddie's shrieking "Turn the volume down! That's way too loud!" Ricky ordered, suddenly confused as to why his son was watching a movie about World War 2 with the volume jacked up to 37. "How long was I asleep for?" Ricky muttered out loud, pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose in frustration as he desperately tried to calm his screaming daughter down "John! What did I say? Turn the volume down now!"
"NO!" John refused as he folded his arms across his chest
"Excuse me?" Ricky said in disbelief as he stroked the back of Maddie's head while rocking her back and fourth "John! When I ask you to do something you do it! Now turn the volume down or I'm turning the TV off!"
"I Sed NO!" John screamed again, sliding off of the couch to stomp his bare feet on the white carpet draped across the hardwood flooring
"That's it!" Ricky fumed, flying past John to lower his screaming infant into her playpen resting comfortably against the wall. Stomping back over to his son, Ricky grabbed the remote out of John's hands and sharply turned the television off.
"You're mean and I het you!" John shrieked, flinging himself back onto the sofa where he began to flail and thrash his arms and legs in revolt of his father's decision
"I'm mean?" Ricky repeated, tightening his grip around the remote control "I'm mean? I'm not mean john! When I ask you to do something... IT MEANS I FUCKING WANT YOU TO DO IT!" He boomed, loosing all control as he swore at his son and flung the remote across the room, watching it catapult into the wall beside the patio and shatter into a hundred shards of tiny plastic.
"MOMMY!" John yelled in fear as uncontrollable tears began to stream down his perfect little face
"What's going on in here?" Amy cried, entering the living room in her fleece pajamas with a towel wrapped around her head
"Dud-ee y-ell- a-m-ee" John slobbered, almost inaudibly
"It's okay baby... It's okay" Amy soothed, her voice cracking in pain as she swooped John up into her arms and carried him out of the room. She returned a moment later to pick Maddie up out of her crib, send Ricky a look of hatred and disappear back towards the children's rooms.
Looking down at his shaking hands, Ricky too began to cry "What - have - I - done?" he whispered out loud, finding it incredibly hard to breathe. This wasn't him. He was not an abusive father. He did not lose his temper like that or scream or yell and swear like that. He wasn't a mean dad and his son didn't hate him. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be... maybe Ricky did have a problem.
Clasping his left hand over his mouth, Ricky began to sob uncontrollably and shuffled over to the corner of the room next to the patio door where he lowered himself to the floor. Here he wrapped his arms around his legs, buried his face into his thighs as he began to rock back and forth and wailed. He cried for his son who was in the other room in tears because of him and he cried over the kind father he was robbed of as a child. He cried for his birth mother and the pain she had felt trying to protect him. He even cried for Bob who, despite his evil ways, had still been capable of muttering an "I Love You".
Eventually, the throbbing in his sweaty forehead subsided and Ricky gathered enough strength to lift his face up from his knees. Sniffling loudly, Ricky watched Amy re enter the living room through his blurry vision. She passed by the couches and sauntered over to the corner where he was hiding.
"He's not mad at you you know" She deadpanned, a twinge of exhaustion ringing in her tone
"I don't know what came over me" He replied, forcing himself to look up at his wife, causing more tears to escape his brown lashes
Amy shrugged her shoulders and lowered herself onto the ground where she crawled into place next to Ricky against the wall "Years of Abuse"
"I never ever want to hurt my children Amy. What if I can't break the cycle?"
"You totally can" Amy encouraged, placing her hand on Ricky's left shoulder as he looked away "This whole thing with Bob is just bringing back a lot of old memories. But Ricky? If you are really scared of this cycle... I think we both know who you need to talk to" Pulling out Ricky's cell phone from the front of his unbuttoned flannel, Amy smiled and handed him his device. She kissed his forehead and pushed against the wall as she stood, leaving the room as quietly as she entered.
Ricky watched her leave; a small, nervous smirk stretching across his face. He expelled a loud breath and flipped open his cell to begin looking for a contact. Settling on a name near the top of the list, Ricky tapped his screen once and carried the phone to his ear. The phone rang twice before an answering machine received the call. Ricky waited for the beep and began to leave his message. "Hi " Ricky said "This is Ricky Underwood. We need to talk"
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