Despite the cruel intent behind her words… was it bad that Enrique appreciated just… being able to hear her voice? Yes… it was bad because everyone knew that Ricky didn’t deserve anything in this… sham of a relationship. He didn’t even deserve closure… and he definitely didn’t deserve the tiny jolt of electricity he felt hearing her sultry voice hit his ear for the first time in weeks. Don’t take this as an excuse to pity Enrique. Let’s be honest, he didn’t deserve anyone’s pity. He did this to himself. He chose this life. It was his choices, and his alone, one after another… after a fcking another that led to this very moment. A younger Enrique expected this outcome… and he was too far in his piece of sht era to care. The Ricky who sat on this plane… beaten and broken felt very different. No honestly… if Ricky knew this would have been the outcome… he would have never even interacted with Annie that day in detention… he would have just left her alone.
Too late now.
Ricky Montoya was still in love with Annie, and he knew there was no fixing this. So what was there left to do? Act cordial? Act like strangers? Speak? Don’t speak? Grovel? Pretend like she meant absolutely nothing? Pretend.
Pretend.
His entire life felt like a game of pretend. Perhaps his relationship with her was a game as well… but there was one point… it changed. It was funny, he didn’t even know when that point was. He just… felt more like himself with her than he had felt in a long time. He didn’t even think that was possible anymore. And here we are again; pretending to be okay. Pretending to feel alive. Pretending.
He felt the small jolt on the edges of his lips, deepening the frown when she told him Kyra wasn’t interested. Low blow, but it was understandable. He would have made a similar remark if the roles were reversed, so why should he expect anything less? “I’m glad they’re okay… I’m…” He was going to say that he was glad she was okay… but could he even say that? No.
He couldn’t.
“Which answer would make you feel better? Would you rather hear that the other guy looks worse, or that he’s fine?” Rick asked - genuine curiosity leaving his voice. He let his eyes drift towards hers, before taking his sunglasses off to let her see the full extent of the damage. The purplish hues of his eye, and busted lip told a story that he had his ass kicked. Perhaps he did… though Ricky did get more than his fair share of punches as well.
“I’m not going to push you, Annie. I’m done. I know I can’t fix this. I know I fcked it. I know I’m fcked and you deserve better. I played you, and it was a game at the beginning. But I did love you, I do… love you, even if that means nothing anymore. So we can sit on this flight in silence. You can yell at me. You can punch me, trust me, feel free to hit me wherever. You can ignore me. You can switch seats and stay far away from me. I’ll respect your choice. I won’t fight it, unless you let me. I’m… I’m sorry Annie.”