"Why behaving like a bitch with her, huh?"
"Don't tell me she seduced you to spend a pleasure and painful night."
He shook his head in amusement. Wait a second. Was it amusement I saw in his face?
"You still don't have a filter in your mouth. She was helping you." I gave him a look on the name of help. He cracked a smile. "Okay, pushing herself on you."
"Exactly."
Silence fell between us like a heavy cloak. He was standing close to me, so close. I could see the raw skin, stubble covering his half face, hair draped over his forehead, his lips stretched with pink in them like before. Brown eyes were evading looking at me, muscles were stiffened and something was strange about his face. It wasn't a happy face which I used to see before. Then it clicked, I hadn't seen him smiling much anymore, no ease was in his talks. He was always troubled about something like something was eating him up.
"Sanchi, we should talk."
Arching my eyebrow, I said, "We aren't in a relationship, so why you need to talk or more like break up?" I was tired of forgiveness, and this made me turn back to me.
He gave me deadpanned look, telling me to be serious about the situation.
"I was thinking since we work together. How about we call a truce?"
"Truce? For what?"
"We behave civil, no more fights. We're adults now and the thing happened in past. You were right, I should move on. And we were just teenagers that time, had no idea what we were doing."
Hope ignited in me. "But you cannot forgive me?"
He licked his lower lip, faced me with a sad look. "I need time." Maybe, that was enough for some time. At least, he was ready to ditch the baggage and move on from it.
"Okay. Truce." He forwarded his hand, and we shook it together. His grip had gotten harder and firm. I wonder how it would feel when he touched me. I shrugged off the thought quickly. I had been getting weird thoughts about him. Sanchi, he was married, control your damn thoughts. I couldn't be attractive towards him. It was out of league before, it would be out of league again.
"What changed your mind?" I couldn't help, but ask this question.
His emotions became raw that time. His face was covered with pain and hurt and betrayal. And it was deeper than anything I had seen before. "Someone told me it's better to forget and move on. Past will only bring the wounds to burn and I've enough wounds."
"Dhruv, do you still miss him?" My voice had gone gentle.
And his face turned back to normal. Raw pain was gone and he faced me. "I think you lost this right of asking. We just call the truce. We're not friends."
Ouch, that hurt.
From a distance, I saw Piyush staring at us, pointing his gaze at our pads. We were running late. Gulping, I snatched Dhruv's design. He stared at me with confusion.
"Piyush is staring. Let's get over with this first, then you can talk all you want." Opening his design, the flowing skirt with zigzagged strap top penetrated my vision. We both stared at each other helplessly, trying to find a way to complete this design, which we were supposed to work together.
An idea emerged from the foggy part of my brain. Taking my design from his hands, I saw his and mine. "How about we merge our designs?"
"Huh?!"
"We can use your top, and my bottom, designing of the top could be of mine and the skirt could have flowing cloth from behind. See?" I gave him some time to access the idea which I had given. His eyes lit up, and he agreed.
Whoosh!
Finally, it was done. Now the drawing part was left. We both faced each other with one sentence leaving our mouth, "You'll draw, not me."
Piyush was right. For people who ignored each other, we had a habit of saying things together.
"No. No. I'm tired. That annoying girl made my mood sour."
"Angela."
"What?"
He rolled his eyes. "Her name is Angela, not annoying girl." He shook his head. "Sanchi, remembering the names isn't a tough thing." I sheepishly smiled back, but his face remained neutral. I had a problem of remembering others name because it was tough for me to do. Even in the start, I used to forget my friend's name.
"I prefer the annoying girl. And you'll draw."
"Nope. I've to go. It's late. Ria will be waiting for me. You'll draw for me. I'm not free." Image of Ria's cute face surfaced back.
"And I'm not your slave." My phone buzzed again in my pocket. Probably, one more sorry text which I wanted to ignore for some more time.
"Hey, but you're my best - " He stopped quickly when words registered in his brain and mine too. I wanted the sentence to be completed. "I mean please do it. Really, I've to be somewhere. It's urgent." He changed the topic too soon.
Compiling for few more minutes, I said, "Give me a good reason to do."
"Because you've to. You've no other option left. Or you can leave, and I'll tell Piyush that the annoying girl drew your design." And he would probably kill me for letting someone touch my designs and complete it.
Widening my eyes, I pushed him back with my hands. "She did it herself."
He gave a grin. Dhruv, you were confusing me now. Sometimes cold, sometimes painful and sometimes just a different person. What's happening to you? It's like you didn't know yourself anymore, like everything was a weight on your shoulders and you've lost yourself. "Who knows it?" Wiggling his eyebrows, he dropped the sketchpad and a pencil in my hands and started walking away.
"Dhruv!" I yelled his name, but his back vibrated with laughter and strides weren't stopping. When he was out of the door, I yelled his name again. He peeked his head inside and gave me a wink.
"You'll thanks me for it later."
"How?"
"That you should know, not me. I don't have free time to think about it." Huh, he gave me a wave and went away. He knew no matter what, I would draw, to save us from Piyush anger. I never saw it but heard from others that if he was playful, then his anger was something which burned people.
A smile was playing on my face too. Because I just realized Dhruv wasn't behaving his grumpy side but talking normally to me. But it was suspicious too at the same time. What happened to him? What changed his mind? Two days ago, he was angry at me and suddenly he was behaving like nothing happened us at all.
Something changed.
And this change didn't seem nice to me.
"Sanchi, wait." Mom called from behind. Turning, I saw she was standing outside the kitchen, hands on her hips and frown descended on her face. She was going to scold me for going without breakfast again. I slung the purse. "Mom, I'm getting late." But it was a waste of time arguing with her. "I don't want to hear any getting late." She came forward, wearing a traditional blue suit. I had no idea how she carried the weight of it without complaining. "Come and eat. You had been doing this from a week." "But-" She didn't hear any of my protests, as her hand encircled my wrist, stirring me to the dining room. While protesting, I was smiling at her antics. Twenty one years and her habit of pushing me to eat hadn't changed a little. She was the sweetest mom in the world, but sometimes sh
Knocking the third time, and was greeted by silence.Creasing my eyebrow in puzzlement, I thought would it be a good idea to barge in like this? But I had been knocking for a long time - three time - it was a long time. Contending with my inner self, I opened the door and was welcomed by silence again. No one was there. Mrs. Malhotra called me here, and herself faded with winky dust. Groaning, I was about to turn around when I saw a baby sitting on the couch.Ria.Toys were scattered around her and she was silent. I had never met a baby who remains quiet. Babies were noisy, but she wasn't. She was wearing a yellow skirt, her eyes staring at her barbie, small hands trying to grasp it. Walking ahead, I bent down on the floor. Her gaze landed on mine, she blinked rapidly. I felt awkward.
Pushing the glass door, my gaze hunted for a familiar black hair and caramel skin girl, while the smell of heavy caffeine invaded my nostrils and chatter of people made their way to my hearing senses. She was sitting at the back of the cafe. I trudged there and sat with a huff. She gave me a look."You're late." I mumbled a sorry and looked around the cafe. Same as any other. Brown walls, table with chairs and smell of coffee wafting my nose. Dropping my purse and the sketchbook, I leaned back. Mehak took it and started seeing them. It wasn't just mine. It was both of mine and Dhruv.It was that portfolio.Only few designs were there at the present. Some were incomplete, which Piyush he would help us later. He was too busy with his work and other weird activities of his day time.
I wish I had a magic to stop the time.Time was crawling like sand trickling from my hands and I had no grasp of it. The funny thing was I didn't even know why I fancied the time to slow down. I just wanted it to slow down, so that I could think again, or be something else. I wish I had time to travel the world. Time to be something else. Time to apologize for my mistakes. Time to sit down and think. But it was flying. And like our teachers said us in schools time didn't stop for anyone.Not even me.Tilting my head on the pillow, I stared at the milk like ceiling, thinking over and over again. Overthinking was bad. My therapist had told me. It brings out the emotions which should be locked up, especially for a person like me. Who had a habit of blaming herself for things which shouldn
I wiped my hand against the mouth. "What?""You need to come to my apartment, like right now.""Why?"He paused for a moment. "Why don't I explain everything when you reach? I'll message the address." Without hearing for any reply, he hung up. I stared at it dumbfounded. Who did he think of himself? Prime Minister Modi?In a minute, my phone pinged again, and opening I saw it was the address of his new apartment.Should I go or not? But he said it was something important. Not exactly, but it meant the same thing. I took a once over to my room and settled to go out only. I couldn't stay much longer inside. It gets on my nerves too much. Tearing myself up from the comfort, I went strai
He lay in front of me like he hadn't said anything surprising.He wasn't married.He wasn't married.I didn't know if I should squeal in happiness or be sad. He had a daughter, and their was no doubt in their looks. They seemed related except their skin color. She was fair, while Dhruv had a darker tone. Not much dark, but not too fair.My tongue drove to ask him any question, to clarify the confusion, but I did nothing and sat down. He was sorting out the designs, which were good and which needed to be remade.After telling the shocking news, he made Ria to sleep and put her in the crib which was in front of us. According to him, she moved a lot when she wakes up, and one time tried
I started doing the sketching, but it was from half heart. I envisioned how Dhruv looked when his heart was shattered, when he discerned all was just a declining memory in his mind. And to see a part of his past always moving with him. Even worse to realize that someone used you for money. I tried to imagine when Dhruv said things to his parents, when he spoke what he wanted. How his face would've been, when he grappled to get some money.How couldn't I notice it before? When he said he already had the past to burn with? When he said I left him alone? Because everyone in his life always left him and then laughed at him. When that night he yelled at me? He always asked in the morning why she played with him and nobody else.And in some way, I too cheated on him. Left him when a two days ago, his dog had died. His best friend. He had only two best friend. Me and him. And we both left him. We left him alone. Everyone just leave him alone, but h
Tossing on the side, I woke up by the crying and wailing of a baby. Lifting the lids open, I meandered my gaze to the room and a panic set in.Breath came lower, chest thumped harder. Slowly, I swirled my head to the side and relief flooded in my veins. Nothing happened like last time. I wasn't with some stranger. I was alone in the room.Scrutinizing carefully, I realized I was in Dhruv's apartment. Last night memories knocked and I fell back on the bed, stared at the white ceiling, with the noises coming in. Sleeping with jeans on was a tough thing. When I was pulling out the blankets from the closet last night, I had seen some girls clothes.Was Dhruv lying? Had he moved on and lying he didn't know if he loved Isha? Was he playing with me?Questions and questions.&n