Deluged - The Teenage Love ✔️

Chapter 9

July, 2003

Times had been beautiful since then, we started off as these little buds, trying to explore the freedom that comes with love, we didn't realize our relationship was blossoming into a beautiful flower.

We were somewhere in between best friends and married couple, who used to fight and tease each other for petty reasons, or who used to take care of each other in every way possible, be it medicines or reminders to wear warm clothes during winters. We found our trust in each other, and trust is always the foundation of love.

Life had been good since then, until the day I realised that he will never change this for anyone.

It was this time of his college life when his college had organised a literati fest after the 1st semester. He was of course among the popular folks out there, but I never really thought that his popularity would affect me to this extent.

He had many best friends while he was in college, and that too female ones. I never knew about any of them, ever since the day we got together, never did he once mention about any of them. It was always him and I. Just once in a while I had heard Diana's name from Margon and Saif, that too they had told me that Ivaan had been a pretty  close friend to her.

I never felt insecure about that. Having female friends should be normalized, I had thought, but who knew that these girls would turn into bitches.

It was 2 pm when I called him , as usual, I asked him about his whereabouts, he told me that he was buzy with some last minute preparations for the literary fest so he wouldn't be able to talk  at the moment, he quickly disconnected the call after that.

Later in the evening, he called me back, he sounded guilty, as if he had forgotten to leash his dog, and the dog had died crying.

"What happened Ivaan, everything alright? " I asked him, expecting an answer but it seemed as if he was dead on the other side, he was acting weird, he was behaving differently, there was something off about him today.

"Okay fine, meet me in 7 minutes, I'll be waiting outside your house.",I disconnected the call, took the keys of my scooty and rode away.

I had been blessed with my uncle being out of station that day due to some  urgent work, well that's all he had told me.

Anyways, I inserted the key in the slot, seven minutes later, I was standing above the road leading to his house.

I heard some footsteps coming towards me, it was 7 pm and the road was dark enough, the shadow of the trees made it darker than ever, the light of the lamppost was flickering, The path was narrow, so I wasn't able to bring the scooty  there. I had parked it some meters ahead. I heard the footsteps approaching faster.

His 5ft 8 inches figure was clearly visible, but he took shorter steps, which was something very unusual. Something just didn't seem okay.

He came closer, with his head hung down, it seemed as if he had murdered someone.

I could consider that for a moment too, he was an impulsive person by nature, he wouldn't mind killing someone in the rage of anger, he had a bad temper problem, which wasn't a news to me, but for a fact I knew  this wasn't the reason for his changed behaviour.
Why? because he would flaunt the murder rather than feeling guilty about it. I might be exaggerating, but you get the idea.

I opened the flashlight of my phone, I was worried, I had never seen him this way.

"What happened Ivaan, tell me what's bothering you.", I carefully asked him.

"Nothing.", He just stood silent, and then held my small hands into his palms.

He told me to follow him.

We were moving down the lane to his house. Is he taking me to meet his family? I wondered, but I knew that it was too early for that.

I couldn't take in the change in the surounding around me as such, all I knew was, I was moving down the steps.

I was afraid that I would stumble, but I knew  he was there to hold me, if  I were to fall. He took me to the backside of his cottage, where he had once told me that he has managed to make a lawn, all on his own, and now when I am actually visiting the place, I could clearly see that he had done a great work.

"It's my private space, I don't allow anyone to come there. I made it to spend some time alone, with myself when I feel disconnected. " he had once said.

And if I'm not mistaken, he was talking about this same place I was standing in, right now.

I felt special, because I knew that I am the second person to step in this beautiful lawn, first being Ivaan himself.

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