I Stand Corrected (On Break)

Chapter 6: Coping

Same day...

Arjun's POV-

I've seen Deepa at her lowest points, but this is honestly the lowest she's ever been at. I've never seen her so broken before.

And the worst part? I don't even know how to help her.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your plans," she wheezes as Neil continues calming her down.

"It is no problem at all. What happened?" Neil asks her carefully, his face softening into an expression of sadness and disappointment.

For a while, Deepa doesn't say anything at all. She continues wheezing and sniffling, staring at the floor as if it's the most fascinating thing.

"Um, I was- I was on my phone, scrolling through In-insta," she starts, her words coming out in fragments due to the wheezing.

"Okay, and then what happened?" Neil continues, looking at her with complete concentration.

"And... I saw her again."

Oh, shit.

"Dee, I thought you unfollowed her. Why would you want to still see her after what happened between you two?" Neil wonders, and she immediately looks up with anger.

"I a-I'm not an idiot, Neil. Even if we're not together anymore, I'm still friends with her. What's wrong with me looking at what she's doing right now?"

"The issue is that you broke up with Kat, Deepa! And it wasn't even a mutual thing where you got over it right off the bat; you were crying for 3 weeks in a row, you locked yourself in your room, and you didn't even eat anything. It's still affecting you right now!" Neil reasons with her as Dee looks at the floor sadly.

"Okay, I get it. I was a mess then and I'm still a mess now, ok? Did you just come here to tell me that I'm crazy? That I'm insane? Dang, I didn't even expect my brother to make me feel like shit, but I guess anyone can hurt you."

"Look, I didn't come here to antagonize you, ok? I want to help you. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong intention," he apologizes and hugs her tighter, to which Dee responds by burying her face in her shoulder and crying again.

I know a lot of people who think that Neil and Deepa don't have a relationship at all, but they couldn't be any more wrong. Neil cares for his sister more than anything, and nothing hurts him more knowing that his twin is in pain. Sure, they kinda drifted apart during high school because of Neil's asshole phase, but it is amazing to see how much their relationship has strengthened.

"I saw Kat... she was at the Grove, and... and-" the wheezing starts to get more prominent.

"She was with another girl, Neil. And the way she looked at her... it was exactly how she looked at me. It hasn't even been six months since we've broken up, and she's already found someone new," she confesses before she starts crying loudly again, and I immediately gasp when I realize what she said.

"Is that what I am, Neil? S-some expendable person who will never be happy? Always be thrown away like trash? Tell me, am I that f***king hopeless? " she whispers as she wipes her tears away aggressively, facepalming after that.  

"Neil, I'm not ok. I lied! I lied when I said I'm over the breakup. I lied when I said that it wouldn't affect me anymore. The truth is, I feel worthless. Kat made me feel like something, and when she ended things and left for CalTech, she took "me" away from myself. I'm back to square one, just pure nothingness," she shrugs.

"Um... I'm just going to give you guys some space. I don't want to intrude,"  I excuse myself to give them some privacy, to which Neil looks back at me and mouths a "thank you". On that note, I quickly step out of the room and close the door.