"I can stay for a while if you want," Karthik says at my doorstep. "Seriously, are you okay?"
"I am," I say. Tears have dried up. My makeup betrayed me too. "I'll hang out with my company for a little while and then go to sleep."
He still doesn't budge.
"Go," I emphasize.
"Okay. Call me if you need."
After a while, I hear the car honk and shut my door.
In the shower, I sit under the warm water. It feels warm.
Was it a dream? Certainly, it felt like one. Not a dream. A nightmare.
I lost everyone.
The intrusive thought was always somewhere hidden in a small corner of my heart; that I would lose everything, everyone.
I have returned to my previous lonely self, sitting in the corner watching everyone enjoy with their friends.
How could I even be so stupid?
The loss of a best friend hurts even more.
He didn't even look at you. Abandoned you.
I walk out of the bathroom wrapping a towel around me.
I look at my bed and comforter. Maybe it is a dream. With still my very damp hair, I get into the sheets.
I stir awake as the sun rays fall on me. Today the sun is annoyingly bright. Why is it so bright? I draw the curtains. I stare at the timepiece on the wall, just stare at it, not to note the timing, that's the least I care now. There's a vivid picture from the last night's happening. Of course, it wasn't a dream.
My eyes feel sore and my head hurts. In the kitchen, I pour myself water. I recall last night. I shudder.
"Ouch!" my hand burns from the hot pan.
"Careful," Naina says from the other side of the kitchen counter and scurries towards the gas stove.
So it was all true then. I flinch at the memory and try walking away, back into my room.
"Are you okay?" Naina asks placing her hand on the kitchen platform and her scarlet nails scratch the marble nervously.
I don't respond.
"I am making pancakes. Come."
No reply.
"So you're ignoring me?"
"Am I? Guess you already picked your side."
"No. it's not that way –
"I needed an explanation yesterday," I say quivering.
"You think the entire fault is mine?" she raises her voice too. "Stop blaming me and stop being in denial. I warned you, several times."
"I am not blaming anybody I'm just stating a fact that best friends never hide things from each other."
"Mira," she throws her hands in the air and turns her face away from me. "I knew Dhriti and Karan felt something for each other but...they would never want a relationship...nothing was sure...Karan just confirmed it yesterday. We were not aware too."
"Stop talking, please." My throat pains as I say those words out loud.
"Where are you going?"
"Can you leave me alone for a while?" she is holding back something. "Wanna say something?"
YOU ARE READING
The Bucket List
Teen Fiction'Change' is a word, we all are familiar with. Some people like it the other are afraid of it. Mira falls into the latter category. A brilliant student who managed a seat in India's top educational institution high in the Mountains. The college lif...
