Soulmates ✓

02 | The Tripathi Situation

Shay was beyond livid when she burst through the front door of Tripathi Villa. Both the twins were huddled inside the open kitchen across the hall when she finally found them. Aarav held an ice pack against his split bottom lip while Ryan washed his bloody knuckles by the sink. One look at their current state was enough for Shay to piece the puzzle together.

"What the fuck did you guys do?"

Shay spoke at the top of her lungs, throwing her purse on the kitchen island and crossing her arms over her chest. She was shaking with the impact of her previous encounter with Ivan and the impatience due to the twins' silence.

Aarav only scoffed at her and proceeded to mend his bruises.

Her eyes shifted from Aarav to Ryan, who gazed at her with an intense look, leaning on the counter. The top two buttons of his shirt were missing, and she could see a glimpse of black ink underneath. Shay wondered when he got the tattoo. And more importantly, how did she miss such a detail about him? Didn't they promise to share every little part of their life?

A sudden wincing sound from Aarav caused both Shay and Ryan to rush towards Aarav in wonder, but he waved them off. He was in his soccer jersey and athletics shorts, and Shay's eyes lingered on his built frame more than she'd like to admit. She shook her head dismissively, trying not to lose herself in his charm.

When the boys fell silent once again, she lost her patience. "Can one of you assholes answer my goddamn question? What happened with Ivan?"

Aarav threw the ice pack on the floor and twisted in the barstool, one arm braced on the kitchen island, his black eyes blazing. "Do not fucking utter his name." His angry tone confused her.

"Did he ask you out?" Ryan's voice was calmer, but it carried the thunder of his brother's anger. Shay snapped her head towards Ryan to see his eyes were as dark as his brother's.

The intensity of both the Tripathi twin's eyes and voices caught Shay off-guard. "Yes, he did." Shay felt her breath hitch at the way Aarav gritted his teeth and tried to take in her answer. "But why are you guys acting so weird about it?"

"You don't know why I am-" Aarav snapped his teeth together, then paused to scrub his face with his hands. "You've no idea, do you? That guy can't take you out, Shay. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever."

The rumble of his voice made her falter a step back when Ryan's warning voice echoed in the room. "Aarav! You can't talk to Shay like that."

These were the moments when Ryan showed he was ten minutes older than Aarav, contradicting his otherwise ignorant behavior. She looked at Ryan's calm but flaming face as he gave a warning look to Aarav.

"I don't understand." Shay quickly recovered from the initial shock of Aarav's angry response, and hurt replaced the anger in her tone. "You guys can't decide who can ask me out. Ivan is the only guy who has ever asked me out. So, if anything, you guys should be happy for me, not breaking his nose for that. And why can't he take me out ever, Aarav?"

Aarav cursed under his breath, his face twisting as his midnight eyes took in the hurt on Shay's face. Shay could see a myriad of emotions dancing across his handsome face. Aarav opened his mouth, then closed it as if he couldn't find a good enough reason to give her. His expressions spoke some hidden signs that he couldn't voice out. Her eyes followed the movement of his tense jaw, his lips as they muttered some curses, and they lingered on the deep cut over his bottom lip. Within seconds, he let out a rough groan and then stormed out of the kitchen without looking back, though Ryan called after him. Then, they heard him walk out of the house with a loud slam.

Shay took a deep breath, trying to reason out the sudden flash of jealousy on Aarav's face. Yes, it was jealousy. She knew the twins enough to exercise their emotions through their eyes. Her shoulders slumped with the memories reeling fast in front of her eyes.