Soulmates ✓

04 | A Promise Of Togetherness

Sun peeked through the horizon with a reddish tint as they walked back to the main house. Shay and Aarav had spent another hour sitting at the dock with their bare feet dipped inside the warm lake water. It was a whole new feeling for both of them, and Shay had never thought it would be so instinctual when she accepted it.

With the half-empty bottle of Jack in one hand, he tangled his other hand with her hand, they threaded their fingers together as they arrived at his driveway. She tried pulling her hand free from his hold to stride over to her house, but Aarav didn't let go of her.

"I want to tell Ryan about us, now," Aarav said with a bright shade of glee dancing in his eyes as he tugged Shay through the back door of the Tripathi Villa.

"Didn't you tell him to sleep like an hour ago?" Shay laughed at his childish enthusiasm, although she felt the same. They always shared any important decisions about their lives among the three of them, then the rest of the world.

"So what, I'll wake him up if I have to, but I can't wait to tell him-'' Aarav's voice faded as soon as they entered the living area. Shay looked from his tense face to the cause of it and came face to face with his father's suit-clad existence. She had always had trouble adjusting to the domineering personality of the twins' father. His phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, he was back home from his month-long business trip.

Although Raghuveer Tripathi and her father were childhood friends, Shay still didn't like him that much. Maybe, it was his super absentee behavior towards the twins after his wife's death and his rudeness for Aarav.

He turned around, and Shay felt Aarav's hold tightening around her fingers, probably with displeasure. His father's eyebrows pulled together, and his lips flattened with disapproval as he stared through their lengths.

Shay brushed at the messy strands of her hair and tried hiding the signs of what they were doing at the dock. She could feel the tingles on her lips which were still sore from all the kissing they did. The bruise, along with the whiskey bottle in Aarav's hand, were enough to flip the man off.

"Shay?" Mr. Tripathi hung up, pocketed his cellphone, and looked straight at Shay. "Does Shania know you're here this early in the morning?"

"Ma had a night shift at the office, she must have returned by now." Shay tried maintaining a straight face, even though her heart was thumping with nervousness.

He glanced down at their connected hands, then the bottle of whiskey in Aarav's hand, and flames shot through his black eyes as they regarded Aarav with an intense gaze. In any other situation, Shay would've chickened out but not at that moment. She wasn't ashamed, and that's what she conveyed to Aarav when he looked into her eyes. She squeezed his hand and gave him a confident smile.

"You've finally added home to your schedule, Dad," Aarav said bitterly.

"I know you're a bad influence, but this time you've gone too far, young man," he narrowed his eyes at Aarav and gritted out. "Shay is my best friend's daughter, and if you harm her in any sense-"

"Shay is our best friend." Ryan's calm voice vibrated through the tension inside the living room. Ryan walked down the stairs, dressed in a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. The look on his face reflected the same as Shay and Aarav. His eyes moved between three individuals in the room as he nodded at his twin subtly before turning to his father. "We can't harm her."

"Maybe not you, but I'm not so sure about your brother." Mr. Tripathi spat venom at Aarav, gesturing at the liquor in his hand. "He's getting her drunk. Do you think that's a good idea? She's seventeen, for god's sake, and so are you guys."

"We'll turn eighteen next week." Aarav sighed, placing the whiskey on the coffee table beside them. He was still holding her hand, though. "And you don't care about our age when you disappear on us."