The Regularʳᵒᵇⁱⁿ ᵇᵘᶜᵏˡᵉʸ

7| Sisterly Love

Chapter 7

Sisterly Love

Friday 5th July 1985

Jaya woke up the same way she fell asleep. Cold, tired, worried but mostly alone. It took the girl a moment to come to her senses to remember why she had slept downstairs in the first place and realize that two of her siblings were in fact watching her from across the room. Jaya looked at the phone for a moment, glaring at it. Almost daring it to ring. Then she looked at her two older siblings.

Rohan looked kind and gentle as ever, watching his sister with a look of pity. His brows furrowed and a frown on his lips with a somewhat amused glint in his eyes. Jaya hadn't told anyone why she was waiting for the phone to ring or why it worried her so much but Jess told them it was something to do with Robin and that was enough for Rohan to finally decide his theory on his sister's feelings was correct.

Meena was watching her sister with worry, yes because she was concerned as to what had made Jaya stay up all night on the sofa waiting for the phone to ring but also because she was making a similar realization to her brother next to her. Unlike Rohan, Meena didn't find this amusing nor sweet. She didn't really know how she felt about it at all but she knew she had to talk to Jaya about it before their parents picked up on it.

Jaya stood to her feet with the intention of walking straight past her siblings to her bedroom. Making her way up the stairs she knew it was too much to hope that either sibling would leave her alone. As soon as she got up the stairs she saw her mum step out of their parent's bedroom, "Good morning, Jaya." She smiles, "You're up early, morning shift today?"

Jaya nods, she hadn't had the morning shift since manager mandy changed things around weeks ago. Also, who in their right mind gets Burger King as breakfast? Jaya absentmindedly walks to her room, hearing her mum go downstairs before her door opens again.

"Jesus, Meena! I could have been changing!"

Her sister looks down, "Sorry." She can't seem to look at one spot for very long, her eyes wandering around Jaya's room none stop. Rohan wanders in as well but doesn't say anything just looks between the two girls before closing the door behind him. "Are you ok?"

"Fine."

"You stayed up all night waiting for that stupid phone. What's wrong?"

Jaya shakes her head, "Just worried about Robin."

Meena shakes her head, looking to the floor with a defeated sigh. "You like her, don't you?"

"What?"

"I've seen the way you... the way you look at girls, y'know, you're not as subtle as you think you are." Jaya wants to speak, to tell her sister she is wrong but her words feel lost, foreign almost. The most she can do is shake her head, Meena scoffs, "It makes sense the more I think about it. Your disinterest in boys, the strange ways you used to act as a child towards your friends."

Rohan steps forward trying to reach out to the oldest of the Kumar children, "Meena..." The girl just shrugs her brother off, keeping her eyes on Jaya.

"And what? Now you have a crush on this Buckley girl?" Her voice was harsh and loud, she sounded betrayed.

"Meena, please keep your voice down." Jaya sniffed as she glanced towards the door, reminding her sister of their parents just downstairs. Tears were starting to puddle in her eyes as she repeatedly glanced at Rohan for help, he seemed just as lost as to what to do as Jaya was. Meena looks at her sister for a long moment before taking a deep breath.