Deceptions

Chapter 3

Vashma walked into the office a little later than usual when she spotted Uday, at his desk, with his head between his hands. Hunched over the desk in desperation, tension radiated off his shoulders.What she didn't know was the reason behind his worry. How would she, when she had managed to ignore him for the past few days?

Guilt seeped through her at the thought of abandoning her closest friend for her own woes. Now that she looked back, all this had been her doing. He had continuously tried to confront her and had also been ready to settle for small talk. But Vashma had repeatedly shut him out. In reality, she was only trying to protect her heart from further damage. Seeing him in misery today seemed to put her mind in place. Enough had been enough. Vashma would stand up and be the friend he needed from her right now. She hoped to be able to push her feelings for him away once she found someone new too.

She placed her satchel on her desk then turned to walk up to him. They still sat across each other, with their backs facing one another. Approaching his larger cubicle, she spotted the navy blue cork board. Drilled on the right wall of Uday's L-shaped work desk were post-it notes about deadlines and article ideas. Different colored binders scoured his desk while his laptop remained open to a blank document. On the left cork board, Vashma saw a picture of her and Uday hanging loose from a thread that dangled other photos.

Vashma cleared her throat, drawing his attention. "Hi,"

Nothing could have been more awkward than this. But then again, when had Vashma imagined things with Uday to get awkward in the first place?

"Hey," he answered with nonchalance. She noticed a few more signs of worry; the circles under his eyes had deepened, and his hair looked messier than usual.

"You okay?"

"You care?" He snapped.

She deserved this. Of course, she did. Nothing could justify the cold shoulder she gave Uday, especially since he knew nothing about her emotional turmoil.

"Of course I do. You're my friend," Vashma softly replied.

He looked at her with an incredulous expression and scoffed. "Didn't seem like we were friends when you were giving me the silent treatment."

"I'm sorry I was-"

"Too self-involved? Save it, Vashma."

She grew irked at his condescending tone. "I said I'm sorry, Uday. I'm trying to fix things, But I can't if you won't let me!"

Vashma's eyes widened in realization as she understood the irony of her statement. Uday had indirectly put her into place by pushing her in his shoes.

He stood up, his voice cold as he retorted. "When I tried, you pushed me away, Vashma. What makes you think I'd open up to you anymore?"

Pushing away from his chair, he made his way to the cafeteria. Her heart thumped in her chest at the thought of losing him forever. Vashma shuddered. She couldn't lose Uday. She wouldn't.

So, she followed suit, determined to fix things between them.

"Uday..." She called out as he turned a deaf ear to her. She grabbed his wrist and swirled him around. "I said I'm sorry!"

When he raised a challenging eyebrow, she gave in.

"Okay fine, I was jealous."

Uday's expression was a mix of shock and amazement before settling on a mischievous smirk. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head to one side, urging her to continue.

"Things were confusing between us when you left for Delhi, and then you came back looking so happy and in love with your new girlfriend. I thought I'd lose you to Trisha," she meekly mumbled.