Dawn

Chapter 16 - Reticence

teri nazron mein hai tere sapne,

tere sapnon mein hai naarazi,

mujhe lagta hai ki baatein dil ki,

hoti lafzon ki dhokebaazi.

tum saath ho, ya na ho, kya fark hai?

bedard thi zindagi, bedard hai

agar tum saath ho

Reticience

[noun]

emotionally reserved

Aryan rubbed the back of his neck as he stood in his shower, letting the warm water sluice down his shoulder blades and relieve the tension in his muscles. He turned the shower settings on to a pulsating spray, relaxing in the hydro massage as he worked the knots out as best he could.

Once the water cooled, he ran his hands through his wet hair and wiped his face, reaching out to turn the knob off. He stepped out onto the glassy tile, grabbing the plush white towel and wrapped it around his hips. He walked out of the bathroom, through the well organized closet and into the bedroom, looking around for his phone, finally spotting it lying on his bed.

He picked it up and swiped the unlock pattern.

Hmm, no missed calls. No new messages. He checked the time. It was almost 8:00 pm.

Was Imlie back? He wondered.

She'd been acting strange lately. She was unusually quiet and refused to meet his eyes when they were home. She hadn't shown up to their library session for a few nights and when he'd asked her questions regarding her article at the office meeting today, hoping to get her to talk to him, she'd responded in short sentences, looking resolutely at every team member except him. He didn't like that.

He had no way to hide from himself that he was attracted to her. It ate at him that he could neither stomp this feeling out, nor do anything to act on it. Their situation was complicated enough without him adding fuel to the fire.

Their kiss had come about in a moment of weakness - his weakness - and he had no idea if anything could be done about it. He was still trying to figure that part out with no success.

It didn't look like Imlie's search for answers about her past would take a backseat anytime soon. Despite his attempts at dissuading her from chasing her memories that night at the pool, he'd overheard her yesterday asking his mother about their marriage.

He'd found himself walking to Imlie's room after having waited alone in the library for the fourth day in a row. He'd lost his patience and had decided that he needed to see her.

He had still been figuring out how he would get her to speak with him again when he heard his mother with her.

"Beta, you look a little ill. Should we call a doctor for you? Didn't you say you had a headache?"

"No, kaki ma. I'm ok. Just tired."

"Lying to your kaki ma? Won't you tell me? I know your mother isn't here but..."

"Kaki ma, please. You know I think you are my mother too!"

"Then what is it, beta? You're not your usual self. Is something bothering you?"

He'd stopped short of knocking on the door, leaning in closer much to his embarrassment, curious to know what it was that troubled Imlie. Aryan glanced in through the cracked door, his eyes alighting on the young girl standing by the window.