Stay

Chapter 22 - Anna

The next morning, Alan woke up with a smile. He rubbed his eyes and headed to the guest room to check on her. But she wasn't there. He called out her name as he frantically searched the living room and kitchen. There was no trace of her.

His mother's piercing gaze caught his attention. "She said she had to leave early." She watched him curiously.

Alan felt a surge of panic. He could still taste her on his lips. He quickly typed a message to her, asking if she had arrived safely, but received no response. When he called, it rang endlessly before diverting to voicemail. His mind raced with questions. Had he misunderstood her? Had he crossed a line?

She had said, "I want you too." He vividly recalled her words. Maybe it had been too much too quickly? But she hadn't stopped him. She had responded to his every move with desire and pleasure. In fact, hadn't he been the one to halt things? He paced around his room, growing increasingly anxious, before attempting to call her once again. This time, he hung up after just two rings.

"Get ready for church," his mother called out, interrupting his distressing thoughts. Alan dialed Shahana's number in desperation. She answered immediately, her voice filled with fury. "What the hell did you do?" she bellowed before even saying hello.

Panicked, Alan asked, "What happened?"

"How would I know?" Shahana responded, her tone now filled with worry. "Fiza has been crying nonstop since she got here. I can't get her to tell me anything."

"Give the phone to her. Let me talk to her," Alan pleaded. Had he done something that she hadn't  wanted? Or was she regretting their actions from the previous night?

"She won't take the phone," Shahana replied after a few seconds, sounding anxious. "What happened, Alan?"

"Please put me on speaker. Let me talk to her," he pleaded, his voice breaking. Sadness, disappointment, self-hatred, and rejection overwhelmed him. Once again, Aarthy's voice echoed in his mind "You destroy everything you touch."

Shahana put him on speaker and all Alan could hear was Fiza's hysterical sobbing. His eyes stung with tears as he listened to her heart-wrenching cries, knowing that he was the cause of her pain. "Fiza, darling," he called into the phone, his voice filled with anguish. "Baby, I'm heading over. It's okay."

"No," she managed to say between sobs. Her speech was fragmented but he distinctly caught the words "can't" and "won't."

"You are repulsive," Aarthy's words echoed in his head. "Anyone who is with you will regret it in the end. Mark my words. Nobody will ever want anything more from you than to fuck you."

Alan's breath grew heavy and tears he desperately needed to shed, refused to come. He ended the call before Shahana could say anything else to him.

"Let's go," Alan's mother said, ready to accompany him to church, but she halted in her tracks when she discovered him in anguish. She rushed into his room and held him close, asking him what had happened.

"I don't know," Alan managed to choke out amidst his sobs. Dark thoughts flooded his mind, self-blame and self-doubt consumed him. He should have kept his guard up. He should never allowed someone to get close to him. He berated himself, feeling repulsive and worthless.

What had he been thinking? Fiza had given him so much - she had saved him from substance abuse, helped him with his studies and all she had asked in return was for him to respect her boundaries, but he had failed to do so. His body shook from his turmoil.

His mother recalled her earlier conversation with Fiza, where she had confided that she couldn't offer Alan more than friendship. "Did she reject you, Alan?" she asked gently, her voice filled with motherly love and tenderness.