Not My Little Sister

Chapter 10 - Making up

Vinaya lay uncomfortably on the futon, determined to not to ask for help after the fight. Tears stung her eyes, a familiar aftermath of losing her temper.

She replayed her words in her mind; regret and embarrassment flooding her thoughts. What started as a rant against hypocrisy and a defense of feminism had ended up sounding like the complaints of a possessive lover.

As she struggled to sleep, she found herself caught between emotional turmoil of self preservation and pride.

The next morning, she tiptoed to his room to use the restroom. It dawned on her that she had unintentionally made it a habit to watch Nithin's sleeping form for a few moments before continuing with her morning routine.

She felt bad. He had been having a tough day, and she had only added to his stress. She resolved to make amends in the evening.

After her clinical rotation, she stayed back at the hospital to study for her clinical skills exam with Camarillo.

"Do you want to come over?" he asked her. "We could work on our poster, and you can resize the images so they fit." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, the pics need to be aligned without overpowering the abstract," Vinaya said, nodding her head. If she were back in India, she mused, she would never be allowed to go to a man's apartment alone. She then realized she wouldn't even have been allowed to stay with Nithin in the first place.

Nithin finished his work around 8 pm and realized that Vinaya wasn't home yet. Wary of calling her due to their recent fight, he hesitated but couldn't shake off the worry. Wasn't it his duty to watch over her while she stayed with him?

He texted her, "What's your ETA?" and waited.

Her response, "I'll be late, mom," only irritated him, prompting him to call her.

"What?" she asked.

"When can I expect you home, Vinaya?" he asked tentatively.

The softness in his tone melted her. "I may be late, chetta, I'm working on something with a friend."

Right then, Camarillo chimed in, "Get off the phone, beautiful, we're not done yet."

Vinaya closed her eyes, anticipating how that might be perceived. Before she could explain that Camarillo was gay and just flamboyant in his speech, Nithin hung up abruptly. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for a conversation she knew they needed to have.

"I think I should probably head home," Vinaya told him.

"Awww! Boyfriend missing you?" he asked playfully.

"You know he isn't really my boyfriend, right?" she laughed.

"He sure acts like he is," Camarillo observed.

"He's my brother's best friend. He takes his role very seriously," she rolled her eyes.

"Oooh!" Camarillo teased, "forbidden fruit!"

Shaking her head, Vinaya picked up her belongings and took the subway back to Nithin's apartment.

It was almost 10 pm, and Nithin, anticipating an early day tomorrow, was already in his room. As Vinaya entered to use the restroom, he feigned sleep, swiftly putting his phone away and closing his eyes. He didn't want to engage in conversation with her.

He felt more hurt than he had anticipated by her actions. Unsure if he was allowed to ask her who she was with and what she had been doing with him, he grappled with the uncertainty. What if she didn't tell him? What if she did? Did he really want to know?