Rivals

Prologue

" Were you the one who planned all of this? " She asked as he entered the room, her back facing him.

" Um... Well so the thi... "

" Were you or were you not? " She intercepted, turning around to look at him who was standing beside the door, looking ashamed. " ANSWER ME? "

" C-Calm down. " He advanced towards her. " The others might hear us outside. " Seeing him approach she put out her hand in front of her, gesturing him to stop.

" Leave me alone. " She requested turning away from him. " Leave me alone... "

" At least listen to what I have to say. " He grabbed her wrist. " I accept that it was planned by me but I wasn't the one who executed it. "

" I... trusted you and you... showed me how bad of a decision I made. " Her voice was barely over a whisper.

" I am sorry for what happened but it wasn't my doing... "

He tried to explain the situation but his voice felt so distant to her among the ones taunting and mocking her in her mind. Making fun of her naivety. Making fun of her trust in others.

" Nobody... Nobody cares about me. " She mumbled, acknowledging the things said by the voices. " You all... don't even see me as a person. " She lowered her head.

" For some I am just a medium to take their anger out or a topic of gossip, for others I am just a tool to use however they want and for you... "

She raised her head and looked in his eyes. " ...For you I am just a puppet. A mere puppet. "

Seeing worry in his eyes she continued as tears fell down on the floor. " Don't be worried. You can use the puppet again. I give you my word that you use it again and again, how many times you want... though there might be some broken parts... But it can still work perfectly fine... Just don't forget to discard it once you are done."

" ...Navya? " He stepped towards her.

She smiled, wiping the tears after seeing an expression she never saw on his face. " I am fine... You can leave. " She added slowly, " Your puppet is fine. "

At this point the voices were already loud enough to block out the other sounds. You are a fool for trusting his deceiving words. They said. You are a fool for thinking that things could be different.

She stumbled as she stepped away from him. Feeling weak she sat down on the bed. She looked out of the window not paying any heed to his presence. The constant knock on the door was able to keep her mind off the voices but after a moment it disappeared and she was left alone.

I am tired of everything. She closed her eyes.

I am so tired...