Aarya - The Way We Once Were

Chapter 7

She turned around and saw Shoba standing there, with a look of disgust.

"So this is your work? Kissing strange men in front of my house?"

Shoba asked as Aarti stood there, confused. Then she remembered Yash leaning in to help with her seatbelt. Shoba misunderstood her and thought she was kissing Yash.

"I wasn't kissing him, ma. He was helping with"

Shoba cut her off.

"I don't care what you do anymore, Aarti. If you want to be like your father, go ahead. But don't you dare do this kind of stuff in front of the neighbors. You might not have any self-respect left but I do"

Shoba went back inside the house.

"Ma, I promise it's not what it looks like. My boss was just helping me"

Aarti followed her and tried to hold her hand but Shoba pushed her away, making her fall and hit her forehead on the coffee table.

"Helping you? How dumb do you think I'm? God, I can't even stand to look at you anymore"

Shoba ignored her pain and began to walk towards her room.

"If you hate me so much, then maybe I shouldn't live here anymore"

Aarti cried and Shoba turned around.

"Finally something we can both agree on"

Shoba walked into her room, slamming the door behind her. Aarti sat on the floor and sobbed quietly; she knew it was time to leave this house.

She finally mustered the strength to go to her room. She took out her phone and called Aman, her best friend from college and explained the situation to him.

"I didn't know things were that bad at home"

Aman admitted and Aarti began crying once more.

"I can't stay here any longer, Aman. I feel suffocated here"

She wiped her tears.

"I have an extra room in my house, Aarti. You can stay here until you find something"

Aman felt bad for his friend.

"I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I need my own place; somewhere I can call my own"

Aarti said. Her mom always accused her of being with other men. If she moves in with Aman she's just proving her mom right.

"I know someone that needed a roommate a few days back. Let me call her and see if she found anyone"

Aman said before hanging up. Aarti began to pack her bags and hoped for a better outcome. If she can't find an apartment right away, she'll just stay at an inn until then.

Aman called her back and luck was with her, the apartment was still available. Aarti took one last look around her room, before leaving with her bags. Shoba saw her leaving but turned her back on her. Aarti did not go to her this time; she was done fighting for people to love her. She hailed a cab and headed to the address Aman gave her.

Aarti got to the apartment and a girl answered the door.

"You must be Aarti. Come in"

She entered the apartment and looked around.

"I'm Mansi"

She said and Aarti relaxed a little. Mansi seemed nice.

"Thank you for helping me on such short notice"

Aarti finally looked at Mansi.

"Any friend of Aman is a friend of mine. Besides, he talked about you so much that I feel like I know you"

She chuckled and Aarti smiled. Her and Aman became really good friends in college and their bond never changed. She's thankful for him in so many ways, I guess he's the only family she has left now.

"You're bleeding"

Mansi suddenly noticed blood gushing down her forehead and Aarti touched her wound.

She showed her to her room and then got the first aid kit. She sat next to Aarti and carefully cleaned her wound.

"I won't ask how you got injured. But if you ever want to talk to someone, I'm here"

Mansi put a band aid on her forehead and Aarti held her hand.

"Thank you"

She was indeed grateful for her. She's a mere stranger and yet she treated her better than her own mom.

"And please don't tell Aman about this. I don't want to worry him"

Aarti said and Mansi nodded her head.

"Get some rest, Aarti. Good night"

She said before closing the door behind. Aarti laid on the bed and a tear rolled down her cheek. This apartment is a bit smaller than Shoba's but it's so cozy. She's only been here for an hour and she already felt like home. Aarti closed her eyes and tried to sleep but she kept thinking of Shoba's harsh words to her. Eventually she dozed off, having the best sleep in almost two years.

Yash hit his punching bag, as he recalled all of his recent recounters with Aarti. He continued hitting the bag as he remembered finding her unconscious in the storeroom. He sighed in frustration as he hit the bag once more.

"Are you taking out my frustration on the punching bag?"

He turned around and saw Aarti standing next to him.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He asked rudely and Aarti smiled.

"Admit it Yash, you still care about me"

She walked up to him and he scoffed.

"I don't care about you"

He said harshly and Aarti was now inches away from him.

"Then why did you save me when I was laying lifeless on the floor?"

She asked and he looked on.

"I'm not heartless, Ms. Doobay. If it had been anyone else unconscious I would've done the same thing"

He finally said to her.

"Fair enough, but why were you affected when you saw the cuts on my wrist?"

That seemed to have caught his attention.

"Why did you hurt yourself?"

He held her wrist and looked at the cuts.

"You don't care about me, you said it yourself"

She moved her hand away.

"I need to know, god damn it"

He shouted at an empty room. He looked around and realized that Aarti is not here, he imagined the entire thing.

"Oh god, what's wrong with me?"

He hit the bag again, this time he was so aggressive he hurt his fist.

"Who gave you the right to come back into my life? And why does it bother me when you're hurt?"

He knew that he needed to stay away from Aarti; her presence most definitely make him weak.

"I don't know what new games you're playing with me but I promise you it stops now. I won't let you disturb my peace any longer"