INTRICATE

CHAPTER 13

S A M A I R A   Y A D A V

Many eventful days had gone by in Lakewood in the few months Samaira had been there. She had come across some very interesting people, the politician's wife not being one among them, so she thought she had seen nearly every type of ridiculous person to exist. How very wrong she was. Fuck nearly. She hadn't even gotten close. 

She ran a hand over her face as she leaned back against the wall. A conversation had never drained her as much as it had done then. 

Someone moved to stand beside her. The hospital was relatively crowded and there were people everywhere, but she knew exactly who it was. His cologne gave him away. "I'm sorry."

Vedan looked down at her in obvious confusion. "What the hell are you apologizing for? Don't tell me that talking to my mother has finally pushed you off the edge of sanity."

She didn't even have the energy to laugh, so she just smiled lightly. "I'm not apologizing for what happened now. I'm apologizing in general for what you had to put up with every single day of your life for the past twenty-five years. I would have taken it lightly on you if I had known."

"No, you wouldn't have."

"No, I wouldn't have." she agreed, making him chuckle. Samaira turned to look up at him, feeling the chill from the wall permeate into her cheek. It was a hospital and she knew it wasn't the best idea to stick to the wall like a lizard, but it felt good. "How did you manage?"

He rested his head back. "I didn't."

And that was all the explanation that she needed to hear. It wasn't elaborate, however, it was enough to fill in the missing blanks. 

"It's good to see that your attending has your back."

Samaira couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. Vedan raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Believe me when I tell you that I mentally prepared myself to get fired the moment Dr. Chowdhury entered the room. The universe really does work in mysterious ways."

"Why would you say that?"

"That man has held a grudge against me since I got here."

"It didn't look that way."

"Exactly! That's why I was surprised when he backed me."

He smiled. "Did you stop to think that maybe he was hard on you because he saw potential in you that no one else had?"

"Doesn't that just happen in movies?"

"I can see why you would think that, but no." he chuckled. "My coach was the same way. He was as stern and as cruel as a dictator. He could give Mussolini a run for his money, however, we knew deep down that he was a good man who just wanted the best for his team."

"That's sweet," she said, her eyes latching onto the frosted glass on the opposite wall. There was something hauntingly beautiful about it, especially in the dark. "Do you miss playing soccer?"

"With everything in me." 

Samaira looked at him. She didn't have to ask if he meant it because his eyes gave it away. They expressed more in a second than his words could have in an hour. "I know it's not the Super League, but you can join me and my brothers this weekend if you want to. We're going to play Soap Football with the rest of their friends."

His amusement was evident when he spoke. "You were going to play against thirteen-year-old kids?"

"They declared me as the chaperone before I could even get a word in," she said, smiling at the memory. Those kids could bring down the roof with their chaos. "Either way, it's fun to spend time with them."