A Young Mistake

Unseen and Unheard

That day, when I got home without telling anyone, Arjun called me and asked, "What happened? Are you okay?"

I felt really bad thinking about that girl—who is she? Rohan called her "bacha" and was so into her that he didn’t even notice I’d been gone for so long. What the hell is happening, Arjun? Is he losing interest in me, or has he found someone new?

Arjun said in a worried voice, “Sona, Rohan never told you about her? She’s Priya.”

I replied, raising my voice, “I know her fucking name! But what is she to rohan”

Arjun said, “Rohan, Priya, and I have been friends since childhood. Our families are close too. Our bond is so strong, but please don’t get angry, Sona, and don’t mention that I told you. Rohan’s family and Priya’s family want them to get engaged and married once they graduate.”

I was in complete shock. “Damn! He never mentioned this before. Wasn’t it important to tell me, Arjun?”

I started crying after hearing this. “How could Rohan hide such a big thing from me? When he’s with me, I’m sure he’ll say no to his family since we’re supposed to be together forever. So why is he still so close to her?”

Arjun replied slowly, “Sona, Priya loves Rohan a lot, and they are very close. I care about you, that’s why I’m telling you this. When you and Rohan met for the second time, he shared everything with us during a phone call. At that time, Priya was studying in Darjeeling for a fashion designing course. She told me that she would do whatever it takes to be with Rohan and took promise from me that I will keep you both from getting too close when you met. That’s why I was so cliché and clingy that day, even though I didn’t want to come between you two on assi ghat.”

“But Rohan loves you a lot, Sona. Despite everything Priya told him—like not to be with you—she messed with his head, saying that long distance wouldn’t work and that you’d cheat on him. She did everything she could to make Rohan stay away from you, but he just said one thing:

‘If it’s not her, then there’s no one else for me.’”

I heard this from Rohan for the very first time. I’ve known him since childhood, and he was never like this before. Even in college, where we’re both studying, he doesn’t even look at other girls. But Priya is different. They’ve been friends forever, and he can’t ignore her. She’s close to him and his family too—his mother loves Priya a lot. That’s another reason why Priya has such a strong bond with Rohan.

From childhood until now, I’ve heard Rohan’s mom say the same thing over and over: ‘Priya will definitely be part of our family one day.’

After knowing  these things about Priya and Rohan’s family, my heart felt like it had shattered into a thousand pieces. Suddenly, I received a call from an unknown number. I told Arjun to hold on and answered the call. “Hi, who’s this?”

I heard a sigh huhh, followed by a girl’s voice. I asked again, “Who is this?”

Then someone said, “Rohan is here. Who are you talking to for so long?”

Ohh ya  I realized Arjun was sitting in the corner, talking on the phone. Does Rohan even know his girlfriend is being a bitch behind his back?

And she’s been talking to his BFF for so long! What are you guys even discussing that how can you fuck each other on your anniversary behind Rohan’s back?

No doubt she’s Priya. As beautiful as she is on the outside, she’s just awful on the inside.

In an angry tone, I said, “You don’t need to worry about whome I'm fucking with either it's him or arjun just worry about yourself!”

Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind. “Sona, keep quiet; you’re on speaker.” It was Arjun’s voice, and I was in complete shock. I was just so angry with the entire conversation that my words slipped out like that. Did Rohan hear me? When did she put me on speaker? Is Rohan there? Oh no, what have I done? He’ll think everything is wrong.

Then Priya said, “So this is the truth. Don’t try to save her now, Arjun. Now we all know what you guys are doing behind Rohan’s back.”

I was confused. It wasn’t a big deal; I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why should I worry? I ended the call, telling myself that Rohan would call me right away and laugh about how stupid I was being. But even after 30 minutes, he hadn’t called. I didn’t have the guts to call him, so I called Arjun instead.

When Arjun picked up, I heard Rohan’s voice on the line, sounding low and frustrated. “What is this, Sona? What the hell is going on? You have 2-3 hours of phone call history with Arjun. What have you guys been talking about? You told me you weren’t feeling well, so you came home early on our anniversary to take a nap. But here I see you talking to him for so long while I was thinking my best friend got a new girl with whom he is talking while just sitting in the corner ” He said this in an angry and frustrated tone.

I was stunned on the phone call when he said in a loud tone, “What’s going on, Sona? Will you speak or not?” I had never heard Rohan sound this angry in the two years I’d known him. I was scared. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I was at a loss for words.

I was also angry about all the secrets he kept to himself. In that moment of frustration, I blurted out something I shouldn’t have: “You are of no use to me, Rohan!” I was just super angry, and those words slipped out.

Rohan ended the call, and I didn’t know what to think after that. He had his train to Delhi tomorrow afternoon, and I thought he would call. Not a single night had gone by without Rohan calling, but today, there was nothing. I felt so sad.

Later that night, Palak called me and said, “Sona, don’t be sad, but I have to tell you something. Rohan was so angry that he left the party holding Priya's hand. I don’t know where they went, but they left together.”

The word "together" kept repeating in my head like a movie: they left together. What kind of relationship does he have with Priya? No, no, no. Sona, Rohan can’t cheat on you; he loves you a lot. He will call you.

That whole night, I couldn’t sleep, and I waited until morning, but there was still no sign of Rohan. I didn’t want to go to school, but I was in my 12th grade and needed good attendance; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to sit for the exams. I had already taken so many leaves and bunked classes just to spend time with Rohan, and exams were approaching fast. I had to go to school that day, but my mind was all over the place. I kept hearing that word—together. Damn.