Love Rivals: The Day I Saw Your Tears

85. Not So Far Away, Still Distant

(Ryan's Pov)

With the Hyderabad project overlapping with our honeymoon plans, the destination had to change. I asked Sarah whether she preferred to travel by train or flight, and she chose the train. Nitya had also joined us for the project, making the journey feel even more complicated than I had anticipated.

As we sat in the train compartment, the three of us were together, but it felt like we were in different worlds. Nitya and I were busy discussing project details, documents sprawled between us. Sarah, meanwhile, was on the middle berth above Nitya, her back against the wall, legs curled up, completely absorbed in her phone, earphones plugged in. The hum of the train and the clatter of wheels on the track formed a background rhythm, broken only by our occasional exchange of words about work.

After a while, Nitya excused herself, saying she needed to use the restroom. I watched her walk down the narrow aisle and glanced up at Sarah, who still hadn't acknowledged our presence.

"Sarah," I called softly, but she didn't react, still engrossed in whatever was playing in her earphones.

I hesitated for a moment, but then reached up and gently pulled out one of her earphones. She looked down at me, startled, her expression questioning.

"What is it?" she asked, her tone neither warm nor cold, just neutral.

"Are you... uncomfortable with Nitya being here?" I asked cautiously, not sure how she would respond.

For a moment, she just stared at me, her face giving nothing away. Then she shrugged lightly and said, "No, not really... as long as she doesn't talk to me."

Her tone was calm but distant, and I could sense there was more she wasn't saying. I hesitated again, unsure whether to probe further. Before I could gather my thoughts, she added, as if to change the subject, "Krystal will be joining me later."

"Krystal?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, the name catching me off guard.

Sarah nodded, her expression unchanged. "Yeah, she said she'll meet us there. Apparently, we're staying at her fiancé's hotel. She thought it'd be fun to make it a double date, or whatever."
She glanced away, her eyes briefly meeting the window before turning back to me.
"Don't worry about me," she added, a faint smile on her lips that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Take all the time you need with Nitya, your closest friend. I won't get in the way."

As the night deepened, I found myself wide awake, bored out of my mind. I've never been one to sleep well while traveling, and this journey was no different. Nitya had already drifted off, or at least was quiet, but even when she was awake, our conversations rarely wandered beyond hospital topics. The silence was unbearable.

I glanced up at Sarah's berth, where she lay wrapped in her blanket, asleep -- or so I thought. On a whim, I pulled out my phone and called her. I could see her stir, her phone lighting up in the dim compartment. When she answered, I quickly sat back in my seat, as if trying to act casual.

"What?" she muttered, her voice thick with irritation. Clearly, I had woken her up.

"I can't sleep," I said, my voice bordering on a plea. "Please... play with me."

There was a pause, followed by a deep sigh on her end. I waited, hopeful.

"Fine," she finally said, her tone resigned. "Okay."

Relieved, I opened up Call of Duty on my phone, and soon enough, we were both engrossed in the game. The hours passed in a blur, the monotonous rhythm of the train blending into the background as we focused entirely on our screens. We played the entire night, not exchanging many words beyond the game itself, but it felt like a connection that had been missing for a while.

When morning came, the sun filtering through the windows, I decided to grab some breakfast. I bought snacks and food from the vendors on the train and brought it back to our compartment. We shared the meal together, and though there wasn't much conversation, it felt comfortable.

To my relief, the rest of the journey went by without any tension between Nitya and Sarah. Nitya kept talking to me, mostly about the project, but I found myself zoning out, pretending to listen. I had discreetly placed an earbud in my opposite ear, scrolling through my phone while nodding along to whatever she was saying.

And Sarah... she didn't demand much. In fact, the only thing she asked for during the entire trip was the WiFi password. She barely spoke to me after our gaming session, and not once did she call her parents or engage in any meaningful conversation. Her focus remained glued to her phone, completely absorbed in whatever held her attention on the screen.