City Lights

Chapter 25

What I heard was nowhere near my expectation.
This wasn't what I was thinking.
Far from it.
Anna had been hurting so bad and I had no idea at all.

I didn't even knew when tears started falling from my eyes, listening to her telling me all about her fucked up life.

I used to think that I had it worse but not as much as her.

Everything she had known her entire life, her family, her friends, him, everything.

It was all just a facade and I felt so guilty, knowing not that for so long my best friend was hurting while I was carrying on with my life.

"I'll talk to him" I said, my voice calm and full of emotions.

I don't know if he would actually listen to me. Hell, I don't even know why he would listen to me.

I was just praying that somehow, the interest he was showing towards me night work my way and be able to help Anna.

"What!!?" She shrieked.
Her voice was full of panic, as if I was the one to be worried about.
"You'll not, I'm letting this go. I don't need him like that." she took a deep breath, almost as if it hurt her to say that.

"Tristan's right" she muttered.
"I need to let go. He deserves someone better. Someone who will trust him and take care of him. Not leave him drowning like I did."

I could feel her pain radiating off her, as if a second layer and I wanted nothing else but be able to just hug her till she forgot everything that was killing her.

"You'll not talk to him, promise me" she said and I just stared blankly at her.

"Promise me" she whispered again and then started sobbing.

I just hugged her tightly and nodded my head. If this was what she wanted, then I'll let her think that.

_*_*_*_*_

It was another normal day.
Another boring day in the lectures.
We had not even a single second to even blink.
Meanwhile, a new rumor was going around that the entire first year batch was going on a trip.

Apparently, it was a ritual of the university to take new fellow students out every year.
Last year batch went to Australia, and the one before that went to Singapore.

According to the seniors, it was to provide us exposure to reality, which was shit considering that we were all above 18 and most of us had already been facing this harsh reality.

But who was I to argue?
And I didn't mind getting out of here, anywhere would work.

Other than this fresh news, there was no exciting news or rumors.

After around 3, I finally managed to get free from Anna and Arthur.

Yea, Arthur.

He was a good friend now.
I don't know how, but after that night, he finally got the hint that I'm really not interested and since then, he's been behaving more like a big brother than someone who was infatuated by me.

It was a little awkward.
A relief but still awkward.

Anna also seemed to understand that I had no feelings for him and neither did he, well hopefully, and she stopped clubbing us up.

Even thou, after all that drama yesterday, she was dead set on finding me a boyfriend.

She said they were a very essential part of our life's, which was again I must say, bullshit.

I've lived my entire life, well, at least 19 years of it without any guy, I think I can manage off for a little while ahead as well.

So, after I'd excused myself from their company, I made my way out to where I'd seen him the past few times.

Tristan.

I had to look for him.
He was the main problem and the only solution to this all.
He was the one who was actually creating this trouble between them.

Why couldn't he just leave them be?
They seemed to be quite happy together, at least I could see Anna was.

I sighed and started searching for him.
I searched everywhere I could.
The outer campus, the back entrance, and most of other areas I thought where he might be but he was nowhere to be found.

Nada.

Almost as if he'd decided to disappear into thin air.

'Wow. Now he does that' I thought sarcastically and continued looking for him.

It was well after half an hour when I gave up.
I would look for him again tomorrow but right now, I just wanna get some food and lay in my bed and just watch Logan lermen looking all adorable and cute in my favorite movie, aka 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower'.

Making my way back, I caught up with Anna, who was surprisingly sitting in the car, as if waiting for me.

Almost as if she sensed my presence, she turned her head to me, smiled a little bit and then her eyes narrowed "where were you?" She asked, her voice suspicious and my eyes widened immediately, wondering if she'd seen me running all around.

"Like, I've been waiting for ten minutes. You said It'd take you only 15 minutes and yet you're late" she said and shook her head at me.

I was confused, baffled " what are you even saying?" I asked.

She stared at me and then after two seconds spoke up again "you were in the library right?" She asked. " isn't that what you told me?" She said.

"Oh yea, that. Yea, sorry." I lied, I couldn't let her know what I was doing.

"You were with a guy, weren't you?" She said, smirking lightly and I rolled my eyes at her.

Why, oh why must she always assume the worst.

"Drive" I said and got in the car.