Dead Nor Alive

#23

"What was that all about!?" Aditya exclaimed as he followed Trisha into her room. Sarah followed suit.

"Why did you tell him?" Trisha's eyes were bloodshot and ears blazing. Her entire face was scarlet with rage. She looked at Sarah pointedly completely ignoring Aditya's question. "Sarah why did you tell him?" She asked again. This time emphasizing on every word as she spoke.

"I couldn't really see an option ya know. And maybe he could help. Why are so against it anyway?"

"Are you crazy? Who told you it was your place to tell him anyway. Get this through your thick skull Sarah. If we are to solve this problem it's between us to do it. You cannot go dragging people into it without my consent."

This totally threw Sarah off. She turned on her heel and marched out of Trisha's house. "It isn't completely your choice either Trisha. Just FYI." She stated as she left.

Trisha plopped down on her bed and started screaming into her pillow. Her screams of frustration muffled by the pillow. She was blinking back tears as one finally escaped from her right eye. 'great! So now even my body is going to betray me.'

"I still don't get it though. You were ready to take help from that complete stranger even though you knew it was a risk. Yet why do you care if Sarah told that kid from your class. He was genuinely trying to help you there."

"Aditya don't you get it. This is not a normal situation. What we have gotten ourselves into isn't a tiny pinch. This is a major mess and no one would believe us. Even Varun didn't believe us after all. I can't risk something like that happening again."

"But since Sarah told him outright she must trust him. Don't you trust her judgement?" Aditya knew something was off. He just couldn't place a finger on it. From what he had observed it seemed like Sharan and Trisha were much more comfortable around each other. The girls were definitely introverts but somehow he never saw Trisha hesitate when she was around him. They must've been friends at some point if not now.

"Tell me this. Do you like this kid or something? Is that it? You don't want him to think you are cuckoo. That you have 'problem' plastered over your forehead?"

Trisha let out a dry chuckle. "You amaze me Aditya. You really are conceited. Not everything revolves around boys and crushes in a teenager's life. This isn't Disney."

"Then what is it? I could tell you were close at some point. Then why are you so apprehensive about him?"

"No Aditya. We were never close. Yes we were friends at one point but that was years ago. That ship had sailed almost 4 years ago. And I honestly don't care what he thinks about me."

"Then what is it? He was trying to help but you kept pushing him away. Why?"

"Because I don't like taking help from random people. He is not my friend anymore. But I guess he never got the memo. We were friends before but we weren't that close. We just stood out more because we participated in all extracurricular activities together. We were either teamed up or juxtaposed all the time. Which meant we would spend a lot of time together. But it wasn't because of him ever. I did all that for my dad. He used to help me in all the conpetitions. He would practice with me. He would write my speeches. Edit my essays. Sharan would come over a lot when we used to practice with my dad. My mom and dad never really talked much. They didn't fight because they had no communication. But he loved me, atleast that's what I thought. And I participated in all those events because it made him happy. But when I was in 5th grade he got an offer to move to Australia and a promotion, and he took it, in a heartbeat. He left me here by myself. I genuinely had no reason to keep pushing myself anymore. I drew back into my comfort zone and Sharan and I drifted apart. Plus the whole awkwardness had just started which only pushed us further away. And I don't really connect with him anymore. And his pushy attitude just ticks me off. The last thing I want is him poking his nose in this situation. It's better for all of us if he just stays away."

Aditya simply stared at her. He didn't want to push the topic any further. He tried to even stop thinking because he didn't want to aggravate her any further but as he looked into her eyes he realised now he was in trouble.

"You kept prodding me asking questions trying to find out what's on my mind. But what do I know about you Aditya. What would make me trust you? All we know about you are the lofty rumors going round about you swinging from praise to critic from time to time. Who are you though?"