What Hides Within

Twists

The stars twinkled coldly above.

Eric remembered one such night with Carrie, as he now sat on her favourite beanbag, looking up at the sky.

It was the first time he saw her mask of cheerful nonchalance crack.

She had looked gorgeous that night.

She had worn a low cut black dress with a golden necklace trickling down her body.

He remembered her walking up to him with a broad grin, showing her perfect white teeth.

The dark eye make up and dark red lipstick she wore made her look mysterious and undeniably sexy.

He remembered wanting nothing more than to touch her... pull her close to him....

It was the night of the New Year ball two years ago.

There were hundreds of people milling around. So had given her a stiff formal hug and they moved into the venue along with the group of 20 friends they had come with.

Carrie had been his date for the night.

Kate had been there as well. His ex. The woman he once thought he was in love with.

His lips had turned up in a smirk as he saw her fluttering around, flaunting herself.

She was such a stark difference compared to Carrie. Carrie, who was reserved, poised and charming in her subtle way.

No one knew about him and Carrie.

No one knew about the passionate nights they spent together.

Carrie wanted more, he knew. Yet he wasn't ready to commit.

He didn't want the world to know about Carrie.

He had an almost superstitious fear that if the world got to know, the world would get in the way. And she would fade away from his life, like a dream.

Now she was just his. And he was afraid to let go of that hidden world they had created together.

Seeing her meet and greet the others, he knew no one would guess there was anything apart from friendship between them.

He knew that though she was his date, she would keep a studied distance away from him.

He had felt a little flicker of jealousy as he saw Ray put an arm around her. So he had turned away and started socialising with the others.

They weren't together that night but his eyes had followed her. Admired her. Wanted her.

And at times when she had looked back at him and smiled, he knew she had wanted him too.

Until Kate pulled him for a dance.

He felt a surge of revulsion at her touch. He could never forgive her for cheating on him. Looking at her now, the curves she flaunted seemed like rolls of fat. Her unruly curls seemed like straw.

He wished it was Carrie with him. Carrie's toned waist under his palm. Her silky hair brushing against him. The dusky rose scent of her filling his senses.

Forget what the others would think, he would find Carrie after this, and ask her for the next dance.

Except that he had never found her after that dance with Kate.

He had looked and looked. No one seemed to know where she was.

He tried calling her, but her cell phone was unreachable.

She came back about an hour later. Just as everyone was about to leave.

By then he had been worried sick about her.

He tried to ask her where had she been but she avoided the conversation.

She hadn't let him drop her home. And she avoided him for six months.

He knew instinctively it had been his dance with Kate that had put her off. Yet she never talked about it.

It hadn't been easy to win her back.

It had taken a wedding to win her back.

He suddenly wondered if she had written about that night.

He felt an urgent need to know. He darted into his room and dug out the red journal.

It was the first entry.