Manan FF- BAD BOY LOVES ME ( 15/40 parts Updated)

5.

My body was yanked away from it as I struggled to get away.

Manik turned me around again and wiped the tears out of my eyes.

"I...I'll tell you. You know, like, tell you what my problem is..." He trailed off, biting his lip nervously.

"You don't have to tell me anything." It came off as cold and harsh, but he deserved it.

"Please, I want to tell you." I kept my mouth shut this time to let the boy speak. "It's kind of a big deal." He added, cautiously. Clearly this meant something to him to get out.

Sometimes, everyone needs someone, anyone, to talk to to help get their mind off things.

"Here it goes," he murmured. "When I was eight, my dad died of alcohol poisoning. He wasn't an alcoholic or anything; in fact, he barely had four alcoholic drinks in a year.

"It was a rough time in my life, for me, my sister, and my mom, then not even a month later my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She did smoke and often: it was kind of a given she'd get diagnosed eventually, no one had expected it to be around the same time my dad died. My mom didn't get the right treatments soon enough and died two months after being diagnosed."

That couldn't have been easy. Imagining my life without both my parents by my side sent chills down my spine at the measly thought.

"I was the most fucking miserable eight year old you would ever imagine. My sister, Niti, was so confused and upset. I felt horrible that she had to go through that all at an even younger age." Manik choked out a bitter laugh.

"I was adopted with my sister a few weeks after I turned nine, and we were welcomed into a new home. The adoptive parents, Nyonika and Raj, were great people. It took me a few months to warm up to them but if I had to end up with anybody besides my parents, I'm glad it was them.

"I lived a generally okay life until I was about fourteen, an eighth grader. I had friends, a girlfriend, a family. But I just feel like God hasn't something against me being happy." He murmured the last sentence, sounding so genuinely angry at the world.

"He took my new dad away too. Raj died in a car accident with a drunk driver. I was miserable, maybe even worse than before. I started doing stupid stuff, like failing classes, sleeping around, yelling at my friends. Overall, I became an ass." He finished. Manik looked angry and upset, but not a single tear made an appearance in his eyes.

I realized then how different Manik is compared to your average, stereotypical womanizers. Being a player is just how he copes with himself and everything that's gone wrong in his life - he doesn't know any better.
For, like, five years now, Manik has been playing girls to take his mind off of the tragic deaths of his family.

I was at loss for words. I know he didn't want to hear 'I'm sorry'. Sorry won't change a thing. 3 of his parents would still be dead and he would still be in emotional pain.

I sighed and stepped forward, embracing Manik in a hug. To my utter surprise, he hugged me back and put his head in the crook of my neck.

I pulled away at arms length.

"Can I ask you one last question?"

"As long as you can do me a favor." I nodded for him to continue. "Don't treat me any differently, kay?"

"Deal." I don't want to make him regret telling me. "Not trying to be rude, but how did you get into Stanford?"

"My adoptive mom, Nyonika, knows people and has made deals with them for my attendance here."

"Makes sense."

"I can't fail this final at the end of the semester or I'm out for good." He sighed as he pulled away and rubbed his forehead.

"I won't let you. I'll tutor you to the best of my ability. I promise."

"Thanks, Nandini." He said. Then, you won't believe this, he gave me a real smile - not a smirk. Manik Malhotra smiled at me! "Let's begin then."

We had a peaceful learning session and it seems he really was beginning to understand these concepts.

Maybe Manik and I can be friends. I really underestimated this jerk. Guess you can't always judge a book by its cover.

Well looks like no-one missed me here! 😑
No problem, I missed this story so back with a not so short update! 💃