The Colours We Give | On hold

| 6 |

" And even though it kills me

That you have to go

I know it'll be sadder

If you never hit the road "

- Farewell, Rihanna

☀

tassel

"AROHI WHAT?" SILAS SHOUTED. 

She left this school? Just like that? And why on Earth did she tell that to Lance and not me?

"Yeah she did. She told me last night that it happened really suddenly," Lance explains. 

More than angry, I feel dejected. Why did she contact Lance and not me, when I was the one pestering her with all those texts? 

"Did she text to your number?" I ask Lance.

"No," he nods. "We spoke on Insta."

Instagram. For once, I regret not being on that cursed app. I'm not on Instagram, or any form of social media for that matter. If Inkpad counts, then the count increases to one.

But if she could speak on Instagram, then why not just text me?

"Can I have your phone? I need to talk to her," I plainly order Lance. He hands it over and I immediately log into his Instagram account with the password he says. I don't know Arohi's username, but her profile picture is displayed in the last message of Lance's DMs. I click on it and read all the texts that went back and forth between them. 

Arohi's texts seem hurried. She used way more short forms than she normally does, and didn't beat around the bush even once. When I finally see the reason why she left, my eyes immediately dart towards Silas. He looks eager. To know something, anything.

"You guys got caught?" I ask him. Silas looks away but turns back to me again. "Yes," he agrees, his voice substantially lowering.

"Fuck," is all I can say.

Arohi's parents are probably one of the most extreme couples I've seen. I've heard about Indian parents being more strict than American ones, but hers take it to a whole new level. They're amazingly nice people when they need to be, but if anyone does something against their choice, they're as good as dead. Once in middle school, Arohi's mother started to hit her in front of everybody just because she got a B grade. She went as far as taking my answer paper and comparing it with hers. Even the teacher didn't know how to control her.

I want to call Arohi really bad, but it's obviously not going to be good for her. Not expecting an immediate reply, I DM her.

How are your parents taking it? And why are you not replying to my texts? Are you ok? 

- Tassel

I give back the phone to Lance, making him promise that if Arohi replies he'll not forget to show it to me as soon as he can.

I'm honestly feeling scared for her right now. I don't want her to do anything out of impulse. When I look at Silas, I clearly see regret drawing lines on his face.

"Don't worry," Lance says with a warm smile. He squeezes my shoulders reassuringly. 

I smile a little. "I'll try."