❝The only kind of love I want is one where even if it is just for a short moment, it feels like I have lived a lifetime in that moment with that person. ❞ - Jhanvi Raichand.
**You CANNOT read this as standalone. Read Dare to Be before reading this...
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2.30 Lifetime Together
Late night, I walk out of the house noticing Annie sitting outside on the swing. The past two days with the funeral and last rites, they seem to have passed too quickly. It may be a blur with leaving with a heavy heart. I inhale deeply, taking in the crisp air, and exhaling slowly.
He may not be my grandfather but it was still a loss. Sam always treated me as a son, accepting me, and as such, his father had been kind to me as well. But, mostly, seeing Sam, Eva, Lavanya mom and Sanya going through this is what was tougher. Others were older and as such trying to handle this as maturely as they could but Sanya... she should not have to experience such a loss at the young age of 16.
Annie reaches for my hand, silently offering her support as she had been the last few days. I had told her she didn't have to come when we received news. But she'd told me she wasn't taking my hand in just the good times but the tough times as well. I couldn't stop her then. If not for me, I knew she would want to be there for Eva.
She rests her head on my shoulder, shifting closer. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I answer as my thumb rubs back and forth on her palm.
For the longest, we sit there in silence.
Once, Jhanvi asked me who took care of me when I had told her about my family history. I hadn't understood her question then but tonight, I do. I looked after others. I asked everyone if they were okay. But Annie, she always made sure I was okay. And if I wasn't, she always helped me get there and would hold my hand until I was there.
I glance down at her before expressing, "I'm sorry, Angel."
She pulls her head back, forehead crinkled in confusion. "Whatever for?"
"My life always gets in the way. One night... I wanted to give you just that without anything happening... to just listen to your feelings from over the years, but..."
She pulls her legs up on the swing, folding them backward, to sit sideways so she is looking at me. "Aarav, don't dare ever apologize or think your life gets in the way of us."
"But it does," I counter. "First, all these years growing up, my promise to Jhanvi's parents and now with..."
She interrupts, speaking over me, "Darling, please. You couldn't be more wrong. I have never thought that Jhanvi was getting in between us. There was no 'us', remember? Even if there was, it wouldn't matter. Your life is mine too. It can't possibly get in the way."
I lower my gaze to our hands intertwined. "Your life. My life. Will it ever be our life?"
She argues, "We've always been a part of each other's life, haven't we?"
