BAREFOOTED

Chapter 11

Megha sat on the floor, her body wet with sweat after the workout session which had just ended. Jazzy sat beside her, a frown playing across her forehead.

"So you're saying, you have no clue why Arch just dumped Pratik? Just like that - for no rhyme or reason? Something's wrong Jazz....the girl wanted to marry before her next birthday. She said Pratik was great and was so excited about the engagement.....what went wrong?"

"No idea, Mugs. But she had fat lip.....like she'd been kissed by Dracula or something."

"What?" Megha gasped, her eyes round with surprise.

Jazzy stared blankly ahead, her voice low and soft. "I asked and she said she hit her mouth on the steering wheel."

"Really? Despite the airbag? And you didn't find this fishy?"

"Now that's the thing....the airbag was intact."

Megha poked a finger into her friend's side. "What the hell happened Jazz?"

Her friend's puzzled grey eyes turned to focus on her. "You know our Archie.....full of drama.....there's no way we'll know the truth unless she wants us to know."

"You're right. Aditya was telling me that Pratik was taking it hard.....so now I'm wondering who or what bit her lip. And did she really have an accident?"

"Looked that way.....car was a bit dented.....I did see that," explained Jazzy with a thoughtful expression.

But she was as lost as Megha. The two had spent time with Archie's mother the previous evening, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. As expected, Archie's grandfather had roared on hearing the news of their break-up and Archie's mother had been totally unnerved until her husband had intervened and told his father to back off. All they knew was that Archie had met with a minor accident when her car had swerved out of control to avoid a stray dog on the road. Both the dog and Archie had escaped scot-free but her car had been damaged slightly. The very same day, she had met Pratik before returning home to tell her parents that she could not go ahead with the marriage.

"Do you think it was the dog?" asked Jazzy, staring blankly into the mirror in front.

"The dog? What about the dog?"

"I don't know. She was so bloody emotional after that mishap on the road. Maybe something snapped when she saw the dog."

Megha shook her head, unable to make the connection.

"You've lost me Jazz. I honestly don't know what you're saying."

"What if the dog was symbolic?" asked Jazzy, then shaking her head continued, "Never mind, she did what she wanted to. She sounded okay over the phone just now, didn't she?"

"Yes. A bit subdued but calmer," agreed Megha.

Archie was visiting Kuala Lumpur for a couple of weeks till the scandal in their family died down but her two friends knew her stay would be indefinite. With Jazzy shifting her accommodation to the spa, both the girls had been visiting Archie's mother daily, offering her support. There had been mayhem in Archie's house for a couple of days so Jazzy had stayed over to help Archie's mother while Megha had bottled up her own dark emotions, not wanting to burden her friend or Archie's mother with her problems when they had far bigger ones to deal with. It hadn't been easy but with everyone so caught up with the broken engagement, Megha found she could cover up her own misery.

"Her mom's doing okay now but I think her Dad's still blown. And what's with her stupid brother? He's furious and refusing to even talk to her. How can he shift his loyalties to Pratik, huh?"