Ceasefire Of Senses (under editing)

c h a p t e r s i x t e e n

Song : Liar - Camila Cabello

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And of course, this had to be the clichéd moment where I tripped over my heels and almost fell but Sam's hand wrapped around my waist before that.

"Ow!" I cried not being able to bear the pain in my ankle.

"Sab bolte hain, heels mat pehen, tu kisi ki sunti nahi hai." He complained picking me up in bridal style and setting me down on the bean bag.
"Now wait here."

Of course, the clubhouse had a first aid box.

"I'll do it myself." I said trying to grab the box.

"I've got medical tape to tape your mouth. So, shut up." He said sitting on the ground.

"Why are you always like this?"

"Like what?" He asked.

"Giving me mixed signals." I said.

"About?"

"Everything. You go on dating numerous girls. I tell you to do stuff and you don't. But then again whenever I am in trouble you always want to be my hero. You stop talking to me suddenly. Then suddenly when you feel like talking to me, you do. You give me a cold shoulder one day and just come up and randomly kiss me the next day. I don't know what's wrong with you, Sam. Or hell, what's wrong with me! Whenever I wanted to talk about the kiss, you just ignored me. Than suddenly I hear that you're dating Raashi. That same Raashi whom we disliked as much as we dislike bengan ka bharta! And then you don't even fucking tell me that you're going to Harvard next week. Then, you use my shoulder as a pillow and now you want to talk to me." I finished.

"You done?" He said standing up.

"What?"

I looked down and so that my ankle was wrapped around a crepe bandage.

"Are you done talking, cause it would be the right moment to do something I have been wanting to do for months." He said.

"What?" I said.

The next moment I found his lips on mine, and I was lost in the kiss. It was intense. It brought back the day he kissed me in Ashley's family room. I pulled away.

"This is wrong. I can't let myself be the other girl."

Our foreheads joined.

"I promise, you were never the other girl and neither will you be." he chuckled. "Rashi and I never dated. That was just an idea I had to make you jealous."

"Me? Jealous?"

"You can't deny you were."

"So, when do you leave?"

"Next Monday. With Pops. A lot of formalities to be completed before I can start college." He said.

"Oh."

"Oh? What do you mean by 'oh'?"

"What can I say? You've decided to go. I can't stop you. And this is your dream, so I need to get out of here before either of us changes our mind and we regret this in future."

"I don't regret a single moment with you." He said.

"I know Sam. Just remember, no matter what happens, you're my best friend and I love you."

"I love you, too."

I limped out of the club house, my shoes in one hand, my bag in the other and my tears locked in my eyes.

"What happened?" Aarav said holding my hand as soon as he opened the door.

"I tripped and twisted my ankle." I said.

And broke my heart and the person's whom I love.

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And now, eight years later, when I remember those last moments in the clubhouse with Sameer, it makes me wonder, what my life would've been if I would've stopped him from leaving. Its been eight years. Kolkata is still hot as ever.  Rishi and Kriti got married five years ago. Krishi is a real one year old human being, who says dih-dih ever time she sees me. Aarav and I have recently turned 26. He's a doctor. Naina's a chef. Aarav and Naina have completed their 9th "date-aversary" two months ago. Naina and I own a cafe together. I, on the other hand, am doing this very boring job of a screen writer. It took a few tries, but here I am, after writing about 5 to 6 shows in the past 3 years, writing my own show.

About Sam. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and then years. Our lives got busier and our texts shorter. None of us have heard from Sam in the last few years. I don't even know whether Krishi knows that she's got an older brother called Sameer. He talks to Aarav and Naina sometimes, but not me. Harvard was good for him. He's now the managing partner of a big law firm in New York.

No one knows what life holds for them, but maybe, Sameer Mehra and Alisha Mukherjee weren't meant to be. I don't know, where life will take me. But what I do know is that Sameer Mehra was a beautiful chapter of my life. And now, it's time to close it.

I looked at my editor as he read out the last chapter if the story.

"This is amazing. But, it's missing an ending, Ally." Karan said.

"That was the ending. That Aditi and Saurav parted ways to never meet each other again."

"Ally, love, this story you've written, I love it. But after, Rosewood's Princess and Love, Unexpected, Shaila's readers expect more out of her. Rahul and Kiran had a happy ending. And so did Aman and Nisha. So, I think, after all that Sameer and Alisha have gone through, they deserve a happy ending." Karan said

Stop. You guys require an explanation. Yes, I am a screen writer. But I write books too. Rosewood's Princess was a story about Kriti and Rishi and Love, Unexpected was one about Aarav and Naina. Their stories were easy to write. So, far, it was difficult to write mine. I hadn't even thought of a title. And Shaila? Inspired from Halsey, I decided to jumble the alphabets in my name and make it my pen name, Shaila.

"But this story is about how love doesn't always have a happy ending." I said.

"Love always has a happy ending. I am sure you'll find it. Now, I want you to take a vacation. You're working too hard. You've been writing your serials and this story together. So, take a break. Live your life a little. I think you're gonna need it. And when you're back, I am sure you'll have an ending for this story." Karan said. "Don't worry about your serials, I already have an entire month's story with me."

"Thanks." I said.

"Now, I need to go. Call me, if you need anything." He said walking walking out of the café , a to-go cup of coffee in his hand.

"He liked it?" Naina asked as I walked into the cafe's kitchen.

"He said that it needed an ending and I should take a break." I replied munching on a scone.

"I think it's the perfect time for you to take a break." Naina said.

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Yayyyyyyyy. Double update.

And that's the ending of the first part of the story.

What are your views on the story so far?
What do you think Naina means by the last sentence? What di you think will happen between Sam and Ally? Do you think Shaila's story will have a happy ending? Give me your theories in the comment sections and I will see what I can do about it....

Stay tuned for an exciting ride ahead and I promise, someone's coming back soon.