Light ~

Chapter 4

Later that night i decided to do a little research on selective mutism so i grabbed my laptop and sat on my bed.i opened the wikipedia page and typed "slective mutism" on the search tab. There was a long article about it. From description to causes to treatment. Though i wasnt much of a reader, this was something i wanted to read. I cleared my throat and started to read slow and steady understanding every single word of it.The more i read , the more uncomfortable i was feeling and the more insecure. After a while i started to breathe rather heavily and i wanted to see Aria. Before i realised what i was doing , i was already infront of the guest room and my hands were closed into a fist and raised to knock at the door. I knew that she wouldnt be awake at this time of the night yet i understood that it was absurd to pester her just because i was feeling worried. 

Yet the temptation was impossible to control so i silently opened the door knob , to my surprise she didnt even lock it, and slowely slipped inside.

There she was. The other name of perfection. I moved a piece of hair from her face and slid it behind her ears. Then i moved into the bed next to her and kept my laptop on my lap and continued.

The more i read the more i started to feel uneasy. Everytime i had to look at Aria to calm myself down and to get the courage to move on. After some time it was close to impossible to continue. Aria turned and wrapped her arms around my waist. I dont know whether she did that on purpose or was just a coincidence. I could smell her minty strawberry scent of her shampoo and it calmed me. I was certain that i wanted to cure her. I wanted to heal her. "Tobias" she mummered. Tobias? whose he? is he her ex boyfriend or present? but she said that she was single. Is he her crush? I was getting tangled inthe confusion again. I wish i could just ask her everything and she would tell me  everything. But i knew that it was not that easy. I knew that she has trust issues and it would take time to get her to get comfortable around me and i knew i had to do something about it.

Next morning was rather unusual. i woke up with a jolt with the sound of very loud music. I fell from the bed and landed face first on the cold hard ground. I managed to get my body off the ground to find Aria spreading her arms and legs and laying on the bed like a starfish protecting her territory. 

I chucked and asked "what are you doing Aria?" She turned her head towards me and smiled. A naughty smile and didnt bother saying anything else. I smiled in return and suddenly out of nowhere, Aria picked up a huge water gun from under her pillow and started spraying it on me.  i tried to block the water from nothing but my bare hands as she mercilessly kept spraying on me in different angles. Through the water streams i could see her laugh soundlessly. I had no choice but to wait till she was out of water, As soon as the last drop of water sprayed out of her water gun. Both our eyes widen and Aria made a quick move towards the door where i was standing . I was blocking her exit and was cornering her slowly. With one naughty smirk and after wiggling her eyebrows in spilt second she ran towards the window which lead to the outside and made a jump for it.  As if she had been doing it for ages and landed skillfully on her legs. I stood there awestruck not realising what just happened. Aria just winked at me and walked back into the house through the front door.

We were both  siting in the couch watching a television show making comments in the middle. "this is completely insane , if i were them i would have told some one , in the first placei mean how can someone bear that much pain and torture?" Aria said (or gestured) i looked at her and said  "yea , i wonder too, you would tell me if your in pain right?" Aria looked at me as if she got the hint i was giving and quickly tried to change the topic. But before she could , i took both of her hands into minee and made her face me.She was making an effort not to meet my eyes, but when she finally did , i said. "Aria, i know that you are in pain, Just tell me what is wrong, i promise that i will make in fo away" For a second there was trust and belief in the what i said in her eyes, but in the next second, it turned into disgust. She swiftly removed her hands from mine and walked away. I felt my phone vibrate signalling that i got a message. It was from Aria. It said :

"Dont make cliche' promises, You dont know anything about me, And besides, most people  dont know the value of the promises they making when they do"

i replied : "I sure would  like to know you"

Just after i sent it , the reply came. 

"trust me, you dont wanna know what's running inside my head"

I just had enough , all my efforts were going in vain. I had enough of beating around the bush and i asked her directly. "Whose Tobias?" I thought her reply would ask me how i found out but instead the reply came like this. " He was my best friend , Thats all you need to know"

I dont know why, but i felt a small wave of relief wash over me. Maybe because he was not her lover or anything. But it created more confusionn. I knew that if i wanted to know about Aria  i would have to rewind her life to the point where it all started.

That evening , we all decided to fo to the ice-cream parlour , Alice's boyfriend Isaac was also coming along. Isaac was a decent looking guy with an innocent face and muscular body, But we shouldnt judge a book by its cover right?. I've heard from my friends that he used to hit his girlfriends. However so far he has not even touched my sister , atleast not in a violent way.Alice says he has changed. But i dont trust him for a split second.. If even dares think about hurting my sister , i would kill him.

We orderes our usuals. Alice and Isaac ordered strawberry sundae , i picked chocolate chip and Aria picked cotton candy. She was looking at the ice- cream as if she couldnt wait to get hands on it. So i mentally made a quick note in my head .

The place was as usual packed and the staffs were busily serving the customers. Alice was sitting next to Isaac so Aria had to sit next to me. Our hands were almost touching. i was very dissapointed. I wanted the "almost" to vanish and hold her hand.i felt like there was some tension between both Isaac and Alice as despite being couples they were sitting far away from each other.I decided to over look it as i should not interfere with them. We were talking about some of the interesting places and making to see them again with Aria.  Suddenly Aria grabbed my hands tightly. She was looking at someone wearing a dark blue button down shirt and blue jeans.She was applying so much pressure in her hands to keep her face emotionless. As soon as she realised she was holding my hand, she let go and dropped her head and started playing with her ice cream. She lifted her head only when the person left from the parlour as if she was hiding from him. I excused my self to go talk to him by saying that i was going to pay the bill. But Aria decided to join me so my plan got failed. 

While the sales woman was preparing our bill i asked her why she decided to come along and she said that she sensed that there was something wrong between Isaac and Alice so she didnt want to be in the middle. I smiled at Aria's thoughtfullness. We paid the bil and and turned around to head to our seats, All the things happened faster than i could register. Isaac picked the metal tissue holder from the table and hit hard across Alice's face , so hard that she went flying out of the window, breaking the glass in between. The next second i was hitting Isaac so hard that my hands were hurting but i refuse to let him go. I would have killed him that instant if Aria hadnt step in the middle.