Lone Girl

Chapter 18

Anu's p.o.v:

It's been a week since the incident. Swetha and I were rarely talking. I could see how much she and Jay got close. Swetha was always being with Jay, taking care of him. He also seems so happy when she is around. I liked that change in him but hated that I and Swetha are being apart.

Jay is a women hater but still he is never rude to my mom. He seems genuinely happy with Swetha. Then why does he hate me so much? I should find the answers as fast as I can. 

The next day I texted Karan to come to my house after college in order to complete our art project.  

We were working on the project in my room for the past 2 hours and we decided to take a break. I was lying on the bed while Karan sat on the bean bag. I decided that this is the right time to ask him about Jay.

"Karan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure", he said hesitantly.

I sat up and asked looking at him, "Why does Jay hate me?"

He looked shocked for a moment but he quickly recovered and said, "Why would you think he hates you?"

"He never said one thing nice to me in all this time I am here." , I was fighting the tears that threatened to come out. 

"Why do you care what he feels?", he said looking away from me.

"Because I always wanted an elder sibling who loves me. I have a brother and sister but I can never go to them for anything. I want to go out and spend time with my sister gossiping. I want to fight with my brother over a remote and want to embarrass him about all the girls crushing on him in the college. I want to tease him by talking about all the comments the girls give him while he passes through the corridors. I care because I thought at least he would love me, unlike my sister." With this, I burst out into tears.

My vision was blurred with the tears and the next thing I knew was Karan engulfing me in a hug. It felt secure unlike the unpleasantness with Dev. I hugged him and cried. It felt safe in his arms.

When I recovered from it, I pulled back and sat there in silence. His eyes were filled with concern and worry which I never saw in them while he was around me.

"What did I do that he hates me so much?", I said holding back the tears.

"It has nothing to do with you." He let out an audible sigh and continued, "He hates all women and it started about 8 years back." 

I wanted to say that I knew that part but for some reason I stayed quiet and decided to listen him out.

"This is all about his mother. It all started with her."

He looked towards me as if to check whether I really wanted to know.

"I did not understand what you are saying."

"I am not the person to tell you this", he paused for a moment and continued, “but also I can't see you like this. Not a word to anyone, okay?"

I nodded vigorously like a small child.

"When he was in 8th grade, he caught his mother cheating on his father." 

I was utterly shocked. 

"He accidentally walked into his parents' bedroom when his mother was with another man. His mother never rejected what he saw. Jay told his father about it thinking she would stop but it backfired. She started meeting that man more often and never even tried to hide it. His father tried to talk some sense into her but she didn't stop it. His parents came to an agreement in order to not ruin their status. So his mom got to enjoy all the luxuries being the head of the company while his dad stayed with him."

I was speechless. I opened my mouth to say something but I could not find proper words.

Karan held my hand in between his hands to comfort me. "It broke him Anu. His mother leaving him for being with another guy broke him. Also seeing what his father has gone through because of her made him hate her even more. As he grew, he started hating all women. Your mother, although being the sister of his mother, stayed with him and took care of him during that period. So he feels comfortable with her. No one can resist Swetha."

“I still didn’t understand why he is not talking to me.”

“You don’t understand how much he stays away from girls. In our school he punched a guy because he tried to set Jay on a date. He won’t even have a glance at a girl in our entire college. He even changed his lab partner from a girl to a random boy. He stayed away from girls so much that even rumours started that he might be a gay. Of course, you would have known it if you stayed in cafeteria.” He finished off with a shrug.

I simply nodded taking my time to register what he told me in the past 10 minutes.

"Don't think he has some reason to hate you. He hates everyone. May be he will let you near him like Swetha."

Although his words were with hope, his voice made clear there was no hope.

"I understand it", I said and looked away from him. "I think we should get back to our project."

With that we started working on our project and we didn't speak much like always.

I decided to talk to Jay and clear our misunderstanding. May be we could be a good brother and sister if we give us a chance. 'May be.'