RAVI (formerly Indie-America)

10

(((Edited•)))

    Luca helps me paint, surprisingly. He may not be the greatest artist but he really has good taste. I hear when the adults come back but I make no move to go downstairs. Instead I let Luca continue to paint the first wall grey while I search for life quotes on Pinterest.

"Aren't you gonna help?" He asks.
"In a minute, I'm searching something," I reply without looking up.
"What is that?" He asks, trying to peer at my phone but I move away before the paint from the brush drips on me.
"Be careful," I warn but he just roll his eyes.

  "–I am so tired of your rants–" I hear mum's voice scream but it gets muffled when she enters a room. Luca hears it too and raises a brow at me.

"I think we should go," I start pulling my over all off and signal for him to do the same.

"Are you alright? Are they alright?"

"They're gonna argue like they usually do but I really don't wanna get in the middle of it, please let's just go," I send him my puppy eyes and he yields easily.

  "Where do you wanna go?"

  "Anywhere, take me anywhere."

*****
"Huh," I say mostly to myself. Luca's standing beside me and I'm shivering from the breeze. We're staring at trees. I don't know what else could be in here cause I can't see anything at all.
"Come on RV," He doesn't take my hand as he moves on. I wish he did cause I'm this close to pissing my shorts from fear.
"This is a forest," I growl as dry leaves crunch under my foot.
"It's a beach," He turns to look at me and gives me his hand.
"Don't fall," He cautions and I growl again. Like I needed him to tell me that.
Still, I trip 5 times and curse at him for not using his phone as a torch or actually switching on the torch in his phone but he says it'll attract flies. Flies. The only source of light in this tree congested place that apparently is too small to be called a forest are the fire flies buzzing all around the place. Finally we're out of the woods and the sweet scent of sand and sea attacks my nose. It's freezing out here but I really don't care. I remove my brown sandals and let my legs sink on the sand. Luca disappears from my sight and all I do is run around the beach and touch the waters a little. It's freezing cold.
"What are you doing? Watering your tongue?" Luca asks standing far away from me. I make a face at him to show him I don't understand but he doesn't reply, instead he takes his shirt off and dives into the water. I'm glad there's no light here and he's too far to see me blush at the sight even if the moon's up.
For ten seconds he doesn't surface and I'm getting really scared already when he jumps out.
"Ravi! Come in, it's so cool!!" He yells but I roll my eyes an yell back.
"No thank you! It's cold and sharks are probably around!"
Yeah and my heart's probably gonna stop working for like two seconds and then the rhythm will get ruined and I'll hyperventilate til death.
Luca's laughing at me now and somehow I'm laughing too. I sigh and start to get up when all of a sudden Luca's right next to me and grabbing me by my left hand with his shivering cold, slippery hand. I try to push him away but he makes a jump for the water, dragging me with him.
I get my grip underwater before I drown too deep and take Luca's outstretched hands. He pulls me up.
"Not so bad now is it?" He asks once I've gasped my breath back.
"You bastard. Do you know how dangerous that was?" I say but my voice comes out weaker than I meant it. Luca splashes water on me and I realize how close we actually are.
"I'm not playing games in here until I know for sure that my left leg won't be bitten off by a shark. I love Hiccup but I don't need a mechanical leg,"
Somehow this gets him laughing harder, he stops once he sees that I'm not laughing along.
"Ok RV, I've been coming here all my life. No sharks. Yet."
"Luca!" I whine and splash water on him. He does the same to me and soon we're even wetter than before.
"I'm going back now. If I stay here any longer I'll die," I say after successfully beating him at our game of splash and he grins.
"Race you there."
I took swimming lessons throughout 7th grade but I haven't been in a swimming pool ever since Rohan's death but Luca's clearly been hitting the gym frequently cause he gives me a gapping so long I quite before I actually start.
"You could've slowed down you know. For a lady? Be a gentleman," I say once I get to shore. He's using his shirt to dry his hair but the water is still dripping from his body. I not so subtly stare at his abs and nearly drool (that is sooo embarrassing.) But when I look at him I see he's also staring at me. Abruptly, I'm reminded that my outfit wasn't the first thing I would choose for swimming but I did swim and now the fabric is see through.
"How long have you been coming here?" I ask and his eyes shoot to me. If he realized that he was caught, he doesn't let on.
"Since i was 11. I came here with Nelson sometimes but mostly alone. It's my spot."
I reject the shirt he's handing to me even though I'm shaking now.
"And you brought me to your spot?"
He chuckles and lifts my hands then forces the shirt on. I try to look straight at him throughout.
"It's a public place. 'sides, you might need it for future purposes."
"I don't even know the way here. I slept through the ride remember?" I tug on the shirt, his smell filling my lungs. It's like mint and honey.
"Of course I do," He gives me the same look daddy gives me after a road trip I slept through and I'm saying things like 'I didn't know the trees were green' and he'll say
'of course you didn't you were asleep.'
You can detect the annoyance there right? I guess it's the same with all drivers.
"I can show you another time," He says and I say slowly.
"Another time."
From his eyes I can tell he's thinking the same thing as I am.
"Yeah. Another time. Meanwhile. I'm freezing here let's get back to the car,"
I nod and follow him, holding his shirt tight around me.
I wonder what Ken would say if she saw me in Luca's shirt. Probably something like;
Oh my God, Ravi's all grown up!!!

***
Luca turns on the heat in his car and I contemplate removing his shirt but I'm still freezing and I think it would be better if I wash it first.
"So do you wanna talk about what's going on with your family?" He asks after a while.
How do I answer that? What is going on in my family?

"I think we're just struggling to adjust with this extended family stuff," I say finally but he doesn't reply, I realize he wants me to go on.
"It's like a clash of worlds and personalities. I'm pretty cool with it sometimes but Mara can't take it. She's too protective of her personal space and that's been ruined for her so...I'm worried about her," I make a pout and Luca reaches for me but his phone rings.
"It will be okay," He says to me as he picks up his phone, looks at the ID and drops it.
"Go on," He says but I frown.
"Who is it?"
"No one-" the phone rings again. This time I pick it up.
"It's Kim."
"I know."
"Answer it," He gives me the same look he gave when I came out of the shopping mall earlier today. Like I'm crazy.
"That would be so awkward."
"Why? It's not like I'm your girlfriend."
"Still. 'sides, it's unhealthy to talk to your ex so frequently."
"Maybe it isn't. Maybe hearing their voice will remind you of what you left behind. And that's good if you're over it."
"I'm not sure if I am," He says sharply and I pause.
Oh-k that was some useful piece of information.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to come as harsh."
"Oh no. It's fine."
"I just...it still hurts sometimes."
"Yeah I understand," I totally do not.
"Maybe."
I turn to face him.
"Why exactly did you break up?"
Luca sighs and I quickly remind him that he didn't have to tell me but he does.
"Kim had this huge crush on one of her dad's friends son but they moved to Canada a long time ago, so I guess she gave up on it. But he moved back here two months ago for college and she just dumped me," His shoulders slump. I wonder how much harm she did to his ego.
"So is this-" is make air circles around us. "-to make her jealous? Revenge?"
He swallows. "Maybe. But you know the actual reason why I'm doing this."
I sit back and shake my head repeatedly, hoping it has the same effect it always has on me when Amba's the one doing it to me.
Luca McQueen, star player of Legacy Football Team, is chasing after a funny looking live mannequin when he could have all the girls in the world. I must have said this aloud because he's suddenly sitting straight and looking at me strangely.
"You think so?"
"You sure do like a compliment. But yes. I know so."
He grins. "Any girl?"
"Any girl?"
"Except you," He's smiling now and I ignore my thumping heart.
"Except me."
He feigns heartbreak and I laugh at his pout but my laughter dies when I hear dry leaves crunch. Luca hears it too because he starts the car and the headlights turn on automatically. I scream at the sight of a red fox right in front of us and Luca curses and curses. He reverses roughly and I'm literally feeling my heart in my throat. There's no way Luca's favorite car will make it out if this one unscathed, especially with the fox clawing on it. My screaming increases everytime I hear it gnashing it's teeth. Luca finally gets the car straight and speeds away and in no less than a minute the tall trees are out of sight.

Then we laugh.

We laugh and laugh and laugh inbetween words until we're in front of my house. The third time today.
I'm tempted to ask him to take me somewhere else but it's almost nine thirty and I know mum's probably getting nuts.
"Thanks a lot Lucs," I say opening the door.
"Lucs? Seriously? That's like saying Lukes," He comes down too and stands in front of me.
"Yeah, can you think of something better?"
"Hmm...Lu-"
"Lulu."
His eyeballs nearly fall out and I shriek with laughter.
"I'll give you a nickname too," He says and I nod.
"Mmm."
"Rav."
"Everyone at home calls me Rav or RV."
"Dang it. Ok wattabout Vivi?"
"Terrible Luca. Face the fact, you can't nickname a four letter word."
"I can and I will. You'll see Vivi."
"Don't call me that."
"See you tomorrow Vivi," He enters inside his car and drives off.
I walk inside the house with a small smile that no one in my house could wipe off.
But they did...with shock. Mum and grandma are sitting side by side peeling lemons. I tried not to stutter as I explained where I was, I never mentioned Luca but the way mum was looking made me think she saw us outside. Then a worse kind of cold hit me when I realized my siblings and my cousins were upstairs chatting happily, Mara included. I checked on them and tried to join in on it but I realized they were talking about anime and they formed a circle and didn't make any space for me to sit so went back to my room and stared my wall.

What the hell happened to my family??