My Summer Love Story | ✔️

ch. 46 ✰ the last piece of the puzzle

Akash's POV

"I lived in a small townhouse with my parents, who were happily married. My dad was one-hundred percent Indian, and he owned a few small gas stations here and there. He was a very happy man, regardless of how much stress he was put under, and he always made sure that me, his only son, and my mom were happy. Speaking of my mom, who was fully German... she didn't work at all, but she always made lunch for me before I went to school, and her and my father always remained tight and rarely got into arguments. It was the perfect happy family, if you'd say... before everything went to hell."

I take a desperate look towards Reeya, who has her full pink lips slightly parted, her astonishing light brown eyes fixated on me, as if she's deeply divulged into my story. She's just so captivating, so ravishing, and so gorgeous, and I get flashbacks from Costa Rica from when she was always with me, making me happy, happy like never before.

She slightly nods her head, gesturing for me to go own. I take a shaky breath in as I start to dive into my story. "I was fifteen years old when the incident happened. M-me and my mom were on the couch, watching TV, and it was nighttime on a cold November day. My dad was out on a trip with his college friends, roaming around the mall that was near us when we lived in California. Th-that night, um..." I feel tears swarming around my eyes, but I swallow hard and try to blink past my tears. "That night h-he never came home. My mom called him thousands of times, texted him and sent him voicemails even, but he never fucking answered. We tried to sleep that night, hoping that maybe his phone was dead and that he would call the next day, but we got no call that night or morning. Instead, all w-we got were... the news."

"The news?" Reeya whispers, her thick eyelashes framing her beautiful eyes as she looks up at me. Our steps slow down on the path, and I notice a park bench placed beneath the bushes. In front of us is a beautiful lake that has its dark blue water slushing around, the water glistening amongst the twinkling moon and stars. A huge fountain is in the exact center of it, so the water it spews it spills to the sides, creating a sloshing noise as it crashes into the lake, having some sort of a cycle. I immediately sit down on the bench, mainly because I just could not walk while telling the most horrifying moments of my life. Reeya instantaneously sits beside me, her soft hand on my arm, and I feel warmth and comfort as I feel her presence around me. I would generally feel so uncomfortable and uncanny telling this story, which no one knows of, except Manav and possibly Ayushi, but with Reeya... I feel like I can tell her anything because there's just something about her aura that is just so remarkable and mesmerizing, and it makes all of my boundaries collapse.

I go back to my senses and realize she had asked me a question. I awkwardly clear my throat, feeling it getting heavy because I feel sobs ready to erupt out of me any second. "Yeah, the news came on that afternoon, and me and my mom immediately sat by the TV, wondering what the hell was going on. There were sirens playing in the background as the news reporter seemed depressed as he said different things... things that wouldn't usually make sense to a teenage boy. But one thing immediately ran into my mind... one thing that m-made me freeze right then and there..." I gulped loudly as I set my eyes on Reeya.

"There was a shooting at the mall that early morning. Someone had barged in there with a gun, threatening to take the lives of others, which they did do to some..." I breathe deeply, feeling my heart racing against my chest, and I press my lips together so hard. "M-my dad was unfortunately one of the victims. He was attempting to escape alongside with his college friends, and his friends escaped but he was unfortunately left behind... and he was shot by the man, right in the damn chest. He died immediately, and the ambulance came too late. W-when me and my mom found out by the news, she immediately erupted in tears and ran upstairs. Meanwhile, I was just standing there. Frozen. Having no idea what to fucking think of. My dad was my best friend, besides my mom, and finding out that your best friend died is the worst possible thing to ever occur. Without him, I just couldn't function. He was like a part of me. But unfortunately, God decided to take him away from me, leaving just me and my mom. Alone."