Imperfect but mine

Chapter 9

Aina

Friday, 12:30 am

"You need to eat something," Asiya says, putting a dinner-filled plate on the bed in front of me. "Everything will be fine, honey. Don't stress. We are here for you."

I look at her and a sudden wave of gratitude and warmth washes over me. I put the tray aside and hug her. "Thank you. I owe you so much. I don't say it often, but I want you to know that I really value you & your friendship. I am sorry I ditched the party and I avoided you for days. I shouldn't have handled things that way. I..I..I just didn't know how to face him."

"Look at me, Aina." She lifts my face with her finger and says, "From the outside, it's easy to judge and say you were wrong. But nobody knows the inner turmoil you were going through. No one should ever have to be in your situation. And I understand why you did, what you did."  

"I think I have lost him forever."

"Amaan?"

I nod. And Asiya bursts out laughing. "You really have changed in the 6 months you've dated my brother. What happened to the sassy and confident Aina who was ready to kiss him in front of 3000 people to hide her jealousy?"

"Hey, those cheerleaders were clearly hitting on him. Okay fine...I may have been slightly carried away," I say. "I am still that person but I am also a realist. It's true that I love him and that he's the only one for me. But my brain keep telling me that we wouldn't have to deal with our pasts like this, if I hadn't pushed him into our relationship."

"Don't judge his intelligence, Aina. He's a grown man who knows what he wants in his life. You didn't force him to date you. Have you ever thought of this whole situation as fate? Because, sometimes the universe can work in strange ways and I think you two were always destined to be," she replies. "Also, Amaan will kill me if he sees that you haven't touched your food yet. So, can you save me a little and ingest some?"

I laugh at her theatrics and eat some asking, "Where is he?"

"Maybe he's talking to Dad about how to proceed further."

I look at her in shock. 

"You can close your mouth. Apparently, Dad had a 'come to God' moment on Saturday and realized that he's a shitty father. And since then both my parents have pulled a 360 on us. Mom asked Amaan how he's feeling yesterday at lunch. It's strange and extremely uncomfortable. My brother dearest disagrees but I think it was a secret alien invasion," Asiya explains and I burst out laughing.

***

Friday, 10:30 pm

I find him lying in the hammock on the terrace and staring up at the clear night sky. I walk up to him and lean against the railing.

"You weren't at home the whole day. I didn't see you since you brought me here yesterday," I say.

He nods but says nothing. 

This awkward silence is making uncomfortable and I ask, "Is something wrong? Do you want me to go?" 

He shakes his head and replies, "No."

And then explains, "It's just extremely frustrating that I can't remember anything. I visited Lake Gardens today. I went to your summer house and the spot of the accident. But, na-da. I didn't have any recollection of those places or any flashbacks of anything that happened there. It's like a slate wiped clean."

"You didn't tell me you were visiting those places today," I say.

"The people I hired to investigate this matter asked if I wanted to go with them, and I agreed. I thought you needed to rest today and catch up with Asiya a bit. So, I didn't bother you with it."