Palindrome

Sixty-Three

Chapter 63

I wonder what it's like floating in the air, high above the clouds as the world swirls beneath your feet. What happens when the rays of the sun kiss your head and greet you like an old friend. Do the clouds swallow you whole, or do they hug you like a mother's loving embrace?

Nagi yawns loudly beside me, her head rested on my shoulder as we both stare blankly at the screen that plays UP. The rest are out getting dinner despite my many refusals not to eat. What's the fucking point when anything I eat is going to lurch out, considering the churning sensation in my stomach? The only reason I'd actually eat is because I spent a good ten minutes listening to Ma screaming over spoiling my health over a boy.

A boy.

The boy.

"Aarohi."

I glance up to see Alice staring at me with urgency in her stormy eyes. Over the past few weeks, I've come to know her more than just Paxton's sister. Alice got into Georgetown with a scholarship, she's majoring in Biomedical engineering, she listens to Indie music, and she's a Slytherin. She's protective of her siblings but realizes that she can't shield them from everything that is evil and bad in this world.

Makes me wonder how Aaryaman would have turned out.

Alice motions for me to get up. I look at Nagi, who's now fallen asleep. Gently resting her head on the armrest of the sofa we're in, I stand up following Alice. The generic elevator music is the only thing filling the space between the two of us. From the corner of my eye, I observe Alice for a sign, something, anything to let me know how he is. She's not as easy to read as Paxton, though, and I'm left staring at the floor instead. Finally, when we're at the door, she spins around.

"Are you ready?" she asks.

"Not really," I reply honestly.

As soon as she opens the door, I firmly decide upon one thing.

I fucking hate hospitals.

Same old chemical stench in the air that feels like I'm inhaling fumes. Alice exchanges a brief worried look with me, but it doesn't hold an insane amount of grief. Holding onto that sliver of hope, I follow her down past another set of doors till we're at the final one. Before pushing the curtain aside, Alice plasters a smile on her face. I think I'm supposed to do the same, but I barely feel like I can breathe as is.

"Hey, bub!" Alice exclaims excitedly, stepping inside.

Which is when I get the first glance of him.

Yup, they took off all his hair.

The ginger's bald for now, and yet despite that prominent feature of his gone, he looks the same. If anything, he looks more content laughing with that familiar crease around his eyes as Alice teases him about something. The edges of my mouth tug up into a grin as he weaves his fingers together, resting them in his lap.

He's okay, he's okay, and everything about him is still the same.

His eyes fall on me, a shy smile on his face as a hand flies over to his head. Suppressing laughter, I wave, he waves back.

"Are you a friend of Alice's?"

Oh.

Ah shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

There we go. It's all happening as expected.

A cold fist has situated itself upon my heart as he watches me with curiosity. Everything isn't the same; that intense stare of his has been replaced with polite cordiality. Not even a hint of camaraderie or recognition mirrored in his. Moments in time seem to break into fragments as reality finally hits me hard, like a thrilling shock of electricity through my veins. I knew this would happen, but something about seeing him like this makes it so much worse.