He stared at me, grinning for a second.
"Are you ready?" he asked and that makes me nervous. What now?
"For what?"
He sat beside me as he pulled out his phone from the pocket of his coat and started tapping it on the
screen. Already the sun starts to burn my skin. I don't need to take the sunbathe to get my skin tan. I'd
already enough sun tanned in my skin. I was losing control each time I felt the burn in my skin.
My head was scanning for nothing in the swimming pool like if I get a chance to push him in it, I would
do it without any doubt because I was done with the day. Yesterday Arjun scolded me, okay but today I
made coffee for him as if the apologies for yesterday but at last what'd happened he yanked the spoon
away and walked out of the room even without any backward glances. And here I was sitting in the
center of the sun and getting my angry temperature high second by second. Arjun was saying about
going out with him to apologize but before he could finish he dragged me from there. I can't scold
Krishna for this even in a playful tone because he came all across the world to wish us and he was also
my best friend, how could I?
The next second all I know was he placed his phone right in front of me just an inch or two away from
my face. And all I felt was, I was crying and felt the teardrops in my eyes as it slides through my cheek
like a fall. The screen I was seeing in front of me was my amma, appa, Jo... my whole family who I
didn't call, after I landed in New York.
I was such a stupid girl with zero memory. I promised my amma to call her once I landed here in NYC
but the first day itself not that great opening for me. So I didn't feel like sharing my worry with my family
and make them uncomfortable or making them think that Arjun didn't talk to me more than five words a
day, god knows how many words.
"Amma! Appa! Jo!" I shouted in excitement. To be honest, now I didn't care whether Arjun will get
disturbed by my voice. At that time all I cared about was I get a chance to talk to my family. Seeing my
sister remembered me of my wedding day of how we exchanged our hugs with a tear in my eyes and
sadness in my heart. When I see my amma and appa behind Jo I was crying out loud, my appa told
Krishna to comfort me and he put his arms around my shoulder and squeezed it, then relaxed and tried
to concentrate on family.
"Amma, appa, Jo ellarum yeapdi irukeenga? (How are you guys?" we used to speak in our mother
tongue, Tamil but when I married Arjun, the situation got complicated. I didn't even know whether he
knows any language apart from English? I also know that some of the Americans take Spanish as their
second language but who knows? Right?
"Fine," they all said at the same time.
"How about Arjun?" amma asked about his health.
"Fine,"
"Where is he?" appa stared behind me as if there was an option to visit us now via phone.
"Taking a nap. He was always a busy person and a hard-working boss." I said as I was truly proud of
Arjun.
We talked for a while, shared a happy smile, sad smile, laughs, giggles and it all felt like home again.
But then one big question put the end card for that all different varieties of a smile.
"Is there any good news? How he was taking care of you? Do you like him? Do you love him?" amma
continued.
"Amma!" I complained.
Once my amma finished my sister joined her. "Did you kiss him?"
They were all forgetting that I was sitting beside a man and they were asking about girly stuff.
I groaned.
And suddenly we were all interrupted by a bold voice coming from behind us.
"Yes, we are taking care of each other. She likes me. She loves me. And she adores me." The voice
paused and I turned my head to see the person and found Arjun standing beside me just an inch away
from my back. He pointed my sister with his finger and said, "And you, that's our private things not for
the public." He said as he winked at her. She giggled. And I was done with the day. What was going on
here? "And, yes." He smirked.
What? What he just said? Did we kiss? Why was he lying? Or was he doing me a favor? I thought lying
to them was better than saying the truth.
He wasn't the type of person whom I spent the week with. I was with the person who only hears the
silence and the sound of tapping his keyboard. And sometimes not to forget to mention breaking things
especially glass materials. I was with the person who can't control his temper. I was with the person
who was so... arrogant. Yes, I just figured the correct word for his character, "Arrogant". But when he
saw my parents he was... acting? I don't know how to refer to that word apart from acting and the word
"acting" also referable.
"Sorry brother-in-law, if you kissed her... Which I was guessing that you maybe did but I was just saying
that, that was her first kiss." She said closing her face. Why in the hell she'd have to mention something
that was out of the league. Amma was scolding her as appa was plucking her ear. She was acting like
she was screaming in pain. Krishna was laughing a throaty laugh beside me. Arjun was frozen in his
place don't know how to reply to this one.
I was embarrassed in front of my old and new family.
"I'm sure that was her memorable gift that she'd ever gotten." He said, staring at me as if I wanted to
nod for that one.
I nodded. Once again I heard them all laughing except the person who was near me. Krishna and Arjun
didn't seem like laughing.
First of all, I want to ask him what was going on and he was talking about which kiss? This was
because of my sister she was always like she can't control her emotions when it comes to her older
sister, to embarrass me in front of everyone. And there were no mistakes by her side too.
"Yeah, you guys talk, and I'll be back," Krishna said as he stood and walked into the house.
Once he was gone Arjun came near and sat beside me where Krishna sat before he left, and put his
arms around my waist, and tightened his grip. It was all his activities that I wasn't familiar with. Since
when he started being nice.
"How're you, aunty? Uncle? And my sister-in-law Jo?" he just officially greeted.
"Fine," They all said in a single voice.
"Please say your daughter to be nice to me aunty. I can't bear her. She always not listens to my words."
He complained about me to my amma.
"Anu, what was he saying? Be nice to your husband or else I'll come there and you know what I'd
capable of." She said with a smug face.
Wait. What? It all seems like my plate was already full. He said that I wasn't being nice to him? That
wasn't fair at all. He was the one who always scolds me and didn't talk to me but he was complaining
about me? He can't bear me? What did I do wrong for him to couldn't, bear me? Then what he said...
Ahh! I wasn't listening to his words. Always. He barely even spoke ten or twenty words from the time I
hear his voice and he was saying that I didn't listen to his words. "Be fair!" I was crying out loud in my
mind.
"Amma! He was_" I opened my mouth to say that he didn't mean anything but I was cut off by him as
his hand's grip on my waist gone tighter and I jerked by the sensation of his hand in my waist. When
his hands on my waist I couldn't speak anything, only the air was coming out of my mouth but not the
sound.
"She'll be good, aunty. Won't you, Shiya?" He asked smirking at me. He used my nickname which was
given by Krishna to me. He was the one who always calls me with that name since we were a kid. I
didn't know what was going on with his head now.
His grip around my waist tightened and my head not thinking still, except, "I will." I nodded and forcing
a smile.
"Bye, call you later."
After a couple of minutes later I hung up the call. I thought he'll lose his grip as I tried to stand but his
hand got my waist even tighter than before. He yanked me to sit with him and I sat with a thud. His
gaze was on the swimming pool with stern eyes and clenched his teeth inside his closed mouth but can
hear his teeth's sound of crashing together. His heart was beating faster and faster as if he was going
to lose his temper. But what did I do wrong?
"Ahh!" I groaned in pain. "Leave me. Let me go. You're hurting me."
But he was sitting like a statue pretending he can't hear me.
"Let me go."
Then a couple of seconds later he shoved his hand away from me and landed on the ground as I took
a deep breath. That's when I remembered that he was being pushed by someone I turned my head
and found Krishna standing beside me with a stern look on his face, his hands to his hips as if he was
standing like a 'Bada Bheem'. Arjun pause where he'd fall and calming himself to get some energy to
fight back this giant beast. Once he felt calm he stood from the ground and gave him a clenched-teeth
look.
Krishna holding his two arms in front of his chest just an inch away as if he was showing that he was
ready for the fight. Arjun took a step forward as Krishna walked toward him. I was staring at them with
wide eyes. Now they were just an inch away from each other. Before Arjun can break Krishna's nose
and Krishna can break Arjun's arm I've to stop them. Arjun and Krishna took their right hand to air to
take the right position to point the aim their mark.
"Stop!!!" I shouted. Once they heard my stern voice they paused, their hands on the air, and turned
their attention to me.
Silent fills the air before Krishna starts to defend himself as Arjun gave him the disgusted look.
"He was hurting you Shiya. I didn't have any other choice." He said through his teeth.
There was a silence. Arjun didn't say anything to defend him.
"Was he always hurting you this whole time?"
What? "No, no.... no, no. No!" I shouted thinking that my voice wouldn't show any sign of acceptance.
"No? Not even a little bit. I saw you from there and I can see how his grip hurts you, you were trying to
escape from his grip. Didn't you? But your mouth didn't help you, as usual. You're afraid that his grip
would go even tighter if you'd say or try anything. Don't tell me this isn't true? I saw with my own eyes."
What he was saying was true I can't let Krishna win this battle, not even Arjun, both of them were
important persons in my life, one was my best friend from my childhood and another one was the rest
of my life. I can't see any one of them getting hurt by another one's victory. I've to maintain the balance
and take the mistakes that were mine.
"No! He was just put his arm around my.... waist. He wasn't at all hurting me and he won't." I assured
him. "And he was just trying my make me... tickle." I was thinking of the correct word to use but at last,
what I got was "tickle."
Arjun let out a laugh, annoyed.
"Oh... Come on, you poor little girl. I'm elder than you and I have the sense of humor when you'll say
the truth and when you'll lie. That's what call, bestie my best friend." He paused for a second to see
Arjun's face who was busy staring at the pool right behind me through my neck. "And after all, I'm your
cous_ your maternal cousin." He smirked at Arjun whose face went irritated as though he didn't bother
to take his eyes off from the pool.
Arjun maintained his silence.
I groaned don't know what to do he was pointing out the fact points and what I was going to do?
Nothing, but I didn't feel like giving hope, maybe I could try, acting like a real couple and it may help
even if it was a lie I don't care. All I want for the second was to save Arjun from the corner and make
them both best friends, no, I know that won't happen even in a nightmare, but I could make them just
friends.
"He's my husband even if he'd hurt me, he'd have full rights to hurt me. That was none of anyone's
business but ours. No matter what or when I married him, he goes first on my list of priorities. So don't
say anything that'd hurt him. I'm begging you. Krish." I'd call him Krish whenever I felt hopeless and I've
to prove myself. He was seven years elder than me but still, we were besties.
Arjun's face shifted from the pool to see mine as I was staring at Krishna's, sobbing, when they saw me
crying I saw Arjun from the corner of my eyes took a step forward but before Arjun could react, Krishna
shoved me into his muscled arms and crushed me into his. My face shoved into his bare chest. I can't
breathe I was struggling in his arms. Then he pulled me back to meet my gaze. "So sorry, Shiya. You're
my little Anu from the day you'd born. You don't remember how many times I took you in my arms and
can't hold the weight of you when you were just a newly born kid and we both fell on the floor as I walk
with you in my arms. But our granny had scolded me for that and never let me held you in my arm until
you turned one. Once you turned one I thought it was easy to scoop you in my arm and take you on a
tour to our village but that time you weighed than the day I'd known. Whenever our granny tells us
those stories we didn't forget to laugh no matter how many times we'd heard that. And also you know
that you're the one who'd made me feel what the real family would be like, after all, what happened to
me." He wiped off my tears from my cheeks and kissed me on my forehead.
This was his way to say love you. "Love you too, Krishna. More than anything. You're my Best friend
forever." When I finished that sentence we heard Arjun clearing his throat. He released his grip from my
arms and turned to face Arjun.
"Look, she may be your wife and she may be taking your side but I won't. I saw you hurting her and her
face fells. But as a friend for my Shiya's sake, I'll leave you for this one and this must be your first and
last. If not?" He paused and gave Arjun a warning look. "I won't spare you."
Arjun just clenched his teeth as a response but not in a good way though.
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