"Why are you always smiling at me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, laced with curiosity and a hint of frustration.
He chuckled softly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Because," he said, taking a step closer, "you're the only thing worth...
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I didn’t walk out of that classroom, I escaped.
Each step felt like my legs would give out, my lungs wouldn’t fill with air, and my heart… God, my heart, it wasn’t just breaking. It was being torn, ripped apart piece by piece.
As soon as I reached the hostel, I pushed open the door with trembling hands, barely able to hold myself together. I didn’t even take a second to breathe. I hurled my bag across the room, fell face-first onto the bed, and clutched my pillow like it was my last anchor to this earth.
And then I broke. Completely.
Tears gushed down like a storm that had been caged too long. Sobs wracked my body, loud and unrelenting. Pain raw, unfiltered pain spilled out in gasps.
Why did he do this? Why? Just yesterday, I saw him, Rishaan, with Nikita. They were hugging.
When I asked Nikita what was going on between them, she looked me in the eye and said they were together. Just like that. And today? He says there’s nothing between them?
Why can’t he be honest? Why can’t he own what he did? Why do people play with others’ emotions like it’s a game?
I sobbed harder. I pressed my face into the pillow, wishing it could swallow me whole. I started to fall for him. I really, really did. And the image of him holding someone else was clawing at my insides like a curse.
My phone vibrated constantly on the side table. The screen lit up again and again. Rishaan. Shristi. Rishaan. Shristi.
I couldn’t bear to hear anyone’s voice. I didn’t want comfort. I wanted silence. I wanted time to rewind. I wanted to go back to when it didn’t hurt.
I must’ve cried until I had no tears left. Somewhere along the way, exhaustion claimed me and I drifted into a sleep so heavy it felt like a blackout.
A knock startled me awake.
I sat up, dazed. My eyes stung, my cheeks were crusted with salt, and my head pounded like a drum. The clock blinked: 3:00 PM. I had been out cold for hours.
I wiped my face and whispered fiercely to myself, “That’s it, Aaina. No more crying. Not another tear.”
I forced myself to the door and opened it.
Nikita stood there.
I didn’t even acknowledge her. I walked straight past, straight to my bed. I plugged in my earbuds and hit play. Let music drown it out. Let it numb me. Let it replace the ache.
“Aaina…” “Aaina, please…”
I could hear her voice, muffled but desperate.
I pulled out one earbud, my voice icy. “Say what you want and leave.”
