||MY SUNSHINE....????||

Chapter 13 - What are F.R.I.E.N.D.S for?

But I had to go....I had to leave as soon as possible because, if I stayed there any longer, I might fall in love with him.

Naina's dialogue from YJHD I know!

"Its raining outside. You can leave when it stops. How about a mug of coffee?", I heard Kartik's voice from behind and turned back. He was looking at me, waiting for my reply.

"Do we have any other option left?", I asked him shrugging my shoulders and he chuckled.

"Okay...I'm gonna go make two mugs for us. You can sit here on the sofa", Kartik said and I nodded.

He walked away and I sat on the sofa. I looked around the living room. Its so different now. I mean I know I've been inside his house for the first time but I have an outline of his house, as I always peeped inside through the window to check on him, thinking of new things by which I can ruin him. So you can say that I always used to spy on him like some kind of paparazzi.

Trust me, he was a real asshole and a pain in the ass back then!

Previously, there were all Marvel posters, Christiano Ronaldo's wallpapers, motivation posters, football and basket ball stuff. The clothes were thrown all over the room, books were spread across the whole study table and everything was in a mess but now everything is in its place. Books are properly arranged on the shelves, clothes are in the laundry and there are no posters on the walls. In place of them, the walls are covered with Elsa's baby pictures - most of them being candid but Kartik isn't there in any of them, quite rarely in one or two.

I was observing the room that Kartik entered with two mugs of coffee. He sat on the couch in front of me and forwarded me, my mug of coffee.

"Thank you", I muttered passing him a small smile and he smiled back at me.

There was an awkward silence between us for some moments as all we were doing was sipping coffee from the mug and occasionally smiling at each other if one found the other one staring at him.

"I'm sorry", I spoke breaking the awkward quietness between us and he looked at me surprised.

"For what?", he asked me.

Did he forget what mess I created in the med school about him?!

"For your video that I made viral in the med school's website giving a false thumbnail and caption", I replied in a single breath and he chuckled resting back on the couch.

"Oh...about that? You're forgiven and I had forgotten about that a long time ago. You balanced the things between us when you took Elsa to the hospital that day when she got unconscious", Kartik said smiling at me and I nodded.

"Thank you", I muttered and he looked at me. He sighed and kept the coffee mug on the table. He looked down at the floor, rubbing his forehead and chuckling.

Wait...what did I do again? Did I hurt him?

"Kartik....?", I called him concerned and he looked up at me.

"Actually....I should be the one to thank you. I mean you showed me the reality. I mean what you showed in the video wasn't real...but it was real in a sense", Kartik blabbered and I looked at him confused.

"What?", I asked him confused. He sighed and leaned forward to explain me everything in detail.

"I mean...I was a jerk before. Not only with you guys but also with Elsa. I wasn't a quite perfect dad for some four years. I was totally irresponsible, careless, self centered guy. I didn't pay much attention to Elsa. I never spoke sweetly and softly with her, I always spoke with her in raised voice. Its after I gotta know about her sickness that I've grown so much caring and over protective towards her. Before, I just wanted to get rid of her. But your video showed me the reality, it was a reflection of how cheap I had been for past four years not able to value Elsa's worth in my life...it was like a tight slap on my face. Your video has made me question myself, blame myself and regret everything. I wasn't hurt because you hurt me by making a video with false caption and thumbnail but I was hurt because I realised how big a shitface and uninvolved father I've been in my daughter's life", Kartik spoke looking directly into my eyes. His eyes were moist and there was this sarcastic expression on his face like he was ridiculing and making fun of himself. It looked more like he was talking to himself instead of me.