4. The One Where I Lie

[ K A B I R ' S   P O V ]

"Yes, mom, I locked the apartment." I rolled my eyes at her constant battering. No matter how much grown up I had become or how many months I had stayed away from home, she would always tell me or more like scold me for being careless.

Well, no doubt her worry was valid compared to my behavior in Delhi, but now, I was a responsible man. I had been living in Bangalore for three months, and that conveyed something, but what to do about her. Overworrying Indian moms.

"Did you eat? Is the chef good?"

"Mom," I said in a laughing tone. "I'm on top of the world." She sighed from the other end. "How's Nisha?" I asked carefully, gripping the steering wheel tightly under my grip.

I should ask more, ask how she was doing at home after everything that happened, ask if she was eating, ask if she started preparing for her exams again, but held everything. I should've been there for her at this point of life, not left to Bangalore. She never left my side, and I left in a minute.

"She's fine," She said reluctantly. "Better than before. Good news is that she painted last night."

"Did she?" I asked excitedly. "That's great."

"Kabir." I hummed. "Your sister is fine. She's taking baby steps to move on."

"Did dad say anything to her?" He was too much angry at Nisha for being so careless with everything and forgetting where her moral lies. I didn't blame him for it. I too was in the same position as him or rather more than that. She loved my best friend and I didn't even know a bit of it, I didn't even know she ran away to get away from us. Where we too cruel to her?

But much to my surprise, dad didn't say her anything or I should say didn't talk to her again. Mom tried to make him understand, but for the first time, he didn't listen to her and stayed mostly in work. He was hurt, and I knew he could never stay angry at Nisha for long. He loved his daughter too much.

"Arnav is stubborn just like you." I tried to ignore she called dad from his name because it was weird hearing it. I had never heard any of my friend's parents call each other by name, but mom and dad do it. "He'll come around. I need to scold him for it."

Cracking a smile, I stared ahead at the hostel gate as Alina rushed out of it, digging her books in the handbag. "Make a video of it." She opened the door and was about to say something when she saw me on the phone and bit her lower lip. Stop it. Don't do it. I haven't kissed her after the day of our result, too scared if we get out of hands and too scared to make her afraid me.

"Are you cooking?" I asked suspiciously, hearing the frying noises from the background. "Didn't the doctor tell you not to go near the stove?"

"Huh, both father and son are the same," She complained.

Smirking, I asked, "What dad did now?"

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Alina trying to sort out her hair with the help of her fingers. Shaking my head, I loosened my grip on the steering wheel, opened the glove box and handed her the comb.

She always wakes up late, and then try to sort out her hair in the car. To make it easy, I had kept a comb in the car only.

My stupid bookworm.

"Told if I ever cook again, he'll eat oily food. Moreover, the frying noises is coming from the TV. Now, don't you have college?"

"Alina takes too much time," I exaggerated.

"How's she?"

"She's good."

We were good.

Grinning, I placed my hand on her thigh to stop the beating of her legs. It was a bad habit, and I had no idea from where she had learned it, annoying the hell out of me.

"Mom, I talk to you later." She replied back an okay and cut the call. Placing the phone in between the seats, I side glanced at Alina who was about to say something when the door of the car opened and a girl sat at the back.

I bit back a groan and passed her a smile.

"Can you drop me as well? I'm late."

"No problem, Fiza." I roared the ignition to life and left for the college. I had a sudden urge to point out that college was at the walking distance. The reason I picked Alina was a whole different and nonarguable point. She was my damn girlfriend.

From the side, Alina passed me an apologetic look, but it wasn't her fault that her roommate sometimes annoyed the hell out of me. I had met Fiza two months ago at Fresher's Party. For few minutes, I was ecstatic to know that Alina made new friends, but later, all I could do was stare at Alina and wonder how she handled her.

Fiza was a chatterbox and did things without caring how someone else would be feeling. Without any knowledge, she asked Alina about the lines on her arms and I disliked her immediately, but for Alina, I had to act I liked her friend.

Parking the car, I waited for her to hop off. I had something important to discuss with Alina.

"Let's go, Alina," Fiza muttered from back seat, giving me a smile more than required. How do I tell Alina her friend was trying to flirt with me? Awkward, I nodded my head and started playing with Alina's fingers, telling her to stay.

"You go, I'll be there soon," Alina replied, making me grin.

"But—"

"Soon, Fiza." Finally, she got the message, dismounted the car and left both of us in peace. I took a relieved sigh as soon as she was gone, but not long after Alina shoved my chest. "That was rude."

"What?" I unbuckled my seatbelt, combed my hair with my fingers and twisted my body to get my bag from the backseat. "She came uninvited."

"Well." I knew that well, had lived through it thousands of times. That well meant I was in trouble and she was pissed at me. "She doesn't have a boyfriend who comes to pick her up daily."

"Well," I said in the same tone. "I don't like that girl."

I placed the sandwich in her hands, pointing my gaze at it. "Eat." She was about to argue when one stare from me made her silent. Stupid girl had her lecture in ten minutes and hasn't even taken breakfast.

Rolling her eyes, she unwrapped the sandwich. "You were the one who told me to sort it out."

"I didn't know she was noisy."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone has a different personality."

Inching forward, I removed the mayo from the tip of her nose and she wriggled her nose, making me chuckle. "You stop finding good in everyone."

She bit her lower lip, and again the feeling to touch and kiss her came back. Curling my hands, I gripped the steering wheel to stop their movements and scare the girl sitting right next to me.

Why was it so hard to stay away from her? Why couldn't I keep her in my arms and do what my heart desires? Why she made me lose control at every fucking second?

Crushing the wrapper, she threw it inside the brown paperback and scrolled through her phone.

Alina, can I kiss you?

Lowly groaning at the back of my throat, I scolded myself to behave. No scaring her. No letting my hormones take over my mind. It was wrong. I loved her more than anything in this world.

"Babe," She hummed, too engrossed with her phone. Annoyed, I stole her phone to check with whom she was talking. She flew her hand in the air but dodging all her attempts, I saw she was talking to someone named Madhav.

Suddenly, my jealousy took over and I handed her phone back.

"Who's he?" I demanded, gritting my teeth together.

Instead of answering me, she gave me a stink eye. "Who are you to steal my phone?"

"Alina—"

"No," She raised her voice a bit. "You may be my boyfriend, but you can't interfere my privacy like that."

"I'm just asking who is he. Why are you going so defensive and angry?" I asked suspiciously. Who was he? Why was she getting so angry at me? Didn't I deserve to know who was he? I never hid anything from her and she was chatting a boy when I was talking to her.

Did I misinterpret something between us?

"Whatever." Without answering me, she left the car, leaving me alone and giving away to my doubts to come and torment me.

I saw her disappearing figure, vanishing into the college but not once she looked back and tried to console me. Alina never did that. No matter how much angry I got she would explain things to me and today she left like it didn't matter what happens between us. Like it didn't matter anything.

Who the fuck was this Madhav?

Angrily thrashing out of my car, I stroll inside the hallways and meeting Debesh, leaning against one of the pillars and going through his phone. What was today? Why everyone seemed to be on their phone?

As if realizing I was getting near, he pushed his phone in his jeans and levitated his gaze and mumbled, "Hey bro."

Nodding, I asked him, "Do you know who is Madhav?"

"What?" He asked in his Bengali accent. "Are you thinking of leaving Alina?"

Rolling my eyes, I thought of explaining the matter to him but decided against it. It was my and Alina's personal matter and she would get all the more annoyed if she gets a whiff that I shared it with someone else even though he was my friend. Dhruv was all the more different matter. Alina trusted him.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "Do you have a pen?"

He crooked a grin. "I relied on you for that."

Before I could ask something, a running Sagar dashed into the hallway, making our eyes turn to him. Panicked, he caught my shoulder and took breaths.

"You're in trouble," He announced.

Stitching my brows together, I rolled his words in my mind, trying to see what he meant by it. What had I done now? I stayed away from pranks because truth is told, dad wasn't the trustee of this college to save my ass whenever I got in trouble. It wasn't school to call my parents for scoring fewer marks in class.

"What are you talking about?" Deb asked him.

"Check Grisha's snapchat."

Quickly, I unlocked my phone, opened the snapchat and let hers load for a few seconds before what all the fuss was about.

"Shit," I cursed and rubbed my hands over my face, trying to keep the shame within them. "If Alina sees it—"

"You're gone." Deb grinned, slapping my back. I glared at him and shrugged his hands off my back. "I need to see your bookworm anger or rather both of your first fights."

"Shut up." I pushed my phone inside my jeans pocket. "She'll kill me."

"I would too if my boyfriend is dancing too close with someone else."

"I was drunk," I deadpanned.

"Try explaining her that."

Squinting my eyes, I slapped the back of his head. "She wouldn't know about it. Alina doesn't use snapchat."

"That's where you're wrong," Sagar said, pointing his gaze to the classroom. Walking forward, I passed him a suspicious look. "Grisha has the whole college."

That made me stop on my feets and look at him in surprise. Even if Alina didn't get to know about it, her friends would make her see it.

Damn.

Without paying attention to his further words, I dashed out of my building and ran to her lecture class.

I should've told her about what had I done in my morning, rather than hiding it from her. She didn't even know that I went to the club last night and got drunk. I had lied to her that I was in my apartment, sleeping because I was too tired with the basketball practice. She would get angry, kill me with her bare hands.

When I was outside her class, I peeked through the window, noticed her and Kriti sitting together at the back of the class and listening to the lecture.

Taking out my phone, I messaged Kriti. From the window, I saw her opening her phone and soon her reply came.

What? Want to dance with me? Sorry, I've to pass. I don't dance with my friend's boyfriend.

Yup, she saw it. She wasn't the girl to around bushes.

Did you tell her?

And break her heart to see how you were all over some other girl? I thought you loved her.

I do.

I almost screamed but held myself back, realizing I was on the college grounds.

Yeah, I saw how much you LOVE your BOOKWORM. You better hope someone else doesn't tell her because I and Fiza are not going to tell your dirty secrets.

I sighed in relief and was about to thank her when she messaged something else, making me feel miserable for my yesterday's actions.

She trusts you.

From the window, I stared at Alina, saw her writing something down on her notebook. What wrong had I done? She always refused to come with me. If I was trying to live in her world, she wouldn't even do a step and come to mine. She would just cancel it the right way. I couldn't be her, closed inside a room and keep on reading.

I wasn't like her. Going out made me better, helped me get away from the thoughts of death and see I deserve better than what I had been living. And that video? It was just a friendly type that got too close but I didn't have anything for Girsha. Alina knew that. She knows I love her and she was the only girl I would ever love.

She changed her gaze and met mine. For a second, it was shocking but then she smiled and mouthed 'Sorry for the morning'.

I smiled back, trying to sooth the ache awakening in my heart.

It was nothing. Alina was mature.