#EXPOSED

CHAPTER - 20

'Point of restitution.' 

Ranveer

2020

I walked towards the window after taking a hit from my joint and watched Vaanya flit out and about my front yard as she got off her car.

It was nearly one in the morning, what was she doing in my boathouse?

Warmth spread through my chest and down my body, making my heart beat harder. I didn't trust myself in the same room with her. Looking into her eyes, I thought I could trust her and I did and that cost me more than what I could have afforded. Her presence was complicating my present dynamics. She was a mistake that I didn't wish to commit again.

The rustling of footsteps near the threshold of the foyer caught on to me and I straightened, tightening the towel wrapped around my waist before I pushed my fingers through my damp hair to comb it. Damn it.

I had warned Vaanya to steer clear of me, as much as I admired her resilience, I also despised the fight inside her. I didn't want to break her.

I stood near the glass window as I deliberated over my options silently and she walked through the door of my living room. Vaanya was dressed in red.

My favorite color. It was the color of passion but it reminded me of violence.

I let my eyes fall over her, in the middle of my living room, seated on the center sofa. Her eyes shifted towards me to catch my gaze and then shifted from side to side. Was she uncomfortable or displeased? Either way, I couldn't have cared any less about that.

I leaned over the center table, picking up the lounge pants that I had tossed earlier in the evening. Slipping my legs in, I pulled them up to my waist and whipped the towel from my waist. "Is there a reason for your visit?"

Her eyes were dark, lurching over me and I threw the towel on the floor. "You don't think we both owe a conversation to each other?"

I exhaled harshly, aggravated by her tug of war. "What makes you think I care about that?" I picked my joint from the ashtray and took another hit.

"Because you do," she shot back and I pinned her down with my gaze. "You have been ignoring me since years straight, Ranveer. I want to change that."

I combed my damp hair with my fingers. "I knew you were inexperienced but I didn't take you for being stupid too." I didn't care if I offended her. "There's a reason I have been avoiding you and you know why. Don't make this any more complicated than it is."

"But it's not." She pushed to her feet and slid across the coffee table as she walked to me. "You have to know the kind of guilt I live with but we have always been best friends, we have always been together." She reached for my hand and I deflected her move. "And I'm done waiting."

"No you have been patient, I have been in a juvenile center," I lashed out and she backed away. "My patience is wearing thin and I'm exhausted." I exhaled the smoke and moved my gaze away from her face. "You know exactly why we shouldn't be seen together."

"So you just want me to be a sitting duck? Act like I don't—" She pursed her lips and shook her head. "I will do anything to make it right Ranveer. Let me be here for you." Goddamn it. Vaanya made it impossible for me.

"You will only fuck this up," I told her and took another drag from the joint. That night...it was on me. I brought that upon myself and I had to find a way to correct my means. "You should leave me alone Vaanya. There's nothing I have to offer and there's nothing I need from you." I turned my gaze back on the windows and peered at the night city.