The Forgotten Four

7: The Feeling Of Rebelliousness

'He's chasing for a chance to have your trust again'

Those words spoken about two days ago still come across in my head. Nudging, teasing, and consuming me. Exhausting me. I could not understand why it was bothering me so much. I was mad at myself for letting it trouble me to an extent where I had sleepless nights with recurring thoughts of my brother and dialogues spoken between the lawyer and I. And the most overpowering thought was the fact that Ishan had invited me to their apartment. The moron even sent me the address on my WhatsApp.

I clenched my teeth as I replied to him.

Me: Don't WhatsApp me, You Moron. Dad checks my phone.

Ishan: Old man gone crazy.

I stared at his text with disbelief.

Me: Stop calling him that, you moron!

Ishan: Stop calling me a moron first.

My fingers started tapping on the screen to throw another insult at him when I saw the typing... appear above. I reluctantly stopped and waited.

Ishan: Well, my follow request still awaits on your instagram. Accept it. The Old man can't possibly know how to use gram.

Ishan's follow request had been pending on my instagram ever since we first reunited at the mart. It had been a month to that and he still has not given up. The moron recently started sharing memes with me.

I sighed and put the phone in my pocket. I raised my eyes and stared at myself in the mirror. The bags under my eyes made me look like a zombie. I needed sleep. But then I realised I had an afternoon shift at the mart as it was a Saturday. Well, then I guess I needed a good shower. One that would wake every sleeping part of my tired body.

My eyes roamed up the shower head. I bit my lip. Warm water would relax me. But, for that I would have to switch the geyser on, which made me realise that I lived in Mumbai, a city that is always overwhelmingly warm, and I lived with my father who was adamant to save as much money as possible.

So, the next thing that I did was one of the stupidest acts I ever performed and I knew I was going to laugh at it the next day. But I needed to wake up to get through the rest of the day. So, I stripped. Twisted the knob and made a screeching noise when ice-cold water poured upon me. As I proposed, it woke me up nicely. I gasped but stayed below the icy pour until every part of my body was cold and energized. Then, I dried my hair, put a sweater over my head and put blue skinny jeans up my legs before stepping out and joining my parents in the living room.

I sighed dramatically as I sat at the dining table and asked my mother for food. This dining table used to be in the kitchen space but because dad needed to watch the cricket matches while having dinner, we moved it here many years ago.

''why were you screaming in the shower?'' My mother put the cup of tea and a dish full of my favourite biscuits before me.

''I was?'' I muttered the question, embarrassed.

''yes, I thought you slipped or something, but then I heard you giggle,''

It was even more embarrassing for me because I didn't realise I was giggling in there like a maniac. I avoided answering with a shrug of my shoulders and focused on my food.

As I eat at my slow pace, I saw my father commence into the room. He looked different today. He had trimmed his grey beard and styled his thin hair in a side partition. His formal attire even consisted of a tie today and I wondered if he would wear a coat also.