LEECH

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE - AISHA (NOW)

The second and third drops roll down my cheeks before I can swipe them away, and now I'm on the verge of a full blown breakdown in the middle of the school field.

The only thought in my head is that I need to hide before anyone spots me here. I sift through the crowds of unassuming kids and head towards the nearest empty room.

I open a door and a few pairs of heads turn in my direction. I bow my head to hide my face and duck out.

Another door, another set of people.

Why's the school so awfully crowded these days?

Half blinded and vision blurred with tears, I stumble into the next room which, God bless me, is empty. Slamming the door shut, I slide down the wall and bury my face in my hands and finally let a sob slip out.

How does it feel when you think you've moved on from something that happened four freaking years ago, but you suddenly meet the same people and realise that all of that apparent progress was for nothing? That you are still just as affected by the same people and their words, despite thinking that they didn't matter anymore?

A hiccup escapes me as I shut my eyes. Tears squeeze out, slow-racing down my cheeks as memories – some old some new, some good some bad, begin playing in my mind like a broken record. My fingers absentmindedly find their way to the scar on my upper arm and collarbone. I frown.

I feel angry, hurt, frustrated and upset, but most of all, I feel disappointed. I can look past the fact that she hurt me, lied to me, insulted me, but how can a person have the audacity to lie to another person again? How can Srishti put Bhavna in the same position as I was? And how can Bhavna just close her eyes and trust her as if she can do no wrong?

I'll honestly never stop being surprised at people's ability to just see what's in front of them without ever trying to put themselves in other's shoes. Blindness to the truth is never an excuse for ungratefulness. Only because you 'didn't know' doesn't mean your actions or words didn't hurt others.

I accept the fact that I made mistakes too. I was petty, rash, probably too self centred and disoriented by all the disturbances around me at the time, but I was just a kid, and so were they. Which is why I can excuse it all, and I had, until someone went around digging old wounds. But what's even more surprising is that they — Srishti, especially — would string along the same old lies from years ago and bind themselves to the past. That is not just silly, but absolutely unacceptable.

Involuntarily, almost of its own accord, the view of the helpless look in Srishti's eyes as she tried to stop Bhavna's outburst stands out in the forefront of my brain, along with Yash's accusatory tone directed at me today, as if he was silently telling me that everything was my fault.

Just like Bhavna.

And maybe it was my fault.

Trusting too much, loving too much, being so dependent on someone else and letting them be the main character of my own story, that was my fault.

And look, fate still finds a way to remind me about it.

I bite my lip as I try to stop the onset of a fresh wave of tears. This is dumb, I need to get it under control and rush back to class soon. Everyone will notice my puffy eyes and red nose now. Oh gods, they will know I was crying —

Just then, a tiny creek makes me flinch. I jerk when a beam of sunlight hits my face, eyes darting around for a source of escape like a deer caught in headlights.

Oh no. I'm so done for.

"What the f..." There's a voice, clouded with astonishment, and I grimace.