Attracting Akira {first}

✩ Shoulders Brush ✩

Chapter 18 ~ "Shoulders Brush "

EDITED.

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"Didn't I say that you shouldn't be drinking when you're upset?"

Swirling the drink in the wine glass I shifted my eyes to the person settling into the stool next to mine. 

"Who says I'm upset?"

I averted my gaze back to the rotating motion of my wrist while Ayan rapped his knuckles against the wooden counter, gaining the bartender's attention.

A vibration against my thigh caused me to pull out my phone, and once glance at the oncoming call forced a tired sigh. Thinning my lips, I swiped the power off button before dropping my phone on the counter, faced down.

"She's still calling?" Ayan nodded in thanks to the bartender as he nudged a glass of some alcohol to Ayan before venturing into the backroom.

"Yeah." I briefly closed my eyes. My mother had been calling nonstop from the moment Kabir and I snuck out of the country. I had left both our parents a message vaguely explaining our decision without going into any details related to Rhea. After that, my phone had been put on mute once it started blasting with their texts. 

"She's freaking out for obvious reasons." I massaged my temples.

"Of course.  We literally left two days before Kabir's wedding. Your mother has to handle thousands of irritated guests and an upset bride all without knowing what the hell we're doing."

Silence overtook us as we pondered over the consequences of our actions, sipping on the burn in attempts to sting away the nerves.

"Kabir's asleep?" 

Ayan hummed in reply. 

We were engulfed into silence once again, my thoughts straying further as I took more sips. Ayan seemed to be in a similar state since he startled from his zone when I voiced a questioned into the silent room. 

"What if we don't find her?"

I took a pause before firing off my other concerns to him.

"What if this assumption we are going off on is wrong? What if we have to return without her? What then?"

"I don't know." 

I bit the inside of my cheek at his reply, expectant of it. 

"But we will get through it."

"You don't understand, Ayan. Some of us haven't healed from the accident, but at least some were on their way. And now if we return empty handed, it would just open up old wounds. How do we explain that we ruined existing relationships because of a hunch?" I blinked to meet his eyes, "If Adhaya reacted like that, then how can we expect others to react differently?"

"Adhaya was in a vulnerable moment and she reacted with a broken heart. Give her time, she'll come around. And I promise you, uncle and auntie will understand, they are the only ones who completely understand what you feel. Everyone else's reaction is insignificant. Okay?"

His words warmed me with reassurance and I nodded lightly. With a quirk of his lips, his eyes flickered over my face, as if he was memorizing my features. His intense gaze forced a flush to heat my ears. 

And in the next moment he was sitting straight from where we both had unconsciously leaned in, and clearing his throat. My cheeks grew hot and I easily blamed it on the buzz.