1 | Say You Love Me

27: In My Heart

Raj

I love her....I won't let her get away.

But how do I stop her? I watched in pain as she tearfully walked towards the exit. I wanted to run after her, shout her name, yell I love you, but it still won't stop her.

Finally it came to my head..... her song.

"Only God knows when your in my heart." I sang with a powerful voice. I watched, a piece of happiness in my heart sparked when she stopped walking.

"Since I'm there, you've been with me." She still doesn't move. I turn towards the candles we lit up.

"I promise to you and the Lord," in the state of the promise, I place my hand over the flames. Taking in the burn, I silently made my promise.

"You're in my heart for eternity." I close my eyes, feeling the heat of the candles surround my heart. It is then I feel a pair of hands hug me.

I turn around and see Rhea. I quickly wipe her tears before hugging her. I embraced her with love as she does the same.

I pull her back real quick, trying to see if this is real before embracing her again. We get lost in our own world, letting everything around us disappear. After a while, she pulls away, looking at me.

I take this moment to tell her how I have been feeling.

"Rhea," I take her hands in mine, and realize how soft and small they are before continuing, "I love you. I love you so much."

She smiles, "I love you too." I hug her as she cries in my arms.

Finally, I have found the one who has my heart. Who is my heart.

"C'mon, we have to go tell Jay and Simran." I wrap my arm around her as she sticks by my side.

"Raj," Rhea stops walking. "What about your promise to Sonia?"

"What about it?" I ask her, not realizing what she meant.

"Well, she is in love with you now, and you promised her that you will marry when you return. I don't want to hurt her." Rhea holds concern in her voice.

I took her in my arms, "When we get back, I will tell her how I feel about you. Surely, she will have someone by then."

Rhea

We walked home taking about ourselves. Secrets, thoughts, etc. Soon, we arrived home and found Leanne and Rahul watching TV, sitting close to each other.

"Jay, Simran, we have some news." We walk up to them, hand in hand.

"No way! You told him!" Jay jumped up in amazement as Simran laughed. "Congratulations, man." I smiled as they did a bro hug while she hugged me.

"How did you tell him?" She asked as we all sat down.

"Well, I didn't exactly tell him myself. He realized when I hummed our tune." I suddenly felt weird saying that; now that we know.

"Well, I think we should celebrate! Dinner tonight? All four?" Jay asks, unsure if the thought.

"What do you say, Rhea? I think it will be perfect," Simran speaks.

I look at her and nod, "Yes, why not?"

Raj, Jay, and Simran cheer in happiness as I laugh with my heart. I look.over at my first love and smiled, my heart exploding at the sight of his happiness that I caused.

"This is gonna be perfect," Raj says before kissing my forehead.

Even as I am enjoying this moment, I can't help but feel guilty yet again for stealing my friend's crush.

Rhea

As I laid in my bed, I felt the guilt cloud my thoughts.

What would Sonia think?
Would she stop being my friend?

I decided to go downstairs and make a midnight snack to help me rest. I quietly passed by everyone's rooms, happy I didn't wake them.

As soon as I got closer to the kitchen, I can hear the faint sound of pots clinging as if being stacked.

I peer through the door and see Simran putting a pot in the sink. I open the door as she turns around to face the stove.

"Hey," I laugh as she slightly jumps in surprise.

"Rhea, you scared me." She pats her chest before turning to the plate of food she prepared. "Do you want to share?" She asks, showing me the golden waffles with small pancakes.

"You know it 12:36 in the morning?" I ask as she hands me a fork.

"Yes, but I like to eat a midnight snack." She smiles before taking a bite of her food.

"I make good breakfast," She says with a big smile on her face. I feel her eyes look at me, "what's on your mind?"

"How did you know I was thinking of something?" I ask as I take another bite.

"I know that look anywhere."

"It's Sonia. I feel like I'm betraying her by being with Raj." I tell her. I put my fork down.

"Why would you feel like that?"

"Because she started liking him, and they kissed. They also promised each other that they would marry if they were still single."

She begins to cough, "They what?"

"Promised to marry. Sonia never breaks her promises. That's why I feel like I'm betraying her. I mean, she's my best friend and I don't want to lose her."

Even though it has been a while since I have spoken to Sonia, I still don't want to lose her friendship. She is like he crazy sister I've never had, but always wanted.

"Rhea, if Sonia was a true friend, she would let you be with Raj. And besides, you told me that she didn't like him."

"Yeah, but when he left she admitted she did. Thus, the promise was made." I suddenly feel unsure of our relationship.

"Like I said, if she was a real friend, she would let you be with Raj. Even I can see how perfect you two are for each other."

"Please, our relationship isn't perfect." I look at Leanne and I can see she is confused.

"I lied to him, Simran. I lied to him since he left. Heck, I even started to believe my own lies." The guilt washed over me like a wave of destruction.

"Hey, you guys are best friends. Always have, always will be. No matter what. Even Jay and I can see that. You guys act natural around each other." She puts the plates in the sink and walks over to me.

"Just give it a try. It's new to you since you love him so much. Just give it a shot, I did."

She pats my head before walking to the door.

"You know, you remind me of me when I was in love with Jay." She says before walking to her room.