SHE thought going out for a walk alone would help clear her mind but it didn't. It wasn't just anger that she was feeling. It was a swirl of mixed emotions. Aahana had been deceived and used for being gullible plenty of times yet what Kavya had done was still hurting her. She thought she had moved on with it. She had to forgive Kavya to move on but it was painful. Aahana would be in a different place if Kavya had been by her side. They would've joined the theatre club, auditioned for different roles in the same movie. She had seen many dreams with her—the dreams that Kavya crushed.

Aahana couldn't sleep. She was sitting quietly on her bed, listening to her breathing as well as Everett's. He was sound asleep. Their fingers were interlaced, like every night of the week.

She sighed. One more night and he, too, will be gone.

With a heavy heart, she sank into her bed and under the covers, hoping sleep catches up with her. It took her longer than one hour but she did fall asleep only to dive into a nightmare.

"No...no...no..." she murmured. Her eyes were placed close. She started to wriggle under the sheets. Her screams grew louder. It woke Everett up. He jolted awake and rushed to her. He shook her, trying to wake her up.

"Aahana, wake up!" She fluttered her eyes open. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead. She sat up and took deep breaths. Her heart was hammering in her chest, trying to break free. Everett poured her a glass of water. She chugged it and fell into his chest. His rhythmic heartbeat calmed her. His hands were wrapped around her as he rubbed her arms.

"It's okay, babe. I'm here." He kissed her head. She was close to him. It felt better. She was slipping into ease.

"What happened? Do you want to talk about it?" His voice was as gentle as honey.

"N...no. It was an ordinary nightmare." She breathed into his chest.

But it wasn't. The nightmare was far from ordinary.

Everett was leaving her too.

The rays of sunlight hit her face which woke her up. She fluttered her eyes open and although she had been waking up after every twenty minutes, she felt surprisingly fresh. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She heard the water hitting the floor and assumed that Everett was taking a shower.

She didn't have dinner last night. Maybe she should have. Her stomach was aching with hunger. She stepped out of her bed and rummaged to find some clothes.

A few minutes later, he strode out of the bathroom in black jeans and a grey t-shirt. He smiled at her. His eyes glistened.

"Are you sure you don't want me around?" he suggested.

"Yeah. I need to do this alone."

He nodded. "All right. If that's what you want. Go take a shower. I'll order something up."

She made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth but the pain in the stomach had started to increase. It was almost unbearable. She was about to strip her clothes off when she saw it. The red spot.

It was the time of the month.

She scoffed. She turned around and opened the door just to peep her head out. She whispered Everett's name. He came rushing to the door with a perplexed look on his face.

"Hey, um. I need a favour." She was slightly embarrassed to ask.

"Anything, Aahana. You know that."

"Can you go down and get me sanitary pads, please?" He didn't make any absurd, red or disgusting faces. He simply nodded and said to give him five minutes. He ran downstairs.

Ten minutes later, he got her what she needed. She smiled and thanked him before closing the door. It wasn't the hunger that made her stomach hurt, it was the menstrual cycle which was, unfortunately, quite early.

She groaned while cleaning herself up. The pain was about to get worse. How will she face Kavya and her past with this pain? The first two days are the worst. She remembered taking off every month for two days. She would toss and turn on her bed. Her mum would give her medicines but it made things worse later.

She walked out of the bathroom while clutching her stomach. Everett peered at her with concern. She sat on her bed and winced.

"I don't think you're in a condition to meet your sister. We can binge-watch and eat. You can borrow my sweatpants and hoodies if you want. Also, I got you some chocolates and a heating pad. Do you need any medicine?"

"No, I will meet her." She fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. "If I don't do this now, I don't think I'll ever be able to face this again. I need to close this chapter in my life forever. And I can't do that if I am still...broken."

He sat on the bed and pulled her head on his lap, caressing her face. "You're not broken, Aahana." He brushed his finger on her cheek. "You're brave for wanting to face your past instead of running away. You are stronger than you think. And I am proud of you."

Aahana spotted Kavya sitting on the table she had reserved. Her hair was curlier than Aahana's and she didn't need to look twice to know that she looked prettier yet their resemblance was still there.

She took a deep breath and walked to the table. Kavya gleamed as if she was expecting Aahana to not come.

The irony.

Kavya stood up to hug her but Aahana stepped back. Her smile faltered as both the sisters sank into their seats. The waiter arrived and quickly noted down their orders. Kavya flashed a smile at Aahana again whose reaction remained unchanged.

"I didn't expect you to call me yesterday," Kavya said.

"I didn't either," she replied. "But I don't just leave without a word."

"Aahanu..."

"Don't give me that pitiful look," she retorted. She wasn't here for her sister's sympathy or apologies or explanation. She just needed one thing. "I am here for answers. Why did you do that? Why would you lie to me like that? I never asked you to wait for me. I had given you the freedom to carve your path alone but it was you who said that you wanted to be with me through both of our acting careers. So why? If you wanted to be alone, why did you lie?"

"I didn't mean to. My classmates said that I should be there. Even if I wasn't auditioning, it could be a great learning experience to watch others perform but my teacher. He had enrolled my name already so when they called me on stage, I just..."

"You didn't do it willingly? On your own?"

Kavya's eyebrow twitched. "No."

Aahana folded her arms over chest and leaned back on the expensive cushioned chair. She scoffed and looked away. "For once," she said. "For once I thought you won't lie. But here you are. Lying to my face again. I just came here to know why you lied and now you're doing it all over again." She averted her eyes back to Kavya whose face was drained of colours. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Aahana, I—" Kavya's lips quivered. "I am sorry. It's just...you were great at acting. Whenever we did roles together, you...everyone loved you and I didn't want my jealousy to get in the way so I promised myself I'll get better but the audition came and I..I tried and they loved me and I scored more roles and I...I felt that I could be better than you. For once."

"You were always treated better than me!" Aahana's voice raised. "Ma and Papa would never shut up about you. They watch all your movies and all your shows and it makes me so angry that they love you even when you left and I am looking for ways to be close to them yet they won't love me the way they love you. You were the first daughter, their pride, their honour. The good successful girl while I was the reckless, childish one. They loved you more and you were jealous of me? Your sister? The one who..."

"The one who what?"

"The one who wasn't loved enough."

"I love you," Kavya croaked.

"But you didn't love me enough..." Aahana didn't realise that they both were crying. "...to be honest with me, to come back and...stay."

Everett waited for Aahana in their room like she had asked him to. He didn't leave his place even for a second just in case Aahana needed his support. His phone was fully charged beside him. He wanted to be there when Aahana came back. He didn't face his fears when he had a chance to so he wanted to be for Aahana while she faced hers.

The door opened and Aahana stood at the threshold. He quickly stood up, miles of distance between them. He longed for her to give him a reaction–a tear, a faint smile–something. But for what felt like eternity, she just stood there.

And then she cracked. A tear rolled down her cheek and a bitter smile on lips.

"I faced my past." She ran. She ran to him. And threw her arms around his neck.

"You did it, baby." He kissed her neck softly. "I am so proud of you."

She pulled apart and looked into his eyes and chuckled despite the pain. "Now, give me your hoodies. We are going to binge watch something." He nodded and stepped to his bag to pick up his grey hoodie. She eyed him. He acknowledged the look and turned around, giving her privacy. She inhaled the faint smell of his cologne. It smelled like him—not that she was complaining. She took her crop top off and wore his hoodie. It was comfortable, soft and cherry on top, it was his.

And just like that. It felt like everything would be okay.

Even if it was only for a moment.

"What are we watching?" He turned around at the question.

While taking his laptop out, he asked, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine?"

"Sounds perfect." He grabbed a bunch of chocolates that he had bought and gave it to her while wrapping the heat pad to her stomach. After doing that, he sat beside her. They re-watched the first three seasons while laughing together.

She glanced at him. "I like this. Thanks."

I like you. I like us. She wanted to say.