"You good?" Aarav asked me while we entered the room we had our group therapy sessions in. "You seem to be bothered by something today."

"I'm fine," I mumbled as we took a seat beside each other, and others piled in as well.

I leaned back with my arms crossed and my legs out. I was taking up a lot of space, and I probably looked like I wanted to fight someone, but I didn't care. I probably shouldn't have come today because I wasn't in the mood.

Not for talking and not even for listening.

When everyone came in, Peter started talking, but I zoned out. Not today. All I could think about was Arya and Darian and this big secret they shared. What was it?

Was her dad divorcing Tejal?

Was Tejal leaving?

Where Arya and Tejal not getting along?

Where Arya and Aarav not getting along?

Maybe I should ask Aarav. They lived in the same house, and they were "family." He would definitely know. I hoped he wouldn't think I was meddling.

Was I meddling?

And what if I was? It involved my boyfriend, and it was impacting my relationship. I had every right to meddle.

Right?

"Kenji," Peter said, and my eyes expanded at my name being called. "What's on your mind today?"

No.

    I never talked, and I wanted to keep it that way.

"You've never spoken before," he went on, "but I have a feeling you have a lot to say today." He leaned in my direction with his chin in his hand. "This is a safe space, and we're all ears."

I glanced over at Aarav, who nodded in encouragement.

        "I'm angry," I said, and Peter sent me that thoughtful look that therapist had a tendency of having. "I'm angry because my boyfriend and I got into a fight today. Things have been kind of weird lately, but what did I expect? We can't stay in the honeymoon stage forever. I'm just angry because it's happening so soon."

"What's happening soon?" Peter asked.

"Things falling apart," I said. "This makes me think that things are falling apart so soon, and this is exactly why I didn't want to be with him. I didn't want to risk losing him again."

"You've lost him before?"

I nodded. "That's what really pisses me off. All these people in my life make me angry because they just leave. They leave, but they expect me to take them back like nothing happened. They expect me to be the forgiving, bigger person even though they broke a little bit of my heart with their absence. They didn't deal with that heartbreak. I did, but I'm the one who's supposed to push that aside and accept them back."

"Who are these loved ones you speak of?"

"My mother," I answered. "She left. She came back, but she was still gone. Might as well have left again, but she's back for good now. One of my friends, Camila, died. I know she didn't up and leave, but she's still not here. I can't talk to her or hug her or spend time with her. She's gone. My other friends disappeared or stopped talking to me. We're getting on track again, but it's still there. That reminder that they left an ache inside of me. Then there's my boyfriend, Darian. He left without so much as an explanation."

"How did that make you feel?"

"Like crap," I said. "He was supposed to be my 'number one.' He was supposed to always have my back, but he stabbed it instead, and I'm pissed. We're currently dating, and I know he has my back now. Except for Camila and another of my old friends, everyone else is back, too. We're talking and laughing and reconnecting and acting as if nothing changed, but it has. They can pretend everything is okay, but that hole is still there. The hole all of them collectively created with their absences. The hole only I feel. The hole that feels ten times bigger every time I lay in bed at night and in the morning. The hole that grips me every single day as I wait for the moment they will choose to leave again. That's the scariest part. Waiting because people always leave you. They leave voluntarily or involuntarily, and I'm scared. I'm scared they'll leave, and that pisses me off. The worst part is, I don't know how to stop being scared."

I took in a breath and slowly released it as Peter continued to watch me. The others watched, too.

"Thank you for sharing, Kenji," Peter said with a small smile. "I'm glad you found your voice to get that off of your chest."

Aarav grabbed my shoulder in comfort, and I almost smiled as someone else started talking. I didn't even know why I said all those things.

They just came out, but I was glad they did. I was pissed, but most of all, I was afraid. This wasn't about anger. It was about fear.

We went through the rest of group therapy, and I felt much better. I listened and enjoyed hearing about the other people's different struggles. I was hesitant to do group therapy at first, but I was grateful my therapist recommended it.

It made me feel less alone.

"Let's head out," Aarav said while patting my arm as we rose from our seats. The others were walking out as well, and Aarav and I grabbed our stuff.

Before I could pass by Peter, he stopped me. "I really am glad you shared today, Kenji," he said. "You need to come to terms with those fears, so I'm proud of you for voicing them out."

"Thank you, Peter."

"Now, you just have to do something about it," he told me. "First step may be talking to that boyfriend of yours. He should know what's going on with you."

I was still upset at Darian, but he was right. I nodded. "I will."

"Take care."

Aarav and I turned around and walked away. On our way to Aarav's yellow Ferrari, he kept stealing glances at me. "You and Darian, huh?"

Oh shit. Aarav didn't know Darian and I were dating.

When we entered the car, I placed my jacket in the backseat while Aarav checked his mirrors. "Yeah," I said, "Darian and I are dating."

"So you like men?" he asked as we put our seatbelts on.

"I like girls," I corrected, "and some men."

"What about non-binary and transgender people?"

"I probably could like them, too," I said with a shrug. "Who knows. I'm not very picky."

Aarav chuckled as he reversed out. "Good to know." He spun the car, and we were off. "You can do better than him, you know."

I knitted my brows together. "Don't judge Darian because of the things I said. We're just fighting right now, but Darian is an amazing guy."

"He isn't a good guy," Aarav said. "People like me and Darian aren't good people."

"Don't say that," I said while smacking his arm. "You're both misunderstood." He said nothing, so I did. "Where're we going?"

"I wanna drive around for a bit," he said, "to clear my head."

"I could use that, too." I hung my arm out the window and got comfortable in the seat.

A couple minutes of silence past before Aarav said, "You have abandonment issues."

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't do that. Please don't try to read me."

He chuckled. "Why not? People read books; I read people."

Aarav did like reading people, especially psychologically. He was always trying to understand what someone's problem was or why they did the things they did.

"Instead of reading other people, why don't you try reading yourself," I suggested. "Do you understand yourself?"

Aarav took an exit that led to the outskirts of Shirley Heights. The wind tousled my hair and it was comforting.

"I don't understand myself," he said. "That's why I like to understand other people. Maybe it'll give me some clarity into who I am."

"Has it?"

He shook his head. "Not even close." Aarav peeked over at me. "I'm not afraid of people leaving. I'm afraid of letting them in and having them screw me over. I'm even more afraid of letting them in and having it hurt like a bitch once they screw me over. I'm afraid of people taking advantage of my attachment to them."

"Do you get attached to people easily?"

I knew I did. A little too much if you asked me.

He thought about it. "Not really. At least, not often. People don't interest me enough. That's why I no longer have a last name. I'm not attached to a lot of things."

"You don't have a last name?" I was confused. "What's 'Gaurav' then?"

"My middle name," he answered. "I was 'Aarav Gaurav Patil' and now I'm 'Aarav Gaurav.' I just made my middle name my legal last name, but I don't have a surname."

Oh...

"So far, there're only two people I can say I'm really attached to," Aarav said.

"Who?"

We stopped at a red light, and he looked at me. "You're one of them."

I was taken aback. Aarav was my only friend at group therapy, and we had been spending some time together, but I was surprised that he was "attached" to me.

"Really?"

He nodded as the light turned green. "We haven't known each other long, but there's something about you. Something I like. I understand you, but at the same time, I don't. I want to learn more. You get the struggle and I can just be me around you, but I can also be vulnerable with you. Mental health is a fucking vulnerable thing, and I can be candid with you."

That was why I was drawn to Aarav, too. He intrigued me. Everything he said and everything he did was all so fascinating.

"Who's the other person?"

He gripped the wheel and stared ahead. "Arya."

I grabbed onto the window to stabilize myself due to the pure shock that took over me.

Arya?!

I didn't know much about Arya and Aarav's home relationship, but when Arya and I were friends, she never liked him. It didn't seem like they had a good relationship or even one at all. I was stunned by this confession.

"Why though?" I couldn't help but ask. "Why, of all the people, would Arya be one of the people you're most attached to."

There weren't as many cars around us now since we were further away from the city.

"Arya can be a bitch," Aarav said. "She can be difficult to be around, and she screws things up for herself and for the people around her."

That was the perfect description of Arya Gupta.

"But I love being around her," he admitted. "When I'm around her, I feel powerful. I feel strong and cared for and loved. Most of all, I feel safe, and it feels familiar and warm. No one else makes me feel the way Arya does, even if she can be a bitch sometimes."

That sounded really romantic and kind of creepy because of that very reason.

"At the end of the day," he continued, "Arya isn't completely a bitch. She's just fucked up in the head. She doesn't know how to be good to herself, so of course she doesn't know how to be good to other people. And I get that. I get what it's like to be fucked up in the head."

I stared at him, not knowing what to think.

I didn't know if I should have admired his wisdom or if I should have been disturbed by it.

"But lately, she's barely home," he said, "especially during the nights." My jaw tensed. Of course, she wasn't. Because she spent the nights with Darian. "And I know she and Darian are friends again. They always talk on the phone, and I know they hang out."

"They hang out, alright," I muttered under my breath, but Aarav glanced at me.

"Is there something you wanna tell me?"

Should I? Would Aarav share their family issues with me? Would I be sticking my nose where it didn't belong?

"Why is Arya spending the nights with Darian?" I blurted out, and I clamped my mouth shut after, but it was already done.

Aarav smirked. "I knew it."

"What's going on?" I asked. "What 'family issues' are making her spend the nights away from home?"

Aarav frowned. "Nothing's going on at home. I don't know what 'issues' she could be going through."

I eyed him in suspicion.

Was he lying to me?

Aarav sighed. "Arya is a drama queen and a diva. You know that."

I did know that. Arya was a drama queen and a diva. A person who was getting in the way of me and Darian's relationship for what could have been over nothing.

Could all of this tension between me and Darian be for nothing?

Was Arya lying to or exaggerating the truth to Darian?

Maybe she was lonely since she had no friends, and she wanted some sympathy so Darian wouldn't leave her, too.

I was pissed.

"Arya fucking Gupta," I sneered. "Arya FUCKING Gupta!"

Why was this girl out to get me? First, she blamed me for Camila's death and treated me like shit. She treated the others like shit, too, and now, she wanted to fuck things up for me and Darian?

Not on my watch. She could do anything, but she wasn't going to ruin what Darian and I had. Not if I had anything to do with it.

"Confront her," Aarav said, and I stopped glaring long enough to look at him. "Confront her and give her a piece of your mind. I'll drive us to my house, so you can do it."

"Are you serious?"

"Confront her," Aarav repeated, and I looked away to think about it.

Maybe I would. Arya continued to mess with my life and I never said anything, just taking all the abuse. No more. She needed to hear what I had to say, and I had a mouthful.

"Turn around," I said. "Let's go to the Guptas.'"

"Got it." Aarav made a round turn, and we were on our way to the Gupta's residence.

A couple minutes later, I stood outside the Guptas' house, fidgeting as I waited for the door to open.

Aarav sat in the parked Ferrari a couple blocks back while I stood at the front door. According to him, this was all me. He was just the ride and the support. I didn't care. I needed to talk to Arya.

Even though she didn't want anything to do with me, she was messing with my relationship. It already had to do with me, so I needed to talk to this chick. Like Clay said, I was going to fight the black widow. If that required enduring Arya's wrath, so be it. She wasn't going to get rid of me that easily.

What I didn't expect was for Mr. Gupta to open the door. My eyes widened. "Kenji?" Mr. Gupta asked with a surprised look, before smiling at me. "Nice to see you. How've you been?"

Terrible. Your daughter is fucking up my relationship.

I chose to force a smile instead and say, "Great actually." My eyes moved past him to glance inside before my gaze returned to him. "Is Arya home?"

Mr. Gupta shook his head as he crossed his arms. "She's out. Spending the night at a friend's house." I exhaled slowly, briefly closing my eyes. Yeah. My boyfriend's apartment. That fact alone made even more rage flow through my veins, and I stuck my hands into my pockets to refrain from clenching my fists. "I'll let her know when she comes back that you came to see her." He smiled at me, and I forced one back again.

"Great..." My cheeks hurt from all the fake smiling, but the rage going through me numbed the pain. "I'll see you later."

Mr. Gupta nodded. "Great seeing you again, Kenji."

I turned around, but my eyes remained on him. "It was great seeing you, too, Mr. Gupta."

I looked forward as I headed for Aarav's car. However, I wasn't even a couple feet away from the house before images of Arya on Darian's couch popped into my mind. A whole night was a long time. What did they do? Even if they weren't fucking, they were probably talking.

Arya was probably feeding Darian bullshit about me to turn him against me. I wouldn't put it past her.

My nostrils flared as my fists tightened in my pockets. My breathing became slightly more ragged as the possibilities moved through my mind.

No. I refused to sit there waiting, giving the black widow time to strike and kill. Hell no. I was going to squash her first.

I glared at the ground with a new surge of adrenaline pulsing through me. Before I could even comprehend what I was doing, I turned around and shouted out, "Mr. Gupta?!"

He paused right as he was about to close the door, and his attention returned to me. "Yes, Kenji?"

A scowl formed on my face. "Are you really okay with your daughter spending every night at someone else's boyfriend's apartment, getting between their relationship?" Mr. Gupta's eyes widened with a dumbfounded look. "Didn't think so." My expression hardened. "Have a wonderful night."

With that, I turned back around and walked off, finally able to get away without my mind bombarding me with images of Arya corrupting Darian's mind.

I could sense Mr. Gupta's eyes on me, probably in shock.

When I entered Aarav's car, he grinned at me. "What did you do? I saw you talking to ji."

"Drive," I said. "The night's not over."

The night wasn't over for me and Aarav, but maybe Arya's nights with Darian were.

And for the moment, it felt damn good knowing that.

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* What do you guys think about Kenji speaking at group? His and Aarav's talk? Kenji telling on Arya? What do you think will happen next?

* I'm on vacation for the next couple days, but I'll update the next part as soon as I come back. I'm excited for the next couple chapters. Hope you enjoyed this update!