I was throwing up into the toilet commode. The breakfast I just had. It was muli ke parathe again. And Aarohi was rubbing my back.

"You know you should not have eaten it if it was going to make you sick." She said.

I wanted to talk back to her, but I threw up a bit more. And that seemed to be the last bit of it, so I sat up. A burped up some gas. The thing made me sick with gastritis every time. But it was funny how the same thing makes me sick. Because it was supposed to be Other Rahul's favourites and it has never made him sick. And it was still his digestive system in me, and it still made me sick.

"Are you going to throw up more?" Aarohi asked.

"No. I think I am done." I said, getting up. I flushed the toilet and washed my mouth at the washbasin. Aarohi had gone out of the toilet. She came back in with a glass of water.

"Here." She handed me the water. I took it and drank it. It has been two months since I have started living here in this house and this was the third time this happened.

"You should not eat it if it makes you sick like this," Aarohi said.

"Who was the one who told me to shut up and eat it even if I have to throw up later?" I taunted her. We still enjoyed our taunts and push-pull relationship. But we have become a lot more comfortable around each other. She is the person I spend most of the time with nowadays. I see her college, I see her at home. And she is tutoring me on the subject of Rahul, about his past – his friends in school, friends outside. Who is who. Etc. Also, she is helping me with my studies as well. I found out it was not all that hard, since every semester subject is different and some are just independent. She gave me a base idea and the rest was not impossibly hard.

"But if it's making you sick..." Aarohi said.

"It makes mom happy," I told her. "And it's one thing that I need to keep in check to keep pretending to be your Rahul. I am not going to get noticed by mom and dad and bring misery to them."

Aarohi was looking at me with a new kind of look I have never seen on her face. An appreciation or thankfulness.

"What?" I asked her.

"I guess you are not fully an asshole after all." She said and turned around.

"Took you long enough," I called after her. I followed her back to the kitchen. It was a Saturday. The parents had gone for a job. We were alone at home.

So I watched her as I watched TV. I mean, I was supposed to be watching TV. The TV was on at least. But I was watching her in her room. Her door was open. And she was on her bed, reading a book.

After a while, she looked up from the book at me. I looked away. But I was sure that she caught me looking. She did not say or react or do anything. She kept reading her book. So after a while, I watched her again.

Sometimes I feel she lets me watch her. She knows that I am looking at her. But she never reacts.

After a while, she got up and came and sat by me on the couch in front of the TV.

"You know it gets creepy after a while." She said.

"I know." I understood what she is referring to. I smiled to myself.

"What are you watching?" She asked.

"Nothing in particular," I said.

"Do you mind if I change the channel?"

"Go on." I pushed the remote to her. She browsed through the channels, as I was again, watching her... Her skin is kind of brown too, not dark, just sort of tan. And it makes me feel wanting to touch her. That does not help at all when I was trying to restrain myself.

I have had feelings like this before, well not of this intensity, of less intensity. But I have never had to live with and stay near being friends with that girl like this for this long. Try restraining the urge for a month or two while keeping the person so close like this. You will go mad.

"Oh I love this movie," Aarohi stopped at a channel. I looked at the screen. It was a popular Hollywood fantasy action series movie. I really liked it too. So I moved my eyes to the screen instead of her.

We enjoyed watching it together. We commented about it at times and all. We laughed at the same moments together probably. Then there came a kiss scene in the movie. I watched her go still, and the air was awkward. I did not take my eyes off her. I wanted to see her reaction. But she was determined to keep her eyes away from me. She did not look at me once after that.

Mom and ad came home at night and we had dinner.

While at dinner mom asked Aarohi this, "Isn't it about time for your..." Mom did not complete it.

"Yeah. I was planning to go there next weekend actually." She said. I raised my eyebrow at her. She shook her head meaning 'don't ask, I'll let you know later.'

After dinner and after mom and dad slept, I knocked on her door. She opened. "Can I come in?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said, stepping aside for me.

I walked into her room with the textbook in my hand. "here..." I held it open for her. "I don't understand this part." She took the book from me and looked at it. She was wearing a kind of loose but thin fabric shirt. It made her look sexy. It clung to her figure and made her boobs prominent. It was making me feel weird. She had tied her hair up as well. Exposing her neck. It was very distracting for me.

"This here refer to..." she began explaining the doubt, coming closer to me so as I can see the book. But I could not concentrate... My heart was sort of beating irregular.

"You listening?" She asked, and I realized she was looking at me.

"What? Oh Yeah." I said looking back at the book.

"I will explain later then." She shut the book and gave it back to me. "I don't think you are concentrating."

I scrunched my face.

"So what was that about going somewhere next weekend?" I asked.

"Hm...Next weekend is about the time of the death anniversary of my parents." She said. "And every year, I go to this place... It's my mom's hometown actually. Mom and dad got married there and lived there for a while in the first year of their marriage. No one in my family lives there anymore. But I like to visit there. It feels like I am back with my parents. Even mom and dad's ashes were poured in the stream of there."

"Your mom and dad's death anniversary?" I asked, "But doesn't that mean it will be Rhea's death anniversary as well."

"No. No." She said. "My mom and dad died on the spot of the accident. Rhea was in the hospital. For a month before she passed away."

Okay. I nodded.

"So I get to go visit my parents every year." She said.

I nodded. "Rahul sometimes used to come with me..." She mumbled absent-mindedly.

"I can come with you." I offered. "I know that I am not Rahul. Not your Rahul...But, I am a replacement and compensation anyway." I said. "Use me."

She smiled.

"Plus, I can drive you." I had taken a car driving license in Rahul Bhatt's name. I already knew how to drive a car. I just needed to give the test.

"I don't think aunty will let you drive that far. After the accident."

"Oh come on. I can convince her." I said. She still seemed sceptical.

"Hey... I have this pending wish that I can ask, right? The muli ke parathe wish... Remember that? That I can ask you for a thing."

"You are going to use that now?" She asked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Let me come with you." I said. "I want to see."

She was still contemplating.

"What, are you scared to come with me alone, that far?" I asked.

"Phew...No." She blurted.

"Are you sure?" I flirted.

"I am alone with you right now. Sure you checked me out, but you didn't make a move." She said. "You are keeping to your words. And anyway, I know by now that you are not much of an asshole. Sometimes you are even a good person."

"Sometimes?" I asked.

She shrugged, "That is the best that you can get."

I chuckled.

"So we are going there. Together."

"Okay," She finally gave away.

"Mom, don't worry," I assured mom sitting in the driver's seat of the car. "We are safe. Nothing will happen."

"Still..."

"I am sure of this. Okay. And you can't keep me under your shelter forever. We discussed this."

"Okay." Mom said. "But call me if something goes wrong." She said.

"Yeah. We will call you if we get hit with an accident and lose consciousness or fall into a cliff." I said. Mom laughed through her worries. I gave her a smile and drove off.

"It's nice," Aarohi said. "The way you make her laugh and smile."

"I thought you did not approve of that."

"Well... it's unlike Rahul, but... She deserves happiness." She said. "She has been through a lot. We have all been through a lot."

"Glad to help," I said, looking at her. She looked like she was thinking of her own parents.

"Keep your eyes on the road," She said, casually, not turning to look at me. "We don't want an accident."

I smiled turning my eyes back to the road.

The drive was pretty good. It was a hill station, so we had to go through a lot of twisted curves and all. But neither of us got any motion sickness. So that was okay so far. We stopped at a dhaba on the way and ate lunch. Aarohi told me about her parents while we ate.

Her mother was native to the hill station.

"She was not even an educated girl." She said. "She was just this orphan girl who worked as the kitchen help in the local hotel. But she was pretty. Really pretty."

I could guess she might have been pretty by judging from Aarohi herself. "Have I shown you her photo?" Aarohi asked. I shook my head. Aarohi took out her phone and held it out. I saw the photo of a couple, and there was a baby in the hand of the woman. And the woman was pretty. Like Aarohi.

"So how did they meet?" I asked. "Your mom and dad."

"Dad was a tourist." She said. "And he fell in love at first sight, they say... Actually, dad, uncle and aunty, I mean Rahul's parents they all had come as a tourist, to this place, like a vacation. For like two weeks or so... It was after uncle and Aunty's marriage. It was sort of like their honeymoon. And I have heard mom and dad's stories from aunty more than my parents because my parents passed away before they could tell me much."

"Your dad followed Rahul's parents on their honeymoon?" I asked confused.

"Well, he was uncle's best friend."

"So? What will he do there, do a threesome?"

"Hey..." She called offended. She hit my hand that was on the table. It stung. But I liked her touch even if was for a hit.

"Still. It's weird." I said with a laugh.

"He came to take photos. He liked to take photos of places and sceneries and stuff." She said.

"But then, your dad fell in love with your mom within two weeks and decided to marry her?" I asked. "Within Two weeks."

"Eh...yeah." She said, looking sort of embarrassed. "It's complicated."

"What is complicated?" I asked.

She looked at me for some seconds. "Okay, I have never told this to Rahul even...But he is more innocent than you so... But I guess you are safe to tell."

I sat closer to listen keenly with an interested face.

"This is just my guess..." She said. "But I think my mom and dad made me within those two weeks."

I opened my mouth in amazement. I laughed...

"Don't laugh..." she hit my hand, again.

"I am not laughing," I said, closing my mouth forcefully. "What makes you think that?"

"My birthday is exactly eight months after their marriage. They say I was born prematurely. But I guess different." She said. I laughed. She went a bit scarlet. "You won't tell anyone will you?" She whispered.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Good coz I don't want people to judge my parents or say weird things..." She mumbled.

"Yeah. People can be rude."

"You won't judge me will you?" Aske asked, "Or them?"

"You would not have told me about that if you thought I would judge you, or them..." I said. She looked better and confident after that. She smiled. "Besides what is there to judge about?" I asked, "I just heard a nice romantic love story."

She smiled more.

We went to the river, it is more like a stream, where her parents' ashes were disposed of. And walked around the house of her mothers. It was a really nice hill station. With green grass and tall trees, cold weather.

It was a nice change from the city.

"I wish I can live here forever," Aarohi said.

"Can I try driving the car?" Aarohi asked when it was about time to go back.

"Do you know driving?" I turned to her.

"No. But you can teach me."

"It's dangerous to try in a place like this," I said. The place is filled with cliffs and mountainsides.

"Yeah. But I want to try." She said. "Just for a bit..."

I gave it a thought. Maybe it won't be dangerous. "Okay... Get on." I told her.

She got on to the driver's seat. I sat in the passenger seat.

"First you need to start the car," I said.

"I know that." She said and turned the key, even without stepping on the clutch. The car jumped and stopped.

"What just happened?" Aarohi asked in a scared voice. I found her fear cute.

"Hm... that was to get you less over-confident about driving," I told her, laughing. She scowled at me.

"Look down..." I said moving closer to her, "see there. That the clutch, the break and the accelerator. You need to step on the clutch pressing it all the way down when you start the car."

"Wait which one is the clutch. Left one or right?"

"Left one."

"Okay..." She pressed on and started the car. She got excited as it stayed in running more. I smiled.

"Now you need to put the gear," I said. "Give me your hand." She held out her hand. I placed her hand on the gear and placed my hand over hers. A tingling sensation went down my spine even on that slightest touch. I gently put first gear.

"Now take your leg off from the clutch slowly and step on the accelerator slowly..."

She did as she was told. "It's moving. It's moving." She said in excitement. Then said. "Ha...driving was just this easy. No big deal."

The car was moving slowly forward. I had my hand on the steering wheel though.

"Let's take more speed," Aarohi said.

"No."

"Oh come on." She said.

"You like to order me around because I let you do all the crazy stuff, right?" I asked. "I have a feeling that your Rahul would not have let you."

"Yeah. He would not have," She said. "He was a scared cat type. But I've had a feeling that you would let me. How to move on to second gear? I have to step onto the clutch again for that, right?"

"Yes," I said, switching to second gear while watching her. This was making me kind of like it. Because she was like, asking things from 'me' now. I was a separate person to her...

I was distracted looking at her for a second, or more than a second and the car gained more speed than I had planned. The road was a curve, and the other side was a shallow cliff. And the car was definitely going in the wrong direction.

"The breaks. The breaks..." I yelled at her.

But she panicked and maybe stepped on the accelerator more strongly, and the car was going straight to the cliff. The accident flashed before my eyes for a second and horror paralyzed me momentarily. But then, some strange strength came in and I pulled the steering wheel the other way and the car went the other way and hit the bark of a tree and stopped.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I yelled at Aarohi. She looked shaken. "You could have got us killed. You know what happens when you suffer an accident... It's not clean. It's not nice. And you know what...? You will be on the lucky side if you die instantly. The luck is in the death. Do you get that? COZ THERE ARE WORSE THINGS THAN DEATH OUT THERE."

She was looking at me. Straight at me.

But the anger that was boiling inside me was already calming down. It was not entirely her fault. It was my fault to have let her drive, and get distracted while teaching.

I opened the car door and stepped outside. I wanted to avoid looking at her for some time. Because I was kind of shaking with fear.

I looked at the car.

The front bonnet suffered damage from hitting the tree. I could hear Aarohi stepping out from the other side of the car. Even when I had my back to her, I could sense her eyes on me.

Luckily some locals came to our help immediately.

The car was not fit to be driven. So I had to take it to the local garage. The guy said it will take some hours to fix. It was getting dark. So he assured me that it will be ready by next morning.

I came back to the place where I had left Aarohi. "We have to stay the night," I told her. She still kind of looked at me with worry and guilt-filled eyes. "We need to find a place to stay."

"I know a place." She said. "There is one place up there in the hills that provide accommodation. Don't know if they will have room. They are usually filled."

"Let's go find out," I said already walking up.