"Look at you! You're alive!" I teased as I entered Mira's bedroom.

She was given bed rest two more days and Monica had ruled it to four on her chart. Monica had brewed a nice cup of coffee for Mira and had sworn to me that she had never left her seat since Monday.

Though she looked more tired than her mother, her pale skin had got some lively complexion and I noticed that it was because of Clark. 

Clark was the most handsome man I had ever seen. With a French beard adorned around his mouth, he stood like a lost prince wearing a casual tee with a V shaped cardigan on top of it. He, himself smelt rich.

"I'm as stubborn as a mule." Mira laughed and tried to get up. I reached out to help her as Monica stood by her side, circling the spoon over her coffee. "Don't you ever think you can get rid of me that soon."

I smiled. "Seriously, how are you now? No dizziness?"

"No." Mira waved her hand in the air as if to tell it was all nothing. "Monica is just getting tensed up as always. The doctors only added more fuel to the already burning flames."

"Mom." Monica warned, but Mira was least bit bothered about it.

Clark laughed at this. "I love seeing their banters, you never get tired, right?" His question was directed at me and I chuckled. That was true. They would fight for the pettiest of the things and yet, by the end of the day, no one could separate the two of them. "I'm Clark, by the way."

Though I had seen him a few times around the café, I had never been introduced to him. Besides, he was always busy whisking Monica out before someone could say hi.

He brought his right hand forward, shifting his coffee mug to his left. His hair was cut in a military fashion, a little too small and they stood erect like thorns. But it suited him. Everything about him screamed money, except for his personality. I hoped I wasn't drooling when I stood dumbly, staring at him.

Monica cleared her throat, a smile plastered on her lips, getting me back to the reality. I looked at her and she was trying her best not to laugh.

"Sorry, I'm Scarlet." I shook his hand and before I could do anything stupid, I retracted it back and gave him my hundred watt smile. "Monica keeps talking about you."

He looked at Monica and I saw his eyes grow soft while Monica's face turned to a deep shade of red and I thought I had seen a miracle. Monica never blushed and with Clark by her side, I was sure I could light a room with her bright cheeks.

"She probably talks about you too." Clark shrugged. "But I usually tune it out after a few sentences."

I laughed along with him. He was only doing that to spite Monica, and it was working. She playfully hit his arm and feigned anger. But the smile on her face was hard to miss. I was happy that they had come back to being normal even after they had undergone scary incidents.

"I'll get you a cup as well." Monica said, placing hers on the night table next to Mira's bed. "Cream and sugar okay for you?"

"I'll help you out." I said, walking along with her. "I'll come back in five, Mira."

"Yeah, don't do anything stupid when we're not there." Monica warned.

"Of course, we'll try not to pull out our hair by then." Clark rolled his eyes as Mira chuckled.

Monica muttered something under her breath and walked to the café kitchen to get a new cup for me. I followed her. 

The shop had been closed since the fateful day and Monica was adamant in keeping it that way until her mother had recovered. Though it gave me more free time to do other work, I missed working there.

"So," I gave her a sly smile and she understood what I was talking about. I jumped up the counter and sat on it. Though Monica didn't approve it, she didn't ask me to get down. I gave her a bright smile. "If you're not marrying the guy, can I?"

"Scarlet!" She whisper shouted. I hadn't seen Monica this red ever. I laughed at her and swung my leg down the counter, enjoying the fact that she was happy. "Thank you. For that night and thank your friend too. I actually didn't get a chance to talk to him properly."

Since the incident, Robert had been absconding. I wasn't able to locate him and all my efforts seemed to go down the drain. I knew he was still in town because Luke and Dan said that they had seen him work in the garage. But it seemed highly unlikely that he was avoiding me and if he did, I wanted to know why.

"Yeah," I smiled. "I'll tell him that."

"So, I wanted to ask you what you were thinking of Clark, but I already know the answer now." She said, mixing cream to the brown liquid.

"So, you shouldn't let him go." I said, taking the cup from her and mixing it with two cubes of sugar. "I mean, have you seen him? He's like a movie star waiting at your disposal and you're trying to push your luck with him? That's not fair."

"I know." Monica sighed. "But with everything, I don't know if I will be able to afford it."

"How are they together? Mira and Clark?" I asked, taking a slurp from the cup.

"Mom literally sees Ratan in him. I know it's kind of weird when I want to marry him." Monica made a disgusted face for which I chuckled. "But, they have respect for each other and I appreciate that."

"You know that's a good thing, right?" I asked, getting down from the counter. "You should really consider that marriage proposal again, Mon."

"I know." Monica sighed. "I'm just scared that things might repeat again."

"You mean like your... Dad?" I asked. She tucked her hair behind her ears and looked away. I knew I had hit the sweet spot. "I've seen a lot of guys in my life, trust me." I said holding my hand on my chest. I really had. Being the kid in a racers family meant more outdoor activities. I had been around the tracks for a long time and since most of the racers were guys, it was a necessity to interact with them than anything else. "That guy is not the one who will get up and go when time comes."

"How do you say that, Scar?" She looked away, ready to break into tears. "You have just met him."

"Because even when you said you wanted time, he's still waiting for you." I said. "If he was with other intentions, believe me he would have made the move. You know how hot he is."

Monica snorted, wiping her eyes. "I love him."

"Then I don't know why you are making the poor guy suffer." I said, taking another sip of the coffee. "And if you delay it further, I swear, I'm going to snatch him away from you."

I didn't wait for her to reply and went back to Mira's room to talk to her. I had understood Monica's commitment issues and it had to deal with the guys in her house. Watching the pain and anguish in her mother's eyes had made Monica stay rooted to celibacy, but Clark had changed it for her. And I could tell that Clark wasn't the person to move on once he got bored. He was as much into this as Monica was.

When I entered the room, Clark was telling something to Mira and they both started laughing loudly like wild hyenas. I smiled at the scene knowing deep inside that I was right.

"Hey Clark, Monica wanted to talk to you." I said and pointed my thumb towards the door behind me.

The inertia of their shared laugh lingered on their faces when they saw me. Clark gave a polite nod and patted on Mira's hand before raising from his position to go to the kitchen. When I made sure that he was gone, I took his seat.

"Oh, my God. He's so cute!" I muttered as Mira laughed at my words.

"I don't know why Monica is just making him wait." Mira said, leaning against the pillow that stood between her and the bed.

"All in good time." I said. Mira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her face seemed calm and a smile played on her lips as if she didn't have a care in the world. It was difficult to think that she had been in the ICU in the last forty eight hours. "How are you?" I asked again.

Now that we were alone, I wanted her to talk freely without thinking about how her daughter might react to her actual feelings. She opened her eyes and looked at me. The calmness wavered a bit and I wondered if I had spoilt her inner sanctuary.

"I'm really sorry, Scarlet." She said, looking away. Her vision was rooted on the door, probably making sure that no one was listening to our conversation. "I don't think I have ever apologized before, especially for spoiling your night."

I sighed. I didn't want her to think that way. "Knowing you, I am at fault for even asking you to attend my races. It was all me and I'll take all the responsibility for it."

"Scarlet, honey." Mira said, making me stop my ranting. "It is all in the past and you don't have to worry about it."

It was such an irony. There she was telling that everything was in the past and she had overcome it when in reality she was suffering from it everyday.

"Are you willing to go to the doctor about it?" I asked. "It's been recommended."

"What has happened to me?" Mira said, now alert than ever. She was on the defending mode right now and seemed to defend herself pretty well. "Nothing is wrong with me and I'm perfectly fine! They are all fools!"

"Hey, hey." I reached for her. I was shit scared to know if I was triggering her again with all my questions. "Yes, you are fine."

I didn't want to disturb her calm and I felt like I should have chosen some naïve topic rather than hitting on the spot.

Mira stayed silent and I followed her not wanting to upset her. I didn't know if I was ready for another of her tantrums now. Even though Monica and Clark were in the next room, I didn't dare to take that risk. It was now that I hated leaving the two love birds together.

"It was overwhelming, you know." Mira said, looking outside the window towards her right. She sat on her bed, her legs folded beneath the sheets. Though she looked comfortable, I could tell that inside she was unnerving. "The cars, races, parties and all that."

I sat mute too scared to make a move. If I had to just sit and listen to her so that she wouldn't collapse anytime soon, then I was up for it.

"Ratan..." She started and I began to hyperventilate. I didn't know how long she could talk about him without breaking down. Suddenly, I wanted Monica to be with me for support. "He was such a good kid. He loved his father so dearly that when he left, he was devastated."

She turned towards me and I felt like she had been talking this for the very first time after everything fell apart. She had said exactly the same thing during that ride, but I didn't stop her. If she wanted to get things out, then I would sit and hear it over and over again. Her soft eyes filled tears to its brim, smiling fondly at her only memories of her son.

I had heard bits and pieces of what this family had gone through and when I placed them all together, I could see only pain washing away the happy home like a hurricane. To come up in life with no one to cling to, was not only difficult but also painful. With everything that Mira had undergone, she had kept a smile plastered on her face and that alone gave her hope.

"He started drinking and smoking." The tears ran down her cheeks, replaying the incidents. "He had started to bunk class... I never got to know. All the calls from school were routed to his own number. Can you believe how smart he was?"

There were times when I have wished that I was good at consoling. But sadly, I wasn't. Whenever I broke down, there was no one to pick me up and say things to me. I had to get over it and suck it up. Perhaps that was the reason why I was usually stuck with words in my throat though I could feel their pain.

"He... he always made me smile." She got excited, her eyes shining through the tears. "He was usually sarcastic in all his matters, but that was how he... communicated. I was too opaque to see it all through."

"Mira..." I called. I could almost see those ghost memories pass through her as she narrated. With each one, I felt her crumple below leaving nothing but a miserable trail. "You should get some rest."

I got up to make her feel comfortable, but she pulled my hand, making me sit on the bed next to her. Her grip was too tight to free myself. Her face was a mask of various emotions and it glistened in the well-lit room. Her curly hair which were once pitch black had turned gray and now, stood desolate.

"The moment you said your father was a racer, the first thing that popped into my mind was... accidents." Mira gulped, her grip on me tightened. "How could... he do that to... you? The pain and... isolation... I wanted to ask you to stay with us..."

"Mira, it's not always like that. But that's part of my life." I said, trying my best to console her. "Accident's rarely happen in them."

"Then, you took up racing." Mira said, ignoring me. "I saw how fast you can go... it... scared me. What if..." She closed her eyes, letting the tears spill. "That boy... does he race?"

I wanted to say no and get over with it. But Mira needed to understand that races didn't mean death alone.

"Sometimes." I murmured, hoping against hope that she wouldn't hear me. "Mira, I think you really need to rest now."

At my words her cries increased, and I started to panic. "He looks... looks so familiar... For a second, I thought... it was Ratan. But then... my boy was... so beautiful... Brown eyes and... dark hair."

"Mira..." I hugged her as she fell on me, weeping hard. I stroked her head, holding her tightly.

Mira and Monica had been living with their past hidden within themselves, not talking about it with each other. With the small pieces of information I had gathered so far, I knew that they hardly acknowledged the elephant in the room, too scared that they might hurt each other if they mentioned it.

"He loved to... drive and I... I always denied it." Mira sobbed. "Maybe... that was why he... he was taken away... in the car."

I wanted to shout for Monica, but then I felt that if her daughter were here, she wouldn't feel comfortable talking it out loud. I wondered if Monica had erupted when she had talked about her son. Perhaps, that was the reason why she had bottled up all these emotions like a soda bottle only to explode sputtering all around.

She sat upright and wiped her tears away. "Sorry, sorry." She muttered, trying her best to get some color on her face. "Can you get him here sometime? I don't know what he thought of me." She laughed, in spite of her tears. "Dozing off on seeing him. Poor boy. Can you get him, Scar? Can you?"

It was a request from a mother, to see Robert as a consolation prize in place of her son. Who could deny that?

"Sure, Mira." I smiled weakly. "I know he would love to come."

---

A/N: I tried writing the emotional turmoil very raw and I don't know if I was able to deliver what I had in mind. What do you think? Did Scarlet make a right choice in agreeing to get Rob to Mira or are you thinking what I'm thinking?