Chapter 7: chapter 7

Chapter SevenMaya wrapped a thin shawl around her shoulders as she stared, mesmerised at the flickering flames of the bonfire. All around her, people sat, in groups, in couples, and chatted or toasted marshmallows or grilled sausages and paneer to eat. So, this was how the rich and famous lived. Maya wasn’t sure she’d ever eaten a marshmallow before this and she wasn’t sure she wanted to again. It tasted a bit like roasted plastic. He sat across from her, the fire between them, in his cotton kurta pyjama looking like a sexy librarian uncle. Maya looked away before he caught her ogling him. Next to her, Karam worked his way steadily through a plate of kebabs. “Easy boy,” she said, drily. “Leave some for the others.” Karam shrugged. “This lot can afford to get themselves more.” Maya grinned at her friend. Karam was everyone woman’s dream of a Bad Boy. The guy you should avoid, the one your mother warned you about. The one you had naughty flings with but didn’t dare dream of a future with. Even now with his long, lean legs in frayed jeans and his well-worn leather jacket hugging his broad shoulders, he had almost all the women eyeing him and whispering amongst themselves. “It’s good to see you, Karam,” she said, softly. He flashed her that devilishly sexy smile of his. “I’ve missed you Maya Papaya.”She groaned. “Not you too. It’s bad enough that Kanak calls me that.”“Speaking of the She Devil, why is she looking at Vikram’s brother like she wants to strangle him with his own intestines?” “Because that’s exactly what she wants to do,” Maya said, spearing a sausage from his plate before he swallowed it whole. He paused, a paneer piece halfway to his mouth. “Do I want to know why?” Maya shrugged. “Do you really want to know why Kanak is on a rampage?” Karam shuddered theatrically. “I’ll stay out of it.” “Smart boy.” Maya laughed and patted him on his head. A flash of movement caught her eye from the other side of the fire. Yash was toasting her with his bottle of beer, a sardonic smile on his smug, stupid face. Maya raised an eyebrow at him before toasting him with her middle finger. It wasn’t very mature, she knew, but screw mature, everything about this man and this current situation pushed her buttons. Karam laughed next to her. “Between Kanak and you, I think we’re going to be thrown out even before the ceremony takes place.” Maya grinned at him, even as she felt Yash’s gaze burning into the back of her head. “I’ve missed you,” she said. “Let’s not go so long between meeting again.”Karam’s face sobered. “I’ve missed you guys too. Sorry about being a dick and disappearing on you all like this.” She nudged his shoulder with her own. “You’re still a dick. Just don’t disappear.” Karam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close. “Promise,” he whispered against her temple, dropping a kiss on her hair. Across the bonfire, Yash stood up suddenly, his chair toppling over with the force of the movement. “Oh my my,” Karam whispered. “Your stalker is very passionate, Maya Papaya.” Before Yash could storm away, Aayushi caught him by the hand and kept him within the circle around the bonfire. Something twisted inside Maya at the sight of their clasped hands but she stomped on the twisted something until she buried it deep underground. Aayushi clapped her hands for everyone’s attention. “Thank you all for coming to Il Cuore for this weekend. We’re here to honour the memory of my brother, Vikram.” Tears welled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. “Each one of you is here not because you had some kind of relationship with Vikram but because he,” her voice caught but she swallowed hard and continued. “He loved you. He loved each one of you with every bit of his large heart. And for that one reason alone, we’re gathered here to not mourn him but to celebrate him.” The tears were pouring down her cheeks now. Maya felt her own escape her control and drip down her face. Karam held her tighter, his knuckles white. A distant rumble of thunder rolled through the sky as if to accentuate her words. And for a moment, it really felt like Vikram was watching them, listening to them and in his own way cheering them on. If he was, he was also laughing his guts out at the thought of his college friends socializing with his family and high society peers. It was exactly the kind of thing that would appeal to his sly sense of humour. Aayushi had finished talking and Yash was hugging her, helping her wipe her tears and generally pretending to be the kind of man who actually cared about people. Like he did. Before he dropped the mask and showed you who he really was. As if sensing the acid of her gaze, Yash looked up and over at her. Their eyes met across the flames, a wealth of bitterness in it. What the hell did he have to be bitter about? The jerk had abandoned her in a hospital bed.She drained her can of Coke and stood up. She was exhausted from the ride over and her leg throbbed like it was on fire itself. She just wanted to go to the room, lie down in bed and ignore the ghosts from her past. Especially those who stared at her like she was the wicked witch of theirs. “See you guys in the morning,” she murmured to Karam who nodded, his eyes on the fire, a strange, disquieting look in them.She signaled to Ved and Kanak that she was heading to the room for the night and left with a quick wave for Aayushi. She was halfway up the sloping lawn leading up to the house when she heard him speak from behind her. “Maya.” That gravelly baritone of his raised goosebumps on her hands. She remembered the first time she’d heard him say her name. She remembered having the same reaction. She remembered wondering what it would be like to hear him say her name like that in bed, when he was inside her. Now, she just wanted him to shut up. “Maya,” he said again. “We need to talk.”Â