Shaurya
I rake my fingers through my hair, intently studying my stressed expression in the bathroom mirror. Tonight has come. And tonight means that I will be reunited with my father, and Anika will meet him too.
Nervousness explodes in my chest as I gnaw at my lip. I want my father to be fond of Anika, my girlfriend, the girl that I honestly cannot stop thinking about. And part of me still stands by my request to leave this place and go to Seattle, with or without Anika... but the words she told me stick to my mind like glue. No. I cannot be a coward, I need to stay here and fight my problems on my own, not run away from them.
I tug the collar of my light-blue dress shirt as my dark hair is neatly combed. On the bottom, I wear black dress pants that are perfectly fitted with squeaky clean black shoes on the bottom. I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
I exit the bathroom and see Nathan, who talks on the phone with somebody. "Yes, babe. I'll let you know what I think about it. Uh huh. Okay. Okay, bye. I love you too." He disconnects the call and he looks up at me with a smile growing on his face. "Whoa, look at you buddy. You look like a whole movie star."
I snort. "You mean this shit? I just pulled it out of nowhere."
"Well, it looks pretty spectacular to me," he compliments me. I sigh as I start to pace around the room. "Dude, I'm just so nervous. Y-you know how my dad is like; he's super judgmental and if he even sees anything wrong with me or Anika, then I'm screwed. And there's nothing even wrong with her, so that's just going to make things even worse. Ugh, I'm literally about to have a panic attack. Why am I so scared of him? Why do I feel this way? Why--"
"Whoa, whoa. Dude, relax," he ushers me as I sit down on the couch, pressing my lips together in angst. "It's going to be alright, I promise. Don't think so negatively; I'm pretty sure your father is going to love Anika."
"Are you sure?" I ponder.
"Hell yeah!" he jeers. "Trust me, dude. This is your chance to redeem your reputation with your father while he also approves of your relationship with your girlfriend. Alright?"
Nathan's words seep into my mind as a genuine smile creeps upon my lips. "Thanks, bro... for everything. And I seriously mean that; you've been the most amazing friend I could ever have."
"Ah, stop it, you're going to make me cry," he pretends to sniffle as I smack his arm playfully. He chuckles and pulls me in for a bro hug. "Now go and confront your dad with your beautiful girlfriend!" He winces. "Don't tell Emma I said that last part, though."
I laugh. "I won't."
And with that, I exit out of the apartment as cool air hits my face. It gets really cold around this time of night, and I shiver to myself as I quickly run to my Mercedes. The car beeps thrice as I step inside and relish in the immediate heat that hits my face. Once I adjust to the sudden temperature, I reverse the car out of the parking lot and drive out, feeling my heart thudding against my chest.
After about a few minutes later, I park in front of Anika's small and comfy home, the same place where I saw her being carried away into the ambulance when she attempted to commit suicide. A frown deepens upon as flashbacks form in my head, remembering how extremely terrible the entire event was. I was so scared of losing her because she was the only person that understood me, the only person that felt the things I felt: not belonging here.
That's why I was so quick to ask her run away with me. I know I scared her, and I know she had every right to say no, but I know some part of her wants to run away too.
But now, I won't ever feel content running away without confronting my father about my career intentions and how I want to be an artist instead of following in his footsteps. So, that's why I need to step up and fight for what I want: the freedom to make my own decisions.
I decide to get out of the car before I delve any further into my thoughts. The car door closes shut behind me as I walk towards Anika's front door. I know her father is at work, so I won't have to worry about getting brutally interrogated from him again. And how he lifted you from your collar at the ICU and belittled you immensely.
My finger raises itself on the doorbell as I press against it. A reverberating chime rings into the air, and I hear it faintly in the home as well. Few seconds later, the door creaks open, revealing my beautiful girlfriend. Ah, I will never get used to calling her that.
Her dark and luscious hair is pulled into a tight ponytail, accentuating her gorgeous features and especially her beautiful brown eyes. My eyes trail across her body, seeing the tight wine-colored dress wrapped around her curvy body. It ends right above her knees, and my eyes trail even further to acknowledge the high-heels she has wrapped around her feet. Overall, she looks beautiful, and my heart thuds so hard against my chest because I cannot possibly believe that this drop-dead gorgeous woman is my freaking girlfriend.
"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer." I let out a hefty chuckle as I look towards Anika, who has a deadly smirk plastered on her lips, which are covered in red lipstick. She closes the door behind her, locking it as well, and before I can even react, she leans in and kisses me deeply. Our lips push and pull as her soft hand rests on my jaw. I react by placing my hand on her waist, wrapping it around as we passionately kiss, melting into each other's embraces.
We pull away from each other, the presence of her soft lips tingling on mine. I feel a hot blush forming on my cheeks as her brown eyes meet with mine. Then, her eyes soften with amusement as she brings her finger to my lips and wipes something off it. She shows me her finger, which is covered in the remnants of her red lipstick. I let out a laugh as she laughs as well.
I lead her to my car as we then both step inside it. The doors close behind us as I quickly drive away, the soft hum of the engine radiating in the air.
Silence fills around us, but it isn't the awkward silence that I despise so much; it instead is silence that speaks louder than words, words that form around us like a heavy atmosphere.
Gulping, I catch a glance towards Anika, who looks out the window. A soft smile is placed on her lips as she props her hand up against her chin, admiring the Californian view perched amongst the night skies. A smile forms on my lips as well as I admire her, but not for too long because I don't want to get in a car crash.
I clear my throat as I set my eyes onto the road again, which transforms onto the highway. Cars pass by us at immense amounts of speed, and my fingers clutch the steering wheel. "Are you nervous to meet my dad?" I blurt.
I hear Anika's breath wavering softly. "Y-yeah, honestly speaking... I am a little nervous. Like, what if he doesn't like me?"
I scoff. "What is not to like about you?"
She lightly chuckles. "That may be from your perspective, but your father's is probably different. He probably wants a girl for you that's rich and has a great background... not a girl whose mother died from cancer and an abusive father that almost killed her daughter."
"Hey, hey," I whisper, placing my hand on top of her thigh. "Don't fret, alright? My father may be scary, considering he's a successful businessman and all, but he's definitely not a shallow person. Honestly, he may be hesitant about us at first, but I guess that's because he's really protective of his only son, you know? But once he gets to know you, he will soften up and eventually, things will be alright."
"Are you sure?" she whispers.
I nod my head. "100%."
And with that, I squeeze Anika's soft thigh, and I release as I quickly shoot a glance towards her, sending her a reassuring smile. She smiles back at me, it reaching to her eyes as they light up like fireworks. Just like how she makes me feel... nothing but fireworks.
Anika
Fifteen minutes later, we exit the highway and enter the secluded area of the town. There is nothing around us except beautiful forests drenched in even more beautiful greenery. I gaze out of the window in awe, admiring the inexplicable beauty nature drags along with it.
Part of me is very nervous to meet Shaurya's father who is, no doubt, a very important figure, considering his place in society. I truly hope I can make him realize that I am a good woman for Shaurya, that I am mostly an amazing girlfriend. All I can do is pray, at this point.
The car swerves into an even more quiet part of the road, leading to a private road. Greenery surrounds us, and my mouth drops as I gape at the scene in front of me.
The private road leads into a vast openness of land, which then leads to a massive expanse with huge gates in the front. Shaurya presses some button perched at the top of his car, allowing the gates to slowly open. The car rolls forward, revealing the biggest mansion I have ever seen in my entire life.
The walls are covered in dark brown material, properly etched and carved very delicately. Huge black double doors stand high and mighty as the car rolls around the roundabout. Then, it lurches to a stop, and Shaurya clicks his seatbelt open. "We're here," he murmurs. Once I click my seatbelt open, I pry the door open, placing my foot onto the paved road. The door slams shut behind me as I follow behind Shaurya, who adjusts his outfit, which obviously suits him very perfectly. I mean, every single part of me is trying so hard not to launch myself on him and make passionate love with him.
Anika... now is not the time!
I disperse my thoughts away as I hear the quiet sloshing of the majestic waterfall perched in the middle of the expanse. Water spews out of the mouth of a mermaid, whose beautiful stone figure lays across the bottom of the large bowl holding a massive amount of clear blue water. "That's a beautiful water fountain," I whisper to myself, but not loud enough to where Shaurya hears it.
We start to walk up the perfectly polished marble stairs that lead up to the double doors that tower over us so ominously. Once we reach the top, Shaurya turns around and wraps his hand around my wrist, his deep brown eyes boring into mine. "Ready?" he whispers.
I nod my head, acknowledging his worried expression. How does he still manage to look so fine even when he's stressed? "Are you ready?"
He presses his lips together. "In all honesty... I'm scared as shit."
I place my hand on his bicep, feeling the hardness of his muscles. "You got this, babe. You are a strong man who I know can take any obstacles obstructing his view, even your father. I promise you, anything is possible, even this."
A small smile forms on his lips that I try so hard to not kiss at this very moment. "Thanks, Anika. That meant a lot to me."
"Of course," I nod my head, his eyes softening. "Shall we go in?"
"We shall," he breathes out. And with that, I interlock my fingers into his, feeling the warmth enclosed around his strong hand. He squeezes mine tightly, his touch speaking much louder than spoken words. We got this, it radiates, and a relieved grin spreads across my mouth. His eyes glimmer with all sorts of emotions as we walk inside, the strong hold I have on Shaurya's hand seeming to be the only thing that holds me together.
*
A/N:
Ahhhhh, I hope you guys enjoyed the rewritten version of Chapter 26!
I definitely have a very good feeling about this ending, and it definitely is something you guys will have a good feeling about as well. I'm just so excited hehe :)
But, how do you guys think this "meeting" is going to go? Wonderful? Disastrous? Hard to tell? Let your thoughts out in the comments below!
Stay tuned!
- Ru <3