Chapter 5

InkedImagination

@Queen0fDarkness

Chapter 5: In the light between the clouds

Geet stared thoughtfully as she watched Maan playing football with her brother and their friends, she faintly smiled as Nyra and Pinky chattered and gushed over the guys playing football.

He was laughing along with the boys and playfully shoving across the field, in the light between the clouds, there was another side. A side that laughed freely, joked, and played happily. And with her, in the dark between the stars there was a side that no one else saw. A broken soul. A battered body. Silent tears for mercy. She wanted to mesh the darkness and light forcing him to confront and bare himself to everyone to see the boy he was.

They had not yet seen one another or spoke to one another since she'd seen him last night and handed him the small bowl of lasagne.

Her fingers hovered her keyboard wanting to question him, she wanted to pull the truth out of him but couldn’t bring herself to text, almost afraid of his response. Would he tell her truth? she wondered.

"C'mon let's sit here" Nyra excitedly dragged her to the benches, she was pulled away from her thoughts and chuckled nodding in agreement. Pinky and Nyra drooled, whilst she pulled out her textbook and flicked through her notebook.

Unbeknown to her, she garnered the attention of the football players. Some of whom were from Kabeer and Maan's college and weren’t aware of her being a Singhania.

From being an awkward duckling, she'd transformed into a beautiful swan.

Her silky hair brushed the tops of her shoulder as she had her head down and scribbled away, she'd bite down on her lower lip when she pondered thoughtfully before smiling and continuing to write.

"Hey, eyes off!" Jay shouted when he noticed one of them looking in the direction of the girls. Maan and Kabeer frowned looking between Jay and Andrew.

"Jay, as far as I know she ain't your girlfriend. If she were, you would have had her hanging on to your arm showing her off" Andrew answered challenging him silently.

"One day, I'm going to marry that girl" he stated confidently.

"You wish" Kabeer nudged Jay back and turned to scowl at Andrew. "And she's my sister, keep looking at her like that, you're going to regret it" he warned gruffly.

"Now, now, Kabeer… Why would I regret looking at a beauty?" Andrew replied with a smirk.

'Where are you?'

Geet smiled seeing Prem's text and answered. He didn’t respond after that. She looked up and frowned seeing Kabeer seemingly arguing.

"Geet"

Geet looked away and smiled brightly when Prem appeared and alongside him was Kiara. "You got her?" she jumped off the bench hugging him quickly before smiling widely at Kiara.

"Geet" she held out her hand though she continued to bounce excitedly on her heels of her feet.

Kiara chuckled, "I know. Prem's baby girl" she pulled Geet in for a hug. "I heard a lot about you".

Geet smiled and nudged Prem shyly as he wiggled his brows at her. His smile faltered when he looked across and saw his brother looking hot headed and about to hit someone.

"Wait here" he told them and walked across the field. "What the f*ck…" he cursed when he saw Kabeer's arm going back before punching the guy across his jaw. Maan jumped forward pushing Kabeer back when the other guy lunged forward to retaliate.

"Hey! Enough!" Prem stepped forward and shoved Andrew back. He then glared at his brother in warning. "What is going on?"

"He was eyef*cking Geet" Kabeer spat out. "Why is she here?" he yelled.

Prem fisted Kabeer's t-shirt pulling him forward glowering at him, "Don’t!" he barked. "Don’t you dare blame your sister for your friend's f*cked mind!" he released his t-shirt then turned around.

"Listen here, kid" he stared calmly before cupping Andrew's neck and squeezed firmly. "One snap in the right direction, you'd be dead in a second. That girl over there is my sister, Prem Singhania's sister" he hissed sharply. "Look at her wrongly, and I'll gouge your eyes out with a spoon".

Andrew winced and nodded shortly, Prem squeezed firmly before releasing him roughly making him stumble and scattering away with some of the other boys.

"Prem looks so sexy when he's warning them" Nyra cooed sighing dreamily with Pinky.

Kiara laughed seeing the young girls crushing on her boyfriend, whilst Geet cursed inwardly. No doubt, he was warning them from looking at her. Great. Now everyone in college will know whose sister I am and avoid me she pouted and looked upward. Really?

"What are you praying for?" Kiara leaned forward and looking up curiously to see what Geet was looking at. "Were you praying?" she inquired.

"No, I was questioning" Geet chuckled and watched Prem walk towards them.

"Baby girl, you need a ride?" Prem inquired.

"No, we're going grab snacks and drinks for movie night" she answered then turned to Kiara as she joined Prem's side. "Kiara, you're going to have to spend some girl time with us".

"Of course, baby girl".

"I'm only allowed to call her that" Prem informed playfully.

"And since you're now mine" Kiara leaned forward cheekily, "she's also mine" she winked.

Prem laughed and rolled his eyes, "C'mon let's go to dinner or we'd be late" he pressed a kiss to Geet's forehead and bid bye.

"He's taken!" Nyra cried out once they were gone.

"I'll let you have lots of ice cream" Geet patted her shoulder. "C'mon, let's go" she grabbed her bag and shoved her notebook and textbook away.

"Why the f*ck do you come here?"

Geet whirled around and saw Kabeer glowering at her, he waited silently until Prem left. "What?" she looked at him confused.

"When you know, you look like this. Why the f*ck do you come here? Do you like it? Do you have some sort of twisted pleasure seeing guys eyef*cking you?" he yelled.

"Hey man, that's enough" Maan rushed over pulling Kabeer away.

Geet blinked, her eyes stung as she looked at her brother seething and spitting out such horrible words.

"I hate you" she grated out though her voice croaked and a tear rolled down her cheek. She turned and ran off without waiting for Pinky or Nyra.

"What the… why did you do that?" Maan shook his head in disappointment.

"Don’t you be defending her!" Kabeer snapped.

"You prick" Nyra screamed and shoved him. "She'd come here because we wanted to come here".

"Arsehole" Pinky added and dragged Nyra away with her to look for their friend.

'Rain check on movie night' Geet text Nyra and Pinky when they'd shot off numerous amounts of texts to her phone. She walked down the alleyway today not wanting her mother or her grandmother see her swollen eyes, she entered the backyard and tried the door. Cursing when it was locked.

The one day she wants to enter through the back, her mother finally decides to lock it she shook her head and slumped on the small chair near the fence, she was feeling dejected and still hurting by her brother's words. She had only agreed to watch the boys play as this is how Nyra and Pinky liked to spend a few minutes crushing on the guys and hoped they'd be asked out. It was the least she could do considering they joined her at the library to study together rather than leaving her be. A small part of her agreed so she can see Maan. Maan she sighed inwardly and glanced around her yard.

It was laid with smooth concrete ground, a basketball post on the other end of their yard and little rectangle flowerbed where her mother grew her flowers and occasionally planted potatoes, coriander leaves and onions. Even as nice as her backyard seemed, she couldn’t ever spend a night outside.

How did he do it? The question rung in her mind and settled on her delicate heart.

She shuddered even imagining it, but he did it. Then maintained a smile throughout the day as if he did not see hell every night.

"You okay?"

Geet squeaked in surprise and glanced over her shoulder, the small hole in the fence carried his voice and he didn’t have to speak loudly. He had his back and seemed to be leaning against his side of the fence. "What do you think?" she smiled sadly facing forward and stared ahead. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" he questioned even though he knew what she was asking.

"Pretend everything is hunky dory" she replied softly. "That you're happy and not hurting every night".

"Outside, I'm not pretending" he smiled. "It might seem like it, but I'm not. I'm at my happiest, I've got great friends, I'm enjoying college and loving the challenges of it. Everything is hunky dory when I'm outside of here" he murmured closing his eyes.

"You separate both worlds" she noted.

"In order to make it without becoming insane" he chuckled.

"What happened last night?" Geet glanced over her shoulder, even though she couldn’t see him, even though there was a fence between, she could feel the tension radiating off of him.

I became the object of interest for his prostitute therefore I betrayed him he clenched his jaw as he thought of his father shoving the wrinkled cash at the prostitute before telling her to get lost. Before he knew it, he was tied to the post and the belt slashed across his back slicing into his skin.

"You promised" Geet reminded when he didn’t speak.

"You shouldn’t know this, Geet" he said the words so softly, but she had heard him.

"Look up to the sky, Maan" Geet looked up and knew he was probably doing it was well. "I don’t want to be the silent support just in the dark between the stars, I want to be the support during the daylight between the clouds. I don’t want the silence. I want the words".

"Are you looking to becoming a poet?" he jested trying to lighten the mood.

"Only with you" she laughed. "I just doodle… and these come to me. Now, tell me" she demanded.

Maan sucked in a deep breath pinching his eyes closed before opening them, he looked ahead and the words flowed, his heart swelled as if it was close to being engulfed in flames before a blast and the swelling lessen, the burden of the secret melted away with the red hot flames.

Geet listened, tears ran down her cheeks and she covered her mouth swallowing the cry that almost wrenched out of her.

In the dark between the stars

You were slowly becoming my solace

In the light between the clouds

You finally bared your heart out to me

[NOCOPY]

[MEMBERSONLY]