Riya

The blue color spread slowly as I moved my brush carefully across the paper. I waited for it to dry a bit and sipped my tea. The clock on the wall read 12:30. It was too late. But I loved painting at night. The inviting silence begged me to pour everything on the paper. The search for the meaning of aesthetics led me down the rabbit hole of Greek and I had an urge to paint the beauty that was Santorini.

I was at Dhruv's in my penguin pajamas that my mother gifted me on my birthday. I loved the comfy T-shirt and trousers, no matter how much Dhruv bullied me for it.. I had the task of opening the gate when Dhruv came home and lying to his parents about when he did. I picked up the brush again, adding the last bit of details with slow hands, dabbing the pink to give life to the bougainvillea flowers. The silence of the house was broken by the doorbell and I flinched. The pink bled onto the blue. I tried cleaning it up while cursing Dhruv and his antics.

Opening the door, I was ready to give him a piece of my mind. But Dhruv was too sloshed to even know who opened the door.

"My penguineee." Or maybe he did know who opened the door.

His one hand was on Abhay's shoulder, which held Dhruv from falling. Abhay stood with his usual bored expression on his face in his blue T-shirt, holding Dhruv as if he weighed like a feather. I stepped aside, letting them walk inside. I expected he knew where Dhruv's room was. But the problem remained. He reeked.

I followed them both to Dhruv's room. The trophies lined up on his wall with tons of medals would've made people think Dhruv was a disciplined child, especially when half of them were from debates. But here he was, lying on his bed, drunk.

"You smell," I said loudly, entering the room.

"He passed out." It was Abhay.

The silence stretched between us for a few seconds before a slow realization dawned on me. I was alone in the room with an unknown guy in the middle of the night, and my dumb cousin was sprawled on his bed, drunk. I clenched my teeth and walked towards the bathroom.

Opening the tap, I put the bucket in front. The noise of water hitting the bucket suddenly broke the painful silence. I wondered what Abhay might be thinking. Just as the bucket filled halfway, I picked it up and carried it to his room in a blinding rage.

If he was drunk, I was also drunk. On anger.

I dumped it all over him.

"What the fuck!" He woke up with a jolt, ready to murder someone. "Not cool, penguin." Then went back to sleep.

My anger evaporated at his absurdity, and I stood like a duck with a bucket in my hand contemplating my life choices.

"I don't think water will work on him." Abhay drawled in his husky voice, and I flinched. He stood there leaning on the wall, taking in my desperate attempts at waking my cousin up. I didn't miss the slight twitch of his lips as if it were too amusing a debacle. I immediately wished to go back to a time when I forgot he existed. Now he was going to tell me what worked on my brother. Who did he think he was?

"His parents will get angry." I kept the bucket down, not turning around. The room felt smaller and smaller.

"And?" His voice pissed me off.

He turned around when I didn't respond.

Don't say it. Don't say it.

I turned to face him.

"He wasn't like this." he stopped, the implication clear in my voice. "Any parent will be angry and hurt seeing their kid in this...state."

"What are you trying to say?" he said, his hand in his pockets. His blank face was tough to get used to.

"That you are a bad influence." What was I doing?

"Is he a kid? Did I force him to drink?" he tilted his head. The whole facade of calmness became unsettling in a few seconds. He asked a lot of questions in conversations. Probably to unsettle people. It was definitely working on me.

"No, you didn't. But you also know you're the reason he's doing all this." Why was I bickering with a person in the middle of the night? Stop talking.

"I guess I am." He paused, " What are you gonna do about it?" His clenched jaw vanished as soon as it came. Or was I imagining it?

"Not me. You're the one who's going to stop all the-"

"No, I won't." He smiled, which didn't reach his eyes. "Let's see how many times you'll jump in between fights." Then he turned around and walked out before I could say something.

"Close the door." He called out as if he didn't just give a possible threat of making this whole situation worse.

The silence of the room was broken by the soft snores of the culprit of this situation.

I just hoped that I didn't start something that I would regret later. His threats held no tightness. It felt as if he had mentioned tomorrow's weather. But I wasn't going to take it lightly. Maybe I really should've stayed quiet.

It was better when we didn't speak or make any eye contact. Why was he suddenly talking?

I looked at the snoring face of Dhruv, my resolve strengthening. We all did stupid stuff for our families. Because we cared.

"Wow, what a bitch!" Exclaimed Ruhi, munching on the pizza that we ordered for us.

I was sprawled over Siya's bed. It was our mandatory weekend meetup, and she was telling them about the things that happened during the week.

My eyes fell on the curtain wrapped around her bed with fairy lights. Siya was a fashion student and an assistant to a renowned designer. She had been into sewing and fashion since she was a kid.

"I know, right? What kind of demon-esque person does that? I made everything from scratch. I sewed so many beads on that dress that I have nightmares that I'm drowning in it. And now she doesn't want it? What the fuck, dude!" Siya rambled on as I got up and picked up another slice of cheese and corn.

"Did your boss take your side?" I asked.

"No, she fucking didn't. She scolded me in front of that demon. Then she had the audacity to say that things like this happen. We have to learn how to deal with it. Take my side for fuck's sake. It was clearly the customer's fault that she changed her mind last minute. I'm never going back to work again."

"She's one of the best. You'll have to go back. Her connections have given you so many opportunities." Ruhi stated, the voice of reason in our group.

Siya groaned and screamed into her pillow. "Leave it. What's happening in your life? Did you at least go on a date?" she asked Ruhi, who continued eating her pizza.

"No one's datable." was her curt reply. Ruhi was studying economics, and according to her, no one was interesting enough to date...or even talk. Or maybe she was still hung up on him, who shall not be named.

I looked at Siya, hoping she would drop it, but she narrowed her eyes instead.

"You promised you would at least go on some dates."

"As I said, no one caught my eye. Riya is also single. Why don't you think about her?" I glared at Ruhi for bringing me into this.

Siya was in a happy relationship, and she wanted us to be in one too.

"I'm not done with you," she glared at Ruhi and turned towards me. "What's going on in your college? Any poets or writers?" The twinkle in her eyes scared me.

"Uhh...no. There's no poet or writer. I'm perfectly fine single."

"You guys are so boring."

"Are you and Dhruv talking?" Ruhi asked. It made me remember the night he came home drunk and the fight that happened the next day between him and his parents. No matter the excuse, the stench of alcohol was too strong to ignore.

"Yeah...we're fine." I narrated the whole scenario and the fight, not skipping over Abhay's attitude.

"Wait. So the guy doubled down? I'm not liking his attitude. What the fuck!" Siya exclaimed.

"Did he do anything?" Ruhi asked, and I shook my head.

"It's been a few days. Everything's been quiet. I didn't even see him around."

"I hope he was bluffing or something. I have decided not to interact with him. I'll talk to Dhruv if he gets into something."

"When are you going to leave him be?" Ruhi asked.

"I can not leave him if he's spiraling down. You don't abandon your family."

They were quiet for a while. Siya sighed, "Let her be roo. We can't stop her once she makes up her mind."

It seemed Ruhi wanted to continue, but she chose otherwise. "Fine. But if the guy says something, call us."

"Yes, ma'am. I will."

"Good. It's movie time." Siya screamed and jumped from her bed, probably looking for a laptop. The topic was forgotten, for now.