"Why are you here?" She asked as she headed back inside leaving the door open so I followed her inside, her room was something totally unexpected, as far as I had known her, I always thought her room was going to be full of posters of actors she loved and maybe in a different color and all messed up but it was completely different.

Everything in the room was white, the wall, the cupboard her dressing table, her bed, everything was white and clean, it was huge and kind of empty, it had nothing else in there apart from the dressing table and the bed.

"Did people from college send you here to get the latest gossip on me?" She asked and I turned my gaze back to her, she had settled down on her bed, she actually had a book that she was reading, it was quite strange, I had never seen her reading.

"You read?" I looked at her in surprise.

"Just because I don't carry books around and act like a nerd doesn't mean I don't read, why are you here Arnav? Who sent you here?" She asked again.

"What if I say that I came here on my own, would you believe it?" I asked.

"Why are you acting like you care about me?" She asked.

"Why is it so difficult to understand that maybe there's someone that might genuinely care about you?" I looked at her in surprise, this girl surely had some issues.

"Because no one cares unless I'm making them popular, is that what you want?" She folded her arms, seriously? I come here to see if she's okay and all she thinks is that I want to be popular?

"If I wanted that, I would have gone along with the rumor of being your boyfriend." I replied.

"Maybe you just wanted it differently, how am I supposed to know?" She shrugged, okay this girl was now getting on my nerves, why was she so negative about everything? How hard was it for her to understand that I actually cared?

"Why don't you trust me?" I asked.

"I don't trust anyone, why do you think you would be important enough for me to make you an exemption?" She rolled her eyes.

"Why are you so bitter with me Khushi? I have been nothing but nice to you, and you act like I'm some piece of trash to you. Maybe you don't realize but it hurts."

Honestly, it was becoming frustrating, how could she be so blind to this? Why couldn't she see how much I liked her or cared for her? Why was she like this?

"If it hurts so much, why are you even here Arnav? Don't you get it? That's what I do? I hurt people, and I'll hurt you too, I'll hurt everyone so just stay away from me. I'm glad you came to see me and I don't want to be rude to you, but please, kindly leave me on my own." She placed her book aside and looked at me, by the way she looked at me, I felt like she was saying something else and she wanted something else.

I kept on staring at her hoping that she would tell me to stay back because I dint want to leave yet, I just wanted to sit with her and talk to her about everything that was wrong but she just kept on staring at me silently.

"Oh, I see you've got another one again." I heard a voice, I turned around and saw a gorgeous lady standing there, she looked like she was in her late thirties, and she was dressed like a model, her hair, make up, everything made her look like a model.

She was continuously looking at me with some sort of disgust on her face which meant she dint like me at all.

She and Khushi looked so much alike, anyone could believe she was her real mother, but I had known her long enough to know that she was her step mother, but well they both were so freaking gorgeous.

"I know you're just jealous because I'm having all the fun and you're missing out." Khushi rolled her eyes at her, she clearly dint get along with her, I looked back at her mother who just shrugged and walked away, they both seemed not to like each other much.

"Why are you still here? Leave!" She looked at me angrily, I just nodded and turned around to leave, I stopped at the door and turned to look at her, I saw her picking up a photograph from the side stand as she held it close to her heart and whispered something while I walked away.

I did know Khushi since school, but I had always just seen her in school or somewhere out and she was always this girl who was so happy and strong and she was kind of mean to people but today for the first time in so many years, I had seen a side of her where she was completely opposite of what she was out there.

It made me wonder if this was the real Khushi, or the one I had seen all this years.

*****

I walked inside the house and found Anju seated in the hall busy reading one of the novels I had bought for her, I walked towards her and settled down beside her silently.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about Khushi, I was fine all this years silently crushing on her but now that she had talked to me suddenly, I was stuck with a repeat mode image of her in my mind that wouldn't just go away.

Although I liked feeling this way about her, I dint want to because it was very clear she wasn't ever going to feel this way about me and I dint want to get hurt.

"Bro, you okay?" Anju asked as she looked at me worriedly, I just nodded and pulled her into a hug, I was suddenly overwhelmed with so many emotions.

"Yeah, I am okay, I just get scared at times." I said as I held on to her tightly, Anju was the only important person in my life and I was so scared to lose her.

"Oh come on, please don't be like this." She said as she pulled apart from the hug and looked at me.

"Bro I get it, you love me a lot and you're scared every day that maybe today is going to be the last day you see me but you have to understand, you can't live your life in fear.

Do you want to regret this sometime in the future that when I was around all you did was fear losing me that you dint even spend any happy moment with me? Look at me bro, I've accepted it, and anyway we all die in the end, doesn't matter if I die early but it would matter if I'd die being scared that I'm dying and stop living my life.

We get this life only once, and I am happy that I got it, even if it's short, I want to make the most out of it and I can't do that when you're constantly living in fear." She said.

Age wise she was younger than me, but I think she was more mature than me, she always said deep stuff that hit the point straight.

"So now stop living in fear okay, if you promise to do that, then I'll tell you something interesting." She smiled at me.

"Okay I promise." I smiled at her.

"Good, so don't act all elder brotherly about this but I'm going for a date tonight." She blushed and I looked at her in surprise, not that I dint want her to go on a date or anything, everyone her age was doing that, but I was just worried for her.

"There's this guy in school, he approached me and we talked and all, and yes he knows about my condition and all so I agreed to go on a date with him, isn't it exciting? I always wanted to go on a date." She smiled happily.

I was happy for her because honestly she had missed out on so much in life because of her condition and I dint want that, I just wanted her to experience everything her age mates did, and that was happening now, I just hoped whoever this guy was, he wasn't a jerk because if he hurt my little sister even a bit, he was going to face my wrath.

"I am so happy for you." I smiled at her and pulled her into a hug again.

"I know, I am happy too but not fully." She said.

"Why so?" I asked as I looked at her in surprise, why wasn't she fully happy when she looked so excited about the date?

"Because I'm younger than you and I'm already going on dates, and you being my elder brother still have pictures of the girl you like hidden everywhere in your room but you wouldn't ask her out." She giggled.

"You messed up with my room again! That's invading my privacy Anju!"

"Well look on the bright side, if I wouldn't have done that, I wouldn't know that you still like her. It's been years bro, seriously when are you going to get the guts to talk to her, her name is Khushi right?"

"I think never, and I'm happy with my one sided crush, I don't want to complicate it anymore so don't start telling me to tell her and all that, it's not going to happen, bye." I said as I rushed away from her immediately before she came up with some deep words to convince me.