Dedicated to Anonymous8100 because she is one of the sweetest people I know. ❤

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Chapter 4 | Thunderstorm

" 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave' His father told him."

-George R. R. Martin, Game of thrones

• • •

In Buddhism, there is a concept called 'Nirvana'. By definition nirvana means a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self. In other words, it is like a heavenly abode wherein you feel at peace. While 'Nirvana' in itself is rather substantial which can only be attained with rigorous practice, but for self proclaimed pluviophiles like Mallory it was relatively simpler.

There's something about rain that takes them to nirvana. They relax and be at a state of peace with themselves. Rain and cloud cover might be gloomy for some, but for Mallory it brought nothing but sheer joy and pleasure.

After a couple of minutes of wiggling her legs inside her jeans and buttoning it up, she walked over to her window. The gentle pitter patter of the rain was like a rhythmic music lulling her into a sense of security. The wet earth smell hit her nostrils making her want to bottle it up.

It was a Saturday morning and she had it all planned. Tying the shoelaces of her sneakers, she began mentally jotting down her day's plan. First, she would go down to the bookstore to fulfil her voracious appetite for reading. Then, she'll drive to the local café where she'd order coffee and butterscotch cookies. Finally she'll stretch her limbs, sip at her coffee, read a book while rain gazing through the glass of the café. It seemed like a perfect day.

"Mom, I'm going out!" Mallory shouted barging into her mother's room.

"Why didn't I teach my kids to knock!" Her mother said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She was folding her clothes and arranging them in the wardrobe.

"Can I borrow your car?" Mallory said super sweetly.

Her mother glanced at her. Mallory knew that she was considering Mallory's history with cars. Suffice to say, she wasn't the best driver around but still her mother decided to trust her with the keys of her beloved ride. "Sure, drive carefully." She said and tossed the keys to her daughter. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"The bookstore downtown," Mallory replied catching the keys and failing miserably.

"Why don't you order your books online?" Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"Because, I like flipping through random pages and get a better look at the book before actually buying it. Besides, I love bookstores. That smell of books..." Her daughter trailed off dreamily.

"Sometimes I wonder, are you really my daughter," she said smiling.

Eva Millington had always hated books. She was one of the people who preferred movies to books. Apparently, completing a novel required a lot of patience and she didn't have the least bit of it. Whenever Mallory urged her to read a book, she'd laugh and say that she had studied enough books while pursuing medicine to last her a lifetime.

"Now, if I have your permission, may I go, dear mother." Mallory said laughing.

"Why, of course, dear daughter. Don't stop on my account." Eva mocked her daughter's tone. "Don't forget to take an umbrella."

"Sure!" Mallory called out and ran to the stairs. Boy, did she love her mother. She had always been her best friend as far as she could remember.

As she walked down the stairs, she decided to call Ben. She took out her cellphone and dialled his number. The bell rang but he didn't pick up. Suspecting that his phone might be on silent mode, she redialled. Finally, she heard his groggy voice.

"Hello."

"Ben, it's Mallory."

"Mallory, do you know what time it is?"

"It's eleven."

"Let me sleep."

"I am going out. Wanna join me?"

"No."

"Oh, Come on. Stop being a baby."

"Fine. Where are you going?"

"The bookstore downtown."

"You expect me to wake up and drive all the way to the other side of the town, just for the sake of your books?"

Mallory laughed at the the horror stricken voice and said, "Yes."

The line disconnected.

She rolled her eyes, reaching the foot of the stairs. She peeped into the living room where her brother laid on the couch watching some movie at full volume.

She winced at the high volume as she entered the kitchen planning to grab a bite before going out. But just before, she could enter the kitchen, she stopped dead in her track. In front of her, only a few feet ahead, she saw a guy who was bent down in the fridge searching for something. He shook his head to get his long dark hair out from his eyes.

She froze dead in her tracks, as her mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. It was him, she knew it. She knew it was him. The man who invaded her dreams. She tried to scream but it felt like it was stuck in her throat.

Her mind started going astray. And her legs involuntarily started receding backwards, away from the man. And suddenly her back collided with something hard. She led out a violent scream and turned around.

"Jeez! Melly, what happened?" Her brother said as he kept his hands on her shoulder to calm her down.

"I...I...H-He..." She trailed off, fumbling and desperately pointing at the stranger's back.

"What? What did Harry do?" Jake whispered and the stranger turned around. Sure enough, it was her brother's best friend, Harry.

"Hi, Melly. How have you been?" Her brother's best friend said, a little awkwardly.

"H-Harry?" She looked at him intently. "B-But I t-thought..." She stuttered.

How could she be so ridiculous? How could she even think that the man in question would be at her house? It seemed implausible as she mentally cursed herself for her break down. She was being unreasonable.

"Hi, Harry," she finally replied and a few seconds later hugged him.

"So, what was that all about?" He asked suspiciously, shocked by her behaviour.

"Eh! Nothing. I was confunded by your beauty." She said wryly.

Harry looked at her confused, but then his expression changed as he unclenched his jaw. It was almost as if he was...relieved? Did he care that much? Her heart fluttered, and for a moment she was twelve again and Harry her first crush.

"Talking of beauty, you have grown up to be a hottie too." He winked.

She grinned. "Oh! Stop it, you'll make me blush."

"Oh! What I wouldn't give to see that infamous blush!"

"Oh! What I wouldn't give to set your ass on fire!" Jake interrupted, mocking his best friend's tone. "It's so disgusting to see your friend hitting on your sister." He gagged.

"Me and him?" Mallory said. "He is just like my brother." She said punching Harry playfully.

"Hey! I am not your br- In fact, let it be. Incest always turned me on." He smirked.

"Uh! These disturbing images..." She said, pretending to vomit.

"Maybe I should give your girlfriend a call?" Jake said and took out his phone.

"Hey! What she doesn't know won't hurt...me." Harry said snatching the phone away from Jake. And just like that the three of them were on the floor laughing, just like old times!

"Now, you'll excuse me boys, I should be going." Mallory said, getting up.

"Miss me!" Harry and Jake shouted together as she made her way to the door. She laughed.

• • •

Once outside, she looked up at the sky. The downpour had ceased to some extent but the dark clouds prevailed. The wet earth smell lingered in air and so did the light breeze. By the time she took the car out of the garage and drove it up to the road, a light drizzle had started. A few drops of rain came through the open window and she enjoyed the feeling of the cold water against her hot skin.

Memories surfaced as she took a deep breath. She remembered how she, Ben and Emily would play in the rain for hours, get sick and then blamed it on each other. For the first time ever, nostalgia hit Mallory like a physical blow. She missed her best friend more than ever. Perhaps that was the reason, she suddenly pulled over into the cemetery behind the church to visit to her best friend's grave.

Though she surpassed other graves, her eyes sought only one of them. Her eyes landed on Emily's grave; she was surprised to see a hooded figure knelt down. She stopped dead in her tracks, taken aback while the person looked around uncomfortably. They placed something on the grave and started walking towards the other gate, in an almost frenzied motion.

Unable to make out anything from the distance, she started walking towards Emily's grave to follow the person. But, she was too late. The person quickly slipped inside a black Chevy truck decorated with orange foxes and eagles. Within seconds, the truck disappeared.

Returning to her best friend, she sat down on the grass and processed what she had seen. Then her eyes caught a glimpse of something silver. Her fingers wrapped around the bracelet. She had seen it somewhere, she knew it. But where?

As she twisted it in her hand, she found an engraving. It read:

E ♡ C

Emily's initials!

Maybe she was over thinking. Maybe that person was Ben, she tried to convince herself with unreasonable explanations. Although, it was virtually impossible for Ben to wake up and drive all the way to the church before her, but she still thought it was worth a shot for her mind couldn't come up with a more plausible explanation to what she witnessed.

So, she dashed across the deserted graveyard, with rain drops falling on her dry clothes. She picked up her cellphone and unlocked the screen, to be greeted by 'battery low' message. And while she kept the phone on her ear, her phone switched off. A range of curses left her mouth. How could she forget to do something as simple as charge her phone? She shook her head at her own carelessness.

For a second, she was tempted to go to Ben's house. But decided against it. She shrugged, not allowing anything to steal her peace of mind. She'll deal with it later. She decided to go to the bookstore and follow her original plan. Maybe, she'll even find a charging port at the store or the café.

The trip to the store was short and peaceful. The roads had been vacated due to the downpour. No one in their sane mind would go out when in heavy rain, no one except her. By the time she had bought herself half a dozen books and had reached the car, the rainfall had increased manifolds.

She unlocked the back door and shoved the books inside. Finally, she sat in the driver's seat while water flowed through the open window. The suffocating sense of claustrophobia prevented her from shutting it.

As she drove, she noticed how the roads looked different in the deluge. Unconsciously, she circled around the same path again and again, but her stubborn self refused to believe it. At last, somewhere at the end of eighth or ninth round, she accepted the fact: she was lost.

Mallory checked her cellphone again but the black screen wouldn't budge. Tossing it angrily to the back seat, she decided to look for some coffee house or store to get directions. Her best shot was to keep driving straight​ until she stumbled upon a store or gas station.

The weather was on the verge of a storm. Somewhere distantly, thunder clapped almost like a gunshot, she shuddered instinctively. While she was driving, in a hope to reach somewhere or find someone, she noticed a man covering his car with some sort of rain cover. As soon as he saw her, he signalled for a lift.

Mallory considered pulling over, but she was paranoid. After all, she had heard hundreds of 'hitch-hiking-gone-wrong' stories. Regardless, the idea of the man being trapped in a broken car during a thunderstorm forced her to pull over. She retrieved the thin can of pepper spray; if the man decided to do anything funny, she would spray it in his eyes and would storm off.

As she stopped the car, the man hurried towards her. He tapped on the passenger side window, so she rolled it down. A groan and an all-too-familiar face greeted her simultaneously!

• • •

Andrew came out of the secluded alley and quietly slipped into his car. Grabbing a towel from the back seat, he roughly wiped his face and hair before tossing it aside. He turned the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life only to die within seconds. His second attempt was tried in vain as well.

He cursed and punched the steering wheel. That was exactly why he hated cheap cars. They always broke down when you needed them them. He got out and kicked the useless piece of metal. If the car belonged to him, he would have burnt it down right there but since it didn't, he had to cover it.

He looked around the ghost streets. There was no vehicle as far as he could see. A groan escaped him while the rain trickled down her clothes. Ever since childhood, he had always hated rain. When he was young, thunder scared him. Though it still did, but he refused to accept it.

After what felt like eternity, he saw a divine sight: two yellow headlights approaching. Immediately, he raised his hands for a lift. As the car slowed down, he ran towards it and tapped on the passenger side window. His hand instinctively tightened on the gun in his right jacket pocket. He had never hitchhiked in his entire life, he was naturally wary.

When the window went down, he couldn't help but groan as he saw the familiar face behind the wheel.

• • •

"The world's a small place!" The words left Mallory's mouth, when she saw Andrew. "So it's you!" She sniggered. Her terrible day became a little less terrible after her encounter with a soaked-to-the-bone Andrew.

"Can you drop me somewhere?" Andrew asked, ignoring her comment.

"That depends. If it's in a volcano, then hell yes!" She smirked.

He glared at her, then clarified. "I meant can you give me a lift?"

"Do you want me to?" She winked yet again.

"Look, it's freezing out here. Can you at least open th-"

She unlocked the door smugly. Somehow she just couldn't contain her pleasure. While she could see that Andrew was quite uncomfortable but nevertheless she found the situation incredibly funny.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed. It was weird; he was talking like a normal person. Well, almost.

"Don't get me wrong, I still hate you." She told him, "I am just not insensitive."

He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement while slipping inside the passenger side seat. He looked down at his wet clothes and then at the black seats. "I am not ruining them, am I?"

"Nope, waterproof seat covers," she replied. "So where am I supposed to drop you?"

He gave her an address.

"That's a few streets from my own." She beamed almost like a child. "But the thing is, I'm lost."

"Drive straight, take the third left, then first right. You'll see the supermarket. Can you find your way from there?"

"Sure, yeah," she nodded taking in the directions.

The ride afterwards was very silent. The rain hit the roof of the car producing a rhythmic music. She drove through the desolate road, tapping her fingers on the wheel, unable to contain a satisfied smirk.

"What are you so happy about?" Andrew inquired, noticing her small smile.

"Nothing." She muttered.

He frowned.

Freeing the smirk, she added, "It's just that giving a hot guy a ride was on my bucket list."

"You are calling me hot?" He raised an eyebrow.

"If I keep aside the evilness, anger issues, haughty nods, stoned heart and the fact that you are Satan reincarnated, then yes, my dear, you are smokin' hot!" She said laughing.

At that moment, Mallory, noticed something weird. On the face of the stoner, she saw the tiniest smile a human can muster. Maybe it was a trick of light. Yet the ghost of smile sat on his lips for a fraction a second and disappeared again.

After that, everything was back to silence.

"Can you close the windows?" Andrew queried. She knew he wanted to say that for a while now but refrained from doing so until then.

"Why?"

"Because it's raining and the water's making me wet," he muttered as if stating the obvious.

"Aren't you already wet?" She dismissed him rudely.

He sighed staring straight ahead.

"I am claustrophobic," Mallory said after some time, feeling bad for snapping at him.

"Okay," He nodded, "Could've just said that."

After a few minutes of silence, while she took a turn towards his street he said, "Why?"

"What why?"

"Why do you have Claustrophobia?" He clarified.

Her eyes widened but she immediately covered it up. "I don't know. Why are you so stupid?" She hissed sharply, trying to escape the topic.

But she did know. She wasn't born with the fear of closed spaces. It developed over time. Piece by piece. When she sat inside the closet for hours together, hoping someone --anyone-- to find her.

She remembered the red room, the little red room, where she was forced to spend days on end, where she could barely breathe. Images and screams of a little girl pleading flashed through her mind, forcing a shudder down her body.

"Please, let me go. Please..."

The voice echoed all around her.

Please.

Please.

Let me go.

I am sorry.

"WATCH OUT!" A voice yelled pulling her out of the trance. Although, she could still feel the remnants of the screams reverberating in her ears, but there was no time to pay attention to them. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight before her whilst she lost the control of the wheel.

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VOTE ? Go ahead, click the little star.

Hello everybody,

So, I made some changes in the book, the major one being, it's third person POV now. If you are wondering why I did it....it's just that, I would need other people's POV in the story at the later stage. I could have switched POVs...but that looks kinda unprofessional, so I converted the entire thing to third person.

Thoughts on this chapter? What do you think? Do you like Harry? What about the 'car ride'?

Ask any questions and I would be more than willing to answer them.

So go ahead, leave a comment!

Until next time ♡

-Ridhima☺