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✿ Day 7

super early update because I love you.

✿ Day 7

Almost everyone in office was gathered outside Atul's cabin.

It was his last day at Silicon Heights.

Mrs. Hamington, the lunch lady had a small blue bag in her hand. She had knitted a forest green sweater for him. Mira had seen her knit diligently at break time. Yuu, who the cold HR guy, was actually crying in the corner. The receptionists looked sad as well.

Most of the team members were present. All of them wore grim expression. Mira, who stood far away from his cabin, watching them from the entrance door, carefully concealed by the potted plants, knew why.

Atul was a great boss. He wasn't harsh and if anything went wrong, he was the first to take the blame. He got the job done and didn't burden you with more work than you could handle. There were few bosses like him, who knew the weakness of the people around him and didn't exploit them.

That's the reason Mira loved him. That's why as everyone shared their heartfelt goodbyes, Mira couldn't move from her spot. She couldn't say goodbye. They were friends and their friendship wouldn't be over with this job, not if Mira could still speak to him.

For her, this was the end. She couldn't be friends with him, not when her heart skipped a beat every time she saw him, not when his deep brown eyes searched for her in the crowd, not when Eliana was by his side.

Every cell in her body was telling her to run, run towards Atul, to hold him in her arms and never let go, to hear him say that Eliana was mistake, she was the one who ruled his heart.

Mira had realized this few days ago, while she had been hating Eliana for lying to her. It wasn't Eliana's fault. Atul was the one who had approached her, Atul was the one who had been entranced by her beauty.

Just as the team members were shaking hands with him, Atul's eyes found her.

Air squeezed painfully out of Mira's lungs. The world no longer held air. Every ounce of oxygen had vanished. It was like Mira was a mountaineer, climbing Hillary step on Mt. Everest.

There were two colors in the world.

Black.

And White.

There was a third color.

Pain.

It was telling her to run.

And so she ran.

Away from this heartbreak, away from everyone who had broken her trust, away from Atul who had always been by her side.

'I wish was good enough for you' She wiped the tears with the back of her hand and plastered a fake smile on her face the instant a hand spun her around.

Atul and Mira stood outside the main entrance. The fountain was running in the distance. The skies were blue and bright. The office staff and visitors were watching them, their judgmental eyes burned a hole through their backs.

"You shouldn't have come after me." Mira whispered and freed her hand from his grasp before rumors burst about the office.

He watched her, his eyes vacant. He hadn't realized that he had chased her through the office. For that moment, all sense had evaded his mind. She was all that he cared about.

"Why did you run?" He was tall and Mira was happy that she was short because she didn't have the courage to meet his gaze. The sun glowed behind him, illuminating his sturdy frame, his strong shoulders on which Mira had often rested her head against. "You know, Mira, I can't live without you."

Just like that. He made her blood rush faster. It was dangerous. To have mere words make you feel this way.

How dare he? She narrowed her eyes. How dare he say things like that so easily, as though he were breathing? It has been four years and I still couldn't tell him how I feel.

"Then learn!" She snapped, angrily. "Your fiancé is inside. She's the one you're spending the rest of your life with."

"But you're my friend."

"No." She slammed her fist against his chest. He didn't budge. This was it. Her breaking point. The anger she had kept boiled down was now bubbling over. "I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND. DO YOU REALIZE THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU AS JUST MY FRIEND?"

She pushed harder. He didn't even wince. Her own hands were throbbing with red sores. Atul remained as silent as ever. If she had hurt him, he didn't show it. His eyes, the lustrous browns one, which held the night sky captive were calm.

"You're dead to me, Atul. You kept me in the dark for so long. I will never forgive for this. You used me to get close to Eliana. From the very first day, you dragged me to the restaurants so I would bring Eliana along. You were never interested in me. You always wanted to know about Eliana and what she liked, what she didn't, how her family was, about her past boyfriends. Where did I fit in this equation?"

She shook her head. More than him, she was angry at herself. She had let herself get used. For every extra-second with him, she had sacrificed her self-respect.

"That's not how friends are made." She finally whispered. Maybe someone like me isn't' worth the effort.

Eliana walked out the front entrance. She wore long maroon dress, her perfectly styled hair flowing in the gentle breeze.

She was perfect. She was worth the effort.

A confused expression on her face was directed towards Mira. "I heard you screaming."

Mira smiled, an over-saccharine smile. "We were just having a friendly chat. Right Atul?"

Atul turned his face to the other side. He didn't have the guts to meet Mira's gaze. "Yah. Just a friendly chat."

Eliana didn't miss the way Atul's hands shook, how a bead of sweat trickled carefully down his brow, how a frustrated scowl was deeply etched on his lips.

What's going? Eliana thought. She had never felt so distant from the two of them. It was like she was watching them from a glass screen. The one she wanted to break but knew she never could. Mira and Atul shared a bond only privy to them.

✿✿✿

Mira was an artist when she wanted to be. The day's distress had been carefully painted over by a cheery expression. She grinned widely as she drove Yuv to their destination. The winds were gentle and ruffled through Yuv's dark hair. They had kept their attires causal today, on Mira's insistence. Yuv wore a grey t-shirt and worn jeans. Mira had let her curls loose and wore nice jeans and a terminator's t-shirt.

Yuv gasped when they arrived at their destination. They stepped out the car. Yuv was half in daze. "The Independence Day Parade?"

The New York sky glowed crimson in the evening sun.

"Bingo."

"This is amazing. I've always wanted to come here." He looked like a little kid at a candy store. His eyes roamed around the brightly decorated roads. Floats with belly dancers and Bollywood's actors zoomed by. In a distance, the empire state building shone with the colors of the Indian flag.

Mira laughed in disbelief. "Seriously? As an Indian living in New York, you've never been to India's Independence Day Parade."

"Amma likes watching the one in India on TV."

"But still..." Mira shook her head. Suddenly the food stalls caught her attention. She pointed towards the sweet stalls. They were selling freshly fried, syrup dipped jalebis. "Let's get something to eat"

Jalebis were Mira's favorite desert. Yuv looked startled at Mira's sudden excitement.

When Mira felt like he was walking too slowly, she tugged his hand and pulled him through the crowd. In the line, Yuv watched her rock back and forth on the heels of her feet.

Her excitement was contagious. Yuv found himself smiling. She was lovely absolutely lovely. Her eyes, her smile, her voice... everything was so warm like a gentle summer wind caressing a newborn baby's head.

Mira paid for their food. She and Yuv took a seat in the back on the small plastic chairs and tables laid out throughout the grass. Yesterday, Yuv had planned on taking Mira to a ballroom dance. When he saw her, the pained expression on her face as she watched her friend Atul, he had changed his mind.

Yuv watched her eat. It was like she knew about his change of plans; hence, this date. She was intuitive and a careful observer. She munched away like she didn't have a care in the world. A thick drop of syrup trickled from her mouth and down her chin. She was a messy eater but it was cute.

Yuv reached over with a napkin and dapped it under her chin. Maybe he had been too direct. Her eyes widened, her cheeks were tainted with the brightest shade of red.

"Sorry." He dropped his hand and handed her the napkin.

She took it gratefully, blushing furiously. After quickly wiping the corner of her lips, she looked up. "Thanks."

Nearby, a woman with her four year old child was having trouble. She stood at the counter, fumbling with her purse. She wore a mortified expression. She muttering something in Hindi to the child but the child was adamant. He thrashed his fist in the air, pointing at the Jalebis.

In a second, Yuv was on his feet. He advanced towards the woman. Mira saw him pay for their food. He ruffled the child's hair, laughing before returning to their table. The mother looked way too grateful, almost star-struck.

"That was a nice thing to do." Mira smiled.

He shrugged his shoulders before meeting her gaze. "It reminded me of my childhood."

"How come?"

"My parents were immigrants. We came to America expecting a good life. Dad was severely injured in a war. Being a mere troop, his pension wasn't enough. My mother's uncle lived in New Jersey at the time. He invited us to America. He let us live in his house for few months.

"After a while, he got sick of us and threw us out. Amma and dad ended up working two jobs to pay for our expenses here. They regretted their decision but never let me know. Every single day was a challenge. Amma made many sacrifices to raise me. She would give me fruits, vegetables, and milk while dad and her survived on plain rice and bread. I - I just wish there was more I could do for them."

It was a natural reaction. Mira placed her hand on top of his. Their eyes met, light honey colored eyes held her night black ones. He entwined their fingers together.

"They are lucky to have a son like you. If we ever have kids, I want them to be just like you."

A moment later, the meaning of her words settled in. Yuv looked smug as ever. Mira couldn't have looked more embarrassed. She hadn't meant to say that. She had twisted her words in the wrong manner. What she really meant to say was that she wanted her kids to be like him.

A slow, tiger-like smirk crawled up his lips. "We should get started soon. Don't you think?"

"Jerk." She slapped his hand away but couldn't help the grin erupting. "You know what I meant."

"Of-course I did."

There was a lively twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Even though the situation was embarrassing as hell, Mira couldn't help but wish that this moment would freeze.

She liked seeing him happy.

✿✿✿

It was near 11:45 p.m. while Mira and Yuv roamed along the busy side-walk. The parade had ended long ago. There were many colorful floats, noise, laughter, babies crying, and dances. The city lights were glowing. It was slightly chilly. Trust New York to be cold in August. Some people wore light sweaters and jackets. In few months, it would be snowing.

Mira and Yuv walked hand in hand. Yuv was pleased at the arrangement and so was Mira. She couldn't explain this but she liked his company. Romantically or not, she liked him. He was a good person and she had no reason to dislike him.

Mira spotted a nice Chinese restaurant across the street. The windows were orange from the interior lights. "Do you like Chinese?"

Yuv stopped walking and looked in the direction of the restaurant. The streets were busy with cars and taxis. Many cars were parked parallel to the restaurants entrance. "I'm hungry and anything will do right now."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Looking both ways, they walked across the street. Mira's sneakers squeaked nosily on the freshly paved road. It was hard to keep up with Yuv. He had longer legs. Half the time, Mira just ended up being dragged along.

They were almost on the other side when the incident happened. A driver with no control over the car was whizzing towards Mira. Yuv was already on the sidewalk. He turned around when the car was mere inches away from colliding with Mira.

His hand was firm as he pulled her into his chest at the last second. He held both her shoulders. He was shaking terribly, not Mira. The car had crashed into a nearby lamppost. The crunch shook the ground. Glass scattered everywhere. Tiny shards of glass feel over them like an early snowstorm, sparkling in the sparse light.

"Kaori. Kaori. Are you okay? You're okay, right." Yuv's eyes were distant. Even though he was staring at her, he wasn't talking to her. "Kaori. You should be more carefully. How many times have I told you to watch where you're going?"

She stumbled backwards as she pulled away from his grasp

"Who is Kaori?"

.

.

.

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Note: SO who didn't sign up for this kind of drama?

*raises her hand slowly but then puts it back*

*laughs nervously* a terrible cliffy but it's 12:00 pm meaning, we have to wait for day 8 now.

Hopefully, I can get day 8 up soon as well. It's my personal favorite* chapter.

I love you all. Even if you hate me right now.

-Tallara

*my favorite does not mean it will be your favorite. I have a strange taste in favorite chapters. For example, my favorite chapter in the 12th kiss is when Louis almost dies (because everything falls into place, all the reasons and lies). I think you get the picture. ... and you're probably creeped out by me.


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