Circle of Trust

Chapter 13

Toilet seats weren’t meant for squatting. Bathrooms weren’t designed to function as hideouts. They screamed - do your business and get out.

Naina had no business locking herself in Tej’s purple bathroom to escape a man from the past – a man who had stood by her through one of the darkest periods of her life.

She massaged her temples and prayed he would leave. The dark toned hues were giving her a massive headache.

She snorted. She knew exactly why her head throbbed. It had nothing to do with the colors. Her impulsiveness had wrecked a relationship, and she would carry that guilt to her grave. She couldn’t look at one and couldn’t talk to another about it.

A soft knock on the door sounded like someone yelling ‘your time’s up’.

Naina opened the door a crack and found Tej’s bounteous curls bob around. Tej stopped pacing and peeked at her through the small opening.

“How long do you plan to stay in there?” she huffed.

“Sshh! Lower your voice. Is he gone?” Naina asked, hopefully.

Tej shook her head. “He is out on the balcony, staring into the universe.” She stepped closer. “For a moment, I thought he might jump.”

“Oh!”

“He’s not spoken a word.” Tej’s brows knit together. “That’s funny because I can swear he spoke a lot yesterday night. Or was it me?”

Naina began to panic. She shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be here. He wasn’t supposed to be in the same city as her. Eight years, and she still remembered those words of promise extracted from them both.

Reclaiming the toilet seat, she pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees.

“Make him go away, Tej,” she pleaded, her eyes tearing up.

Tej was beside her in an instant. “Doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere without seeing you, babes. He has had like a gallon of black coffee since you locked yourself in here.”

“He hates coffee,” the words slipped out without her knowledge, and both their eyes widened in surprise.

“Umm…it doesn’t look it. He has practically been burning his throat drinking them up.” Tej narrowed her eyes at Naina. “What’s your deal with this guy? Is he bad? Stark raving mad? If he is, just tell me. I can kick his butt off the balcony.”

Naina laughed, despite herself. “No Tej. You think I’d hide in here if he was a bad guy?”

“Right. You would go out there and kick his butt.”

“He is one of the good guys, Tej. In my world, men like him and Varun are rare. Oh God! What did I do?” Naina’s voice broke just as the dam she had kept locked inside, burst open without warning.

The flood of tears running down her cheeks was uncontrollable. Her heart wrenching sobs filled the closed space while Tej tried her best to comfort her friend.

“Bhatia, if you don’t mind can you give us a minute?” Shiv’s deep voice made the women gasp and spring apart, tears drying up faster than a puddle in a hot desert. 

Tej was up in his face in a blink while Naina turned her face away and stood facing the wall.

“Get out! This is a private moment between friends.” Tej felt his massive chest rumble, and she snatched her hands away. She looked momentarily shocked to find her using force on him.

Shiv didn’t utter a word as he wound his arms around Tej’s waist, picked her up, and deposited her outside the bathroom before clicking the door shut.