Blooming Flower ✔️

Chapter 14: Hangover

I didn't drink yet, at that point. I had been tempted at that point to have a sip of wine, or champagne, but not full on vodka shots. I didn't ever want to go that hard with my alcohol. But, there was something called a party hangover. A lot of us have experienced it.

After I had eaten until my stomach was about to explode, and danced until my legs could've fallen off, with all the adrenaline flowing through you, you feel exceedingly drained the next day that you just want to lay in bed, with a glass of water and the sheets over me, and you wait for the energy to finish replenishing itself.

But, there was also something called an emotional hangover. It's where there were so many emotions flooded through you at a certain point, including adrenaline, that it eventually drained out and left you feeling like your mental state had been run over by a dump truck.

Even after I had gotten a good night's sleep, the weight of Isha's words still weighed on my mind. I didn't want it to, but it just was so present. It was like a ghost that was haunting my mind in whatever way it could. I just couldn't let go of it no matter how hard I tried. I knew it probably wasn't true, but the way she said it was just so convincing.

She's always known that Manish has been a sore spot for me. She knew that Manish was someone that I've always been close to, and he's been someone who I've leaned on for emotional support. She used that against me in all the many different ways. She used that vulnerability to degrade me for years and years. She was smart that way. In other ways, she's as dumb as a box of rocks. It sickened me that like a hound dog, she sniffed out my weakness for Manish.

I felt like a shell for the day. I hadn't talked to Manish much since the reception last night. I'd been looking at the dress and jewelry that I was wearing at the reception itself and I just felt like it was all temporary. I felt so beautiful that night. The jewels that I wore, along with the flowing dress, made me feel like I was a queen in the making. Manish's smile and pampering made me feel like royalty.

However, when I went to take a breather, the tyrannical Isha came up and stepped on me to make me feel like I was nothing more than a servant. She overthrew me from my regal status and made herself the Evil Queen beside the good hearted king.

For the time that I was still a shell and trying to recompose myself for the time being, I was preparing for medical school. I knew how much of a shitshow that was going to be. I was lucky in a sense that I knew I wanted to study critical care medicine, which was something that I always had a passion for. Having dealt with too much stress that a soon to be 22 year old should've never deal with, I knew that being a critical care doctor was something that I'd fit right into.

Jen had also decided what she wanted to do. Everyone that had asked her had heard pretty much the same thing. "I'm learning how to put people to sleep for a living." Anesthesiology was perfect for her.

I was out checking the mail for the hundredth time in case I had gotten something involving medical school. Plus, bills, bills, and more bills were something that I couldn't miss. I unlocked the box, and then took out the mail so that I could check what is in it for me. "Bills, coupons, bullshit grad schools," I thought, as I kept on looking through the envelopes.

As I kept on looking through them, I could see the familiar demon walk up to me. She had a triumphant look on her face, like she had just gone to war with someone and crushed their army. She came up to me, with a huge smile, which I saw as an automatic red flag. If Isha was happy, then someone or a part of someone was harmed to get such happiness.

I locked the mailbox, and looked Isha straight in the eye so that I could deal with her. To be honest, I was always ready to deal with her, but today, I was drained. I felt like I had no energy to fight her or to refute her shitty remarks. Isha just gave me a look that could throw daggers at a dartboard, but there was still a devilish smile somewhere in there. "Looks like you finally took the hint, Ashwini. You finally got the hell away from my brother. Things are looking great! It looks like he can finally breathe now that you aren't causing him to curl up into a ball every night and cry himself to sleep. I knew that you'd finally be useful for something."

I rolled my eyes, as I resisted the urge to shove my key into her eye and watch her scream and squirm. Anger was boiling up inside of me, and I was ready to throw her somewhere where the devil could actually be prepared to rip her soul up. To her, seeing the steam shooting out of my ears and my angry facial expressions was like watching an Ayushmann Khurrana movie with a bowl of extra buttery popcorn next to her.

"You know, I'm surprised Manish doesn't already do that when he's dealing with you everyday. If I had you as a sister for one day, it wouldn't even be 2 minutes, and I'd be looking for a window to throw myself out of. Considering how you walk all over your brother, I'm surprised he hasn't disowned you. And I still wish that I could tell him how much of a bitch you are."

I was starting to control my anger a little bit more, which was good, because the thought of her not being worth my punches and frustration was poured all over my mind. Isha raised a slender eyebrow at me, while she just stared me down in a futile attempt to scare me. She gave me a sneaky smirk, and then said, "He wouldn't even believe you anyways. He wouldn't believe lying bitches like you. He believes his precious sister, because family comes first."

I bit down on my tongue a little bit to prevent myself from lunging at her and breaking her neck. I knew I shouldn't lose my temper, because that's what Isha probably curls up to with a warm cup of tea to gently sip throughout the show.

All I said through grit teeth was, "One day, Manish is going to know everything about your lies and deception. And I will wait for that day to come." I then walked away, fuming, in an attempt to cool myself down. I was hoping to find some shade that was sufficient to cool all the hot anger that was sizzling on me.

It was one of those instances in which I hated to admit one thing. She had won. That bitch of a girl had won. She had successfully degraded me enough to not have enough confidence to admit to Manish that I enjoyed his presence too much for him to leave.

She had utilized all the right tactics to break me down. She found my weaknesses, and acted as if my emotion and mental state was a sand castle that she could kick down. She had succeeded in completely destroying my self esteem and fucking up my young days. It was something that would last for ages to come.