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Chapter Twenty-Six ➳ Stronger Together

Shaurya

I rake my fingers through my hair, intently studying my stressed expression in the bathroom mirror. Tonight has come. And tonight means that I will be reunited with my father, and Anika will meet him too.

Nervousness explodes in my chest as I gnaw at my lip. I want my father to be fond of Anika, my girlfriend, the girl that I honestly cannot stop thinking about. And part of me still stands by my request to leave this place and go to Seattle, with or without Anika... but the words she told me stick to my mind like glue. No. I cannot be a coward, I need to stay here and fight my problems on my own, not run away from them.

I tug the collar of my light-blue dress shirt as my dark hair is neatly combed. On the bottom, I wear black dress pants that are perfectly fitted with squeaky clean black shoes on the bottom. I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

I exit the bathroom and see Nathan, who talks on the phone with somebody. "Yes, babe. I'll let you know what I think about it. Uh huh. Okay. Okay, bye. I love you too." He disconnects the call and he looks up at me with a smile growing on his face. "Whoa, look at you buddy. You look like a whole movie star."

I snort. "You mean this shit? I just pulled it out of nowhere."

"Well, it looks pretty spectacular to me," he compliments me. I sigh as I start to pace around the room. "Dude, I'm just so nervous. Y-you know how my dad is like; he's super judgmental and if he even sees anything wrong with me or Anika, then I'm screwed. And there's nothing even wrong with her, so that's just going to make things even worse. Ugh, I'm literally about to have a panic attack. Why am I so scared of him? Why do I feel this way? Why--"

"Whoa, whoa. Dude, relax," he ushers me as I sit down on the couch, pressing my lips together in angst. "It's going to be alright, I promise. Don't think so negatively; I'm pretty sure your father is going to love Anika."

"Are you sure?" I ponder.

"Hell yeah!" he jeers. "Trust me, dude. This is your chance to redeem your reputation with your father while he also approves of your relationship with your girlfriend. Alright?"

Nathan's words seep into my mind as a genuine smile creeps upon my lips. "Thanks, bro... for everything. And I seriously mean that; you've been the most amazing friend I could ever have."

"Ah, stop it, you're going to make me cry," he pretends to sniffle as I smack his arm playfully. He chuckles and pulls me in for a bro hug. "Now go and confront your dad with your beautiful girlfriend!" He winces. "Don't tell Emma I said that last part, though."

I laugh. "I won't."

And with that, I exit out of the apartment as cool air hits my face. It gets really cold around this time of night, and I shiver to myself as I quickly run to my Mercedes. The car beeps thrice as I step inside and relish in the immediate heat that hits my face. Once I adjust to the sudden temperature, I reverse the car out of the parking lot and drive out, feeling my heart thudding against my chest. 

After about a few minutes later, I park in front of Anika's small and comfy home, the same place where I saw her being carried away into the ambulance when she attempted to commit suicide. A frown deepens upon as flashbacks form in my head, remembering how extremely terrible the entire event was. I was so scared of losing her because she was the only person that understood me, the only person that felt the things I felt: not belonging here.

That's why I was so quick to ask her run away with me. I know I scared her, and I know she had every right to say no, but I know some part of her wants to run away too.

But now, I won't ever feel content running away without confronting my father about my career intentions and how I want to be an artist instead of following in his footsteps. So, that's why I need to step up and fight for what I want: the freedom to make my own decisions.