Meet Me in the Middle

Chapter 27

14 December 2018

If there's an upside to this whole 'over hectic college life and commute', it's that it's made me appreciate Sundays more. I don't wake up to my blaring alarm on Sundays. No, I get to wake up to birds chirping, sun being all warm, a clear sky, delicious breakfast and a positive attitude towards life.

Or at least, that's what I hoped. I check my phone while brushing my teeth and see a DM request from a new account named, 'I still have your pictures'. My hands stop of their own volition as I read the first text.

Hey Princess.

*******

"I have nobody to love." Monku whines as he lays his head on my left shoulder.

"I need to get my life in order." I sigh and lay my head on Sicko's left shoulder.

"I need to sign this damn form and send it back to my accountant." He mutters and bangs his head on the iron link that is holding up the porch swing on which we're piled on.

"You guys make an adorable picture, I wish there was better lighting so I could take a snap." Nandu smiles from where she's seated on the parapet of Monku's house.

Sicko tries to be gruff and fails miserably as he straightens up and fixes her with a glare, "I'm not adorable, I'm masculine and tough."

I yawn loudly and Monku grimaces at me as my phone vibrates again.

I open the text chain and look at the most recent text.

From Hardik:

I just had an accident. Going to hospital. It HURTS!

I straighten up and immediately dial a number as Nandu keeps frowning at me.

"Hello?" Samar answers in a husky voice.

"Karma's a bitch!"

"I know that..? Did you call to remind me about this?"

"Hardik just had an accident."

"Oh, I'm aware. He has a black activa, right?"

"Yeah..?" WHAT DID YOU DO, CHU CHU!?

"That's tragic, really."

"DID YOU DO SOMETHING? DID YOU!?"

"All I'll say is, Karma's a bitch, but sometimes it's late. So I just took care of it."

Ayesha, you know Sarth fell down on the basketball court?

"YOU DUMB BITCH!?"

"Baby, spend this time with your friends. Sicko won't be back in Ahmedabad for a couple of months. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Uh... yeah..." I cut the call as everyone keeps staring at me.

Instead of relaying a very long conversation describing the Instagram ID, the following messages which called me all sorts of things, including words like 'gold digger' because of my relationship with Samar and Avi, sending those screenshots to Samar just to vent, and then THIS, I simply pass my phone from Sicko to Monku to Nandu.

After like, five minutes of absolute silence, Sicko speaks up with a barely concealed snort, "Isn't it ironic of him to call you the gold digger? What was that amount you spent during the shopping for MUN alone?"

"5450" Monku yells and Nandu barely stifles her laugh.

Sicko has proceeded from reading the texts to looking at the pictures from Sindhrot on my phone, because of course he has. He opens up the picture of Samar and I and his eyes bulge as he points at it, "What the hell is this?"