Shattered Relations | Aru Shah AU |

XXIX

ARU
"Why would my mom go to a law firm in Texas to finalize her divorce? It doesn't make sense." Aru relieved her feelings by punching her pillow, before flopping back into her chair. 

Mini and Rudy were both on speaker-phone, and Rudy sighed, "It's not a law firm confined to Texas; Texas just has one of their branches. And, yes, dada-ji is the head of family law," 

He didn't sound too happy about it. 

Aru cracked one eye open, and said, "Wait... do you live with him?" 

"Unfortunately," 

"Can you... can you ask him about my mom's divorce? Like, if attorneys handling the case knew exactly why she was divorcing him?" 

"I would, but then he'd give me a long lecture about how 'I'm a disgrace to the family name' and how I should've 'become a lawyer'." 

He adopted a high-pitched, silly voice, like he had inhaled helium.

Aru raised her eyebrows. "I take it you don't like him too much?" 

"Oh, I don't like him, but believe me, the feeling's mutual." 

"C'mon, he's your grandfather," Aru wheedled, lacing her fingers together. "He can't be that bad, can he?" 

"Oh, he can," This time, Rudy wasn't the one who spoke, but Mini. 

"He's just a terrible person," Mini said, and there was a clear note of disdain in her voice.

Silence, until... "But, I did say I'd help you..." Mini trailed off.

"I'll help too," Rudy said, his voice shifting from begrudging to being unsure.

Hope flared through her. 

"You will?" 

"Yeah!" Both of them said, simultaneously. 

On the other end of the line, she heard a faint voice. 

"Whoop—we gotta go, Mini's dad's calling us down for dinner."

Aru took a deep breath. "Thank you both—so much. And good luck—" 

"Bye, Aru," Mini said, before the beep indicated that their call had ended. 

She leaned back into her chair, squeezing her eyes shut, before whispering to the silence, "Please stay safe, you two." 

She wished she could have said it to them. 

————

RUDY
"Do you think asking your grandfather will really work?" Mini asked, twisting a strand of her hair. 

The leaves in the tree above them rustled in a sudden wind, as one leaf fluttered into her hair. 

Rudy shrugged. "I don't know, honestly... but we gotta try, shouldn't we?" 

Mini sighed, before leaning back into her seat, her gaze roving across the chipped green metal painting on the bench, as if she was preparing herself to say something. 

Silence fell between the two of them, and Mini's phone pinged, with a text from her mother. 

"I need to go, a family member's coming over, and my mom wants me there," she sighed.

Mini scratched the back of her neck, before beginning with, "I'm sorry, I won't be able to help you,"  

"It's fine," he began, before his gaze shifted to her crutch, leaning against the side of the bench.