Shattered Relations | Aru Shah AU |

XXXV

ARU
"We're going," she said, curtly, her emotions barely at bay. 

"Shah," Aiden said, quietly, his eyes skimming across the tear tracks on her cheeks. 

"What happened in there?"

"I... I'll tell you later." She felt the weight of the gun in her bag, like an anchor, but the note felt even heavier. 

"Can we go to the car now?" 

"Okay," he said, softly. 

————

The rain began pouring with more force, and, while Aiden ran to the car, his hands raised above his head; Aru loitered, her gait unsteady, as she slowly made her way to the car, and felt the raindrops soak her clothes, made her skin cold. 

Lightning cracked again, making the heavens a blinding white, as she pulled the car door open, the weight of the note growing heavier, but not as heavy as her heart, which was warring with confusion and self-pity. 

She sat, as her numb fingers wrestled with the seatbelt, and, Aiden started his windshield wipers. Neither of them said anything, as Aiden started the car, and Aru touched her bag, her fingers brushing against the clip. 

They drove in silence, the rain making the windows foggy, as the radio warbled out old Bollywood music, a painful reminder of her. Aiden hit the Off button, which she appreciated. 

She pressed her cheek against the cool glass, her breath fogging it up, as she watched the streetlights flicker to life.

Hours later, they found themselves back in Atlanta, as the rain had subsided, leaving behind a drizzle, and a thin haze of mist that shrouded the streets and houses, making them seem pale and unreal in the darkness. 

They were just there, in silence, as Aiden's grip on the steering wheel turned white-knuckled. 

Slowly, Aru reached into her bag, and brought out the gun. 

Aiden cringed, and leaned away. "Why do you have that?" 

Aru weighed it in her hands. "My mom left it for me. Along with this," she fished out the pen-drive, and waved it in front of him. 

"And... this," she said, pulling out the note. 

He read it, his brow crinkling in confusion. 

"What is that supposed to—?"

"Mean? I wish I knew," she sighed. 

"Maybe... maybe Kara will know?" Aiden suggested, not looking at her. 

Something inside Aru shut down. Maybe it was her empathy, maybe it was her patience. 

"No. Absolutely not. I'm not going to speak to her." 

Aiden took a deep breath, before saying, "Does it... have something to do with whatever Uloopi said you today?" 

She raised her eyebrows, feeling slightly silly, as she put the gun back in her bag, and said, "...Yeah. I don't want to admit that she was right. All this time, I was hoping that she was wrong, that maybe my mother's death was an accident... but what Uloopi told me was basically a hellish confirmation of everything I was fearing."