Prema (Pranushka)

Chapter 8

"And then what about you and Anushka? You didn't tell me much about her."

I pause at his words, sighing as I think for a second before I know what to say. 

Which is true I didn't because, I don't really know why. I almost had this instinct to hide her and protect her, in a way that if I'm not careful she'll be taken by the world from me. 

I know I'm being silly, this is my dad I'm talking about, not some mafia leader. 

She's different though, and I know as cliché and cheesy as it is, just the few times we've met, I've felt myself looking at her longer than a few seconds, I've felt myself waiting for her to speak. The accidental conversation we had the other morning in the car was one that I was hoping would never end.

"I mean, we don't know each other too well, like I said our little group is just now getting close but from what I know of her-" I am interrupted by a knock on the door and it's Mahesh who comes in with the phone charger he borrowed from me. I just not at him as he leaves the room and I break the silence by continuing.

"She's special Nanna. I know it's too early to say, but it has to mean something, meeting her at the pooja and wedding preparations and then now being friends with her, it feels just too fake you know." I keep going on a little bit, confusing myself with my own thoughts and probably confusing Nanna as well. 

To some people, it may seem weird that I'm sharing so much with my dad, like I would with a friend not a parent, but he really is my best friend. Him and Amma have always been great parents but even greater friends and the close bond we have is something I'll be grateful for forever. After Kajal passed away, our family was so close to breaking and falling apart, and many people said that this would cause a separation between us due to our mourning, but it really brought us even closer. We all learned to lean on each other even more and get through the sadness together because that's the only way we would be able to make it through.

"So you like her?" I stop at his sentence, knowing my first instinct is to say that I don't and just ignore it and move on like I do in many cases of situations like this with girls, but I don't want to. But the funny thing is, despite being a part of the same body, the mind and heart can be very opposite sometimes and that's why it's often so hard to make decisions and decipher emotions because they conflict with each other so much and leave you in a state of confusion and unfortunately you often choose your brain. You choose the option that you are more used to and that you think is the most logical just because it's the safe option. And I hate to say it, but I did the same thing again, I went with what I always do and chose the easier option.

"I don't know." 

Ram

"You can always stay over you know, since you're here anyway," I tell her with a smirk as I kiss her cheek and knock on the door to my apartment so we can both go inside.

"Nice try," She replies, rolling her eyes as she grasps my hand in hers softly and leans back against the wall beside the door.

"Welcome in lovebirds," Mahesh says as he opens the door for us and bows, a boyish smile resting on his face.

"Hi Mahesh," Genelia says with a laugh as she lets go of my hand to take her sandals off. I take her into the kitchen and give her a glass of water which she happily takes before giving me a smile.

"Oh yeah here, leftovers from our dinner," She says, handing Mahesh the white box which she was holding in her hands. Nithin springs up off the couch at the sound of food and joins us in the kitchen with his headphones around his neck and his phone in his hands.