All Strings Attached

Chapter Six

"Amma," I brush her hand off, unable to harbour the guilt as she coaxes it out of me, "I think I'm going to sleep with Nitya tonight. I will talk to you in the morning."

I get off my bed, and pick up my phone with its charger and leave the room as my mother stares. "Goodnight, mummy."

"Goodnight, kanna," she responds, her face drooping with desolation.

I almost run across the floor to Nitya's room, blinking the tears out of my eyes as I do. Are my parents going to talk to me after tomorrow? Ever?

I knock on Nitya's door, fiddling with my phone as I wait for her to open it. She opens the door, and for the first time ever my own emotions are more overwhelming to me than all the shades of purple in my sister's room. I notice she has a face mask applied to her round face.

"Are you okay?" Nitya asks, as I make myself comfortable under her sheets.

"I'm fine," I respond, meekly, covering up till my chin. "I just wanted to have a sleepover before I leave for Bangalore."

"You never step foot in my room," my sister remarks, "why the sudden change of mind?"

My room suddenly seems too small, it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I don't know," I shrug indifferently, keeping my eyes focused on the TV that's displaying National Geographic.

"I heard Dhushyanth Anna and family are coming over for breakfast tomorrow." Nitya glances at me as she seats herself on the bed, waiting for me to provide some explanation, or give her some information she may not be privy to.

"Is it a marriage alliance?" She asks me.

"I don't know," I answer honestly. Were my dad and Mahendra uncle going to lose a friendship older than me because of my stupidity and hormones?

"Akka, you're scaring me," she says, "you haven't said one thing since you came back from seeing Meera Akka. Are you okay?"

"I'm not very okay," I answer truthfully, "I'm a little scared."

"What's wrong?" She asks, again, reaching out to hold my hand. "You'll be fine, daddy will take care of it. You know he never gets mad at you, ever, you're his favourite."

"I fucked up," I confess, "I think the media has compromising pictures of Dhushyanth and I— it's what they're coming to speak to daddy about."

"Compromising pictures?" Nitya questions. "Were you caught having sex?"

I look up at her so quickly, I almost sprain my neck. "No, we were in the middle of an intense makeup session."

"How do you know they have those pictures?" She asks, not fazed in the least by the prospect of me making out with Dhushyanth.

"Because they keep saying we're going to get married," I tell her, "they wouldn't repeat it for an entire day if they didn't have some evidence."

"Are you sure?"

"Mahendra uncle called Vishwanath, he thinks Vishwanath has some leverage over us," I tell her. "I fucked up big, big time. Daddy's going to be really upset, mummy's going to be even more upset. I think they might disown me."

"I think they'll get you married to Dhushyanth," she says, "they'll cover it up before it even comes out."

Throughout the day, I kept thinking that would be our worst case scenario: an arranged marriage. Hours ago, when I spoke to Dhushyanth about it, I was sure my father would suggest that we get married, he would certainly not have me tarnish his reputation. Knowing my father, it seemed like it would be his only way out of this situation; quick and easy.