The Viral Chase

Chapter 24: Reminiscence

Chapter 24

Reminiscence.

"Alina, have you been crying?" Kevin asks me with a concerned look. I nod, unable to talk now. "What for?" But I shake my head, not ready to share my private thoughts. Kevin has slipped of the couch now and has straightened himself in a chair besides me. "It was me." Harry settles on the now empty couch, across us. "You should keep your anger in control, mate." Kevin suggests Harry and they both talk with their eyes, leaving me out of their silent conversation. He appears to be contemplating before speaking again but the next words he spoke, took me by surprise. "You might as well call me Harry now." Kevin did a double take and then a ghost of smile lingered on his lips. "So, its the story time, isn't it?" He can never miss a chance to joke.

"I was just another teenager. High school, friends, fun, parties and that one special girl." He smiles to himself and his dimple indents his left cheek making him appear much younger, much brighter and much more handsome. He is handsome. And why did I see that just now? No idea. "The cliche story of a guy falling for a girl." Kevin mumbles with a lopsided smile. "A girl who was his best friend." Harry completes. "It was the same old story. She was my best friend since middle school and then, high school came. She had suddenly transformed into a beauty. That or I never noticed her before." He says, shaking his head and messing up his curls. "I was in love with her, not for her looks but for the way she was, simple, sweet... Okay. She saw me as her best friend though and I never expressed my feelings in words. I was in denial until high school came, though." He sighs.

"It was a rainy day and I had skipped school due to a bad hangover from some party. She was never the one to attend those and I was always the one to attend them. I was her ride, she might have to walk home, I thought and it was really dark to be called an afternoon. So, I decided to pick her up and drop her home. I was driving in the stormy weather, was really hard to make out any figure in front of me. It was misty and the rain was lashing down. I stopped my car, seeing her silhouette running past my car. I reversed the car and honked loudly for her to recognize me. The moment she glanced to her side, she jumped up in the car, soaking wet and still, she was beautiful. It made me smile, she was enough to make me smile." His voice suddenly sounding dreamy. He leans forward with his elbows on his knees.

"She was heaving and crying. It was not hard to distinguish the tears from the raindrops on her face. I didn't understand what made her cry but my smile faded away. She was shivering way too much and before I can ask anything, she begged me to get her home, safely. The last word triggered something in me. She wanted to be safe. Something was definitely wrong and I had to know about it but that can wait. So after reaching her home, when she was finally in a condition to speak, she told me everything." He took a sharp intake of breath before continuing.

"She was walking home and she took a shortcut to avoid any delay in this stormy weather. In a far corner, she saw a rowdy gang, killing someone. A muffled scream broke through her throat. And that's why she had been running, trying to escape them." He hunched down like he didn't want to say anymore but looked back at us anyways. "Seems like she was pretty shaken up." Kevin mutters slowly, just for me to hear. "It took her a lot of convincing and coaxing from me to get her out of the house. I was the only one she revealed this to, her parents were rarely home and mine, I didn't dare tell them about this. I was out of mind for not telling anyone, thinking I can handle it all by myself. And informing the police was out of question, she was not ready to file a complaint, too scared of the murderers." He shuts his eyes and I can only imagine the condition of the poor girl. "Days went by and she had nightmares every night. But she didn't dare say a word about it to anyone." He looks me in the eye as he reveals this. Is it why he is always concerned about my nightmares? "One quiet evening, we both were walking home and the gang surrounded us, on a lonely street. Somehow, I tried my best to save her and to take her home considering there were five of them and one single me, against them but I was no match for them." Harry's eyes glistened with the tears that he refused to show.