Norah & Daniel

Chapter-11

Dedicated to akashakhanxox =)

You're a lovely person and this is my way of thanking you for your just as lovely comments on the story. :)

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Guilt:  n. [gilt] 1. The fact of having committed an offence.

                         2. A feeling of having done something wrong.

I closed my phone dictionary. Yeah, no, that word didn't explain the intensity of the feeling that had been washing me all over for the last two days. Guilt was what I felt when I realized after the accident that I should've told Daniel's parents about what happened at the bridge. Guilt was what I felt about telling Daniel at the party that I didn't care about him. Those were the times I felt guilt. But what I felt right now was way more than that.

I was directly responsible of putting someone's life in jeopardy. However, this wasn't the first time that I had done that. The only difference was that Daniel was still alive and my sister wasn't.

Why was life doing this to me?

I laid my hands on the kitchen counter and rested my head on it.

"What's wrong princess? You seem awfully quiet today," my dad asked while sautéing the contents of the pan over the stove.

He had arrived early in the morning from his office trip in New York. He had been away from home for more than 2 weeks.

"Nah, it's nothing," I replied and then snickered at the ridiculous looking apron, with floral prints, that dad was wearing.

"You sure? You know you can tell me everything, Norah." Dad gave me a look coated with concern. I was familiar with that look. Very familiar.

I sighed. "Everything is fine. Believe me."

"Have you umm...have you," he searched for proper words that would soften the effect of what he wanted to say.

"Have I been popping prescription pills again?" I offered him some help bluntly. "Relax, I haven't been doing that. I'm past that thing now. So you can stop thinking of sending me back to the shrink, 'cause I know that's exactly what you're doing."

I hung my head low, studying intently the floor tiles as if they had suddenly turned into a Pablo Picasso painting. I tried to stop myself to feel anything.

 I heard my dad take a deep breath, probably out of relief.

"So how is everything going? How is Sebastian?" Dad asked looking out of the kitchen door, ignoring our earlier discussion.

I was still mad at Sebastian for his joke about Daniel and hadn't talked to him since. He had tried coming up to me a few times to apologize but I didn't to listen to him. Also Liam refused to meet me in the eye whenever I tried talking to him. So for the past two days I had spent all my time in school alone and away from everyone else.

"Sebastian and I are in sort of a fight," I replied with a bored expression.

"In that case, you better prepare yourself for a confrontation cause he's standing outside, talking to himself." Dad informed me still looking out.

"Great," I mumbled to myself and then got down from the bar stool.

I opened the main door and walked down my porch to find Sebastian pacing in my driveway and talking to himself as if practising what he wanted to say.

"I don't talk to you for 2 days and you go complete cray-cray?" I asked jokingly, walking towards him.

"Well I am bound to. You know I can't function without my best friend," he said with pleading eyes. "I am really sorry, Noh. I acted like an ass. Please forgive me."