My Man

Chapter 12

Arthit's POV

"We should probably get going, A. The guys are gonna be worried"

Sarah said from beside me her eyes fixed on the water fountain before us. She was completely out of tears, the dried-up streaks on her cheeks attesting to that. She had a faraway look on her like she was lost in an endless swirl of grief unable to unwound herself from it. It was heart-wrenching to see such a lively spirit like Sarah so broken. In all the years I have known her, I had never seen her cry this much before in her life.

"Glad you guys haven't run away together as I thought. Jason would surely be worried" Justin started as he sat between us on the park bench. Sarah's eyes were still on the fountain, not reacting to Justin's comment like she was searching it for answers for all the questions in her life. I threw a dry stare his way.

"Too soon to joke about it?" Justin asked scrunching up his nose. I shook my head at his attempts to lighten the mood. He placed a bottle of water in Sarah's hands asking her to take a drink, noting that her throat must be dry as she had been crying for a while now. Her mindless stare now shifted to the water bottle in her hands from the fountain. Looked like it will be a while before she snaps out of whatever thought trance she had fallen into.

"Where's Jason?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"He is with Kyle. Do you want me to call him?" Justin asked slowly, his voice laced with concern.

"No," she said in a definite voice as a few more stray droplets of tears escaped her eyes. She wiped them furiously to stop any more of it. But her efforts were in vain as another stream of it started before she could control herself. Justin moved beside her to take her hands in his and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Sarah-" he started trying to come up with some sort of consolation. But his words were cut short by Sarah.

"I just want to go home," she said between tears and trying hard to make them stop.

Sensing that she was not in the mood for interrogation and not wanting to put any more pressure on the poor girl, Justin gave a curt nod to comply. "I will bring my car around. I can drop you guys off" he said and left us.

We managed to get Sarah into the car and Justin decided to stay silent for the entire ride without prodding either of us. Both Sarah and I were looking out the window occupied in our own thoughts. After dropping Sarah off in her apartment I wanted to stay with her at least to make sure she was okay even if I was not able to provide any solution to her problem.

"Just go home A. I am fine. I just want some peace and quiet, for now, to get my thoughts together" she said when she saw me trying to get out of the car. She even managed a small smile to reassure me. However, it didn't reach her eyes like it usually does. I didn't want to bring focus to that tiny detail and decided to give her some space. I can go into overprotective best friend mode tomorrow if she still mopes around like a zombie.

"Ok. Take care, Sarah. Call me if you need anything. I will be there in a minute" I promised and got into the car reluctantly. She gave me a curt nod and disappeared into the elevator. Once she got out of sight, my focus returned to the other person in the car. Though my mind was cluttered with the recent assault of a painful flashback, I also knew that Justin was leaving today. The fact that he had wanted to talk to me before leaving was a little unnerving and was prickling at the back of my mind.

"Didn't mean to pry. But did Sarah say what was wrong with her?" Justin asked genuinely concerned.

"It's not my place to say anything, Justin. Sarah will confide with us when she feels better" I said with a blank stare. Justin tried to read my mind by throwing quick glances my way, but I turned my focus to the passing cars outside the window.