I narrowed my eyes as Thirumala took Senthil's vacant seat. I stood and moved a few seats away from him. Senthil was still a no-show. I neither wanted to leave nor sit alone with Thirumala. Even though Thirumala didn't attempt anything after the nose break, he did scare me a little.
"You and Senthil, Ayee!"
I ignored him and pretended to scroll through my phone.
"I know you heard me."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing, I just wish you well. Didn't want you to be fooled by that two-timer."
"Watch who you call the two-timer! Wasn't the nose-breaking enough?"
"Ya I tried to molest you and you broke my nose in return. We are even."
"You are sick if you think we are even. You should never have done it in the first place."
"Ya, I was a jerk. I apologize. But I still think you shouldn't let Senthil fool you."
"Who I am with, is none of your business."
"I care about you, even if you find it hard to believe."
I huffed and left. Thirumalai stood and followed me, Jerk! I was seething when I saw Senthil walking towards me.
"Where have you been?" I demanded Senthil. I held his hand and departed.
Before Senthil could respond Thirumalai scoffed, "You one lucky bastard. How girls fall for your victim act is beyond me."
Senthil clenched his fist. I whispered urgently "Senthil, let's leave, he is not worth our time."
Thirumalai gave a derisive laugh, "You think I am the villain. I am not a sneaky bastard like him. He is playing you, Ananya. Don't let him fool you. He is already -"
In the blink of an eye, Senthil slammed onto Thirumalai, pinning him against the wall by the neck. Thirumalai responded in the same fashion, kicking Senthil hard, making him stumble. They exchanged blows.
"Scared that I will spill your little secret?" taunted Thirumalai between the punches.
"Stop," I screamed repeatedly, but was ignored.
"Stay away from her," Senthil growled.
"Which one? I like both"
Senthil's face contorted with anger. He pushed Thirumalai down and got on top of him, beginning to punch him repeatedly.
"Senthil, stop!" Senthil pulled back his hand to hit Thirumalai again but I got hit instead as I bent down to pull Senthil away. I fell, grunting with pain.
"Ananya!" the boys shouted in unison and rushed to me.
I couldn't open my eyes in pain. The punch had hit under the jaw and I saw stars due to the severe impact. I laid still, unable to move.
"Don't touch her," Senthil shouted. I felt a hand trying to help me sit.
"I said don't," Senthil thundered. I felt the hands yanked away from me. I heard scuffles again.
"Donnn-" was all I could utter. It was several minutes before I managed to sit down. Luckily, Mohan sir turned up and broke the fight. He helped me up.
"I don't know why you both were fighting and I don't want to hear it either. Now both of you, 20 laps around the ground."
He brought a cold drink to keep it over my jaw instead of a cold pack. I called Sai to pick me. Senthil and Thirumalai were still lapping the ground when Sai arrived.
Sai was outraged to see the bruise.
"Who did this?" he demanded. Before I could answer Sai pulled Thirumalai by his scruff and growled, "You will pay for hurting her."
"You think I hurt her!" he huffed.
"Sai, please let's leave, I have seen enough fights today."
Sai let go of Thirumalai and pulled me along. He opened the Range Rover's door for me and helped me in.
"Let me look at it," Sai said and pulled away the cold bottle I was holding.
He winced as he inspected my jaw.
"Shouldn't a doctor not show any reaction while inspecting his patient? You are going to scare off your patients!"
Sai didn't respond, his jaw was set in an angry line.
"Hey," I touched Sai's shoulders gently. He let out a heavy breath and started the car. We first stopped in a medical shop. He bought me Ibuprofen.
"I haven't had lunch yet."
"It's 4 in the evening. Did that idiot just starve you?"
He kept on berating Senthil. I kept my mouth shut knowing that saying anything would only provoke Sai. He bought me a burger and fries in a drive-through. I ate in silence and swallowed the tablet.
"What do you plan to tell dad?"
"Nothing," I replied
"He is not your paati to swallow your lies. And your jaw is purple."
"Take me to 'Health and Glow'."
"Never ask a woman a question and expect a straight answer. Why in the hell would you need cosmetics now!" Sai mumbled angrily as he punched the steering wheel in frustration.
"Men wouldn't understand with their brains smaller than a pea," I replied, matching his anger.
I don't understand a man's need to punch and maim when one could talk rationally and fix things.
I bought concealer, foundation, blush, and lipstick. I was never a fan of wearing makeup. I usually prefer compact powder and lip gloss, if I am in good spirits I would add eyeliner and eyeshadow.
I started applying concealer on my jaw, luckily there was no swelling. By the time I finished, the purple bruise was well concealed. I am sure Shivani and Lakshmi aunty would notice my makeup, but I doubt maamaa or any man would notice anything different.
Sai watched me with interest. "I shudder to think what women could hide under makeup."
I just rolled my eyes.
"When did you learn all these? Were you hurt before?" he asked with concern.
"No."
"Tell me the truth. Has Senthil hit you before? Or was it Alec?"
"No, nothing like that."
"Then?"
I didn't want to say anything but Sai kept demanding. Finally, I said exasperatedly, "Sex with Alec was always spirited, we usually left hickeys and had to use concealer." That shut Sai down effectively.