The holidays went by in a blur. Like really really blurry. A blur of laughing till you cry, a blur of reuniting with old friends, a blur of spending quality time with family and.....
A blur of writing love letters to your lover.
Well, not a 'lover' technically. But yeah, why not??
Well Amarra wasn't sure that Derek would write back but she was thrilled to see the smallish envelope in Daniel's hand that read "From Derek Hale".
She had squealed in excitement. Jumped up and down like a toddler. Held the letter in her hands and twirled like a ballerina.
Gosh !!!!
Amarra's zeal had no bounds. Poor Daniel had to shake her and calm her down. Then she had spent hours reading and re-reading the letter. All she wanted to do in those hours was hug Derek. And never let him go.
After the first letter arrived, Amarra was more than gleeful to write more letters for her dearest. She was even writing one while waiting for Valerie outside the airport.
"What's that paper??" Valerie had asked.
"Uhh nothing.... Just a letter for... Uhh... Derek." Amarra had said sheepishly.
"Oh my god!!! A love letter haan. What century are you living in?? Can't just a text be useful??" Valerie had laughed.
"Oh come on. Love letters are intimate and...." Amarra was blushing like a strawberry that she ran out of words.
"And romantic." Valerie completed the sentence and chuckled like a teenage school girl.
"Haha.... Just so you know he wrote me a letter too. And I'm waiting for more." Amarra said sheepishly.
"What?? Derek Hale wrote a love letter?? Is the world coming to a catastrophic end?? Should I be worried??" Valerie said in funny astonishment.
"Okayy enough now. And he didn't write a 'love' letter. It was a 'friend' letter." Amarra said.
"A friend letter??" Valerie joked to which Amarra nodded in agreement.
"Okayy. Whatever that means. Shall we go now or you're planning to write fifty more letters to Derek dear??" Valerie chuckled and Amarra laughed.
As Amarra opened her closet sifting through the short party dresses and a handful of casual dresses, she had a warm smile etched on her face. She has made so many wonderful memories with her pals over the course of holidays.
She remembered introducing Valerie to Daniel that morning and how Valerie had mouthed, "He's so hot" and Amarra had elbowed her because Aairah was standing only a few feet away talking on her phone. How they chatted and laughed like two hyenas until the wee hours of the morning. One night Daniel had to come to their bedroom at 3 a.m. and ask them to keep the volume down. They nodded like two 14 year old girls who had discovered their mutual crush on Hugh Grant and his pretty face with the sexy accent. Gosh they were having a blast.
Daniel was relieved to see his sister so happy. It has been years since he saw Amarra act so carefree and cheerful. She has this radiant glow on her face. He was grateful for Valerie and how she undid the knots in Amarra's heart. He was thankful to Liam for his great friendship, even though Liam wasn't with them they skyped every night telling each other about their day. That's how Daniel came to know about Liam.
Infact, Daniel was also thankful to Derek for making his sister happy. But he hoped Derek would do more. After Ian, Amarra was a mess and Daniel didn't want her to go through that heartbreak again.
Today is 19th January and Amarra is leaving for college tomorrow morning. Her flight takes off at 8:30 a.m. As she was folding the clothes and placing them in the suitcase, Amarra felt a pang of homesickness. She was already missing all the joy. But she was also excited and longing to see Derek and to hear what he had to say. They were supposed to meet in the lake park later tomorrow.
She was having mixed emotions regarding what Derek had to talk about. 'Does he want to end this friendship??' she thought sadly. 'Will he say he missed me??' she thought gleefully. 'What does he want to talk about?? He should have given a hint. I am going to die of curiosity.' she complained in her head and groaned.
She un-hangered a sheer white shrug and smiled as in remembering the fond memory she had with it. Amarra wore the shrug on New Years Eve to a party in the Salvatore House. She had already told Valerie about her ex boyfriend Ian and why they broke up and her best friend Paul and Ian are brothers. Valerie had listened intently and said, "Ian's an ass." Amarra had told her strictly to not say anything weird because all that was buried in the past now. And she loves Derek. So Ian doesn't matter.
The party was lit just as expected a Salvatore party would be. Dark, neon lights, disco balls hanging around, photo booth and a scrap book to stick pictures, red cups filled with beer in every hand, sweat, excitement, dance floor and fries. Fries were very important for their group. No party went without fries.
"Hola guys. This is Valerie. Valerie, these are my girls, Candice and Claire, and they are Paul, Joseph and Ian." Amarra had to shout the music was so loud.
Pleasantries were exchanged and everyone had a beer. Paul had slid next to Valerie and started small talk, Amarra was eyeing Paul curiously and mouthed 'Don't even think about it' and Paul had winked. He had spent the entire party by Valerie's side. God!! That was a crazy night with crazy people making crazy memories.
Amarra was done packing by 11 p.m. and she was feeling too tired to do anything at all. She had already met her friends in the evening and bid goodbye. Claire and Paul were quite sentimental of her leaving. The three have been close since they were kids. They promised to see each other soon and hugged it out.
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Right before getting in bed Amarra felt thirsty so she went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She saw the kitchen light was on and also heard clattering of utensils. She suspected Daniel must be munching on the leftover strawberry icecream but to her surprise, it was Aairah, standing in front of an open fridge with an empty bowl, debating which ice cream to binge.
"Hey" Aairah was startled.
"Hey" Amarra stood unsure of what to say.
"Unable to sleep??" Aairah asked
"I was going to, just need water. What about you??" Amarra said nervously. She didn't think Aairah would ever binge on ice cream at midnight. She has always been a very practical person one who believed in taking strictly four meals a day and maintaining a healthy sleep wake cycle . Well, Aairah is obsessed with her slim and sexy figure. She would do anything to keep it.
"I was uh..." she trailed off. "I was hungry and this is the only tempting thing in the fridge." Aairah gave out a nervous laugh. She knew what Amarra was thinking. She knew that it was unlike her to awake at this hour munching on ice cream.
"Always is." Amarra chuckled. "I'll leave you to it then."
Amarra filled a glass of water from the water purifier and was leaving when Aairah stopped her.
"Amarra can we talk for a bit??"
Amarra turned to face her and felt that she should stay.
"Yeah sure."
They sat in the living room, Aairah holding a large bowl of chocolate brownie fudge ice cream and Amarra was holding a glass of water, sipping occasionally from it.
"Look I want to apologize for changing the interior of most of the house. I just thought it would be good for you both. I had asked Daniel and he agreed, which I suspect he did to make me happy. And after I was done with the interior that the realisation struck me that I should've asked you as well. It's your house too."
There was sincerity and shame in Aairah's voice that made Amarra soften a bit. She was not happy about the interior but she didn't think Aairah would ever apologize for it. It was a relief for Amarra to know that she still has a house to come back to along with a sister like Aairah, who is not a selfish person after all.
"Like you said, it's your house too. You changed the interior because you mean this house as yours. Yeah I was a little bummed about it but not anymore. I am just glad Daniel has you." Amarra placed her hand on Aairah's and smiled.
"Just so you know, I'm here for you too. And I'm looking forward to your next vacation."
They talked and laughed for a while when Amarra noticed the time and they went to their bedrooms.
Amarra checked her phone for any notification only to see a single text message from Valerie. Nothing from Derek. 'Does he remember I am coming tomorrow??' she wondered while reading Valerie's message.
Babe hostel is boring without u. Can't wait for tomorrow. Liam's landing at 4 a.m. What an idiot!! He should've taken the 7 a.m. flight It would've been easy to pick you both. Anyway he'll find a ride. Sleep tight babe. Our asses will be handed to us this sem. - V
Amarra typed a quick reply while laughing hard. 'Valerie is such a joker' she thought and ended up falling on the bed.
My ass is ready for the sem. Sleep tight without *urges* See u tomorrow. - A
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It has been twenty minutes since Amarra's arrival but Valerie was nowhere to be seen. Her calls went straight to the voicemail singing her sexy cheerful taped voice, 'Hey It's Val. You know what to do'. She wasn't replying to any messages nor was she calling back. Amarra had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
'Something is wrong' she thought feeling sick, like she would faint anytime.
This was so unlike Valerie, the woman who was never off her phone, who never even switched off the internet, or ignored her text messages. Amarra took deep breaths to calm herself down. She decided to proceed step by step. First of all, she needed to get to the campus and to the hostel and drop her bags in the dorm. Then she will start looking for Valerie.
And if she finds her naked with douchey Alex, she is going to kill them both and bury them in the lake park.
Amarra hailed a cab and got in, opening the windowpane. Fresh air fanned her face and she got rid of anxiety. It was a sunny morning with zero clouds in the sky. She felt relaxed for a while. Little did she know this was the beginning of her anxiety and the pain that came with it.
Her phone rang startling her from the comfortable position she was in. It was Derek.
She picked up immediately and beamed into the speaker, "Hey."
Derek sighed hearing her cheerful happy voice. He hated to be the one giving her the news that would not only break her heart but shatter it into pieces so little that he was afraid she would ever come back.
"Hey. Where are you?? I take it your flight has landed." His voice was straight to the point and guarded.
"Yes I'm on my way. Vallie ditched me for God knows what. So." she said slowly suspecting the silence that hung in the air.
"Okay I...I have to....Uh....." Derek couldn't speak any further.
And Amarra knew something was definitely wrong. Very wrong.
"Derek?? What is it?? Tell me." she asked with shivering voice. Her breaths were louder and her hands and legs were shaking.
"Listen once you're in the campus, come straight to the Trauma Centre. Okay??" he told her in shaky voice. He knew has to keep it together for her. He cannot falter seeing her all broken. "Amarra are you listening to me??" Derek raised his voice a bit.
There was no response from her side. After what felt like a hundred years, she spoke. But she sounded distant, her voice totally different that Derek didn't believe he was talking to the same girl.
"Is it Vallie?? Did something happen to her?? How bad is it??" she asked like a robot would.
"It isn't Valerie." he said softly.
Amarra's heart heaved a sigh of relief that Valerie was safe. But then where is she since morning?? And if Valerie is safe, who is Derek talking about??
As if suddenly she realised everything and the air felt uncomfortable. Her heart twisted in pain. Pain that she knew about very well. Pain that she has been through years ago. Pain that made her almost a corpse. Pain that was so much more fierce than getting hit by a truck. Pain of losing someone close to your heart.
"Amarra just come okay. I am right here." Derek tried to make her say something.
"Just tell me what happened. I need to know before I reach." she snapped at him.
"There's been an accident and..." he was cut off before he could say anything else.
"Is Liam okay??" Amarra said the name of her best friend in between sobs. Derek's heart was crushed hearing her incessant sobs. But he had to tell her the truth.
"No. He's not okay." he said and that was it. Amarra's sobs filled the speaker and no matter what he said or how reassuring it was, she didn't hear him. Not even a single word. The cab driver was shocked to see her condition and kept asking but she didn't hear anything.
She just kept saying on thing, "He's my first friend in college. You have to save him. Please. Please just save him. I cannot live without him. I'll die."
And the line disconnected.
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Okay you guys!! I was actually shaking while writing this part and trust me I hate myself for doing this to Liam. But certain twists are required.
P.S. I am not a big fan of emotional scenes like this and the ones coming in the next few chapters but I read somewhere that a writer's real test is how they manage to write an emotional scene that can shake the reader. So this is my actual attempt at writing one.
Enjoy the cliffhanger :p
What do you think has happened to Liam??
Don't forget to press the VOTE button.
With love
Preeti