I pick up the almost 14 kilos trolley and somehow manage to walk three steps down the stairs. The cab driver honk from inside the cab for the zillionth time and I see my father's face drop.
"I told you it's too heavy," my father nags once I thump the trolley down on the ground and bend down, holding the sides of my waist.
I'm so badly out of breath that I can't even form words and talk, thus; I manage to show thumbs up to him.
"My poor baby, please take care of yourself. Don't go out drinking too much, and eat lots and lots of fruits," my mother coo, embracing me in her arms.
I laugh. "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 23."
"You'll always be my little girl," she kisses my cheek.
My father who has always been the most emotional one between them is already in tears. I tread towards him and wrap my arms around his torso.
"I'll be fine, dad. Don't worry," I assure.
"Don't do anything wrong," he says once I pull away.
"Of course, not. Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you more than anything," he smiles.
The driver honks again, breaking our moment. My parents step back and exit the large gate of the building. My father opens the back door of the cab and allows my mother to board first before he follows suit. I look at them, and although I'm putting up a brave face I feel scared a tad.
"Bye, honey. We'll call you once we reach the station. Take care," my father screams as the driver starts the cab and surges the vehicle out of my sight.
"I will," I scream back, waving my hand up.
Once they disappear from my vision completely, I take a deep sigh and walk up the stairs to second floor where my apartment is located. Every floor has two apartments except the first floor that belongs to the landlord, along with a common corridor. It's a nice residential area and I'm glad I chose this place to stay. My new job starts from Monday, and the office is only 30 minutes away. I will travel by bus as of now, but within three months I plan to buy a scooter.
I stand at the corridor, wrapping my arms around my body. The weather is very pleasant, in fact cool – something about Bangalore that has always adored me. My apartment is fully furnished, which is why cooking sounds easy in my head.
As a series of thoughts cross my mind, I hear a very heavy voice, speaking to me from the back. I quickly turn around and my eyes land on a blonde boy with deep blue eyes. He wears his hair brushed onto his head and his skin is as pale as it can be. I notice his chest hairs peeking from behind his gray shirt that is button down as his lean legs are covered in black skinny jeans.
"Still crying about your parents?" he asks, a smirk painting his pink lips.
I furrow my brows, quite taken aback by his question. I realize that he's my next door neighbor, about whom I heard before. But I definitely wasn't expecting such an introduction.
"Not really," I say, running my eyes down him.
"You must be the girl my cousin was talking about," I notice strong accent in his sentence.
"Liam?" I nod. "Yeah, I met him. He seems nice," I somehow smile.
"But you definitely don't seem the way he described," he scans me from top to bottom in such a way that I feel uncomfortable.
"What do you mean?" I ask – a little irritated.
"You seem a little boring from what he told me."
"Excuse me?" I'm shocked at his rudeness.
"Yeah, how old are you?" he tilts his head before leaning against the wall.
"I don't see the need to answer that," I reply and move forward to go to my apartment.
"Then maybe I guessed right, huh?" he shouts behind me.
"Guess what?" I turn back, stopping at my door.
"That you're just an old lady stuck in a teenager's body," he hysterically laughs after making his statement.
I squint my eyes and open the door to enter my apartment. I hear him say "Nice to meet you," but obviously I didn't stop to answer back. I shut the door behind me and sit on the couch, head in my hands. Why did he have to be so rude? What did I do to him? I remember that I didn't even get his name, but that prospect is my least concern right now, and after how he behaved with me, I don't even give a damn.
Pushing the anger off my mind, I glance at my mobile and see that it's 9.00 Pm. The departure time of the train that my parents were availing is at 9.05 Pm. I look at the device's screen, expecting my father's call. And he calls right away.
"Hello," I instantly pick up.
"We've boarded the train, it'll leave in 5 minutes," my father, who has always been hyper, informs me something that I already know.
"Did you guys have a safe journey to the station?" I ask.
"Yes," he says. "What are you doing?"
"Just sitting."
"Be safe when you cook dinner."
"Dad? I'll be fine. Will you quit worrying so much?"
"Okay," I could see him smile.
"Well, have a safe journey and call me once you reach Calcutta. Love you, bye," I say.
"Love you too, bye," he retorts and hangs up.
I toss the mobile on the couch and lean back, sighing audibly. No matter how courageous I sounded and acted before my parents I know I'm scared as shit to live alone. Although this is what I wanted since I was a kid I have always been too dependent on my mother and a much pampered child. Talk about the perks of being an only child!
I walk to the kitchen and see the cabinets and refrigerator nicely filled with everything that I want and like to eat. Thanks to my mother! However, right now I'm in bits, finding it hard to decide what to cook for dinner. I have rice, lentils, instant noodles, spaghetti, and what not! I had a hard day, helping my parents pack and dealing with a rude neighbor, therefore; I decide on starting with spaghetti for the first day.
Satisfied with my decision, I fetch a cooking pot from the utensil's rack and fill it with water before keeping it on the stove. I take out the spaghetti as well and slowly put them in the water. While they boil, I walk back to the sitting area and turn on the television, flipping through the channels before settling on Romedy Now where Friends Season 6 is on rerun. I sit on the couch, excited to catch my all time favorite TV show.
As the time rolls to 9.15 Pm, I find myself with the complete dinner. Having ready made spaghetti sauce helped and I put the lid on the cooking pot, planning to eat not before 10.00. I sit back and enjoy back to back episodes of Friends when I hear the doorbell ring. "Who could it be?" I growl, thinking and walk towards the door to open it.
"Hi," I smile, recognizing Liam stand before me.
He wears a black tee and black jeans that are skinny, but nowhere near his cousin's. The coffee brown pigment of his caring eyes, calm my mind strangely as I notice him smiling at me.
"Hey, you doing something?" he asks.
"Not really, just watching Friends," I answer, nodding.
"We're having a small party in our apartment, you wanna come?"
I put my lips in between my teeth, thinking if I should enjoy my comfort time or go to this party that will have Liam, but also his irritating and annoying cousin. Think about the devil and he is here! I notice Niall stand beside Liam, his hands stick deep inside his pockets and his face bearing the same countenance that I saw a few hours before.
I lock my eyes with him and cold blood run through my entirety. Maybe Liam catches us gazing at each other, so he steps up to the occasion for introduction.
"By the way, this is my cousin, Niall," Liam points at him.
"Hi, nice to meet you? Mrs....ohh, sorry, Miss?" he trails off when Liam slaps on his arm.
"Don't mind him, he's always making jokes," he says. "This is Nadia," he points at me.
"Hello," I nod, not even looking at Niall.
"So, are you coming?" Liam asks again.
I look at Niall and find him having an irksome smirk on his face. And not to forget the stare that keeps making me feel uncomfortable about myself. I turn around and catch Friends playing and to top it all, one of my favorite episodes. "This is not worth it!" I whisper under my breath and lock my eyes with Liam again.
"Sorry, buddy. Had a really rough day with helping my parents pack and stuff. No mood for party tonight, maybe some other time," I shrug, smiling.
Liam moves his face a bit. "Alright, no problem. Take care," he lifts a hand at me.
"I told you she won't come," Niall says, chuckling.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I mean, we'll be drinking and smoking and all. Good girl, Nadia only hangs out with nerdy boys," he claps his hands, laughing.
"Niall, stop it," Liam demands.
I'm so shocked that I can't process my mind properly right now. I don't understand why is he being unnecessarily so rude to me?
"If she has a point then she'll prove me wrong, brother," Niall pats on Liam's back, who is literally drenched in embarrassment.
"I don't need to prove you anything. I'm entitled to my own opinion," I say.
"Of being a 40-year old?" he laughs again.
"Niall? Say sorry to her," Liam insists.
"Ohh please, I'd rather lick a dog's dick than apologize for something that is 100 percent true," he says and turns around to walk out of my door.
I grit my teeth and witness his trail.
"I'm so sorry, I'll check on him. Please don't mind his words," Liam apologizes and runs after his cousin.
I slam the door behind me and thump myself on the couch. This is the oddest behavior I've ever received from anyone. How dare he talk to me like that? Why on earth is he so angry on me? We just met.
I shake my head, trying to push aside these thoughts and the anger, most significantly. Niall has totally disrupted my mood of watching Friends anymore, hence; I walk back to the kitchen and start to serve myself dinner. I put spaghetti on a yellow plate and come back to the couch to eat it. Although tomorrow is a Sunday and I planned to stay awake a little late to watch a movie Niall's words totally put me off. Therefore, I concentrate on eating my dinner that is delish by the way, and decide to go to bed instead.