Chapter 16 - Take it slow buddy!

|Eshan|

Ayush dragged me to the east side of my house. It was our favourite place where the wall facing the garden at the backside was made of transparent glass from floor to ceiling.

Every summer we five friends would plant, the new plants and would take care of them later onwards. It was our stress buster. As I looked down and watched the seeds we had planted that had turned into full-fledged trees, I couldn't help but feel more guilty for behaving the way I did with my friends.

"Now, speak," Ayush softly said, pulling me out of my guilt trip.

"What?" I avoided his eyes, keeping mine on the rose plants. After a moment of silence I added, "There is nothing to speak."

"I have known you for long enough to understand the unspoken words behind your silence. Now either you continue or-"

My eyes snapped at his words. The frustration of hiding things, the earlier incident with Innaya, my brawl with Arjun and then my rude behaviour with my friends took a toll and I felt it turning into the anger. The person standing beside me with folded hands on his chest and blank face appeared the most appealing option to take it out upon.

"Or what, huh? Your empty threats won't work on me," I rudely snapped at Ayush who wanted nothing more than to help me.

"Ok."

'Did he just say ok? The Ayush Rathod had just let it slide. No, that's not possible. I know him to well to believe it to be true. That is not at all possible.'

"What okay? Where are you going?" I asked when he started walking and had taken few steps away from me.

Ayush stopped at his place but did not turn.

"To get my answers," he simply replied.

'Okay! That's confusing.'

"And where might they?" I waited for him to explain. However, I was mentally strangling him.

"To your bedroom, I am going to wake Innaya up and -"

'That cunning monkey, how dare he?' If only I could swear then he would have been in need of the holy water to wash himself out and even that wouldn't have been enough.

"You will do no such thing," I heatedly warned him before marching in front of him.

"You know better than argue."

He was right. No one could win against him and I certainly did not stand a chance, I never had.

"Fine," I muttered before turning away from him and taking my previous place near the glass wall.

"I don't know what's happening Ayush. One moment she is all happy, playful, and talkative and next moment something happens, triggering her and I see her on the verge of panic attack. I am unable to comprehend why?" I confessed tiredly as the magnitude of her actions, her behaviour was too much to ignore. It was more complicated than any puzzle available.

"Have you tried asking her?" He asked the basic question anyone would in this situation.

When I remained silent, he added, "Ok. I know it is between both of you but do you realize, you getting agitated or frustrated is not going to help? Give her some time, she will come around."

"I know that and I am ready to give her all the time. It is that every time I see that fear in her eyes— it breaks my heart." I met his eyes as I answered with all my honesty.

"I understand champ, but you know how it works. The more you push, more it retracts, so just take it slow. I know, I don't have to tell you all this." Ayush placed hand on my shoulder comforting me.

I hummed in response. I knew what he said was true and I was taking it slow.

We remained in silence for a while. Talking with him always had me at ease, no matter how distorted or disturbed I might be. He was my best friend in the end.

"How all of you are at my place?" I asked as I rubbed my face with my palms.

"Guys were worried about you. I tried telling them you are fine but those stubborn heads! They wanted to make sure by themselves." He smirked that soon replaced into a thin line as he added, "Moreover, because of my promise I never told them about your marriage."

'God! That is going to be very bad. Not informing them about the marriage is going to be a big issue. I just hope I don't get black eye along with few broken ribs and swollen face.' I prayed in my head.

"You know what you have to do." Ayush patted my back as he hinted to my earlier behaviour with them.

I nodded in understanding.

"Better?" he asked as we crossed my bedroom on our way back to living room where other three were waiting.

*

"I am sorry Eshan. I never knew we don't hold any value in your life. Today you made us realize that you did not even bother telling us about marriage least calling us." Sameer was the first to speak when he spotted sight of me.

He was already pacing in hallway before Ayush and I came while racking his hands through his hair, messing them.

He was highly pissed.

"Thank you, we are leaving and wouldn't bother you anymore," Barun piped in before standing up from the couch where he was seating beside Arjun who strangely had been quite.

"I am sorry." I apologised to all of them.

Silence was all I got in response while they glared at me with disapproval.

"Please, listen to me once. I did not tell you as it all happened in a hurry and at that time, you all were stuck in our project. You think I wanted to hide it?" I rushed out the actual reason before they decided to pounce upon me.

If not for London project, I would have happily shared this big news with them.

"Ayush knew, didn't he?" Arjun spoke quietly for the first time after out little fight upstairs.

"Look guys, can we behave like adults?" Ayush stepped in between, trying to resolve the issue.

"No because we aren't. Only you both are the mature ones here who knows how to keep secret. We all are immature kids and we are happy that way. Atleast we do not hide things from our friends."

"Quiet it Barun. He has his reasons okay." Ayush raised his voice a little.

"Everyone does have, Ayush," Sameer snapped.

"So instead of cribbing can you get past over it," Ayush asked.

"Instead of asking him or us to get past over it, why don't you give us the reason to?" Barun demanded.

"Fine, have a seat everyone, I will freshen up and be back." I interjected before it could turn into something bad.

"Can't stay away from his wife," Barun chuckled.

"He is whipped," Sameer added.

"Can you blame him, she is ho- I meant to say beautiful," Arjun started saying and changed the sentence as I guess after he remembered what happened earlier.

"I heard that," I yelled before I took long strides to reach as early as I could to my wife.

*