Infatuated With My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 1 Looking out the plane's window, Trisha Kumar nervously wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. It has been five years since she has been home. A hand gently squeezed hers in a gesture of comfort. Trisha turned her head to the left to smile at her best friend, Steve Hayden. "Are you nervous about the flight or going back home?", he whispered in her ear. "Both, I guess", Trisha answered as she glanced at grandmother asleep next to Steve. "Don't worry, I am with you and there is nothing to be nervous about. You are nothing like the girl that left here five years ago, and this time round you have me to fight your battles." Trisha was grateful to have a friend like Steve. He had helped her through a really awkward phase of her life and he has always been there whenever she needed him. He was the only one who knew everything about her and the real reason that she had left home. If only he had been the ONE. The one that she had a crush on even fell in love with, it would make going back home so much easier. Alas, even if she fell in love with him, he would never be able to reciprocate her feelings. They were destined to be just best friends. Trisha adjusted herself in her seat and rested her head on her best friend's shoulders, wishing she could turn back time and undo that awful day that was forever etched in her mind. But them she had to remind herself that she would never have met Steve. There was no way that she could stop her mind from reliving that embarrassing day five years ago. Five Years Ago "Trisha, what's wrong", Sandra Kumar asked her 15 year old daughter as she ran past her with tears streaming down her face. "Trish, Trisha, what happened", Sandra ran behind her daughter and just managed to get into her room before Trisha could lock the door. Concern filled her eyes as she watched her daughter flings herself on her bed and sob her heart out. Sandra was a beautiful woman who looked more than ten years younger than her fifty years. She has flawless skin and a figure of a twenty year old model, despite giving birth to four kids. She sat on the bed next to her youngest child and gently stroked her back. From her four children, Trisha was the most independent and did not trouble her parents like the other three had, but recently Sandra had noticed that her once confident and happy child was slowly becoming withdrawn and quiet. She preferred to be by herself and had stopped attending family functions and any parties. Other than school, the only other place she went to was the library. She was always lost in her books and very rarely left her room. Sandra was worried that her daughter would become a recluse. "Trisha, talk to me, what happened? Who has upset you", but Trisha didn't answer and continued sobbing. "Should I get your dad", that seemed to do the trick and Trisha quickly sat up wiping her tears away. "No mum don't. You know what dad is like. He will stir up unnecessary problems." Trisha loved her dad, but Anil Kumar was extremely protective when it came to his daughters. if he could help it, he would wrap them up in cottonwood and never let them leave the house. When his elder daughter, Anita started dating in college, he never had a moments peace until she got married. The four siblings were really grateful that their parents were open minded and modern. "I am okay mum. It's just the usual. I feel so uncomfortable in my own skin. I just look at other girls and they are so beautiful and thin and confident, while I am fat and plain looking." Trisha was not being totally honest with her mother, but she knew that her mother would believe this as this was constantly the way Trisha felt. all her cousins and even her sister and brothers were all good looking. Only Trisha was the ugly duckling. Nothing seemed to work, dieting, exercising even starving herself all ended in her giving up when she doesn't sè any difference and she ends up eating junk food. Her mum looks at her and gently cups her cheek. "Sweetheart, I keep telling you, you are beautiful, you just have to have confidence and you will be extremely radiant." Sandra knew that family members and insecure girls at school have made Trisha feel uncomfortable about how she looked. She constantly tried to get them to stop but she also felt extremely intimidated by her husband's family and tried not antagonise them. "Mum, I have been thinking about taking Dadi (grandmother in Hindi).” Sandra looked at her daughter in horror. “Why would you want to move so far away from us. It is your last year of high school before you go off to college.” Trisha felt horrible when she heard her mum’s voice c***k but if she was going to survive her teens, she needed to develop a back bone. “Mum, I just feel like I need a change of scenery. I don’t have any friends since I skipped two grades and everyone in my grade are so much older than me and treat me like a child.” Constantly being compared to her female cousins and her older sister, made Trisha into an introvert and she spent all her time buried in her books, resulting in her being promoted two grades above her own age peers. Plus, she had not yet got rid of her baby fat and boys and girls in her class always made fun of her. She didn't really have many friends and the ones she did have stopped hanging out with her when she skipped grades. Growing up, her aunts and cousins always made her feel bad about the way she looked and always made it seem like she was the ugly duckling of the family. “Mum, Massachusetts is not that far away. It is only four hours away by plane and I am going to MIT next year anyway, so I will be moving there. I am just doing it one year earlier. I have already made enquiries with one of the schools near Dadi and they are keen on having me.” Trisha hugged her mum and looked at her, “Please mum, I just think that here I am living under my cousins’ shadows, and I just want to go somewhere where no one knows my family and where I can actually just be myself without hating who I am.” Sandra hugged her daughter and swallowed back the sob that threatened to spill forth. She could understand why Trisha wanted to do this, but she wished she knew what had sparked the sudden decision. For past six years her mother-in-law had been asking Trisha to come live with her, but Trisha always said she could not stay without her parents. After Sandra’s father-in-law had passed away, her mother-in-law went to go live with her sister in Massachusetts, needing a change of scenery. Sandra loved her mother-in-law and they had more of a mother-daughter relationship than that of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. But knowing her daughter, Trisha could be stubborn and if she was not ready to talk, then it would be like trying to get water from a stone. “Your dad is not going to be too pleased about this. You know how much he loves you and with Anisa married and no longer living here, he is going to be devastated that you are leaving as well.” Trisha sighed. “I know mum, that is why I was hoping that you would talk to him. I want to leave as soon as possible so that I can get settled in before school starts.” Sandra wrung her hands together; she didn’t know how her husband was going to react to this news but seeing Trisha smile again made the pain worthwhile. She left the room to go prepare supper and mentally prepare herself for how she was going to tell her husband that their youngest wanted to leave the nest before they were ready to let her go. As soon as her mum left her room, Trisha sat on her bed and her eyes filled with tears again as she thought about what had just happened. Most of her life her cousins and aunts always taunted her and made her feel embarrassed about how she looked, but she had never felt such humiliation as she had felt today at the hands of Justin Walker. Justin Walker, whom she had known most of her life. He was her second brother, Rakesh’s, best friend. They have been friends since kindergarten, and he was more like part of the family. Trisha couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when she stopped seeing him as an older brother and started seeing just why all the girls in school wanted to be his girlfriend. One moment, she was joking and talking to him like she would with one of her brothers and next she was looking at how soft his dark brown hair was and how it would feel if she touched it, how his blue eyes sparkled when he laughed and how good he looked in t-shirts and shorts. She started becoming uncomfortable in his presence as she was constantly starring at him and a few times he had caught her looking at him. She loved the way he smelled, in fact she loved everything about him. She had never bothered about boys before unlike her sister, Anisa, who was constantly flirting and always had a long line of admirers at any given time. But Trisha could not understand what it was about Justin that had butterflies dancing in her stomach and made her all breathless and her palms sweaty, whenever he was near her. The few times that he had mistakenly brushed against her, she had felt a tingling sensation similar to that of an electric shock. He had been the most popular boy in high school and the captain of the football team, but it was more than that. He was not just a pretty face. He was intelligent and a straight A student. He was always kind to her, and her parents loved him as if he was their son. He even stayed over some times and even attended their family functions. He was always invited to anything that they had at home. For a while now he has been dating Trisha’s older cousin, Simran. Simran had always been popular with the boys. She was really beautiful. Simran’s father was a really rich businessman, but he was old school and had already picked out a rich Indian boy for Simran to marry when she had turned eighteen. That was three years ago, Simran managed to get her father to postpone his plans. This year on her twenty first birthday, her family was going to get her engaged. Her fiancé was in the UK setting up a branch of his family’s business there so Simran dated other guys while he was away. Justin was one of them. When Trisha asked Rakesh if Justin was aware that Simran was getting engaged, Rakesh said that Justin did not want to hear anything as he was so infatuated with Simran. That was three months ago. That fateful day, Trisha had been lounging by the pool, reading a book by one of her favourite authors, when Rakesh and his friends came to the pool area and Simran was with them. Trisha woke up from the sun lounger and went to sit under a tree so that she could read her book in peace and be invisible. She loved being invisible, that way no one noticed you and could not hurt you. But as usual, Simran had to be a real b****. She saw Trisha and with a smirk on her face, sauntered towards Trisha. “Trish, what are you reading? Is it another one of your steamy novels? You know that you are never going to find a man that way,” Kavita, Trisha’s best friend snorted. Kavita liked Trisha’s brother Rakesh so every time that Simran came over, Kavita was sure to follow. She also used every opportunity she had to make Trisha miserable, but Kavita was too smart to do it in Rakesh’s presence. No, in his presence she acted like she adored Trisha. “You know that you don’t have to worry about getting tips, your type will never find a man on your own. It will be a man that one of the aunties will bring home.” Simran continued taunting Trisha, while Kavita stood there laughing. Simran was clever enough not to let the others hear her taunts. “Trish, why don’t you come and join us, we have not spent any time together in such a long time,” Simran quickly changed her taunts to coaxing as she saw Justin approaching. “Yeah, Trish, you should come hang out with us. We have not seen you in a while and now that you on vacation, you can come chill with us,” Justin chimed in as he caught the last part of what Simran said. Trisha could not bring herself to look at him, as she knew that she would start blushing and she did not want Simran to know about her crush on Justin. “Oh Justin, sweetheart, you are making the child blush. I think she has a crush on you,” Trisha looked up in shock at Simran. “Nnn…nnn..noo, I don’t, she stammered in embarrassment. Simran just laughed. “Come on Simran, leave her alone. It’s too hot, let’s go cool off with a swim,” Justin pulled Simran away and Kavita followed giving Trisha a smirk. Trisha couldn’t believe that Simran and Kavita knew. She sat there wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. They were going to use this to make her life miserable. She could not understand why Simran hated her. Their families have always been close. When they were younger, they used to have sleep overs, but as soon as Simran started noticing the opposite s*x, she became this horrible viper. If Trisha went inside right now, she would draw Simran’s attention and Simran will then do something to embarrass her in front of everyone. While Trisha was sitting there, thinking of how she could go back into the house without anyone seeing her, when she heard shouting coming from the pool area. “What the hell is wrong with you Simran, you are acting like I have asked you to elope with me. I am only asking why I can’t come to the party. Are you ashamed to be seen with me?” Justin sounded really angry. “Oh, grow up Justin, you don’t know what Indian families are like. The moment you take a boy to a family function, then everyone assumes that you are getting married. I told you I don’t want to settle down yet, I just want to have fun. You have spoiled my mood now. I am leaving,” and with that Simran climbed out the pool, picked up her things and left, with Kavita running behind her. Justin, also got out of the pool, but instead of following Simran, he came to grassy patch near where Trisha was sitting and threw himself on the ground. He looked really angry, and Trisha felt really bad for him. She wished she could go and put her arms around him and give him a hug, but she was not that brave. She took a deep breath and asked, “Are you okay”. Justin turned his baby blue eyes in her direction and gave her a sad smile. “Your cousin just drives me insane sometimes. You won’t understand.” Hearing the last part of his sentence, Trisha felt her heart wrench. He was another one that believed she couldn't understand matters of the heart. He probably also saw her someone that was not worth dating. Before she realised what she was doing she opened her mouth and spoke. “You shouldn’t waste your time with her. You know that in a few months she is getting engaged to someone her dad has picked out for her.” Trisha quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stop any more words coming out. She couldn’t believe that she had said that. She looked at Justin from beneath her lashes and saw his expression change. She had never seen him look like that and in that moment, Trisha knew that she had just did something horrible and she wished that she could turn back time. Before she could apologise, Justin spoke “Little girls should not talk about things they know nothing about. You should learn to mind your own business.” Trisha felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Is that how he saw her, as a little girl. She wanted to cry, but inside an immense ball of anger appeared out of nowhere. “I am just telling you the truth. That is why she will never introduce you to her family or take you home. You should find someone nicer that would be honest with you and would love you for you with whom you would not be another notch on her belt.” Justin looked shocked at what he had just heard. He let out a crazed laugh. “Ahhhh, I see what the issue is. You are jealous. So Simran was right, you do have a crush on me. So are you suggesting that I date you? I don’t date children, especially not children who don’t even take pride in their appearance, and have their head buried in their books and know nothing about the real world.” “Justin, what is wrong with you. You can’t speak to her like that. Don’t vent your anger on Trish.” Trisha looked up to see another of Rakesh’s friend Amith. He looked at Trisha with concern. She was so shocked and humiliated by what Justin had just said that she got up and ran into the house. As she entered the house, her brother Rakesh was coming out with snacks, and she nearly knocked him over. “Hey, Trish watch where you are going”. Trisha continued running. She couldn’t believe that Justin had said those things to her. So, he also thought she was fat and ugly. She wasn’t blind. She could see herself in the mirror, but she never expected him to say something like that to her. She was so embarrassed. He now knew how she felt about him and instead of being flattered, he was disgusted by the thought. Trisha felt her heart shatter into a million pieces and at that moment she really hated Justin and wished that she had never met him. Present “Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelt as we get ready to land." The announcement brought Trisha back to the present. That was five years ago, but those words still hurt her whenever she thought back to thar time. In the last five years, she has never dated. During the five years, she had not been back home, always using studying as the excuse and then work commitments. Her parents and her siblings always came to visit her. She had been living with Dadi and now she was back home. It was her parents’ anniversary and her brothers had decided to throw a huge party for them. Steve squeezed her fingers to let her know that he was there for her. She looked over at Dadi who was now awake and fastening her seat belt. She didn’t know what she would have done without Dadi. In the last five years Dadi has been there for her and has made sure that she felt loved. Now her parents wanted Dadi to move in with them and Dadi wanted to move back with her son and his family. Trisha sighed, she will be twenty-one years in a few days and an adult, so she should not let her childhood insecurities get the better of her. It has been five years now and she was positive that she was over the childish crush. Trisha prayed really hard that HE doesn't accompany her family members to fetch them from the airport. From what she heard, he still hung around the house with Rakesh. “Trish, Dadi, over here,” Rakesh waved frantically to get his sister’s attention. Trisha looked around and didn't see anyone else around and breathed a sigh of relief. She walked over and gave her brother a big hug. She had really missed him. “Wow, what happened to my little sister. She is all grown up and looking really gorgeous. But why did you cut your hair. It makes you look like a teenager. Dad is not going to like it.” Trish had had hair that reached to her thighs. Indian men liked their wives and daughters to have long hair. But Trisha had cut her hair into a bob. It outlined her cheekbones, and it gave her angelic look. She was dressed in blue jeans, a crop top and takkies. She was totally oblivious to all the admiring looks that she was getting from the guys in the airport. This made her all the more alluring, but she was totally unaware of the effect that she had on the opposite s*x. She had lost all her baby fat and had a figure that most girls would kill for. Dadi was hugging Rakesh and pulling his ears for irritating his siter. Rakesh and Steve shook hands. Rakesh had liked Steve from the moment they had met when he had visited Trisha and believed that he was good for Trisha. Dadi, Steve and Trisha followed Rakesh to the car. That evening, as Trisha was getting ready for dinner, when her room door suddenly flung open. “Oh, my God, you chopped off your hair. What did dad say?” her sister Anisa hugged her. Trisha laughed. “You won’t believe it, he actually teared. You would think that I had cut off my arm.” Anisa laughed. “Where is my nephew?” Trisha looked around for Anisa’s son who was nowhere to be seen. “He is downstairs being spoilt by the grandparents and Dadi. Pretty soon he is going to have either a sister or brother.” Trisha screamed in joy and hugged her sister. She had missed her sister, although they spoke every day, it was not the same as being in front of each other. “Wow, you are looking really hot and sexy little sister”, Anisa admired the way her sister looked in a short denim skirt and a white shirt. Trisha never used to wear short clothes and used to prefer to keep her body fully covered and so Anisa was happy to see that her sister seemed to have gained some confidence. So, this move had been good for her. Their mother was right, she had said that Trisha going to live with Dadi might bring her out of her shell. “Really, you too. Nothing has changed other than I cut my hair,” Trisha blushed at the compliment. She was not used to people admiring her and being the center of attention was not something that she liked. She still preferred to be invisible. Her old insecurities still lurked below the surface and was always happy to make an appearance. “Who is here for supper?” Trisha asked nervously, praying really hard that HE will not be here. “It’s just us family tonight, big brother Rahul, our sister-in-law Khushi, my husband Akash, your niece and two nephews, mum, dad, Rakesh and Dadi. Then there is you and your friend Steve. Mum wanted a quiet dinner since tomorrow will be the party and we will not spend any time as a family what with all the relatives and friends that our brothers have invited.” Trisha let out a relieved sigh. Then just realized what her sister had said. “Why did you just say the word friend in that tone.” “Because we all know that he must be more than a friend,” another voice added. Trisha turned round and squealed in delight and ran to hug her sister-in-law Khushi. Khushi was more like a sister and Trisha loved her. Her brother could not have found a better partner than their neighbour's daughter. “You cut your hair. You look beautiful” Trisha groaned; everyone was going to pick on that. “Mum sent me to call you guys down. Dinner is ready.” Trisha linked her arms with her sister and sister-in-law and together they walked downstairs. “Oh God, she chopped off her hair,” her big brother Rahul said as he gave her a big hug. Her dad groaned. “Don’t go there son.” They all laughed, and Trisha’s nephews and niece came over to give her a hug. Trisha missed out on so much of their childhood, that she felt sad when she looked at them and saw how fast they were growing up. Trisha sat down next to Steve and looked around the table at her family. She had really missed all of them. It was good to be home. Tonight, she could relax, but tomorrow she would see HIM. Although it has been five years, his words still echoed in her head and still had the effect on her today that they had on her five years ago. She could never bring herself to ask her family members about him. She even avoided looking at any of his social media pages. She did see pictures of him through Rakesh's social media pages. He looked even more handsome than before, but there was always a new girl hanging onto his arm. He would probably bring one of them to the party and she would be some model or actress looking type that would make Trisha look like a troll in front of her. Trisha prayed that he would not show up tomorrow. That he would have some other engagement he had to attend. But she knew that it was unlikely as he lived her parents and would definitely be there. She knew she that would not be having a peaceful or restful sleep tonight. “Good morning, everyone,” Trisha greeted everyone seated at the table having breakfast the next morning. “Morning,” everyone chorused back. Trisha took a slice of toasted bread and a cup of coffee. “Is that all you are having. I made parathas. They used to be your favourite.” Her mum offered her one, but Trisha shook her head. “No mum. Toast is all I can have for breakfast right now.” She sat down next to Steve. She had a really restless night. She kept reliving that night in her dreams but with added scenarios where he was introducing her to his various girlfriends and telling them about the crush she had on him. Just then the doorbell rang interrupting her thoughts. Rakesh got up from the table to go open the door. “That will be my friends. They going to help us take all the things to the venue.” After hearing that, Trisha found it hard to swallow the toast she had in her mouth. Was her day going to be spoilt so early? She had prayed that she would only see HIM at the party and not before that. At least at the party she can avoid HIM. What was she going to do now. Self consciously she ran her fingers through her hair. she adjusted her top and hoped that she looked more mature than that pathetic teenager that had a crush on him. “Hey, you okay. You look a little pale,” Steve gently squeezed her shoulder. She couldn’t look him in the eye and she was afraid to speak in case her voice gave her away, so she just nodded. She could hear voices and her brother and his friends laughing. She tried to listen for his voice but the ringing in her ears made it impossible to tell if he spoke. Trisha felt her hands tremble and her throat constrict. She swallowed the last bit of toast that she had in her mouth. It felt like pieces of glass going down her throat. She drank her coffee hoping to wash away the lump in her throat. As the voices got closer, Trisha tried to calm herself down by closing her eyes and taking deep breathes in and out. Her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest, that's how fast it was beating. How can one person have such an effect on another human being? Why was she feeling like this? She should be over this, he was just a man, like her brothers and Steve so why was she behaving like this. As the voices grew closer and closer and her palms grew wetter and wetter, Trisha steeled herself for facing HIM before she was mentally prepared. “Good morning, Kumar family,” a couple voices chorused together. Everyone seated around the table echoed their greeting except Trisha. She was too scared to look up and see HIM again. She looked down at her half eaten toast. “Hey, guys this is Steve, Trisha’s friend and you guys remember my little sister Trish.” Trisha had no choice but to turn around to greet them. She braced herself.