Behind closed hearts

The sound of the rain filling the silence of the living room, Maya sat curled up on the couch, pretending to study, though her eyes hadn’t moved from the same page in over ten minutes, her brother Arjun, was in the kitchen with him laughing, talking about the wedding like it was just another celebration. The wedding, the word itself made her chest ache. “Hey, Maya!” Arjun called, leaning against the doorframe. “You’ve met everyone, right? Rian’s fiancée’s family’s coming for dinner tomorrow. I trust you’ll be nice, yeah?” Maya forced a smile, though her throat tightened,“Of course.” Rian: Her brother’s best friend. Her favorite person since she was ten years old, the boy who’d always treat her like a kid sister, who helped her with physics homework when Arjun couldn’t help her, and now the man who was getting married. She could hear him laugh from the kitchen,that warm low sound that seemed to light up any room he was in. She has known that laugh for as long as she could remember, but tonight it just felt very different, it felt like something slipping away, when he walked in moments later, her heart felt the way it felt the more. Rian is a tall good looking man, he was dressed casually in jeans and a black shirt, his sleeves rolled up just enough to reveal the faint scar on his wrist, the one he got years ago when he was fixing Arjun’s bike, he smiled at her like he always did, easy and kind. “Hey, Maya. Are you really studying or hiding your phone behind those books like you'd normally do?, She was so shy, she said, No. I’m no longer the kid you use to know. Hmm. I’ll believe it when I see it, he said, he was just teasing her but to her every word meant a lot.. he didn’t notice the way she looked at him. They had dinner, Arjun talked about his new project, Rian just made sounds in between chewing and Maya barely said a word, instead she watched them. Rian looked happy, he was indeed happy. Tomorrow, his fiancée Anika was coming over, Maya had seen her once across the hall of Rian’s engagement party. She looked elegant,, poised, she has the kind of beauty that would made people stare, Maya remembered how she always smiled at Rian and how he looked at her like she was his whole world. She didn’t stay long that night, she made an excuse, slipped away before anyone could see the tears, sitting across from him now, she wondered if he could tell she was breaking inside. After dinner, Arjun left to take a call, the rain had reduced by then, and Rian moved to the balcony looking at the wet city lights. Maya hesitated at first but eventually joined him. “You still like the rain?” she asked him, he turned,“Yeah, I always have and always will, It’s the one thing that makes this city feel so much alive.” They stood there side by side, everywhere still smelled of rain. “Are you nervous?” she asked. “About what?” “The wedding.” He smiled , rubbing the back of his neck and responded “A little. It’s weird , you know? You plan something your whole life, the perfect partner, the right time and then suddenly it’s happening it feels strange.” Maya nodded, trying not to let her voice c***k. “She’s lucky.” He smiled and said, “I’m lucky too.” The words hit her like a nail piercing her leg. Rian looked at her then and really looked and for a second, something shifted in the way he looked at he saw her a curious look. “You’ve grown up so much , Maya,” he said quietly. “When did that happen?” She forced a small laugh and said to him “While you were busy growing old.” He smiled, but he kept starring at her for a while but just not long enough for her heart to hope, then Arjun called from inside, breaking the silence. That night, Maya couldn’t sleep she kept replaying every word of their conversation that night and the way he looked at her. The next evening would change everything when Anika would come over, when the families will talk about the wedding plans. Maya had no place in it, and yet she couldn’t stop herself from feeling tangled in the middle of it all, she didn’t know that by the next week, everything would turn upside down. Because love, real love especially, never disappears quietly, It leaves a mark, it changes people, and in Rian’s life, Maya was about to become that mark.