It had been four days since I had last seen Abeer. Or talked to him. It had been too long since I had heard his voice. He wasn't a text person either, which further limited the options of hearing from him. I tapped a pen on my office desk, my eyes fixed on a file before me. But my mind wasn't into the file, the words blurring before me. I had Abeer in my mind, and how I craved his arms.

Due to my parents currently housing in my apartment, I didn't have the free space to call him. And neither the time to get together for a lunch. But I was desperate to see him. I sent a call home telling them I had a dinner meeting that evening, finished my work early and rushed to Abeer's place. Earlier Abeer had his own place, given by the company close to the office. But after the resignation, he had to find a new place. He now lived with another guy Ajay at his bachelor pad, near Abeer's new office. I bought some groceries on the way, planning to cook dinner for him to make up for the last days I hadn't picked up his calls.

"Hey Ajay," I greeted Abeer's roommate as I entered the apartment. I was relatively relieved to see the place mopped and clean.

"Hey Aashi. You brought groceries?" Ajay said taking a peek inside the bags I held. I smiled and shrugged.

"I'm glad you're Abeer's girlfriend," he grinned, taking the bags from me and arranging the things in the kitchen shelves.

"So...you got plans this evening?" I questioned Ajay, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Ajay barked a laugh. "Don't worry, dearest. As a matter of fact, I do have plans today," he said, closing the fridge and facing me. "I have a date," he smirked.

"Ahh...a date. Now that's the stuff I like to hear," I commented and poured a glass of water for me from the water purifier.

"Oh I know. If I have a date, it gives you'll the place all to yourselves," he said and grabbed his jacket from the couch.

I laughed. "All the best on the date. First date?"

"A blind date," Ajay sighed.

"You need the wishes then," I quipped and raised the water glass as a toast.

"Okay then, I'll leave." Ajay nodded and took the bike keys from the kitchen counter. "Just don't do gross things on my couch," he scrunched his nose and scrambled out of the door before I could yell at him. Heat rose up my cheeks as I thought of Abeer and got to work. I cooked his favorite eggplant curry with rice, just the way he had once shown me at my place. He had said it was his mother's recipe, something which she would always cook whenever he was upset.

I smiled and continued to cook, but the silence around the house forced me to think. The thing I was potentially hiding from Abeer. I hadn't meant to, of course, but the truth was, that it was hidden from Abeer.

Dhruv. Abeer had a right to know what was going on. What my parents were orchestrating. I sighed as I cut the eggplant into pieces on the chop-board. It was time to tell him about Dhruv. I started cooking with renewed passion. He would know the truth today, as he should. I put on some songs on my phone and continued cooking with a smile on my face.

It was around seven when the doorbell rang. I took out the brownies I had whipped up for dessert and rushed to open the door.

"Hey!" I beamed as my eyes beheld Abeer. My Abeer. His tie askew, hair unkempt, with bags under his eyes, he looked tired, but I didn't miss the spark in his eyes as he saw me.

He smiled down at me as I hugged him. His arms. The place I wanted to be for the rest of my life.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, closing the apartment door behind us.

"I was missing you. I came to surprise you. Did you-"

"Oh, so you were finally missing me? Well, what can I say. It's up to you to call, or not call. Miss me or not miss me," he said snarkily as he sashayed to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

I bit my lip guiltily. When I say I hadn't picked his calls, I meant it. I hadn't picked a single call of his. Or called him back after my birthday. I deserved his taunts.

I wrung my fingers and followed him to the kitchen. "About that, I'm sorry, I -"

"Anyways, how did you manage to come here today?" Abeer cut me in, filling up another glass of water for himself.

"I...uh...I finished work early and said I had a meeting this evening. I would be home late," I murmured, not quite sure how to approach an angry Abeer. In all this time together, I never had to see him angry. Anger had always been associated with me in our relationship. I hadn't known the gentle Abeer had it in him to throw taunts and be angry until now.

He gulped the water down in a go. "Oh, so your parents finally saw it fit to give you a respite from that jail of yours," he chuckled harshly.

My temper flared. Now, I could say things about my parents because they were my parents. I could be angry at them. But the bottom line was that I loved them. Even when I was angry and frustrated with them. It wasn't Abeer's place to comment on my situation with my parents. He couldn't say things about them.

"At least my parents are there for me. They call and check up on me and care for me. Unlike someone's father who doesn't care that his son fought a bloody lawsuit and didn't once bother to come check on him," I hissed angrily, unthinking of what would my words cause.

And sure enough, I knew what they had caused. Abeer turned around so fast it made me dizzy.

"Don't you go blaming my father," Abeer whisper-yelled, the look in his eyes so fierce it got me scared for a minute. But that didn't stop me from firing back.

"I did not say anything! You started the blame game with my parents!" I raised my voice.

"Because it had a cause. You didn't call because you had no space to do so. You cancelled the dinners because then you would have to come up with excuses everyday. You cannot have a boyfriend, make your own life decisions! God, Aashi, you're twenty eight!" He shouted, making me angrier.

"You know what, you're right. They do interfere in my life. But your father, does he even care what happens in yours? It's like he's left you to your own devices without any moral support, without a care in the world! You were plotting revenge for years! You were obviously grieving for your mother, but did your father care about that? Try to understand you? Console you?" I kept firing bombs of hurtful statements, with no care whatsoever about what would happen after. I wouldn't be able to take back my words. And neither would he.

"Oh my God, Aashi, you're impossible! You're bringing up things from the past!" Abeer yelled, slamming the glass on the kitchen counter. I didn't even flinch. I was mad beyond belief.

"No, I'm bringing up things that should've been brought up in the past!" I hissed.

"You're straying away from the point!" He barked, his hair flying in all directions. It would've been funny if I weren't too mad already. "The point is, you're too afraid to show your parents what you truly are. What you truly want! You're so careful about not upsetting them all the time, it makes me wonder, when the time comes, would you even stand up for us?"

All his earlier words felt music to my ears compared to the last statement. It struck me. Hard. I fisted my palms in anger. I wanted to throw something, or hit something. Hit him. I tried to control my arms. But that didn't stop me from doing what I did next.

My eyes landed on the pot filled with eggplant curry, and without another thought, I flung the pot on his shirt. We both watched the red curry trickle down his pale blue shirt down to the floor, him with horror and me with satisfaction.

"Enjoy dinner," I hissed as I took my bag from the couch and slammed the door shut behind me.

I knew what I had done. How low I had stooped. Using his insecurities against him to yell and hurt him. He had done that that too. My actions hit me hard later that night as I went to sleep. Many things were said between us that day and I had left his house in a fit of rage. With the eggplant curry I had made with so much love wasted because of anger. Hurt and regret were both flowing in my heart like cascades, trying to dominate and engulf me whole.

But both left me lonely.

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