Page 14 of Since You Came Along (Ever Since #1)
O n Friday evening, as Raghav and Abhay stepped out of the elevator, they heard a pounding rhythm that seemed to shake the very walls of the building. The sound was coming from Raghav’s apartment. The front door practically vibrated in sync with the beats of some wild rock music.
Raghav exchanged a confused look with Abhay. ‘Are you throwing a party that I wasn’t invited to?’ Abhay asked, raising his voice to compete with the noise.
He shook his head. Raghav had the system installed after they’d moved in but hadn’t even powered it on yet. Looks like Meera beat me to it , he thought.
Abhay knocked on the door, but it was pointless. The racket inside drowned out the sound. Raghav sighed, fishing out his keys. His unease grew. Should Meera be listening to such loud music when she has just recovered? Without waiting further, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The scene in the living room was chaotic. Someone had transformed the calm and tidy living room into a makeshift dance floor. Meera and Siya were in the middle of it, jumping and dancing to the thrashing beats.
Meera had her eyes squeezed shut, charcoal stick in hand. Siya was making sure Meera didn’t fall while shouting words of encouragement at her.
Raghav couldn’t tear his gaze away from Meera. There was something utterly captivating about the way she moved, so carefree and uninhibited. It’s a side of her he didn’t see often.
Abhay nudged him with a grin. ‘Is this how they always dance? If so, we’ve been missing out. Imagine them in a club!’
Raghav chuckled, shaking his head. He turned to look at Abhay and found his gaze glued to Siya. But there was no time for teasing. The volume needed to come down before they all went deaf.
Raghav crossed to the music system and turned the dial, bringing the chaos to a manageable level. The girls stopped dancing, catching their breath.
‘Have you two been smoking something?’ Abhay joked.
Siya answered, taking a deep breath, ‘She’s trying to get in the zone.’
‘What zone?’ Raghav asked, stepping in front of Meera, who was now rifling through the cluttered coffee table for her sketchbook.
Siya explained, ‘A friend of hers called earlier. She requested Meera to draw something that captures the spirit of rock music for an upcoming exhibition. So, she’s, you know, feeling the vibe.’
Meera ignored them, completely absorbed in her sketchbook.
Siya continued, ‘She’s always been like this. When it’s her own project, she can sketch anywhere, anytime. But when it’s a commission? She needs to fully immerse herself. Dance and music are all part of her process.’
Setting his bag on the sofa, Raghav asked, ‘And when did you get here?’
Siya grinned. ‘We dropped by after work to check on her. She didn’t answer the door, so I used the spare key she gave me. Found her dancing like this.’
Raghav frowned. ‘We? Who else?’
‘Swayam. He’s out on the balcony attending a call.’
Abhay walked closer to Siya and smirked, ‘And what about you? Why were you dancing?’
Siya rolled her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze. ‘I was helping her get in the zone,’ she said, directing her answer to Raghav instead.
Meera groaned in frustration, cutting their exchange short. ‘Something’s missing!’ she exclaimed, glaring at her sketchpad.
Raghav walked over and crouched beside her. Gently, he tipped her chin up so she’d meet his eyes. ‘What’s missing, Meera?’
‘I need to feel the beat,’ she said, her voice tinged with frustration. ‘But I just can’t.’
He studied her for a moment, then glanced at the music system. The tracks they’d been playing weren’t iconic as rock music.
Moments later, Raghav played a song and the opening riff of Thunderstruck by AC/DC blared through the speakers. He took Meera’s hand and encouraged her, ‘Close your eyes and feel the music.’
The pulsating energy of the song filled the space, and soon they were both singing in time with the lyrics. Meera’s face lit up as if the music had ignited something within her. Suddenly, she broke away, rushing back to her sketchpad.
The room fell silent, except for the song playing in the background, as she poured herself into her work. The only sound was the scratch of charcoal on paper. When she was done sketching the outline, Meera looked up at them and smiled.
‘Mission accomplished!’ Raghav cheered.
Meera leapt into Raghav’s arms, and he wrapped her in a tight, warm hug. Siya sensed it was an intimate moment for them and slipped out to the balcony.
‘Hey Siya,’ Swayam greeted, disconnecting the call. ‘How’s everything inside?’
Siya leaned against the railing and grinned. ‘The two crazies are having a concert in the living room. You’re missing out on all the fun.’
Swayam shouted, ‘I want to see!’ He headed back inside, leaving her alone on the balcony.
‘You always run to the balcony when you’re trying to avoid people,’ Abhay said, walking up to stand next to her.
Siya stayed silent, dedicated to ignore him.
‘I figured you’d want some company,’ Abhay offered.
‘I don’t,’ Siya replied, her voice flat. A pause lingered between them, heavy with unsaid words. She mumbled to herself, ‘No matter how much I run, I’m always stuck with him.’
But Abhay caught her words and interjected, ‘Then maybe you should stop running from me.’
She could feel him standing just beside her, so close, the warmth of his body a constant reminder of a past she couldn’t forget, no matter how hard she tried.
His tousled hair caught the rays of fading light. For a brief, aching moment, she almost reached out. Her fingers itched to thread through the soft strands, like she had once loved to do.
‘You’re staring,’ Abhay said, his words laced with a quiet challenge.
‘You wish!’ she shot back and looked away, trying to mask the flutter she could feel stirring inside her.
Abhay smiled to himself, and his voice dropped to a soft murmur. ‘I do.’
Siya bit her lip, trying to ignore the rush of emotion his words stirred in her. Silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable.
‘You’re still mad at me,’ he said after a moment, a statement rather than a question.
Her laugh was sharp and bitter. ‘Mad at you? Abhay, I don’t think I care enough to be mad anymore.’
Siya intended the words to sting, and they did. She saw the flicker of pain in his eyes when he turned to look at her, but she refused to feel bad about it.
‘Then why can’t you even look at me?’ he challenged.
She turned her head to face him, meeting his gaze. His dark eyes, once a source of comfort and warmth, now only reminded her of broken promises. ‘Happy?’ she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘What do you want, Abhay?’
‘How are you?’
She did not know why, but civility seemed to be the easiest path, so she replied, ‘I’m fine, thanks. What about you?’
‘I’m fine too.’
‘Glad to hear that,’ she muttered, her heart pounding faster than she wanted it to.
Abhay turned to face her, his intense gaze no longer playful. ‘Why are you being so formal with me, Jaan ?’
The word hit Siya like a physical blow and made her insides twist with bitterness. It brought back memories of that night, the night she had learned the truth, the night everything had shattered.
‘You don’t get to call me that anymore!’ she snapped, her voice trembling with raw emotion.
‘Yes, I do,’ Abhay shot back, but the flash of pain in his eyes betrayed him.
The balcony felt like a battlefield between them.
‘No, you don’t. Whatever we had is long dead. You made sure of that, Abhay.’
‘You think I don’t remember how it ended, Siya? The way you just disappeared without a word? You never gave me a chance to explain. You simply walked away!’
His accusation hung in the air like a challenge, daring her to deny them. She didn’t. Instead, she looked away.
‘I didn’t mean to hurt you,’ he sighed. ‘You know that, don’t you?’
‘Intentions don’t matter, Abhay,’ Siya replied. ‘What matters is what you did.’
He looked at her then, and for a moment, he saw the vulnerability she rarely let anyone see. ‘I thought I was doing the right thing,’ he said, his voice heavy with regret. ‘I thought… I thought I was protecting you.’
That twisted her heart, but she refused to let it show. ‘Protecting me? By hiding the fact that the man I’m in love with is the son of my family’s rival? Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night?’
‘I don’t sleep well, not since you left me,’ he admitted, a self-deprecating smile tugging at his lips.
She snorted, trying to hide the ache that his words stirred. ‘Of course, you don’t.’ She turned to walk away, but Abhay pulled her towards him. Her heart pounded, betraying her, as she froze in the arms of the man who broke her trust.
‘It wasn’t like that,’ he said, his voice quieter now, almost pleading. ‘You have to understand, I never—’
‘Don’t.’ Siya held up her hand, stopping him mid-sentence. ‘I don’t want to hear it. You don’t get to spin your words now by pretending you weren’t playing with my heart.’ Her words dripped with the bitterness of a heart broken by a betrayal she couldn’t let go.
He stared at her, the weight of her words crashing down on him. He had never thought of it that way. Never thought that she might see their relationship as some kind of strategy, some way to get back at her family.
He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in her floral scent. When he opened them, a firestorm raged in his eyes. ‘This isn’t over, Jaan .’
She pulled away from him, chin jutted out in defiance, her body tense as she glared at him. ‘It’s been over for years, Abhay,’ she replied.
The pain in his eyes was unmistakable. She saw it, and it almost broke her, but she couldn’t give in, not after everything.
‘This isn’t over. I mean it,’ he repeated, and then, with obvious reluctance, he let her go. She walked out the next moment, leaving him alone on the balcony, a man torn between the love he still held for her and the pain of the past that had driven them apart.
Abhay decided he needed a drink. Something strong. Something to quiet the chaos in his head. She still had the power to make him lose his focus, to stir emotions he had tried to bury.
He needed to get away, to clear his head, but he knew it wouldn’t work. Siya was always there, settled deep inside his mind, waiting to haunt him again.