The Two One-Sided Lovers

By Kashish

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. 

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Shane’s Confession

                                                            Chapter 1

Today, placement drive results will be out. 

I was hoping to see my name in the list, placing my laptop on my thighs. There was a sudden knock at my door, I put my laptop aside and jumped from my bed to open the door. 

As soon as I opened the door, she barged inside my room with an ear to ear smile. She is none but my best friend Jerry. She hugged me and asked whether I checked the selection list. I nodded my head left to right. She showed me the list on her phone. Only three students from our college were selected for the company’s training period. One was my other friend and one was who used to be my friend and last one was obviously me.

I was feeling a rush of emotions while going through the brochure of the company. She noticed all those emotions on my face and advised me to  relax and exclaimed “party party!” I smiled at her and said “Let’s Go”.

We got dolled up in our best attire and rang Mika to come along. We hurried to Mika’s room. We were just going to knock at the door but she came out with a look of distress. When she saw me, she embraced me and congratulated me. She looked at me and said “How can someone look so pretty?”

My eyes went all over myself again. I was wearing a short knee length dress wine in color with white shoes covering my feet. Dress was so beautifully designed with a belt at its waist. I was shining in that dress.

I looked at her and asked” What happened, why do you look stressed. She just replied nothing and changed the topic by saying “Have you booked a cab?” 

My phone rang and Cab was just around the corner. We rushed down to the main gate of the hostel and did our entries in the entry book and seated ourselves in the white Sedan. Car started running on the road toward our desired destination, The Lavida. Suddenly a scooter came in front of the car and the driver applied the brakes and made a halt. I became so anxious with this that I was almost out of breath since it gave me a flashback. I was in an accident last year. 

Mika shook me and I got my senses back. They both were dumbstruck to see me like this. I said, “I am fine.” The driver apologized for that sudden shock and continued driving till we reached The Lavida. The driver stopped the car and I paid him the rent online. He left and we were standing under a two storey building entitled The Lavida. We entered  through its main gate and saw a huge light chandelier over our heads. Our booking was already done by me on the way here. 

A young lady not more than twenty five years of age took us to our table.

Mika and Jerry pulled a chair for me and I sat and said “Princess Treatment”. That lady gave us the menu to order what we would like to have. I told her to wait “Let us decide and we will call you”. I started reading the dishes enlisted in the menu to them and exclaimed “My party, My choice of dish” and they giggled, “Yes, Yes you decide what you will make us have”.

I was a bit confused with what to eat so I got some suggestions from them. At last I called the waitress and gave the order. Three girls were together and no gossiping, how was that even possible. I again asked Mika “You look stressed when we were in your room, Is everything Okay.” She raised her voice and said,”I already said, It was nothing, Why are you asking again?” To lift the mood, our food was on our table. Mika exclaimed,”Guys, let’s dig in.”

Our table was covered with two white sauce pasta garnished with cheese and oregano sprinkled over it. At the other side of the table there was a plate of sizzler and hot air escaping through the cutlets. To enhance the sizzler’s exoticity it was covered with two large lettuce leaves. We looked at the table and then at each other’s faces and saw our watering mouths. To go with the food I had ordered a bottle of red wine.

Wine half-filled glasses were raised in the air and with a clink we shouted,”Cheers”. There was a beep on my phone. I checked my phone while holding the glass in the other hand. I had received a text from Mickey saying ,“Call me!”, Mickey is my other friend who got selected for the company along with me.

I dialed his number and was placing the wine glass in my hand on the table but my hand slipped and wine spilled all over my hand and dress. I screamed ,” Blood Blood” till my scream fainted and finally I became unconscious.

                                                       Chapter 2

I opened my eyes. I was lying on a hospital bed, a beep beep sound was going inside my ears. I was put on IV lines. I saw Mika, Jerry and Mickey sighing in relief. Jerry exclaimed ,”Thank God! You are awake”. Doctor said that I was in a shock and enquired whether I had any recent or past trauma, because I was showing symptoms of PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The whole incident flashed again in front of my sight and I was again losing my breath.

The Doctor advised me to calm down and higher the dose of stress depressants. Only one member was allowed to stay with me in the hospital. So, they decided their turns and stayed by my side one by one. Since it was dusk time, Jerry was there with me and Mickey was off to drop Mika back to the hostel. 

Jerry talked to the doctor about my discharge formalities. I was going to be discharged the next morning. I had to stay at night in that room with Mickey taking care of me. Jerry was also off because of the strict hostel rules. The hospital room was getting on my nerves. I wanted to escape it asap. It kept reminding me of that  incident .

Mickey seated himself on the stool beside my bed and started talking. He said I called him but didn’t say anything, Jerry informed him about how I fainted and he rushed to the hospital then. I congratulated him for his selection. He reminded me that was why he wanted me to call him. He told me that we have to leave in two weeks for the company since the induction programme of the company is scheduled on 1st May 2024 that is 20 days apart from today. He said,” We three will be together there”. The smile on my face went away. He noticed and showed a text on his phone that stated, “How is she?” It was sent to Mickey by him. “He really asked you about me”, I enquired Mickey. 

Mickey asked me whether I still get glimpses of that day. I nodded. ”I am having nightmares of what happened that day and how I was not able to save her”, I added. “But it wasn’t your fault”, Mickey tried to comfort me. “I know but he still blames me for everything that happened that day”,I cried.

“I don’t even know how I am going to face him on the first day of company.” I was going to complete my sentence but my phone rang. I got a call from Mom. She sounded very worried, and asked me to come home and stay there till the joining date. The nurse came to the room to check me and asked me if I was okay then. She noted my pulse, and gave me some medicine to swallow. I swallowed them in one go. She said ,”These meds will help you to sleep”. She left the room. 

Mickey made himself a bed near mine and he slept soundly. I was on a high dose of meds so I slept as soon as I closed my eyes.

The dawn light fell on my face through the window pane. I was half awake when Mickey was packing up the stuff, and getting ready for discharge. We were at the reception of the hospital clearing off the hospital bill when I saw my parents coming through the main gate. They were here to take me home. They already had my stuff from my hostel and fulfilled the other formalities in the hostel as well as the hospital.

Jerry and Mika came to see me off, since I will be leaving for the company directly from my home, so there was no chance of our meet up. We had a group hug. Mickey told my parents about the medications and made them meet with my doctor while Jerry, Mika and I headed off to have something in the hospital canteen.

We sat at the table. Jerry told me that Shroo called her and asked about me. I called Shroo before any other talk, but she didn’t pick up. Jerry said,”She might be in her office, You can call her after her office hours”. Shroo is already doing a job in a company with a nice package and she had left the hostel a month ago.

My parents called me after finishing their meeting with the doctor. Mickey put my stuff in the car and I seated myself in the back seat with Papa driving the car and Mumma sitting beside him. I waved at them and the car started leaving the hospital.

                                                           Chapter 3

We stopped on our way to fill the car’s tank and our tummies. After four hours I stepped inside my house. My grandma offered me a glass of water, I had a sip and my brother  came out from his room to see me. I went to my room and rested in my bed for a while. In the evening, Mumma called me for dinner. Family of five gathered around the dining table for the night meal. 

Dad inquired about my placement, company and the other two who were placed with me. I told them that the company has an initial training period of six months in its Valencia branch, after the completion of training I will be a full time employee but location is not mentioned yet in the offer letter, On 1st May I have to report in their Valencia office along with Mickael Laurel aka Mickey and Shane Parker.

Mom asked me hastily,”Will you be fine?” My mom knew everything that  happened between Shane and me. My dad boastfully said,”She will be fine there, afterall whose daughter is she?” I finished my dinner. It was past 8 in the night and I remembered to call Shroo since she would be free now to talk. I rang her. As I was talking to her on the phone, Kai (my two year younger brother) came in, and snatched my phone from my hand and cut the call.

I got up on my bed filled with rage and was irritated with what he just did. “I was talking to her”, I shouted. He started to run but I caught him and we sat down and he said,” Shane Parker huh, same company, you would be happy inside after all you will get to see your crush full day long, and work with him in a team.” He didn’t know that the situation had changed now. 

“Stop pulling my leg, Okay”, I said to Kai.

He laughed and left the room. I slept after taking my pills. Few days had passed. I was sitting with Kai on the couch in the living room and watching Netflix on television while chatting with my childhood friend Anna. She was asking for a meet up but I was not allowed to leave the house until my joining in the company so I asked her to come to my place.

It was evening tea time. The doorbell rang, I opened the door and Anna was standing there. I called her inside. She greeted my family and we both went to my room for chit-chat. We sat on the bed and I started telling him about my new job, my company and those complications which I will have to face while working there.

Anna exclaimed,”New job! You need a makeover then, we should go out and do some shopping”.

Mumma came up with some snacks for us. Anna convinced my mother to allow us to go out. She permitted but put a condition that Kai will go along with us. She called Kai downstairs and asked him to go with us. He refused first but then agreed. Mom gave some instructions to Kai like drive safely, take care of your sisters and to come back home before 9 pm. So, now Kai was our bodyguard cum driver.

He drove the car out of the garage. He was literally our driver because we two besties sat at the backside. I said,”Driver, take us to the central mall.”

He sulked but didn't say anything.

We were in Lille's central mall. We entered Louis Vuitton to buy some formal wear for my new office life. I bought some shirts with pants to match the outfit and some coats and long blazers. For footwear, I wanted to buy them from Clarks. There, brown colored heels stole my heart, so I immediately bought them. I already had shoes to go with most of my outfits, so we came out of Clarks. Anna said,'' I know that you don’t prefer wearing makeup but now your new life is beginning so you should try it. Anna went to Sephora and we brother and sister followed her. She bought me some skin care products like scrubs, masks, and cleansers. I tried some lipsticks and bought some nude shades. I don’t like dark colored lips. Actually I prefer my natural shade of lips but she insisted on buying some lip colors. 

Then I started feeling hungry so we went to the food court to grab something to eat. On our way to the food court, a mannequin outside the madame showroom stole my eyes. It wore an american rose color long gown with a center cut around its waist. It was a cut-sleeve dress with a v-shaped neck with white beads stitched on the V-neck. It looked so attractive on the dummy that I couldn't stop myself from giving it a try. “Anna”,I shouted since they both had walked far from where that dress had stopped me from moving. 

“Come here, Fast, see I like this dress and wanna buy”. She looked at the mannequin. “Go, go try it on you”, she said. I came out of the try room and Anna said,” You can seduce the most handsome man in this world.” I blushed and wore my clothes back. I bought the dress.

We had subways in the food court with some soft drinks. It was already 8:30 so Kai said we should head home now otherwise Mom will not let him in and we came back home and dropped Anna to her place on the way. 

Only a week was left for my first day in the company. “Ding Dong”. There was a parcel at the door. It was sent by the company before joining. I opened the parcel. There were some goodies sent by them. Goodies included the company’s access card with my name written in capital letter ‘Kaira Miller’ on it, a macbook, a sipper, a merch and a notebook with a pen customized with the company’s logo.

We had booked flight tickets for three from Lille to Valencia. Mumma, Papa will fly with me to Valencia and stay there till my joining day while getting satisfied  about my accommodation there. Company will provide a 1BHK flat to all the new joinees, but there is a monthly maintenance bill that I will have to pay . These were some incentives given by the company to its employees along with thirty euros per hour, but salary will be in hand after the completion of one month.

The day of my flight has come. It was a four hour flight from Lille to Valencia. We were off to the airport two hours before the boarding time. Kai and grandma had also come to see us off and Kai will drive the car back with him.

We were waiting for the boarding announcement in the waiting area of the airport. I went to the restroom. While returning, I saw Mickey talking to someone but wasn’t able to see whom he was talking to, since he was facing Mickey and I was facing his back. I waved to Mickey and that man walked away and grabbed a chair to sit on. I was trying to see him but my efforts weren’t working.

Mickey came to me. I asked him who he was. He replied that I know him, he was none but Shane. 

Mickey said,”You know what, all the interns will live in the same building.”

“Oh, We will be neighbors now,”I replied.

The announcement was made for us to come to the counter and collect our boarding passes. We showed our tickets and the boy at the counter handed us our boarding passes.

We took our seats and tied our seatbelts. Flight announcement was made that the flight was ready to take off and I switched off my mobile and after four hours we were back on the earth in Valencia.When I landed I looked for Mickey and him but our cab was already at the airport and the driver was calling continuously as he could not find us. So, I dropped the plan of meeting him at the airport and thought afterall I will see him at company. 

We sat in the cab and arrived at the location provided by the company. It was a sixteen storey building with 160 flats in total. My flat number was 0802. It was on the eighth floor. Mickey has told me that Shane and he will be living on the same floor but mine was different. I didn’t know his floor number because of the airport announcement. I asked him on text about his floor but he didn't reply.

I got the keys of the flat at the reception and climbed to the eighth floor via escalator. I opened my new home. It was a fully furnished flat with one bedroom, a hall and a kitchen. Mom went to the kitchen and arranged daily needed stuff there and prepared something to eat for dinner. I went to see the bedroom. There was a bed with some drawers at its bottom. There was a cupboard attached to the wall at the other side of the room. I unpacked my clothes and arranged them inside it and changed the bed sheets and placed some photo frames on a shelf that was on the third wall of the room.

In the hall there was a couch facing an empty wall. Papa advised me to install a TV over there once I get settled here. To my pleasure there was a balcony with two chairs facing the sea. I sat there for a while with a cup of coffee in my hand. Mickey texted the tenth floor.

Mom called me for dinner. After dinner I went to my room. I was excited because tomorrow will be my first day at work. I was nervous too to see him again at the workplace. I had thought that once college was finished there would be no chance for us to pop into each other's lives and we will live peacefully but destiny had something else in its store for us.

                                                         Chapter 4

Mumma called me,”Wake up! Kaira, it's your first day”. I woke up in an instant hearing this, with excitement covering my whole face. I brushed my teeth and came to the kitchen to help my Mom lay the table. I was still in my pajamas. We had breakfast and I left to take a bath in the bathroom attached to the bedroom. I came outside in the bathrobe and took out my formals that I was going to wear today.

It was a white plain top with brown pants. I wore them and a formal coat the same color as pants. For footwear I had black heels. I bought some nude shades of lipsticks so I tried some of them. I opened my hair that was tied in the shape of a messy bun. I combed them and thought to straighten them somewhat because my hair is so wavy. I came out to get an opinion of Mumma on my today’s look. 

“Kaira, Look at you, You are looking so workaholic and stunning in this outfit”, Papa remarked.

They were also ready to see me off at work. “Are you coming to drop me?”, I asked.

“Ofcourse”, they both said in sync.

Dad has already booked a cab. We sat and it drove us to the company’s main gate. I saw two skyscrapers facing each other. I can see Mickey and Shane standing there in a formal look. I looked at Shane, he was looking way more handsome in those formals from the day when I first saw him wearing an olive hoodie, sitting on the first desk in the examination hall.

Today he was wearing a black shirt and gray formal pants. He was carrying his gray coat with his 

one hand over his shoulder and was carrying an office bag in his other hand. He has really grown as a man from a college boy. They were coming toward us. Mickey greeted my Parents and then Shane greeted them as well. I shook hands with Mickey. Shane moved his hand like he wanted to greet me. We shook hands but all I could hear was “Don’t call me or text me, I am tired and don’t want to see your face”. This was what he said to me when we last talked. But today there was something  changed in his behavior, like he does not blame me for that day anymore, but I was just being delusional.

My parents were off to the flat since they needed to pack for their flight scheduled in the evening.

When my parents left he was again his previous self. He was just pretending to be a friend in front of my parents. I still remember how he ignored me after that incident, he didn’t even consider me as his classmate.

He never called me by my name, actually he just avoided me after we had our last talk and I also never talked to him.

I remember, one day, I was sitting behind him working on my notes. He was looking for a spare pen and asking other classmates, but he didn’t get one. I said to him,” Do you want a pen?” He just nodded, he didn’t even utter a word like he didn’t want me to hear him speaking to me. I was taking out a pen from my bag but before I could give him, he got a pen from someone else and he just started writing and then Mickey said to me,” Give this pen to me?” so that I don’t feel embarrassed. 

Mickey called me when I was lost in thoughts. Now we were entering the building. I scanned my access card to mark my attendance. We had to report in the HR office. We entered the office. There our HR was sitting on her chair. I read her name Miss Nancy Clinton that was written on a nameplate that was there on her working desk. 

She greeted us by saying,” Welcome aboard”.

We were assigned a team leader. Mickey was on a different team but for making us more uncomfortable at this company Shane and I were put in the same team.”Coincidences become more frequent when you are avoiding something”.

Shane and I were to meet our team leader Mr. David CLark. He was sitting in a conference room. The conference room was well lit. It had a screen on one wall and a projector hanging down the ceiling. The conference table was elliptical in shape and brown in color. David was sitting on a chair with the screen behind him. Shane and I seated ourselves where some seats were empty since most of the seats were preoccupied with other team members.

My team consisted of twenty members with Mr. David Clark our team leader so twenty one in total. There were three more freshers like me and Shane. Left side of Mr. Clark was occupied by our seniors who joined the company before us and on the right side five of us were sitting. To reduce some awkwardness those Twenty people were also divided in small teams so Shane and I were now in different sub-teams.

My sub-team leader was Miss Tia Lane.It was a big hall where there were 10 round tables. She showed us our working desk.  It was a round table like the other 9 tables. It was big enough to accommodate a strength of 8 people. There were only 5 people + Miss Tia in my team. She told us to take our seats. After three hours of being pretentious that I was doing fine during our handshake, in the meeting room sitting beside him now I was all by myself. I heard a noise in my stomach. It was nothing but anxiety that I was hiding this long.

I was feeling like throwing up so I rushed to the restroom while keeping my hand on my mouth. But unfortunately, I bumped into him while he was coming from the gent’s restroom and here the most embarrassing moment of my life happened. I puked on him. He took out a handkerchief and started cleaning himself. I didn’t make any eye contact and hurried to the lady’s restroom. I was not able to look at myself in the mirror. What did I do just now? What just happened? How will I now ever look at him? Wait a minute,” He still carries this handkerchief ?”

Tia called me to come fast to David’s room to inform me that there is an announcement for all the new joinees. I washed up and went to his room where my team was already there. I was stealing glances from Shane in the room.

David announced,” There will be a welcome party for all the new joinees in my team on the coming Sunday.” We all applauded. 

This was how my first day at work ended, I didn’t work at all today. I came back home. Mom and Dad were waiting for me before leaving for the airport. 

Mom asked me about my day. 

I felt embarrassed about what had happened today so I just replied that it was nice, everyone there was good to me and said,” When is your flight?”

“We were just waiting for you to come and now we will leave,” She said. I wanted to go with them to the airport but they refused and told me to rest. “Your dinner is in the kitchen, warm it up and don’t forget to have it.” My Mom and her list of instructions. I smiled and nodded. They had already booked a taxi to the airport. The taxi was  here. I saw them off and came back to my room.

                                                          Chapter 5

I was getting along at work. Shane sat at a table leaving two tables in front of my desk. It was far but not so far for our eyes not to meet. He was sitting there while facing me, in that same olive green hoodie that he wore when I first saw him and the day when I spoke to him for the last time. Once I told him that I liked his brown hoodie but then he corrected me that it's not brown, it's olive green.

I was working on my laptop and lifted my head to see him but he was already looking and smiled. Again, me and my delusional brain, he was smiling at Mickey that was just sitting on the desk ahead of mine. 

He used to smile at me like this. His smile was the purest smile I had ever seen and it had been so long since he smiled at me. I started working again.

Everyone was busy working so there were very few chances of any coincidences to happen. I was quite worried about Sunday when I will have to pretend again at the party since our colleagues already knew that Shane and I were from the same college and guess what next day was sunday.

Today was Sunday, the welcome party was in the evening at 7 pm, so I got up, had breakfast. Since I had nothing to do, I opened my laptop and started watching a Korean series. I completed its six episodes and it was already 3 pm in the afternoon. I was confused about what to wear. There were two dresses that I decided to wear, one was that gown I bought from Lille’s mall and another was a woolen dress. I wanted to wear that gown because my heart wanted it so badly but the weather in Valencia demands a woolen dress. 

I came to the conclusion that I will wear that gown in which I can seduce the most handsome man in the world as said by Anna and wear a blazer with it, afterall it will be warm inside the restaurant. So, I put it on and carried a handbag, locked my flat and put the keys inside the bag. 

I went to the location by cab. Everyone was already there. I greeted everybody while putting a smile on my face. My eyes were looking for Shane but he hadn’t arrived yet. I thought he would not come to the party because at college after that incident, we never went to a party where both of us were invited. If he needed to go to a get together so I would back out and if I needed to go, he wouldn't come and today also the same thing happened.

All the staff sat at a big table. David asked us what we wanted to have and then gave the order for dinner.After having dinner, everyone stood to do some dance. Max, one of my colleagues, offered me to dance with him. We danced. He offered me a soft drink. I didn't feel like drinking but it was a soft drink so I had it. But I don’t know why after drinking it, my head felt a little heavy. 

While dancing I said to him,” Did you spike my drink?” He didn't reply but I understood that there was some problem with that drink. I wanted to go home so I told David that I should leave now because I was not feeling well. I stepped out of the hotel. Everything was blurry. I wasn’t able to walk. I didn’t feel my foot and was tripping. But before I could fall someone grabbed me from my shoulder and there he was, Shane.

Wait here,” he said. He brought his car. He sat me inside it and put the seatbelt around me and seated himself on the driving seat. I wasn’t in my senses.

“I didn’t do it. Why didn’t you hear me out once? It was not my fault”. I was weeping while saying this in my whispering voice.” Please, Shane, Let me explain myself what happened that day, Please hear me out once.” Before he could say anything, I started. Do you remember, that day I went to the market on a scooter. I told you about that when you called before I was going to leave. In the market, you called me to pick up Benny since she was nearby. She had come to the market to shop for her fresher’s party. I told you that I had already come halfway to college but you insisted so, I went to pick her up. She had already bought all the stuff she needed. I asked her if I could be of any help but she refused. Her phone beeped and she said,” Drive fast, and take me to my brother. I was like what had happened to this brother sister duo.

You know that I ride the scooter very carefully. While driving there was a truck behind us. It was loaded with bunches of steel rods. I was making a safe distance from that truck while driving because I also feared these heavy vehicles. There was a u-turn ahead of me. The truck had to take that turn but for once I felt it was above the speed limit. While the truck was turning, one rod from one bunch got untied and struck Benny's head. My scooter went out of my control and there were blood stains on me. I didn’t know how it happened. Everything happened so fast and Benny, scooter and I were on the road.

People gathered around us. I was frightened as fuck and could not stop crying. While explaining all this tears were falling from my eyes as well as  I could hear him crying too. I continued, someone from the crowd, was a doctor and came forward to help. Benny was not conscious. He checked her pulse. He checked her breathing. But there was nothing. She wasn’t breathing and had lost her pulse. In my crying voice, I said ,”Please call 911”. 

I called you and started crying, “Shane, Benny, Shane, Benny”. We were in an ambulance. The ward boy in the ambulance snatched the phone from my hand and told you to come to the city hospital. Benny was put on the stretcher and we were running toward OR. You came and I hugged you and bawled my eyes out but you didn’t utter a word and pushed me aside and went straight to the doctor. A nurse came to me and saw me bleeding. I had a laceration on my elbow. She cleaned my wound and stitched it.

The doctor came out of the OR and said, “Sorry, we couldn’t save her, she had lost so much blood on the way here. Her pulse was lost, we tried our best to revive her but didn’t succeed. You may go see her”. You ran to the room and closed the door on my face. When you came outside. You sat on the floor and broke down. I came to talk to you and explain to you what happened.

I sat near you and started talking but you said, “ I need some time alone”, and I should leave you. I refused to go but you shouted to leave. Saying that I passed out. But I could hear his crying and my eyes couldn’t stop shedding tears.

                                                                 Chapter 6

I woke up and I was in my room on my bed. My head felt heavy. I vaguely remembered what happened last night. He dropped me at my home. I heard him calling Mickey and asked about my flat number. He took the flat keys from my bag. He put me on my bed and said something that I didn’t remember while putting his hand on my forehead and he left.

I checked my phone. Mickey had called me. I got a text from Shane. ”He unblocked me!” After that incident happened, I tried to talk to him, I called him infinitely. I texted him but he didn’t pick up my calls or respond to my texts so I went to his home to confront him. I rang the doorbell. He came out but he said something I never wanted to hear. “Don’t call me or text me, I am tired”. I cried in front of him. I begged him. “If you want to blame me, you can, I am sorry about what happened to Benny but don’t be like this.” But nothing worked and after our last meet

I never contacted him. At college also, we became friends to strangers. But on his birthday I tried to call him and I came to know that he had blocked me over everything.

The text said,” Are you okay?”

My hands were shaking while handling the phone. I didn’t have the guts to reply to him. I didn’t reply.

I got ready for work. There was a meeting with my sub team after that it was off. Tia led the meeting and said to me,” Kaira, Please take some copies of these papers.” I nodded.

I went to the printer and put the papers into it that needed photocopy. I pressed the button but it didn’t start printing. I was checking what was wrong with the printer and saw Shane standing right next to me. He whispered in my ear why I had not replied to his message while pulling out the cartridge. 

Oops printer was out of ink. He filled that cartridge. I thanked him but he said that he wanted to meet me over coffee. I hesitated but I don’t know why I wanted to meet him over coffee so I said yes.

I said,” Okay I am leaving for home, we can meet in the evening.” 

He said,” Perfect, I will come and pick you up.”

I came back home.I was excited as well as nervous. I still remember when I went to meet him for the first time somewhere other than our classroom. It was his birthday. He had invited me to his birthday party. That time Jerry, Shroo and I were roommates. He had texted me about this. I told everything to my girls. They were also excited for me.

Shroo said,” Why are you standing? Hurry up, get ready.”

I was trying on my outfits for his party. I tried three to four dresses until Shroo and Jerry were satisfied with my look. 

I went to the location he texted me. It was almost 9 pm.

The location was too perfect to be real. I felt like dreaming. It was a sea shore. There were two chairs and a table laid with cake. Near that table there was a piano where he was sitting waiting for me. 

I asked him why there was nobody else but us. He replied,”Others will come, you just have a seat.” I seated myself at the table. He was still at his piano and started playing a song. I was lost in his voice and the way he was hitting the notes on piano. I also started singing with him. 

He said,” Let’s cut the cake”. I wondered why he was celebrating his birthday only with me. 

I said,” We should wait for others.”

He went on his knees.

                                                         Chapter 7

My phone rang and I said,” I will have to leave.” But before leaving I gave him his birthday gift. It was a handkerchief with his initials on it.

I said,” I have hand crafted your initials on this so please don’t let it be lost.”

“Ponk Ponk”. Shane was there with his car to pick me up for today’s coffee. I was almost ready. I had worn a short red dress with white dots on it and a white short shrug over it. I came down the building. He was standing near his car. Today he was in a casual look. A white t-shirt and pistachio colored trousers.

I sat in his car. It was playing the same song that he sang for me on his birthday. I was on a mute button and he couldn't stop talking. He was sneezing. He stopped the car at Starbucks. We went inside it. 

I sat at a table. He went to order for us since there was self service. He already knew what I like to drink at Starbucks so he didn't ask me. He came back to me and sat. 

I started the conversation since I hadn’t utter a word the whole way here.

“Are you okay, you were sneezing while driving here”, I said.

He said that it rained heavily last night when he dropped me at my flat. My memory was blurred, I didn’t remember many things that happened last night. 

I said,” I remember sitting in your car but what happened next I don’t know.”

He went on saying that I talked about the accident and passed out before hearing him, so he dropped me home.

Today I will tell you that I could not tell last night. But before he could say, he was called by the waiter, that our order was ready. He went to take the order. 

He had ordered sandwiches and two caramel frappes. We were talking while having. We talked about work, home and talked about everything that we missed about each other while in that no contact policy.

I asked him why he came late that night. I thought he wouldn’t come because of me, like we were doing in our college days. He said he went to drop his parents to the airport for their flight and waited there till the take off and came to the party afterwards. He saw me trembling, shaking and before I could fall he held me.

We finished eating. He took out his handkerchief and said,” Do you remember this handkerchief you gifted me?” 

How can I forget this? It took me a full night to embroider these initials of him. I searched youtube and learnt embroidery. 

“Why do you still carry this?” I said.

He said it was the only thing that he could keep in those days. He said he knew I wasn’t at fault but whenever he saw me he was reminded of Benny and even his parents didn’t want to see me. He never hated me but didn’t want me to get hurt by his parents, so distanced himself from me.

“But today, I will tell you how I feel that I have been trying to tell you since my birthday that I celebrated with you,” he said. 

Today again like his birthday he went on his knees.

                                                          Chapter 8

“Kaira, you moved your fingers,” he said. I was like what is he saying? I opened my eyes and found myself laying on a hospital bed with Shane sitting on a stool. How is this possible? I was not able to differentiate between dream and reality.

Shane started crying and went on apologizing.

I asked him why I am here. I was at Starbucks with you and you were going to tell me something.

He said,” Do you remember the day you came to my house and talked to me after Benny’s death?” 

I remember that, why I am here. We were in Valencia placed in a company together. What’s the date today? I was confused as fuck. He told me to calm down and advised me not to get hyper.

That day on my way back home after meeting Shane. I fainted on the road near his house. His neighbor called him since they knew I was his friend. He took me to the hospital. The doctors examined me. I was diagnosed with a cyst in my brain that was created due to internal bleeding on the day of the accident. 

I said,” But there were only some scratches and a laceration.”

The doctor had said that at that time they hadn’t diagnosed me for any internal injury and everyone was devastated over Benny, when Shane took me to the hospital after our last talk. They did a CT Scan and found that clot. The clot was incurable and Shane told me that I had very little time to live. Although they had removed the clot, I even had even opened my eyes but these moments were my last moments till I will have my last breath here itself on this hospital bed.

The clot was malignant and had caused severe damage to the nearby cranial nerves. Everyone came into the room. Mom, Dad, Kai, Jerry, Mickey, Mika and Shroo. 

“I want to live, Mom , Why is this all happening to me?”, I said to her.

She said crying,” Don’t worry dear, we will take you to the best doctor, and have other consultations, we won’t let you die.”

Everyone was holding their tears and faking smiles to cheer me up so that I should lose the will to live and hold onto myself.

Mom and Dad went out to take the doctor. My friends were there with me. They were making me laugh by cracking jokes. I asked them how much time I have been like this. 

Three months from that day. I wondered if everything that just happened was all my imagination. Valencia, company, Shane, me, Starbucks, everything. What is reality? Was I hallucinating, imagining. 

I told them about my dream. I told them about Valencia. Mickey, Shane and I got placed in the same company. Shane wanted to say something in my coma state and before he could say I came back to reality.

I requested everyone to leave me alone with Shane, I want to say something to him. Everyone left. Shane was there. He came near and sat on the stool. 

“Shane, I have loved you from the very first day we met, I always wanted to tell you but it was one-sided so I never confessed and didn’t want to ruin our friendship” I said.

“I also have something to tell you Kaira”, Shane confessed.

                                                   Shane’s Confession

The day I told you to pick Benny from the market, that day I was going to confess my feelings for you that I was not able to confess on my birthday. I have also loved you from the day we first met. That’s why I invited you and only you to my birthday but lost the chance to confess.

The examination hall. You passed by me, with that charming smile on your face and sat down on the fourth last desk wearing a light blue sweater with dark blue jeans. I was also glancing at you. You were helping the guy sitting behind you in the exam.

We had become friends because we were classmates. We used to sit together, eat together and I was falling for you. 

You called me that day that you will be going to the market. I called Shroo and Jerry to help me make arrangements for that day. Benny will give me time to arrange everything. I had prepared something similar to that I had prepared on my birthday for you. I told Benny to make you wait till I contact her to come. 

My preparations were done. I texted Benny to hurry up, it’s all ready.

I was waiting for both of you. Then I received a call from you. You were murmuring Benny and my name.

The ward boy told me about the accident. I hurried to the hospital. I was totally shaken when I saw my dead sister. I didn’t know how to react, how to look at you. 

I had convinced myself that it wasn’t your fault but my mom's condition was deteriorating day by day. I tried to convince her that it was an accident. It’s not your fault. She wasn’t listening to me and blaming you and told me to cut ties off with you and I did what she told me to do. The day you came to my place she was standing at the window watching us. 

I didn’t know what to do so I said those hateful words that I am sick of you, you should not call me or text me. You were crying in front of me but I was helpless. I could not do anything. You left. Then Uncle John called to tell me that you fainted on the road. I rushed and took you here.

The ECG machine started to beep faster. I held her hand and in that very instant I heard a single beep sound. She was gone. I kissed her forehead, closed her eyes and wiped the tears falling from her eyes.

Acknowledgement

Thank you for reading my first book. I hope you liked this unrequited love story of Shane and Kaira.

I want to thank my parents and friend who inspired me to write this. This book has some scenes that are inspired from my life.

I will come back with more content somewhat happier than this.

Thanks to all the readers.

By Kashish