Teri Meri Chemistry. 📚 ✔

Chapter 10

"Revelations."

The next day at school was again a quiet one for me. Zack was back to his usual self again, joking around and irritating me. Honestly, I was in no mood to entertain him. I ignored them and went to the library. He came there looking for me.

"Why are you always with this poker face, cupcake?"

"Doesn't your face get hurt like this?"

"Why dont you give a damn about anything?"

"Why can't you talk it out?"

He nudged me continuously.

"Because I can't. So shut up now and get lost." I yelled at him.

"Oops." He gave a lopsided smile and left me there because I was furious right now. I went towards the backyard and settled on the backside of my favourite tree. The tree was my best friend. Once, I was sure that no one was there besides me, I looked towards the sky and tears trickled down my cheeks one after the other. They turned into streams a while later as I took out my frustration from the past few weeks. No matter how strong we pretend to be, we all are broken at some point in our life. I felt so alone and so sad at this point in my life. Everybody around me was fake. The world showered fake care and love all over me. I would have preferred an honest insult over fake compliments. The wound didn't hurt as much when it was stabbed. It hurt the most when the knife was in someone's hand whom I thought was my own.

I saw him was passing through the corridor, whistling. Luckily he was alone this time and his BBH group was not with him. He squinted his eyes at me and unknowingly changed his path. He tiptoed quietly to the backyard and saw me crying like that. A lump formed in his throat as he saw the always chirpy, witty and sarcastic Faara (according to him) crying like that. He wondered what could have possibly gone wrong with me. Unknowingly, he took steps in my direction. I quickly wiped my tears with the back of my hands. He bent down and I stared at him. He placed his hand on my shoulder

"Hey..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I replied and wiped away my tears immediately, trying to escape from there.

"You can tell me?" He spoke genuinely. "Did somebody hurt you? Did anyone say anything to you? Tell me I will take care of it. No one dare mess with you while I am here."

"I said no." I literally screamed at his face. "Leave me alone." I got up and he got up with me. As I was about to go back, he held my wrist.

"You need..." he said and with a jerk pulled me towards him, engulfing me in a warm bear hug. "this."

He stood quietly waiting for me to push him away, to shout at him or to resist but I did neither of them. Rather I buried my head in his chest and cried my heart out. He comforted me in ways I never had imagined in my whole life.

"I am so tired of feeling like this all the time." I hicupped.

"Everything will be alright soon. Trust me." He whispered in my ear and caressed my hair, still hugging me tightly. I was extremely comfortable in his warm embrace. I didn't know that there was this side to him as well especially around me.

"It will never be alright Zack." I told him solemnly. We settled on the grassy area on one of the stairs.

"Is there something wrong at home? It's okay if you don't want to say." He asked seriously and in that moment, he bewitched my soul as I started to pour my heart out in front of him, telling him my deepest secret.

"Home." I chuckled. "It was never a home Zack. I have wanted to escape from there all my life. I was always jealous of the way you didn't have to live with your parents."

"My mom, infact step-mom, never cared about me. After my mother's death during delivery, dad remarried in a hope that I would be in safe hands and wouldn't feel the void of a mother but she, she turned into my worst nightmare. She had a boyfriend named, Alex. When I turned seven, she allowed him to abuse me. And since then, I have been in this abusive relationship with my oh so loving mother. The Alex incident never happened again but it left me scarred for the rest of my life. And I fully know that you wouldn't see me the same way after knowing this. I don't even know why I am telling you this. I can't seem to shut up when I am with you."

He was silent. Absolutely silent. Staring at me like he had seen a ghost. He opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't seem to get the right words for it so he closed it again. His face was horror struck and then it changed into pity, something I hated the most.

"Please, don't feel sorry for me. I hate sympathies. I am over it anyway." I told him truthfully.

"No.. I just.. It's just.." He was overwhelmed with all the new information.

"It's okay." I smiled at him. He took my hand in his and fisted it tightly, kissing my knuckles with closed eyes. I felt some wetness on my hand.

"Zack?" I spoke, surprised.

He opened his eyes. They were shining. He gave me the widest smile and then he spoke something that warmed my heart. "You're my little fighter. I am so proud of you, all your scars and all the fights you have been fighting alone. Wear your scars proudly, Faara."

"You know physical damage heals after some time. But mental damage never heals." I spoke looking at the sky. He placed his arm over my shoulder.

"You know why I froze my one year? I would have graduated long ago otherwise and made your life less miserable."

"Zack, you are annoying! Like really. But honestly, I don't know where I would have been right now if it weren't for you in the moments I needed someone the most so yeah you made my life miserable but you made it beautifully miserable." I chuckled and he chuckled along with me.

"So I was saying, yeah. Something of the same sort was happening with me. My home never felt like home. My parents never felt like my own. I was struggling. My mental state was really bad and I kept failing so that's why I took a break. I was diagnosed with clinical depression but thanks to my squad, I overcame it. And that's why they are closer to me than my own family. I wouldn't trade them for the world."

I could feel the love he had for them from his way of talking and in that moment, I liked him a little more. 

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9

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