Anu And Her First Love

He stared at me, grinning for a second.
"Are you ready?" he asked and that makes me nervous. What now?
"For what?"
He sat beside me as he pulled out his phone from the pocket of his coat and started tapping it on the screen. Already the sun
starts to burn my skin. I don't need to take the sunbathe to get my skin tan. I'd already enough sun tanned in my skin. I was
losing control each time I felt the burn in my skin.
My head was scanning for nothing in the swimming pool like if I get a chance to push him in it, I would do it without any doubt
because I was done with the day. Yesterday Arjun scolded me, okay but today I made coffee for him as if the apologies for
yesterday but at last what'd happened he yanked the spoon away and walked out of the room even without any backward
glances. And here I was sitting in the center of the sun and getting my angry temperature high second by second. Arjun was
saying about going out with him to apologize but before he could finish he dragged me from there. I can't scold Krishna for this
even in a playful tone because he came all across the world to wish us and he was also my best friend, how could I?
The next second all I know was he placed his phone right in front of me just an inch or two away from my face. And all I felt was,
I was crying and felt the teardrops in my eyes as it slides through my cheek like a fall. The screen I was seeing in front of me was
my amma, appa, Jo... my whole family who I didn't call, after I landed in New York.
I was such a stupid girl with zero memory. I promised my amma to call her once I landed here in NYC but the first day itself not
that great opening for me. So I didn't feel like sharing my worry with my family and make them uncomfortable or making them
think that Arjun didn't talk to me more than five words a day, god knows how many words.
"Amma! Appa! Jo!" I shouted in excitement. To be honest, now I didn't care whether Arjun will get disturbed by my voice. At that
time all I cared about was I get a chance to talk to my family. Seeing my sister remembered me of my wedding day of how we
exchanged our hugs with a tear in my eyes and sadness in my heart. When I see my amma and appa behind Jo I was crying out
loud, my appa told Krishna to comfort me and he put his arms around my shoulder and squeezed it, then relaxed and tried to
concentrate on family.
"Amma, appa, Jo ellarum yeapdi irukeenga? (How are you guys?" we used to speak in our mother tongue, Tamil but when I
married Arjun, the situation got complicated. I didn't even know whether he knows any language apart from English? I also know
that some of the Americans take Spanish as their second language but who knows? Right?

"Fine," they all said at the same time.
"How about Arjun?" amma asked about his health.
"Fine,"
"Where is he?" appa stared behind me as if there was an option to visit us now via phone.
"Taking a nap. He was always a busy person and a hard-working boss." I said as I was truly proud of Arjun.
We talked for a while, shared a happy smile, sad smile, laughs, giggles and it all felt like home again. But then one big question
put the end card for that all different varieties of a smile.
"Is there any good news? How he was taking care of you? Do you like him? Do you love him?" amma continued.
"Amma!" I complained.
Once my amma finished my sister joined her. "Did you kiss him?"
They were all forgetting that I was sitting beside a man and they were asking about girly stuff.
I groaned.
And suddenly we were all interrupted by a bold voice coming from behind us.
"Yes, we are taking care of each other. She likes me. She loves me. And she adores me." The voice paused and I turned my
head to see the person and found Arjun standing beside me just an inch away from my back. He pointed my sister with his finger
and said, "And you, that's our private things not for the public." He said as he winked at her. She giggled. And I was done with
the day. What was going on here? "And, yes." He smirked.
What? What he just said? Did we kiss? Why was he lying? Or was he doing me a favor? I thought lying to them was better than
saying the truth.
He wasn't the type of person whom I spent the week with. I was with the person who only hears the silence and the sound of
tapping his keyboard. And sometimes not to forget to mention breaking things especially glass materials. I was with the person
who can't control his temper. I was with the person who was so... arrogant. Yes, I just figured the correct word for his character,
"Arrogant". But when he saw my parents he was... acting? I don't know how to refer to that word apart from acting and the word
"acting" also referable.

"Sorry brother-in-law, if you kissed her... Which I was guessing that you maybe did but I was just saying that, that was her first
kiss." She said closing her face. Why in the hell she'd have to mention something that was out of the league. Amma was
scolding her as appa was plucking her ear. She was acting like she was screaming in pain. Krishna was laughing a throaty laugh
beside me. Arjun was frozen in his place don't know how to reply to this one.
I was embarrassed in front of my old and new family.
"I'm sure that was her memorable gift that she'd ever gotten." He said, staring at me as if I wanted to nod for that one.
I nodded. Once again I heard them all laughing except the person who was near me. Krishna and Arjun didn't seem like
laughing.
First of all, I want to ask him what was going on and he was talking about which kiss? This was because of my sister she was
always like she can't control her emotions when it comes to her older sister, to embarrass me in front of everyone. And there
were no mistakes by her side too.
"Yeah, you guys talk, and I'll be back," Krishna said as he stood and walked into the house.
Once he was gone Arjun came near and sat beside me where Krishna sat before he left, and put his arms around my waist, and
tightened his grip. It was all his activities that I wasn't familiar with. Since when he started being nice.
"How're you, aunty? Uncle? And my sister-in-law Jo?" he just officially greeted.
"Fine," They all said in a single voice.
"Please say your daughter to be nice to me aunty. I can't bear her. She always not listens to my words." He complained about
me to my amma.
"Anu, what was he saying? Be nice to your husband or else I'll come there and you know what I'd capable of." She said with a
smug face.
Wait. What? It all seems like my plate was already full. He said that I wasn't being nice to him? That wasn't fair at all. He was the
one who always scolds me and didn't talk to me but he was complaining about me? He can't bear me? What did I do wrong for
him to couldn't, bear me? Then what he said... Ahh! I wasn't listening to his words. Always. He barely even spoke ten or twenty
words from the time I hear his voice and he was saying that I didn't listen to his words. "Be fair!" I was crying out loud in my mind.

"Amma! He was_" I opened my mouth to say that he didn't mean anything but I was cut off by him as his hand's grip on my waist
gone tighter and I jerked by the sensation of his hand in my waist. When his hands on my waist I couldn't speak anything, only
the air was coming out of my mouth but not the sound.
"She'll be good, aunty. Won't you, Shiya?" He asked smirking at me. He used my nickname which was given by Krishna to me.
He was the one who always calls me with that name since we were a kid. I didn't know what was going on with his head now.
His grip around my waist tightened and my head not thinking still, except, "I will." I nodded and forcing a smile.
"Bye, call you later."
After a couple of minutes later I hung up the call. I thought he'll lose his grip as I tried to stand but his hand got my waist even
tighter than before. He yanked me to sit with him and I sat with a thud. His gaze was on the swimming pool with stern eyes and
clenched his teeth inside his closed mouth but can hear his teeth's sound of crashing together. His heart was beating faster and
faster as if he was going to lose his temper. But what did I do wrong?
"Ahh!" I groaned in pain. "Leave me. Let me go. You're hurting me."
But he was sitting like a statue pretending he can't hear me.
"Let me go."
Then a couple of seconds later he shoved his hand away from me and landed on the ground as I took a deep breath. That's
when I remembered that he was being pushed by someone I turned my head and found Krishna standing beside me with a stern
look on his face, his hands to his hips as if he was standing like a 'Bada Bheem'. Arjun pause where he'd fall and calming himself
to get some energy to fight back this giant beast. Once he felt calm he stood from the ground and gave him a clenched-teeth
look.
Krishna holding his two arms in front of his chest just an inch away as if he was showing that he was ready for the fight. Arjun
took a step forward as Krishna walked toward him. I was staring at them with wide eyes. Now they were just an inch away from
each other. Before Arjun can break Krishna's nose and Krishna can break Arjun's arm I've to stop them. Arjun and Krishna took
their right hand to air to take the right position to point the aim their mark.
"Stop!!!" I shouted. Once they heard my stern voice they paused, their hands on the air, and turned their attention to me.
Silent fills the air before Krishna starts to defend himself as Arjun gave him the disgusted look.

"He was hurting you Shiya. I didn't have any other choice." He said through his teeth.
There was a silence. Arjun didn't say anything to defend him.
"Was he always hurting you this whole time?"
What? "No, no.... no, no. No!" I shouted thinking that my voice wouldn't show any sign of acceptance.
"No? Not even a little bit. I saw you from there and I can see how his grip hurts you, you were trying to escape from his grip.
Didn't you? But your mouth didn't help you, as usual. You're afraid that his grip would go even tighter if you'd say or try anything.
Don't tell me this isn't true? I saw with my own eyes." What he was saying was true I can't let Krishna win this battle, not even
Arjun, both of them were important persons in my life, one was my best friend from my childhood and another one was the rest
of my life. I can't see any one of them getting hurt by another one's victory. I've to maintain the balance and take the mistakes
that were mine.
"No! He was just put his arm around my.... waist. He wasn't at all hurting me and he won't." I assured him. "And he was just
trying my make me... tickle." I was thinking of the correct word to use but at last, what I got was "tickle."
Arjun let out a laugh, annoyed.
"Oh... Come on, you poor little girl. I'm elder than you and I have the sense of humor when you'll say the truth and when you'll lie.
That's what call, bestie my best friend." He paused for a second to see Arjun's face who was busy staring at the pool right behind
me through my neck. "And after all, I'm your cous_ your maternal cousin." He smirked at Arjun whose face went irritated as
though he didn't bother to take his eyes off from the pool.
Arjun maintained his silence.
I groaned don't know what to do he was pointing out the fact points and what I was going to do? Nothing, but I didn't feel like
giving hope, maybe I could try, acting like a real couple and it may help even if it was a lie I don't care. All I want for the second
was to save Arjun from the corner and make them both best friends, no, I know that won't happen even in a nightmare, but I
could make them just friends.
"He's my husband even if he'd hurt me, he'd have full rights to hurt me. That was none of anyone's business but ours. No matter
what or when I married him, he goes first on my list of priorities. So don't say anything that'd hurt him. I'm begging you. Krish." I'd
call him Krish whenever I felt hopeless and I've to prove myself. He was seven years elder than me but still, we were besties.

Arjun's face shifted from the pool to see mine as I was staring at Krishna's, sobbing, when they saw me crying I saw Arjun from
the corner of my eyes took a step forward but before Arjun could react, Krishna shoved me into his muscled arms and crushed
me into his. My face shoved into his bare chest. I can't breathe I was struggling in his arms. Then he pulled me back to meet my
gaze. "So sorry, Shiya. You're my little Anu from the day you'd born. You don't remember how many times I took you in my arms
and can't hold the weight of you when you were just a newly born kid and we both fell on the floor as I walk with you in my arms.
But our granny had scolded me for that and never let me held you in my arm until you turned one. Once you turned one I thought
it was easy to scoop you in my arm and take you on a tour to our village but that time you weighed than the day I'd known.
Whenever our granny tells us those stories we didn't forget to laugh no matter how many times we'd heard that. And also you
know that you're the one who'd made me feel what the real family would be like, after all, what happened to me." He wiped off
my tears from my cheeks and kissed me on my forehead.
This was his way to say love you. "Love you too, Krishna. More than anything. You're my Best friend forever." When I finished
that sentence we heard Arjun clearing his throat. He released his grip from my arms and turned to face Arjun.
"Look, she may be your wife and she may be taking your side but I won't. I saw you hurting her and her face fells. But as a friend
for my Shiya's sake, I'll leave you for this one and this must be your first and last. If not?" He paused and gave Arjun a warning
look. "I won't spare you."
Arjun just clenched his teeth as a response but not in a good way though.