Chapter 17

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT.
	I FOLLOW HIM up the stairs, to his room. Sreyansh asks me to freshen up and I accept his offer, hesitantly. He said that his parents had gone out shopping due to the upcoming wedding they have to attend, and would be back home soon.
	I splash some water on my face and blow my nose. After dabbing my face, lightly with a handkerchief, I walk out of the washroom and place my handkerchief on a chair, spreading it out so it can dry. I knock on Sreyansh's door and he replies with a 'Come in'.
	On entering Sreyansh's room I see his face buried in his towel. He looks up at me and I see his hair is wet. Sreyansh changed into a white shirt paired with olive green plants and I wonder if he's always looked this good.
	I shake my head to get rid of that thought, reminding myself that I have a boyfriend and Sreyansh is my best friend and nothing more.
	'What happened?' he asks whilst drying his hair with his blue towel.
	'Nothing,' I say, immediately.
	'How are you feeling right now?'
	'A little exhausted...' I trail off.
	Sreyansh goes into the verandah and hangs his towel on a clothing line. He comes back and asks me to sit on the chair in front of his desktop whilst plopping down on the side of the bed.
	'I'm sorry,' I say, breaking the silence before it could settle in the room.
	'About what?'
	'For what I said about you getting spared from the initial scrutiny and all. You and I both had to deal with our share of the consequences of that picture...' I look out through the glass doors of the balcony and at the blue sky stained with hues of yellow and red.
	'I get it. You've been stressed out these past few weeks so, it's alright. I just hope you're not hiding anything more,' Sreyansh says and I turn my head to look at him, 'Hide what?'
	'I don't know, Shway. I feel like you're trying to keep a secret or something from Meera and me,' Sreyansh replies.
'At first, I thought, it was just your feelings about the fight with Utkarsh. But even after making up, you still get lost in your thoughts quite often. It's okay if you don't want to tell me but you should talk about it with Meera 'cause it seems to trouble you, a lot...'
	Sreyansh is searching for the answer to his doubts in my eyes but all I do is look away. I'm not sure if I should tell him about Ms Walker and the wish 'cause he might think I'm going crazy. I mean, even if I told myself the whole story of my Guardian witch entrapping me in another universe, I wouldn't believe myself.
	'Shway?' Sreyansh calls my name and tries to tilt his head to meet my eyes whilst I'm gripping the edge of the chair, listing the pros and cons in my head about revealing this.