Forgotten [Raakshyan Series Book 1]

Chapter 8

I got a phone call earlier, from my parents. They wished me a Merry Christmas and hoped I wasn’t mad. I had already told them that I was planning a party. They thought it was a great idea. I decided not to say anything about the van.

It was about nine when we decided to open the presents. All the guests had arrived, Aathavan had returned with Maya too. I was so excited, this was my favourite part, not getting presents, but watching other people open theirs. Their faces were always hilarious.

After opening presents, people finished eating. After eating, it was time for more fun. All my cousins, except for Veena went to the basement to play videogames, along with Aathavan and his friends. My friends and I went to my room, along with Maya and Veena. Kero came with us too.

In my room, I turned on my CD player which had Jay Sean’s newest album, All or Nothing, playing. Jay Sean was the best. I decided to tell my friends about Chris and the fact that he asked me out. My friends weren’t as excited as I thought they would be. “What’s up guys?” I asked.

My friends all sat on my bed. Maya sat on my desk’s chair and Veenaray sat next to me on the floor, holding Kero.

“Well…” Lila said.

“Look,” Ivana said, “We saw him with that Adam guys freak brother the other day.”

“Yeah? So?”

“Isn’t Adam that weirdo who isn’t any good news at all?” Maya asked. I turned around and looked at Maya. She was a normal girl. She had brown eyes and straight black hair which was always tied back in a ponytail, except for big occasions. Today, her hair was out. Her skin was light brown and she was tall. She was skinny too, but not that skinny. As much as I thought nineteen year old Maya was gorgeous, there were so many absolutely beautiful girls who dressed with expensive clothes and wore make up, that chased after my brother. It always makes me happy and proud when I think about how he chose normal Maya.

I nodded.

Maya looked at me. “I think you know better than that Aathy.”

“Not you guys too!” I rolled my eyes. “Guys, just ‘cause he’s hanging out with him doesn’t mean he’s going to act like him.”

My friends all sighed. “Yeah, but you can’t fully trust him.” Nivea said.

“Hey! You all were totally supporting me with this!” I pouted.

“That’s when we thought he wasn’t hanging out with James.” Tiana said.

“And since he wasn’t hanging out with James, we thought he was good.”

My friends all nodded.

“I don’t think he’s a bad guy.” I said, stubbornly.

“Just be careful.” Nivea said.

I nodded. “Don’t worry about me.” I said.

Veena sighed.

I looked at her.

She continued to pet Kero. “You wanna know something?” She asked. She turned her head to me. “You never listen to what people tell you, and then you get yourself into trouble because of it.”

My friends all nodded. “Veena’s right.” Lila said.

I crossed my arms. “That is not true!”

“Yeah. It is.” My friend said in unison.

After a long argument on whether that is true or not, we decided to change the topic. We eventually started doing each other’s hair and nails. Soon, Kero got bored and left.

Everyone left at about two in the morning. I have to say, I had an amazing time! I was so happy and was so happy with all the gifts I got. I was also happy that everyone loved the gifts that I gave them!

After taking a quick shower and changing into my pajamas, I walked into my room. Kero was waiting there. He looked a little sad. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

‘I’m sorry that I can’t get you a gift.’ He said.

I smiled. “Hey! It’s not your fault that you’re a four legged animal that would freak a store owner out if you walked in to buy something. Besides, you’ve already given me a gift.”

He tilted his head. ‘And what is that?’ He asked.

“The gift of friendship!” I laughed because it sounded cheesy.

He laughed too. ‘Well, you’re welcome.’

I smiled. “Even though I am sure that I have given you that gift too, I got you another gift!” I said excitedly as I pulled a small box out of my side table drawer.

He looked at it. ‘You shouldn’t have.’ He said. He was smiling. Kero had gotten gifts from everyone too, but something about my gift made him look more excited.

I held the box out at him. “Wait, you have to turn into your cat form.” I said.

Kero raised an eyebrow, but then did as I said.

I put the tiny, wrapped box in front of him.

He used his claw to rip right through the paper, and the box. The box, which was now two pieces, fell in opposite directions, revealing the gift I got him. ‘Interesting...’ He said.

I rolled my eyes. He was only able to see the crescent moon pendant. It was a sapphire blue colour, mixed with green. “It’s a pendant silly!” I said, picking it up. “Remember when my class was making glass beads and stuff in science?” I asked.

Kero nodded.

I smiled, “I made this for you. And then I decided to make it into a necklace. I even got a strong, stretchy string so that you don’t need to worry about it breaking when you change.” I said.

‘Wow.’ He said, still looking at the pendant. ‘I’m surprised that you made this!’

I frowned. “Is that honestly what you say when I worked so hard?”

Kero grinned. ‘No, I say thank you.’ He jumped into my arms and licked my cheek.

“You’re welcome!” I sang. I then put the necklace on for him. It really did look nice. I was very proud of myself.

The days passed by and my date was just getting closer and finally, after so long, the day came. It was ten thirty, December 31st and I was standing in front of my mirror, trying to find something to wear.

‘That looks perfectly fine!’ Kero said, annoyed.

“But it makes me look fat.”

Kero glared at me. ‘No. It doesn’t.’ He said sternly.

I was wearing black dress pants and a nice white collared shirt. I had to wear a black tank top underneath because it was really deep. I guess it didn’t look that bad.

When I left my room I reminded myself to pick up the present I got for Chris. It was a nice watch, the ones that guys these days love to wear.

While I was putting on my heels, my brother walked up to me. “Aathy, I want you to always have your cell phone with you. If anything happens, call, I’ll be there in a second.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You left the address right?” He asked.

I nodded. “It’s on the kitchen table.” I muttered.

“I’m serious Aathy, don’t think you need to handle anything alone. Got it?”

I nodded again. “Yeah! Don’t worry!” I picked up my giant purse, put my gift in it and walked to the door. “Bye Aathu.” I said.

“Bye.” He said.

While I walked to the van, he yelled. “Be careful!”

I rolled my eyes again and ignored him.

I was totally excited as I drove down the street. His house wasn’t far from mine, so I got there fast but when I neared his house, I noticed something. There were a bunch of cars there. I parked in front of his house and while locking my vans door, I noticed that through the window, I could see a lot of people.

He never mentioned anything about other people being there.

I walked hesitantly towards the door and then rang the doorbell, I’m sure it’s nothing crazy, maybe he held a party, and it’s about to finish. I thought.

After about a minute, Chris opened the door. “Hey!” He said.

I smiled nervously, nervous because of all the noise.

“You came!” He said. There was something different about him, though he still looked absolutely hot.

“Yeah, of course I would come.” I said, and then I realized what it was. “You got a piercing?” I asked.

He grinned, “You noticed, eh? What do you think?”

What did I think? Well, now he has four piercings, lobe piercing on both his ears, an industrial piercing on his left ear, and the new cartilage on his left ear. My dad is going to dislike him even, more. “Nice.” I smiled.

He pulled me into his house. Then, James, and his friend Kevin came to where we were. “She came!” James yelled.

I started to freak. He was definitely drunk.

Chris smiled. He then took my hand and walked me into their huge living room, filled with people.

The music was playing loudly, and people were dancing. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“A party.” Chris said, innocently.

I began to get more and more nervous and then, I squeaked when I saw Cecile.

She was sitting on a couch with her friends, glaring at me. Even though they broke up, everyone knew that she still had a thing for Chris. Chris took my purse from me and threw it next to Cecile.

“Um.” I said.

“Let’s go to the back.” He said. “Don’t worry about the purse.” He then took me to his backyard. “Sorry, I think I forgot to tell you that it was a party.” He said, closing the slide door.

I shrugged. “It’s ok.” I said.

He came and sat next to me. “It’s seriously crazy in there, eh?”

I nodded.

We were silent for a bit.

“James is drunk, isn’t he?” I asked.

Chris didn’t say anything at first, and then he nodded. “He’s a freak. When is he not drunk?” He asked. “Forget about him.”

I nodded, and then we were silent again.

“Actually, don’t forget about him just yet.” He said.

I looked at him.

He was looking at me too. His face was so close to mine that my heart started to go crazy. “I’ve gotta tell you something.” He said.

I smiled. “Go ahead.” I said.

He turned around and looked at the door and then turned to look at me. “James has got a thing for you.” He said.

I froze. A chill went up my spine as a sudden fear started to form in me. “What?” I asked.

“He likes you. Like crazy. He seriously wants you.” He said.

Freaked, I started to laugh like a loser. “Ha ha, funny.” I said.

Chris shook his head. “I’m not lying.” He really did seem serious. “You should be careful around him. You know what he’s like.” He grinned at me.

Right then, the slide door opened. James was standing there. “What the hell man?” He said to Chris.

Chris got up and held out his hand. “Common.”

Scared as hell, I took his hand and we walked right past James.

He led me back to the kitchen. He then pulled me into his arms and hugged me. “Don’t worry about him.” He said. “I’ll handle it.”

I nodded, butterflies began fluttering in my tummy. But I start to wish that I could believe him, because from the corner of my eye I could see James glaring. Then, I started to smell something.

But before I could react, Chris bent down and kissed me cheek. I was totally shocked for a lot of reasons. Chris kissed my cheek. Mine! But that wasn’t the problem, because now I knew that coming here really was a bad idea.

Chris was high.

I could smell the m*******a, a smell that was familiar because in grade 10, there was a guy who did m*******a in my history class. I sat right in front of him.

I tried to pull away, but his grip was tight. Suddenly, he was pushed to a side.

“What the f**k? You said you wanted to make Cecile jealous, not me!” James yelled.

Chris looked at me and then glared at him. “What are you talking about?” He asked.

“Stop messing around!” James then turned to me and grabbed my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?” His black eyes looked angrily at me. His long brown hair, which was tied back in a messy low ponytail, seemed wet and when he moved his head water dripped off. “You would honestly choose this freak over me?” He asked.

I didn’t really take it in because I was too busy trying to take in the fact that Chris did all of this to make Cecile jealous.

“Well?” James pushed.

When I didn’t respond, James pulled me into his arms. He stank, totally of alcohol. I hadn’t realized I was crying until James said, “Don’t cry babe.” I saw Chris staring, but he made no attempt to help me.

I couldn’t pull away from James’s grip as he bent down to try and kiss me. But I tried to fight. I pulled, kicking and throwing my arm around. I don’t think I’ve been this scared in a long time. I needed help. I cried. No one seemed to notice. No one bothered to help, everyone continued to dance. And Chris watched as this guy harassed me.

And then I heard him.

‘Bastards.’

I turned my head and saw Kero standing in front of the slide door that leads to the back yard. That instant, Kero changed to his true form.

Chris and James turned around and stared at the beast.

“Holy shit.” Chris said.

Kero growled loudly. He then pounced onto James, who screamed. Chris turned around to run, but Kero was in front of him in less than a second. Chris started to shout. “Help!”

‘Go get your stuff.’ Kero hissed.

I nodded and ran to the living room. I wasn’t worried about Chris and James remembering anything. They were drunk and they would probably think it was a bad dream. I picked up my purse, ignoring Cecile’s glare and ran back to the kitchen. People began to turn their head when they heard the screams.

When I got into the kitchen, Chris and James were lying on the floor. They didn’t seem to be hurt, they seemed to have fainted. ‘Weak fools.’ Kero said. He then noticed me. ‘LEAVE! GO TO THE VAN NOW! GO HOME!’ He yelled angrily.

I did. I ran out of the house, into my van and I drove straight home. I was crying the whole way. Why me?

When I got home, I walked into my house and slammed the door shut. Aathavan, who must have been waiting for me, walked to the door.

His whole face changed when he saw me crying. “What happened?” He said, running up to me.

I ran into his arms. He took me to my room and let me rest my head on his lap as I told him everything that happened. Kero was already in my room when we got there.

When I was done telling him what happened, I could feel my brothers anger. “I told you Aathy! I told you that this guy wasn’t good news!”

I sniffled. “You don’t need to rub it in.”

“Yeah, Aathy, yeah I do.” He said. He lifted me up to face him and put his hands on my shoulders. “Aathiray, whenever someone gives you advice, you never listen!”

“That’s not true.” I said.

“See? Do you see that? That’s what I mean!”

I looked away.

“I told you not to go, Kero told you not to go, even your friends told you not to go. You didn’t listen to any of us.” He dropped his hands. He seemed to have realized something. He then got up and left my room.

I got up and chased after him. “Where are you going?” I asked.

“To teach those bastards a lesson.” He muttered as he walked down the stairs.

“What?” I squeaked. “No, Aathavan, stop!” I grabbed his arm.

He turned around to face me. “Do you know what those guys would have done to you if Kero hadn’t come to help you?” He sort of hissed the words.

I stared, unable to deny the horrible truth.

He turned around, and put on his shoes and jacket.

“Stop Aathavan! Kero already taught them a lesson!” I needed to stop him, the last thing I wanted was for him to go there and start a commotion.

He didn’t seem to care.

“Please Aathavan!” I didn’t let go of his arm.

He opened the door. “Let go. Stay here, I’ll be back in a bit.”

I started to cry again when Aathavan pulled away. “Stop! I don’t need your help! Leave them alone! I can handle it!”

Aathavan stopped and turned around. He stared at me for a while and then said, “Well, according to your story, you definitely couldn’t handle that alone.” He said, angrily.

“Whatever! I don’t need your help!” I yelled.

He stared at me.

“Just stop! Leave it alone!”

“Do you honestly expect me to—”

“YES! STOP! THIS IS ANNOYING ME!” I screamed. “YOU’RE JUST BEING STUPID AND OVERPROTECTIVE!”

That sparked something in my brother. He hated when I called him overprotective. He threw his car keys onto the floor. “Fine! Next time those bastards try to rape you, don’t come crying to me!” He yelled.

No one ever tried to piss of my brother, because when he was mad, he was seriously mad. And scary. Just because I was his sister didn’t mean he had a different type of mad for me, it was the same with everyone. He would yell, and then depending on the severity, he would smash things.

He pulled of his jacket and threw it on the floor, and then he threw his shoes off. He then marched up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door shut.

After staring in shock, I closed the front door and picked up the things he threw. I then placed them neatly where they are supposed to go and walked to my bedroom. Kero was sitting on my bed, in tiger form. He watched as I slumped down onto the floor and cried. “I hate James.” I muttered. “I hate Chris. I hate Cecile. I hate my dumb love life.”

‘Aathy…’ Kero walked up to me. ‘I wish you would try to understand that sometimes you should listen to what other people say.’

I didn’t say anything.

‘Your brother has a right to be angry.’ He said. ‘And he has a right to be overprotective and want to kick those boys’ asses. You owe him an apology.’

“Whatever…” I said. I was tired. I wanted to sleep.

‘Next time, consider listening to people’s advice.’

I got up, walked to my closet and pulled out my pajamas.

‘And try not to get other people mad when all they want is your good.’ He continued. ‘There are some bad habits you have that you need to break.’

I turned around. “Will you stop?” I yelled.

He seemed a little shocked with my outburst.

“I’m sick and tired of you guys rubbing it in! If you want to comfort me, do it properly!”

Kero stared at me, and then started to glare. ‘If you think that you are knowledgeable enough to not need some decent advice, you are wrong.’ Kero said, walking towards me. ‘I knew all along that this boy was not for you the second I found out that he had a thing for that Cecile girl.’ He said. ‘You need to smarten up when it comes to this love, it isn’t some experiment. It’s not something that you can test. If it goes wrong, you can’t always do it again.’

I glared at him. “Are you honestly advising me about love? You? You aren’t even a human! You’re a… a tiger! People consider you a monster! Do you honestly expect me to believe that you can advice me about love? I’m sure I know more about that than you ever will!” I was yelling. And I knew my words hurt him.

‘You are calling me a monster?’ He asked. ‘Me? When you humans are the ones that are indecent, you are the ones that kill us for your own needs. You are the ones who carry around guns to hurt other humans. And I don’t think I need to remind you that James and Chris are humans too. If you want to call someone a monster, you should call yourself one. And what? Because you are human you suddenly know more about love than I do? How does that mean anything? Obviously, if you knew more about love than you would have chose a better man to like. Don’t think that I’m not going to do anything when you insult me.’ He took a deep breath.

“What difference does it make? You don’t know anything about love! You’re still single!”

Kero started to laugh, but not the kind laugh he normally laughed. ‘Foolish girl.’ He said. ‘I know two hundred years worth of things that you don’t know.’ And with that Kero left. He just disappeared, there was a blur, but that was it.

The last words he said seemed to repeat in my head. ‘Foolish girl, I know two hundred years worth of things that you don’t know.’ I shook it off. I must have heard wrong.

I changed into my pajamas and crawled into my bed. It was the first time in seven years that I have slept in my bed alone and today was the day I need someone the most.

I turned and looked at the clock. It was five past twelve. I hugged myself and cried myself to sleep.

I guess it wasn’t too nice to know that everyone was mad at me and I was spending New Years alone.