Part 3: "The Loss - 1"

17 years ago. (After the incident at school)

Right after school, I couldn't pick up the courage to have eye contact with Adam. I was ashamed of myself for what I had done. However, I knew if I didn't talk to him, he would be hurting himself. No matter how much I detest the geeks, at the end of the day, he is my younger brother.

We have our separate rooms for our own privacy. Most of the time Adam would come over to my room and do his homework. He keeps doing that so that watching him study, I would also be inspired to take out my books and study and get better grades. However today he didn't, I went instead.

"Can I come in Adam...?"

"Why do you have to ask...? You are the boss... you can come and go anywhere you want and no one will be there to stop you."

"I am sorry my brother... please forgive me..." I caught hold of my ears with my hands and asked him again "if this makes you feel any better sweetheart..."

He got off the bed and ran towards me, hugged me and said in a sweet voice "never ever do this bro... you are embarrassing me when you are doing this..."

"Does that mean you forgive me for today...?"

He let me go and we both went and sat on his bed and he replied "You know bhaiya, I had a crush on Penny, she is one of the girls who saw what you did today. You ruined the only chance I had at asking her out... I won the junior science Olympiad and she really had the hots for the popular guys in school..."

I was shocked at his sudden revelation and I was not sure what to reply "I am sorry bro... I never knew that..."

I put my arms around him and continued "What if I help you get Penny as your girlfriend?"

He looked at me in shock and said "You know bro... you have done enough for me... after what happened today... I bet your friends have already told the school about it... I would not be able to show my face... It's not your fault... I will try to live with that embarrassment..."

As we kept talking, Mom entered the room and excitedly said "Boys... get your bags packed... we are going to Uncle Don's place for the week..." she paused, looked at my brother, and said, "Florence has a surprise for you there..." Saying this she left.

As she was leaving Adam asked, "But what about school...?"

"Don't worry son... I have informed your principal that the 2 of you will not be present in school for the next 2 weeks..."

"And besides Florence would not let your brother leave their house so soon..." and then she left.

Uncle Don was my dad's step-brother. They don't get along well, however for our sake, they try to forget their differences. He had 3 daughters, the eldest one is Florence, She is one year younger to me. She sort of likes me, and with me around, she always tries to find excuses to be close to me. I try to be as far from her as possible, she wears glasses and she is a geek. Amy was the second daughter and was the same age as my brother. She is really beautiful. Frankly, I would rather go out with Amy then go out on a date with Florence and embarrass myself. The youngest one is Helen. She is a combination of both beauty and brains.

As I was leaving Adam's room to pack my belongings, he said "I have not forgiven you bhaiya... and be ready to witness my first vengeance on you in the next 24 hours."

I decided to ignore his remark and went to my room to pack up my things.

**** I am ashamed to talk about his first act of vengeance however, Amelia tells me that it is good to share your feelings with people whom you don't know so that they are not judgemental about you. So I guess it wouldn't hurt telling anyone about it. ****

About an hour later we left our house. Mom and dad were in the front seat and Adam and I was at the back. It was about 5 p.m. when we left the house. It was a 90 minute journey, and for the first time in my life, my brother didn't even look at me, let alone speak a single word. By the time we reached Uncle Don's house, it was around 6:40 p.m. the sun had already set and the girls were waiting for us at the gate.

Dad parked the car inside the premises, and as Adam and I were taking out the luggage we found that Mom and Dad had not brought any.

I asked, "Aren't the 2 of you going to stay Mom..."

"No sweetie... we have to return back. Your dad has some work and so we will leave after dinner... the 2 of you can stay for a week and we will be back next Sunday to pick you up..."

To tell you the truth I don't like staying at uncle Don's place, but right now I preferred it was best not to question my parents and let them have it their way. The one reason dad might have wanted us to stay here could be that our friendship with his daughters would pave the way for the 2 brothers to finally forget their hatred towards one another and reunite the 2 families.

We finally had our dinner and around 9:00 p.m. we bid farewell to Mom and dad. As they were about to leave, I said "Please give us a call once you reach home. I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully till we get a call from you..."

I never realized that this was the last word we ever spoke to my parents.

As they left Uncle, Aunty, Adam, his 3 daughters and I sat in the main hall and uncle kept asking Adam about his achievements. Uncle never liked me much. There was a reason for that too. We have our ancestral home near Pune and uncle had been trying for a long time to sell off the property, however, dad wouldn't let him do it, and for the safety of the property, dad made an arrangement that if something were to happen to him, I would be the sole owner and it would be my decision what I want to do with the property.

Suddenly Adam asks uncle "Can I ask you a question uncle... I hope you don't mind...?"

"Fire away son..."

"Have you ever thought you would be happier if you had a son... I mean don't get me wrong but... you have 3 daughters..."

I felt a sudden sense of discomfort in uncle's voice and so I interrupted "Adam... stop it... that's rude bro..."

Uncle looked at me and said "its ok Amell... I don't mind..." he suddenly caught hold of Adam's hand and pulled him closer to him, gently pulled his soft cheek and put his arm over his shoulder, and continued "to tell you the truth... why would I want a son when I have you... You are more than a son to me..."

Adam asked him a question that I never expected him to ask "God forbid if something happens to Mom and dad... will you take care of us...?"

"Of course son... why not... It would be our honor to have you as my son... and they" pointing towards his daughters "they would also have a brother like you..."

I was getting the strange vibe that uncle was intentionally trying to avoid me. He never asked me a single thing about my year in Germany. However, what bothered me was I don't understand why my brother is using Ominous words about our parents. As time went on, I only wanted mom to call me. They were still discussing with one another. It was 10:45 and still, there was no call from them. Time passed and it was 11:00 and still, there was no call. There was not an ounce of worry in my Adam's face. It felt like he knew mom wouldn't call. 11:30 and still there was no call and then suddenly at 11:35 there was a call on Uncle Don's phone.

I couldn't hear what the person on the other line spoke but uncle seemed worried.

"Hello..."

"Yes this is Don Harper"

"WHAT..."

"Are you sure about it..."

"ok, I am coming to give me some time..."

As uncle disconnected the call I asked "What happened uncle... is everything alright..."

"Well... boys... I really don't know how to say this but... there is some bad news..."

I folded my hands together, brought it closer to my mouth, and said "Uncle Please tell me Mom and Dad is alright..."

He stepped towards me and put his arms around me and the other arm towards Adam and said "I am sorry son... it was the highway police... they have found the charred remains of your parents SUV on the highway..."

Tears began rolling down my eyes and with a heavy voice I asked "Uncle can you please take us there... I want to see them."

Uncle didn't say anything and asked us to get ready. I went upstairs to where our baggage was kept and just to wash my face with water, I entered the washroom. As I entered the washroom someone locked the door from outside. I kept shouting and banging it, but no one would open it. About 20 minutes later Helen came and opened the door for me.

She said, "Adam told us that he locked you in the room so that you don't break down while seeing uncle and aunty lifeless body."

I was so mad at Adam that I wanted to kill him. I sat on the steps of the house eagerly waiting for them to return. Florence was sitting next to me with her arms around me and trying to console me.

TO BE CONTINUED...