The Girl He Left Behind (5 page)

‘I can be very creative.’ When that coaxed a small smile from her, he stepped back, satisfied. ‘I’ll see you ladies in reception.’ He held the door open before he turned back and said ‘If he doesn’t realize what he has in you, Min, he’s either blind or insane.’

As the door shut behind him, Minty turned to Sia. ‘Thanks, hon. I know how much that cost you.’ Propelling her towards the door, Sia replied ‘I love you so nothing can cost me so much that I wouldn’t do it to make you smile and also, it’s time the trinity did something fun together again, don’t you think?’

* * *

All loose ends at work wrapped up, they left the office with no specific plan in mind. They ended up at Sia’s place, with Chinese food and rented DVD’s to pass the afternoon. Steering clear of all the romances, they chose mindless blood and gore to keep them entertained. They were halfway through the second movie, when Ryan looked over and noticed that Minty had gone to sleep on the couch. Placing his finger on his lips, he motioned to Sia to turn the movie off. Covering Minty with a comforter, they tiptoed out of the living room and went into the hall. Unfortunately, this left them with only two options. Sia groaned
inwardly realizing they either went into the kitchen where there was no seating or into one of the bedrooms where there was the bed of course. Understanding the problem, Ryan led the way into the kitchen and settled down on the floor with his glass next to him. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the cabinet behind him. Sia bustled around for a bit putting things away and then realizing she was being ridiculous she just simply sat down next to him in silence.

After a moment with his eyes still closed, he asked ‘Did you think he had it in him?’

‘I think everyone has it in them, it’s just a question of whether they want to act on it or not.’ She added, ‘He’s always had a bit of an inferiority complex around Min.’

‘Really?’ Not waiting for a reply, he continued, ‘What happens next?’

‘We’ll talk to her parents and take it from there. The wedding’s in two weeks so we need to do that quickly.’

She chanced a quick look at Ryan’s profile. Realizing he still had his eyes closed, she used the opportunity to stare at him to her heart’s content. Visually tracing his profile, she accepted for the first time since he’d come back into her life that there was a part of her that would always love him. She could spend the rest of her life trying but neither time nor distance could erase the hold he had on her heart. The years had been good to him. Those familiar much loved features of his had matured well. There wasn’t much left of the boy she’d known in the sophisticated, urbane stranger sitting next to her. The boy she’d loved with all her heart had become a man she didn’t know how to reach out to. She had to swallow past a lump in her throat when she realized that all she wanted to do at that moment was rest her head on his shoulder and curl up next to him the way she used to.

‘Do I have something on my face?’ His quiet murmur snapped her out of the nostalgic trance she’d slipped into and
back into the present. Flushing with embarrassment, she got to her feet and started clearing up the used dishes scattered around the kitchen.

Slowly getting to his feet, Ryan took a small sip of his wine, waiting. Acutely conscious of the fact that her kitchen wasn’t very big and he was standing very close, Sia tried to keep her thoughts from scattering. ‘You’ve changed.’

‘Haven’t we all?’ The quiet question had her hands stilling.

‘Yes.’ Moving towards the kitchen sink to put some distance between them, Sia kept her back to him as she spoke. ‘You wear success well, Ryan. You must be so proud of yourself with all that you’ve achieved.’

A grim smile touched his lips as he slowly rolled the stem of his wine glass between his palms. This was what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? This recognition of what he’d achieved. To have people look at him as a success rather than the wild boy from the poorer side of town. For some reason, his triumph in the moment felt a little hollow.

‘Are you?’ The edge in his voice had Sia looking up warily from the dish she was scrubbing so industriously.

‘Am I what?’

‘Proud of me for all that I’ve achieved?’

The doorbell pealed suddenly saving her from having to answer the question immediately. Wiping her hand distractedly on a hand towel, she walked into the foyer, her mind in turmoil.

Opening the door to Vikas, she stared for a split second before shutting it again without saying a word. She had a brief glimpse of him opening his mouth before the door slammed shut in his face. Walking into the living room, she saw that Ryan had come in and was sitting across from Minty on the centre table facing her sofa. One look at her set expression told Sia she knew exactly who was at the door. Taking Minty’s cold hands in her
own, she said ‘Tell me what you want to say and I’ll say it. You don’t have to talk to him now. I can handle it.’

‘I don’t know what I want to say.’ Wearily, Minty pushed herself up from her prone position.

Ignoring the doorbell pealing, Sia stood ‘I’ll come with you. We’ll handle him first and then I’ll drive you home.’ Walking around the drawing room, Sia started her perennial hunt for her car keys. Minty and Ryan watched as she quickly rifled through the clutter on all the visible counters. Spotting the key chain peeping out from under the centre table, she bent to retrieve it. On her hands and knees, with one hand under the table trying to fish out her car keys, she was quite unaware that Ryan’s gaze was transfixed by the view she presented. Feeling a genuine smile curve her lips for the first time that day, Minty said ‘Sia, I think I should handle it.’

‘Why?’ Sia looked over at Minty perplexed. She sat back on her haunches and looked up at her. ‘Don’t you think I would be of some help?’

Ryan could only thank his stars he wasn’t still staring at her bottom. He decided to stare at a point above her while he composed himself.

‘You’d be a world of help but I think I need to do this on my own.’

‘How will you get home? Your car is still at the office. Take my car. You can pick me up on the way to work tomorrow.’ Bending over again to tug at the keys that seemed to have gotten stuck under the table, she pulled as hard as she could. Startled by Ryan’s sudden muffled imprecation, she found herself being forcibly removed and dumped on the couch. With one hard pull, he yanked the keys out, tossed them at her and stalked out of the room.

Handing the keys over to Minty, Sia avoided her amused glance. ‘Don’t start. You have your own idiot to deal with outside.’

‘True. I’ll talk to the two of you tomorrow.’ Taking a deep breath, she gave Sia a quick hug as Ryan came back into the room. Stepping up to hug him too, Minty smiled and whispered into his ear, ‘Some things never change.’

‘Minty, are you sure?’ Sia’s quiet question had the smile on her face dying.

‘It’s my mess. It’s only fitting that I should handle it alone.’ Squaring her shoulders, she stepped around Ryan and headed out the front door.

Acutely conscious of the fact that she was alone with Ryan in the house, Sia watched as the door closed behind Minty with a decisive snap. She was right. You had to clean up your own mess. Avoiding it didn’t make it go away. Meeting Ryan’s eyes, she waited a beat before saying, ‘Apparently success also makes you an ass.’

Ryan blinked. It took a minute for the blood flow to stop pooling in his pants and make the trek back to his brain so it could unscramble itself and realize she was continuing the conversation they’d started in the kitchen.

She continued before he could speak. ‘There was a time in my life when you just had to exist for me to be proud of you. Of course, that was before you dropped me like a hot brick and moved on with your life. The only person standing in this room who thought less of you when we were younger, Ryan, is you.’ Not waiting for a response, she walked around him to the door and opened it. ‘Please leave now. I think we did what we needed to today, for Minty. Now, I would like you to leave, for me.’ They stared at each other for a few seconds without moving.

Breath clogging in her throat, she found herself unable to look away as he walked over and reached behind her shutting the door again. The heat in his eyes telegraphed his intent a lot more clearly than words could have.

Fighting to keep her face from showing anything, she stood
with her back pressed against the door, looking up at him and silently daring him to try anything.

Raising one hand to her hair, he twirled one lock around his finger. Letting the silken length of it slip through his fingers, he leaned in closer and bent towards her. She stopped him with a hand on his chest when he was just a hairsbreadth away. She closed her eyes and felt his warm breath fan over her lips. Opening her eyes, she swallowed nervously at the determined glint in his eyes. He traced one finger gently down the curve of her lower lip. The past cascaded over the present as he moved agonizingly slowly to replace his finger with his mouth. Light and gentle, the caress reached in and stroked her bruised heart. For a minute, she forgot everything that came before and allowed herself to revel in the sensation of having him so close again. Far too soon the minute passed and sanity rushed in along with all the years of hurt. Wrenching herself away from him, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked him directly in the eyes as she said ‘Please leave Ryan. We’re finished.’

‘We’re nowhere close to finished, Sia. Not with this conversation. Not with anything else.’ The emotion in his eyes coupled with the silky promise of his voice made that a very believable threat. Keeping her back poker straight, she watched as he walked out and got into his car. She waited till the sound of his car died away before walking on shaky legs towards the door and locking it. Resting her forehead on the smooth wood, she allowed her nerves to show for the first time. As she waited for the trembling to subside, she closed her eyes willing away the memory of the hard glint in his eyes as he’d bent to kiss her. She’d been right. There was nothing left of the boy she’d once loved in the man who had just walked away.

Sia woke the next morning to overcast skies and the low rumble of thunder. It suited her mood perfectly. She pulled her duvet over her head and tried to will herself back to sleep for a little while more. Five minutes later, accepting defeat she tossed the covers back and sat up. Checking her Blackberry, she noticed Minty had messaged the previous night to say all was well at home and that her parents were dealing with the news as well as could be expected. Noting the time of the message was two a.m., she replied with a quick ‘Are you doing okay?’ She was still scrolling through her work emails when she saw an email from Ryan in her inbox. Work related or otherwise she wasn’t ready to go through it right now.

Dressed in an olive green shirt and cream trousers, she made sure the make-up she applied covered all signs of a restless night. She was flipping her hair over one shoulder to braid it when Minty walked in. Tossing the car keys at her, Minty crawled under the comforter. Making a grab for the keys and missing, Sia let them land near the dresser and went to sit next to her on the bed.

‘Pick it up.’ Minty’s muffled voice came from under the pillow jammed on her head.

‘What?’

‘Pick up the damn keys or you’ll spend another half an hour hunting for them.’

Smiling, Sia retrieved the keys and dropped them into a bowl full of earrings kept on the dresser.

‘How are you doing?’

‘Good. I called the wedding off. Mom and dad will do what needs to be done. My phone won’t stop ringing, so I’ve put my mobile on silent and will be hiding from the landline by burying myself under this comforter of yours. Now, stop worrying about me and go to work. I’m going to lie around feeling sorry for myself for a while before I make my way to office.’

‘Don’t push yourself. If you don’t feel like it, don’t come in.’

‘I don’t want to spend too much time on my own.’

The flat response was worrying but Sia kept her voice light as she said, ‘Well, in that case, if you get in to office before the lunch hour, let me know so we can eat together.’ Giving Minty a tight hug, she left for work.

Knowing she had plenty of time to get into office, she was driving more peacefully than she normally would. Lost in her thoughts, it took her a few minutes to focus on the man in the car next to her and his frantic gestures. When she realized he was pointing at her rear tyre, she mouthed a thank you before flipping on her indicator and pulling over to the side of the road. Getting down she took a good look at her right rear tyre, her extremely flat right rear tyre. Sighing, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. By the time she had the spare tyre, the lug wrench and jack out of the trunk, her hair was already starting to unravel from its braid and the topmost button of her shirt had popped off and rolled under the car. Thankfully, the spare tyre had air in it so that was one huge tick mark in the plus side. She was removing the lug nuts when a car came to a stop behind
hers. Busy wrestling with the job at hand, she didn’t bother looking up even when a shadow fell across her.

‘Need some help?’

She stayed where she was with her head down. Closing her eyes for a second, she asked God what she had done to deserve this. Out of all the people in the city, Ryan had to be the one person to stop and offer help.

‘No thanks.’ She said finally with a brief glance in his direction. ‘I can handle it.’ She picked up the jack and then bent over on all fours so she could position it in the right spot.

For heaven’s sake, was there any particular reason she needed to keep bending over in front of him and presenting him with that view of her bottom? Ryan gritted his teeth before saying, ‘You’re going to get your clothes dirty. Let us help and we can get it done faster and be on our way.’

Us? Sia looked over in time to see Adarsh get down from their car and walk over. Flashing a brief smile in his direction in lieu of a greeting, she got back to what she was doing. ‘My clothes are already dirty. I’m going to have to go home and change anyway. I can take care of myself. I don’t need your help. I wouldn’t want you to mess up that expensive suit. Thanks for the offer anyway.’ With a dismissive smile in Ryan’s direction, she raised the car before removing the lug nuts and placing them near the hub cap.

With a muttered imprecation, Ryan stalked off towards his car and got back into the driver’s seat. She pulled the flat tyre off and raised an eyebrow at Adarsh who was staring at her without saying a word. ‘Shouldn’t you be going with him? He doesn’t look like he’s in the mood to wait.’ Putting the spare tyre in its place, she started to replace and tighten the lug nuts.

‘Will you marry me?’

‘What?’ She looked up, startled.

‘I have never met a woman who could change a flat so efficiently and do so without grumbling about either the grease or the effort involved. You have to marry me. You have no right being single.’

Sia burst out laughing while Adarsh continued to look at her as if she was a rare treasure he’d unearthed.

‘I’m very flattered by the offer but I’m going to have to pass. Also, your boss is going to leave you behind if you don’t get back in that car in the next few seconds.’ She said when Ryan decided to lean on his horn.

‘Sure you don’t need any help? It seems superfluous to ask since you’re almost done already.’ He asked again.

‘I’m sure. I’ll see you in office later in the day.’

Flashing another appreciative grin, he walked back to the car and climbed in. It took Sia a minute to realize they weren’t moving. Raising an eyebrow, she walked over to the driver’s side and gestured to Ryan to lower his window. Buzzing the window down, he continued to stare straight ahead.

Bending to look into the car, Sia leaned in. ‘You guys can leave.’

‘We’re waiting till you finish and get into the car.’ Adarsh’s impish grin was a complete contrast to Ryan staring out the windscreen like the stoneman.

‘You don’t have to wait. I’m almost done and it’s not like I’m in some abandoned area. It’s the middle of the city.’

Shifting his fixed gaze from the windscreen, Ryan turned towards Sia only to get a face full of cleavage. Inwardly groaning, he let his gaze travel up till he met her eyes. ‘You have grease on your bra.’

Flushing, Sia straightened and tugged the tips of her collar closer together. It didn’t help much. She hadn’t fully comprehended the loss of that button until this moment. With her ample curves and minus the top button, she still had a very
Baywatch moment happening with the lacy fringe of her bra playing peek a boo.

Gritting his teeth, Ryan said, ‘We’ll wait till you’re done and follow your car back home.’

Flustered, she nodded and walked swiftly back to her car to finish changing the tyre. Feeling like an idiot, she turned the car around and drove home in her two car convoy.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Sia parked in front of her house and strode over to where Ryan had parked right behind her car. She’d loosened her braid in the car and was now using her long hair to cover as much of her front as she could.

‘You guys can leave now. I’m home and safe.’ The words were barely out of her mouth before she heard the front door open behind her.

‘Sia.’ Minty erupted out of the house. ‘What happened? Why are you back home? Did you have an accident? Are you hurt?’ Her frantic babble of questions was cut off by Ryan and Adarsh getting out of the car.

‘She’s fine.’ Ryan’s reassuring voice sliced through her panic and had her calming down.

Taking in Sia’s dishevelled appearance, she said doubtfully, ‘Well, if you’re sure. If you ask me, she looks terrible.’

Tired of being spoken of like she wasn’t standing right there, Sia turned on her heel and left them standing in the driveway. Stalking into her bedroom, she turned her geyser switch on and sat down to wait out the requisite ten minutes it took for the water to heat up. A minute later, she heard the front door open and close. Breathing a sigh of relief that Ryan had left, she grabbed a rubber band from her dresser and bundled her hair up into a loose bun.

‘Are they gone?’ She called out as she heard Minty enter the room.

‘Yes.’

Freezing in mid-motion, Sia turned to see Ryan lounging against the doorframe. ‘Why are you still here?’

‘Adarsh gave Minty a ride into office in my car. She said something about a meeting she’d forgotten about and needed to be there for. I got left behind to escort you when you’re ready.’

‘I don’t need an escort.’

‘Of course not. You’re super woman.’ Leaning casually against her dresser, he shoved his hands into his pockets and watched steam practically pour out of her ears. Flushed, sweaty and covered in grease, she still managed to arouse needs and wants in him that the supermodels in his last campaign hadn’t so far. And it had nothing to do with the fact that her bra was still flirtatiously peeking out at him.

‘Today’s just not my day. I have a flat first thing in the morning and now I’m stuck with you.’ Anger and frustration dripping from every word, she turned away from him to walk into the bathroom and check the water.

‘Way to make a guy feel welcome sweetheart.’ The lazy drawl had her gritting her teeth.

Ignoring the fact that the water was tepid as compared to the boiling hot she normally preferred for a bath, she opened the tap and started to fill the bucket. The bucket was half full when someone started to lean on the doorbell.

Yelling over the rush of water, she said, ‘Ryan, could you get that?’

‘Who me? The unwanted guest? What would your nosy, conservative neighbours think if I opened the door, Sia?’

Coming out of the bathroom, she found him sprawled comfortably on her bed. ‘Probably that I haven’t had time to call
the pest control guy over as yet.’ Muttering under her breath, she loosened her hair to cover her gaping front again and went to answer the door.

Feeling like she had walked into her own version of the Twilight Zone, she stared with her mouth open at the sight of Ryan’s parents standing on the other side of the door. Wondering what inauspicious moment she’d opened her eyes at this morning, Sia managed a cautious smile and stepped back holding the door open in silent welcome.

Sia shut the door firmly after they entered and swallowed the bubble of hysteria clogging her throat before leading the way into the drawing room. Gesturing for them to be seated on the couch, she carefully perched on the chair opposite them. Very aware of the fact that Ryan was lounging in her bedroom at that very moment and of the unsavoury connotations the elderly couple in front of her would attach to it, Sia wondered how she was going to let him know that they had unexpected guests. Frankly, alien invaders would have been a more expected sight than the two people sitting in front of her.

‘Mr & Mrs Mathur. Good morning.’ Regretting her impulsive decision not to change her shirt and put on a clean one before opening the door, Sia fiddled with her hair and subtly shifted more of it in front. That was going to have to be her best shot at respectability for the moment. If she’d know who’d been at the door, she would gladly have sacrificed a dozen shirts.

Inclining her head in stiff lipped acknowledgement, Ryan’s mother said, ‘I’m looking for my son. I assume you know where to find him.’

‘Yes, of course.’ Aware that there was no politically correct way of handling this situation, Sia gave up hope and just called out loudly, ‘Ryan?’

‘Yup?’

Praying that his parents thought the voice came from the direction of the kitchen and not the bedroom, Sia yelled again, ‘Could you come into the drawing room, please? Now?’

Turning to his parents, she murmured, ‘I’ll leave and give you all some privacy.’

That got her a nod of his mother’s head. His father was too busy staring at a spot over her shoulder. His father looked exactly the same barring a few extra strands of grey hair. A big, stern man who rarely smiled, he smelled of Old Spice with an underlying whiff of alcohol. His mother, on the other hand, had aged way beyond her years. She took in the pinched face, stooped shoulders and restless fingers with a pang of sympathy.

She’d just started to rise from her chair when Ryan walked in, ‘Honestly, Sia, I’m so much more comfortable in your bedroom.’ His cheerful attempt at needling her came to an abrupt halt as he took in the scene in the drawing room. It was fascinating to see how fast he wiped his face clean of all expression. Ignoring Sia’s low groan at his bedroom comment, he walked further in to the room.

Edging towards the door, Sia said ‘Ryan, I’m going to go change. Please make your parents feel comfortable. If they need anything, let me know.’

‘No. Stay. This is your house. I’m sure this won’t take long.’ Ryan’s detached voice cut off her escape before she even made it through the door. Sighing, she leaned against the wall as Ryan walked over and took the chair she’d just vacated.

Ryan looked over his parent’s heads at Sia trying to blend into the background. He could have let her leave but he wanted a buffer for the unpleasantness he knew was coming and at the moment she was the only person in sight for the job.

Lowering his gaze, he stared at his mother, ignoring the man sitting next to her.

‘Did you want something?’ He asked politely.

‘Yes.’

He watched as his mother twisted the handle of the small purse she carried. Clenching and unclenching, she looked fearfully towards the silent figure of her husband before speaking. ‘Your father and I-’

‘He’s not my father.’ Ignoring Sia’s shocked gasp, he kept his gaze trained on his mother’s face.

Tightening her lips, she nodded just once. ‘Okay. My husband and I feel that it’s time you paid him back for all the money he spent on you during your childhood. You’re a rich man now. You can afford a lot more than the amount you send me every month. It’s not as if-’

‘How much?’ The softly voiced question cut her off midsentence.

Shocked, Sia took in the little tableau. Inscrutable to a fault, Ryan kept his eyes trained on his mother. Ryan’s father or step father or whatever he was had a little smirk on his face as he watched mother and son square off. His mother’s shoulders quivered a little as she faced her son. Even as Sia watched, she straightened her shoulders and tried to look more resolved.