On Aarush's side, well he remained Aarush who loved his young siblings more than his life. And it's safe to say that, that is the only thing that never changed. Aarush didn't change. He just grew more aware and such but no, he never changed.

¶

It had been a month since the incident between Aarush and Justin and what was funny was, the tension was still charting and Justin wasn't back to normal like how Anna kept promising that he would come around soon. She didn't have to promise that because she never really knew what was wrong with him or what disturbed him. She just assumed that he would be okay again like past times not knowing that, that time wasn't like last times. That time was different from all the last times that had happened to him. It was far very different.

Relief washed over Aarush when he knew it wasn't because of him bringing over the girls that got his father all spiraled out. It was Justin who had problems. It was something concerning him and not anyone in the family. But that wasn't a relief to any of the family members as Justin remained the same even after two months passed.

He kept avoiding his family best he could. Burying himself into work and got a super workaholic title planted on his head from both work and home. That got Anna very worried and started to think it was something she did because the worst scenario that was happening, was Justin not opening up even to her when she would be always the person he had run to whenever faced a hard time or any problem.

Everybody was worried and frustrated and annoyed by the feeling that Justin was having problems that he could neither open up about nor seek any assistance for, and they couldn't do anything about him or his problems. They couldn't offer help to a problem they knew nothing about.

AARUSH'S POV

So, days passed, and soon I was going to be in class 12.

Hell! That was my last year in high school and soon after, I would be going to college and studying the things that I would be stuck on them for life.

I think there is no need to rant so much on that but to be honest, you all know the college thing and how it keeps you on your toes. I was so stressed out and was always thinking of what the future had in store for me. And if you don't get how stressful it can be, then watch movies and TV shows about them, they give a pretty clear and so relevant look at them. The real world.

It was my first day of school and I had just got woken up by my faulty alarm clock which went off five minutes early than the time I had set the previous night.

It was 4:45 am.

I walked over from my room to Aryan's and saw him sleeping safe and sound. I walked outside to the living room to see my mother yawning.

"Mom! You should be sleeping now. You have a whole month before your leave gets expired!" I screamed out of my lungs.

"It's not like I'm going to faint by waking up early and getting to serve my family. And boy, are those the manners I taught you after you wake up?" Mom shot back in an instant.

I was caught then, "Sorry mom, and good morning."

"Morning son, how was your night?"

The same question, I groaned before answering "Ooh my God! Did you just ask that? It was boring and freaking as hell. I wish I could be awake all night to drive away from the bad thoughts that got into my dreams."

"Mind your language Aarush! And again, both your parents have gone to school and they have bachelors, so why would you think ill of school?"

She asked me the very question that I had been waiting to be asked for my whole life since when I was in class 4.

"I feel and think ill of it because I don't like it. Isn't it that obvious?"

"What! Why would you hate school?" She was taken aback by my answer.

"Yeah, I don't like school. I just go there to please you and not like I want to go anyways."

"Then you should keep going for the rest of the five years to come because when your father hears what you said about the school, he will cut that mouth of yours and make soup out of your flesh."

I knew where that was going so it was better to end it right there and right at that time. "Okay, I got it, am out cleaning the house."

Without waiting for a reply, I walked out of the house to continue with my daily routine.

Since I turned 13, it became part of my daily routine that I wake up early and help mom with cleaning the house and making breakfast while dad washed Roshni and Aryan.

After I finished cleaning the house, it was 5:43, just 7 minutes early from my shower time, and I used my time to grab my toiletries and went to take a well-needed bath. I always took rushed showers on Mondays because I was too lazy to wake up early and do everything on time, but on that day, I was over the moon.

I did my happy dance after a shower and while I was singing My Type by Saint Motel, I bumped into something rock hard. I didn't need any guide to understand that I had bumped into my father who was angry or not in the mood for whatever fun thing I got myself engaged into.

I turned to look at his face and the furrow I was met with said it all.

He had been on edge for some time and that day was the day that he let all his anger out on me.

I was screwed.