Page 79 of Stumped

After Dhruv’s texts earlier, my plan was to call my lawyer, Zahira, and go through the Renegades contract with a fine-toothed comb. I need to make sure that this relationship with Elias isn’t going to put both of us in jeopardy because the last thing I want is for our careers to explode right now. More than me, I’m worried about him. He just got his confidence back and if they take it away from him and break his spirit, I might do something drastic. Like wage a war.I’m kidding. Sort of.

But the minute I see Tamara and Patrick facing off, everything else on my list of things to do vanishes. My cousin is my only focus. She’s breathing so heavily, she might explode. So while Elias guides his brother away, I take Tamara back to her room. Tears are streaming down her face and she’s shaking; I’ve never seen her like this before. Tamara collapses on the bed and curls up, muttering to herself. It’s only when she sits up, legs crossed under her, I perch at the edge of the mattress.

“Why ishehere?”

“He’s Elias’s brother.”

She growls and shakes her head. “What the fuck.”

“I would have told you if I knew you two had history.”

“We have nothing.” She waves me off, like that’s going to stop further questioning.

“He called youLotus. I didn’t know other people called you that.”

“They don’t.Heshouldn’t.”

When we were kids, our grandmother gave us grandchildren silly Malayalam nicknames that rhymed. I wasVerall, which means finger, and my siblings got equally weird ones. Tamara is the only one who got a really pretty and appropriate nickname, which made all of us incredibly jealous. Thaamara means lotus flower and since it was so close to her actual name, that’s what our Velliamma?1 called her.

This is the first time I’ve heard someone use it since our grandmother died ten years ago.

“Remember the sports camp Velliamma sent me to during the summer?” I nod slowly, memories of that time coming back to me in small flashes. “I methimthere. We were paired off for table tennis and he asked me for my name. I said Thaamara and it stuck. By the end of summer, he was calling me Lotus and I loved it.”

Tamara swipes at her eyes and shakes her head, almost like she’s trying to erase those summers from her mind.

“We were each other’s firsts,” she whispers and my heart cracks open for her. “He said he loved me and didn’t come back the next year. I asked everyone about him and they said he was done with camp. That meant he was done with me.”

The wobbly tone of her voice is what makes me wrap her up in her hug. Tamara leans into me, sniffling as I hold her tight. I vaguely remember the summer and my cousin refusing to eat her meals and being non-verbal for most of it. It was the first time I’d seen her in that state and I was worried. Until things ended with Ajay, we never really talked about romance orrelationships because it was the least important thing about our bond. So it explains why she never told me about Patrick.

“I know he’s the brother of the man you love, but I’m not going to deal with him.”

“You do whatever you need to protect yourself. I support you.”

“Thank you for being my best friend, Vee.”

“I really didn’t have much choice, did I?”

She pokes me in the side and I scoot away from her, which makes Tamara laugh as she tries to grab me. In all the laughing and falling off the bed, I don’t hear the door open until a throat clears. Elias is leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest and the most beautiful smile painted on his lips.

“Hi,” I say, fighting back the giggles.

He smirks. “You ladies okay?”

“We’re great. Is your brother locked in his evil lair?” Tamara asks.

“For the time being, yes.”

She nods. “I know this is a siblings weekend and we’re all gatecrashing, but I’d appreciate it if I wasn’t expected to spend too much time with him.”

“That’s a doable and fair request. Will you be okay, though?”

My heart thuds so loudly at how genuine Elias is being.

“Imightkill him, but I promise to clean up after myself and dispose of the body.”

He laughs. “Please don’t. He might be an asshole at times, but he’s my brother and I do love him.”

“Fiiiiiiiine. Only because you’re boning my best friend and I like how happy you make her.”

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