Zach's Pov :
One week.
It's been one week since I haven't contacted anyone from my family. The hardest part was not being able to contact her. I never experienced this feeling. This feeling is completely foreign to me. Feeling of longing. The worst part is that I'm not able to share it with anyone. Not even my best friend Brad, since he has taken emergency leave without informing me. I'm all alone here trying to focus on my practice. But on the brighter side, just one week left for this most important match on which my whole career is dependent. I can't get distracted and yet again I can't help but worry,
'What would she be doing right now?'
'Is she missing me just like I do?'
'What if she's mad at me for not informing her earlier?'
'What if-'
"-AHHH! WTF!" I held my hand on my head as I fell due to the strong force. I rub my head while glancing up to find my coach glaring at me and our team surrounding me with a shocked look on their face.
"Care to explain the reason why you were zoned out during the practice standing in the middle of the ground like a fucking Zombie?!" He snapped as he continued to glare at me.
I stood up from the ground adjusting my helmet "Well, it was personal but I'll make sure I won't be distracted again" I assured him.
"I've never seen you getting distracted until today so make sure to never let me and your team down as you know how important this match is." He stated and went away asking everyone to stand in their positions. 'God! Eshana, you'll be the death of me' I chucked internally before running to my position and carrying on with my practice.
______________
(One week ago)
Third person's POV :
The next day afternoon, somewhere on the other side of the country a girl and a boy stood in the airport waiting for the flight to land. After a while, they became anxious as they both knew it was time. As they waited, they heard the announcement of the arrival of a certain flight and they both ran towards the entrance.
"Can you recognize them anywhere?" the boy asked.
"Huh? I don't- I mean, I don't know how they look...like" the girl said as she realized that she has never seen their face.
"WHAT?!" He snapped grabbing the attention of people nearby.
"How on earth did you even talk to them, you idiot? How are we going to find them now?" He asked in horror.
"Shut up! I wanted to see them for the first time in real and not through pictures. And we don't have to see them for recognition! We can confirm through call-" she was about to continue but he cut her off,
"Holy Sh-Fish!" He exclaimed startling her as his eyes widened staring in a particular direction. She followed his gaze to finally see the sight that made her jaw drop. Not just them but the sight grabbed a lot of attention from the crowd. The sight was non-other than a man in a business suit with an intimidating look walking elegantly with three girls with different looks wearing black leather dresses walking in style with their backpacks. It was just a sight of sore eyes.
Just the man with a familiar look had her realize it was them she was waiting for. As the outgoing girl she was, she ran to them without hesitation leaving the boy next to her who was still in a daze.
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Eshana's POV :
As we walked towards the exit, I could feel the stares as the people in the airport looked at us and I'm sure it was because of my brother.
As we were walking, I found a girl running towards our direction, and before I could realize I found myself in a tight embrace. Not just me but she was practically squeezing us all together leaving my brother aside. I also found a guy walking towards us with a confused look which changed into shock before he gave us a heartwarming smile which I returned back to him without hesitation.
The girl pulled away from the hug before pulling her hand out to Ridha with a wide smile.
"It's me, Maddy!" She squealed happily and before she could realize anything, she was pulled into a hug once again by Ridha.
"I'm your sister-in-law's best friend Ridha!" She pulled away from Maddy giving her a wide smile before pushing her towards Disha and all I could do is gape at Ridha. How could she just say that? I could do nothing but look out for my brother to see his reaction but he was nowhere to be seen. I guess he already took his leave. Phew!
"Well... I'm Disha" She introduced as she patted Maddy's head getting a slap on her arm in return.
"Don't do that!" Maddy snapped in faking anger but nevertheless smiled at her.
At last, she found me,
"Eshu!" She jumped on me like a monkey and it was hard for me to balance due to her sudden jump but I balanced myself holding her effortlessly.
"Well well... you look beautiful", I said as I pulled back from her with a smile on my face.
"You all look like models from the magazine! You guys almost stole everyone's breath here" She exclaimed. Not knowing what to say, I smiled at her and took a glance at Disha and Ridha. I could feel Ridha lost in thoughts. As I was about to ask her what she was thinking about, I noticed that she wasn't lost in thoughts but she was looking ahead in a daze. I followed her gaze to find her staring at the boy who was with Maddy earlier. That's when Maddy went back and held his hand dragging him towards us.
"This is Zach's best friend who is also his roommate, Brandon." She introduced him to us and my eyes widened in realization.
"Oh! Nice to finally meet you, Brad!" I exclaimed as I went towards him for a hug and I felt him stiff before he relaxed as he patted my back.
"Pleasure is all mine, Eshu!" He said with a smile. I could feel the same vibe I did when I hug my brothers. The warm brotherly feeling I couldn't describe in words. That's when I realized something, "Didn't you have the match too?" I asked him as I pulled back from the hug.
"Yeah. I took a sick leave" He said.
"Are you sick?" I asked as I touched his forehead in concern.
"Nah. Not me but my Sofie is" He said and we all looked at him in confusion.
"Sofie, My car. She's in a critical stage due to Maddy's driving skills" He said and we all burst into laughter as Maddy furiously crossed her arms with a pout.
I shook my head "Okay but seriously you stayed just for us? You didn-" he cut me off,
"Shush now. How can I not be here? The first time I spoke to you, you became like a sister to me. How could I not be here for my sis?" He said with a smile and brushed my cheeks wiping the tears I didn't know existed.
"Okay now. Are you all planning to stay here today? C'mon. We've got a place to go and people to visit" Disha said as she walked towards the car with Maddy. I left Ridha and Brad alone and ran towards the car with the backpacks in my hand.
"Shotgun!" Disha yelled before getting into the driver's seat.
"I wanted to drive!" I pouted at her. There is no way she is going to get up from the seat. So I had to sit behind as Maddy already claimed her place next to Disha. I dragged myself and plopped into the backseat of the car with backpacks. Without any delay, Disha drove away.
"Oye! What about Ridha and Brad?!" I asked as I glanced behind to find them looking at our car in anger.
"They'll reach home. Don't worry!" Maddy said getting all comfortable in her seat. That's when I noticed the car carefully. Oh my god! It was Rolls Royce Phantom.
"Maddy? Who's car is this? You shouldn't have brought this in order to pick us!" I said waiting for her reply.
"This? It's your brother-in-law's car and don't you worry babe, I know. That's why I bought the least expensive car from the garage." She said so casually as she opened the cooler and took an ice cream cone. Seriously?
"Least expensive?! Yeah sure and I am Romeo's Juliet" I rolled my eyes at her statement.
She began having her ice cream "Not sure about Romeo's Juliet darling but Zachery Ashford's Angel for sure" she said and I couldn't help but blush at her statement.
"Shut Up!" I snapped at her trying to control my smile.
"You shut up" she snapped back at me.
"No, you"
"you"
"No, you"
"You"
"No yo-"
"Both of you shut up before I intentionally kiss this car to the nearby tree" Disha hissed. I knew it was our cue to shut up but this so-called Maddy didn't seem to mind her. I guess she is fond of blabbering a lot,
"Hey! She started it! You can't tell me to shut up. Tell her. But how do you kiss the car and tree?-" She continued to babble.
"That's it!" Disha snapped and what she did next had me laugh out loud. She just took the ice cream from the cone and threw it out!
"Hey! Why would you do that?" Maddy exclaimed as she kept looking out of the window with the empty cone in her hand.
"That's for talking nonsense. Now shush before I pick you up and throw you out too" She said which shut Maddy up with a pout and we continued our ride with a comfortable silence.