The Patient Sikh: Part Thirty-Five--Betrayal
This an excerpt from a novel in progress and a work of fiction.
It was around ten at night, I was watching some bullshit on TV, I can’t remember what. I think it was some nighttime soap opera of sorts. So I’m sitting there, minding my own business and eating chips and salsa when Sarita comes into my room.
“Hey,” I say surprised to see her without any notice, she usually calls.
“Hey, I need to talk to you,” she says, she doesn’t look happy.
“OK,” I say and mute the TV. “What’s going on?”
She looks at me intensely for a moment. “Did you know that Mona and Sonny were hanging out last night?” she asked and looked down at the grey carpet.
“What are you talking about?” I ask and stare at her, her eyes are darting around the room.
“I saw them walking down the street last night, at one point he put his arm around her,” she said and looked at me sadly.
“What? She never mentioned...What?” I asked stunned.
“I’m sorry dude, I didn’t know how to tell you, but I figured you should know,” she said and sat down on my bed. Luckily my roommate was not around. She would love to hear this, she would have enjoyed my misery.
“I don’t understand,” I said and stared at the off white wall. I had a hung a picture of a little boy giving a little girl a rose. I wanted to rip it apart. Fuck love.
“I’m sorry man,” she said and really did look sorry.
I didn’t know how to process this. Mona was my new friend. I didn’t even want to be with Sonny anymore, but I didn’t want them to be together. I tried to deny it ever happened. I didn’t say anything for a whole two weeks and acted like nothing happened around Mona. My anger and resentment built up even more.
Then one night we got a movie and were watching at her place and right in the middle of the movie, I told her to shut it off for a minute. I said I wanted to talk to her. She looked at me weird and stopped the movie.
“Are you talking to Sonny?” I asked.
“Sonny? No, why would I talk to him?” she asked.
“Sarita said she saw you guys walking down the street a couple of weeks ago and he had his arm around you at one point,” I said, fighting back tears.
“What are you talking about? What is she talking about? I have never hung out with Sonny since we saw him at that party,” she said. “How long ago did she tell you that?”
“A couple weeks ago,” I said. “Why would she make that up?” I asked.
“Wow, you’ve been holding this in for that long. I’m telling you it never happened,” she said sternly. “I don’t know Sarita that well, but I’m guessing she might be jealous of our friendship since you guys were a lot closer before me and you became friends.”
“I don’t know,” I said and my face starting turning red I was so angry. “I just don’t think she would lie about something like this.”
“I don’t know why she would make up some story like that. I’m sorry you had to think that I did that all this time. I’m telling you it never happened.” She looked at me closely as we sat on her blue couch. “Do you believe me?” she asked.
“I don’t, no, I don’t believe you,” I said and looked away at the window where I could only see street lights.
“You don’t trust me?” she asked and looked angry.
“I just don’t think that Sarita would just randomly make that up,” I answered.
We sat in silence for a few moments. I stood up, “I think I need to think about this,” I said and got my green winter coat to leave.
“Yeah, I think you should think about who your real friends are,” she said as I walked out the door.
Am I just not good at finding nice people to hang out with? First Sonny, and now Mona. Assholes. There is no way Sarita would make up something like that, even though Sarita was not happy about my friendship with Mona. But I’ve known Sarita since I was twelve, I’ve been hanging out with Mona for a few months now.
I don’t understand people. Did they go on a date? Did they hook up? Did they have sex?
I don’t want to know.
nina
If you would like to read the beginning of this novel in progress, The Patient Sikh, visit the following links in chronological order:
The Patient Sikh: Part Two–The Wonder Years
The Patient Sikh: Part Three–Sonny
The Patient Sikh: Part Four–Song Lyrics
The Patient Sikh: Part Five–Your Song
The Patient Sikh: Part Six–Coffee Talk
The Patient Sikh: Part Seven–Chocolate Covered Love
The Patient Sikh: Part Eight–Kiss And Tell
The Patient Sikh: Part Nine–Street Chess
The Patient Sikh: Part Ten–Ravi
The Patient Sikh: Part Eleven–Understanding
The Patient Sikh: Part Twelve–Hey Jealousy
The Patient Sikh Part Thirteen–Me
The Patient Sikh: Part Fourteen–The Telephone
The Patient Sikh: Part Fifteen–The Dress
The Patient Sikh Part Sixteen–The Car
The Patient Sikh: Part Seventeen–Silence
The Patient Sikh: Part Eighteen–The Talk
The Patient Sikh: Part Nineteen–Oh Brother!
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty–Coney Island
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty One–Love Sick
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty-Two–The Date?
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty-Three–What’s Love Got To Do With It?
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty-Four–Fairytales
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty-Five–Acting
The Patient Sikh: Twenty-Six–The Paper
The Patient Sikh: Twenty-Seven–Studying Life
The Patient Sikh: Twenty-Eight–I’m Done
The Patient Sikh: Part Twenty–Meta Me
The Patient Sikh: Part Thirty–The Trial
The Patient Sikh: Part Thirty One-To Believe or Not To Beleive
The Patient Sikh: Party Thirty-Two–The Frat Party
The Patient Sikh: Party Thirty-Three–Friends