Chapter 20

"Liam, wait!" I shouted and he stopped but kept his back facing me. I walked to him and kept my hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know what's going on with you, yet. I want to know what's going on and I want you to tell me. Tonight, I want to meet you on the cliff after dinner. I will be waiting for you." I said and left.

Leaving the premises, I went to the garden for a walk, where I saw Nina playing with a dog in the garden.

She must have sensed my stare because she turned and saw me. As soon as she saw me, she stood up and started walking towards me with a smile on her face.

A frown appeared on my face as I saw she was smiling at me. As much as I remember, Nina has never smiled at me after she got to know about me and Liam when we were in school.

"Hey," she said with a smiling face.

"Hey, Nina. Are you okay?" I said confused and unsure of her behavior.

"Um, yeah I am fine. Why did you ask?" she asked me

"Because you are smiling at me, and that is a weird thing," I said with a frown.

"What? Seeing me smile?" she said raising her eyebrows at me.

"No, but seeing you smile at me is," I said with a shrug.

"You know, I think we should talk," she said with serious expression.

"About?" I asked confused to hear her want to talk to me nicely.

"Everything. Come let's sit first." She said, leading the way to a bench. She took a deep breath before talking.

"Do you know the reason for my behavior towards you Ava?" Nina asked me

"Yeah, you like Liam from our school days and that's why you hated me and I think you still do," I said with a shrug.

"Well, that's the thing it was not the Liam whom I had a crush on." She said and I got confused. If it was not Liam then who was it?

"Then who?" I asked her

"You," she said and I was beyond shocked. All these years we all thought that Nina hated me just because she liked Liam.

"What?" I reacted

"Yeah, it was always you and not Liam. I used to flirt with Liam because I thought that it might make you notice me. And for the past few days, I have been talking with Liam because of the same reason. You, Ava. I know we are not going to happen, ever. But you were my crush, I liked you and I still do."

"Oh, I am so sorry that I never guessed it," I said, slightly unsure how to react.

"It's okay, I never had the guts to tell you either. You and Liam are meant to be together." She said with a smile. Giving me a kiss on my cheek she left.

I felt bad for her, we all misunderstood her all these years. She is the Nina whom I met on the first day of our fifth grade, my best friend. But after Liam came into my life, she got away from me and I always misunderstood the reason. I thought it was because of Liam but it was because of me.

Blinking my tears away, I sat there till the sky was covered with a black blanket of darkness.