Promises To Keep Chapter 2 (Part 6 continue)

HEY GUYS!!! YES IT’S US!!! Happy Belated Pongal to all! We are back with more parts and chapters! Now we know a lot of you guys might be upset.. but we are sooo sorry. We had a lot of issues going on in our personal lives, but we are glad to be back. We know it’s not going to be easy to get our fans back, but we are going to try! We love you guys sooo much and we hope you all enjoy this part! A quick refresh in a sentence: we are at the part where Abi tells everyone what has happened with them and Ethan in the past!
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I looked at Lakshi as I said this, and she had a pleading expression on her face because she didn’t want me to tell them about Ethan, but I had no choice. I didn’t know how to react to her, but I knew I was doing the right thing. I took a deep breath. “Ethan… he was from our old school. That’s how we know him. When we came to Lakeview we thought we were done with his problems, but apparently not. He came here the day after we did, and ever since he figured out we were here, he has been trying to seek revenge on us.”, I said, and I could feel everyone staring at me. “Wh… why does he want revenge?”, Ashwin asked. I looked at him, and he noticed I was getting uncomfortable. That’s when I stiffened myself up and told him everything.
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“Our old school was called Northvale High School… and Ethan went there.”, My hands were shivering as I said this. I felt their eyes on me… but I didn’t have the courage to look up at them. “Wait… you knew Ethan from before..?”, Ashwin asked. I nodded. He was the one who started everything.

“He and Lakshi had two out of four classes together in their second semester, and that’s where he first met Lakshi. He became friends with Lakshi and they both worked together on assignments. He was her best friend at one point, they told each other everything”, Ashwin glanced at Lakshi. “But then one day… Ethan took everything the wrong way. Ethan had a girlfriend at another school, but he never told anyone about her, but he did mention it to Lakshi because she was his best friend. Then one day… my friend Anu told me that Ethan was spreading rumours… and that he was telling everyone that he liked Lakshi.” Lakshi looked up at me. I shot my eyes towards her and she made a “why” face. I had no choice. “Lakshi thought I was pranking her, but then she started to hear the rumours too. Lakshi believed in Ethan, and didn’t even listen to me. After a few days went by, Lakshi jokingly questioned Ethan about it and he admitted that he did spread those rumours, and he spread them because he didn’t have the courage to tell her in the first place. Lakshi was astonished, and she never talked to him again because he was cheating on another girl, and he was humiliating their friendship. After noticing Lakshi’s reaction, he decided to take things to the next level.”, as I said this, I saw Aadhi approach us in the corner of his eye with a curious, but scared expression on his face. I took a deep breath and continued. “That’s when Ethan spread rumours that Lakshi liked him back, and sent out an edited picture..” My voice drifted off. I saw Maya’s and Sayohn’s eyes widen, but I was too scared to see Ashwin’s reaction. Lakshi was staring down at the floor in embarrassment. Then she walked out of the gym, and we watched her leave. “What happened next?”, Ashwin asked. “Everyone questioned Lakshi about it, and Lakshi couldn’t take it anymore. After class one day Ethan approached Lakshi and threatened her to tell everyone it was true. He told her he would send out worst pictures. Then he walked away and I found Lakshi crying. She told me everything and that’s when we asked Niru for help. Niru is specialized in technology, so one day after school, he helped us setup video cameras in our lockers, and connected it wirelessly to his laptop. Then he gave me a speaker to hook to my ear. “Listen to me, and follow my instructions”, Niru said. Then he patted our backs before we went to school that day and said, “We can do this”.

After school I called Niru, and then turned on his connection to his the speaker in my ear.Then Niru told me what to do and I did as he said. Lakshi quickly turned on the cameras. Ethan approached her because we got our friend Anu to tell Ethan that Lakshi was still denying the rumours. Ethan approached Lakshi at her locker as we expected. Lakshi opened her locker to put her books in. He grabbed Lakshi’s arm and pushed her against the opposite lockers and twisted her hand, as it hurt her. She bit her lip, tried not to scream. “Accept the rumours you—”, I paused. I felt my hand shiver, and I couldn’t continue my sentence. I felt a tear drip down my face. Ashwin put his hand on my shoulder, and Maya held my hands. “It’s fine”, Maya said. “Everything’s okay”. She said. They walked me to a chair,and all four of them sat around me. “You don’t have to continue…”, Ashwin said. I didn’t want to, but I had to. I looked at Ashwin in the eye, and I realized that he deserved to know. “He said some… brutal things. And then Lakshi screamed, and that was my cue. He was startled and he stepped back, and the principal followed me. Ethan stood there watching us. “I grabbed the video camera off the locker and handed it to the principal. He analysed our faces, and then looked at the video. His eyes widened. Ethan heard his voice, and his face was boiling. “Suspension. Maybe even expelled. This is a serious matter, Ethan, come with me! What will your parents think of you?! Women and men are equal here!”, he said. He was angry. “I.. I’m sorry sir”,Ethan stuttered. “Enough! Follow me!”, the principal said. Ethan glared at us. “This isn’t over”, he said. Then he walked behind the principal.

Niru heard everything. “Good work girls”, he said through the speaker. “Thank you” I hugged Lakshi and she sat down onto the floor. Her eyes started to water up, I didn’t know why. I looked at her. “It’s over, you should be glad!” I said with a smile. Lakshi looked at me. “He was my best friend once Abi. That guy who did all of this was my best friend once. I’ll always remember every single smile, every single laugh, and every single threat.” She leaned her head against the wall. I sat beside her and didn’t say anything.”

“Wow…” Ashwin said. “That’s a lot on both of you…” I nodded. “Well you guys are here now with all of us”, Aadhi said, and they all nodded. We were all quite for a few seconds, until Sayohn said, “We should check on Lakshi.” Then we all got up, and walked outside. That’s when we saw Lakshi, sitting back against the wall. Sayohn, Maya, Aadhi and I looked at Ashwin, and gave him the look. He looked at us, nodded, and then walked to Lakshi. He sat down beside Lakshi, as she stiffened herself and looked away. Then Ashwin’s voice said regretfully, “I’m sorry Lakshi”.
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Next Part: Magical Marriage (Chapter 2, Part 6)