Chapter 5 - Thoughts

"Here's your coffee..." The familiar yet unknown face made Anaya trail off in her professional sentence. She stared at the smiling face with shock that soon changed into confusion and conflict.

"What..." Anaya looked away, trying to calm herself, coffee forgotten in her hand. "What are you doing here?" She tried again in a composed tone but with a very expressive face.

"Waiting for my coffee," Arnav answered with a smile, inclining his head towards the mug of coffee in her hands.

Immediately, Anaya placed the mug on the table.

She opened her mouth to question his presence again but, thinking better of it, she turned away, marching back to the counter with the conviction not to look in his direction again. Failing spectacularly at the attempt when she turned back to look at the ever smiling man typing furiously on his laptop as if doing something extremely important.

She turned to Sanaya to question her but couldn't bring herself to ask. Frustrated, she fidgeted with the counter, thoughts circling in her mind.

What if the man was following her? What if he was a stalker? Her heartbeat accelerated at the thought, and she felt her anxiety peaking. She couldn't afford a stalker. She was all alone in this whole world, and she couldn't imagine anyone questioning her whereabouts if she disappeared one night. Her fist clenched involuntarily as she breathed heavily. There were so many scenarios going through her mind, and none of them was pleasant.

"He is a regular."

Anaya jerked to Sanaya, her brow tightened as she stared at her in confusion, still reeling from the images of her vivid imagination.

"Huh?" That was all she managed to utter in confusion.

"He is a regular," Sanaya raised her chin towards the man.

It took embarrassingly a full minute for Anaya to comprehend what Sanaya was talking about, and when it did, she felt both relief and embarrassment at her hyperactive imagination.

"I don't care," Anaya murmured in response, turning to fiddle with the menu.

Sanaya gave a sly smirk, turned back to her laptop without another word.

Anaya wanted to slap her for that smirk but instead decided to be thankful for her help. At least, it would allow her to sleep peacefully at night. She had planned to hire a security guard, but now she was doubting the wisdom of her living in a far-off home all alone. The crime rates of Ashcroft were almost non-existent, but it was still rational to apply some common sense and precautions to the plan.

She should've thought about all this before. Anaya sighed in despair. Maybe that's why it is said one should not make important decisions when going through a turmoil.

"Lost mind, pay some attention, will you?" Sanaya spoke again, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"What?" Anaya asked almost snapping at the irritating woman.

Sanaya turned her chin behind her; Anaya turned around to see customers waiting. Sighing, she mumbled a sorry before turning back to her work. Her mind rested as she eased into her working, taking orders and cleaning tables. So much so, she completely forgot about the lonely figure sitting in the corner and working on his laptop. It wasn't until she had to clean his table that she was reminded of his presence. Even then, she tried to ignore him, but it seemed he had enough of sitting silently and weirdly wanted company now.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Arnav spoke with an easy smile as if they were friends.

Anaya scrunched her face, wondering if he was stupid.

"How is that any of your business?" She asked with an irritable face.

He frowned which was quickly turned into a concern. "Are you okay?"

Anaya stared at him as if he had lost it. Is he for real?

"None of your business." Anaya bit out.

"Is someone harassing you? Can I help you with something?" He asked rapidly.

Anaya resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Either this man was stupid, or he was simply trying to vex her.

"Yes, you! And of course, you can help me by stopping being around me and trying to talk as if we are friends." Anaya said, making sure to pronounce every word loud and clear.

The black-haired blinked.

"I apologize if I made you feel harassed. I just..." He hesitated, thinking something. "I just don't know many people here, and I realize you must be new here too, that's why I thought we both could benefit from friendship."

Anaya frowned not understanding from where he got the idea of friendship or why the hell he would even try to be friends with her.

Perhaps, misunderstanding her frown, he continued to clarify himself.

"I am here for an important work. It has been two months only. It isn't going great, and I was just trying to distract myself. Sorry if I offended you."

Anaya gave out a breath in frustration. She didn't want to listen to his story or even talk to him. It was a waste of her time. She hated boys. Really.

"Just keep your distance from me," Anaya muttered.

The man sighed pitifully, and Anaya almost felt for him. "I will. My work isn't going great anyway. The house I wanted to buy was sold just a week back. If things turn worse, I might go back to Delhi."

Anaya felt bad for him. His downhearted expression stirred the very unknown feeling that she felt on their first meeting. But it was dangerous for her. She had no plan of dealing with the other gender anytime soon. She was better off without them.

"It's just a house, go for another one." She blurted out without another thought and immediately regretted her words.

"Not just a house..." Arnav mumbled.

Anaya paused. She could relate to that sentiment considering she herself bought a house that meant something to her. She wondered what she would've done if she had failed in her attempt for some reason. She couldn't even think what she might've done. It was like feeling lost.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she was still standing there with an empty cup, which turned into an encouragement for the man to continue their conversation.

"Have you seen the house by the river? It's near the forest and is quite secluded yet cozy." He started to speak with excitement.

"I don't..." Anaya froze. By the river. Near the forest. That was her house. Was he trying to buy her house? Why?

"You have seen right? Isn't it exquisite?" Arnav asked with a dreamy smile.

Anaya stared not understanding what to speak. He was talking about her house. Was it a coincidence? What the hell was happening, actually?

"Wh... Why do you want it so bad?" Anaya asked, fumbling with words. "I mean, there are many beautiful and pretty houses here. That one is not so different."

"It is," Arnav insisted. "It is different."

"Wh... Why?" Anaya asked feeling stupid for repeating, and even more stupid for staring at him like that. She was doing a lot of staring today. It wasn't good.

Arnav fumbled. "I love it. It is also away from the crowd and noise. Cozy, as I say." The man said staring at something on his laptop.

Well, that made sense. Her house was the only one in such a secluded area without the hubbub of this small city. But that didn't explain her instincts warning her about something. As if there was more to it.

Shaking her head, she turned away without another word and walked away without realizing that she ended their conversation too abruptly to seem casual.

Would it affect her somehow? She thought, placing the mug on the table. Hazel eyes dropped on the empty mug, dark brown swill swirling around. Why was she thinking about such a trivial matter? It meant nothing. She could agree that her house was at the best place for people who liked nature or silence. It was quite understandable that such a person would like to buy it. Just because that person was in the place where she worked and was trying to buy her house didn't mean he had some ulterior motive or was a psychopath. It was a small city, so such incidents were common rather than rare.

She shook her head, wanting to get rid of the unwanted thoughts. Her eyes fell on Sanaya in the process, who seemed to be looking at her once again.

She felt defensive at once and wanted to snap at her but realized it would be rude of her.

"Everything okay?" She asked meekly.

Sanaya shrugged and turned back to the laptop, but she didn't miss her murmuring about her. "You think too much."

Anaya frowned feeling affronted at the assumption and also feeling down for being read like an open book. Maybe she should work on her expressions.

She was thinking again. Anaya shook her head and turned back to her job, not wanting to fall into another rabbit hole.

Her shift was going to end anyway. She would leave and have peaceful night. Tomorrow would be another day, a normal and melancholic day. It had to. After all, it had been week in Ashcroft, long enough to fall in a pattern without new excitement everyday.

If only it was easy as that.