Later that night, the old phone started ringing. This happened while Dad hadn’t come home yet. I grabbed it fast, hungry for Franklin’s words - anything true from the life I truly cared about.

  "Franklin? Thank God you called," I whispered.

  From out of nowhere, his words landed soft but strange. Hey Dhanya, how’s it going, came the question, though not quite like before. Laughter tangled with Akhil’s echoed behind him, filling the space where calm used to sit. That deep, quiet warmth from months ago had vanished. Now something wilder ran through his voice, bold and untamed. The man who once watched every bite now seemed to mock restraint itself. Did that serious guardian allow dessert tonight, or did he start tallying grams instead?

  Fingers squeezing the phone harder, I told him not to speak of my dad that way.

  Franklin laughed, saying we were almost grown up already. A moment later, his voice shifted - suddenly low, sending a chill across my arms. He tossed out a crude remark, something about Shwetha maturing fast. If she turned out like me, he added, the Mathews boys would be spending their summer chasing her. The air felt heavier after that, though he kept smiling.

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  Out of nowhere, everything froze. That kid - the one who’d drawn me like he knew every part - had spoken to my dad so politely just days before. Now here he stood, turning my little sister, only ten, into some kind of nasty laugh.

  That whisper came out rough, like gravel under boots - what exactly had slipped from your mouth regarding Shwetha?

  "It was just a joke, Dhanya. Don't be so sensitive. Akhil and I were just saying - "

  "I don't care what you and Akhil were saying," I interrupted, tears of rage stinging my eyes. "She is a child. She is my sister. And you... you’re just like George. You’re just better at pretending."

  "Don't compare me to that loser," Franklin snapped.

  "I won't. Because I'm never speaking to you again."

  Down went the receiver with a bang. Echoes bounced along the quiet hall. Shaking, I stayed rooted. That link to Thiruvananthapuram did not merely groan - it broke clean off, vanishing beneath ocean waves.