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Brahmi’s bruises were more severe and Raman sir wasn’t the perpetrator.

‘Volleyball match,’ she explained to Rishab and Sahil.

In the next period Brahmi slipped me a piece of paper.

Will your parents be home today?

No,I wrote back.

Can I come,she wrote.

Of course,I said.

Through the rest of the day at school, I alternated between being furious at the cause of the bruises, and being confused as to why she would want to come to my house when no one was around. I didn’t ask her out of nervousness for what her answer might be.

‘Raghu?’ she asked as we entered my house, which was more dishevelled than usual. ‘Where’s you room?’

I lead her to my room. She drew the curtains shut.

‘Do you have a first-aid kit?’ she asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Can you get it?’

‘Of course I can but—’

‘Can you close the door on your way out?’

I nodded and ran to get it from the bathroom cupboard. When I came back, she was tucked inside a blanket, only her bare back showing, her face away from me. My heart thumped in fear and excitement and embarrassment.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to look,’ I said and turned away.

‘Come here,’ she said.

Unsure, I walked up to her, my eyes glued to her back. A part of me was thinking of Richa and how uncomfortable I was seeing her but how natural this seemed.

She was still wearing her bra but the straps lay limp on her upper arm.

‘Are you here?’

I moved quickly. It was then that I noticed the bloodcurdling welts on her back. There were three huge gashes, blood clotting around them, inflicted with a belt. Two Band-aids were stuck on them clumsily.

‘Take the Band-aids off.’

I did as instructed. Her back quivered as I ripped them off even though I tried to be gentle.

‘Now do as we were told in the first-aid class,’ she said, her voice resolute, unshaking. ‘First Dettol.’

My fingers trembled as I dampened a little piece of cotton with Dettol.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Do it,’ she said, biting into my pillow.

I cleaned her wounds. She muffled her cries. The more I cleaned a wound, the bigger and deeper it seemed to get. More and more raw flesh stared at me. I bit my tongue twice and tasted iron. I put a piece of cotton and stuck the gauze to it with medical tape.

‘Will they stay?’ she asked.