Chapter 68

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 67 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

She punched the bag repeatedly, throwing in kicks here and there. Sweat dripped from her body. Riya was in a T-back and leggings without her fingerless gloves. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. Her knuckles had turned red with the skin scraping off her body. But she showed no indication of pain. Her neurons were firing continuously as she punched to silence the thousand voices in her head.

It was Sunday, two days since Rathore had gotten suspended. Arjun was not returning her calls or messages. He did not even open the door when she went to Ravi lodge. After an hour of pounding and shouting and pleading, only one sentence came out, “Chali jao yaha se!”

That broke her.

Her phone rang shrilly in the otherwise silent room. She threw in three more punches before finally stopping. Panting, she picked up her phone from the bed. She gritted her teeth at the caller ID.

Riya: Jai Hind sir!

Vikram: Riya, mujhe tumse milna hai

Riya: kyun?

Vikram: half hour at marine drive

Riya: lekin…

Vikram: Jai Hind

Call disconnect.

She looks at the screen in anger at the beeping tone. Clenching her jaw, she hits the punching bag one more time visualizing it to be the commissioner.

Forty minutes later, Vikram saw her coming towards him. He nudged the man beside him who was busy on his phone. Raghu looked up and sighed in relief. He was apprehensive about her turning up because of the way Vikram had talked on the phone.

Needless to say, Riya was confused when she saw him. Vikram shifted and gestured her to sit.

Riya: aapne mujhe yaha kyun bulaya hai? aur Raghu sir yaha kyun hai?

Vikram: tum mujh par bhadakti rehti ho na? toh Raghu meri shield hai (she raised her eyebrow) are tumhare boyfriend ka mentor hai, you want to stay in his good books, don’t you?

Riya continues to glare at him.

Raghu: Riya, please baitho, hume ek zaroori baat karni hai. Please?

She softens hearing his tone and nods. Vikram holds out his palm to offer her the singh-channa he was eating.

Riya: kaam ki baat kare?

Vikram sighed: ha karni toh padegi… sab…

Raghu intervenes: Arjun theek hai?

Riya raised her eyebrow: ha of course, woh bilcul theek hai (the men looked at each other) unka best friend pehle unhe dhoka deta hai fir pata chalta hai ki woh humesha unke side par the fir pata chalta hai ki usne unki girlfriend ko abduct karke, murder karne ki koshish ki, bahot khush hai woh, naach rahe hai

Raghu cleared his throat.

Vikram: baakhi sab?

Riya: kya baakhi sab?

Vikram: kaise hai?

Riya: hona kya hai? Rathore sir suspended hai, Chotu unse nafrat karne laga hai, Ayesha ko jhatka laga hai, Shree aur Liza ko kuch samaj mein nahi aa raha hai but the three are holding up more or less fine, mujhe abhi tak apna abduction aur murder yaad aa raha hai! Arjun is shutting me out aur Mere Kuch Samaj Mein Nahi Aa Raha Hai Ki Main Rathore Sir Se Sympathize Karu, Chotu Ko Samjhau, Arjun Ko Sambhalu, Khud Ko Sambhalu Ya Team Ko Handle Karu?!!?

Vikram: Riya, you’re a strong girl…

Riya snapped: I DON’T WANT TO BE!! Kya 5 Minute Ka Bhi Chain Nahi Milega Mujhe?! CAN’T I JUST BE A BROKEN ORPHAN FOR 5 FREAKING MINUTES?!!

She dropped her head in her hands in frustration.

Silence followed.

Vikram taps her shoulder. She groaned and looked up. He pointed to his watch.

Vikram: 5 minute ho gaye

She stared at him in disbelief while Raghu reprimanded him.

Raghu: Vicky!!!

Vikram: are, time nahi hai yaar, mujhe toh headquarters jaana padega na firse

Raghu: aaj Sunday hai

Vikram: oh ha, but mujhe ghar jaana hai warna Kartik firse kahega ki dad aap office ke andar hi bed laga do aur solution dhundhenge toh milega na? apne aap toh prakat nahi honewaala?

Riya muttered under her breath while rubbing her temple.

Raghu: Vicky tu…

Riya: it’s ok sir, Vikram sir sahi keh rahe hai, kuch toh karna hi padega

Vikram smiled victoriously at Raghu, “Dekha?” Raghu just rolled his eyes in response. Taking a deep breath, she collected herself.

Riya: paani hai aapke paas?

Raghu: oh nahi, gaadi mein hai. Main lekar aata hun

She nods as he hops off the platform. Raghu returns after a few minutes with a water bottle. Riya lifted the bottle to her mouth. She gulps it all down to the last drop and sighs in relief. The screaming really did her good.

Nevertheless, she apologizes: sorry main aap dono par chillayi, mere manners chale gaye the thode time ke liye

Raghu smiled: it’s ok Riya, hum sab ke kamzor pal hote hai aur kamzori hai tabhi toh hum taakat paa sakte hai

Vikram: ha aur main toh bahot logon ki gaaliyaan khaata hun din bhar. Tum toh meri favourite officers mein se ek ho, itna toh seh hi sakta hun tumhare liye

She smiles lightly.

Vikram: so! Back to the problem at hand

Riya: Raghu sir, Arjun aapko bahot maante hai. Mujhe lagta hai agar aap sir ko guilt se nikalne ki koshish karenge toh woh zaroor sunenge and honestly speaking, main nahi jaanti main unhe kaise console karu aur waise bhi woh mujhse baat karne tak ko raazi nahi hai so

She shrugged her shoulders.

Raghu nodded: main Arjun se baat karunga (he placed a hand on her head) fikar mat karo, main jaanta hun use aur Riya, woh tumse bahot pyaar karta hai. Woh tumse dur nahi jaayega

Her eyes welled up as she nodded vigorously. She turned to Vikram.

Riya: kya Rathore sir ETF mein dobara nahi aa sakte? As in unki saza puri hone ke baad?

Vikram sighed: uska demotion zaroor hoga Riya, he won’t be in the chain of command and definitely not Chief. Of course baad mein uska promotion uske work record ke hissab se ho sakta hai. Waise main tumse keh du tumhe use Section 84 mein daalne ki zaroorat nahi thi, what he did was serious

Riya sighed: pata nahi, shayad aap sahi hai, shayad main emotional hu. And rahi baat seriousness ki toh aap jaante hai ki 84 ho toh koi bhi crime maayine nahi rakhta. Murder ho bhi gaya hota toh bhi nahi. But main jaanti hun maine kya dekha. I know I made the right decision. Maine sirf unhe bachane ke liye nahi aisa nahi kiya. He genuinely needs to get his brain back on track. Aise khayal aane tak toh fir bhi theek hai par un par amal karna normal nahi hai. Aur aap hi sochiye, agar woh seedhe convict ho jaate toh uske baad is baat ki gurantee hai ki woh sudhar jaate? When he comes out, he needs to be normal. Woh toh shukar hai ki something worse did not happen.

Vikram: like what? Us finding your body?

Raghu: Vicky!!!!

Vikram: are ye bol rahi hai. Maine kya kiya?

Raghu shook his head in disbelief: kuch nahi mere baap! Riya tum mere saath chalo

Riya(confused): kaha?

Raghu: Us samjhe ya samjhau ko samjhaane ke liye

She smiled.

Ravi Lodge-

Raghu knocked on the door of Arjun’s room. Silence greeted him. Shaking his head he knocked again while calling out.

Raghu: Arjun, main hu, Raghu. Darwaaza kholo

Immediately, he heard footsteps shuffling inside. Something hit, and something was thrown. The door opened.

Raghu stared at him. His eyes were red and clothes were soiled and dishevelled. It didn’t look like Arjun had bothered to even change his clothes. The only thing that he deemed weird was a plastic red rose clipped to his shirt pocket.

Arjun: aap? Aap yaha?

Raghu: andar no entry hai?

Arjun: nahi! (peeping inside) woh room thoda…

Raghu: koi baat nahi

He stepped inside and Arjun made way for him.

The room was in a bigger mess. Things broken and thrown in different directions.

Even in that state, Arjun felt embarrassed for him to see such an untidy side of him. He quickly went forward to clear the bed so he could sit.

Raghu: baitho, tum kyun khade ho?

Arjun reluctantly sat beside him.

Raghu: mujhe Vikram ne bataya, about the whole Sameer and Riya and you, basically woh pura golmaal

Arjun looked away to hide the moisture in his eyes. Raghu waited to see if he would say something but he didn’t.

He sighed: aise apne aapko kamre mein band karke kya milega Arjun?

Arjun: kuch nahi chahiye mujhe

Raghu: kya sach mein? Agar tumhe kuch nahi chahiye toh fir ye gum kis baat ka? (pointing to the clip) ye kiski hai? Roshni ya Riya?

Arjun answered only one question: Riya

Raghu: chodna nahi chahte toh dur kyun bhaag rahe ho Arjun?

Arjun: aur firse use meri wajah se kuch ho gaya toh? kho du use bhi?

Raghu: use dur rehkar kaha paa rahe ho?

Arjun(distressed): nahi, main kaise… Sam… (clutching his head) ugh! Uski puri life, career sab kuch daav par laga hai kyunki woh mujhe bachane ki koshish kar raha tha!!

Raghu: Arjun Sameer kya sochta hai, kya karta hai, kyun karta hai is par tumhara koi control nahi. Apne aapko dosh mat do. Aise toh tum bhi wahi galti kar rahe ho jo usne ki. Jo kuch bhi hua isme tumhara kya haath? Riya ko kyun saza de rahe ho tum?

Arjun(tearfully): Roshni ko bhi aise hi khoya tha maine, woh bhi mujhe bachane ke liye Sikandar ke chaku ke aade aa gayi, Sam ne humara rishta tod diya, (tears streamed down his face) Riya ko maarne tak ki koshish ki kyunki use laga ki aisa karne se main safe rahunga, Riya ne bhi mujhe sachayi nahi batayi kyunki woh mujhe, us waqt protect karna chahti thi, aage agar usne bhi…

Raghu: fir toh tumhe khush hona chahiye

Arjun(appalled): Aap Kya Keh Rahe Hai?!

Raghu: ha of course. Aisa pyaar, aisi dosti kismat waalon ko hi milti hai jiske liye log sab kuch kurbaan kar de aur tumhe toh dusri baar aisa pyaar mila hai. Is tarah use nakaar kar tum unke pyaar par ungli utha rahe ho Arjun

Arjun: main ungli utha raha hun?! Aapko lagta hai ki main is sab ke kaabil hun? Kya kiya hai maine ki woh sab mere liye ye sab kare?! Kis haq se main unki kurbaaniyaan leta rahu?

Raghu opened his mouth to speak but Riya entered the room.

Riya: agar aap humare liye utne maayine nahi rakhte toh hum nahi karte

Arjun stared at her in shock. Where did she come from? His gaze darted to Raghu. The two were in this together? He looked back at Riya hearing her voice.

Her tears threatened to fall: rishte nibhaane ke liye hote hai Arjun sir, unmein kabhi shartein nahi hoti, mol-bhaav nahi hota, ki maine kya kiya aur tumne kya. Woh bas rishte hote hai. Aur jab tak dono taraf pyaar ho, iraade sahi ho tab tak kisi ko haq nahi banta ki us dor ko kaante, aapko bhi nahi!!

Arjun stood up: Riya…

Tears streamed down her face: maine kaha tha na dard hota hai?

Arjun felt as if he was choking. Her words shot a bullet that ripped his heart out. Punching him in the gut, they were peeling his skin off his body and stripping his muscles apart, one by one. Somehow, all at once.

Riya accused him: fir bhi?

Arjun clenched his eyes shut(cracked): I’m sorry, I’m sorry Riya (he fell to his knees, crying) I’m So Sorry!!!

Raghu watched the scene, painfully. He wanted to do something but at the same time, he didn’t think it was right to interfere at the point.

Arjun hung his head in guilt, sobbing at all the pain he was causing her.

She wanted to scream at him, wanted to scold him but the broken sight in front of her was refraining her. She pursed her lips and looked away. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned back to give him a piece of her mind when her gaze fell on her clip on his shirt.

Her mind flashed to the time he had pulled her away from the ledge of the terrace. The time when he had given it back to her on her birthday. And then, he had sneaked it away that late night in the office when they were teasing each other.

Her lips quivered as she recollected every moment they had spent together. And suddenly, her anger melted. It felt worth it to go over the same pain a countless number of times if only they could be together.

Besides, why should someone else’s actions decide their fate?

Riya: promise me?

He looked up with a fresh burst of oxygen in his body. He held out a shivering hand.

Arjun: vaada

She took baby steps forward. With tears still streaming down her face, she placed her hand on his.

Arjun jumped up to engulf her in a hug. Embracing each other tightly, they cried their hearts out.

Raghu smiled. Mission accomplished. Silently removing his phone, he texted Vikram.

Raghu- ye dono toh set ho gaye

Vikram replied immediately- thank god! Ab ye dono aage ka sab kuch handle kar lenge

Raghu- are you sure?

Vikram- ha, ha pakka! Tum apne student par shak kar rahe ho?

Raghu- nahi, lekin main jaanta hun he’s not the diplomacy type. He won’t take much effort. Agar nahi hua toh us par mehnat karke theek karne ki koshish nahi karega unless someone’s dead

Vikram- quite a good motivation na?

Raghu- Vicky!

Vikram- mazaak kar raha hun yaar, had hai! bahot tok rahe ho tum mujhe aaj

Raghu rolled his eyes. He was about to reply when he heard Riya’s sharp voice.

Riya (stepping away): oh god! Aapne nahaya nahi hai do din se! kapde bhi wahi hai

Arjun is taken aback at the sudden shift: What?

Riya: dur rahiye mujhse! Yuck!

His jaw dropped to the ground: Riya?

Riya: aur upar se mere ek bhi phone aur message ka reply nahi kiya! Yaha aayi toh bhi bhej diya

Arjun: lekin Riya…

Riya: Get lost!

Arjun: are par…