Chapter 11

Chapter 25- Weekend

"So where are we going?" Suhani whined. Rajvir shot her an angry glance, diverting his eyes from the steering wheel.

"Why do I even go out with you? You're such a damn nuisance." He sighed, annoyed.

"What?! You're the one who kidnapped me!" Suhani hid her smile, annoying people was oddly amusing she just discovered.

"Would you rather me leave you at Workshop for the cleaners to get you?" He said eerily. She shook her head.

"You're mean! Where are we going? Rajvir!!!" She whimpered.

"That's it." He said, pulling over. "We could do this the easy way or the hard way, which one do you want?" Rajvir said stubbornly.

Suhani grinned, childishly she said, "Which way will get you more annoyed?"
Rajvir sighed defeated, "Fine. Let's not go anywhere."

Suhani raised her eyebrow, "What?! How difficult is it for you to tell me where we're going?"

"There's this club I own. We were going to go there." He said, smirking.

"You own it? Is that even legal?" She inquired like a good citizen. He
shrugged. "Isn't there like…an age requirement?"

"Not for us, there isn't." He said, flashing that Close-Up smile again. That's what Suhani called it because he looked like he was doing a toothpaste ad.

"Tho chalo." Suhani said in a duh tone.

"Tik hai chalo." Rajvir said, smiling. That was the first time Suhani had heard Raj speak Hindi. It was flawless, with the slightest hint of British in it. It was adorable. She wanted to hear more.

"Ek baat kaho mein?" Suhani asked as Rajvir turned the ignition again.

"Kaho." He said, smiriking.

"Tum Hindi teek tak bol lethe ho."

"Pata hai. Mugar tumhari Hindi bilkul bakwaas hai." He laughed, jokingly. She hit him hard in the arm.

"Ow." He said.

"Haha, VERY funny. Wait till I teach you Gujrati. Then we'll see whose zubaan is more bakwaas."

"Gujrati? Dude, can I get any more culturally diverse than I already am? I'm a Bengali-Punjabi British Indian that speaks fluent Arabic, Spanish, and Hindi and now Gujrati?" He sighed dramatically, "I don't get paid enough for this job."

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for someone that cares." Suhani said with sass. Rajvir huffed as he pulled into a nearly empty parking lot. It was a large lot but only 20 or 30 cars in it. She raised an eyebrow at him, he shrugged it off and led her to the nearly deserted building. It was eerily quiet, at the door, a small slot opened with a man's bloodshot eyes showing through. Was this a club or a drug house?

"It's me." Rajvir said, mimicking an American accent. Once the door opened, all silence was gone. It was loud with strobes and loud music there. Rajvir went immediately and kissed the deejay. Who was that girl? He whispered something in her ear that made her glance toward Suhani and giggle. Rajvir moved back to Suhani, upon seeing her annoyed "What?"

"Bade friendly ho rahe the uske saath." She said taunting.

"Jealous?"

"Nope." She turned away, not caring. "I'm going to dance…"

"Wait for me." Rajvir said, as she turned around.

"No one said, I'm dancing with you." Suhani replied sassily. She swayed carelessly to Cash before she glanced at Rajvir.

"How do they have Indian music?" Rajvir smirked and shrugged. She sang out loud (terribly) to Naughty Naughty. Rajvir stared at her, she was hilarious. She danced beautifully and carelessly though. She frowned as the song ended and changed to a romantic track. A tall dude, was holding onto her waist. Reluctantly, she pushed him away. Rajvir instinctively got up and made their way to her.

"I own this place, may I cut in?" He said politely. The guy backed off.

"Thank God." Suhani said. He nodded and rested his hands at her waist. She leaned into him as they swayed. He twirled her around so his lips rested on her neck. His hot breaths tickled her spine. He moved his hand to graze her arm and drew near her. His lips drew closer to her in seriousness before…

"AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH." Suhani burst into laughter abruptly. Rajvir pouted at her childishly. He looked at her with anger until she stopped laughing, which was three minutes later.

"I'm sorry." She said, resuming composure. "Really, I am." She said, still giggling.

"May I be so bold to ask what was so funny?" Rajvir asked, annoyed.

"It's just that this whole being romantic business, it's so…" She began laughing. "I'm not going to lie, you're terrible at it." She laughed upon seeing him pouting again, "Maybe you are, I think it doesn't suit you." She stroked his cheek and he flinched away like a child.

"You're mad at me?" She asked, trying to hide her smile.

"My other girlfriends say I'm great at being romantic. Someone should learn how to ruin the moment from you." He said. Sighing he said, "I'm going to talk to Vedika." (Played By Achint Kaur from Virrudh)

"Who's Vedika?" Suhani asked, confused. He pointed to the tall deejay he was talking to when he came in. She was pretty, Suhani noted. "Oh. go ahead then. I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Where?" Good question, where? Workshop was closed all weekend and she hadn't the vaguest clue as to where she was. She shrugged,
"Somewhere."

"Fine." He said, stubbornly. Were they fighting? About what? She raised an eyebrow but refused to talk to him for the rest of the night. She walked out of the club and mosied along the desolate road for a while. It was dark and lonely and silent but she found it comforting. Suhani wasn't the type for adventure but she hated those ditzy, paranoid types that screamed over everything. The type Maya was. She laughed to herself.

Suhani didn't know where she was going but she had her cell phone with GPS if it was necessary. In her purse she had a first aid kit, flashlight, and pepper spray. She was pretty much ready for anything.

Her cell phone rang. She saw the caller ID and was instantly excited, she sat on a rock and picked up.

"Hey." She said chirpily.
"Hey." Niharika said miserably. "Are you aware of what is happening in our absence?"
"Uh. Loss of virginity, getting beat up, engagement, recovery….that's all I've been informed of…Why?"
"You were never told of a pregnancy, a break up, being attracted to Sagar?" She asked, confused.
"WHAT?! Mahi's pregnant? And attracted to Sagar…wait what?" Suhani asked more confused.
"Yeah, Shabd broke up with her and then he came wanting to get back together with her and she was stubborn as always and kicked him out and VIDYA is getting attracted to Sagar."
"I thought she wanted Angad…now poor Angad has no one. It's okay, I'm there." Suhani said evilly.
"Not the best joke, Hani. And I'm next in line. And how can we even be talking about this, I mean…Mahi's pregnant." She sighed. Suhani nodded into the phone.
"Maybe we should go back…I think Mahi needs us." Suhani reasoned
"And Vidya's a helluva mess right now two. Everyone's got two guys goin but me. God."
"But you? Puh-lease. I only got one guy too." Suhani argued.
"Yeah, about that. You know Ishaan's had a crush on you since ever."
"WHAT?! Ishaan? Dude, you mean your brother? The one who hates me?!" Suhani screamed into the phone.
"Guess he doesn't hate you after all." Niharika joked.
"This is not funny dude. I mean ISHAAN, of all people, he likes me?!"
"Well, Hani babes. You know you're gorgeous." She listened to hear Suhani sigh sarcastically, "And smart, and you paint. Hell Hani, if I was a guy I'd be chasing you like there's no tomorrow."
"So it's the family choice." She stated sarcastically. "Whatever, I have no intention of pursuing this or even looking like I know. So don't like…tell him, okay?"
"Aww, I was looking forward to you being my bhabhi." Niharika joked.
"You think this is so funny, don't you?" Suhani asked, annoyed. Niharika laughed.
"Hilarious. So where are you, it's awfully quiet. What time is it?"
"It's 3 in the morning. I'm not sure where I am exactly. I'm on a road. It's dark and quiet. I was clubbing with Vir but we had a fight, I think about something so I left."
"He let you go in 3, alone? In an unknown country? In the dark? By yourself? What is wrong with you?! I said don't be so Suhani. I didn't say be super-idiotic. When I meet him, I'm giving this Rajvir guy a piece of my mind."
"Chill Nihu. I'm fine. I got GPS. Plus, I feel like I know where I'm going."
"Well, I'm an advocate for gut feelings. But last time I went with that, it didn't turn out so well…" Niharika sighed.
"What happened?"
"Bhaiya met and scared Vedant."
"Wait, where are you?"
"Norfolk, well actually we drove down to Virginia Beach so that's where we are. Where are you?"
"A little city off of Madrid. Yeah, I didn't even know little cities existed. Raj owns a club here. I didn't know that was even legal anyways."
"Cool, so what are we going to do with the confused ones?" Niharika asked, concerned.
"Let's give them a week to sort it out themselves, if not. We're coming to their rescue."
"Great plan. Hey, I gotta go now. I think Vedant and Ishaan are wrestling. Or maybe they're trying to kill each other. Or maybe both. Either way, I gotta go." Suhani laughed at the explanation and how it was probably true.
"Okay. Love you. Take care."
"Thanks you too," She yelled away from the phone, "Oye, get off of him!" Resuming the phone tone, she finished breathlessly. "Bye."

Suhani laughed and clicked the phone off. Her cell rang again, Rajvir. Angry, she cut him off. She looked to where her feet had brought her, it was a church. The massive stained glass windows reflected the moonlight beautifully, the moon was still out was surprising. It was nearly sunrise. She tried to go in but the doors were jammed shut and in scrawled red handwriting it said, "No Trespassing." on the door. Trespassing? This was a church. God's Home, open to all. Ignoring the odd sign, she pushed the jammed door open.

Burned out candles sat in a sandbox before the alter. Dust speckled the entire edifice; the pews were old and creaky. The statues of Mother Mary and Jesus on the cross were untouched, flawless, and dustless. They gleamed in the moonlight as if God himself had polished them. Pulling a lighter out of her purse, she lit the blown out candles. The wicks were malted with wax as a result of the ages of disuse and it took a while to light all of them. Suhani did it, nonetheless. There were forty something of them. Each represented the prayer of someone that came to ask God for something. The candle represented their plead. It was so heartless of the wind, or someone, to blow their prayers out so.

Suhani kneeled before the dusty alter. She bowed her head and sat deep in thought. There was such a peace in the place. In her heart, she recited Our Father Who Art in Heaven before she heard footsteps. She wasn't scared, just alarmed. She left her eyes closed and her neck bent in prayer. Nothing and no one was more important than God. She felt the footsteps come and kneel beside her. She sighed.

"Suhani…" The voice started.

"Shhhhhhh." She hushed him. After finishing her prayer, she gestured the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and got up. "Must you bother me when I'm praying?"

"Sorry, I didn't know you were Christian." He said apologetically.

"All four of us are unofficially part everything…" Suhani stated matter-of-factly.

"Interesting."

"How'd you find me here?" Suhani asked, Rajvir shrugged.

"This is my favorite place. I figured you'd be here. I hoped actually. You gave me quite a scare." He sighed.

"I can see that, seeing that it took you an hour to realize I was even gone." Suhani said sarcastically.

"Are we supposed to be mad at each other?" Rajvir asked, confused.

"Yeah, but you started it." Suhani answered childishly.

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Vir sighed embarrassed.

"It's okay. You even know what you're apologizing for?" He shook his head,
"For getting mad at you not being able to control your laughter."

"Pretty much. I'm sorry I left like that." She said.

"It's okay. Me and Vedika aren't like that…in case you were wondering.
She's an old friend. Happily married might I add."

"Hm." Suhani muttered. looking around awe-struck. "What's the deal with this place?"

"It's an old abandoned church. What do you mean?"

"Why is it abandoned? Who puts a No Trespassing sign on a church? You come here a lot?"

"Yeah, I do. There's been some religious tension around here for a while, and this church was a common target. So they closed it down. Since then, no one comes here. I sneak in sometimes…but I don't think there are any real consequences for that. This place is awesome. It's so peaceful. You lit the candles?"

"Yeah. It's sad they went out. I mean people pray on those. It's like killing their chances of them being fulfilled."

"No one really cares about anyone but their own selves. I never really paid them much mind."

"Never paid them much mind? It's someone's prayer. You've never lit one?" Suhani asked, staring at the cross statue. Her eyes were fixed upon the crown of thorns upon Jesus' head.

"I've never lit one. Duh, I'm Pagan. You thought I was joking when I said my mom was a witch?" He chuckled. Suhani stared at him wide-eyed, "Wh..whaaat?"

"I'm kidding. I pray to the Trinity."

"The trinity…" Suhani echoed, still mesmerized by the cross.

"The Hindu one anyways." He chuckled. Suhani felt a great sensation come over her, her stomach settled. "Suhani…are you alright?"

"Hm, yeah. Excuse me for a minute." She said as she ran out of the church. Quickly leaning against the gigantic pair of doors, she recovered her cell phone and dialed a short series of numbers.

"Hello, Niharika?"
"Suhani? Yeah."
"Is everyone there okay? You, Vedant, Ishaan…everyone?"
"Yeah, we're all great. Suhani, what's wrong? You sound worried."
"I am, I'm getting a bad gut feeling. Just watch out okay?"
"Hani, we will. We know how superstitious you are. You take care too though, don't make yourself sick."
"I won't. I'm gonna call the others now too. Bye."
"Accha bye."
"Hello Mahi?"
"Suhani? How are you? Haven't heard from you in like a week…" Mahi tried to sound happy.
"Mahi are you okay?" Suhani interrupted her concerned.
"Yeah, Hans mein tik hoon. Kyon? Suhani, why do you sound so scared?"
"I'm getting a bad feeling. It's like…ominous, you know?"
"It's probably nothing. Anyways, let me guess, you already called Vidya and Niharika?"
"Not yet. Only Niharika. Be careful though. Take care of yourself. I'll talk to you later. I love you."
"I love you too. See you later."
"You too."

"Hello?"
"Hey Vidya." Suhani said, trying to sound not so uneasy.
"Suhani! Hey, what's up? Your at workshop? They have phones there?" Vidya said pretending to be chirpy.
"Vidya, I'm not at workshop. It's the weekend, cabins are closed so I'm at a church. So listen, are YOU okay?"
"I'm…" Vidya thought, "fine. Why?"
"Nothing, I was just worried. It's nothing. Just take care of yourself."
"O…kay then? I'll call you later…I…have to go." Vidya said, stuttering.
"Fine. Bye." Suhani said, angry almost.

"Hey. What's wrong? I heard you dialing like crazy. What's up?" Rajvir asked, concerned.

"Bad feelings. I called everyone to make sure they were okay. All three of them bitches are lying to me." Suhani said, instinctively. She snapped her hand over her mouth, looking around at the church, looking up she mouthed, "Sorry God."

"I'm sure he doesn't mind that much. So is the bad feeling gone yet?"

"Nope. It got worse…" She said, clutching her abdomen.

"Well, maybe you're in danger." He said evilly.

"Funny. Let's go home."

"Workshop's closed."

"Where we going then?"

"Maa's house?" He said reluctantly.

"Fine. Maya's not there, right?" He shook his head.

"So let's go."