Chapter 4

InkedImagination

@Queen0fDarkness

Chapter 4 : Kindness in the dark

Was she overstepping? Geet questioned her decision of wanting to Maan to talk to her if he wasn’t going to speak to someone else about what was happening in his home.

She also wondered whether she should tell someone, but the look in his eyes and the seriousness of his tone had her brush off the idea quickly. If she broke his trust, he wouldn’t trust her or anyone else again. Right now, he needed someone in his corner. Even if it was her.

"Geet, are you ready?" Prem called from downstairs.

She glanced at the time and grabbed her laptop bag. "Coming, bhai" she yelled unlocking her bedroom door and hurried downstairs.

"Bhai, we have to pick up Nyra and Pinky" she informed joining him in the car.

"As long as they don’t misbehave" he agreed starting the car and reversed out of their driveway.

"That's not misbehaving, they're innocently crushing on you" she giggled.

"I don’t need teenagers crushing on me" he rolled his eyes.

"Why? Is Kiara going to be jealous?" she teased.

"I never should have told you about her" he shook his head as a small smile curled on his lips.

"When are you bringing her to meet mama and nani?" she asked eagerly.

"Never" Prem laughed. "They're going to make her run the other direction. I'll bring her around when I've got my ring in her finger".

"Nooo, you have to bring her around. Please" she batted her eyelashes hoping he'd melt and agree.

Prem rolled his eyes as he slowed down to a stop outside her Nyra's house, "I'll speak to her".

"Yay!" Geet clapped excitedly and hugged him.

"Ooh is it hug day?" Nyra asked as she bounced into the car with Pinky. "I want one".

"Me too" Pinky sang.

"No, it isn't" Geet laughed shaking her head.

"F*ck off, Jay" Kabir snapped pushing his friend.

Jay laughed, "I'm joking" he clapped his hand shaking his head.

"What's up?" Maan questioned jogging over and joining them on the football ground.

"Maan, what do you think of Geet?" Jay inquired.

"What?" he frowned. "Man, that's his sister", and she's too good for you. He thought recalling his conversation with Geet. Maan couldn’t stop thinking about Geet knowing about his home life, he'd lain on his mattress situated in the basement and pondered about Geet. She should be carefree and enjoying her teen years without the burden of a secret. But he was selfish. Speaking to her relieved him.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell the others because he was surely going to be getting teased by his friends or anyone else. He had feared that she'd known about it, but her eyes were filled with compassion. She didn’t run the rumour and have it spread across their small town. Had it been anyone else, they would have no doubt loved to share his story. They might even seem like they'd be doing him a favour, that would not have been the case. He was sure his father would have heard the rumour during his beer run and returned home to teach him a lesson for running his mouth.

"He just wants a beating from Prem bhai" Kabir scowled drawing his attention away from his thoughts. "Stop talking about my sister" Kabir snapped at Jay.

"Fine, fine" Jay rolled his eyes. "I was just saying she doesn’t look like nerdy anymore. She's pretty".

"Kabir, you don’t have to tell Prem bhai. I'll tell him" Maan replied.

"Seriously, dude?"

"Yes! Shut up and come play" Maan snagged the ball out of Jay's hand dropping it onto the grass and dribbled across as the others joined into their game.

After their game, they grabbed their football and made the walk home.

"Mama's cooking lasagne tonight, why don’t you shower and come over for dinner?" Kabir invited as they came closer to their houses.

"I'll text you" he answered, he didn’t want to give a definitive no or a yes. He didn’t know what the situation was like at home, was his father waiting for him or passed out on the couch snoring loudly. He hoped the latter then he would have easily escaped next door for an hour or two.

Kabir nodded in agreement bidding a quick bye and ran into his house, a house wrapped in warmth, happiness with bouts of laughter and humorous antics by the Singhania siblings.

Maan continued walking the short distance to his house next door and sucked in a deep breath. Home he thought for a moment, house. It wasn’t a home; it was a red brick house that resembled the other houses but the story inside was filled with evil.

Before he entered, his phone vibrated before he unlocked the door and entered.

He pulled it out and smiled seeing her name.

'Are you coming to ours?'

'I'll see' He answered and looked over towards her house, he searched for her trying to see if she had seen him or had she assumed he was also home since Kabir has returned.

She remained hidden from his investigative eyes, but he could feel her, she was lurking in the shadows watching him.

'I'll be fine' he added realising her concern, then unlocked the door disappearing into the darkness away from her sight.

Geet's fingers curled around the curtain tightly and she watched the closed door worrying about him, she had snuck into her grandmother's room which faced the front of their houses once she heard Kabir downstairs and figured Maan would have also come, and so she watched silently. She'd fired a text and he seemed like he wanted to reassure her with his response. However, it didn’t reassure her at all.

"Geet, come down to eat" Kabir yelled.

"I said to go up and call her" Shivani smacked the back of his head.

"Oye, Nerdy" he bellowed again.

"He's just itching for a beating from Prem" Aparna shook her head at her grandson.

"Oh please, nani" he scoffed joining them on the table. "Bhai won't hit me, plus I'm not scared of him anymore. I'm a growing a man" he flexed his biceps. "I could take him on any day".

"With these?" Prem touched his flexed tiny muscles.

Kabir squeezed his eyes closed and looked up, "You should not sneak up on people" muttered.

"Well, you shouldn’t be challenging someone behind their back. Want to take this outside?" he questioned smugly raising his brows.

"No, I'm fine" he dipped his chin down. Freaking bad luck, he cursed inwardly.

"Geet" Aparna turned calling for her granddaughter and smiled as she walked over joining them.

"Look at my baccha, she keeps getting skinnier" Aparna embraced her granddaughter and brushed her hands through Geet's hair then over her slim arms.

"Nani, I'm not getting skinnier" she giggled. "I'm hungry" she tugged Aparna over to the dining table.

"Give it a few weeks, she'll become fat" Kabir snickered.

"Kabir, eat and shut up" Prem intervened narrowing his eyes.

"Bloody heck! I can't say a word to her now" he scowled at Geet who had only responded with a smug smile and joined Prem's side.

After a couple of hours, Geet headed upstairs closing her bedroom door and sat on the bed pondering about Maan. It was almost 10.30pm, and he hadn’t come around to theirs. She was itching to fire off another text but refrained from doing so. She tiptoed across to the window pushing the curtain slightly and felt her heart drop to her stomach. He was outside again

Geet paced the floor in concern and grabbed her phone, her fingers hovered her the keyboard as she tried to think.

What do I even say? she thought sitting on the bed.

Time ticked by, with that her worry for him continued to increase ten folds. She had chewed off her nail by this time and was biting her thumb. She looked at the time, it was close to 11.30pm now. She'd been sat idly for an hour lost in thought that she hadn’t even realised.

Geet walked out of her bedroom slowly, the entire house of theirs was dark indicating that everyone had gone to sleep which she was grateful for and even more so that Prem was on the third storey bedroom near the front not on the second with the rest of them.

She snuck into the kitchen rummaging through the cupboards and found the tray of leftover lasagne, she sliced a large piece and placed it in a small bowl before warming it in the grill rather than the microwave. The sound of the microwave will echo and wake someone up, the grill though it wasn’t suitable for warming, it was silent and did the job.

After it had warmed, Geet tiptoed back upstairs to her bedroom and locked the door.

She placed the bowl down onto her dresser and walked into her closet which had a second door, one that her brother had not sealed yet even though he had planned it several times.

Geet covered herself with a shawl, grabbed the bowl and snuck through the second door and was out onto the steps that led to their backyard.

Geet's heartbeats increased as she walked across the backyard opening the gate and walked next door.

Maan frowned hearing a shuffle, he sat upright and looked in surprise as the door of his backyard opened and his eyes widened. "Geet" he whispered and stood quickly. "What are you doing here?" he scowled. "It's late, go back now" he pointed.

"I will go, but first here" she held up the bowl for him and he looked at her sadly. He was grateful for the darkness between the stars because his eyes were moist, and the pangs of hunger grew as she held the warm bowl of lasagne in front of him.

"Thanks" his voice croaked as he took the bowl and fork from her. "Now, go please" he urged. "If anyone finds you're missing they're going to be worrying for you and its going to cause a big problem" he murmured.

"No one will know" she answered softly, "I used the old fire exit in my closet that leads to the stairs" she pointed. "Maan, what happened?"

"Not tonight, please" he shook his head trying to battle the recollection of the hours before.

She took her shawl off of her and handed it to him, "Okay, but keep warm. The nights are getting colder" she told him.

"Geet, you're going to catch a cold" he shook his head.

"Take it, Maan. Or I'm going to stand here waiting for you and I will really catch a cold".

"You're so stubborn" he took her shawl gratefully, the sleeping bag was thin and it didn’t help that he was lying on the cold wet grass.

"Take care" she offered a small smile and walked back towards her home the way she'd come.

Maan closed the backyard door and returned to his sleeping bag wincing as he sat down. He cupped the warm bowl in his hands for a moment before forking the lasagne and ate quickly to satisfy his hunger, his eyes moist, heavy and unwittingly tears streamed down his cheeks as he thought of Geet's kindness. He choked on a sob quickly covering with a cough and covered his mouth biting his palm.

He squeezed his eyes closed and grabbed the water bottle he kept and guzzled some water then swished some water in the empty bowl and fork cleaning it.

He wrapped her warm shawl around his shoulders and lay down onto his side curling up into a ball as he desperately wished for sleep to come quickly to take away the hurt.

In the dark between stars

She watched once again behind the curtains.

In the dark between stars

He curled protectively and tears slipped down

In the dark between stars

Tears filled her eyes as she watched the boy next door suffering but there was nothing, she could do for she had sworn a promise.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, though very little to enjoy given Maan's treatment 😔
Please do spare a moment to leave me your thoughts on this

[NOCOPY]