Chapter 77
"Rohan..." he heard her voice over the phone. He looked at the clock which read 11:45 pm with his eyes half closed. He looked over to his side and saw that she was soundly sleeping.
"Hey Simi. How's it going? Is everything okay?" he asked in a whisper as he straightened up from the bed now fully awake. She must have not fallen into deep sleep because she rose from the bed too.
"I didn't want to disturb you. But Naina went to her apartment to get some of her notes that she had forgotten for tomorrow's final. It's been 3 hours and she hasn't come back yet. Her phone is also switched off. Can you give me her address? I'll go check on her." she spoke as calmly as she could so as not to worry him.
Knowing Rohan, she shouldn't have even tried because she could sense his anxiety over the phone as he spoke "I'll be right there. Come down in 10 minutes." He looked at Keerti who had a questioning look on her face. She saw his teeth clench and his nostrils flare up as he shook his head, a mix of panic and agitation showing clearly on his face.
She really shouldn't have let her go alone. She clutched on her shirt around her chest trying to ease her nervousness a little, but her regret wasn't helping much.
She shouldn't have let her go alone. She kept repeating "Sab changa hoga...sab changa hoga...tu aiwe hi darr rahi hai." in an attempt to shoe away all the ill thoughts that bombarded her mind. She waited for him impatiently pacing the length of her porch back and forth. She didn't care how close or far Naina stayed, she just called the cab then. She didn't think they should waste any moment for the cab to arrive. And given Rohan's condition, it was the best.
When he came down, the cab was standing outside his apartment with Simran seated in it already. He and Keerti climbed into the cab and they rushed off to Naina's. Simran held Keerti's hand tightly, finding a release for her nervousness in crushing it. Seeing Simran panic, Keerti absently clutched on Rohan's arm as she tried to think of what must have happened. He placed his hand on hers then, assuring her that everything would be okay, but in reality he himself wasn't so sure. He had never been this nervous before and had no qualms of showing it as his grip on her hand tightened unbearably as the thought of Sanjay came to him.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw a guy walk away from her apartment. The street lights must have gone out because in the pitch darkness of the night, he couldn't see who it was. But something told him it was
him. He saw the guy disappear on his bike just as his cab pulled over near her apartment. He looked over and saw that the door was left ajar. Something told him he should call 911, but he somehow controlled his urge even while he had pressed those numbers on his phone.
Simran and Keerti darted up to her apartment and Rohan followed suit, albeit slower than them. He heard 2 loud gasps and strode the remainder of the steps to see them stand frozen by the entrance door with their hands covering their open mouths. His hands shook as he finally dialed 911 and spoke to them "There's an emergency. Please call for an ambulance too..."
Edited by --dolphin-- - 13 years ago
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