Restless Dreams & Torn Seams: Ch 4 & Note pg 14 - Page 7

Neither one spoke because they were still frozen in shock. Khushi, feeling ashamed that she had accepted his shirt in the first place, finally stammered, "Anjali Ji, um, the sleeve of my sari tore and uh, Arnav let me borrow his shirt, so I, um'I wasn't really thinking and-"

Anjali just shook her head and smiled, "You don't have to explain anymore. I understand."

After noticing Khushi's doubtful expression, she added, "Don't look so embarrassed; any girl would do what you did if she were in your place! However, if you go out like that, Nani or Mami are bound to say something if they see you. Wait here, I'll tell Payal what happened and ask her if I can grab one of your salwars for you. She'll tell me where they are."

Khushi nodded and watched her leave uncertainly. She hoped that Anjali wouldn't tell her Jiji that she was wearing Arnav's shirt for the time being. Deciding that she would do something about that later, Khushi chanced a glance toward Arnav and saw with some amusement that he was staring at the floor as if it was made of the most brilliant carpet in the world.

Standing in the room with him while wearing his shirt was extremely awkward, so she uncertainly said, "If you don't mind, can you leave the room? I do have to change when Anjali Ji comes back."

For a minute he looked up quickly, irritated that she had demanded him to leave his own room, but looking up made him feel uncomfortable so he quickly strode out, shutting the door behind him.

"Phew," Khushi thought, relieved that he had left and that she didn't have to stand there like an idiot, wearing his shirt while he was in the room. She was still an idiot standing in the room wearing his shirt, but at least nobody was there to witness it!

Anjali appeared a few minutes later with one of her light pink salwars in her hand. Khushi thanked her and quickly changed, walking out of the room as fast as she could. She sidled into the main hall of the house, glad to see that everybody had left and that she could finally retire to the guest room that her and her parents were given temporarily to stay at the Raizada house. They would leave for Lucknow in two days, now that the wedding chaos had finally passed.

Back in the guest room, Khushi sank into the comfortable bed without bothering to even cover herself with anything. The bed sheets weren't the only thing that slipped her mind though, as a certain someone's shirt was still clenched safely in her arms.

--

It was now night time, and Arnav was finally back in his own and 'empty' bedroom. The events of the day were reeling through his mind like a broken tape recorder. He knew that he wasn't the type of person to feel ashamed or embarrassed about anything, but the fact that he ripped her sari made him feel uncomfortable. Arnav turned around with an unsettled mind, deciding to think about the situation later. After about a half hour, he finally fell into a restless slumber, completely forgetting about the ripped piece of cloth still clenched in his hand.

--

The first rays of sunshine shone through Khushi's room as she got up with a start. She turned around to see that her parents weren't there.

'They must have already woken. Why didn't they wake me up?' Khushi thought with confusion. She turned to the small clock sitting on a nightstand next to the bed. 'Oh, it's only five-thirty. I have some time before the puja starts.'

There was to be a special puja that day that included only the family members of the newlywed couple.

Khushi brushed her teeth and dressed quickly, rifling through her suitcase for the fancy salwar kameez she had packed for the occasion.

'Where is it?' she thought with annoyance, throwing out one of her towels. She finally spotted it at the very bottom, its bright purple shade shining radiantly beneath all the other faded colors. It was her favorite suit, gifted to her by her father on her recent twentieth birthday.

'I'm so glad I didn't wear this yesterday. If I did, that Arnav Singh Raizada would have ripped it,' Khushi thought, her eyes flaring as she the previous evening's memories flooded her mind. Then she remembered his statement after he tore the blouse. 'I guess he didn't mean to, and he did save me from falling,' she pondered suddenly. She wasn't sure if she should have been angry or not, but decided against it. It was too tiring to hold grudges. 'By the way, where's the sleeve? I'm sure amma can sow it back together.' Khushi glanced around at the table she had set the sari on, but didn't see the ripped piece of cloth with it, gasping as she realized that Arnav still had it.

'I must still have his shirt as well!' Khushi quickly scanned the unmade bed and sure enough, his shirt lay there crumpled along with the rest of the bed sheets.

"Okay, if somebody sees this bed, they are going to freak and come to a ton of conclusions. I'm going to go give this back right now," Khushi muttered to herself, immensely relieved that it was early in the morning and nobody had probably walked in while she was sleeping. Hopefully, her parents didn't notice the shirt next to her as she fell asleep last night.

She grabbed the shirt and left the room, muttering to herself about how huge the house was and how long it took just to get to his room. Khushi did get there, eventually, and the door was slightly open. She uncertainly peeked inside, not wanting to intrude on anything personal. Thankfully, Arnav and Anjali were sitting on his bed talking, and his sheets were clean.

'I guess someone else cleaned them for him,' Khushi thought a little guiltily before knocking on the door gently. 'There, he can never say I don't have manners anymore.'

Not wanting for Anjali to unnecessarily get up, Khushi called out, "It's Khushi."

Anjali immediately answered. "Come in Khushi!"

She uncertainly opened the door wider and walked in, concentrating on Anjali's bright smile and cheerful nature instead of looking in Arnav's direction. When she neared them, she turned to Arnav, looking down, and held out his shirt. "Um, your shirt. I forgot to give it back last night."

A few seconds passed and he didn't say anything so Khushi slowly turned to look up at him and unfortunately caught his eye. She regretted her decision immediately, as he was holding her glance and she couldn't tear herself away. It had always been this way, whether it was two years ago or that very day. Khushi found herself losing knowledge of the world around her as his eyes drew her in. She struggled to pull away, but there was something about the depth and mix of emotions inside them that made it impossible to turn away unless he did first. She sensed something disturbing him. Pain? Restlessness? Guilt? Happiness? It looked like a mix of all four.

Meanwhile, Anjali's eyes were darting between the two as Khushi and Arnav were having their little staring contest. She hid a smile as a bunch of ideas were whirling through her mind. 'Do they like each other? I would never have guessed - especially after the whole Lavanya disaster!' Soon after Khushi had suddenly left for Lucknow, Arnav had brought Lavanya to his house in an attempt to keep his mind off of Khushi (though he would never admit to himself that he was always thinking about her). The whole thing ended in a disaster with Arnav finally realizing that he never loved Lavanya and telling her that. She had left the house in tears, swearing that she would get her revenge, and hadn't come in contact with them since.

Anjali shook her head of her Lavanya thoughts and cleared her throat. "Give the shirt to me Khushi; I'll put it in Chhote's closet."

Khushi forced herself to break away from Arnav's intimidating stare and quickly handed Anjali the shirt. "If you don't mind Anjali Di, can I have my ripped sleeve back? I'm pretty sure that my mother will be able to sow it back together."

"Chhote has it; I'm sure," Anjali nodded towards her younger brother.

Glancing up and speaking for the first time, Arnav quickly added, "No I don't Di. I gave it back to you."

"Oh you did?" Anjali asked with a confused expression. "Oh you did! I remember now. I walked into your room early in the room and it was in your hand while you were sleeping, so I woke you up and you handed it to me, telling me to give it back to Khushi."

Arnav immediately turned red, looking furious. "It was not in my hand Di; it was on my desk and you took it from there!"

"You can deny it all you want Chhote, but I saw it with my own eyes," Anjali teased, looking back and forth at an extremely red Khushi and Arnav and chuckling to herself at how she had put them on the spot. "Oh and Khushi? I overheard your parents talking about how you were sleeping with a man's shirt. They were worried you know! You might want to go let them know that nothing terrible happened." With that, she left the room with a satisfied smile.

Khushi had never felt more humiliated in her life. Was she really holding the shirt while she was asleep? Without even chancing a glance at Arnav, she scuttled out of the room to meet everyone else in the mandir for the puja. Arnav was not far behind her, as everyone in the family was expected to be there.