PART 9 - SOMEPLACE FAR AWAY."Chote? Where are you? You could've told me before leaving, you know! I've been so worried... you weren't even answering your phone! You know I don't like it when you get like this Chote, I- "
Arnav drew a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. He had been trying not to think about what had taken place between him and his sister's husband a few hours ago... but hearing Di's voice brought it all rushing back in, at full force.
"Di - "
"What's the matter, Chote? You sound upset. Are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?"
"Di... I'm fine. How are you? I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Are you okay?"
"Why would I not be okay, Chote? When are you coming home? And where are you?"
"No reason, Di. I was just asking. There is - there is something I need to tell you. And... "
*TingTong*
"Hold on a moment, Chote. There's someone at the door - it must be your Jeejaji..."
Arnav's heart sank.
"No Di! I mean - I need to talk to you. Let someone else get it. Please, Di, it's really important"
"Okay, Chote! Don't get so frantic. What is it? I'm listening"
"Di... I... Jeejaji..." said Arnav, trying to arrange the words into meaningful sentences. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get himself to do it. Not over the phone, like this. Di would be heartbroken, completely shattered, and he needed to be by her side when he told her. Apart from this, a part of him also wanted to put off telling her this for as long as possible. He couldn't do this to her. He wanted her to be happy and go on living her life like before for as long as he could, before he told her. It was a bit selfish of him, but he couldn't force himself otherwise. And, even though he didn't quite want to believe it: he knew she wouldn't believe him. She loved him, but the amount of trust she had for her husband was overwhelming. It would take a lot of talking and proof to make her believe him. He hated to think of it this way, to think that she was so deeply in love with the pathetic excuse of a man that was his Jeejaji.
"Chote, please. What about your Jeejaji?"
"Nothing Di. It's just that... Jeejaji called me to say he was at a meeting, and would be late. He was trying your phone and couldn't get through... and his m-meeting was about to start... so, he called me, instead" said Arnav "It may also stretch into a moderately long lawyer - trip. You know how those are" - he added stupidly, fully aware of how unconvincing he was being.
"What? A lawyer-trip? He's never been on one of those before! And... what do you mean moderately long? He would surely tell me if he was going for one of there 'lawyer-trips' - he knows I worry. I'm sure you're mistaken, Chote".
"Maybe. I don't know. But, don't be expecting him, Di. Please. And... as for me, I'll be back soon too. I don't know exactly how long, but soon. The thing is, I'm out with some colleagues... from ... office... and maybe I'll stay the night at a friend's house" he said, hoping his sister would somehow overlook the fact that he had no 'friends' and would just be happy that he was finally having a normal 'outing', rather than working away on his computer at home.
"Friend, Chote? Which one? I wish you had told me earlier... is it Aman?It's so great that you're enjoying with your friends, Chote. Have fun, and don't worry about me... okay? I'll call you if Jeejaji comes home."
"Right. T-take care. Call me whenever you want, Di. Good night" he said, as the mention of Aman's name once again brought to bay all the emotions he had been holding in. As he put the phone down, he saw Khushi enter the room, with a towel and a few bandages in her arms. She had gone to take a shower. He rushed to her side, taking the things from her and keeping them on the bed. They were staying in a hotel room at a small distance from the warehouse... he had decided that Khushi needed some rest before she could do anything else. They hadn't brought the subject about the day's events up yet, even though Khushi had tried on more than one occasion.She just didn't need to talk about that right now, Arnav had decided. There would be plenty of time.
"Did it sting? With the water?" said Arnav, motioning toward the numerous cuts and scrapes Khushi had all over her arms. She was wearing a night dress from the hotel's giftshop.
"No... not really. A little bit" said Khushi. She looked like she was in a daze "I just need to bandage my hand..." she said, holding her palm upward and then quickly realizing what was engraved into it and hiding it behind her dress.
Arnav's jaw tightened as he saw the 'S' engraved in Khushi's palm. An uncontrollable anger seeped into him again, making him want to hurl things around, threatening to break everything in his path. How could he have been so blind? He reached back and took Khushi's hand into his, careful not to touch her palm. He sat her down on the bed, and then sat down next to her. He took the bandage into his hands and started slowly wrapping it around Khushi's, careful not to cause any pain.
"Arnavji - " Khushi began, but then grew quiet again as Arnav silenced her with a look she had seen on his face only once before. A look of hurt and disappointment she had seen on face on his parents' death anniversary. She realized how hard this whole ordeal must have been on him. There was no one in the world he cared for more than his Di - and the amount of hurt it had inflicted on him was huge - even though he didn't show it to that extent. "Sorry" she said, without knowing why.She should've told him - she should've told him before.
"For what, Khushi? This isn't your fault. It really isn't. You didn't ask for this to happen - none of us did"
"When are you going to tell Di?"
"I... I don't know. I'm trying to.. I'm going to tell her, very soon. But I need to be with her when I do"
"You're right. It's going to be hard..." she said, unconsciously taking the bandages and starting to wind them around Arnav's own bruises. What had taken place between Arnav and Shyam in the warehouse constantly haunted her. She had never seen the former so angry. It had seemed like all the emotion he had ever felt had seeped out, in the form of anger, and a sense of betrayel.
"What about... Amanji?"
For a while, Arnav said nothing. Images of the warehouse, Shyam and Aman's face flooded his mind.
"I - I'm going to have to call someone, to tell his family. I don't think I could do it myself. And we'd have to tell them the reason, ofcourse. They have the right to know - they -" he said, stopping midway to compose himself and then continuing- "They need to know what he's done. What he did"
"I could tell them"
"Khushi - you don't have to -"
"I know I don't have to. It just seems right."
"I wish... I wish I'd have gotten there earlier. And this whole thing hadn't happened. I'm sorry, Khushi, I know I was careless. I just thought that Di and his relationship was so strong... but now that I look back, I realize it was always there in front of me, and I just didn't want to accept it. I wanted the dream to go on."
"It's okay. Even I should've told you earlier.I'm not angry, seriously."
He knew that she was only trying to make him feel better, but Arnav still hated hearing those words coming from her. That she wasn't mad at him. That was the problem. People never got mad enough at him, even when he did terrible things to them - when he thought back, he really regretted all those things, and it almost hurt him that he didn't get punishment enough for them. Why should people go along with what he wants if he doesn't reciprocate that? Sometimes, he just felt as if the whole image he had constructed for himself was a big joke. He felt like shaking people and asking them why they had listened to his unreasonable talk, why they hadn't resisted. Aman had always gone with whatever he said, even though he had always been so utterly negative towards him. And now when he thought about it, he felt completely dreadful.
Without saying a word, Arnav lay back down on the bed, and looked at Khushi, suggesting she do the same. And among those thoughts and images that flooded his mind, he slipped away, and seemed to drift off into someplace, someplace far away.
-------------- x
Sorry for the late update, guys, was busy with school 😭
Please do like and comment if you want me to continue,
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Edited by SedonaScarlet - 13 years ago
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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