IPKKND FF | Broken Strings (ON HOLD)

Hi Everyone!

My first FF, Hope you all enjoy! (Index below)

Shay X

For the rest of my work, do check out Shays' Writing Index

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Broken Strings

Prologue

Peace

The one thing that Khushi Kumari Gupta ached for was peace.

Her heart full of pain, loss, regret and most of all... love, could all but seek, but never find peace.

Asides the fact that living in London meant an inevitably hectic lifestyle, Khushi still yearned for peace... inner peace, outer peace, just some sort of harmony to wash away those feelings, those memories...

his face.

But forgetting was no longer an option for Khushi.

Options? There weren't any options in the first place. She didn't want to forget. How could she? How could she forget the one person, who made her feel safe... Protected? The one person she could run to and forget about the rest of the world by just being in his mere presence; who she could be herself with, who understood her; knew her inside out, who fought against everyone... Just for her.

No. She didn't want to, and could never ever forget Arnav Singh Raizada.

She could feel him everywhere, she could sense him, his every memory; every word he said was etched in to her mind; carved deep throughout every inch of her being.

She knew

She knew in her heart that he was still alive... somewhere

5 years

5 heart-breaking, shaken years she'd been coming to the same place... their place, in a hope that she'd gain some sort of clarity; for this so called peace. 21 and she had yet to come to terms with life without him. Hell, she never could. Why should she? He was, no, IS her best friend, and only she knew how impossible life had slowly become without him by her side. Torturous - that's what it was.

She was broken, completely broken. But Khushi Kumari Gupta would never show this. No. What gave her the right to give up on life? She wouldn't stop living life... That just wasn't Khushi. Her family couldn't even bare to see her with tears in her eyes. So what gave her the right to make them feel helpless?

Amma, Babuji, Jiji... They were her world; her everything. They just didn't understand her. No one ever would.

Not like him

Everyone around her had long considered him gone. NK, Amma, Babuji, even Anjali Di of all people. Everyone.

'He's not coming back,' Jiji would say to her.

But how could Khushi believe this? She refused to. A few broken bits of his phone, his watch, his mannat ki chabi... This was all. No one had even so much as found a body.

No. No one had. It was all assumptions; sickening assumptions.

There were no words... he was her hero, and she would never stop holding out for him.

ooo

Hi Shay! I'm Pria :) I really like your writing style so far!

Really liking the prologue! It seems interesting! I'm now really intrigued and want to know what happens 😛. Do keep writing! Loving it. PM me please and thanks.

Chapter One - There You'll Be

Those eyes.

Those beautiful eyes.

Golden brown with fragments of emerald depths... burning through her soul, giving away his every secret; his every emotion.

Those very eyes were staring down at her, capturing her gaze; boring into her soul, never wavering.

His rough, masculine hands slowly came up to her face, lightly caressing her skin as her eyes fluttered shut, inhaling his heady scent as if he was the air she needed to survive. Every touch was sending a jolt straight through her; every caress left a burning trail in its wake, sweltering under his heated gaze.

His hands continued to move over her body, trailing down her sides, grazing her bare waist. She held on to him as she looked away, unable to withstand the sluggish havoc he was creating upon her body. His deft fingers squeezed her hips as he brusquely pushed her against the wall, pinning her to him. She could feel his every muscle pressed up against her; could barely move as she struggled to regulate her breathing ' her chest heaving up and down against his strong frame. She looked up at his flawless face.

That face

That beautiful face

He was perfect, faultless. The slow smile that adorned his face when he stared at her was reserved... Just for her. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and breathed her in as if calming himself; washing away his stress, his worries. The hand on the wall to the left of her traveled down towards the small of her back, pushing their lower bodies together; grinding her to him, making Khushi moan at the sensations carousing though her. She looked up. His eyes we closed as he moved closer to her, his lips moving along the side of her neck, brushing his warm tongue out to taste the sweet flesh. She was in ecstasy.

FLASH!

In an instant, there he was - standing at the edge of a cliff. It was as though she was miles away from him as he watched her with a sad smile. She heard a sound and looked to the side.

A car

It was traveling towards him at break-neck speed. She tried to warn him but her voice; she couldn't make a sound. What was happening?! She had to save him. Why couldn't she move?! The car was so close. Why was he not moving?! She tried to cry out for him. She felt useless. Pathetic. Everything was happening in slow-motion; surely she could get to him in time? But her legs! Move dammit! Why couldn't she move! She could feel hot tears spilling from eyes, blurring her vision of him. She looked up.

CRASH!

A scream. He was gone.

~

'ARNAV!'

Khushi woke with a start and sat up - drenched in sweat, breathing heavily and gasping for air. Her heart was beating erratically, blood pumping in her ears at the rush of these familiar, unfamiliar feelings. Clutching her chest and clenching her eyes shut, she attempted to envision his face once more, steadying her foolish mind.

She'd been dreaming of him for years now, but the dreams were slowly becoming more vivid, more powerful, more intoxicating... more like a nightmare.

Everyday she would wonder what this meant. What was happening to her? Yes she had dabbled slightly in the world of sex... but what was this? Sexual frustration? What did this mean? These strange dreams about Arnav? She didn't even want to think about the accident... it reminded her too much of that day.

But Khushi didn't have time to wonder today. Oh no she didn't.

Standing by her door were four individuals that had just occupied her bedroom.

Khushi looked up to see the beaming faces of her family.

'HAPPY 22^nd BIRTHDAY KHUSHI'

'Hey Devi Maiyya' she thought, dragging a hand down her damp face. She completely forgot it was her birthday today. She had been too distracted with all the job hunting she'd been doing lately. She put a stop to the tremulous thoughts she had previously engaged in and jumped out of bed on unsteady legs.

She darted across the room to envelop her family in her arms. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to find happiness in their embrace; that they didn't give her a chance to even dwell on the fact that she was an orphan. No. She wasn't an orphan. She was a Gupta through and through and nobody could tell her otherwise. She smiled a watery smile as she looked upon her family.

'Arre Sanka Devi, tum roh rahi ho! Paagal.' Buaji shoved Khushi's head lightly looking upon her with adoration, shaking her head.

'Buaji' These are tears of happiness. And also because I see JALEBI'S!!!'

Khushi snatched the box from Payals' hands, her previous troubles leaving her as she grabbed a hot sticky swirl and fed her family a bite each. They all watched in amazement as she took three for herself and stuffed them down her throat like she would never taste them again.

'Mmm... Jalebiyan,' she sighed with her eyes closed, licking the sticky fluid from the side of her mouth.

'Bitiya, you haven't even done your brush yet!' Shashi exclaimed, chuckling slightly, raising his eyebrow at his foody of a daughter.

Khushi merely shrugged her shoulders in response and waggled her eyebrows at a disgusted looking Payal.

~

'Amma! I'm just going to the Mandir; I'll be back in about an hour!' Khushi choked out whilst wadding another jalebi into her mouth.

'How many times do I have to tell you not to talk with your mouth full of food Khushi? You look like a bloody hoodlum. Log kya kahenge huh?! Aur Mandir... bitiya, phir se?' She said all too knowingly, looking at Khushi with a mixture of disdain and concern. Garima was starting to really worry now. This denial had to stop' After all, it had been over 6 years. She had to let it go.

'Amma I've been going every week for the past 6 years! You'd think you'd have gotten used to it by now. Aap har baar mujhe iss tarha se... '

She couldn't finish her sentence. She would never admit it but it hurt that her parents couldn't even understand that she needed this. It was the closest thing she could get to gain some sort of closure. She quickly composed herself and smiled lightly at her mother.

'' Haan haan hum jaante hain, we have a Mandir here at home as well. But there's something different about actually going to a proper Mandir Amma. You always said that I need to stay in touch with my roots."

Garima looked at her precious daughter sporting that cheeky smile of hers and conceded. No matter how much she disapproved, she couldn't deny the purity that resided in Khushi's heart. She prayed to God everyday that she received the happiness she deserved. Even though Khushi didn't show it, Garima knew that life had slowly become suffocating for.

'Khushi bitiya... Tum theek toh ho na?' Her eyes filled with apprehension as her hand went out to lightly touch her cheek.

'Amma! Aap itni pareshaan kyun ho?! I'm fine - absolutely fine. Pakka promise, hum theek hai,' she grinned and gave her mother a bear hug, bounding through the front door shouting happily at Buaji who had just walked in.

'Woh theek nahin hai Jiji'

~

This was it

This was their place

She didn't know why but it always helped her to come here. She wouldn't usually go in to the Mandir, she would just sit on the bench outside by the lake with her ipod in; head bowed in silent prayer for her lost friend.

But today, it was one of those days where she felt like being in the full presence of her Gods. She stepped inside, straightening her dupatta as she took off her shoes. She was wearing her favourite simple white salwaar kameez today (like the one she wears at night in the program). She wouldn't always wear traditional clothes, but she preferred them to English clothes; they were a whole lot more comfortable.

She sat down and closed her eyes as she clasped her hands together taking in the peaceful atmosphere surrounding her.

'Devi Maiyya' she thought, 'you know why I come here, you know everything. I just... I just know he's somewhere. All I want to know is that he's safe. You don't even need to bring him back to me, just keep him safe. Well actually, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see him again. Of course I do. I know something switched in him the day his parents died; I know he tried to push me away. I could have helped him... but then you took him away from me,'

A lone tear escaped from Khushi's eye as she remembered the unreadable, devastated expression upon his face. Never before had she seen him so broken. She opened her eyes for a moment and looked around her, sighing to herself.

16. People would say that's too young; that you don't know anything about the world at that age. But still, even to this day, 6 years on, her feelings had yet to falter. She didn't know when it happened, she didn't know how, but she had fallen for her best friend along the way... and he never even knew this. Fate didn't even give her a chance.

It was at that moment, she sensed it.

Her eyes flew open as she felt it around her.

'Khushi'

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Ok guys, there you have it, chapter one! Hope you guys like it.

Shay X

CHAPTER 2 A BIT FURTHER DOWN

LOVE IT! Thanks for the PM. It's so good, I was so engrossed in the chapter that I didn't want it to finish 😆. You write really well! Really intrigued now.

'KHUSHI!'

He had his head in his hands, clutching at his hair trying to find some semblance of normality. His breath was coming out in ragged wheezes as he remembered her screams... her agonized, aching screams calling out his name. That was the last memory he had of her. If only he'd known how unpleasant life would be without her by his side.

Yes. Arnav Singh Raizada was very much alive. So why was it that his best friend; his Khushi, had no clue as to his existence at this moment in time?

It was a choice

His choice

~

He was 17 when his parents had died, and to this day, he couldn't stand the thought that the two people he loved most in the world had left him. A car accident had taken them away. Some careless bas***d had taken them from him and his Di. He had held his beloved mother in his arms, blood seeping through her clothes from those horrendous wounds whilst his father drifted in and out of consciousness as he was cut away from the remnants of their annihilated car. As Arnav had taken in this scene, it was in that moment that hatred filled every inch of him. Hate for the so called Gods above who were supposed to be looking out for him, hate for the universe around him... just pure, untainted hate seeping through his veins. And in that moment, he felt cursed.

A week or so later after his parents death, he had already made up his mind. A degree in Business and then handle his fathers business in India... That's what he was going to do. He knew that she was only trying to help, just like she always did and he was always an angry young man, as he was so often told. But this? This had completely and utterly pushed him over the edge. He had to stay away from her. She made him weak... and weakness was no longer an option for him.

She had tried to talk to him on that ill-fated day, even though he refused to even look at her. She followed him to the train station begging him not to go like this, she willed him to talk to her... just once.

If only he had listened

If only he hadn't stepped on to that train. He wouldn't have lost 2 years of his life. That very train had blown up throwing him into the vicinity as he slowly started to drift in to an unconscious state. The last thing he heard were her screams; the tormented cries of his best friend as he slipped in to a coma. To him however, this worked in his favour... She was better off thinking he was dead.

~

Arnav picked up the alarm clocks beside his bed. 6:45 it read - 18/09/2012. He sighed. It was her birthday today. 'She's 22' he thought to himself. He wondered how she might look. Did she still tie her hair back tightly? Was it long? Short? Had she completely grown out of her tomboy phase yet? He smiled slowly as he thought about whether she'd discovered any sort of hair removal method yet. He couldn't deny that she was the only girl who had ever held his attention. Who probably only ever could. His Khushi was always different, always smiling; always caring... always knew how to make him laugh. He always felt a pull towards her, his day was never complete without seeing her; without talking to her. Just one look at her delicate face and he could lay his worries aside. Sometimes they didn't even need to talk about their problems; she'd just make him laugh with those cute little jokes and bizarre antics of hers.

Wrong. What was he doing? He couldn't think about her... Arnav Singh Raizada was no longer the foolish boy he had been 6 years ago. He didn't care. Caring was an emotion, emotions led to attachment and attachment... that led to nothing but disappointment and heart-break. He had witnessed enough pain to last him a life-time; he didn't need anymore. Nothing and no one could change him now. Not even Khushi Kumari Gupta. No. Not even her.

He sighed once again, breaking out of his thought trance and figured he'd better call to let them know he was back. Picking up his phone from the bedside table, he dialed that all too familiar number

'Di?'

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Shay X

just read both the chapters Shay!

Oh my god... Update soon!!! Geeze, Arnav is such an asshole. WHY?! WHY IS HE SUCH A MEANIE HEADTO HER!?

Awesome FF! Can't wait to read more!

Why you are not continuing???????It's AWESOME!!! Pls continue...