CAPTIVATED...-an Arhi FF UPDATED CH 4 pg 5 - Page 3

I moved my hand forward and patted her hand that was resting on the table. The moment I touched her, I was shocked. She was running high temperature and her skin was burning. She didn't respond to my patting. I shook her by her arm and saw that her head drooped to one side. She was not responding. I started to panic. She was unconscious and her breathing was light. "I think I have to take her to the hospital" I thought. I walked over to her seat and lifted her in my arms. She still did not respond. I opened the passenger door and sat her on the seat and without wasting any time, hopped into the driver's seat and immediately started towards the hospital. A lot of thoughts and emotions were gushing in my mind. It felt like I was hurt and there was nothing I can do about it. Apart from feeling like I was pained, anger was building inside me. I don't know the reason behind all the things that had happened to her, but that guy had no right to hurt her like this. She is in an absolutely miserable state because of that moron and he doesn't even know that. If someday I come across that guy, I will surely make him cry for whatever he had done.

I parked the car outside the hospital and ran towards the entrance. There was a nurse over there and I walked up to her and told her about this girl. She grabbed a wheel chair from behind her and we started towards my car. I lifted her up and sat her on the wheel chair. We went into the hospital. The nurse had taken the lead and without any word she led us into the emergency floor. She called out for Dr. Nitin, who came out of some room and looked at us. He looked controlled and commanding. He wore an expression, as if to say, "Begin" but said nothing. I started speaking "I don't know what has happened to her. She is running high temperature and is unconscious" I saw that while I was speaking, the doctor bent down and was observing her. "we have to bring her temperature down or else we might lose her" he said and asked the nurse to follow him. I started behind them but the nurse stopped me. "stay here. Don't worry, we'll keep you updated" she said and bent down to remove the girl's small sling bag which was worn across her shoulder. She handed me the bag and walked away with her.

*****

I was getting worried sick and didn't know what to do. I wanted to hunt down that guy and beat him to death. How could he possibly even think about hurting a girl who looked like an angel. My mind kept playing her conversation with the caller again and again. Her voice was so broke, I could actually feel the pain she was going through. How I wish I could do something for her. If there was anything at all, anything...

BUZZZ!

Something vibrated, distracting me from my thoughts. I checked my pockets to see if it was my phone that was vibrating but it wasn't. The vibrations were coming from the bag. It was her phone that was vibrating. I could tell that the caller was a female because the name and the picture which displayed along with the number on the screen were of a female's.

"Where the hell have you been Khushi? I have been calling you since the last 30 minutes. Why exactly weren't you taking my calls? I need an explanation right now!" she shouted, literally demanding, when I received the phone.

"ummm.. Hello" I said, sounding and feeling confused. "Who is this" the girl named Aru said surprisingly. (I know her name because it flashed on the screen )

"I, uhh, I, umm.., well the owner of this phone is admitted in the hospital right now" I completed my broken statement.

"What???" she shouted on the other end, tension rising in her tone.

"you need to calm down, I'll tell you everything, but please calm down and patiently listen to me" I said with the hope that she will calm down.

"ok. I'll listen patiently, go on." she said. I could feel that curiosity and tension was killing her ,but she was trying to compose herself.

"I was in this coffee shop and I found her there on the last table. She was all alone and crying. I thought I'd help her so I walked over to her place but she was crying no more. She went unconscious and her skin was burning with temperature. So I brought her here and the doctor admitted her. She is critical and it is necessary to bring her temperature down is what they say. The nurse said she'll keep me updated" I said in a single breath because I was in a hurry to tell her what happened.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed in a pained voice. " So did the nurse update you? How long has it been since you arrived the hospital?" she asked anxiously.

" It has been 20 minutes now and nope, she didn't come back " I said, starting to worry again because the nurse really didn't come back.

"Oh God! Why is this happening to her??" she was more of like asking herself. "and I am so so so sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. I really am" she said apologetically.

" Hey its ok. Don't be upset. It's a natural reaction" I said, convincing her. She really didn't have to apologise. " umm...can you do me a favour?" she asked, sounding unsure of what she wants.

" umm..yeah, go on"

" I am Khushi's friend, Aru. I am at Delhi airport right now. It'll take me a few hours to come down there. So can you please just stay there with her until I come. I know I am asking for too much but her family is in Nagpur. It'll take them more time to arrive there than me." she said.

Is there something else that I should be doing right now? I ask myself. I don't think anything is coming up right now. So yeah, I can stay back. To be honest, even if there was something for me to do, I would gladly postpone it because I really wanted to be there with her.

" It's ok if you cannot stay. I'll try and arrange something else. You have already done enough" she said, after noticing that it was taking me time to think.

" No no, I can stay. I am free right now. Don't worry. I'll be here until you are back . And I'll keep you updated" I said assuringly. She hesitated for a moment then thanked me and hung up.

umm.. i hope u r still there reading my ff. i didnt see any response coming from u people that is why i didnt post further. it's kind of disappointing, i mean if u dont like it then atleast say so because u just reading it and not letting me know, leaves me wondering..

anyways, those who commented, thnx so much.

here is the next chapter...

After disconnecting the phone I started pacing around in the room. There was nothing I could do to calm myself down. I was annoyed at my own self, how can I possible be so worried for this complete stranger? And why on earth is her getting back to normal so important to me? why is the thought of that guy's mere presence around this girl bothering me? And, out of all these questions, the most important one was, will she be alright?

Almost 20 minutes had passed and the nurse had still not returned. God knows what was going on in there. Suddenly, I heard a door open and then close, just a few feet away from where I was standing. Dr. Nitin had come out and was walking towards me.

"She is fine now, out of danger" he said. Relief washed over me the moment I heard him give me this news.

"Oh thank God! How is she now?" I asked, curious than ever.

"Her temperature has come down. We are keeping her on IV fluids right now. You can take her home once we are done, that could be after an hour" He said in a calm voice.

" What had happened to her?"

" Nothing much. She was not eating properly which explains her weakness. Temperature was because of the flu. Due to lack of medication and poor immune system her health degraded. So basically there is nothing to worry about except for the girl to look after herself properly" he said with a little command in his tone.

"That's it ?Thank God she is not suffering from any kind of disease or disorder."

"she is not but if this continues, I cannot guarantee her safety and health."

" don't worry. I'll make sure she eats rights. I'll make sure she is looked after properly." I said sounding sure of whatever I just said. "that's good. By the way, how do you relate to her?" he asked.

Now that is an interesting question, umm... and honestly, I have no idea what to answer.

" there are a few papers that you have to sign for her discharge and your relation with the girl is important for us to know, hospital rules you see." he said after waiting for a long minute without an answer from me.

"Oh yes, I totally get that. I am her friend. That is how I am related to her." I said, hoping he wouldn't go into details.

"ok, that would do." He started walking away. "umm...Dr. Nitin?" I called out.

"yes?" he turned around puzzled.

" can you not tell anyone about this, about whatever happened? I don't want the media to make fuss out of nothing" I said, literally pleading.

" don't worry. I will not let this out and I'll make sure my staff also does the same." He said assuring me and walked away.

I sighed with relief. Khushi was admitted in room number 203. I opened the door to walk in but the phone suddenly rang, not my phone, Khushi's. It was Aru. I totally forgot about informing her.

"hello." I said closing the door and walking away from it.

"what happened? The nurse didn't come back? " she asked, all tensed and worried.

" I just talked to the doctor. Don't worry, your friend is out of danger now. He said it was because of improper diet and lack of medication. He warned me to take care of her or else he cannot guarantee her safety and health" I said, making sure she understood me.

"oh! Thank God she is alright. She scared the hell out of me. How is she now?"

"on IV fluids. Once she is done we can take her back home. It'll take her another hour or so"

" oh okay. Umm.. so are you staying there? I mean if it's not possible then it's okay you know, I'll try and arrange something" she said, sounding embarrassed.

"no its okay, I will stay back .I don't mind. In fact I want you to text me her address so that whenever she is done, I'll drop her at her place" "we both live in the same apartment. I'll text you the address but isn't that too much for you? I mean, can't we let her stay at the hospital. I'll get her back home. You don't have to go through so much of pain" " hey! Don't say that. I want to help, alright. And when help is available don't let it go. Just text me the address and I'll look after the rest" I said and hung up. Within no time I received the address. This girl is making it difficult for me to walk away from her. I entered the room and sat next to where she lay. Her face was composed. It didn't match with the broken voice I heard when she was on the phone. There was peace on her face with skin radiantly glowing. I moved my hand forward and touched her face which was cold now. The skin was soft as that of a baby's. it felt so nice that I didn't want to take my hand off her face. Very slowly and lightly, I was caressing her cheeks with my thumb. It was the best thing that I had touched so far in my entire life.

I sat right there, didn't move an inch until her fluids were completely drained out of their bottles into her. I don't know how long it took but honestly I didn't care. It felt like it was just a mintute ago when I walked in and the next minute, the fluids were out.

All the discharge documents were ready. I signed them and we were ready to go. I think I saw her move her eyeballs behind her eyelids but she didn't open her eyes. The doctor said she was too weak, tired and drowsy to get back to her normal senses.

We started towards the address I received. I informed Aru about the discharge via text because I knew she would feel embarrassed for making me do so much for her friend. But honestly, I think I did nothing, except for being there with her at the right time. God alone knows what would have had happened if I were not there. Anyways, everything happens for a reason and I strongly believed that there was a reason behind my encounter with her. I was happy and relieved at the same time to know that she was out of danger and away from the moron who made her suffer so much.

Do like n comment :)

i really liked d room scene were he was caressing her cheek n it was s best thing he have touched so far in his life hayyyeee

It is a nice story.eager for future chapters.

and thank you so much for ur support, i am really happy that u liked it and u r encouraging me to go further. i really appreciate it! :))

Here is thenext chapter coming up for u people... :)

We reached at the given address in no time. Khushi was still asleep when we got there. She barely showed any movement since we left the hospital.

I carried her in my arms and started upstairs towards her apartment. The keys were under the flower pot near the main door so it took me a while to get the keys with Khushi in my arms.

When I got in, I found that the entire apartment to be messy. Clothes, books, accessories and God knows what not was lying on the furniture and the floor. The apartment was small with 2 bedrooms and an open kitchen at the end of the small hall cum living room.

Even though it was all messy, it looked nice and cozy. I walked into one of the rooms towards the right. It had a single bed in the center with a study table in the corner. The bed was messy too with clothes and books. It looked like they had emptied their entire closet on the bed and floor.

After a few minutes of struggle with pushing the clothes aside and cleaning the bed, I was finally able to make space and put Khushi down on the bed. The whole time when she was in my arms, not once did she make any movement or showed any signs of being awake. When I laid her on the bed she cuddled to one side, facing me. I saw her eyeballs move and then slowly she opened her eyes.

That was the first time when I saw them. They were a rich shade of brown, dark brown to be precise. I could see innocence in them just like that of a child's. After a few seconds her eyebrows pulled together and she looked confused, as if she couldn't make out what she was seeing. Then her crease relaxed, she smiled and went back to sleep.

I didn't understand what that gesture meant but the smile she gave away was breath takingly awesome. It showed a dimple on her exposed cheek, not too deep but yet a clear one.

Her phone started buzzing again. It was of course Aru.

" Hey! I just reached home and put Khushi in her room." I said.

" Thanks a million. It'll take me another 1 and a half hour to reach there. You can leave if you want to. She'll be safe there." she said.

" umm.. yeah okay. I'll leave in a few minutes." I said feel bad and not wanting to leave.

" okay then, Khushi and I will be grateful to you for our entire life. I wish you all the best and thanks for everything." She said.

" don't make me feel embarrassed, please. And I wish you and your friend all the best too. Please stay out of trouble." I said.

" I'll make sure that won't happen again. Okay then, take care. Bye."

"you too take care. Bye."

After disconnecting the phone, it felt like everything was over. It was time for me to leave which means I will not be needed anymore. This was making me sad because I really didn't want to leave Khushi's side and who knows, what if I never get to see her? The mere thought was depressing.

I just stood there, staring blankly at her phone.

Hey! Hold on a minute. Did I just see my picture on her phone?!

Shocked swept through me the moment I saw my picture on her phone's wall paper. This has to mean something. People usually use this kind of pictures as wall papers only when they like them and this picture probably means that she likes me. Maybe that is why she smiled at me, because she likes me and finding me in front of her made her happy! I am over whelmed with joy. This is great! I think I know what to do, I'll stay until Aru comes. I can sit here till then.

I got up and locked the main door. There was celebrity magazine on the table near the sofas. It looked very familiar. I don't usually read magazines so I have no idea about the covers, the content and new additions but this magazine looked familiar.

Oh yes! I signed them. The editor of this magazine approached me. They were advertising the product I was brand ambassador of and asked me to sign some magazines as special edition ones. It took me 2 days to complete signing 500 copies. But this magazine didn't have my sign even though it was tagged special edition.

I stared at it for a few moments then something hit my mind. I can sign this, Khushi will like it. It took me no time to sign it and I made sure that this signature was the best out of all the ones that I signed until now. I placed the magazine back from where I picked it up and headed towards Khushi's room. Slowly, I closed the door behind me and to my surprise I found a poster on the back of the door. It was my picture. I was wearing a tuxedo, posing with my head down, jaws clenched, making them look prominent and hands in my pockets.

According to me, I looked fine in the picture but given my opinion I wouldn't use it as a poster. In fact I wouldn't use any of my photos as a poster. But she did and it means something. It means she likes me and this thought is making me want to jump with joy.

I somehow contained my happiness and sat quietly next to Khushi. Now I was completely sure this was her room because of her phone's wallpaper and the poster. It smelled like roses and lavender, different yet sweet.

She lay in her bed, sound asleep. Looking at her like that gave me an extremely nice feeling. It felt like she was safe here, in her room with me, to protect her. I didn't want to move or walk away from her. All I wanted to do was just sit there and look at her, take in all her beauty. I could never get enough of her. Her innocent yet beautiful face and her scent, just made me go crazy.

I didn't realize what time it was or how long I had been sitting there. It was Khushi's phone that starting ringing and it wasn't a call but an alarm. The time was 2:30 a.m. I dismissed the alarm and wondered what she wanted to do at this time in the night.

Aru had still not come. I thought I'd call her. I dialed her number from my phone so that she wouldn't doubt me for still being around Khushi.

" Hello?" she said in a confused tone after receiving the call.

"Hey it's me" I said.

"Oh! Hi. what's up?" she asked.

" Umm.. nothing. Just wanted to know if you were home." I said.

"Oh! I'm just a few minutes away from home." she said.

Panic swept through me the moment I heard her say that.

" Did you want something?" she asked.

" No no. I was just concerned. It's really late so just wanted to know if you were alright and reached home safely" I said making sure she doesn't make out the panic in my voice.

I was still on the phone when I got up and rushed towards the exit.

" Oh! Don't worry. I'll be fine" she said.

" That is relieving. Okay then, umm.., I'll get going. Take care. Bye." I said hurriedly.

" Yeah ok. Bye." she said sounding confused.

I rushed out and within no time I was near my car. Once out of the building, I stopped running and started walking.

When I reached my car an auto passed me by and I could make out a girl in it. She was alone. They stopped at the building. The girl had carrier bags with her. This was, without no doubt, Aru. I quickly got in and silently drove out of the colony hoping she didn't notice me.

By the time I reached home, it was 3 a.m. already. I slowly closed the door behind me and when I turned around, there she was, standing with her hands crossed in front of her chest furiously. I froze at my spot.

" Where have you been?" my mom asked slowly and furiously through her gritted teeth.

" I was uhh...,you know, at a friend's place" I said, not sure of how I was planning to proceed with the story.

" Really? How is your head ache now?" she asked with a voice full of sarcasm.

" Head ache is gone" I said, scared. Well this might kind of sound funny but when mom is angry , which is very rare, I get scared. She can be very dangerous when angry.

" What is your problem? Are you in any kind of emotional distress? Why wouldn't you want to spend your time with us? Is it something like we don't belong to the 'cool people's ' category? Or is it the stress level or the break up...?" before she could even complete her statement, I cut her off.

" It's nothing, mom. I am fine. In fact I feel quite better actually. I know I lied to you but believe me, it was the right thing to do. I feel quite better now." I said with a little frustration.

" What were you up to? Please, I want no more lies" she said sounding broken.

" Mom, don't worry. I am not an alcoholic and I don't use drugs either. I haven't done anything illegal or unacceptable. I just helped a friend. She was sick and I took her to the hospital. That's all" I said making sure she believes me.

" Oh! How is she now?" mom asked, a little worried .

" A lot better" I said.

"I am sorry son but you keep me worried all the time. You have been behaving strangely, so I keep wondering if everything is alright or not. I don't know what to say son, you keep troubling me. I keep worrying all the time and by the end of the day I feel exhausted" she said in a broken voice.

I feel so guilty, I want to slap myself for putting mom through all of this.

"I am extremely sorry mom, I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I know I am not being myself and I am very sorry for that but it has got nothing to do with the break up or anything for that matter. But don't worry, I promise that I will not trouble you anymore. I'll make sure I create no problem or inconvenience for anyone." I said.

I walked over to where mom was standing and hugged her. I could feel her wipe a tear off her face but I didn't say anything. After that , she kissed me on my forehead and went to bed. Relieved that at least now my mom believes me, I headed towards my room.

**************

Do like and comment! :)

Arnav signed the magzine n he does'nt want to leave her yeh banda toh gaya kaam se