SS: The Rape Child - Note Feb 26 2012 - Page 23

Naina2127

It had been over a week since I had moved out of Juneja Mansion. And since then, trying to sleep has been the most torturous part of my day. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Beautiful as ever. I saw her beautiful eyes, her long, black hair, her soft cheeks, her luscious lips and-well thinking about it wasn't going to make it go away. Aggghhh. Why can't I stop thinking about her?

I groggily got up from my bed and headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth and freshen up. After I rinsed my mouth, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, shocked to see her standing gracefully behind me. She was dresses in a lime green colored salwar kameez. She was smiling at me, her eyes glowing just as bring as her smile. I watched her with wide eyes, trying to figure out how she got in. But the second I twirled around to look at her, my eyes only found the lime green colored shower curtain. Okay. So now I was practically capable of being sent off to a psychiatric ward. God, what is she doing to me?

After undressing, I pushed the shower curtain aside and turned on the steaming hot shower to relax my nerves. Chaotically hyper nerves. I tried to concentrate on thinking about work, but everything reminded me of her.

I pulled out a navy blue sweatshirt and gray sweatpants to put on after I was done with my shower. It was hardly 7:00 when I finished getting dressed. And it was a Saturday. Yipeee. Okay, now I'm acting like I'm ten. But the point was that I was off from work today and it was my first weekend in my apartment. Which meant that now, I didn't know what I was supposed to do all day. After I dried out the dampness from my hair, I headed into the kitchen to broil up some hot, comforting coffee. As it boiled in the pot, I sauntered into the living room to view the beautiful sunrise that I was lucky enough to witness from the elaborate window wall that gave me a perfect view of the city, the sky, and the other buildings in the city.

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As I stood by the window wall and sipped my coffee, I raced my thoughts back to the people that I no longer had the privilege to see every morning. Papa came to meet me at the office almost everyday. And each time I looked at his eyes, I saw how much I had hurt him. But I also saw how proud he was of me. That's all I needed. His trust in me. I would be there for him in a blink of an eye if he needed me. I also wanted him to realize that Preet was capable of taking my place any day. A smile crept up my lips as I thought of Preet. There hadn't been an hour in this whole week when he hadn't tried to call me. The first three days after I moved out, he had called me every 30 minutes from 8:00 in the morning to 11:00 at night. On the forth day I ignored all his calls because he was going overboard with calling me and he needed to concentrate on his studies. Just yesterday, I had taken him out to grab a drink to make it up to him. Technically, my ignoring his calls had gotten him worried to the point that he knocked at my door at 1:00 am to make sure I was alive and safe. Gotta love my Chotu. Chotu, that's what Maa used to call him when he was little.

I could feel my eyes glistening as her comforting image appeared in my mind. I hadn't seen her since I left Juneja Mansion. I missed her so badly. I prayed every night that she would be happy now. I wanted her to be happy with her family. I knew I could never be anywhere close to being a part of it. But I was content to know that she wouldn't be hurt by seeing me everyday. She wouldn't be reminded of her past. How I wish I had the ability to shoot the man who had caused her so much distress. It made my blood boil to think that such people existed on the surface of this planet.

I sat down to relax my frenzied nerves and turned on the TV. The news came on and I finished my coffee listening to the review of a new movie in theatres. And then in huge letters, BREAKING NEWS covered the headline of the news channel. I carefully read under the line.

"Street Gangs of Mumbai Targeting Alone Girls and Women for their Dirty Intentions"

I felt my jaw tightening at everything the reporter was saying. The reporter described a recent incident that had taken place in Bandra, near the railway station. At around 9:30 pm, a girl as walking home with her younger sister from the supermarket. They were going home on their own merry way. But right after they had crossed the last street light and headed toward a vacant street to head home, they were attacked my a group of hormonal gang members who had ravished the innocent girls of their innocence, their honor, and their lives. What a shame, the reported lamented over the incident.

I heard a slight click and a pang of pain ran up my hand. I ripped my angry eyes off the TV screen to witness my shattered coffee mug in my hand. It was actually a thin mug, but I was still surprised that I had shattered it in my hand. Okay, so maybe I wasn't surprised because at the moment I was more livid then surprised. Only if I owned a gun. Not one of those wretched creatures would be alive today. And they were still free to roam around the city and target other innocent girls. It made me so mad that I didn't even get up to miss seeing the entire report.

I reporter continued to describe similar incidents with more victims and it took all of me to not throw something at my TV when they showed a sketch of their appearances. The reporter described the gangs to be all linked to one another, with only one intention. Havoc in the lives of innocent lives. Those sketches were glued in my memory so intricately that the second I set my eyes on them, I knew they were in for their deaths.

Everything about the report made me get angrier by the second and I thought my veins were going to pop out of me in sheer frustration. Why do people do this? I wanted to scream to them so bad. The report continued and I continued to glare at the screen-up until I heard the doorbell ring.

Once again I ripped my furious eyes away from the screen and glared at the front door. I hesitantly got up, wincing at the pain that shot up my hand. I slid open the door, ready to bite off their head for disturbing me when I was not in the mood. But when I glared off, I noticed the softness, the sudden fear, in the soft caramel colored eyes at stared at me. And just like that, all the anger, the frustration that I was holding in vanished. I watched her with wide, scrutinizing eyes, trying to figure out if I was imagining her again or if she was actually here. I watched her slightly shift on her feet uncomfortably as she tried to smile at me.

"H-hi Prem." She whispered softly, a slight smile on her face. Holy shit. She's real! And I bet I just scared her to death by looking at her like that.

I smiled at her tenderly to assure her that there was nothing to be scared about. Like I could ever hurt her. Okay so maybe I did hurt her before, but I apologized and she forgave me.

"Hi Heer." I said softly. Please don't hate me Heer. I wished silently.

Then for the first time, she seemed to notice that my hand was profusely bleeding. Her eyes went wide in shock as she came closer to observe my hand. I caught the whiff of her strawberry flavored shampoo and body lotion. And for the first time, I noticed how she was dressed in a blue colored, full sleeve shirt and deep blue jeans.

"What happened?" She asked, her concerned filled eyes question my dreamy ones. Now how do I explain this? She'll think that I have major anger management problems. But why do I care how she thinks of me? I don't care what she thinks of me. She might just run away and never look at me again. But I don't want her to hate me. Yes I do. I want her to hate me. She deserves someone better then me. But no one can love her more then I do. No one.

"…. -Prem?" She said. I stopped the inner battle inside me and paid attention to the beautiful girl at my doorstep, looking at me with an adorably concerned expression.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked politely.

"You're bleeding so much, Prem." Her slender fingers slid under my hand and gently held on. My brain felt like mush as I just reveled at the feeling on her skin against mine. She shook her head, tired on trying to get my attention. Getting a hold on my other hand, she dragged me inside my own apartment and into my kitchen. I watched her search around for a sink, and when she spotted in, she dragged me to it. She held my bloody hand under the faucet and turned the ice cold water on. Now that got my attention. I shook my head and decided to do what I was civilly supposed to do.

"I-I'm really sorry. I didn't even invite you in." I sincerely apologized. She looked up at me with those beautifully gorgeous eyes and I almost fainted. Okay, now I'm thinking like some teenaged girl.

"It's okay." I said, her eyes still concentrating on my scraped hand. "But what made you so angry that you decided to greet you visitor with a furious glare." She grinned and looked at me. Then she turned serious. "And most importantly, what made you so mad that you crushed the poor coffee mug in your hand."

The mug lay at the corner of the sink and her delicate fingers were trying to pull out the pieces of glass that had gotten stuck in my hand.

"It looks so painful." She said ever so softly. "What happened?"

She looked at me with curious eyes, which were hiding the pain? Was it pain?

I didn't know how to explain to her what I had just witnessed on the news so I just motion my eyes towards the TV then back to her. She caught the clue and turned around to watch the news. The TV was a clear view from the kitchen so it was easy to see.

I saw the slight frown that came up on her face as she took in the horrifying faces of the gangs leaders, the culprits. It sickened me. I saw how her expression grew distasteful and how she tried to hide her anger at such wickedness.

She turned back around to me and I couldn't stop myself from locking my eyes with her. Beautiful. Perfect. Girl.

She slowly shook her head and went to change the channel. She quickly returned and examined my cuts again.

"You need to see a doctor Prem. It looks bad." She said. I nodded at her. "Come on." She grabbed my left hand and dragged me to the living room couch. I sat down and watched her kneel onto the ground in front of me. Her eyes looked so sad, so concerned. Am I imagining it or is she truly that concerned? I just wondered as I watched her rummage through her purse and then pull on a tiny tube of ointment. She tenderly applied the ointment over the cuts to disinfect them. The bleeding had surprisingly stopped now and my hand just felt numb and sore. She then pulled out a roll of bandage and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Did you know I was hurt? Is that why you're so prepared?" I asked to lighten up the mood. She smiled at that and looked up at me. Beautiful. Perfect. Girl. No focus Prem!

"No. Actually I got a job at the Children's General Hospital as the registered nurse. Today's actually my first official day after three days of training. I just have this stuff with me just in case. You just got lucky because I know you don't have a first aid box here." She smirked. Registered Nurse? Oh right, she's pretty smart. She used to be a P.A. before she came to Mumbai. Impressive. Wait, no. I'm not supposed to care. Right. I'm just happy for her. Arrrhhggg.

"How did you know I don't have a first aid kit?" I asked her, quite amused. She smirked at me again and answered as she finished wrapping the bandage around my injured hand.

"I just knew." She answered sweetly. I laughed at that and noticed how she practically made me feel so much better. Weird, I know.

I watched her put the roll and ointment back in her purse after she finished. I examined her appearance again and smiled. She looked so beautiful. Her silky, straight hair lingered over her face as she tried to close her purse. And before I could stop myself, my fingers reached out. I gently touched the soft tresses on her face. She instantly stiffened and stayed still. With my fingers, I delicately pulled her hair out of her eyes and over her cheeks and tucked it behind her ear. A jiggling sound formed as my thumb touched her earring. Her eyes hesitantly met mine and a reddish blush crept up her neck. I chuckled.

"You're so beautiful Heer." I said earnestly. She smiled wide and her cheeks burned red. She quickly got up and I followed. Nice move, idiot. Here I tell myself, I don't deserve her. And then I throw compliments at her. Seriously! What do I want? Don't answer that.

She looked up at me curiously. I gave her a surprised look.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?" She asked with a slight smirk. Oh, right. I was wondering that too.

"I am." I answered lamely. What is wrong with me today? She chuckled at me.

"Then ask." She said. I wanted to bang my head against the wall. I think one of the glass pieces in my hand infected a nerve that went up to my brain. And now I was left with jumble inside my skull.

She must have noticed my "Prem-irritated –with-himself" expression because she laughed out loud at me.

"Hey, relax. I'm just messing with you. That's for laughing at me." She continued. "I just came to visit out of curiosity. Everyone misses you at home." She said the last sentence softly. I smiled.

"Everyone." She emphasized. I knew who she was emphasizing but I couldn't believe it.

"Everyone?" I questioned mischievously. She nodded happily. "Does that include you, too?" I smirked when she stopped nodding and started at me.

"I'm going to ignore that question." She said hotly. I laughed at her blush creeping up her neck. So looks so adorable.

"So anyways, I just came to inspect and make sure you were eating edible food." She eyed my kitchen as she walked in. Huh. She was acting like my wife. Wait, wife? Shut up brain!

"What have you been eating?" She asked. I blanched at that. Umm…was oatmeal a good answer for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Probably not.

"Oatmeal? All you have is oatmeal?" (She looked into the cupboards) She eyed me accusingly. Well, duh. I just moved in.

"I like oatmeal." I said defensively, but it only made her laugh. I loved hearing her laugh. She came close to me and pulled my cheeks.

"You're so cute." She said and then offered. "How about I make you some real breakfast. Omelet sound good?" She asked as she pulled out the eggs from the fridge. After I overcame the shock of her pulling my cheek, I gained my ability to speak….and object.

"No!" I said hastily.

"No?" She questioned softly. "Um…then what do you want me to make?"

"Nothing." I answered. "I don't want you to make anything for me." I should have thought before I worded that sentence because she seemed kind of taken aback. Shit. She thinks I don't WANT her to cook for me in a bad way.

Before she could go off thinking the wrong thing, I decided to explain.

"I don't want you to cook for me. I want to treat you. For cleaning my hand and taking the time out to visit." I said softly. The flicker of happiness came back into her eyes and I got to witness that smile that I loved to death. "Please."

She nodded.

Heer's View

It felt so good to see him after 7 days, 168 hours, 10080 minutes, 604800 seconds, and-okay I'll stop. That's how far my mental math goes. But geez, I felt like a sixteen year old who had just been asked out by her crush. Perfectly. Gorgeous. Handsome. Person.

He made me feel like mush. But he just asked me out! PREM asked me out! I needed to control myself.

"Okay." I replied and gave my sweetest smile to him. His eyes lightened up so quickly I thought that I was seeing things. And then I saw something that made my heart flutter. A certain admiration, a certain appreciation. I don't know why, but he looked at me as if I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. I could be hallucinating or it could just be the fact that I wanted him to look at me like that. But I felt so beautiful under his gaze. It was the purest and deepest look that I had ever encountered.

"Um… Do you mind waiting for a minute? I'll just change real quick." He asked politely. You don't need to change. You can wear anything and look perfect.

"No. Go ahead. I'm fine." I answered. He left towards his room and I continued to explore the apartment. It was like a dream home. So big, so clean, so perfect. Just the way I expected it to be. I glanced around the living room and stopped to examine two frames set elegantly over the TV set. One was Preet's picture and the other a portrait of Maa and Papa. I thought back to why I was here in the first place. To assure Papa…..and Maa, that their son was okay. To tell them that he was alright.

But he wasn't. I could see it in his eyes. Huh, funny how I can see a lot of things in his eyes. His anger, his gentleness, his admiration, his appreciation, and his pain. He tried to hide it. But somehow, I could see it crystal clear.

"Ready?" He asked and I turned around to face him. I almost fainted when I looked at him. Almost.

He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a blue buttoned shirt. He was pulling his shoes on when he spoke again.

"You okay, Heer?" He asked. I mentally smacked myself and pulled out of my Prem-dreaming-I mean day-dreaming.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm ready." I said, putting on my own sandals.

"So? Where do you want to eat?" He asked politely. I thought for a second.

"Khaana tume hai. You choose." I said wittily.

He smirked and placed his car keys back into the key holder.

"Come on. I have the perfect restaurant in mind." He said. I guess we're walking there.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw where he brought me.

"Yeh toh Dhaaba hai…?" I said after reading the board. Suckwinder ka Dhaaba.

"It's the only thing open. Plus, they have the best food I've ever eaten in my entire life. Except for Maa's foo-" He stopped short when he thought of her. I ignored his slip and decided to lighten his mood again.

"Better then my food, too?" I teased. He smirked as he looked into my eyes.

"Of course." He said. I frowned. "Not." He finished with a wink. I smiled again and we both settled down on a cot.

A Sardarji came over and asked our order.

"Bhaiya, do chai, aloo poha, pakode, samose, kachori, aloo paratha, aur-" He looked over at me to add anything.

"Bas itna hi bhaiya." He nodded and left to get our food. Then I decided to glare at Prem.

"Who's going to eat all this?" I asked tentatively.

"Us." He answered easily.

"For breakfast?" I asked.

"Why not?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. I smiled and shook my head. Men and their appetites.

At around 8:15, we finally finished our extravagant breakfast cum lunch cum dinner. I had to go to the hospital now. My shift starts at 8:30. And being the gentleman that he was, Prem dropped me off to the Children's Hospital just down the street from his apartment (A ten minute ride).

The car idled right in front of the entrance. I pulled my purse over my shoulder and faced him.

"Thank you for the ride and the breakfast. And take an appointment so that you can get your hand checked out tomorrow." I said. He nodded and smiled. But it seemed like he was hesitating to say something.

"What happened?" I asked softly. He looked at me tenderly and then turned to pull something off the back seat. He handed it to me.

"Pepper spray?" I read the label and then looked at him.

"Heer." He started off. "I-Is it okay i-if I, what I trying t-to say is that is it okay with you, if I drop you off to work and then pick you up?"

I almost cried right at that very moment. Almost. But I held it back and decided that it as important to thank him then have him witness my tear stained face.

I knew why he was doing this. I knew why he gave me the spray. But I wanted to hear him say it.

"Why?" I asked with a serious expression on my face. He looked away and took a minute to answer.

"This isn't a safe place anymore. You can't trust anyone, Heer. I just-I don't want you to be hurt." He looked into my eyes, holding a strong emotion in them. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happened to you, something that I could stop. I mean it doesn't have to be me. Have Papa pick you up and drop you off. Or Even Preet. Just don't come here and leave from here alone."

I smiled at him. And before I could stop myself, I reach over my seat and leaned close to his face, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you." I whispered and then leaned back. I smiled at his serious expressions and he smiled back. I opened the door and walked out of the car. But before closing the door, I leaned down to look at him.

"I'll be done by 8:30 tonight." I said and he grinned, as happy as ever.

"I'll be here." He answered in a soft, husky tone. "Bye"

"Bye." I closed the door and watched him drive off.

I can't believe I just did that. I kissed him. But he was so cute. I placed the pepper spray in my bag and headed inside. Only hoping for my shift to end so I could see him again.

I turned to look at his car pass by the highway.

"I love you, Prem." I whispered before heading in. Only if I could admit it to his face. And only if I could decipher the way he looked at me. It was like he was having an inside with himself when he was around me. But I was sure about one thing, he really cared. And that made me smile.

That's all for now peeps! Hope you enjoyed it. I tried it new this time by including the individual thoughts of both Prem and Heer. I hope it worked right? =) I know I promised a sour twist in this part but its coming up soon. So keep reading. I'm planning on ending it soon so its kinda sad but I won't leave it ithout a good ending. Thank you all for your love and support. It means a lot to me. Sorry for any and all errors.

-Kali-

finally u updated. u made us wait for a long time. awesome update. i loved their selftalks. wonder wht the twist is. waiting to read more. update soon. thnks for the pm.