Responsibility | an AbhiGya OS by mina

-mina- thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#1
Please be advised that this story is serious and a bit dark. Warning for (offscreen) attempted rape and a slight exploration of how a woman might respond to escaping assault.




Responsibility
an AbhiGya OS by -mina-

Abhi headed up the stairs of his house two at a time, whistling in merriment. He was in an excellent mood. He had an hour to shower and change, and then he was going to Tanu's, where they would finally spend an uninterrupted night together. Daadi was away with her cousins so there was no one to question him, and he was really looking forward to making up for lost time with Tanu.

When he walked into his room, he tripped over some clothes on the floor. He was surprised to see that it was one of Chashmish's anarkalis. Then he saw that Chashmish herself was asleep in the middle of the bed, cuddling his favourite pillow.

He wanted to yell at her for that, but then he figured he wouldn't be using the bed tonight so it didn't matter. In the spirit of generosity, he picked up her kameez. At least he could put it on the sofa instead of leaving it on the floor.

But when he picked up the garment, he saw that it was torn. One sleeve was ripped open from shoulder to elbow, and the neckline had obviously been tugged at with force.

What the hell?

He looked again at Chashmish. She was completely covered by the blankets, curled up like a baby. Her glasses were crooked on her face and her hair was a mess, spread over the pillows. Nothing really out of the ordinary.

But then he noticed that her lower lip was split. And there was an angry red scratch across her cheek.

A very unpleasant feeling started to crawl in his gut. He tried to tell himself she must have had some ridiculous accident. She didn't put on her glasses properly and tripped down the stairs and her kameez got stuck on the banister. Surely it was something like that.

He tossed her clothes onto the sofa as he had planned. He grabbed a towel from the closet and continued towards his shower.

But that crawling feeling stopped him in his tracks. With a sigh, he turned back and went to Chashmish.

For a long moment he stared at her, trying to decide what to do. He had too many questions to walk away without talking to her, and for that he would have to wake her up.

He walked to the other side of the bed so that he was facing her. He called out loudly, "Chashmish! Hey Chashmish!"

It took a few repetitions for Pragya to finally stir. She opened her eyes in startled confusion. When she saw him, she quickly sat up.

"Oh, you're home already? Sorry, I -"

Abhi had stopped listening to what she was saying when the blanket fell back to show that she was wearing one of his t-shirts instead of her usual sleep clothes. For once he could see a normal amount of skin instead of her being all covered up.

Normally Abhi would be quick to say that there wouldn't be anything particularly interesting about seeing Chashmish less than fully dressed. Whether he really believed it or not was a different question; he'd definitely be quick to say it.

But today apparently was not going to be a normal day. He could see Chashmish's pale, thin arms and slender neck. And he could also see the ugly purple bruise blotching that neck, and what looked infuriatingly like handprints on her arms.

Pragya was sliding out of the bed, hurrying to reassure him that she hadn't meant to take up all that space. Abhi waved his hand at her to indicate that she should stay where she was.

"What happened, Chashmish?"

Pragya went still, staring up at him with wide eyes. Her glasses were still crooked, and he saw then that there were dried tear tracks on her cheeks. That crawling thing in his gut suddenly seemed to wrap around his spine as fresh waves of suspicion and tension raced through his veins.

The silence stretched too long for Abhi's patience and he prompted her for an answer. "Hello, Chashmish? I asked you something."

Pragya looked away then, turning her head down and casting her gaze vaguely at the headboard. She pulled the blankets closely around herself, not seeming aware of what she was doing.

"Just - give me a minute, I'll be out of your way," she finally said.

"Don't play games with me, Chashmish. How did you get that scratch?"

Pragya's hand flew to her cheek. Her fingers traced the scratch, and from the confusion in her face Abhi wondered if she somehow hadn't realized it was there.

"I - I had a problem with a student today," she said, and Abhi realized distantly that he had never heard her speak so hesitantly before. He was used to a Chashmish who argued and snapped back to him but used sweet words on Daadi and the Daasis. This quiet, unwilling to talk Chashmish was starting to disturb him.

"What kind of problem?"

Pragya was still looking in the direction of the headboard. Her hand had dropped from her cheek and was now clenching and unclenching around the bedsheets.

"He wanted a better grade. I couldn't give him one. So he thought I should give him something else instead."

"What happened, Chashmish?" Abhi asked again, and because some part of him feared he knew the answer, his voice was rough and impatient.

"He tried to force the point. I - I got away from him."

Abhi sat down on the bed and took her hand, making her look at him. "What aren't you telling me?"

Pragya rolled her eyes, but Abhi noticed that the usual amused exasperation was missing from her face. Instead there was a bleakness in her eyes and a tightness around her mouth and after he saw those, the tense thing latched onto his spine somehow started stabbing at his chest too.

Pragya pulled her hand away. She looked at a point beyond his shoulder rather than into his eyes as she continued, "That's it, that's the whole story. I had a problem with a student, I got away. I was tired when I came home so I took over the bed, sorry."

Abhi tried to imagine what kind of idiot student would try to assault a professor. And not just a professor, but Chashmish, who so happily wore all the symbols of wifehood and thus was very obviously off limits. "Doesn't he know you're married?" Abhi demanded.

"Is that supposed to make a difference?" Pragya retorted. She did give him a sarcastic smile then, but it was grim and creepy and Abhi was starting to feel frustrated because the air in the room seemed to be getting heavier by the second.

"Anyway, he knew about - his father's a producer, so he knows industry gossip. He knew about you and Tanu, and that you wouldn't care."

The unsettling thing clinging to Abhi's spine vanished, only to be replaced by the odd feeling that somehow the ground had disappeared beneath him. All these months, he'd thought that what he had with Tanu was between them, with only Chashmish and Aaliya knowing about it. But of course there would have been gossip...and he'd never realized what that meant about how other people would look at Chashmish.

Pragya's last words finally hit him, shifting the direction of his thoughts. He was immediately outraged that anyone would think that he could be indifferent to an attack like this. "Of course I care! Who is this bas***d? Obviously his father didn't teach him anything. I need to give them both a lesson."

Pragya shook her head. "What can you do? He didn't manage to do anything, really -"

Abhi stared at her in disbelief. "He hurt you! He ripped your clothes and left marks all over you. Just the fact that he tried to do anything! I'm not going to let him get away with this, Chashmish."

Pragya frowned, pulling her knees up to her chin, as if to make herself even smaller as she sat hunched on the bed. "Abhishek, if this got out I could lose my job. It wouldn't matter that he attacked me, the college would decide they couldn't afford to keep me around."

"But that's nonsense -"

"Please. I don't want to talk about this. If the police or the college get involved, this will never end. I just want it to be over."

"But what if he tries again? A creep like that needs to be stopped."

"I don't think he'll try again. It wasn't really that he wanted me, it was just a power trip."

"That doesn't mean he won't try again. And he could do it to someone else. Maybe even one of your students."

"I just...I know. I know I should do something but I can't, alright? I just -" she broke off as the tears she had tried to hold at bay spilled down her cheeks anyway.

"Hey. Hey, it's ok. You don't have to do anything, alright? I'll do whatever needs to be done. Don't cry." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out to her. He wanted to hold her but it seemed like the wrong thing to do.

She took the handkerchief and wiped her face roughly, and the tears soon stopped. She cleared her throat and glanced up at him, but she couldn't hold his eyes and started staring at her knees again. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

That would be a lot easier to believe if you weren't shaking like a leaf, Abhi thought in frustration. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, absently looking around the room as he tried to figure out what to do next. His eyes fell on the clock and something occurred to him.

He turned to her and asked, "So listen, did you eat yet?"

Pragya looked up at him in surprise. "No. I guess I slept through dinner." She glanced at the clock herself and continued, "And I can't face anyone anyway. This scratch -"

"I'll tell you what, you go take a shower, and I'll have Robin bring your food here. I think we have an ointment for the scratch, too."

She shook her head, and Abhi realized that she was actually pouting. He'd never seen her make such an immature expression before, and to his surprise he found it a bit cute. But he was not impressed when she continued, "I don't feel like eating."

Abhi reached over to gently tip her face up. He filled his voice with cheerfulness he didn't feel and told her, "No excuses, you have to eat. I'll feed you myself if I have to. Can't have you fainting from exhaustion."

Her eyes widened in surprise, but then just as quickly her face shuttered of all expression again. "What? No, it's fine, I can manage. You were going to go out weren't you? You said you had plans tonight."

"Plans are cancelled. Stop asking questions and go shower."

Pragya just looked at him for a long moment, and he read both stubbornness and suspicion in her wary eyes. Finally she conceded, "Ok...tell Robin to bring the mixed fruit juice. I don't want to eat, but I could have juice."

Something inside Abhi lightened at her agreement, but he kept his voice stern as he replied,"You will have juice and dinner both. Go now."

She made another surprisingly cute face, petulantly scowling at him, but then she waved her hand to make him turn away so that she could get out of bed.

Per her wish, Abhi kept his back to her, but he didn't point out that he could still see her in their dresser mirror. Not that there was anything to see or to hide; she wasn't wearing anything with his tshirt, but the shirt itself was long enough to reach her knees. And besides, ogling her was the last thing on his mind today.

Once she was inside the bathroom, Abhi went to the hall and called Robin. He requested dinner for both of them and juice for Chashmish, and then on second thought he asked for hot gulab jamun, too. He suspected she was still going to try to avoid eating, but maybe he could tempt her with the sweets. He'd never thought he'd have to cajole Chashmish into having dinner like some spoiled schoolkid, but considering what she'd been through, it wasn't hard to imagine that maybe she just wasn't feeling like herself.

He went back to his room when he heard his phone ringing. It was Tanu, and he didn't want to answer. He couldn't tell her the truth - she wouldn't understand, and Chashmish wouldn't like it - and he knew that whatever lie he came up with, she would immediately start whining and complaining and telling him that he owed her. So he simply rejected the call, sent a quick text saying "sorry something came up," and turned his phone off. There would surely be hell to pay with her tomorrow, but he had other things to worry about now.

As he waited restlessly for Robin to come up with the food and Chashmish to come out of the shower, Abhi tried not to think about why he felt like he couldn't leave Chashmish's side tonight. He just knew that he was responsible for her and he genuinely felt that he had to take care of her, and that was that.

Some part of him whispered that this had happened due to his selfishness, that no one would have dared to lift a finger on her if he treated her as he should treat his wife. But he shouted down that whisper with the reminder that perverts never needed a reason, that this wasn't about fault, that it was alright because nothing had really happened, that it didn't matter because it damn well wasn't going to happen again. It was lucky that he had the task of comforting Chashmish to focus on, otherwise all the warring voices in his head would surely have driven him mad that night.

Robin arrived before Pragya, so Abhi busied himself with figuring out how they could eat the simple meal of dal-chawal and sabzi without making a mess of his bed. Of our bed, the insistent whisper reminded him, and he accepted the idea as he kept arranging the trays. He was not going to make her sleep on the balcony tonight or ever again, and if she felt uncomfortable about sharing then he'd find a way to deal with that, too.

Finally Pragya came out, and she looked so much better that the last of the tight ache around his heart finally eased away. She was wearing her long-sleeved white sleepsuit, and her neatly-combed hair hid that wretched bruise on her neck, and even the livid scratch looked less raw thanks to the steam of the shower.

She smiled when she saw the gulab jamun, but she proved be feeling more or less like herself after all, as she reached first for the glass of juice and then the plate of food. Abhi watched with satisfaction as she tucked in, starting to feel that things would be alright after all.

She stopped with her second mouthful mid-way to her mouth, realizing that he was just staring at her. "Hello? Are you not going to eat also?" she prompted.

Abhi flushed and looked down at his untouched plate, but then he rallied and remembered that he was a rockstar and Chashmish couldn't make him feel embarrassed for something as simple as watching to make sure that she was eating. "I was thinking we should put on a movie," he offered, trying to change the subject.

"Ok, but not your scary doll thing," she insisted, shuddering at the memory of the stupid film he'd scared them both with several weeks previously.

"Why did you even bring that up!" he retorted, pretending to sound angrier than he felt.

She could tell that he was faking and simply laughed, which automatically made him smile. He decided not to question why he was having all these positive responses to her tonight.

A few clicks of his remote later, Wreck-It Ralph started to play on the tv. Pragya laughed again when she saw the animated opening credits and it occurred to Abhi that he had never actually heard her laugh so easily around him. At least there was one good thing to come out of this disaster, he got to see Chashmish's relaxed side. Not that it was worth what had happened to her - nothing was worth that - but he was in a mood to count silver linings, and this surely was one.

"Seriously, we're going to watch this?" she demanded.

"What? It's a very important and serious story about communities and belonging," Abhi answered with a straight face.

"O-kay." She didn't sound convinced, but then she settled back into the cushions and got comfortable watching and eating.

Abhi finally started eating too, and it wasn't until they were both done that he started talking to her again. Without taking his eyes off the movie, he said casually, "I don't think you should go to work tomorrow."

From the corner of his eye, he saw her stiffen and frown, but he kept looking away from her, thinking it would make her more comfortable.

"No way. I have to go, it's exam season. I'm proctoring two sessions, and then I have a tutorial group in the afternoon," she insisted.

Finally he risked a glance back at her. She looked stubborn but calm so he kept his eyes on her as he said, "Fine, then I'll send one of my bodyguards with you."

"No! That would be too conspicuous. Honestly this was a one-time thing -"

Abhi was getting annoyed that she didn't seem to be taking the situation seriously.He didn't understand how she could be so casual about it when she was the one who'd been attacked. "He needs to know you're not alone." She looked like she was about to argue but then he continued, "I need to know you're not alone."

She looked startled at that, and for a moment her mouth worked wordlessly as her intended argument turned into something else. "...Oh. Well, if you...I mean, can you get a lady bodyguard? That might be ok. Otherwise the dean will ask questions -"

Abhi thought to himself that he would definitely be having a word with the dean himself soon, regarding potential rapists wandering the campus, but she didn't need to know that. "Yes, I can get a lady bodyguard. Now will you tell me who this sorry punk was? I won't make it about you, but you do understand he needs to be stopped and punished?"

Pragya gave a reluctant nod. "Well...yes," she agreed, and finally she told him all the details of the sordid incident.

As Abhi listened, he fought to keep his temper under control. If he overreacted, she would shut down, and for the moment it was much more important to let her get it all off her mind than to burden her with his anger and anxiety too.

He tried to think about how he could get the creep punished and reformed without involving the police. Probably he could manage an intervention through the college without it adversely affecting Chashmish's career - donations in the right pockets would take care of that. But for the rest he would need legal advice, and maybe some street smarts...well, there were people he could call about that.

For the rest of the night, Abhi made a mental list of who he'd be contacting the next day to get this situation sorted. Number one was his security company, as he was most definitely not letting Chashmish out of his sight until he had a lady constable to accompany her.

He generously let Pragya have all six gulab jamuns, though at the last moment she changed her mind and made him have one after all. She drifted back to sleep soon after the movie, but before that she made it clear that she was perfectly fine sharing the bed. Her argument was that no matter what happened to her, it was his bed at the end of the day, and she wouldn't dream of evicting him.

He didn't think much of that argument, but he accepted her word. He arranged their usual pillow wall between them, and settled in to sleep himself. He didn't get much rest that night, preoccupied as he was about what had happened to Chashmish and what had almost happened.

Trying to think objectively about it, he thought he should probably be feeling oppressed and resentful about this huge sense of responsibility he felt to set things right.

But the strange thing was, he didn't mind being responsible. It felt good to be responsible. He had the power to do something, after all, and he was going to be damn happy to use it.

And maybe it would be a good idea to live up to more of his responsibilities, going forward.

~the end~


Thank you for reading.
Edited by -mina- - 9 years ago

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FhatTheWuck. thumbnail
14th Anniversary Thumbnail Trailblazer Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 10 years ago
#2
OH EM GEEE
OKAY UN-RES


MINA OH MINA!!! Dil mera cheena 😆


Superb superb!


OKAY !


"Anyway, he knew about - his father's a producer, so he knows industry gossip. He knew about you and Tanu, and that you wouldn't care."

The unsettling thing clinging to Abhi's spine vanished, only to be replaced by the odd feeling that somehow the ground had disappeared beneath him. All these months, he'd thought that what he had with Tanu was between them, with only Chashmish and Aaliya knowing about it. But of course there would have been gossip...and he'd never realized what that meant about how other people would look at Chashmish.




AND WRECK IT RALPH 🤣 🤣 BWAHAHHA

AND WEARING HIS TEE AND ABHI BEING GENUINELY NICE AND MAN!


He generously let Pragya have all six gulab jamuns,

And maybe it would be a good idea to live up to more of his responsibilities, going forward.👏👏

Edited by -Martinski- - 10 years ago
-JollyJabeen- thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#3
Wow.. This was really, really good!
You wrote on a very sensitive and serious issue and you wrote in such a strong and subtle way that I have so much appreciation for you and your OS.. It was really, really good!!!!

Poor Pragya.. Everything you wrote seemed so in character with both Abhi and Pragya.. Abhi handles that really well.. and Pragya. God she is so brave!

Fantastic OS.. Have you got an Index?
rbb1 thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Elite Thumbnail + 4
Posted: 10 years ago
#4
Nice os OMG poor Pragya im glad she run off from the creep I can someone do that to get better grade it's horrible it's nice Abhi stayed back to take care of her
Tupimanmus thumbnail
Posted: 10 years ago
#5
Unreserved.

The story had a close link to reality. Like, she told him to not interfere in the problem as it could result in the loss of self respect which led me to think that how, majority of people being afraid of the society kept themselves mum in this kind of situation. Also the part where Pragya thought of herself at fault in some way makes myself mad and how some people think of themselves as superior to other. But its not completely their fault. Somehow we are at fault too as we weight someone's power with materialistic things not with hes good deeds. How wrong we are all to think of such things.

Anyway, let's keep the above topic aside.

It's good that Abhi realizes his responsibility. "The sooner, the better." Loved how you put some of the minor issues and composed it into a nicely written One-Shot.

Want more from you.
Edited by Tupimanmus - 10 years ago
nitarata thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#6
Hmmm!
I don't know how to describe what I felt reading this story but it was something that touched my heart. Finally Abhi was looking at Pragya as a human being without prejudices and reacting to what she went through as a friend, caregiver and support. There was something very appealing about it.
So glad that he could make her comfortable and at ease. She so needed that, perhaps needed more. But at least Abhi did this much.
Thank you very much for sharing this Mina..I was touched.
Anjum. thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#7
Great OS. So realistic! You are an amazing writer!!!
Lkb79 thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#8
What a mature Abhi. And interestingly, though I generally find Abhi very immature on the show, with this scenario, it's exactly how I imagine he'd react. He's so insulated from reality, so sheltered by his wealth and privilege right now, that he forgets people talk and it has consequences. This was a nice way to remind him the repercussions of his actions.

Great story! Smart, interesting and provocative. Plus anything that includes Wreck It Ralph gets an A+ in my book. 😊
Diahh thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#9
Res!! 😃
Unres!


OMG poor Pragya!!!!! 😭 Awww IDk What to say!!! Feeling so sad for Pragya, the whole incident, her inability to do anything about it coz she thought Abhi really didn't care, her vulnerability, and her choosing his comfort through his tshirt, his pillow to get through this bd experience... It was all so so so 🥺

So glad finally she got to have the man himself to comfort her and to deal with the problem!!!! ☺️ Abhi really needed this reality check! Going around with Tannu would have its consequences and he ought to have been aware about that! 😡 I know he is being considerate and gentle and understanding with her but still I am still kind of angry with him for letting it happen in the first place! But glad that he is going to be a responsible hubby from now onwards! And seeing angry Abhi all worked up taking steps to deal with the pervert was all so ☺️ 👏

Gulab jamun thing, Pragya wearing his tshirt and holding his pillow was all so sweet but watching Wreck it Ralph was the best!! 😆

Behena once again BRILLIANT!!!! These 3 OSs really bring out your talent as a writer! You are proving- Fluff, dark and then funny, whatever the genre when it comes to Mina anything is a cakewalk!!! 👏 👏 👏

❤️ To you!!
Edited by Diahh - 10 years ago
sam78 thumbnail
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Posted: 10 years ago
#10
It beautifully written os on very sensitive issue. It you have done amazing work as writer. Abhi understood his responsibility toward pragya was good. What a creep of student that he was better grade so you should try to attack your guru like that. Thank you we writing this os.

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