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Sorry, sorry, sorry guys! I know I took longer than promised. Was so busted last night that I just slouched beside my laptop and slept like a log. I'm so sorry that I've kept you all waiting. I know that I stopped and left off at a very crucial point. Will try to give more updates today ;) So curious to know what's next? Check it out. Enjoy ;)
~ CHAPTER FORTY-ONE ~
Arnav was a nervous wreck. His head and chest pounded so hard that he was on the verge of blacking out. Though he figured out that she wasn't playing around and was indeed going into a fit, he had no idea what to do or how to make it stop. With each passing second, it grew increasingly difficult to restrain her. Her rigid body twitched violently, just like a fish desperately flopping on land for a gulp of that life giving oxygen.
"Stop!" Arnav whimpered with startled tears building up in his eyes. He held her firmly but there was no stopping the huge waves of "electricity" that was pumping throughout her. With how things were going, it seemed that she would slither out of his reach and get herself hurt on the walls or stair railings, so Arnav gently allowed her to crumble to the ground whilst he pinned her down.
"Just stop," he mumbled weakly and tightened his grip on her arms. He looked around. The stairwell was empty and it echoed with the thrashing sounds of her frightening throes and grunts. "Please..." he whispered helplessly as he just sat there and watched her eyes blinking like a flickering tube light. It seemed to him that her brain was being exploded with huge spurts of electric current.
After what seemed like an eternity, her convulsions faded away and came to a standstill. But the rattled girl was still out and unresponsive. She just lay on the floor and gasped for air as if she had just finished a violent struggle, which indeed she did.
"Khushi?" Arnav held her shoulder gently to which she senselessly rolled her head from side to side like an intoxicated person. That's when the fine trickle of blood dripping out from the corner of her mouth caught his attention. "Shit..." he muttered. I need to get her to the doctor.
Gently, he swept her off the ground, rose to his feet and made his way down the stairs with a blacked out Khushi in his arms. Once in the parking lot, he strapped her to the front seat of his car and took the wheel.
Halfway down the road, Khushi seemed to come around. Her eyes were dazed and tired and she felt wobbly all over. Arnav, who had been keeping an eye on her every now and then noticed this.
"You okay?" he asked with a tensed frown and kept half his attention on the road and half on her.
But Khushi could comprehend nothing of what he said. She felt that everything around her was going round and round. All of a sudden, she tried to get up from her seat but fell back.
"Hey!" Arnav's arm shot out to stop her. "What are you doing?"
She nodded her head whilst heaving. It seemed as though she were drugged to the bone. And then, she tried to get up again but the seat belt tugged her back.
"Khushi! What's wrong with you?" Arnav was going mad. He held her back with his arm. "Just sit back. Relax!"
But her hands and legs seemed to have a mind of its own, slapping and kicking wherever it could. On the dashboard, on the gearbox, on the gear itself, on the controls.
"Just stop!" came Arnav's frustrated warning. "Stay still. Relax. What's...? Khushi!"
In a drunken-like stupor, she ran her fingers up and down the seat belt without actually understanding what it was. And then, she tried to get up again.
"Abhey yaar!" Arnav warned again.
Then... With one mighty heave, she barfed up a truck load of vomit in the car.
"Shit!" Arnav hissed under his breath and pulled away from the road and parked his car.
"Bwaaarrrghhh!" Again! And again! And again... She doubled over as she threw up in the car and at several places on her jeans.
"God!" he mumbled under his breath. Arnav was lost. He had no clue what to do for this either. This was a first for him. He watched her with his mouth hanging open as she sat bent over and heaving. Though the unpleasant sight and odour did induce a good load of revulsion, he genuinely wanted to put an end to her discomfort. He had no clue how she was feeling but seeing her like this was giving him nightmares.
He could feel his insides cringing with hesitation, yet, he reached out and gently stroked her back. "Feeling better?" he asked quietly. In response, she just straightened up and fell back on to the seat.
Hastily, he picked up the tissue box, yanked out a couple of plies and handed it over to her. "Here... take this and... clean yourself up."
Khushi was still breathless and dazed. The tissues held before her face made no sense to her. Nothing did. Not even any of Arnav's words or actions. She rolled her head from side to side and looked really sick.
Arnav who had been waiting for her all this while figured out that she wasn't in a position to do anything at all. So he slowly reached out and started dabbing with the tissue at her mouth first. Her beautiful parted lips and glassy eyes took him back to that moment when he had trapped and kissed her in that stairwell. His senseless aggressiveness and unjustifiable actions made his guts clench with guilt and disgust. And then, the debate of the voices resumed once again.
What the f**k is wrong with you, Arnav? What the hell were you doing back then? Do you have any clue? Have you lost your goddamn mind?
I really didn't want to... it just happened... I couldn't stop myself.
It just happened? Seriously? Do you know what you did back there? You bloody just went and kissed her dammit! You tried to assault her! The poor thing was so scared to death! Do you have any idea what could have happened? And stop trying to defend yourself! You were wrong! So f**king wrong!
But she went and complained...
So what?!!? You created your own monster!
You created your own monster... The words kept ringing in his head as he continued to focus on cleaning her up. Now, he was mopping out the retch from her jeans. He threw the soiled tissue aside and picked up the small bottle of water from the back seat. "You need water?" he asked quietly and moved the bottle towards her face. "Here... drink some water."
But Khushi's brains were like a deadly slow computer operating system. Her cursor was still blinking at the time when Arnav stroked her back to soothe her. Her mind was still struggling to decode the symbols, the words... the setting. But nothing sank in.
Arnav placed the mouth of the bottle at her parted lips and gently tipped it. He allowed the water to trickle into her mouth bit by bit. But her brains never ordered to swallow it. It was still struggling to straighten itself up.
"Come on drink," he said in a low voice, "you'll feel better."
But she choked and sputtered up the water.
"Shit," he whispered and gently patted over her head to ease her up. "You alright?"
She was flat on the seat again. And breathless. Arnav didn't wait any longer. He fired up the engine and hit the streets in no time.
Moments later, they reached the closest hospital with dependable doctors and services. Arnav stepped out, walked over to Khushi's side, opened the door and unstrapped her seat belt.
She still seemed drowsy but her brain had managed to catch up with at least some of the events that had happened after it zapped out in the stairwell. "So-tha-hah..." she slurred incomprehensibly.
"What?" Arnav squinted at her in surprise.
"So...tha...hah..." she even moved her hands like a drunk.
His eyes narrowed at this. There was nothing he could make out at all. She was talking gibberish indeed. "What?" he asked her softly again, "what is it? Do you need something?"
"Sohr... Th... hahr..."
Unable to understand a single word of what she was trying to say, Arnav tsk-tsked irritably and gently carried her in his arms into the hospital. It didn't take long for the reception desk to call for her immediate attention.
"I think that... she had a fit," said Arnav.
Khushi was laid flat onto a stretcher. "Yes," replied the nurse as she gently handled Khushi, "Her tongue is badly cut. She must have bitten onto it while having the seizure."
Tongue... badly cut... that's why she was spitting blood before! Arnav didn't have anything to say. He was just worried to the bone.
"Has she had this before?" asked the nurse.
"I... don't know," stammered Arnav.
He paced up and down the waiting room restlessly as Khushi got taken in for immediate tests and treatment. Need to inform someone from her family. But who?
Arnav pulled out his phone, logged into the HR information system and searched for Khushi's details, but... nothing was there.
"What?" Arnav was pissed off. "You've got to be kidding me. Why hasn't this guy updated this yet? Dhruv!!!"
He dialled Dhruv's number and waited for him to answer the call.
**************
It was late afternoon. Back in the office, Arnav's absence was proving to be a blessing to Dhruv who took the liberty of completing his huge load of pending work at his own pace. And that meant, couple of leisure trips to the pantry, a few walks outside, a little bit of stretching, and a couple of chit-chats with other departmental friends.
By then, the team joined in the conference room for another important meeting with their leader, Mukherjee.
*********************
Arnav gnashed his teeth in utter frustration as he paced up and down with a hand resting on his hip. It all seemed so hopeless. He was in dire need of help but it seemed nowhere around. He tried calling Dhruv. He tried calling Mukti. Even Cabir! But none of them answered his calls! Has Mukherjee ordered to not take his calls too? That's just bullshit! I'm in knee deep shit here and these people! Where the f**k have they all disappeared to?
Just then, Arnav got an incoming call from Cabir. He quickly picked it up.
"Tried calling me?" asked Cabir. The wind howling into the phone indicated that he was still outside for some official work.
"Cabir!" Arnav felt so relieved to hear his voice. "Oh thank God you called!"
"Dude, everything okay?" asked Cabir. "I think you're into some shit."
"I am in shit man!" Arnav groaned. "Yaar. I'm at the hospital."
"Hospital!!?" Cabir blurted out. "Are you okay?"
"Arre, I'm fine," he replied hastily, "it's... Khushi."
"Khushi!!? What happened to her?"
"I don't know..." replied Arnav uncomfortably. "She went into a fit or something... she's not too good."
"A fit? You mean like a seizure?"
"Yeah, that," answered Arnav wearily.
"How did that happen?" asked Cabir. "And when?"
"I..." Arnav's heart raced. How did that happen? He knew that he was responsible for her present state.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER FORTY-TWO ~
Arnav's eyes flickered as he struggled to answer Cabir's question. How the hell am I going to say this? I can't... If I tell him or anyone else about what happened back there, I'll get into more trouble. Serious trouble.
"Hello?" Cabir's rich voice boomed from the phone and startled him out of his trance. "Are you there?"
"Y-Yeah buddy," he sighed and rubbed the nape of his neck.
"How did you find her by the way?" asked Cabir curiously.
"Ermm... I was just... passing by," the minute he uttered those words, he knew that it sounded like a pathetic lie.
"Passing by where?" Cabir continued to probe him.
"The... the stairwell," he answered as he grew increasingly restless.
"The stairwell?" The air of doubt in Cabir's voice was really disturbing.
"Y-yeah..." Cabir's CBI avatar was making Arnav nervous. Really nervous. Knowing this guy, he would dig out the truth sooner or later.
"And you just found her? Like that?" he asked.
"Yes!" snapped Arnav in annoyance. He was now determined to change the topic before things got out of hand. "Cabir! You know... you sound like I did something to her. As if she's in the hospital because of me."
"Dude! Chill!" replied Cabir in a pacifying tone. "Why do you even feel that I'm accusing you? I was just asking. You know, it's good that you thought of passing by. I mean... what if you didn't. What if no one did? She could have still been there. Without medical attention. Hurt and all. Get what I mean?"
"Hmm," Arnav mumbled in reply.
"Achcha see listen, I'm on my way back to the office now," Cabir continued in his usual casual tone. "Just let me know which hospital you guys are at? I'm coming over. Send me the address."
"Thanks Cabir," answered Arnav. "But hey, see listen. I think we'll need to inform someone. Her family..." His words broke off in between as his mind raced back to the time where he had taunted her over the puja. She had no family. They were all gone. "Damn..." he hissed and screwed his eyes shut as realization hit him. And almost instantly, he felt a painful clench grip his heart.
"As far as I know, the only family she has is her Chacha and Chachy," informed Cabir, "but they're in Delhi."
"So what's next?" sighed Arnav in exasperation. He was immensely tired from the huge wallop of adrenaline that had blasted through his body before.
"She stays in a hostel here," replied Cabir. "I'll pop in and inform her roommate."
"That's great," said Arnav. For some reason, he felt much relieved as compared to before. "Ask her to come over. About informing her relatives... we'll think about that later."
"You're right," answered Cabir, "we'll see what we can do from here. So hang on there. I'll pop into her hostel and be around in a while."
"Okay."
********************
By the time Cabir managed to fight through the city traffic and reach the hostel at which Khushi stayed, the sun had already prepared to set behind the horizon. It grew darker with each passing minute as the sky turned from a rich orange hue to a brilliant purple.
"I'm looking for Khushi's roommate," said Cabir as he walked up to the watchman, "Khushi Gupta?"
The watchman, a giant of a fellow with a huge bushy moustache glared up at Cabir. "Who are you?" he asked in a funny voice. Compared to his size, his voice was surprisingly tiny.
"I'm Khushi's colleague," answered Cabir with a crinkly smile. "Now can I see her roommate please? It's urgent."
"Wait here," said the watchman and disappeared into the block.
Cabir leaned onto his car and glanced at his phone. Couple of missed calls. From Arnav and Mukti. Mukti. He dialled her number and waited.
"Hello Cabir?" she answered.
"Hey Mukti," he drawled, "What's up?"
"Where on earth have you been!!? I've been trying to call you like... forever!"
"Chill darling," he replied casually, "now tell me. What's eating you away?"
"So you didn't know..."
"Know what?" asked Cabir.
"Arnav..." Mukti paused before she continued. "He has been suspended."
Cabir's breath got stuck in his throat. "What!!??"
"You didn't know..." she said drearily. "It happened this morning. Haven't you seen the mail from Mukherjee?"
"What mail?"
"Check your inbox," she replied. "He's out for three days."
"But..." Cabir was so lost. Does Arnav know about this? We just spoke a while ago. Or does he already know? "But why? Do you have any idea?"
"Khushi..." Replied Mukti. "She raised a complaint against him. At least that's what everyone thinks. Not me."
"Khushi?" Cabir's mind was racing now. He was now beginning to see the entire picture. Khushi complained against Arnav... suspension... Khushi's hospitalization... her seizure... Arnav was trying to hide something... was acting funny... something's not right. "Mukti... I'll call you back."
Saying this, he hung up and accessed his e-mails from his phone. His inbox was jam packed with unread mails, but Mukherjee's mail stood out from the rest. Probably, Cabir has never been that eager to read Mukherjee's mails before... until now. With each line that he read through, his eyes narrowed. His heart raced. And there was just one piece of the puzzle that was left to fall into place. Arnav's confession.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Siggi by Sandhya (@sevenstreaks) (P.S this was my pitching picture to the production houses - which Sandy had done for me a couple of years...
[NOCOPY] P Y A A R. K A. N A G H M A. "Friends?" a little boy extended his hand towards a girl which she responded. They smiled and embraced...
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