PriVeer Story Circle - Page 88

"This girl is afraid of thunder?" Ranveer asked himself. She intrigued him, more than anyone he has ever met. The fact that there would be no bus coming tonight and they had to walk didn't help the current condition of his heart - it was beating like crazy. "Must be the strain, yes, that's it, the strain is doing this to me," he thought to himself.

They have been walking for an hour. The rain had paused. He needed to find either a shelter or if possible a vehicle to drive them both home, before it started pouring again. He suddenly saw a little roadside stall. A part of him was happy. However, it also raised a question on his mind: why was there a stall in the middle of nowhere? His instinct told him to be alert and he absentmindedly pulled Priyanka closer. Priyanka noticed the little tea stall and said, "we should probably go there, and maybe they can help." He stopped from snickering and saying, "why yes captain obvious." He loved being sarcastic with her; it would always get an amusing reaction out of her. Right now, he was worried. What if they were criminals and this was one of their hideouts? People barely came into this area, let alone at night!

It was a dimly lit little stall and only occupants were two men, one was already dosing off. "Excuse me?" he called out and the other man, who wasn't sleeping looked up at him. "Hello Janab, what do you want?" he asked. "D-Do you know if there is any lodge or hotel nearby?" Priyanka asked. "Madamji there is no hotel until at least 200 miles, but there is a small rest house nearby that - " he paused for a bit, his eyes darting across something. Ranveer instantly looked back and found nothing. His instincts told him that he needed to get himself and Priyanka away from these men. He narrowed his eyes and said, "you were saying?" to which the man replied, "Oh yes, there is a small rest house nearby, you can go there." He looked at Priyanka, he could tell she was scared. He put a hand on her arm and said, "you'll be ok, alright?" He pulled her close as they walked out, in an attempt to keep her calm even though it wasn't really helping with his own. He was nervous and that was the reason for his heart beating fast - why was he feeling this way?

Meanwhile

"Who came here Bhola?" the man who was initially sleeping asked. "A couple. Possibly newly wed. Becharas were soaking wet and one of them was hurt." Bhola said. "Why did you tell them to go to that small house?" asked Bhola's companion. "Didn't you know that there are rumors about that place?! Why did you put those lives at stake?!" he exclaimed. Bhola gulped.

They eventually arrived at a small house. The paint has worn off and what once was a gate was now missing a door. "This must be the house the man was talking about" Ranveer said. He knocked. A man in a ragged shawl with a lamp in his hand opened the door. "Who is it? What do you want?" he asked, his voice raspy. "Hello, we got lost and was wondering if you guys were still open, we needed a shelter, for tonight" Ranveer said. The man narrowed his eyes at the pair, and said, "come in." As they were going in, Ranveer was sure that he felt someone staring at them.

They went inside. The creepy dude turned the lights on. He then scribbled some stuff down on a notepad and gave two keys to the duo. Before they proceeded to find their rooms, he said "no matter what, do not to go to the north end" Priyanka froze. "W-Why?" she asked and gulped, turning around. "Why? Oh nothing, nothing, I usually just say that to tease people!" he said and snorted, his yellow teeth showing. How disrespectful!

Ranveer honestly felt like punching the man.

Priyanka went inside one of the rooms with Ranveer, and immediately was hit with a feeling of dread. The room looked almost unfit for a person to sleep in. She was terrified! How would she sleep alone? "You'll be ok by yourself Miss Oberoi?" he was back to his formal self. Priyanka looked up at him, scared.

"I'll take the sofa and you can take the bed," he suddenly said. Priyanka stammered "N-N-No that's ok! I can manage!" "It's ok Miss Oberoi. After all, I have to make sure that you're safe under any circumstances." He said, trying to mask his concern with a poker face.

"You should sleep Miss Oberoi, I will be right here if you need anything" he said, sounding as formal as he can, he wanted to push her away from his thoughts. Priyanka looked at him quizzically. "I'll be fine. You don't have to be concerned about me. I actually need to take care of some work related stuff so..." Priyanka got the hint and lied down. She turned away from Ranveer. She couldn't sleep - she was concerned for Ranveer and scared for their safety.

Ranveer sat down on the sofa, and suddenly felt a pair of eyes looking at them right across from the window at the end of the room. His phone rang at the same time. "Yes Shindey," he answered.

Word count: 905 (sorry guys for looong post!)