CHAPTER 2
meneka was having a rough night. she had been kidnapped from her art class & shut in a dark room for some days. food & all the other comforts were provided but meneka screamed for help till she fainted from exhaustion. the doctor put her on glucose & a woman came to tend to all of meneka's needs.
it was during one rainy night when meneka was awakened rudely by a drunk man. he was burly & reeked of alcohol. the man grabbed her & tried to kiss her. meneka pushed him away & tried to make a run for it but he caught hold of her.
forcing her to a corner he ripped the sleeve of her salwar off roughly. meneka screamed in protest & struggled with him but he was too strong. meneka was in the midst of pleading with him when another man burst into the room. he had a gun drawn & he shot meneka's assaulter without hesitation.
the assaulter died instantly. meneka screamed in shock & tried to make a run for it but the killer caught hold of her. he carried her to the bed & put the gun to her temple. meneka thought it would be the end of the world for her when she felt the cool metal of the gun on her temple. she blinked at the guy in surprise when he withdrew the gun.
Aryan couldn't shoot the girl. there was something in her eyes that made him lower his gun. her eyes were large with fright & a tear trickled down her cheek. Aryan stretched out a finger & wiped the tear off gently.
the girl looked shocked but relaxed as she the gun away from her temple. Aryan gazed at her, this girl had a unique charm. Aryan felt an attraction to her almost immediately. he usually avoided women as they only caused more problems to men than helping them solve it.
Aryan noticed that the girl's salwar was torn, he unbuttoned his shirt & gave it to the girl. she took it without a word. "where can I drop you?" he asked her. "I don't know. my dad has gone overseas & the house will probably be locked." she replied sadly.
Aryan thought that she had a beautiful voice. "come.. I'll find you a place to stay for tonight." he led her out of the house. "excuse me, can you find me something to eat? I'm starving." she asked him sweetly. Aryan shot a look at her, a girl openly asking for food? that was news for him. he smiled slightly & nodded his agreement.
meneka was fascinated by the killer's behaviour. he had gazed at her after withdrawing his weapon, wiped her tears & gave her his shirt to wear. what sparked meneka's interest was his eyes. they were so intense, so full of emotions. when he had volunteered to find a place for her to stay, she followed him without protesting.
he was the only one whom she could trust at that moment. feeling terribly famished, meneka asked the man for some food. he nodded positive, a slight smile on his face. but the ghost of the smiles disappeared as he drove towards a 24 hour restaurant.
the restaurant was empty & the boss was dusting the cash register sleepily. it was near midnight & there wasn't a single customer in sight. the night got more interesting when the boss spotted Aryan coming in with an unknown girl. Aryan was a well known face in those areas but he didn't have a habit of soliciting with women. the woman was wearing his shirt & looked slightly dishevelled.
the boss welcomed them warmly & got them a seat near the warm fireplace. "what would you like to have sir?" he stretched out the menu to Aryan. he shook his head & pointed to the woman. the boss immediately gave the menu to the lady, he knew better than to argue with Aryan.
"aren't you having anything?" meneka asked the man. "yes Aryan sir. please have something." the man taking their order intoned politely. "oh so his name is Aryan? nice name." meneka smiled to herself. Aryan refused so meneka went ahead & ordered fried rice for herself. when the food arrived she tucked in hungrily.
once she looked up to find Aryan staring at her with an amused expression. he caught himself looking at her & turned away. after meneka was done, she went to the washroom to freshen up.
she smoothed her tangled hair as much as she could but the damage was done. her hair looked like a cross between a messed up crow's nest & a messed up bee's hive.
sighing at how terrible she looked, meneka walked of the restroom to find the man speaking to Aryan in a low tone. Aryan looked angry & glared at him before hissing something inaudible at him. the man's face whitened considerably & he took his place back at the cash register without another word.
the girl had finally finished eating. she took an awful long time tucking into her fried rice. the way she ate without a care made Aryan smile. she looked cute when she screwed up her nose at the tangy chilli. she seemed to notice his interest in her so Aryan looked away before she got the wrong idea.
after eating, she excused herself to the restroom. Aryan paid the bill & found the boss Venky smiling at him slyly. "hey Aryan, nice chick. she is so innocent looking. she seems a little messed up but looks like you had fun with her." he winked at him. Aryan glowered at the man's lecherous statement.
he hated to see women being downgraded, esp innocent women like the woman he had rescued. "shut up venky before I pump all my bullets into you." Aryan hissed at him. venky knew Aryan was dead serious & got back to minding his own business. the woman emerged from the washroom at the same time.
Aryan hoped she hadn't heard venky's disgusting statement. "so where are we going now?" she asked him cheerfully as if he was one of her long time friends. "to my chawl." Aryan replied curtly & drove on, allowing himself a small smile. this woman was one interesting character.
by Leena
LOVESTRUCK
Udne Ki Aasha
