||Just One Breath Away-AN FF~VM pg 122|| - Page 33

Dr. Keerti walked up to the chattering interns and gave them a hard stare, at which they immediately stopped talking and stood in attention pose.

"Doctors, I have an announcement to make", she stated authoritatively after distributing the duties and all of them gulped uneasily, dreading whatever it was.

"A medical camp has been organised in Paligaon and two of you will be going there to help a senior doctor", she told them.

"Dr. Mathur will give you the other details. Drs Riddhima and Nikita please stay back. The rest of you, resume duty", she ordered and left when Akash walked towards them.

The others grudgingly left the two interns and went to duty while Riddhima and Nikita watched anxiously as Akash stopped to confirm a few medicines to a nurse.

"Are we the ones chosen?" Riddhima whispered into Nikki's ear, and she shrugged in response.

Nikki had been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few days. She suspected that she might have had a fight with Abhimanyu as he too appeared to have gone back to being Hitler. Nikki wasn't really what one could call depressed…she just seemed to be in a trance most of the time, as if in deep thought.

Akash walked over to them with a smile.

"Good morning doctors", he greeted them, and Riddhima returned it whereas Nikki only mumbled a "hi".

His enthusiasm dampening a bit, he still continued cheerfully, "Well, as Dr. Keerti must have briefed you, we have organised a medical camp, and you two have been chosen as the interns who will be going with me. We will be leaving tomorrow afternoon, and-"

"Umm…sir", Nikki started quietly, and Akash looked stunned when she addressed him like that. "I've already a lot of work to do this week and also I'm very tired…so I was wondering if…"

"If I could excuse you and take someone else instead?" Akash completed the sentence for her, and she nodded silently.

"I'm sorry Nikita, but we just decided it now, and Dr. Shashank himself has suggested your name, so I can't refuse…" he explained sheepishly.

He really didn't have the makings of a good boss, she thought as she watched him shrug at her like he was truly sorry.

"But…" she tried to argue, but he cut her off.

"Listen, Nikita, he is my senior, and I can't do anything about it. This was decided just a few minutes ago, and even Dr. Modi is yet to be informed…so I really can't do anything about it as there's an epidemic spreading over the place, and we need to go as soon as possible."

At the mention of Abhi's name, she listened with rapt attention, but seemed to deflate when she learnt that he didn't even know of this. She had been hoping that maybe he would go too…she missed him.

"I'm sorry Nikki, but I can't change the decision", he apologised sweetly, and she couldn't help but feel better at his action.

Akash quickly explained everything to them and soon they were off to duty.

At the lunch table, everyone was watching amusedly as Armaan ranted on how Akash should have taken someone else instead of Riddhima to the camp. Everyone knew that it was all because he had to be away from her for two weeks that he was complaining so much.

"Armaan, it's just two weeks!" Riddhima consoled him when he pouted, arms crossed over his chest.

"Two weeks! Basket, do you have any idea how long two weeks are!" he said indignantly.

"I'll be back before you know it…don't worry", she tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't budge.

"Oye Armaan, who don't you go with her?" Muskaan poked him in the ribs. "Then you'll be happy, Riddhima will be happy, and since we won't have to see you mope around for her, we'll be happy as well!" she teased and hi-fived Anjali and Atul.

Seeing Nikki's obvious lack of participation in the conversation, Anjali turned to her.

"Hey what happened Nikki? Why're you so quiet?"

"Haan…see she's hardly eaten anything!" Muskaan pointed to her almost full plate.

"Yeah, are you okay Nikki? Are you unwell?" Armaan's attention shifted to her, and she shook her head in the negative.

"Nothing, I'm just tired…" she sighed and gave them a small smile, which satisfied them. But Armaan and Riddhima still looked at her suspiciously.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Armaan asked her worriedly. "You've been acting strange for the past few days."

"I'm fine guys, stop worrying about me", she assured them, plastering a bright smile on her face. "I'm just tired…you know, with all the night duties and emergencies I've been attending to."

Happy with her explanation, they went back to teasing Armaan and Riddhima. A few minutes later, Nikki excused herself to go to the washroom. Riddhima too excused herself and followed her.

She walked to the washroom and checked but Nikki wasn't there. She made her way to Abhimanyu's office, expecting her friend to have gone there. As she walked to her destination, she passed the stairwell leading to the basketball court.

She knew that Nikki sometimes went up there when she wanted some time alone. However, Dr. Modi usually followed some time later, and they almost always ended up coming down together.

Maybe they had arranged to meet…No… Riddhima trashed the thought and walked up the stairs, to check if Nikki had indeed gone there.

***

Nikki sat silently, thinking about a few past incidences when she and Abhi had both been on the basketball court, and how they had made up after many a fight.

They had been fighting over something Nikki had said and she had finally come up here with a huff, and refused to talk to him when he followed her here after a while.

"Nikki, just listen to me, will you?" he grabbed her arm but she looked the other way, determined not to give him satisfaction.

"You…oh just look at me Nikki!" he let go of her arm and moved to her front, but she turned away again. This continued for a while, him moving to face her and her turning away.

Finally, frustrated, he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, making her twirl around and face him. Her silky hair hit his face as she turned, and for a moment he felt light-headed.

"He grabbed her other arm and held it against his chest when she tried to move again.

"Stop being so angry, okay!" he told her exasperatedly.

She didn't answer, but merely stared at him coolly.

"Look, what's your problem? Here I'm trying to explain something and you're hell bent upon ignoring me to the best of your abilities!"

"You should have thought that before commenting on my words in your office!" she shot back at him, and managed to free herself of his tight grip.

He put his hands on his hips and glared at her. "Oh, so it's my fault! Let me remind you, that this is a democratic country. I've every right to voice my opinions!"

"You never agree with me!" she accused stubbornly.

"Oh yeah? Well, you never agree with what I say either!" he moved closer, challenging her.

She raised her chin in defiance. "Of course I don't! When do you ever say anything worth agreeing to?" she raised an eyebrow and tossed her hair over her shoulder stubbornly.

"You do know how rude you are, right?" he glared, and straightened up when she moved closer, challenge written all over her face.

"I'm not rude, you just can't accept that I'm right!" she said smugly.

"Oh, Miss Self-righteous, who told you you're right all the time, huh?" he smirked.

"I know I am…I don't need telling."

"Get a reality check, you crazy girl!"

"You called me crazy! How dare you, you…idiot!" she poked him in his chest.

"You couldn't even come up with a better word than idiot!" he rolled his eyes at her.

"You take that back!" she warned.

"I won't…what'll you do?" he challenged, towering over her.

"I tell you take that back, or else!"

"Or else what?"

"I'm warning you!"

"Hah! That's all you can do, 'warn'! You can never actually do anything!"

"I will do it this time!"

"Will not!"

"Will do!"

"Will not!"

"Will do!"

"Will not!"

"Will do, and let me tell you…" she started when he cut her off mid-sentence.

"Wait!"

"What? Got scared already Modi?" she asked smugly.

"In your dreams, Pehelwan", he threw back. "I want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Why were we fighting again?"

"Huh?"

"Why were we fighting in the first place?" he asked her, himself thinking hard.

"Uh…I don't remember", she looked shocked. "Oh man, I forgot again!" she wailed, obviously furious at herself.

"Why do we fight anyway?" Abhi asked her amusedly, smirking.

"As if I know!" she laughed and hit him playfully on his shoulder.

"You forgot!"

"You did too…"

"Badaam khao, badaam", Abhi laughed at her.

They had ended up laughing about the whole incident, and leaving the court hand in hand, teasing each other.

She smiled to herself, and hugged her knees. It was so much fun when they fought like that. But now...she hated this.

***

She was right, Riddhima realised when she saw Nikki sitting on the stands, her chin resting on her knees, which she was hugging to her chest. She didn't look up when Riddhima walked up to her and settled herself beside her, crossing her legs and observing her quietly.

After a long silence, she spoke, "I don't want to go."

Riddhima smiled understandingly. "Look, I know that you're very tired, and also that you probably don't want to go with Akash, but…"

She shook her head vehemently in response. "I don't want to go anywhere."

Failing to understand what she meant, Riddhima remained silent.

"You mean you don't want to leave Abhimanyu?" she asked after thinking for a bit.

"I don't know", she replied, looking at her with confused eyes. "I don't know anything…I don't know what I'm doing, what Akash is doing, why Abhi is behaving so strangely, why everything is the way it is…I just don't know!" she exclaimed angrily, tears pricking in her eyes.

Riddhima put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a small hug. "Why don't you just talk to Dr. Modi?" she asked her softly.

"He's just so angry these days…" she shook her head. "And he's behaving so weirdly, I can't understand anything! He gets angry if I attempt to talk to him, and he gets angrier if I talk to Akash…I just…argh!"

"You're just confused Nikki…and I think he is too", she squeezed her shoulder.

"But why is he acting like that?" she asked her in a teary voice.

"Nikki…" Riddhima was concerned. "Have you slept?"

"No", she answered stubbornly, and Riddhima gaped at her.

"He keeps irritating me and yelling at me in the hospital, and then he drops me home when my car breaks down and waits till I go inside, he makes me cry and then he wipes my tears", she complained.

"He argues with me, makes me laugh, and then fights again…and then he hugs me and makes it alright. He kisses me, he runs away from me, he gets angry when I refuse to talk, and then he doesn't listen to me when I say something…he always confuses me!"

Sympathetically patting her hand, Riddhima soothed, "You both are confused Nikki…you need to talk to him."

"I don't want to talk to him", she huffed.

"Nikki…if you don't talk then how will you get rid of the confusion?" she said simply, smiling.

She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, not wanting to talk to Abhimanyu yet not being able to deny that she was correct.

"Just talk to him Nikki", Riddhima advised her. "He's a sensible man, I'm sure he'll understand."

Receiving an assuring smile from her friend, Nikki couldn't help but smile back. Riddhima gave her a warm hug and went back to the others, giving Nikki some time to think.

*****

Nikki barged into Abhi's office without bothering to knock, and saw him poring over a piece of paper, eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

He didn't appear to have even noticed her, and the scowl on his face was a clear indication that he didn't like whatever he was reading.

She walked up to him slowly, the awkwardness creeping up on her. They hadn't talked properly in days…she missed holding his hand, his hugs, his kisses, laughing with him, talking to him… she missed him…

He looked up at her with anger and disapproval written all over his face. "You", he grunted disinterestedly.

"I…I just came to…" she faltered, and he cut in.

"You're duty is in the neurological ward in 15 minutes. What're you doing here now?"

"I wanted to…" she fidgeted, his cold and angry attitude discouraging her from saying what she had planned to say.

He got up from his chair and walked over to her side of the desk, and leant on it. Scrutinising the paper in his hand once more, he asked, "So you're going to Paligaon with Mathur?"

"And Riddhima", she corrected him.

"Yeah", he said dully.

"Listen, I just wanted to say that…" she got stuck again, and closed her eyes in frustration whereas he raised an eyebrow at her.

"That…?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

That I miss you, she thought, biting her lower lip.

"That…I…think we need to talk", she said meekly, observing her shoes.

"Oh?" he asked, and she nodded, still looking at the floor.

"And why so? Why have you changed your mind all of a sudden?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, twisting her fingers mercilessly.

"Why do you want to talk? Now?"

"I don't know…I just need to", she explained, examining her shoes.

"And why can't you say all this while looking into my eyes?" his husky voice pierced her ears, and she looked up.

He was observing her with a mixed look, which she couldn't quite distinguish. It felt good, though, to be finally able to look into his eyes…those which made her knees go weak…those which she had been avoiding carefully for the past few days.

She found herself getting lost in his eyes…once again. It was hard to stay away from him for even a second, and having done so for quite a few days seemed to have culminated into this. It was impossible to look away from him.

His dark eyes had the ability to capture anyone in their depths, and she was soon drowning in them. She never realised that he had walked up to her and was standing right in front of her till he reached up and brushed her hair from her forehead.

His touch was more magical than his eyes…it did something to her, and she found herself melting like a candle.

"Abhi…" she whispered his name involuntarily, and he gently cupped her cheek, coming closer.

Her mind screamed at her to run, to run for her life and never look back…but she couldn't. This man, who irritated her, confused her, argued with her, shouted at her, kissed her, hugged her, touched her and made her heart go crazy, was doing it again…but she needed to know what he felt for her. It couldn't go on like this…she needed confirmation…she needed the reassurance that he was in love with her…as she suspected she had fallen for him.

"Nikki…" his voice sounded heavy, almost pained, as he bent forward, encircling his arms around her waist and bringing her closer.

She only looked at him in answer.

"I missed you", he said softly in her ear, and it sounded musical to her.

"Abhi…" she felt like breaking into a bright smile, but his warm breath on her neck was doing things to her. She gasped when he softly kissed her neck, and closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.

He moved, and looked at her with warm eyes. He was slowly caressing her cheek with his thumb, and her eyes opened and closed with the rhythm of the movement.

She felt her eyes flutter close when he leaned in for a kiss.

The feel of her lips on his was like heaven. It was so good to have her in his arms once more, to touch her like this. It was a feeling he had been missing…

He pulled her close and deepened the kiss hungrily, and she responded with equal vigour. It was a hard task to stay away from each other. The electricity charged through every fibre of their bodies, and they lost track of time.

After a long while, Nikki suddenly broke the kiss. She needed to go. This was not happening. She needed to clear her head and think about what this was between her and Abhi. It was all too confusing.

She dared not to let her gaze linger on his hurt eyes, in fear of losing herself in them again. She quickly moved away when his arms at her waist went limp. Taking a shaky breath, she turned to go.

But he grabbed her hand from behind. She stood still, freezing in mid step, his hand burning on her skin.

"Don't go", he whispered, his voice almost broken. She couldn't understand why he sounded so much in pain, when he had been the one to put a distance between them the last time.

She couldn't bear to turn around and see his heart breaking in his eyes. She tried to free her hand, but he held on.

She turned around slowly, and saw his dark eyes looking at her with a mingled sense of wantonness and regret. Wantonness, she could understand…but regret?

"Abhi…" she hesitated, not understanding how to explain her current state of mind to him. She needed some time alone to think, no matter how hard it was to let go of his hand and leave him standing there.

"Please…" he implored, pulling her hand and bringing her closer.

The sudden jerk of his movement caused her to tumble forward, her hand pressed against his chest, bunching his shirt in her palm. They stood there, simply looking at each other, trying to convey their confusion, pain and regret through their eyes.