HI GUYS
So exam: done!
Attention and priority officially reset to: IPKKND.
And the typing begins!
As this post has been moved to the FF section (not happy about this at all but oh well), I ask anyone who likes and wants to continue their reading and wants a PM to BUDDY ME. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments, again, they are always welcomed. Pleasant reading
Arnav was driving as fast as the streets and traffic of Delhi would allow him when he heard his phone ringing, its sound muffled by the carpet on which it lay, a large crack breaking through its screen. Dammit - he thought, as he realised he would have to replace it again. He saw a flashing image of his sisters picture as her number appeared on the screen. Khushi had taken the liberty of assigning pictures to everyone in his contact book when she would get bored.
He thought of both his wife and sister as he slammed his foot on the brakes. He needed a solution, killing Shyam, as much as he hated it, was not the best one. Lost in thought, he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing and not breaking something else when he heard a tap and giggle by the window. Almost jumping out of his skin he opened his eyes to see his sisters smiling face standing outside his car. Khushi, was a few steps behind her, looking as though she could not be less interested that they had just caught her husband on the way home from their shopping trip.
"Chote, how lucky are we?" Anjali exclaimed through the window "we've just been shopping for our trip and we have so many HEAVY bags" making an exaggerated face "and now you've come, with this lovely spaaacioous car"
Arnavs eyes averted to Khushi as he took the bags from his sisters hands and placed them in the boot, when he was about to do the same to Khushi she snatched her hand away from him, muttering only "27!" angrily at him as she did.
Following having slammed the door to the boot close, Khushi rounded up to the back of the car and promptly placed herself in the back seat, taking care not to look into his eyes when he sat back in the car and watched her rather than the road on the entire drive home.
"What's this?" Anjali exclaimed, picking up the half broken phone from next to her feet as she was about to step out of the car. Khushi looked at the screen and then back at Arnav who was lost for words.
"He was so angry that he smashed his phone? And here was me thinking he might care just a bit"
"Khushiji, did you say something" Anjali asked, still clutching the cracked phone in her hand.
"Nothing of any importance to anyone" she huffed, indicating Arnav as she did.
With that, she hurried back inside, not even noticing Shyam sitting in the lounge and climbed the stairs to her room.
Arnav followed, only pausing for a second as he saw his brother-in-law sitting casually reading a newspaper in the lounge, he still didn't know what had happened to make Khushi behave like this.
"You're wearing black" he managed, after standing by the door for a few awkward seconds watching Khushi fidget around with what looked like almost a tonne of fabric.
"So" she snapped
"You never wear black" he claimed, closing his eyes as he realised that this is not what he was meant to be saying.
"Oh, so you acknowledge that I exist?" she sarcastically added.
"Khushi.."
"27!" she interrupted, angrily picking up a deep blue sweater and walking over to Arnav "27 calls, and you didn't pick up ONCE, and then you pretend like nothing has happened, you are never there, what's the point"
"The point to what"
Khushi's eyes flared in anger as she realised he was being the same distant, unresponsive man she had come to know. "Sorry, I forgot, you don't like to pay attention to anything that goes on with me, so here!" she said, shoving the sweater into Arnavs chest "pay attention to your holiday, which we are apparently having with your sister and her respectable husband!"
Arnav had had enough, he grabbed Khushi's arm that was holding the sweater to him and pulled her around so that he had her back up against the wall. The image facing his eyes threw him back to when he had saved her from a falling building, clutching on to her arm he quickly let go as he remembered the consequences from last time.
Khushi caught her breath from being cornered against the wall, she had forgotten who she had been talking to.
"What the hell are you talking about" Arnav asked, in a softer tone this time.
"Shyam, wants to take us all away for a week, he says its his birthday present to Anjali, but"
"but what?"
"Something still isn't right about him"
"Oh wow, genius interpretation there" he sarcastically commented, remembering the night from earlier that week when Shyam had cornered Khushi in the kitchen.
"No, I really mean it"
"I know you do" he sighed, looking over at Khushi who was now nervously watching him "Did he say or do anything else?" he asked concerned.
Khushi thought, mightily quickly for the few second break she took from speaking. Yes, yes he follows me around, he corners me, he talks to me unnecessarily and something about him screams danger to me. He hasn't let me go, I can feel him holding on to something that never existed, he thinks he has something to do with me, like it's his responsibility to see where I end up, whether I am happy. But it's not even what I want, it's like he wants me to be happy with what he wants, he can't see reality, its blurred everything for him. I used to think maybe he was just a cheating scumbag and I had been the one he found to target, but now it seems like more. So much more. When I see him enter a room, I feel like walking out, when I see his eyes watch me, my instincts scream RUN.
"No" was all she said though, as she looked into her husband's worried deep brown eyes, he didn't need more torture. He just needed to know that Shyam wasn't safe, the extra detail was unnecessary.
"A holiday? What the hell is wrong with him?" Arnav thought "maybe he really wants to fix things"
"I doubt so, something isn't right about him Arnavji"
"Do you have any solutions?" He asked and continued when she just stared back at him "well, then stop throwing things at me, and I have told you before, stay away from this whole Shyam business, it has nothing to do with you" and with that he walked out of their room to talk to his sister.
Khushi sat in silence as she heard Arnav argue with an upset Anjali and a surprisingly quiet Shyam about how a trip was ridiculous at this time of year, there was no way he could get out of work, and he didn't want to go. The only point when Shyam interjected was when he suggested that Khushi could still come, why take the trip away from her? Anjali had agreed, but Arnav had put his foot down, staring angrily at Shyam as he clenched his jaw and said that Khushi would not want to go if he didn't.
A half an hour later, he came back into the room where Khushi was sitting crouched on the bed, having put away all of the things she had bought, he didn't say anything, just went to change and then turned the light off before dozing off to sleep with Khushi sitting, unstirred where she had been when he had first walked in.
It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, she could make out the features of his face from the dim moonlight that filtered through the curtains. She felt a bit out of it, nothing was how she had hoped it would be, she didn't like the idea of Anjali being close to Shyam. Khushi loved Anjali, she was like an older sister to her, who loved her more than the rest of them would allow. She didn't want to see Anjali hurt.
"Arnav" she whispered, hoping to hear his voice.
"Arnav" she tried again, no response. "He is always so tired coming back from work"
Khushi slowly lowered herself onto her pillow, but found that she could not see Arnav's face, and she needed that strength, she felt afraid of the dark if she thought of loneliness so she removed the top pillow from the line that separated them and stared at him before she went to sleep.
Arnav woke up to find that his nose felt itchy, he scrunched it up, hoping to get rid of the tingly sensation and he froze when he felt something brush against it. Cautiously and very slowly opening his eyes, he found that Khushi's nose was brushing up against his and their faces lay less than a few inches apart. He didn't jump, or slip away. He just froze.
Her beauty astounded him, as always, but there was more of it today. He cared for her, and he finally found that he was admitting it to himself. She was so fragile, and he wanted to be there for her. Her words had hurt him yesterday. Whats the point. There was a point, a point to it all, and maybe he didn't yet know all that that included, he just knew that there was a point and that was enough for him.
Slowly raising his hand, he brushed away the few pieces of fly away hair that threatened to scratch at her skin. After a few minutes Khushi stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes to find Arnav staring at her from a point that was way beyond her normal comfort zone.
Her reaction was the same as his. Still.
Arnav didn't know what to do with himself so he just watched as she froze and then slowly started to look around the room, looking for some sort of explanation of why he was so close to her, and then she hesitantly, and what appeared to be reluctantly backed away.
"Urm, I.. I mean you..do you..are you.. work?" she mumbled, all in a rush.
Arnav sat up, aware of her reaction.
"Yeah, I have a really important meeting today, I should probably head out early and try and sort a few things out" he said, stringing together the few pieces of logic fluttering around in his brain.
"Ok"
On his way out he saw Anjali and Om Prakash loading luggage into a car. "What is this? This many bags?" he asked.
"Oh, Chote! Glad you are up, I am heading out with your Ji-ja ji, we thought not to delay too much before the heavy snowfall there and we don't want blocked roads, so we decided to head out earlier than planned"
"Oh" was all he said.
"Suuure you don't want to come with?" she cheekily asked.
Arnav stood firm after a few whines from his sister, he was adamant on not going, and as much as he loved his sister, she was not going to change his mind.
After her convincing session was over and she had given up, Arnav gave his sister a quick hug
"Have fun and stay safe" he said, emphasising the latter.
"You too" she replied.
__________________________
Khushi sat staring at her outstretched fingers. 9, she counted. It had been 9 hours since she had last seen Arnav. What had happened that morning? They had never been so close. Well apart from the few times he had shouted at her in rage and almost bitten her head off. He had looked caring and loving this morning. Everything she had always asked for in a husband. Despite all her sorrows and grief's, she wondered what was so special about him, making her feel that sometimes this nightmare was more of a dream.
She snapped out of her little day dream when she heard her phone ring inside. Standing up from the poolside where she had had her legs dipped in the warm water she made her way inside. It was Anjali. She picked up the phone to hear a frantic voice reach her ears.
"Hello.. hello?"
"Anjali ji"
"Khushi ji, is that you"
"Yes, yes it's me, whats wrong Di?"
"Khushi I need you to get Arnav, now!"
"Anjali ji what is the matter, is everything all right"
"No" she almost cried "Nothing is all right, I need you to get Arnav, Khushi ji, as quickly as you can, please hurry Khushi"
"Anjali ji, please tell me what is wrong, I can call someone for you" she replied, worried as ever upon hearing the tone of her sister-in-law who sounded on the brink of tears.
"No Khushi, I need Chote, get Chote"
"Anja" beep. The tone dropped dead. "Anjali ji?" Khushi frantically redialled her number to find that there was no response.
"Oh Devi Mayya" she chanted "Please, keep Anjali ji safe, please" she pleaded as she tried dialling Arnavs number multiple times.
Throwing her phone down in frustration after she didn't get a response she went to grab her bag and picked her phone up on the way out. Trying to call both her husband and sister-in-law in turns as she headed out the door.
Next Chapter 12
Edited by ccuteaangel - 13 years ago
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