Part 13
Her eyes, were full of unshed tears.. her eyes that were sparkling with excitement a few minutes ago were now filled with hidden pain..
"he died" she said in a whisper.. "and its all my fault" she continued, as the tears rolled down her face…
*flashback*
"moomm!!!!! Maammmyyy!! Mommyyy!! Maaa!!!" she kept on calling her mom
"what is it?" her mom asked irritated but couldn't stay mad at her for more than 2 seconds as she felt her daughter snuggling up to her and making herself comfortable on her mothers lap..
"what do you want?" her mom asked as she ruffled her daughters long beautiful hair..
"maa can I go to jays place?" she asked her mom with puppy dog eyes, knowing that her mom wont b able to say no to that
"ok but be home by eight.. and myy ure getting heavy" she chuckled and ruffled her hair again
Riddhima kissed her mom on the cheek and jumped from her moms lap, doing a victory dance making her mother laugh.
She ran upstairs and saw her sister lying on her bed, reading a book, with music blasting from her ipod. She went and hugged her sister and ran before her sister could say anything about knocking her door before entering
She picked up the little gift she bought for her best friends' birthday and ran out of the house.. jays house was only two blocks away and she was allowed to ride there without any adult supervision.
She rode as fast as she could. It was her best friends birthday and she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could..
She parked her bicycle and ran inside. Eager to meet him, she rang the bell and waited. His mom opened the door and riddhima realized, like everyday his mom was busy and was leaving for where ever she worked.
She didn't care.. she just wanted to go in and surprise jay. She ran upstairs without bothering to lock the door (a big mistake). Jay's mom always asked them to lock all doors and windows so that HE couldn't come in.
"JAYYY" she opened the door, not bothering to knock. Jay was sitting on his bed reading a book and was more than shocked.
"surprise!!" she sang as she ran over to hug him.
"but u said u wont come" he asked
"hao can I NOT come silly? She giggled as she slapped him lightly on his arm
"so what did you get me?" he asked excitement filling him
"not soo fast" she grinned
"not fair!!" he whined playfully
"kmon lets make ur birthday cake" she jumped and ran to the kitchen
"but mommy told us not to go to kitchen and we cant play with fire" he said as he teased her
"we're not playing with fire silly" she laughed at his attempt of mimicking her, as she rummaged through the cabinets.
She finally found the chocolate cream and went near the basket where cupcakes were kept.
She took one of them and covered it with the chocolate cream. She then lighted one of the candles and placed it in the middle of the cake. She switched off the lights and went to jay, who was nao wearing blind folds
"Kmon big boy make a wish" she clapped and jumped in enthusiasm
He smiled as he saw her. She would always cheer him up. She was the only one in his life, his only friend, the only one he truly loved. His parents were a pathetic excuse for parents, they had never been there for him. He was still a kid but his mind was of an adult. His dad was only home when he was drunk and wanted to beat the crap out of his one and only son. His mom on the other hand was rarely home. And he knew that it wasn't work that kept her occupied. Riddhima was the only friend he had. Kids in his school would make fun of him and would bully him. Riddhima had been the strong one and had 'rescued' him from the bullies. They had been friends since they were 5.
"kmon!! Its ur 13th birthday!! Ure entering ur teenage!! Make a wish!"
He smiled "I wish…" "u don't say that loud silly! Now close ur eyes and make a wish and hurrryy uppp!!" she whined
He smiled once again and closed his eyes and made a wish then blew out the candles as riddhima sang 'the birthday song' for him and clapped when he blew the candles.
They fed each other and played with the frosting.
"kmon!! Its time for ur present!" she chirped and led him upstairs to his room
She opened the door of his balcony and asked him to come out and gave him his gift.
Her pure green eyes sparkled under the moonlight.
He opened it slowly knowing that that bothers her. But he also liked keeping all the wrapping papers and the gift bags.. clich but true..
He opened the box and saw a beautiful pendant in there.
"open it" she said ordered (patience was not one of her virtues)
He nodded and opened the pendant.. it had a picture of them of her birthday, when he kissed her on the cheek.
"do u like it?" she asked with her big puppy eyes.
"bunny! I love it!" her eyes grew wider with happiness, if that was even possible
"I got me one too!" she said as she took out a pendant that was hidden under her hoodie
"I .." he was about to say something when they heard a crash downstairs
"bunny! Did u lock the door when you came in?" he asked as he cupped her face and forced to look at him
"i-I-I don't remember" she stuttered as tears welled up in her eyes
"shh its okai" he wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her cheek
"ill always protect u" he said which made her giggle "im the one who always protects you big guy! I…" she was interrupted with another crash
"kmon! We've gotta hide!" he whispered and led her to the stairs that had a small room under it..
"im so sorry! its all bcuz of me" she sobbed silently
"shh bunny its not your fault!" he tried his best to show that he wasn't scared.
"happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Kmon boy I know ure here somewhere!"
Jay was scared shit! He knew that voice. The same voice that had haunted him all his life. The same drunk voice that would scare the shit out of him. Riddhima sobbed and clutched his shirt tightly, afraid to let him go.
"listen bunny! Im gonna go out and distract and u run back home okai?"
"no! im gona stay here with you!" she whispered
"please! Bunny u need to leave!ill handle him!" he begged her to leave
She nodded. She knew that he wouldn't listen to her so she stayed mum.
"listen! If something happens then.."
"y are u saying that? Nothings gonna happen! God will help us out! please don't say that!" she cried
"sh listen to me okai?" he said and she nodded
"look, if something happens to me and im not there with you on ur birthday, then go to the place where we first met, under the tree where we carved our inititals, there is a letter there for u.. promise me ull open it on ur birthday and not before that?"
"but we'll get out of here right?" she asked
He just smiled "if I don't get out of here then I want you to do as I said and if I get out of here then we're gonna open the letter and read it together and laugh at what we went through" she nodded and smiled as he wiped the tears and kissed her fore head .
He hugged her "I love you bunny! Ure the best! Lets go"
They silently got out and went their way. He went to the kitchen and riddhima went to hide in the washroom, taking the fone with her to call her dad and ask for help cuz sure as hell she wasn't leaving jay alone
"hello" she breathed a sigh of relief when her dad answered the call
"daddy?" she whispered
"riddhima? Honey are u okai?"
"daddy help us! Im at jays place! You've gotta help us" she cried silently, trying not to make much noise.
She heard another crash and a lot of cursing. She hung up without waiting for her dads reply
She sat on the edge of the bath tub, as she tried to stop the tears when she heard the banging on the door. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that jays dad was banging the door of the washroom.
She held her breath as she heard the banging on the door.
She closed her eyes praying to God to keep Jay safe, to help them out of here.
Her eyes were still closed when she heard the door break. She screamed when she saw the sight in front of her.
The man was covered in blood, his attire was torn, his eyes were blood red with sleeping bags under his eyes and wrinkles on his face. There was a deep scar near his jaw. He was drunk and couldn't stand straight. He looked like he hadn't showered, shaved, or changed for a long time. She cringed and shook with fear as he walked towards her
"well well who do we have here?" he cooed
"get away from me" she cried
"nao, that's not the way you treat someone who's elder than you is it?" he said caressing her face
She cringed at his touch and more tears made their way down her face
He slapped her hard "stop crying! I hate people who cry"
She nodded
"tell me that ure sorry!" he barked
"i-I im sorry" she tried so hard not to let another tear fall
"that's my girl" he said as he bent closer, caressing her face.
"Stay.Away.From.Her!" they heard Jay shout which made his dad laugh like a hyena
"and what are you gonna do?" he asked amused by the brave front his son tried to show him
"jay!!" riddhima screamed when she saw blood oozing out from every part of his body
His dad yanked her hair which made her cry with pain
"dad! Dad please let her go!" jay begged
"aah! 'The begging!' now that's my son!" he said, satisfied with the way his son begged him
"but my son! She needs to be punished!" he said as he kicked his son and then pulled riddhima by hair and pushed her head into the bath tub which was filled with icy cold water.
"riddhimaa!!!" jay shouted, trying to get up which was hard with a bruised body
Riddhima struggled to get out of his hold, she felt her body go numb.. she felt her self giving up. She couldn't breathe. All the thoughts crossed her mind.. her family, school, friends, her life and most importantly JAY. Where was he? Was he okai? She could hear him calling her. But his voice grew faint. What was happening? Before her mind could register what was going on, she felt someone pull her head out of the water
"bunny! Bunny? Bunny u okai?"
Her eye lids felt heavy and she felt cold but she could sense jay slapping her face lightly to keep her awake..
She was gona say something when jay was pulled from her by his dad and flung towards the wall with unbelievable force. Her eyes shot open as she saw him lying still.. she ran towards him "JAY! JAYY! JAYY! Kmon JAY wake up! U promised jay! U don't break ur promises Jay! Right jay?"
"riddhima??" she heard her dad and turned to look the cops had handcuffed jays dad already.. "riddhima? You okai honey?"
She felt her self getting dizzy. She couldn't make out what was happening. All she could see was jay. she felt the world going black and soon she was out..
*end of flashback*
She hugged armaan as she let her walls come down..
"he left me!!" she cried as she clutched his shirt and hid her face in the crook of his neck while he rubbed her back in circles, allowing her to let it out.
"he died! And its all my fault! If I had locked the door… he would still be here!" she wept
"sshhh! Its nobodys fault" he cooed..
They sat there for hours, as she cried her heart out. he felt her breathing deep and he knew that she had fallen asleep.. he carefully tucked her in the passenger seat and walked to the drivers seat..
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