TS: Halloween Horror - Last part on pg 13 - Page 9

"Thanks Prasad, ab aap bhi jaa sakte ho," Asad told his rather unhappy employee, as he flipped through the file that Prasad had just prepared for him. Prasad nodded politely and shot Asad a wan smile before hurrying back to his cabin to gather his belongings and leave the already deserted office.

Asad pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down on his chair, unsure about what he ought to do now. He had managed to delay a lot of people in his office today by adding on to their workload, especially poor, unsuspecting Prasad, just to avoid going home himself. The truth of the matter was that from the evening before up until this morning before he left for work, Zoya just wouldn't shut up about how she'd managed to give Mr Khan a horrible scare'. So much so that even Dilshaad and Najma had joined in, taking every opportunity to poke fun at Asad. He really was in no mood to go back home just to face more of this silliness.

"Ammi, bhaijaan abhi tak ghar kyun nahi aaye?" Najma asked as she finished wiping the dinner plates after washing them. It was abnormal for Asad to be so late. Dilshaad shrugged as she stared at her phone, wondering whether she could call him again.

"Pata nahi Najma! When he called at 6 he said he was going to be a little late today, but I didn't know it was going to be this late. I really want to call him again, but I'll just be disturbing him unnecessarily. He really must be swamped with work today then," Dilshaad concluded, tossing her phone on the coffee table as she changed her mind.

Zoya suppressed a giggle. She was pretty sure Asad was just embarrassed to come home after his reaction from the day before, and he was just hiding it behind the pretext of work. Najma retired to her room after she was done, announcing that she wanted to sleep because of her early class the next day. Dilshaad followed suit a while later, complaining of a headache. Zoya wasn't sleepy, but she wished them both good night and went back to her room as well, deciding to play Candy Crush on her iPad for a while.

An hour later, Zoya found herself frowning at her iPad, unable to get past level 130 on Candy Crush. After losing all her lives, she tossed her iPad on the side table, too impatient to wait for new lives. She decided to just get some shut-eye instead. But just as she was about to, her phone rang, Jahapanah' flashing on her screen. Zoya's forehead creased in confusion as she received the call.

"Zoya... main... main office mein hoon... please... mujhe..." Asad's broken voice came through as soon as Zoya pressed the phone on her ear. She gasped, her eyes widening in panic. What in the world was going on?

"Kya hua Mr Khan?! Aap theek toh hai?" Zoya screeched, gripping her phone harder. She quickly scrambled off the bed, making her way to the room door. She had to inform Phuphi about this, there was something not quite right.

"Main... aap... aap yahan aajaayiye... please... aur... aur... Ammi aur Najma ko kuch batana mat... please..." Asad said choppily, catching his breath in between each word. Zoya couldn't even get another word in because Asad cut the call immediately thereafter. Fear gripped Zoya as she thought about the possibilities of what could've happened to Asad. She burst out of her room, practically sprinting out of the house to her pink scooter.

"Mr Khan? Mr Khan?!" Zoya screamed, as soon as she entered the building of Dilshaad Constructions. The security guard was missing from his post, and the building was completely unlocked. Zoya swallowed nervously as she tried to understand the implications of this. She hurried into the lift and hit the button for the 3^rd floor, where she knew Asad's cabin was.

As soon as the lift door opened on that floor, the first sight that greeted Zoya was a puddle of blood to the right of the corridor. Zoya covered her mouth with her palms as she screamed into it, tears beginning to form at the corner of her eyes. She hurried to the door which had Asad Ahmed Khan' boldly written on it and pushed the door open, bracing herself for the worst.

She found Asad sitting on his chair, his head face-down on the table, with drops of blood splattered around the floor and table. Zoya's lower lip quivered in fright as she took in the sight, letting out an unintelligible sound as she did. She paced towards Asad's still body, praying that he was still breathing.

"Mr Khan???" Zoya whispered, choking back a sob as she reached for Asad's face with both her palms, in an attempt to lift his head. A large gash on his forehead made Zoya reel back in shock, finally bursting into tears.

"Mr Khan, yeh kya hogaya hai aapko? Kaise? Uthiye please, please uthiye," Zoya sobbed, as she patted his cheeks, and tried to bring him to his senses. She finally gave up on that and trailed her eyes away from his face, grabbing his hand instead and rubbing it between her palms, hoping, wishing, and praying. When she looked back up to his face, she found herself letting go of Asad's hand in shock.

Asad's eyes were open, and dancing with mischief, as his lips slowly tugged into a small smile. Zoya gaped at him, unable to register what was going on. It was a very strange way for someone to behave right after regaining consciousness. She opened her mouth, trying to form a question, but before she could even start, she found herself whisked off her feet as Asad suddenly got up from his chair and wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her up and sitting her down on his table.

"Horrible scare isse kehte hai Miss Farooqui," Asad whispered, as he leaned his upper body into Zoya, his palms pressing down on the table on either side of her thighs. He stopped leaning in only when his nose touched hers, and that also marked the point when Zoya suddenly snapped out of her worry and defeat.

"Yeh kaisa behuda mazaak tha Mr Khan? Meri toh jaan hi nikal gayi thi!" Zoya yelled, as she placed her hands on Asad's shoulders and shoved him away from her. She began walking away immediately, slightly out of embarrassment, but mostly in anger. But before she could make it too far, she felt Asad's hand circle her wrist and stop her.

"Jaan nikal gayi thi aapka?" Asad asked, in the same tone she had asked him about the horrible scare from the day before. Zoya scrunched her eyes shut, realizing that she'd made the same folly that he did. She was about to make up something to cover up her words, but then she decided against it. Why hide from the facts any longer?

"Haan, nikal gayi thi. I don't know what I'd do if you died," Zoya confessed confidently, as she turned around slowly to face him. She felt Asad's hand loosen its grip on her wrist, as he digested what she said.

Asad had just wanted to trick Zoya the way she had tricked him. And then when he got the opportunity to put her in a spot the way she put him, he jumped at it. But he really wasn't expecting her to finally be so upfront about it. He stared at her stupidly, unable to put his thoughts into words.

Zoya bit her lower lip nervously, a feeling of immense stupidity taking over as a blush spread across her cheeks. From his dumbfounded reaction, it was obvious that he probably didn't feel as strongly about her as she felt for him, and now he was probably just finding a way to put it nicely. She turned away again, hoping to hide the tears that were beginning to form again, for a different reason this time. Maybe she should just leave now and spare him the trouble.

Asad watched Zoya walk towards the door again, using his brain to fight his urge to stop her. But just as Zoya swung the door open, Asad found himself forgetting about his brain as he stepped forward and grabbed Zoya's arm impulsively again. He pulled her back into the cabin and pushed her back onto the door, effectively closing the door as well. He watched Zoya blink at him a few times, fighting back her tears.

Asad groaned inwardly, disappointed with himself for being the reason for her tears yet again. He instinctively leaned into Zoya to comfort her, pressing his body against hers, sandwiching her between the door and himself. He noticed her breathing pick up pace instead, and her eyes no longer held that pool of sadness in it, in vast contrast to a few seconds ago. She tilted her chin upwards as she closed her eyes, making Asad lose any semblance of rational thought left in him.

Zoya felt Asad's lips on hers seconds after she had closed her eyes, and she wasn't even sure how it all even happened. All she knew was that this felt right, comfortable and natural. She kissed him back after a moment, making Asad kiss her even more urgently. She felt his arms find their way around her waist, pulling her away from the door and pressing her against his body. She ran her hand through his hair, holding the back of his head as she leaned closer to him.

Zoya felt something uncharacteristically cold on her forehead as her skin touched his, and she pulled back abruptly. Asad moaned in protest but obliged, as Zoya raised her fingers to her forehead to touch the substance. It was all that fake blood on Asad's forehead, now on hers! Asad grinned as she stared at her red fingers in amusement.

"Tomato ketchup hai," Asad said laughingly, as he held Zoya's hand up to his lips. He slowly licked her fingers clean of the tomato ketchup one by one, and Zoya simply giggled in response. When he was done, Zoya reached for his forehead and swiped more tomato ketchup onto her fingertips, before holding her hand up to his lips again. Asad smiled at her, cupping her face with his palm and running his thumb on her lower lip.

"You know, I think I don't mind celebrating Halloween in the house this year," Asad quipped, as he licked her fingers clean again. Zoya laughed heartily in response before pressing her lips against his, expressing her approval. Who says Halloween is only for horror stories?