I love you... more (published)

Chapter-15

Hey guys!’, I exclaimed as I reached the table where they all
were sitting. We met for the pre-decided re-union.
‘Hello everyone’, Megha came after a couple of minutes, addressed
everyone and hugged me. She sat next to me. We ordered a large
vegetarian and a non-vegetarian pizza along with the cold drinks.
‘Hey, I heard that you broke up with Charu’, Drishya asked Tushar
punching him in his belly.
‘Yeah, long time ago. Now I have 2 more’, he replied and turned all
of us to laughter.
‘And how is your college going Dr. Ria?’ I asked Ria emphasizing the
word doctor.
‘Boring’, she replied with a lame expression. The conversation
between us lasted a full of two hours. We kept teasing each other,
made fun of old teachers, discussing who was the hottest one from
the lot of selected schoolgirls. I knew my girl was the hottest and the
prettiest.
Drishya and Tushar excused us and went out to flame their
cigarettes. The left out people also decided to leave for their
respective places as it was too late for not to-be-homey. We hugged
each other as Drishya and Tushar came back after finishing their
cancer causing white little sticks and moved to the parking.
I dropped Shambhavi first and then headed to Megha’s place. She
went off the scooty and moved towards her house. I kept watching
her until she reached in. But she stopped and came back to me. We shared the world’s smallest kiss outside her house in the dark
evening of August.
‘Bye idiot’, she said and ran in leaving me in a deep thought if the
kiss actually happened or not? I went back home, tired and drifted
off. My phone beeped.
‘Your lips are the real culprits. I couldn’t resist kissing them’, she
messaged me.
‘Hahahaha’, I replied.
‘Stop laughing. Why are you so tasty motu?’, she messaged again.
‘Wait. Let me ask my mom’
‘Very funny’
‘I have to study now Megha. Catch you later. Bye. Love you.’
‘Okay, bye. I love you more’
After a long, tiring and full of fun day, I went back to my study table
for another war with my books. I attacked the question whenever I
got the chance but tackled and moved on from the ones whom I
thought I could never win from. The book v/s brain war ended after
3 hours of annexation and as always, the books won. After getting a
one-sided defeat, I flipped on to my laptop and watched some of the
happiest moments with my family again. Pictures are the memories
that can make you cry, although with joy.
****
‘Movie? Tomorrow?’, she asked me while we were climbing the
escalators of metro station.
‘Sure baby’, I replied. A man in his sixties standing before me
turned around and gave me a look as if saying baby was a
punishable offence. I also stared him until he got his eyes off me.
‘Hey Megha’, a girl shouted. She boarded the metro at Preet Vihar.
She was taller than Megha laced with wheatish complexion. Her hair
were tied in a bun. The first thing my mind said after examining her
was NOT YOUR TYPE. Boys have a tendency to make a fictional
couple with every girl they come across. So did I.
‘Hi Shivangi’, Megha hugged her.
‘Hi Imran’, Shivangi said.
‘Hello. How do you know me?’, I asked shockingly.
‘Who doesn’t know you in our college? You guys are famous with the
title PERFECT COUPLE’, she giggled.
‘Come on, we have to leave now’, Megha said and hugged me. Both
the girls went near to the door, hand-in-hand.
‘Movie timings?’, I asked.
‘4:30 sharp at Mahagun mall’, she said and left the metro in a hurry.
I tried to catch a glimpse of her again but she obscured in the crowd.
I reached my class 30 minutes before the time. Nancy was already
there and was surprisingly studying.
‘Don’t give me that crap bitch’
‘What?’
‘Are you studying now also? I mean really? The class hasn’t started
yet’ She was a book worm.
‘Huhh, Yes. By the way Deepti was asking for your number’, she
teased me.
‘Oh! Please Nancy. Don’t you dare to give my number to her’, I said
fumingly.
‘And here your love comes’, she said controlling her laughter as
Deepti walked into the classroom.
‘Let’s go out’, I pleaded to Nancy.
‘Do you want to join us?’, Nancy asked Deepti to put me on fire but
fortunately she disagreed.
‘You are a real bitch Nancy’, I bellowed slapping the back of her
head.
‘I know that’, she giggled. The bell rang up and we moved to our
class. I really had a bad time with physics classes. Megha didn’t call
me that day. I grew restless and a sense of disturbance started
running in my mind. I was getting worried for her. I called her up as
soon as my classes came to halt. She didn’t pick my phone. I was
angry and worried too at the same time.
‘Hi baby, sorry couldn’t receive your call at that time’, she called me
after an hour of missing my phone calls.
‘What the hell Megha? Where were you?’, I shouted on the phone.
‘My practical was going on and my partner didn’t let me receive any
calls’
‘Who was your partner?’, I asked, my voice frantic.
‘Sushant’, she murmured. My mind went upside down on hearing
his name. My fist hungered his blood.
‘Oh! Great. Miss Megha was busy with Sushant that’s why she didn’t
pick up her boyfriend’s phone’, I said bitterly.
‘No. Her love’s phone. Correct it baby’, she said trying to make the
situation funny, probably to calm me down.
‘Good then. Be busy with him’, I disconnected the call and started
planning the murder of Sushant. She kept calling me but I didn’t
pick up any of her calls. She dropped many messages most of which
I didn’t even read. I was indignant. I checked my phone after I
reached home. The display squealed 58 missed calls and 16 unread
messages from sweetheart. I called her back. The conversation
lasted upto an hour, worsening the condition. Our fight reached its
height-to the breakup. I didn’t sleep the whole night. I tossed and
turned on my bed.
Next day I went to her college. She came out of the college with
Pratibha as I called her and asked her to come out.
‘Megha, we need to end this’, I directly hit the ball on the stumps.
‘End what?’, she asked, startled.
‘This relationship’
‘Imran are you crazy? Please don’t say like that. I said sorry a million
times baby and I am saying it now also. Please don’t do this. I am
sorry motu.’
‘Megha please….’
‘Don’t you love me? Why are you doing this?’, she asked in a childish
voice and all of a sudden went on her knees and held my feet. She
was yelling. Pratibha saw all the drama and held her head in her
hands in disbelief. All the auto-rickshaw drivers and guards of her
college stared us with their mouths wide open. Three cars stopped unanticipatedly in the middle of the road and the people sitting
inside them came out running to see us.
I melted. I picked her up from her knees and hugged her. I frisked a
strong blameworthiness somewhere deep inside my heart. I made
my girl went down on her knees just for a stupid fight. I made that
girl cry whom I loved with all I had. I felt pity on myself. I
confounded myself. She again proved how much she loved me. She
went on her knees pleading me not to leave her, not caring about the
rest of the world. She didn’t care about the people watching her
doing that. It was something more than love.
‘I love you so very much idiot’, I said trying to fight with my tears
not to come out in public. It’s boys’ ego.
‘I love you more Imran. More than anyone can do in this world’, she
said mourning as hard as she could.
****