Cigarettes & Peonies

17

Maahi quietly stood on the bus stop alongside her brothers who were squabbling over Virat Kohli's dwindling form. Suddenly heavy tyres screeched to halt close to her. She gasped loudly and shuddered. Lifting up her eyes she found the creepy Karanvir on his jeep just in front of her. He smiled sweetly at her brothers and then looked down at her creepily, smirking evily. She quickly looked down just to avoid his soul-piercing eyes.
"Karanvir Sir!! It's so good to see you. But what are you doing here so early in the morning??" asked kush gleefully. Karanvir chuckled softly.
"I was running some errands for my father. I'm heading to college now. Wanna take a ride??" asked Karanvir huskily. Maahi immediately clutched her brother's hand tightly, gesturing him not to accept the offer. But only if her brothers had that much brain. They were the biggest devotees of Karanvir and when your God gives you a ride on his expensive jeep, you better not deny.
"Thank you so much Sir. You're so sweet." Luv thanked him and quickly slipped inside the jeep through the door. Luv sat on the back seat but maahi held her ground. She was ready to stand alone and wait for the bus than to hop into his sordid jeep and scare the shit out of herself.
"Maahi come in." kush said smiling. Maahi timidly shook her head.
"No. I'll wait for the bus. You go." she said softly. Karanvir's eyes darkened. He gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"It's not safe to stand here alone. This is not the most safest part of the city. Dwellings of history sheeters are close at hand, and they're not a great class of people." karanvir seethed, looking squarely at maahi. Maahi's blood froze in her veins as she saw that murderous look in his eyes. Still she was not yielding to him. The twins caught the glint of anger in his dark eyes and knew that karanvir was mad.
"Ma-ahi. Please come in...... Karanvir is right, round the corner there are squalid residences of the muggers and general outlawed criminals. Come in ple-ase." luv hissed through his gritted teeth, a silent gesture that he was irate. Maahi gasped and looked up fearfully at her brothers. She knew that they were pissed off. For a second she decided to call her father but then she remembered how her father will rebuke her brothers if she manages to tell him everything. With fear burdening her heart, she climbed into the jeep and sat near her brother Kush. Karanvir sighed in satisfaction as he looked at her through the mirror. She peeked at him through the mirror, caught him staring at her passionately and quickly turned her eyes away. His face dropped as she wouldn't look at him again and she looked kinda angry. He breathed a sigh before revving up the engine and the jeep sped off to the college.

Maahi kept her eyes at the mountains looming in the distance. Her brothers kept the conversation going with Karanvir but he just casually responded them with an irritating 'Hm' 'Yeah' or a slight nod of his head. His eyes were fixed on the mirror which showed her reflection in it. Not even for once did she shifted her gaze at him. He looked dismayed but yielding to the desire to look again and again into the mirror, in a hope that she would for atleast once look at him.
"Why is this place always so cold??" luv muttered vexed, pulling his jacket close to his body. Karanvir huffed and looked straight in the front.
"I think maahi doesn't likes me." karanvir said abruptly. Maahi stiffened after hearing her name.
"It's not like that. She's just shy around new people." kush defended her. Maahi timidly looked up into the mirror and caught him smirking.
"Is that so?? Well, I believe Ms. Maahi sort of likes to avoid me." chuckled karanvir. Her brothers laughed and maahi sat quietly, ill at ease.
"No one can avoid you sir!!!" luv spoke and chuckled. Karanvir's eyes met maahi's soft, scared ones and they flickered with something spiteful.
"Indeed. None can avoid me." karanvir accentuate on his later words and there was this ferocity in his tone which scared maahi badly. She was repenting as to why didn't she phone her father in the first place and sat in his jeep. Meanwhile they drove down the college campus and a transitory relief washed over her. Karanvir said nothing after that and drove the car into the parking lot where he killed the engine. Maahi was the first one to disembark his jeep.
"Brother I'll go home by the bus." with that she departed from the parking lot before Karanvir could stop her. Well, he didn't even tried, he just let her go. After all she's in the same college.