Compromised

Chapter-40

Sunil, her father was a grim subject who didn't react to Ruchi's pleading even after knowing the truth and if Kartik could ever say out loud then his uncle was the biggest culprit behind Ruchi's terminating situation. It was for his wrongdoings that Ruchi developed achluophobia and turned agoraphobic. She grew socially awkward and became fearful of people's judgements as the years passed.

And now, who stood in front of them wasn't his baby sister but Ruchi Batra, a paragon dummy doll stitched and modeled by the superficial expectations of somebody who never seemed to care for her.

His sister was traded like some replaceable grocery ingredient by everyone.

Kartik found himself a glutton who couldn't keep his promise to always protect Ruchi. He held himself, his father and mother partly responsible for the devastating circumstances because only if they looked out a little more for her on that destructive night.

He vowed to never let any harm trudge her way but overlooked the fact that the trail of her survival was a bed of nails which couldn't be avoided until the right time.

And the right time could only commence when Ruchi stood up for herself, bred past from living for the sake of others, and stopped preventing the inevitable because it wasn't up to her to make everyone content if she had to sacrifice herself. Primarily, learn to become selfish for herself this time.

Kartik thought while rubbing Ruchi's dried tears slowly, vigilant to upset her armistice with an occasional slumber. He patted her hair lightly when an uncouth tapping of feet stopped outside the room's door. His mother had already been impaled watching Ruchi's condition and restricted herself to her bedroom and he could only hope it had to her at this moment.

The door flew upon as a wheezing figure barged inside. The short hairs undone, the crop-length pastel yellow shirt hanging out of her checked pajama bottoms with two different slippers on each foot gave a classic sight for a rattled Samiksha Khanna.

If it would have been some other time Kartik would have definitely opted to mock out the bones out of her but he chose silence as the remedy for the messed up emotions ruling out his sanity. Samiksha rushed to the bed where Ruchi was knocked out without a single care of the surroundings or Kartik.

"Baby! Why are you sleeping?" She pointed and rubbed her cold palms in hers, "We had decided to stay up tonight watching Avengers." She implied excitedly, "We planned on a Marvel marathon, Baby." She whined half-heartedly, "You can't fuckin' ditch me now, yaar!"

[Yaar - Buddy]

"Babyyy!!!" Samiksha called out again hearing no response or even a slight movement by her that engulfed her into the palpable fear. "Uth ja na, abhi!! Yaar, please-"

["Wake up now!! Buddy, please-"]

"Baby-"

"She's not waking up any time soon." Kartik's voice interrupted sending a red signal to her mind but she did not want to believe it, "Don't fuckin' get jealous because I had made plans with her and hijacked your brother-sister caffeine time."

"Samiksha-"

"No!" Samiksha adjourned, "I am sure that you asked her to sleep early on purpose." She demanded further glaring at Ruchi's frame, "She went on a date and I had to extract the deets out of her lunch unlike you who doesn't care about anything but his crazy work hours." She procured angrily, "In fact, I'm warning you to stop making my Baby like the inconsiderate workaholic asshole you are!!!"