"Shit! Ye maine kya kar diya." Arjun shouted almost pulling his hair in frustration.
Two seconds later, his ego made him rephrase himself. "Ye kya ho gya!"
The rain looked merciless. He cursed the sky. Suddenly his eyes fell on her bracelet lying among all those scattered things on the road. He picked it up and observed carefully. She really loved this silvery thing. He knew because he saw her beating the hell out of Shree when he accidentally held her wrist tightly, while dragging her out for lunch. He often heard Shree tease her about her prized possession whenever he held her hand after that day.
Bringing himself back to the reality, he again cursed the sky, the damn sight in front of him and Ms. Riya Mukherjee's landlord.
"Where would she be, at this hour, alone?"
Riya's things were lying on the road. The crockery shattered in pieces and her clothes lying in a pool of mud.
The sight in front of him was really disturbing. Riya was not somebody who would just go away like that. But the evidences here, showed that it might not have been JUST like that. The landlord might have thrown all her things on the road and asked her to leave, that too at this hour.
He felt like going in and punching the man so hard, that he regrets what he did. BUT, wait, was he the only one at fault. The answer was NO.
Arjun could still hear the man's words in his head.
"Aapne sahi kaha tha Sir ji. Ye ladki thi hi gadbad. Raat raat ko laut kr aati thi, vo bhi kabhi kisi ke saath, kabhi kisi ke saath. Aapki saari baatein sun li thi maine, aur main tabhi samajh gya tha. Maine to turant nikaal diya use apne ghar se. Ab ek police wala kisi ke baare mein galat thodi naa bolega."
"Damn it." He shouted, banging his fist on the SUV's bonnet. And he instantly thought of Rathore, you exactly know why!
He sat inside the vehicle and called him. As soon as the bell started ringing, he thought to himself, "What will I ask him? That Riya just got homeless because of me, and I don't know where she is? He regretted his action instantly, but before he could cut the call, the damage was done.
"Bolo Raute", barked Rathore from the other end. His voice showing how frustrated he was with the work load. The ETF had a case in Pune, so Shree, Chotu and Rathore were there. Arjun was called to the Police Headquarters, so he decided to join the team the next day. And Riya, why the hell was she in Mumbai, he didn't know. But right now, if he dared to ask about Riya, the Chief might kill him over the phone. Rathore was like an elder brother to her, and protective too. So now, whenever Arjun would taunt Riya over something, he would earn a glare from Rathore too. And if he comes to know that Arjun, caused Riya some trouble, matters would turn worse. But he might know where Riya would be now, and he needed to know if she was ok. She might be in trouble.
"Agar tumhe kuch nahi kehna h, to phone rakho!", said an irritated Rathore.
"Vo...", said Arjun trying to form words to somehow gather some information about Riya. He was turning restless. "Kal Pune aana h?", he spoke cautiously, expecting him to mention Riya in the answer.
"Invite bhej doon?", he shouted. His patience ready to snap any instant.
"Akele aa jaun?", Arjun gave another try. May be this time he would give in, and ask him to bring Riya along or at least mention Riya in this useless conversation. This was it for Rathore.
Rathore left out a heavy sigh, trying not to lose temper and said as calmly as possible. "Apne chai wale ko saath le aana Raute, shayad yahan tumhe tumhari favourite cutting chai naa mile!" Sarcasm dripping from each word he uttered.
