Prachi headed towards her designated room. Her pace was swift and forceful; as she walked back she keenly observed the uniform patterns and colour of the marble flooring. She stopped at once and scanned the entire space. Why was every damn object in this den supposed to be only black and white? - she reflected, with mild irritation. No, she was not possessed, neither was the colour of the house such a big deal for her. It was just that she was exhausted - exhausted from trying again and again. Well, technically nobody had asked her to poke her ass into someone's private space yet she did and had constantly made a fool of herself.
She pushed the half open door, lunged herself onto the soft mattress and sat in an alert position - contrary to the hour. The bedsheet crumbling within her fist was an indication of her rising temper; she glanced at her tightened fist for a couple of seconds and then with a deep sigh, slowly released it, letting the blood flow through her constricted veins, which left a pinkish tint on her palm. But wait, what was she exactly mad about? Was it because he conveniently disregarded her concerns over his safety? Was it because he didn't tell her about the damn place he was secretly visiting and didn't bother to even call her back when she was almost having an anxiety attack? Was it because he left her in the midst of the conversation, for which she had rehearsed countless times; when he showed up all injured? Possibly, she was fuming in terms of all such reasons which led to one root-cause, she simply couldn't deal with his indifference anymore. Neha was right all along; as she had enlightened her downright emotional and lunatic friend about this, when Prachi had merely begun to develop a crush on him. Great! Now she had one more added reason for self-loathing and guilt - She mused.
With that being said, she wasn't helpless, she wasn't weak, she wasn't dying to be his unpaid therapist and she was absolutely not seeking to bond with him specifically on the basis of similar traumatic experiences; at least not at the current stage of whatever equation she shared with him. But, she was determined - or maybe from the perspective of an iconic, toxic brown culture, she was just stubborn (proudly, if she could add!). Proudly stubborn to break through the walls - the walls he had surrounded himself with; to hide his vulnerability. For now, she had to go and give him her piece of mind, give him a taste of his own medicine regardless of his abusive attitude - before her brain decided to shut off completely. With anger and palpitation she took quick footsteps to reach the devil's den - however, to her surprise - he wasn't there. Obviously, why would he be? He had left the terrace a while ago and If only she was a little more quicker in coming back; she would have caught up with him and said whatever needed to be said from her end - she thought with hardened facial expressions and stiffly went for a quick search spree.
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Bedrooms, terrace, study room, lawn, main entrance - all these places which she had gained access to, in this highly limited amount of time; Prachi managed to check them all in search of him - unfortunately for her he was nowhere to be seen and now her growing body ache and strain on her injured arm was an indication that she needed to sleep immediately before she collapsed out of exertion. She took a deep sigh and headed to the kitchen to get some water. Even in the darkness within the house, faint patches of light of the night sky were obvious from the huge windows of the lounge and helped her navigate towards the kitchen. She reached for the light switch when a dark shadow terrified her and she dropped a few pieces of cutlery. She was about to scream when the light was abruptly switched on. "For heaven's sake!" - He was there... the devil was right there; once again, angered and .... shirtless!!
But, there was something else which she had failed to notice earlier. His muscular torso had considerable amounts of more deep cuts and bruises than his face and hands which she had just nursed, His body must be on fire. - she mulled. His hair was wet and slightly gelled, which meant he took a shower and had changed into his night pyjamas while she stood confused on the terrace all by herself, like an idiot; the light stubble on his Godly face, which wasn't really obvious to her until now and the familiar strong musk fragrance. All in all, she couldn't resist but acknowledge that the hotness of his majestic self had just increased to infinite levels.
"Why do you look like a mannequin, who just got electrocuted?" - Embarrassed Prachi shut her slightly parted lips and came back from the trance at once.
"I - I just came to grab some water. You?"
"I came to summon an ancient ghost of the kitchen and the next thing I knew - you arrived with your natural orchestra."
"Interesting. At least you should've had some decency to tell me the reason for leaving; instead of disappearing midway!" - Ranbir stood silent for a few moments - figuring out whether to ignore the stupidity of his equally stupid guest or to retort.
"You're right. I'm so sorry that I left your gracious company that was engrossed in enlightening me to the wonders of spirituality I never knew existed, if those divinatory gems hadn't come out of your equally blessed mouth. I should have never left and stayed to bless my horns while I was hungry, exhausted and was almost bleeding to death. Despite the obviousness that I got attacked with pieces of glass, and nearly bullets. I should have continued to suppress the excruciating pain and self-hatred even more than I already do - just because an unwanted guest always had the nerve to continuously call me inhumane; simply because I want to protect my sanity. So, you're absolutely right! I am a f*cking orphaned b*stard and I definitely do not have the slightest decency to talk to women." - He concluded - keeping his calm; while the only audience was completely shaken as the facts got spitted on her face for the millionth time.
Prachi didn't have the guts to even begin to imagine the course of events that he went through in just one day - yet he stood in front of her, listened to her, apologised to her and allowed her to touch him. Even at present, he was considerate enough to explain himself with all his composure. All of which she could never dream of, had she interrogated him a month ago; he would have conveniently ripped out her soul and thrown her remains in a dumpster, without giving it a second thought. But, their equation had progressed during her stay or maybe he had progressed. He had unusually developed some sort of self-restraint in dealing with her forever changing moods, and insanity. Whether she liked it or not she had to give him the credit for being the grounded one; despite his hot headed and mysterious aura. She also had the complete insight that out of all of his attributes - this particular side of him wasn't to be messed with.
He had maintained this serenity with her because he chose to and he had unapologetically the potential to shred her into pieces, wherever and however he chose to. He was a ticking bomb and she had to be cautious not to test his silence and patience more than what she had been doing till date. And it was way more fascinating for her to realise that even after a successful and logical explanation of his response; her current state of mind selfishly picked some of his very specific words of mockery in order to justify her impulsivity and validate her unique attachment to him such as; 'wonders of spirituality'; 'divinatory gems'; equally 'blessed mouth'.
Feeling further insulted, she walked past him to grab a glass - roughly opening the top cabinet. Somewhat curious, the young lad stood by the kitchen counter, registering the brash movements of the fuming figure; with his arms crossed. Prachi had made a mental note of storming out of the kitchen with equal force when her path was blocked by his strong chiselled physique.
"I'm not up for your games. Move, now!" - In a flash, she could feel his cold hand on her cotton shirt, gently encircling her perfectly carved waist from behind. About to blow up, she tried to push him back with all her remaining strength when he wrapped his other arm as well. Utterly shocked, she turned to glare at him; the latter met her gaze with calmness - conveniently disregarding her commands and anger. Instead, his grip got even stronger around her waist. "Ranbir... this is not a joke." - She struggled to speak through her dried throat.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you..." - His husky voice was enough, not to wake the elderly man upstairs; and casually witnessed the frustrated girl in his grip and pulled her closer.
"I need to go." - She whispered.
"You won't be able to." - He replied earnestly.
"And what makes you think that!!"
"Your shirt - it's holding you back." - He let out a sigh. "You might have to free yourself from it." - She looked at him wide-eyed. Was he actually trying to push her limits; like whatever she was anticipating? Right inside the kitchen? The next thing she knew; his gaze and hand had already trailed down to the side of her waist.
"Ranbir, I can't do this. Please, this is uncomfortable for - both of us."
"Not for me. I am only trying to help you." - His fingers reached the edge of her fabric, when she held his hand from going further.
"This is madness!! If you don't stop, I swear I'll call out kaka right now and leave for good." - She mumbled.
"Don't bring the old man into this. Besides, we'll be done before he even manages to reach the railing. Let this petty stuff stay between both of us."
"This isn't petty stuff!" - Prachi jerked his hand away, "Not for me!" - She whispered bitingly. Without releasing her, he clutched the edge of her waist once again.
"Get over this, before your shirt gets ruined, completely."
"Let me go." - Prachi was holding onto his bruised shoulders to support her weakening frame. Her voice was cracking and her eyes were now clouded with hot tears. All of sudden Prachi heard tearing of her fabric and was quick to look down.
He had just freed the hem of her shirt from the edge of a big nail that poked out of the kitchen counter.
She reluctantly looked up to him but he didn't meet her guilt-stricken eyes this time; rather she saw him fixing the crease of her torn bottom hem with an obvious frown on his handsome features. With her back forced towards the counter and her hands anxiously wrapped around his bruised, naked, muscular shoulders; Prachi once again parted her lips to speak; however, he was too engrossed in completing the task at hand; beginning from slowly caressing both curves of her well-defined waist to gently stroking the sides of her breasts with his thumbs - all of which caused her puffy eyes to squeeze shut and involuntarily pulling him closer. He gripped her waist once again and his cold fingers then reached her shoulder, revealing her scarred collar-bone.
"Don't... it still - h-hurts." - Prachi managed to respond to his touch, in a hushed tone. His eyes softened as he met her moist gaze and paused. Perceiving his move as a signal for her to finally leave; she made slight movements to get away from him. To her absolute surprise, he switched off the only source of light and calmly blocked the remaining space between them. His fingers gently trailed to unhook her brittle gold chain and his gaze remained fixed on her chain, till it slid under her shirt and fell directly on his palm. Prachi tried to take the delicate piece when he casually tossed it at the farthest distance.
"That belongs to my mother! I won't tolerate any further disrespect!! Hand it over!" - She demanded. However, he deliberately remained oblivious to the distressed woman in front of him and continued to gently brush his lips on her shoulder flesh till his stubble reached her collar-bone and he nibbled her scarred muscle. Prachi quivered as the brat always had the ability to send strong vibrations across her frame - just by his electrifying touch.
He witnessed the instability of her posture with annoyance. She had a helpless frown, as she took a sharp breath in and sought support from his luxurious hair as a sign of protest - hoping for him to stop. But he nuzzled her neck instead - allowing her iconic vanilla fragrance to pervade through his senses. He proved her yet again, that no matter how much she tried, his 'dominant alpha male persona' always prevailed over her handful personality traits of volatile temper, hypersensitivity, impulsive attitude and her child-like stubbornness. He was more than willing to never end the passionate encounter if only he had not heard the crashing of utensils and felt hot liquid on his skin.
"F*ck!" - He retorted.
"Stand still.." - His gentle yet firm grip around her loosened and he drew back a bit while Prachi hurriedly switched on the light and looked for the source from his existing injuries.
"It's your bandage." - She replied in a sober tone. He followed her intense gaze, it was the same bandage she wrapped around his arm, after her road accident; once again soaked red because of the broken glass, she had kept to quench her thirst.
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As slightly mortified Ranbir, sat on the dining table, he keenly observed the stoned woman doing chores rapidly and with utmost brilliance. In the past 20 minutes she had cleaned up the kitchen mess; warmed up the food for two, took a fresh roll of crepe bandages and cotton out of the first aid box and began the second best thing she was known to him for, nursing wounds. Her passive aggression, clenched facial expressions, sharp claws and bulging eyes in terms of him, remained on top.
"Ever heard of a concept called, 'replacing' bandages?"
"I used to believe in the concept of no bandages till some crazy ass strangers started stepping in my space, thrusting themselves and their preferences on me." - She could feel her fury kicking in once again but, keeping in view the scenario, she tried her best to keep it at bay.
"I see. My million dollar question to the king of hell is, who the heck had stopped him from throwing it away and to show off his blood tattoos to the entire universe?"
"Discarding the stupid question; I'd like to say that since you stepped in here, I have forgotten if I was even born a human!! Thanks to the ever-changing soothing titles that you have given me for no fault of mine!"
"I'd call you human when you behave like one." - She responded nonchalantly with a small safety pin in her mouth; as she gave the crepe bandage one final wrap around his arm. Ranbir looked at her in frustration trying to comprehend her statement; which had got nothing to do with the current scenario. She briefly looked at him as she clipped the safety pin and then stood up as the microwave beeped and placed the steaming hot food along with hot turmeric milk, in front of him.
"After you finish your food, drink this. This has healing properties. Also, keep the icing bag back - that won't help even a bit with injuries like these."
"What do you want from me?"
"I'm done telling you and you are enjoying this whole thing way too much to even consider my point of view." - He let out a deep sigh as she stood up and began to walk away.
"Sit down right now." - His forceful tone not only seized her steps but gave her a glimpse of hope that he was finally able to trust her, somewhat.
The glass of turmeric milk was successfully emptied and was carelessly placed somewhere in the centre of the dining table with milk residues inside. As per initial plans, Ranbir had thought to waste and not to consume the nauseating liquid a bit. However, he did otherwise, knowing that one wrong move or grim comment from his mouth would increase the existing tension in the atmosphere to 10 fold - he knew it wasn't the thick air he was referring to. In the midst of their late night meal, the duo had not spoken to each other or looked up - even for a brief moment.
It felt as if they were just staring at their half-eaten plates, playing with their utensils while the minds of both short-tempered youngsters drifted entirely in different dimensions. He had only paused to look up when she handed over his button down nightshirt to him to wear. She didn't need to use any verbal commands this time as her body language and stern looks were enough to convey that he had to put an end to his bloodied muscle show and keep his filthy handgun which he had unconsciously placed beside him after cleaning it - out of her sight at once. To his own astonishment, he did exactly that.
But, he didn't exactly know what to do next. He scrutinised the woman sitting adjacent to him; who was literally fighting with her utensils in the name of eating food. Ignoring his curious gaze, she had been violently hitting her cutlery every now and then to diffuse her explosive anger she had been keeping to herself for too long now and she wasn't willing to break the ice even if a tsunami happened and drowned both of them in the next instant.
What else could she do? She was justified. Since the day their paths crossed she had been subjected to the pain and agony she never deserved. Even after the horrendous accident, she consistently looked out for his well-being - whereas he never cared about her nor did he inquire about her family; well, for formality sake yes but, he hardly made an effort to connect with her. It was just a plain coincidence that Neha was their mutual friend. If it wasn't for her and if didn't help her friend in the hospital, Prachi technically didn't have any family in the city to rely on. She was alone - He pondered.
"I'm okay with having you around. You can stay here as long as you want." - He broke the prolonged silence.
"I don't need this charitable statement of yours." - She responded bitingly without looking at him.
"If I was to give charity; I would have given you to my half-brother to enjoy who has had his bedroom, boxers and c*nd*ms ready to enslave you for life since the day he received your picture." - Ranbir's sudden shift startled her and she finally looked up. "Or if that's not good enough, I guess I should give you off to Ankit (another known motherf*cker), who is just looking for that one opportunity to take off his pants in bed with you!! I'm sure this is the kind of charity you're dying to get!"
"I know your step-family has harmed you and they plan to do worse. I have an idea that whatever happened to you today - I mean - during your journey has to do with their hatred towards you." - Prachi mumbled, trying her best to refrain her temper from exploding once and for all. "And I'm also very well-aware that I may work as a catalyst to your already aggravated circumstances in the future as well." - She continued. "So, I have decided that it's in your best interest - that - that I leave. I'd call Neha to take me back to the hostel and then you can -"
"I might have given a standing ovation to your compassion if you had said this when I had the terrible experience of meeting you at the basketball court. But, it doesn't matter anymore - the damage has been done. So, don't give yourself too much credit." - He interrupted. "As for you, making a decision for me is concerned, no one is worthy enough to make such a grave mistake. As for you leaving this house is concerned; you wouldn't dare to step out of this house till I ask you to. And if at all you plan on seeking support from kaka; i'll make sure that he's nowhere to be seen at the time of your request." - He concluded, in such a way, that there wasn't any room for her to retaliate or question him.
Whatever it was, she was now ready for countless lengthy, and draining encounters with the handsome devil for an indefinite time frame. Well isn't that exactly what she wanted from day 1? She should have been happy as her wish was finally granted. But, something was unsettling about this which she had conveniently forgotten in her obsession to be close to him. Things ran at his pace, they began; when he wished them to begin and they got over when he wished them to be over. And from here on, whether it would be his constant presence around her or his unexpected disappearance; his cutting words or his liberating touch - everything would happen on his terms. She never understood that he kept her at a distance for her own good - till now. She was more than willing to tolerate it all, if she was able to earn a tiny spot in his life - despite knowing that she had only managed to enter the initial tip of "The Pratap Ice-berg", from where she could be easily thrown out anytime and without any second thoughts.
She looked up towards him who had just limped his way upstairs. Holding onto the railing he swiftly turned to meet her lost gaze for the next couple of moments in affirmation - as if he was telling her that he had indeed heard her ongoing thoughts.
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