"Hey."
Haseena steps into the room and quickly puts a stall in her steps. Some things in the room have changed since she left a few hours ago. She spent the night in the hospital bed where Karishma occupied half of it. There weren't a lot of conversation as Karishma was drowsing and Haseena was already too exhausted. However, there was peace that finally found its way to Haseena even for a brief moment and brought her to sleep. She slept with Karishma breathing so steady next to her. Although it was cramped, it was something she wouldn't trade for anything.
"Hey." Karishma responds to the greeting before her eyes would move from the TV screen to the source of the sound. Once they do, she unintentionally does the double take. Haseena comes back in her simple white blouse and jeans but somehow, that makes Karishma's heart skip a huge beat. She tries to hide her smile although it is too obvious but Haseena seems to be too busy with the strange surrounding that she doesn't notice it or mock it.
"Hello, officer." Haseena's eyes land on the uniform officer who sits comfortably with a box of sandwiches on his lap. He should be keeping watch in front of the room but now, he is watching whatever Karishma has on the TV. He smiles at her with a tiny wave of a sandwich. "What are you guys doing?"
"Just watching a show." Karishma answers and acts like she is very concentrating on the show she has been watching since Haseena left.
"Is it goo... oh." Haseena turns to the screen as she approaches Karishma's bed and realizes that Karishma is watching her show. She smiles. "It's a good show."
"It is." The officer agrees with his mouth-full. "You were amazing in this, Miss Malik."
"You disagree, Karishma?" Haseena raises her eyebrow to the girl who still keeps her eyes on the screen like a hawk even though Haseena has yet to appear in the scene.
"Well..." Karishma clears her throat and before she gets to do anything more, Haseena's reach gets her. She is making her a hair bun again.
"I'm listening." Haseena runs her hand through Karishma's hair and puts some of her hair together to make a bun right on top of her messy head.
Karishma leans forwards a bit to accommodate something she hasn't agreed to but knows a bit too well now that she cannot stop her. "You kissed Will a lot from episode 2 onwards -"
"My character kissed Will's character." Haseena corrects her with a tiny chuckle.
"Also, isn't it a bit weird that you fell for him quite quickly? It's just episode 3. I don't even know what his character's name is."
"Karishma." Haseena lingers her hands on Karishma's cheeks and cups her face in her hands. Their eyes meet and the amber in Karishma's eyes make quite an extraordinary flame to keep her warm from the inside.
"Good thing you had a stunt body for episode 3."
"Karishma!" Haseena quickly changes a gentle adoring touch into a hard squeeze on Karishma's cheeks. Karishma laughs as she rests her hand on Haseena's waist and wishes she doesn't have to let go.
"I... will go outside." The officer clears his throat and gets on his feet as he starts to feel that he is third-wheeling them. He cautiously nods at Karishma. "Detective."
"Officer."
"Thank you." Haseena whispers and smiles at the officer who is making his way out of the room to the place he is supposed to be. Then, she turns back to Karishma whose eyes fix on her and whose finger hooks through her belt loop. "So. You've... never fallen for anyone that fast?"
"That's not what I said." Karishma smirks as her heartbeat raises when Haseena crinkles her nose to her answer. She moves her eyes back to the screen although she can't really pay attention anymore when the star of the show is acting out as her own personal star right by her. "You were amazing, Haseena. You'll probably be in the next Marvel movie."
"Hmm." Haseena smiles as she can sense the weird expression that Karishma is sending out but since she is now too hesitant to ask or pick a fight, she tries to ignore it. "Are you going to binge the whole thing?"
"No." Karishma turns to face Haseena and shakes her head. "Not yet."
"How about..." Haseena puts on her sneaky smile and tucks Karishma's hair behind her ear. "...I come back tonight and we finish it together?"
Karishma takes Haseena's hand from her ear and holds it in hers. "Are you very busy today?"
"Yes." Haseena whines. She doesn't mind being busy. She just wants to be busy with Karishma following her around like before. "I'll have to pick James up first. I accidentally fired him."
"What?" Karishma chuckles in amusement while Haseena is still whining to her mistake.
"It was in the heat of the moment. I didn't mean to. I'll apologize." Haseena tries to defend herself but she knows that it is her own mistake. Her voice gets lower and gentler towards the end; not only it is a sign of giving in but it is also a sign of secrecy that is about to come. "I'll have my lawyer talk to you about... what happened."
"No." Karishma whispers as she shakes her head slowly. Her eyes find their way to Haseena's and quickly, she sees troubles from those beautiful blue eyes. They are supposed to be shining like the ocean that is touched by the sun. They should fill with hope and her life like the people of her age should be. "I have a lawyer but I don't think I'll need one. Don't worry."
"You have one?" Haseena repeats; not that she didn't hear but she was taken a bit by surprise. She looks into Karishma's eyes just to find any bluffs that she might hide.
"Yeah. Don't worry." Karishma pulls her in by the belt loop and kisses her cheek.
"Okay." Haseena wraps her arms around Karishma one last time before she has to leave. "See you tonight, okay?" "Have a nice day." Karishma smiles and keeps her smile while Haseena's lips touch hers.
"Okay." Haseena gives Karishma another kiss on her forehead before heading out. She nods at the officer at the door to bid her goodbye. What Haseena doesn't see is the look that is exchanged between the officer and Karishma once she turns around. What Karishma doesn't see is the stop Haseena makes at the nurses' station to acquire some information that is traded with a selfie.
Haseena finally gets back to the car that has been waiting for her with Aanya as the temporary driver. She is busy with information on the tablet; the social medias, the reviews and the gossips. She looks up for only a second when the passenger seat door is opened and looks back to the tablet when she sees that it is Haseena.
"How is Detective Singh?" Aanya asks without really paying attention to the answer. Although Haseena's lawyer mentioned to the detectives that Haseena and Karishma are together, the news hasn't reached the media yet; which is good. She knows it will get out somehow along with the kidnapping scenario but she just hopes that it will not break this week. Haseena needs this. Haseena needs her big break that will give her enough ground to stand when the scandal shakes her.
"I need to borrow your phone." Haseena throws in a request instead of answering any questions. She acts cool when she fastens the seatbelt as her hand extends for the phone that has yet to arrive on her hand. "Karishma is letting them arrest her."
"Detective." A man's voice gets Karishma's attention as she lies comfortably on the mattress that barely fights away the cold-hard concrete bed. There is nothing else in the cell and Karishma doesn't seem to care. She let her mind fly through the void to the better place. Her right arm is still in the sling that doesn't really help with the pain on her shoulder. She gets up and lets the sneakers on her feet find the dirty floor before putting her bodyweight on them as the gesture of respect. The man whose hands are in his pockets and whose eyes are on her smiles as he stands tall at another side of the bars; the side that Karishma is more familiar with. "It's nice to finally meet you... although this is not exactly ideal."
"SP Malik." Karishma runs her hand on her sweatshirt and pants with the hope that they will magically become neat and nice in front of his eyes.
"Abid." SP Malik extends his left hand between the bars and doesn't have to wait long before Karishma takes in so awkwardly and firmly.
"I'm Karishma." Karishma clears her throat and suddenly feels so out of place in front of the man.
"Haseena is rather mad." He keeps his smile as he pulls his hand back into his pocket.
"I know." Karishma chuckles quietly and steps a bit away from the bars that stand between them. "I know she would be."
"You know and you still pulled this? You have some nerve, Karishma. My son. Haseena's older brother, Cheeta. When he was little, he always wrote in his school handout about fear that he was scared of making Haseena mad. I think he still is. He is with BSF and there is nothing in this world that scares him more than his little sister being mad." SP Malik laughs as he reminisces his children's childhood and the time they were all together in one place for more than a couple of weeks. "You and my daughter are really together, right?"
"No..." Karishma answers but somehow, the one-word answer is so low that it is blown away by the wind. She clears her throat and feels the dry that starts to take up all the space. "No, sir."
SP Malik stares at the girl before smirks as if he finds her bluff that has been hidden deep deep inside. If Haseena is good at calling out her game, her dad is 10 times better. "Thank you, detective, for saving my daughter."
"I was just doing my job."
The man doesn't take his eyes off of her. It almost feels like he is interrogating her but not as a cop. "Did my daughter shoot your partner?"
"I... shot my partner, sir." Karishma answers right away with her eyes that are fixing on him.
"Did you shoot him once or twice?"
"I shot him." Karishma repeats without really giving any thoughts to the question that has been changed.
"Alright." The man who has already figured out a thing or two nods and pours his respect right on her.
"Okay." Another man's voice flies through the hall as soon as the door opens. He stops at the door and lets his sight do the work of travelling to the cell. "We're ready to go."
As soon as the man in the expensive suit finishes his announcement, the familiar-looking cop walks past him to the cell where Karishma is. She unlocks the jail cell door and slides it open before shooting Karishma with the faintest smile.
"Let's go, detective." SP Malik waves her out and waits to start his steps with her. "You're not doing anyone any good by giving away your rights."
"They can't lock you up until they can really prove that everything was on you." Haseena's lawyer explains quickly as he puts his glasses away in his suit jacket pocket. "You're also under different kinds of medications right now. Your statement is... and will be considered unreliable."
SP Malik shrugs. "True."
Karishma takes a second before stepping out of the jail cell she has spent hours in. Once she does, Haseena's dad places his arm on her shoulder and walks with her. She stuns but doesn't pause her pace as she sighs slowly and lowly. It is a dad thing and it comes at the right time. "Thank you, sir."
"You need to thank Haseena." He says and pats her back a bit to gesture her to walk ahead of him out the door.
Haseena takes her long deep sigh when James pulls the car in her garage. The garage door is slowly closing down and she feels the same with her eyes. It was another tiring day; mentally and physically. Getting James back is probably one of a few good things happening today. James opens the door and pauses when Haseena doesn't do the same. He watches her from the rearview mirror before closing the door and turning back to face the girl in the backseat. She is closing her eyes while her arms are crossing on her chest. She is trying to get away even for a bit. She thought things would be easier when Karishma is back but it doesn't seem so; it hasn't been so.
"Are you alright?" James asks.
Haseena sighs again. "My dad wanted nothing more than to put someone in jail; in this case, it happened to be Karishma. And Karishma. Karishma seemed to want nothing more than to put herself in jail although she did absolutely nothing wrong."
"Detective Singh just wanted to protect you." James starts and watches Haseena's eyes open to the reality again. "It is practically her job and to be honest, she hasn't failed. And your dad. He is pretty much the same. Also, he flew across the world because his kid was missing... and out of the blue, he also found out that his little girl is in love with a...woman. It is also a lot for him."
________
This is not conventional love story so expect any type of ending.
Writer evil mode is ON😈
Take care
Bye'll 👋 👋