Warnings
Panic attacks
Sexual Harassment
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Anyla
I took another sip of the coffee kept in front of me while staring at Shiu seated in front of me.
"Shiu, I will arrange the tickets why are you worrying so much." I leaned towards her.
"Even if you don't, I don't care because I don't even want to go." She said while scrolling through her phone.
"But I want to go with you." I looked towards her.
She shifted her gaze to me. She kept her phone down and stretched her hands to grab the coffee on the table. I hurried and snatched the coffee, she looked at me with annoyance and furrowed eyebrows, "Anyla give me my coffee back."
"Why are you ignoring me? What have I done? Don't behave like a kid," I banged the table creating a loud noise, "I said I would arrange the tickets and that's final."
She extended her hands to take the coffee from me "Okay, now give me my coffee back."
I gave her the coffee and returned to sip my own. The canteen is our favourite place to just sit around and chit chat during the free period. I looked towards Shiu and she was again watching her phone. She was definitely hiding something but was not telling me. I should maybe just ask her at this point, I waited for her would tell me on her own but she hasn't till now. Maybe she was hesitant.
I raised my eyebrow and asked, "Shiu are you hiding something from me?"
She glared at me with her sharp eyes piercing me through her look, "Oh finally you noticed."
"I noticed it a while back but I thought you would tell me."
She started "So, there is someone..."
Her words stopped midway as my phone started ringing, it was an unknown number. I hung up the call and focused on Shiuli again.
I whispered looking at her with soft eyes "Someone?"
She peeped at her phone as she spoke, "Someone is stalking me. I am getting his messages from the past week and I even blocked him but then he messaged me from a new number."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "Maybe we should report it as cybercrime."
She replied, "I was thinking the same but I am not sure about it."
I sighed and said, "Let's report it to the police and they can take the necessary action."
Shiuli nodded in agreement and as she was calling the police I noticed something suspicious. I reached for Shiuli's hand and stopped her from calling. "I saw someone, someone was looking at us from behind the pillar." I said while searching for the unknown person.
I stood up from my seat and walked slowly towards the pillar, it was right in front of us. My heart pounded in my chest with each rising step. After reaching close to the pillar I took a deep breath and looked behind it. My heartbeat relaxed a bit, but I was sure that there was someone there looking at us. I walked back towards Shiuli and stood beside her chair, I said "Call the police right now."
She extended her hand showing her phone to me. It had a message from an unknown number, "Don't you dare call the police, Lily"
How the hell did he know that we were calling the police? I stood there shocked and arched my eyes towards Shiuli. Her eyes filled with tears, I kneeled and wiped her tears "This is no time to cry Shiu, we must take some action." She nodded and her phone beeped I gazed towards her phone and there was a message from Rishaan.
She looked at the message and her face turned pale. I snatched the phone from her to look at the message, "That stalker guy is someone from your college, be careful."
"Who is this guy Shiu."
"He is my friend."
"I am pretty sure that the guy standing there was your stalker. We should do something." I held her hands and stood up. We walked out of the canteen down to the garden area. The Garden was safer compared to the canteen.
Thinking of a plan I got a great idea that may work. I took a deep breath and asked her to tell me about her stalker. She smiled and told me everything. We then came up with a plan to catch the stalker.
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Shiuli
As we made our way to the garden, she seemed anxious to share the idea with me. We finally settled down on a wooden bench, surrounded by blooming flowers and lush greenery. With a deep breath, she began to lay out the details of her grand plan, her eyes bright with excitement. I listened intently, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin and the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves. The plan sounded too scary at first but it should work. We decided to take the risk and give it a try. We agreed to work together and make sure the plan was successful. I took my phone out and messaged the stalker "We should meet someday."
I felt a shiver run down her spine as I sent the message. I quickly put the phone away and waited anxiously for a reply.
Anyla kept her hand on my shoulder and silence engulfed us.
Am I going on the right path? Should I really meet him? What if something goes wrong? My mind got stuck with all the ifs and buts roaming around me. I took a deep breath and tried to remove the layer of questionnaire from my brain. I checked again on the phone for any response but it just disappointed me. It was almost the time for the next lecture.
We stood up in an instant and moved forward to our class which was on the 2nd floor.
Walking up the stairs I wondered if I should meet him or not. Lost in my thoughts as I reached the second floor my eyes met with someone. Someone unknown to me but it felt like he knew me head to toe. His gaze was sharp like a knife piercing through my skin looking deep down the inner side of me. The side which is unknown to anyone but him. Strolling down the corridors and moving ahead to the class I tried to recall if I ever saw him. Those dark eyes looked familiar, that mocking smirk on his face reminded me of something or someone, the way he moved his hands through his hair, I had seen that before. Coming out of my thoughts as Anyla shook my hands, I walked inside the classroom. We sat down on our usual bench and waited for the professor. Unintentionally my eyes started to seek for the orbs that met mine a few moments ago.
I saw him sitting a few rows ahead of me, and my heart skipped a beat. I could feel my cheeks flush and my eyes widen as I looked away, my heart pounding. I knew I had to talk to him, but I kept my distance. Anxiety filled inside my veins as I caught him staring at me. I forced my brain to reminisce the memories of the past and searched at every corner of my head but nothing gave me a hint about him. I am a thousand percent sure that I have seen him before but my mind became blank as soon as I attempted to uncover the truth.
I don't know when the lecture started or ended as my eyes kept ogling his, he laughed at something giving me a view of his perfect pair of teeth and sharp canines.
Maybe my heart never forgot his face. All of the things pointed towards the same thing, the past I don't want to look at, the memories I don't want to remember and the person I hate with my soul. But, I never really saw him in the class. Maybe my eyes ignored his gaze intentionally all the time, maybe my mind didn't want to remind me of the past covered with dust beneath the layers of happiness.
I am sure he is him. What if he is my stalker? Of course, it is him. Who else could it be? I don't want to meet him. Years passed away since the incident I still couldn't face it. I was too afraid to meet reality, the trauma started to play again in my head. Those loud screams, heavy breaths, and constant struggle. I closed my eyes and covered my ears to remove the thoughts, to stop the playback of the past.
Someone shook my shoulders hard enough to help me come out of the nightmare. I looked around to search for a similar face but it disappeared from the position it had a few minutes ago.
My heartbeat raced against my chest, my eyes became blurry and my hands started shaking. Not again, why is it happening again? I thought I moved on but his one look made me feel uneasy. I could hear Anyla's words but my mind was too busy to understand them. Everything became dark in front of my eyes and suddenly all the noise disappeared.
Time skip...
I opened my eyes. My eyelid weighed like a stone on top of my eyes. Grasping my surroundings I realised I was inside a car and my head rested on Anyla's lap. Anyla talked to someone on her phone "She woke up, I will talk to you later."
She looked at me with teary eyes and patted my cheeks with her warm palms. I tried to remember the events that took place a few moments ago. Every faint memory became crystal clear in front of me as each second passed. I sat back up straight and tears started to flow down my eyes. I wiped my eyes to clear my blurry vision.
"It was him, I saw him" I gulped hard as I continued "He is my stalker"
Anyla's face turned pale upon realising whom I was talking about "It can't be him" she stuttered "Are you sure?"
I nodded and my mouth left small sobs of pain. Anyla shifted close to me and patted my head. "He will reach where he deserves to be." I leaned my head on her shoulder "I don't want to meet him"
"Shiu, you can't keep yourself away from reality for so long, it will come back to you again and again. You should face the situation for once and you are strong enough don't waste your tears on him. He doesn't deserve it. And I am here nothing will go wrong this time."
"You were there the last time as well. Still, it happened." I gazed at her.
Guilt flowed through her face, "Situations were different back then, history will not repeat itself this time."
Maybe she is right, I should fight back instead of being scared. My mind went back to the memories from that night.
Flashback starts...
My hips swayed side to side with the rhythm of beats. My throat felt deserted and craved some drink. I made my way to the hallway slicing through the crowd. I picked up a drink from the counter and walked towards the centre of the hallway. I felt someone's gaze on me I turned my head towards him as his steps moved forward, and I took a sip of my drink. My eyes locked with his as he moved his long finger through the locks of his hair in a sway. He walked close to me and my nostrils filled with the fragrance of the musky cologne he wore. He grabbed my waist with his right hand and placed the other on my flushed cheeks. His thumb grazed my bottom lips roughly as we danced together. Our steps matched like we have been practising for years. His right hand trailed up my bare back and all the blood rushed up to my cheeks. I handed over my drink to him as I paused to go to the restroom. There was a large queue outside the restroom so, I walked back to the hallway searching for those addictive eyes.
I stepped close to him and he gave me my drink back. He held me by my wrist and whispered with a strong voice in my ears "Let's go upstairs, the hall is too crowded."
I was too tipsy to understand the words clearly so, I just nodded and walked upstairs. I took another sip from my drink.
As we walked through the house, we eventually found ourselves in a quiet corner. The bustle of people that had surrounded us just moments before had faded away, leaving us in a stillness that was almost eerie. He pushed me back with a strong force and my back crashed into the wall behind me. He caged me with his arms and forcefully fed me the drink. I swallowed hard gazing deep into his eyes. He came closer to me, swallowing all the air between us, we were merely an inch apart. Our chests collided as I took in harsh breaths. I pushed his hard-built chest in an attempt to free myself but nothing worked, tears flowed down my cheeks as I said "Please, stop!"
I yelled at the top of my lungs for help, but the blaring DJ drowned out my cries. He took my lips with his and I stood there silently struggling, kicking his legs, hitting his chest but nothing seemed to work. His lips moved roughly over mine, he bit my lips with his teeth, and I tasted copper as blood flowed down my tongue. He left my lips swelled. His hands moved from my waist to the curves of my breast, he then held my nape in a firm grip tilting my head up to look at his face. I closed my eyes tightly as a feeling of disgust coursed through my body.
He trailed kisses down my neck and bit near my collar bone making me scream. I kicked his feet with my heels, he groaned in pain and got away from me. I found this as the perfect opportunity to run away. I ran at the full speed. Walking downstairs I searched for Anyla, I looked at every corner of the room but she was nowhere to be found. I cried upon realising what just happened. I stalked towards the gate but before I could get out suddenly my eyes blacked out and I fainted in the garden.
As I woke up and saw two people talking in front of me. "Her drink was spiked"
"I was with her for most of the time."
Voices came faint to me I rubbed my eyes open and the scenes came to mind yet again. I stood up and ran towards the washroom. I washed my face with cold water trying to remove his marks from my body I turned the shower on and stood below it as cold water ran through my body. I heard loud thuds on the door
"Shiu, are you okay?"
"Shiu open the door"
I stood silent crying tears out. After 10 minutes I went outside, I saw Anyla sitting on the couch with her eyes closed. Her eyes flew open upon hearing my steps. She walked close to me and wiped my wet face with her hands "You will get sick Shiu"
She took out fresh clothes from the cupboard and a towel. I stood silently as she wiped me down. Tears flowed down my eyes. She took off the wet clothes from my body and dressed me in a fresh pair. I looked at myself in the mirror, red eyes, lips swollen and red bites near my neck and collar bones. I bawled my eyes out after seeing myself in this condition. She hugged me tightly from behind and told me everything would be alright. She held me there until I stopped crying and whispered in my ear "I love you, Shiu."
She led me towards the bed, sat beside me and I slept clinging to her.
Flashback ends...
I decided from that very day that I would never go to any house parties. My faith in Kanha increased from that day because if he hadn't saved me that day much worse could have happened.
This time as well I was going to trust Kanha. I nodded in agreement to Anyla. This time we would be successful with our plan. Anyla smiled and gave me an encouraging hug. I felt a newfound sense of courage, knowing that I would be supported by Kanha. I was ready to face whatever life threw my way. We planned the details of our plan and decided to take help from Rishaan. We told the whole thing to him over the call. My phone buzzed inside my pockets, I took it out and it blamed with a message from the stalker "I was waiting for it baby, let's meet on Sunday at Elite Prime Hotel."
Today was Friday. We have two days to plan out everything. I was terrified but there was no going back now.
My hands were shaking as I replied to him, "At 7 pm."
I threw my phone away and took a deep breath. This was going to be challenging yet exciting and I am prepared for everything that comes my way.
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3000+ words
So this is it for today guys. Don't forget to drop some amazing comments. Your comments are my only motivation. Also, do vote for the chapter. It will only take a few of your seconds and will keep me motivated to write more and more content for you!!
This chapter was a little too traumatising for me to write which is why the update was delayed.
The next chapter is going to be exciting and you will love it. Till then happy reading.
The next chapter will be out soon.
Thank you my lovelies!! ❤️