"Please put me down, I can walk", I flapped my legs half halfheartedly to come down. Even though it was dark and there were only a few onlookers yet it was embarrassing to be carried the way he was carrying me.
"I am sure you can...it just that I am compensating"
"Compensating??? for what??", I asked in a confused tone.
"I didn't help you carry the bags this morning and you got annoyed so I just thought of making it up to you", he confessed sheepishly.
A smile was dying to hit my lips at his words but I managed to conceal it behind my annoyance.
"What was the need of behaving like that with Dhruv?? It could have been something serious..Kuch ho jata usse toh"
"Are you concerned about him or me?", he asked in an irritated tone.
"BOTH", I said it a little louder than my usual tone and he suddenly stopped and looked at me. It was obvious that he didn't like the answer. But I was in no mood to answer as I had too many questions, "I need an answer Manik...why did you behave like that??", I jerked his collar to make him utter something.
"I...I don't like... him...WITH YOU", he confessed with wandering eyes.
I could see a raw vulnerability in his eyes. I didn't know how should have I reacted to this statement of his but still needed him to answer.
"Kyun??", I asked him in my softest tone.
He gaped at my questioning eyes for a minute and then put me down to stand on my feet, "See if you can walk now".
These sudden behavioural changes in him would kill me some day. But I didn't express my displeasure rather tried moving my foot clockwise and anticlockwise to check if it was fine. Even though it hurt a little but I didn't admit.
"Yes it's okay"
"Fine then go to that shack..", he pointed to one at a little distance, "everyone is having dinner there...go join them", he said and took a step back.
"Where are you going??"
"I will be back in sometime but please be with the group and don't wander alone", he sounded more commanding than requesting.
He left in the opposite direction that I had to take and I kept looking at his retreating footsteps on the sand. Why did I feel like listening to him? When he reacted because I called him a criminal, somewhere I wanted to be proven wrong. Also in the afternoon when he didn't want me to be with Dhruv, I wanted to listen to him nevertheless I never admitted it. With Manik around I was experiencing an array of emotions which was beyond my understanding.
I slowly walked up to the shack to find everyone. I didn't find Navya there but her parents offered me to join them. I politely excused them and came to Mukti, Cabir and Abhimanyu. Cabir gave me a wide welcoming smile, Abhimanyu greeted me formally and Mukti just nodded.
"Hey Nandini please join us", Cabir pulled the chair for me like a true gentleman.
"Thank you Cabir...actually I wanted to ask..Is Dhruv okay now?? I mean his nose..."
"Nandini he is absolutely fine..he has got a dressing done on his nose and now he is resting in his room...don't worry his friends are there with him", he tried to assure me about Dhurv's well being.
"What was with Manik?? Why did he hit the poor chap like that", Abhimanyu seemed upset with Manik's reckless behaviour.
"Chill Abhi he was just playing and you know Manik.. how aggressive he gets during games", Mukti tried to defend the action of her friend.
"Okay fine guys enough of that.. can we have food now? I can't resist these crabs..Nandini just dig in", Cabir tried to draw our off centric attention.
"Ummm sorry I am a vegetarian", I sniffed my nose at the sight of the giant crabs served in front of me.
"Oops sorry I will arrange for something else for you"
Cabir immediately called out for the waiter and I ordered for some pasta with white sauce. I didn't have an appetite to have anything heavy at that time. The dinner went quite nice with them. Cabir had an amazing sense of humor, he had the ability to derive humor from the simplest of things. It was hard to believe that he was in a profession like that. While Mukti half the times snapped at his jokes and rest joined him for a laugh, Abhi was mostly quiet and give insisting smiles when needed. As we were done with our dinner Cabir and Abhi stepped out to smoke and Mukti and me sat back and waited for them.
"So come on tell me what you want to know?", Mukti leaned over the table on her arms and looked at me carefully.
"Know what??", I was a little surprised by her sudden question.
"Ahh I know you were not here to ask about Dhruv...it is about Manik..isnt it...I have been noticing you two since morning and if I am not mistaken you are the reason for Dhruv's broken nose", he raised her eyebrows inquisitively.
I really didn't know how to counter her questions and judgements knowing most of it was true. But it was good that she started it because now I had the lead and I could actually ask what I wanted to know
"I am sorry about that... I don't know why Manik behaved like that", I said in a clueless tone.
Mukti spared a snort "Well it's just that my friend is a lethal combination of being aggressive and possessive...but don't worry he won't hurt you"
"I want to know about him...why is he the way he is..who is he?? What does do?? I cant understand his behaviour at one time he his sweet and in the next moment he is rude..I don't know how do I...", I flapped my hands and gasped while asking because that was only what I could do while talking about Manik.
"Wooo wooo ..that's a lot of questions..he seems to have cast his spell on you already...you look completely bowled over him", she chuckled at her friend's mesmerising abilities.
I was sure that I had made a fool of myself by asking those questions. If she had doubts about me I had obviously confirmed them that I was smitten by Manik all over. Mukti saw me stealing looks and started again.
"Amm I don't know if I should actually share these things with you but looking at your current state I think I should..so to start with let me tell you...he is that way because that is how he is or should I say he has become, a little eccentric, a little obnoxious, a little unreasonable, a little uncaring, a little mad... You know his name and about what does he do..well practically he doesn't need to do anything. He is the sole inheritor of the Malhotra empire they specialise in diamond business across India and eastern Africa and if you are talking about his world famous behaviour so well there is a story behind that too..he wasn't like this all the time..he used to be the most fun loving guy in our group but then something happened and he changed"
"What happened??", I was really curious to know more after the initial introduction.
"His brother..his only family died 3 years back..he was a drug addict and had screwed his life big time..he got involved in drug peddling then mafia and a lot more..by the time Manik came to know about it, Pratik was already in deep shit..Manik tried so hard to revive him but all his efforts went in vain...cops got involved...Pratik was arrested and was sent to juvenile custody as he was 17 at that time. He was also undergoing rehab when those people who he used to trade with targeted him and killed him. He was shot 8 times right in front of Manik's eyes. Manik also got shot on his chest in his drive to save Pratik but couldn't", she paused for a while to draw breath into her choking lungs while she narrated the gruesome incident.
So the mark on Manik's chest was actually a bullet shot and he was not kidding.
"He helplessly saw Pratik collapse right in front of him. That was the biggest blow to him. He blamed himself for not being able to save Pratik and was in trauma for a long time. It took him a lot of time to be normal but he had changed somewhere and became the person that you see today. He is confused and lonely; he is possessive yet is scared to have anyone near him. Well at least he has started smiling again but I really don't know what I can do to have that friend of mine back. This is the time of the year that the tragedy happened 3 years back that's why we friends make sure that every year we take him to holidays away from the town during this time. There is a lot of pain that he hides in him and would never show anyone... But strangely in the last 15 hours I have seen a tremendous change in him. He is happy, he is upset, he is irritated, he is confused, he is jealous and angry and I suppose you are the reason"
I really didn't know if I should have treated that as a compliment or a charge but at least I could revive emotions in him. All this while I was going crazy to know more about him and now that I was told I was having a hard time dealing with it. Losing family had to me the most unbearable pain that I could have in his life. I could never imagine his pain but I connected with him. I felt extremely bad for Manik after Mukti told me about him. I had charged him as a criminal and now I know how much it must have hurt him to have been referred to the word that he probably hated the most. Although my queries were still not answered completely. I was still confused about his behaviour with me. Well with all what had happened since morning vouched that I affected him, he was concerned for me and the kiss..maybe he liked me or maybe I wanted him to like me but one thing was for sure both of us affected each other immensely.
I was so much into my thoughts that I did not realise Cabir and Abhi were back. I wanted to ask them about Manik but I didn't. I wanted to see him especially after knowing about his life I felt for him. We came back and retired to our rooms but I had to see Manik. I went to his room but it was locked so disappointed I came back. I was inattentive when I spoke to Mom before going to bed and went to sleep with his thoughts .
***
I was in deep sleep when I felt something around my tummy. I felt it with my hand, it was something binding me. I gasped out of breath and tried to get up but couldn't. I was about to scream but I felt a hand cover my mouth.
"Shhh!!! Its me...lie down"
I knew his voice immediately calmed down. I listened to him and got back on the pillow. I tried to switch on my bed lamp so that I could see him.
"Let it be like this only..please", he whispered softly into my ears.
"Manik how did you get inside?", I swirled my hand around me to know his positioning. He was lying beside me. His head was on the pillow somewhere in between my hair and neck, I felt his lips move on my neck.
"Because I wanted to...where there is will there is a way you see", he giggled softly on my neck, "Are you still mad at me?", his grip around me tightened further.
"No"
"Then can I please sleep with you here"
"Did you intend to take my permission before sneaking into my room and on my bed?"
"Sorry...its so hard to stay away from you", he snuggled more.
I felt a little ticklish and tried to move but he didn't let me.
"You confuse me...in one moment you are so close so sweet to me and the other moment you are rude you behave as if you don't know me... Do you like me?", I asked him helplessly unable to hold back my emotions.
"I don't know...it's just that I like to see you, to be near you, to touch you to kiss you", he softly pecked on my cheek and moved to my earlobe.
"You promise you won't laugh if I tell you something"
He laughed a little as if he already knew what I was going to say, "What??"
"I used to dream of you every night since that kiss of ours", it was dark as such we couldn't see each other yet I closed my eyes to hide my embarrassment.
He laughed silently, "And I couldn't kiss anyone else after that night", he kissed me on the head and pulled me on top of him.
He wrapped me like a blanket over him. I was hardly able to cover any part of his but his warm embrace made me feel relaxed. I could feel his heartbeat. I touched the petrusion on his chest and remembered everything that Mukti told me about him, his fear, his insecurities. I really wanted to talk to him about it and a lot other things but it just wasn't the moment. He was at peace and I didnt want to upset it. After the madness throughout the day I didn't think I would get this solace in his arms. I smiled and closed my eyes but the next moment we heard a loud thud.
"What was that??", Manik raised his head to figure out.
"May be it is something outside let me check", I got up and switched on the lights and went to the door. I opened it slightly and looked around to see no one, "It's nothing here..may be across the hallway"
"I will go check", Manik stepped out and I too followed him.
We ran through the hallway to locate the sound and at the end of it we saw Navya with someone, we hurried to her. It was past midnight, the entire hallway was empty and our eager footsteps broke the grim silence of the hour quite brutally.
"Navya what are you doing here so late?? And who is this person?", I tried to identify the person lying on the floor with his face on the opposite side while Manik bend down to check on him.
"Ha..Har..Harshad... I don't know what happened to him suddenly...I had ju..just co..come to meet him an..and we were talk..talking when he just coll...collapsed on the floor", Navya looked petrified at the sight in front of him and stammered incessantly.
"Drug overdose!!", Manik announced after looking at the foam coming out of his mouth and inspecting his condition.
"What???", both Navya and me said in unison. For a moment I couldn't understand what was happening.
"Yes either he has been taking drugs or has been drugged by someone... Navya since when were you with him? Did you see him having something? Or talking to someone? ", Manik enquired further.
"No..I... I...don't know anything... I haven't done anything...I swear please", she had started crying at Manik's questions.
"Navya... Manik is not blaming you..please stop crying..", I tried to console her and looked at Manik, "He needs medical help right now... I will go inform Dhruv and his friends", I suggested and tried to take a step.
"DON'T!!", Manik retorted in a loud yet compressed tone, "I will handle this.. You guys go to your room and do not discuss this with anyone...I mean NO ONE", he made sure we understood what he meant.
I couldn't understand Manik's instructions and more so I was scared for him now. If not anything else I at least knew using drugs was a crime and cops could be involved and the very thought scared me to death. The sudden correlation of this incident with Manik's past haunted me.
"Manik you are not doing this...let's just inform the hotel staff and his friends and they will do what they need do but I don't want you in this ", I grabbed his shirt and almost ordered him.
At that point I did not want to think that I had no right on him. I was so afraid that I didn't care for anything or anyone else. I wanted Manik to be safe and away from trouble.
"Nandini please... I can't leave him like this...don't worry it isn't anything major... I will take him with me and by the morning he will be fine..so you guys relax and go to your rooms and yes let's keep it to ourselves or this guy... Harshad could be in deep trouble", Manik partly pleaded partly commanded us to leave from there ASAP.
Navya wanted to run from there at the word go. She seemed extremely disturbed and I was sure from here on she will not be anywhere near Harshad. Somewhat reluctantly we followed his instructions and walked back. I kept looking back at Manik. He was on phone talking to someone. He looked tensed and worried. He paced around Harshad trying to decide on his next move. I don't know but a strange fear engulfed me, the fear of losing him even before I found him. I had a feeling that I won't see him again. I turned back immediately and ran back to him straight into his arms and hugged him tight. Manik was a little taken aback by my sudden move.
"Manik... the first thing in the morning tomorrow... I want to see you... please...please", I mumbled in his chest.
"Nandini what's wrong?? Why are you so scared I told you na I will take care of this..please don't stress okay...now go to your room before anyone comes here", he rubbed my back to calm me down.
It was hard to leave him there but I didn't argue and retired to my room.