"Have something"
"Hello have something!"
"Excuse me, can you hear me?"
It was Siddharth who was shouting at a Shivaay who seemed lost and disinterested in having to do anything. Sid had forced Shivaay to accompany him to the pub. Shivaay had been sitting all alone at home writing something in his diary continually even without coming to college, for the past two days. Sid was now forcing him to have a drink, but here Shivaay was sitting staring at his Rolex watch twisting it right and left. Sid found it too irritating.
"Shivaay!"
"Mr professor sir!"
"Hello, excuse me Mr!"
"Shivaay where are you lost?" Sid shook Shivaay by his shoulders, now irritated like nothing.
"Hmm!" Shivaay questioned startled, finally looking at Sid.
"I asked you, where are you lost?" Sid asked again, to which Shivaay gave him a faint smile.
"Ok since you are in a mission of not talking to anyone, what about having some drinks" Sid questioned forwarding him a glass of wine
"You know I don't drink Sid" Shivaay replied looking down and playing with his watch.
"I know, but having a little once in a while is just OK" Sid replied with a smirk, "Come on yaar, give me some company" Sid added
"No way, I'm better off like this"
"Ok let's leave it. Ateast tell me what's wrong with you yaar. Like come on I'm your best friend. I know everything about you yaar" Sid tried taking something out from his friend's tightly zipped mouth.
"I'm feeling all good and yeah somethings are bound to be personal" Shivaay replied with a playful smile
"Why are you acting? I know something is wrong with you"
"Why would I act alone, in fact all of us are actors and the earth is the grand stage, Remember what Shakespeare told" Shivaay replied dramatically
"You are hiding something behind this smile yaar, I know it Shivaay. You can't cheat me" Sid said sipping his wine.
"I can't do anything if you think so" Shivaay replied him back playfully
"At least answer this question please, I'm asking you for the umpteenth time where is Annika? What is going on between you two" Sid questioned frustrated
"I'll give you the same answer for the umpteenth time too. She's your friend so you better call her and inquire her about her whereabouts. And nothing is wrong between us" Shivaay replied
"You are a liar man" Sid replied pointing his finger at Shivaay's head
"I know I'm a liar already. Get done with your drinks soon, I've to go home too" Shivaay replied casually and turned to his mobile phone and started reading something in it.
"So that you can start your great Guinness record winning diary writing again?"
"Wow, absolutely correct man" Shivaay replied with a thumbs up and turned to his phone again
"Ok, wait for a second, ill use the washroom and come soon" Sid replied getting up from the comfy High stool.
"The pleasure is all mine" came back the curt reply from Shivaay.
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Shivaay was playing a game of candy crush in his phone casually when he felt his heart beating fast all of a sudden. He could feel the atmosphere around him lighting all of a sudden, his breath hitched.
In she walked into the pub with Samar and prinku. She looked extremely pale with eye bags under her vibrant brown eyes, but had a smile adoring his lips, that smile, that pleasant smile that adorned her lips naturally without even trying. That smile which had made Shivaay go mad always.
As soon as he saw her again after two whole days, his eyes started watering in its own. Like they had been longing to see her badly. His heart started paining from within. Only he knew how he had managed for the past two days without seeing her, without hearing her voice, without talking to her, without arguing ceaselessly with her, without fighting with her, without hearing that broken laughter of hers, simply all in all without her. He had worn a mask and was putting on a facade to be strong for the past two days. He hadn't she'd even a drop of tear, absolutely not. In fact he was determined in finding out Why Annika was upset with him all of a sudden. He had made up his mind that he'd not shed tears not even a drop without trying, trying to get her back. But still he couldn't find out a single reason about what made her this upset all of a sudden that too within a days time.
She sat there on a table with her friends. Seeing her with his naked eyes, before him evoked all the bottled up emotions within him. He could bear it no more longer, he was finding it hard to control, after all he loved the woman insanely and knew he'd never be able to love again. Love had deceived him once, but he was not going to allow it to deceive him yet another time. Never, he wanted her back and he'd get her back no matter what. Only if he could find that one reason behind her suddenly changed behaviour.
Unable to control any further and his trailing thoughts about her ditching him all of a sudden for no reason doing the final rounds within him, he gulped down the glass of alcohol that was lying in front of him on the table. She smiled faintly at something Prinku had said and that pierced his soul, he again poured himself another glass of alcohol and gulped it down. Finally within five minutes he had gulped down the entire bottle of alcohol, his unsteady head fell on the table and he broke down into a puddle of tears.
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"Anni what'd you have? May be juice! And you prinku, a glass of cocktail right" Samar questioned
"Yes cocktail" prinku chirped excitedly
"I don't want anything, you guys carry on. I'll leave now" Annika replied
"Come on yaar, it is not even 15 minutes yet, stay for a little longer" prinku pleaded
"No prinku, I better leave....." Annika started again
"Anyways what'd you do all alone in that house of yours" Samar chided and Annika became quiet
"You guys stay here while I'd get the drinks" Samar replied and walked away. Just then Prinku's phone rang and Priyanka went away to attend it. Annika sat there all alone, looking at thinks awkwardly.
She never preferred coming to places like this. But Prinku and Samar had literally forced her into coming here with them, with their tauntings, it wouldn't be wrong if it was said that Samar and prinku had literally carried her here. She sat here all lost waiting for either of her friends to turn up.
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"Hellooo Doctor" came a voice that completely shocked an Annika who was partly dozing off into a light sleep extremely bored.
Annika was shocked seeing a completely unsteady Shivaay sitting opposite to her in their table. He looked completely drunk and out of his senses. Annika knew Shivaay never drank, he had said it to her. He had in fact told her that he didn't even know how alcohol even tasted. Annika was bewildered seeing him like this.
"He's drunk because of you. Do you get it Mrs Annika Shivaay singh oberoi, yes that's your name got it Mrs?"
"Hello Doctor Annika!" Shivaay called out again laughing heartily
"Shivaay!" Annika exclaimed completely shocked
"Oh ho so you remember me still" Shivaay mocked clapping his hands happily
"Shivaay what did you drink?" Annika questioned strictly
"Leave that aside doctor. The thing that you still remember me makes me happy doctor."
"You still know who I am right? Let me introduce myself again for my satisfaction" Shivaay laughed
"Shivaay Enough" Annika tried convincing him
"No doctor I wanna introduce my self. I'm mister Shivaay, your husb....... oops sorry your loving FRIEND" Shivaay strongly mouthed the word friend with a tinge of sarcasm and then added, "whom you ditched four days ago, even without reasoning properly" Shivaay finished off, with silent sobs mixed with laughter and fainted on the table.
"Shivaay!" Annika shouted running to him, wiping away her tears.
"Shivaay! Are you okay" she shouted panicking, patting his face gently but nope there wasn't any response. She didn't know what to do. She was confused, there was none she could ask help from, everybody here in the pub were lost in their own world, with some dancing away wildly. Each person was in their own world paying no attention to their whereabouts and Annika didn't know what to do.
She tried calling prinku and Samar. One's phone was busy and the other's one was switched off. She felt like pulling out her hair, seeing Shivaay's state. Having no option left, she finally made up her mind to leave him at his flats. She made a fully collapsed Shivaay stand straight with all the strength she had and then supported him on her shoulders. She wrapped his one hand around her own neck, held him with her both hands much difficulty and started walking out stumbling. She was finding it hard to manage this manly figure all alone.
With much difficulty all alone, she reached the car park and made Shivaay sit in the front passenger seat with much difficulty and tied the seat belt around him. She was about to sit in her seat and drive off when she noted three people laughing out under the shady tree in the park in that night. The sounds they were making were familiar to Annika, in fact she was very much acquainted to it. She walked to them and was shocked to see the trio Sid, prinku and Samar laughing away chatting something.
Finally annika could understand what had happened. She was finally able to put two and two together. Anger started rising within her.
"Waah, kudos a person doesn't need an enemy when he or she has friends like you" She blurted out with a tinge of sarcasm.
Sid, samar and prinku stood rooted to the spot on seeing her.
"Care to explain anything?" Annika shouted and all three looked down.
"Annika......" Sid tried to speak
"You shut up Sid. He's completely drunk. Don't you know he doesn't drink" Annika blasted him
"We are sorry" prinku tried speaking
"You though SHUT UP. Don't even see my face again" Annika spoke wiping away her tears and walked away. Prinku, Samar and Sid stood their with bowed down heads. They had just wanted their friends to be together again.
Sid had asked Shivaay what had made him to be aloof of life all of a sudden. Shivaay hadn't come to college since his return from Australia and Sid had found it to be too suspicious. But Shivaay hadn't said him anything. Sid had questioned him about Annika's whereabouts to which Shivaay had replied that it was their personal matter and that it would be nice if Sid gave him the needed privacy. He had called Annika too, but the voice over had said that the phone was switched off. He had tried meeting her at the hospital but she hadn't been available. Sid had found it to be strange and hence had devised a plan with Samar and Prinku whom he had met at the hospital when he had gone there in search of Annika. It was then that it became clear to both parties that something was wrong between the Duo. Samar had suggested that it'd be better if they'd talk it out. Hence the trio had devised this plan of letting them meet.
"Aww a friend in need is a friend in deed. Right guys"
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"Annika baba" Suresh kaka exclaimed happily as soon as he saw Annika get down of the car. Annika gave him a faint smile and asked him to help her take Shivaay in.
With Shivaay's hands wrapped around each other Suresh kaka helped Annika climb up the stairs to his flats. Suresh kaka then left and Annika accompanied him into his bedroom and made him lie down on the bed carefully. She removed his shoes and socks away. She helped him out of his jacket and it was then that she noticed the watch she had gifted him on his wrist. She smiled looking at it, wiped away her tears and turned around to leave when she fell a tug on her hand.
She turned around to see a Shivaay holding her finger strongly and muttering in his drowsy state, "Don't leave doctor."
Tears sprang down Annika's eyes seeing Shivaay's state. She was already finding it hard to leave him and now that she was trying this man was making it even harder for her. She was just trying to make things better for him and his only love Tia. What he was feeling for her was just a liability of responsibility and Annika didn't want to be a burden of that type on Shivaay.
She tried removing his hand from her fingers. But no, he was not ready to leave it. She sat beside him on the bed and spoke stroking his hair with her other hand,
"Shivaay don't make it difficult for both of us. You might be feeling guilty for not being able to fulfil your promise to my papa. But I'm perfectly aware of it and am not at all angry at you for it. I don't wanna be a burden on you or your agony" Annika started sobbing and continued
"Things will be fine once I leave you. I don't want you to repent late that you weren't able to reunite with your first love because of me", She wiped off her tears and stroked the wrinkles on his forehead with a smile
"I can feel the pain of losing your first love Shivaay. I'm going through it. It's like choking you to death while you still wanna live. I don't want you to go through that pain which you've endured already all over again. I dont want you to loose Tia again because of me", Annika again broke down, but wiped away her tears.
"First love" she laughed out very loud painfully.
She went close to his ears and whispered
"Whatever May come or whatever May happen, I'll always keep loving you although I know I don't deserve you, you deserve someone great and composed like Tia not me who is clumsy and always eats up your head" She ended it with a painful laugh.
"Sorr...y for raising..... my hand at you.... that da...y docto...r. I didn't mea..n......it" Shivaay muttered again.
"S..Orr..y.. F..o..r..g...I...v...e..ME" he continued muttering.
Shivaay's tight grip slowly loosened and Annika could not hold it longer. She wasn't absolutely angry at him for raising his hands at her that morning. She knew that she had angered him to that extent and forced him into it. She had actually run away from him that day faking anger, truly wanting to escape his questions that had started torturing her conscience and not absolutely because he had raised his hands at her. For one last time she ran her fingers through his hair, nose, ears, face, forehead reminiscing his features, carving it deep within her soul not knowing whether she'd get another moment with him. She then got up and ran down the stairs sobbing.
"Annika baba, what happened? Are you leaving again" Suresh kaka questioned worried to which Annika held his hand placed it on her head and made him promise her that he'd not reveal Shivaay that she had been here. She then drove off, determined not to see him again.
"But wait did you think what my plan is Annika? You and Shivaay have turned me into an emotional mess. But wait I'll soon solve the mess you have created. Wait and watch. Hello guys it's me Destiny"
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My heart felt SINCERE APOLOGIES to every reader of mine here. Life is unpredictable and that's its beauty, I thought of updating yesterday but couldn't due to unavoidable reasons. But I think I'm free again and will be able to update regularly.
AGAIN SORRY FOR NOT RESPONDING TO THE COMMENTS TOO, I COULDN'T REALLY FIND TIME.
SORRY AGAIN!
Thank you for everything and I hope you enjoy reading this long chapter and would hence forgive me. Hope I'm forgiven.
Yours Tabitha🎷...