Pia's pov
Much to my surprise, Kabir and I survived. It took him a while to understand that I hated his expensive gifts and liked his little gestures more but he eventually got there.
The only one unhappy with this was T, she left no chance to insult me and made every move she could on Kabir, and much to my delight he never slipped.
Life was normal, there were no more than two fainting spells in the next one month.
Panchi and Danish decided to get engaged, which her parents didn't allow, which led to a huge fight.
I would spend no more than three days in a row at the hostle before Misha would drag me back to her place, after the fifth time, the matron stopped asking.
When I asked her why she said she just thought I belonged at her place. The thought scared me. My father was their father, and he had no idea who I was. My mother's passing day came and I spent the day locked in my room, crying. There was tension in Dobriyal mansion for five days after that day.
"What is wrong with everyone?" Misha yelled. "Mom and dad are upset, Pia is upset. It's like you are their daughter and not us, upset family."
Misha's uncanny observation was scary as hell.
And then came Misha's birthday.
"T called me an ugly faggot the other day, time to take revenge." She said wickedly and approached T.
"Hi T, since you used to come un invited to my birthdays when we were young, I decided to invite you this time." She said snidely.
"You think I want to come?"
"It's your choice, we have been fighting for too long, bad times come and go but you stay, so if you want to come, it's Halloween theamed, and the one with scariest make up gets a make up kit from my mum."
T paused. "Which one?"
"L'oreal" Misha replied.
"If you insist i will be there." T said and strutted away.
I looked at her in confusion. "There is no theame" she explained and I snickered.
"Abhay Raichand" the teacher announced as she was distributing our assignments. My hands clenched and I looked down.
He had disappeared the day of Kabir's birthday, it's been almost a month. His parents were still here. I wanted to go and check up on him but word travelled too fast here, I didn't want to upset Misha and Kabir.
And I saw him every night, in my dreams. He wouldn't say much, just sleep next to me, holding me close. Or we would be in a castle, stealing glances across the hall, hiding from someone.
I tried getting in trouble once, because he would always appear to save me, all it got me was a huge lecture from the entire family about driving a bike.
I pointed it out that Misha rode one all the time and they told me Misha wasn't an accident magnet, which made them all pause and look at each other before they burst out laughing.
The party was in full swing when Misha turned the music down.
"Okay everyone, phones out, you don't want to miss this," and then she turned the music to some scary techno. We all gathered around the gate and waited patiently.
The door burst open and in came three witches, complete with moles and fake hairs, just to make the best impression, she laughed maniacally.
She cut off as she saw us all, holding our phones out.
She turned to Misha. "You will regret this"
"Oo save me somebody the evil witch has cursed me."
She walked out after that.
The party was a blast and Panchi, who was the only sober person at the end of night dropped me and kabir home.
That night the dream was more real than ever, and I slept more peacefully then I ever had. I touched my lips as i was getting ready.
"Misha I forgot my pen, again" I said not looking up from my bag the moment she sat down. A pen entered my field if vision and my Skipped a beat, I took his initial engraved pen and turned to the front.
"You are back" i whispered.
"Why? Did you miss me?" He asked and I ignored him. Misha glared at him the moment she entered the class and pulled out her phone.
"Hi Abhay" T said placing a manicured hand on the table. "Where were you all this time?"
"Hiding from you" he said and I couldn't hold back the snicker.
"Pia" she said. "I won't forget what happened yesterday, don't forget who you are and on what conditions you stay here."
"You don't have a reply for him so you'll attack me?" I asked mockingly.
She huffed and left.
Kabir came in next, not looking surprised at the scene. "come pia," he said holding out a hand, "you don't have to sit with this asshole."
I hesitated for a moment and took his hand. We sat in the second last bench and Abhay got up and sat on the last bench.
"It's like he is obsessed with you" Kabir whispered in my ear.
"No he is not, he hates me." I whispered back.
I don't hate you, his words from last nights dream echoed in my head. I blushed remembering the feel of his lips.
He kissed my cheeks and I gave him a surprised look. He was staking his claim.
"How about that date today?" He asked.
"You know I have work." I said rolling my eyes.
The class couldn't end soon enough.
Maya yelped in surprise when I opened the door to out room, she had showed up two weeks ago, she was third year student and had left a day before I arrived here, she worked at the same cafe as i did.
I shook my head and started getting ready for my shift. I paused as i noticed something on her arms.
"What is that?" I asked grabbing her arm before she could hide it. The bruise was in the shape of an arm. "Who did this?" I asked.
"Stay out of this" she said angrily and I stared at her in shock. "I am sorry I didn't mean to snap." She said and got back to changing.
"It's okay," I said.
Abhay was there at the cafe that day.
"What do you want?" I asked holding my notepad and pen.
He looked at me for a few seconds.
"Ask nicely." He said and my brows shot up in surprise.
"Seriously Abhay I don't have the time, what do you want."
"I'll call the manager" he said and i groaned internally.
"Welcome sir, what would you like to have?"
He smirked and said a simple latte will do.
"One spit laced latte without sugar, coming right up." He shook his head and I left.
I came back with his order when, much to my surprise, he was talking to Maya, the conversation looked heated, from Maya's side of course. At the end of it, he slapped a 500 rupee note on the table and left.
She handed the note to me and marched right out of the cafe, shrugging I drank it and pocketed the tip.
"Why are you doing this to me?" I heard her yelling early the next morning. "You know I can't handle this alone," She turned and saw my eyes open, there was a new bruise, on her face this time, she was icing it.
"Not a word" she told me firmly and I nodded. "No i wasn't speaking to you," pause " that was my roomate." Pia. " What is it to you,"..."yes i know,"...." well you don't give a shit about me either so why should I give one about your reputation." She yelled and she hung up. She flopped on my bed beside me, tears forming in her eyes.
I hugged her and she hugged me back, crying. "He promised me we would get married Pia" she cried, "and now he won't even talk to me, what am i supposed to do?"
"Why don't you report him?" I asked.
"He has anger issues he will kill me." She said and wiped away her tears.
Things went quite for a few days after that, both the families went out for a picnic and I suddenly realised how comfortable i was with them. Misha's mother pulled me aside and handed me something.
"You dropped this at home" she said and I froze as i saw my mothers necklace. "I would know that piece anywhere." She said not meeting my eyes. "Don't worry, I am not angry and I won't ask you to stay away from Misha and Panchi, you belong with us," i looked at her in surprise and she gave a soft laugh. "What my husband did wasn't your or your mother's fault."
"You knew her?" I asked and she nodded.
"I met her once, she was as shocked to see me as I was to see her, we had both been betrayed by the same man. We asked him to choose and he chose two out of his three daughters. He loved you Pia, but there were two of you here and one there, he was broken the day he received the news of your death and I had never felt so guilty about anything in my life. I don't want to make the same mistake again."
"Don't tell him." I said. "I have learned to live without him, and think about what it will do to your daughters."
She nodded after a pause.
"Aunty." I said "my mother changed my name out of fear."
She looked confused.
"She said you will have me killed, she even made Dr Gupta promise not to tell anyone who i was."
"Pia i didn't even know you existed till after we got the news." She left after that.
Maya was nursing a cut on her forehead when we got back that night.
"This is getting out of hand" i said. "You have to report him for assualt and end things with him."
"You are right."
"No you have- wait what?" I said surprised.
"It is getting out of hand." She agreed. "I will do it tomorrow."
"What is he doing here?" Abhay asked as we were rehersing lines.
"You disappeared for a month" panchi said.
"And?" He asked. "I am Romeo,"
"We have three days to the play, we got the fitting done according to Kabir's size, he has the lines memorized."
"I'll get the lines," he said tossing the paper to a side. "The fitting can be in half an hour,"
"You can't just show up.one day and take the role, you have to earn it." Kabir said.
"Exactly my point." He said turning his back to him. "Get on the balcony" he told me, without waiting for anyone, I did.
Kabir and Panchi looked at me in surprise. "I don't care who does it, it's between you three, I will wait here." I said and they rolled their eyes.
In the end they somehow picked Abhay. Kabir left angrily and Danish followed him out. Maya came in just them with bottles orange juice. She passed it to me and rushed away.
"You skipped lunch again?" Panchi asked concerned.
"Breakfast and yesterday's dinner" Maya said and I glared at her. I got up from my stool, big mistake, a wave of dizziness hot and I fell sideways and straight into Abhay's arms.
I felt his breath on my face and opened my eyes, his eyes were fixed on mine and just like that, I was lost.
Until Someone wolf whistled.
He put me down immediately.
"You should get a new Juliet, this one will faint mid show." He told panchi and she ignored him.
"Maya, make sure she doesn't skip a single meal till the play. It's like she has an aversion to solid food"
Abhay's eyes flashed to me and I raised a brow, he dragged a chair and sat down beside me, "I don't have all day, let's rehearse here."
I took a sip and nodded.
Maya smiled at me and her phone beeped. She paled for a moment and then left with a "I'll be right back." I wanted to follow her out but Abhay had already started the lines.
Halfway through the rehearsal, my feet started aching and without thinking I put them on Abhay's lap, he began massaging them softly and we both continued speaking our lines, not once looking up from the paper. We didn't notice the entire room had fallen silent and was staring at us in shock.
"Don't do that" I scolded mid dialogue as he tickled me.
"Sorry" he said and continued with the dialogue.
"Aren't you comfy" Misha's voice broke the bubble and both of us froze, I pulled my feet away and Abhay pretended to read the dialogues.
Kabir stood behind her, not looking at me, he was hurt and angry.
Kabir left and I followed him out.
"Kabir why are you mad?" I asked and he stopped. "We were just rehersing our lines."
"You don't see the way you look at him." He said and I snorted outside, inside my heart stopped.
"Hello, romeo and Juliet is a romantic play, we were rehearsing," I said.
"Danish told me a few days ago that he went to get something from Misha's room and you were saying his name in your sleep. But he said you sounded scared and told me to ask you if Abhay was hurting you."
"What?" I asked in surprise.
"So you dream about me?" Abhay's voice said, he didn't stop for a reply kept on walking.
"See that's the look I am talking about," he said and I sighed.
"I cant deal with this right now." I said and he laughed humorlessly before leaving.
"Not you too" I said as Misha talked bitterly to me as we got inside the car five minutes later.
"Pia who are you kidding?" she asked irritated, "Abhay Raichand would kill anyone' that touched him, he let you put your feet in his lap and even massaged them."
I handed her my phone, "I am either with you or kabir, that means the only way I can have an affair is through this, go on, check it."
And that's the moment Abhay picked to call. Misha answered and put it on speaker.
"Pia where are you," we exchanged a look at the urgency in his voice. "Maya is hurt"