The case was over, criminal was caught. The team came out of the house Abhijeet didn't talk much. Anyone who would look at him would tell he was in some kind of trance, just lost in his own thoughts. His train of thoughts was broken by ACP sirs voice.
ACP: Abhijeet, theek ho na? (with a naughty smile) kuch pi toh nahi liya yaha pe?
Abhijeet (smiling) : Arre nahi sir, kaisi baatein kar rahe hai...Main peeta nahi hun aapko pata hai.
ACP: Haa haa pata hai pata hai. Chalo ab party ho gayi ya aur kuch baaki hai
Abhijeet: Ab kya party sir...ghar hi jaana hai ab.
ACP: Thik hai chalo fir humare saath chhod denge tum dono ko
Abhijeet: Nahi thik hai sir. Subah gaadi laaya tha. Hum chale jayenge don't worry.
ACP: Thik hai. See you tomorrow.
ACP and others left. Abhijeet looked at tarika with a lot of concern, went near her. She passed a very genuine smile to him and asked through her eyes kya hua?
In response, he just shook his head touched her face and hugged her showing clearly how much the incident had affected him. She hugged him back.After breaking the hug, she asked "Chalein?"
The ride was going unusually silent.Abhijeet still didn't even look at her. A feeling of guilt clearly visible in his eyes. He just kept on driving silently. Tarika was just stealing glances at him, trying to figure out how to convince him that whatever happened wasn't his fault. Because she knew that was exactly what he was feeling.
"Arre kaha jaa rahe ho? " Tarika finally said breaking the long uncomfortable silence
"Ye raasta tumhare ghar jaata hai. Bhulne ki beemari kabse ho gayi aapko madam?" Said abhijeet trying to sound as normal as possible
"Obviously pata hai mujhe ye rasta mere ghar jaata hai Mr. Sarcastic. Lekin mujhe laga hum tumhare ghar jaa rahe hai. Pure din ki chhutti hai aise hi Barbaad karni hai kya? " Said tarika hoping he will cheer up a little
"Achha kya karna hai mere ghar jaakar ab? Mujhe koi romantic movie nahi dekhni hai please."
"Haa haa thik hai mat dekhna. Chai to pila sakte ho na apne haath ki? Mere sar mein thoda dard ho raha hai. Chai piyungi toh shayad thoda achha lage" She wasn't really having a headache but who would miss his special adrak wali chai right?
"Achcha theek hai chalo " Although he knew she was just doing this to not leave him alone.
When they reached home Abhijeet just crashed on the sofa his face still revealing the battle going on inside his head. Tarika sat besides him resting her head on his shoulders. He quickly pecked her forehead and stared into the ground. She kept her palm on his cheek made him face her.
"Please tell me you are not blaming yourself for this whole thing " She said although she knew what he was feeling.
He just looked down again, not wanting to answer her question
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was salunkhe, obviously desparate to hear that she is safe. She picked up
"Hello! Tarika bacche theek toh ho na tum? kaha ho? ACP pohonch gaya waha pe? kuch hua toh nahi na tumhe? Bolo..." A very worried Dr. salunkhe spoke very loudly, enough for abhijeet to hear without even turning the speaker on
"Relax sir! I am perfectly fine. Acp sir aur abhijeet ne sahi time pe aake bacha liya"
"Good. Ab kahan ho tum? Don't tell me abhi bhi abhijeet ke saath ho..."
"Usike saath hu sir uske ghar par " said tarika slightly irritated.
"Kamaal hai! Itna sab hone ke baad bhi uske saath kya kar rahi ho? phone do usse bolta hun mein usko ghar chhod aaye tumhe uske saath rehne ki koi jaroorat nahi..."
Hearing this abhijeets face fell even more. Everything that was going on inside his head, Dr. salunkhe was saying just that.
Tarika noticed him. she immediately said,
"Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai sir! Isme abhijeet ki kya galati? galati to uss criminal ki hai. Uski galatfehmi ki wajah se hua hai ye sab abhijeet ki wajah se nahi. Please aap usko aise blame mat kariye "
"Tumhe to kabhi uski galatiyan nazar hi nahi aati hai tarika. Ek baat kaan kholke wo bhi sunn le agar uski wajah se tumhe kuch bhi hua to chhodunga nahi usse mein " said Dr. salunkhe loud enough knowing abhijeet would be hearing this.
"Hum baadmein baat karte hai sir " said tarika immediately cutting the call as she knew things would just get worse if she continued talking to her boss.
"Abhijeet please tum unki baat dil par mat lo. Tumhe pata hai na wo kaise hai...gusse mein bol dete hain kuch bhi..." She said very genuinely.
"Waise toh aise bohot kam hota hai ki mein salunkhe sir ki baat pe agree karu, lekin iss baar mujhe agree karna padega. Meri wajah se hi hua hai ye sab tarika. Tumhe kuch ho jaata toh mein kabhi khud ko maaf nahi kar paata " said Abhijeet finally speaking out his mind
"Lekin kuch hua to nahi na? kyu itna soch rahe ho?"
"Is baar kuch nahi hua...lekin uske jaise pata nahi kitne criminals hai jo mujhse badla lene ke liye kisi bhi hadd tak jaa sakte hai...har baar mein aa paunga ki nahi time par...i don't know"
"Tab ki tab dekh lenge na...ab aise tum muh latkaye baithe rahoge to problem solve nahi ho jayegi...and waise bhi tum jitna samajhte ho usse to kahi jyada strong hu main...kuch ho bhi jaata hai to I can protect myself... jyada hero mat samjho tum mujhe bachake " she said with a hint of smile on her face.
"Ofcourse I know how strong you are! No doubts about that. But...you know...mere job ki wajah se bohot dushman bante hai mere aur automatically tumhare bhi...mere wajah se tumhari jaan ko bhi khatra hai" He said in a very disappointed tone
"Achha toh salunkhe sir bhi tumhari girlfriend hai kya?" she asked
"Hein! kya? Acp sir mujhe puch rahe the lekin tumne kuch pi liya kya waha par? kaisa sawal hai ye" Abhijeet said slightly annoyed
"Nahi hai na...fir bhi unke jaan ko bhi to khatra hai...unhe bhi to kitne threats aate rehte hai...wo thodina tumhare wajah se hai..."
Abhijeet just looked at her. Still not getting her point.
"All I am saying is...as forensic experts hume bhi khatra toh hai and we are very aware of that...aur rahi baat mein tumhari girlfriend hun to mere liye added khatra hai and all that...(leaning a little closer to him)...you are worth all that" She said pecking his cheeks
He smiled for the first time in a while and then shook his head
"Tumse argue karna difficult hota jaa raha hai yaar...lekin jo bhi ho i'll always protect you" He said lovingly
She smiled, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his hand around her.
"See... I feel protected already. For me just being with you is the safest place in the whole world and no threat can take that away from me. Ever. "
He smiled genuinely. Suddenly feeling very light. That's the magic that she has got. Just a few words from her can heal a lot of things for him. This was just one of such moments.
"Abhi? chai nahi banaoge?" She said after some time.
"Arre haan! bhool gaya mein...lekin...humari shakale toh dekho pehle...ye rang to nikalna padega na...nahana padega pehle " He said looking meaningfully at her
"Arre haan! Ofcourse aur hum dono nahayenge paani kitna waste hoga ye sab nikalte nikalte..." She said. Getting exactly what he was trying to convey.
"Exactly! paani to bilkul waste nahi karna chahiye. Mujhe bohot nafrat hai aise logo se jo paani waste kar dete hain..." He said, smirking.
"Chalo ab chupchaap...lets clean this up" She said blushing.
He got up quickly. Took her into his arms and they saved a lot of water which would have got wasted if they took a shower separately.
Chai was forgotten for a long time after that ;)
AN :That was my first story guys. Thank you for all the reviews I got for just saying hello. I am so excited to be here.
please drop your reviews on what you thought about this one. constructive criticism is always welcomed.
See you in the next one. Hopefully soon :)