Ta Dah!

I just realized that I did not gift MM. So this is a small gift from my side for her. Belated birthday wishes, MM! 333

And Happy Birthday to you, Sonal!

Happy Reading! :D :D

Chapter-31

The Sun peeped over from the clouds, the first rays of the morning visibly seen as the sky grew dark crimson from the indigo hue. It took thirty more minutes before the orange shade of the sky came up from the crimson, the shimmer of the strong light kissing Ranveer's feet, slowly travelling upto his face, the rays directly hitting him right on his eyes, though they were closed. His eyes slowly made a slight movement, the closed ogles making a contact with the already bright Sun. Opening his gazes after a monotonous struggle of the ticklish feel that always gave him, his hands rubbed his eyes sleepily before he yawned in heaviness, the fatigue ebbing away from his body. He felt that he was not at all tired. But what had happened? Why was his body aching? He took the support of his elbow and sat down, his legs crossed now and the hands rubbing his face sleepily. After a minuscule amount of time, he saw his study room in the worst ever condition. Books and files thrown all over the room, fat books' pages torn, files ripped apart and what not. He scrutinized at the entire room and realized that he was sleeping with the books, a few beneath him too. He quickly got up from the place and held his head in shock before he felt an excruciating pain hit him hard on his temple. He slightly winced in pain before stroking his fingers over the temple.

He realized that his brow region was bruised up badly, dark blackish blue in shade. He left a soft gasp now, the tinge of pain affecting his flesh badly. What had happened the night before was not a mystery, at least according to him. Fighting with his self, crying harder and shrieking in pain; that was how his night passed and he never wished to complain. After all, he did the same for her. Pursing his lip slowly, his hands searched for the books as he kept everything aside in the racks, perfectly, not providing a single evidence of yesterday's episode. He did not wish that anyone would care for him and pamper him. Settling down after twenty seven minutes, he sat on the pavement of the window, his knees attached with his chest and hands protecting his knees. His head now drooped down to his knees, his line of thoughts affecting his health and heart badly. He felt that something was piercing his heart inside that his heart was profusely bleeding with an agonising pain. His face now turned to look at the sky now when he felt something void inside him. He couldn't gage anything but a strange fear that has started to grow inside his soul. He sat in the same place for the next hour, thinking of how laborious his life was and how protracted was his screwed relationship with Ishani.

All he wanted was some 'me' time.

And he threw back all the books, to the surface.

Ishani's frame tilted back to the other side of the bed, her feet and eyes stirring quietly as she heard the bird's first chip from the window nearby. She opened her eyes instinctively as a soft yawn left her lips, in the most somnolent modus. Her eyes fell over the place near hers where she saw Nysa looking at her with a concerned expression. Taking the help of her elbow, she got and sat up, oblique to the bed, the pillow behind her back. Nysa gave a fainted smile before wishing her a morning.

"How are you feeling now?" Ishani's lips curved for a tired grin before answering back to her.

"Much better now, Nysa. Thanks." Nysa smiled at her response and stroked her messy hair gently, informing her about the latest development.

"Abel's back and he spoke with her, or that was what he told me."

"What?" Ishani's eyes glared at her mother, "What did she say? Is she coming?" Ishani asked, her hazel orbs failing to blink at the news.

"I'll be leaving to Venice by this weekend. She is there with her maternal family, I guess. Thank God, Abel is still in touch with your mother-in-law." Ishani gave a sheepish smile with the mention of 'mother-in-law' which didn't go unnoticed by Nysa who asked, "Won't you ask me about her decision?"

"Uh?" Ishani's thoughts were snapped back, "I did ask, you were the one who did not answer."

Nysa gave a gentle smile before saying, "Oh baby. She is still in the thinking process. I'll go to Venice and catch up with her, say her about you, Ranveer, the wedding, engagement, development, everything. I promise, she'll be here on the wedding date. That's your wedding gift, okay?"

Ishani's eyes turned around the entire room, like a cat searching for its milk when Nysa asked, "Where's Ranveer? And…what's your final decision about it?"

Nysa's lips left a mark on Ishani's forehead and whispered, "Do you trust him?"

"More than anything in this world."

"Do you have the confidence that you can win over the battles and succeed in the relationship?"

"I guess."

"Go ahead, child. Go ahead. This trust will save him and your relationship, okay?" Ishani's eyes gave a relieved expression, her cheeks growing crimson. Only Nysa could do that. She trusted her daughter. Nysa broke Ishani's ocean of thoughts and snapped, "I'll go and make some breakfast for all of us and then we'll decide on the wedding. Abel will be booking my tickets meanwhile."

"I'll just go and have a look at Ranveer. He was not okay and…"

"Yeah sure, go ahead. He saved you yesterday."

"What?" Ishani gave a stupefied reaction before she heard Nysa's voice again.

"You were breathless at one point of time and he saved you yesterday. He is a good chap indeed, Ishani." Ishani's lips curved straight for a sheepish beam in impulse as she paved way towards the staircase, thinking that Ranveer was sleeping inside his room. She walked huffily to his room to find it empty, the bed and blankets staying in place intact. Her reaction grew tense as she searched for him in the entire place and shouted his name but there was no heed to her efforts. She felt a newfound fear evoking inside her as she ran through the stairs to check on the other rooms of the house, her feet rumbling and trundling to each and every footstep of hers.

She walked around the last corridor of the house when she heard a sound of a book falling down from the rack. Her frame quickly turned over to the other side where she saw a shadow crunched up to knees inside the study room. Recognizing him, she jogged to the place hastily and spoke in a muffled tone, "Ranveer?"

She entered the room with a thud as she saw Ranveer's eyes dull and sombre, his knees still close to his chest and his head never raised up. Though he noticed her voice and footsteps, he never woke up from his ocean of fears and never wished to. She took a place opposite to his, trying to remove his own clasp from his knees and raising his drooped cranium as she whispered, "What are you doing here?"

She felt his hand pushing hers away, his clasp over his hand growing tauter as she continued, "Why are you not looking at me?" She tried explaining and asked him to listen back and speak up but everything was just futile. He did not wish to pay heed to her.

He never wished.

She gave him a resigned look before murmuring, "Let me clear up this mess. And yes, before I forget, Abel's back." She got up from the pavement and grabbed the first few books which in front of her and noticed torn pages and blood spread in the carpet. Though the carpet was deep red in colour, finding his blood stain wasn't difficult for her. It was after all, his.

"Don't, don't, Ishani. Get back, I want to be alone. Alone for sometime."

"Ranveer," he heard Ishani's stern voice which came out from the deepest of carols, her musical singsong voice, and "I see blood here. If you can share it with me," she ended her twenty second long ditty as his face now lifted from the knees, his red shelled eyes showing a fire reflected from the barren acreage, the reflections of the freshly risen Sun hitting his swollen eyes. She noticed the dried streaks of blood and traces of them trickling down through his chunky neck from his puffed-up pink lips.

"Er, well-" Ranveer stuttered, his red face changing into insipid within seconds before Ishani dragged him to the other end of the study room and made him sit cross-legged. Taking a seat close to him, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"No-Nothing," he lied, letting go off Ishani's clasp from his body before she trounced over him, cupping his cheeks, "When you expect me to share everything to you, I expect the same, sweetie."

"Leave me alone, Ishani. I'll be fine," he turned around from her view, sitting in the shape of a protected cocoon, trying to avoid the attention he was getting from her.

"It came back and attacked you again, right? What did it say now?" Ishani folded her hands close to her chest, the pain of her arms no more felt after seeing his condition as his mouth grew wide open for a gasp and closed it in impulse before saying anything. Instead, he refrained gazing at her now, gawking at the nothingness which was opposite to him. After minutes of silence, she sat back again beside him she providing him with a protective side hug when he said with a muffled voice, "I look ugly, candy."

"What?" Ishani took her hand off him abruptly, her jaw dropping with a sudden change in the atmosphere. She never expected him to say these.

"I look ugly. Just-just look at these…chunk! I look like a chunk of cheese!" he moaned softly, tears trickling down from his eyes in a gushing speed before Ishani cupped his cheeks, in a fierce passion arousing inside herself. "Who said this?"

"I look fat! Don't you feel so? That's why I am telling you! Just go away! You don't want to provide a support for me!"

"Stop this shit, Ranveer! How can you…you even think that? And look at you!" she wiped his tears and ruffled his hair, "You look cuter!" her lips left a teary chuckle, "cuter than the last time, trust me!" She pulled him tightly for the embrace, hugging him tightly so that she could provide him with some support and assurance before he pushed her aside and got up in haste, "No, no. You're lying. I look sick and I know that." Ishani gave an appalled look before she clarified, "Not at all!"

He stomped throughout the room grudgingly as she got up and hugged him from his back, trying to explain him about how he was mistaking himself. But all he did was to shove her back, again.

"No Ishani. Some things don't change. I need to be alone, please! I don't want to be around people! Not even you! I am scared, candy. Please, don't make it difficult for me." His feet landed to the ground again, his hands moving closely through his outgrown hair as she muttered, "Okay, at least have the breakfast. Common, let's go."

"Oh crap! I said I am not coming anywhere! Leave me alone! Please!" his bloodshot eyes met her sobered ones as she left the room in haste, slamming it hard in anger. Her feet now stomped into the dining area in anger as Nysa gave her a ghastly look before she asked, "What's wrong?"

"This Ranveer!" she gritted her teeth in anger, "I don't know what he thinks of himself. When I call him for breakfast, he doesn't come or reply. Instead gives me bland replies. God Nysa, this guy needs to visit the rehab. He's getting on my nerves now."

"Shh, Ishani. Tell me what the problem is. Have some water first," Nysa offered her some water as she gulped it in one go, retorting, "He's depressed, Nysa! I am afraid, I am not able to gage his mood swings. He looks just like a tattered piece of cloth which was taken from the gutter. So fragile and worn out! It was just yesterday…or the day before, I guess; he was literally like a maniac! And now, tables turned!" Ishani threw her hands up in the air in gesticulation as her lips curved upside down, sardonically.

"Oh Ishani, you should understand him and his emotions. When you know that they are fluctuating, you should give him his space, too, right? You cannot just go and ask him to share everything. Not everyone will do that." Nysa stroked her hair gently, keeping the breakfast before her.

"Now have this now, I'll go and try to mend him, What if he accepts to have it?" Nysa took the plates and started to tread to the study when Ishani stopped her midway asking about the wedding date.

"Maybe the second Sunday of September; if Ranveer's mom decides to come back. I am yet to talk with her. But fix the second Sunday of September for now. Buy the gown and accessories, okay?"

"Uh, I'll talk about it with Ranveer. I'll have to hear his say, too." Ishani said as the latter nodded and walked back to Ranveer's study hoping that he would open up to her.

"Hey Ranveer!" Nysa entered the room without asking his permission as she kept the food tray on the floor only to see a cocooned posture of him whose muffled tears were the only source of sound; the weak rays of the Sun being the only source of light.

"Ranveer," Nysa gently stroked his hair, the caress of a mother injected to his widely grown hair. He slightly winced, his sleeve wiping his tears in reflex as he cocooned himself into the oblivion even more, trying to let go off the surroundings and be in his own, little world.

A brutalizing world.

"You don't want to have food, do you?" she asked with a soft voice, trying not to harm him in anyway. She knew, he had to be handled with real care, just like a goblet vase. Even if single crack falls on the goblet, the entire vase breaks. It was the same in case of Ranveer, too. Even if a single crack protrudes inside his heart, it will break, at any cost, into smithereens. And only blood will be seen with the dying veins.

"No," he replied and turned back in a fist, hiding his face from her. He realized that his eyes were too blurry to recognize who was literally talking to him.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked him once again and highlighted, "Ishani is crying outside. She is crying because of you." She emphasised on the last word to check if there was any impact upon him.

She heard his cries abruptly stopping, except for the sniffs and winces he had been making as his face lifted up after a gap of so many minutes, face torn out with the bruises and dried blood. Nysa's mouth grew wide open looking at the gruesome face of him but she chose to remain calm and pursed her lips again.

"Why?" his hoarse voice came out as he coughed twice, before asking, "Why does she have to cry?"

"I don't know. She's just-just crying unceasingly. She looked pretty sad, too," Nysa played with her words, trying to bring back Ranveer to the best possible. "She wants to talk and spend time with you, Ranveer."

"Call her, then," came his instant reply, the flashes of yesterday's incident in the wash hiding his vision. She had told him.

I am dying and that's because of you!

"Okay, I'll just do that. And before I forget, I'll be leaving tomorrow from this place. Got an important work to finish."

He just nodded as Nysa left the room calling for Ishani from a distance.

"He wants to talk with you."

"What?" she opened her mouth in an O as Nysa chuckled sadly and whispered, "You are not dreaming. Go." Her lips left a contented smile as her eyes started to well up again.

She wiped her tears with her wet sleeve and jogged to the study, in anticipation.

Anticipation.

Done! Constructive Criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for typos :D :D