Hello there! Sorry for the delay but ;) I've got a huge chapter for y'all! And thanks a tonnn for the beautiful reviews!
Small reminders; no bashing's tolerable with no hate to any character! It's totally based on some situations, that can't be helped! And is based on real life experiences!
Now...
Klaus: Have at it! ;)
Daya's house.
.
It was evening by now and he was growing more and more anxious. He kept roaming in the garden since past few hours contemplating what should be done. The Time has come to take a decision and he wasn't alone in that. He kept fighting the god-knows-what thought, and pulled out his phone to call her.
The call was received almost instantly to which his courage acted up again. He stammered as he grew a little uncomfortable hearing her voice, "He- hello Tarika?" He wiped the sweat drops away from his forehead.
"Haan Daya.. bolo.."
"Voh mai.. actually.." He didn't know how to put his thoughts in a sentence that doesn't sound much weirder than it already was.
"Hn bolo, Kya hua?"
"Voh mujhe milna hai tumse!" Shit, he cursed himself for that sudden stupid outburst. What's the matter with him? He felt her uncomfortable silence and so tried to elaborate in a better way, "Voh maine ek decision liya hai.. so.. I just wanted to discuss with you about it."
"Kaisa decision Daya?"
"Voh.. Mission ke waqt jo kuch hua uss bare mei-"
"Milke baat kre please?"
He couldn't complete before she cut him. It hurt him by the way she made him feel as the excited one in this conversation. Sure, he wanted to meet and that only he was asking for.
"Haan.. mai bhi vahi kehna chahta tha. Kaha milna h tum bata do!" He sighed and let her plan the arrangements.
"Kuch der mei mai forensic lab ke liye nikal rahi hu. Vhi paas mei ek cafe h. Mai address text kr deti hu tumhe!"
"Theek hai."
Another silence prevailed, which ranked amongst the most awkward ones. He thought to bid a bye but she abruptly cut the call without any word. He thought he kinda heard sound of doorbell before the call was cut. Just to not let his own self know that he was hurt, he pasted a fake smile on his face and entered inside slamming the door of his bedroom shut.
Maybe she wasn't interested to discuss the matter with him. Or maybe she felt embarrassed about it? Or Maybe she was intentionally faking the ignorance just to keep him low in expectations. He doesn't know if it was tough for her or not, but for him, she surely wasn't the girl he knew since past few months and even talking to her was very difficult.
The old school café.
.
The cafe was small yet very beautiful. It was decorated with various pretty pretty accessories and the Christmas tree was very much in the process of getting groomed.
It was Thanksgiving today.
He removed the helmet and hung it to the handle of his bike. His hands involuntarily reached to set his hairs back and eyes landed on the side mirror to throw a look at his face. It was still sometime for her arrival and so he kept sitting on his bike and stared around for a very unfortunate thing that followed.
"Arey Daya!"
"Shit!" He jumped from the bike and stood straight in front of the caller's car.
"Yaha kya kar rahe ho?" The caller seemed a little shocked plus relieved on finding him at that unusual place.
"Ah.. Kaku voh bs ek friend se milne aaya tha!" He gave the very first excuse that came to his mind and tried to sound confident enough.
"Mil liye?"
"Haan haan bs Ghar hi ja rha hu!" Shit, he cursed himself for spoiling everything and speaking anything without a thought.
"Ghar baad mei chale jana. Abhi mere sath lab chalo. Kal tum bureau aaye lekin lab nhi, bura laga mujhe." Dr. Salunkhe made a face.
"Nhi Kaku phir kabhi aa jaunga.. abhi thora-"
"Arey baitho yr andr." He pushed the other door open to which Daya couldn't deny anymore.
"Mere paas bike h Kaku!" He spoke half-heartedly agreeing to his uncle's demand.
"Oh haan.. chalo phir."
Tarika's place.
.
_Busted. Not today._
The notification was a disturbance and so he just spared the glance from the corner of his eyes. Tarika was in her bedroom getting ready while he was checking some freshly mailed documents.
The sender was an unsaved number. He didn't give much importance as something on his laptop transfixed his attention.
_Tomorrow morning?_
Another notification.
Another disturbance.
He sighed this time and threw a proper glance at the phone that lay next to him. He called Tarika and informed her about it, "Tarika! Message aaya h!"
"Kiska hai Abhi?" She asked from the there only.
"Pta nhi, number save nhi hai!" He said casually while sipping another cup of tea with his eyes barely going out of the desktop's frame.
"Ruko mai aa rahi hu!" She spoke hiding the fear that already grew roots within, cursing herself for leaving the phone so irresponsibly close to him.
"Ha! Mai kahan ja rha hu tumhe liye bina!" He laughed on his own joke, but his eyes met disappointment after a while, "Arey yr.. chai khatm ho gyi! Ek aur mil skti h kya?"
"Abhi tum-" She was shocked as she heard him say that, "I'm sure yeh din ki third yah fourth chai hogi tumhari! Itni chai nhi peeni chahiye tumhe kb smjh ayega? It's not healthy!"
He jerked his head and bit his tongue for expressing unnecessary feelings at the wrong time. He kept the laptop aside and slowly stood up, apologising softly, watching her exit the room.
"I'm sorry.. ab se kam kr dunga pakka!"
"Aur yeh bole tumhe mahino ho gye h!" She walked to the table and picked her phone up to check the notification.
"Arey yr Taru.. adat h.. ab itni asani se toh nhi-" He spoke while walking towards her and his eyes went on the phone again.
"Kiska h vese number?" He asked casually while she jerked a little and turned the screen off instantly.
"Voh.. voh ek friend hai.. uska h." She tried not to stammer but ruined it well, "Bht time se milne ka plan kr rhe the.. toh bs vhi.."
Abhijeet noticed her discomfort well after reading the text. His cop mind started running horses as already the number wasn't saved.
He took her palms in his hands as an assuring gesture, while looking worriedly in her eyes, he asked, "Tarika! Pakka na?"
"Kyu? Mera koi friend nahi ho skta?" She didn't know why she replied so rudely. Maybe this was her way to hide things and escape his intelligence.
"Mera matlab voh nhi tha Tarika. Chid kyu rhi ho?" He asked quite confused with her sudden mood swing.
"Mai nhi chid rhi hu Abhijeet. I was just-"
"Okay fine fine! I trust you! And I am sorry! Apna mood mat kharab kro please." He backed off raising his arms as if was surrendering in front of his love of life.
Tarika felt a pang in her heart for hurting him like that. She didn't do that on purpose, it was kinda a reflex that came to her.
"I'm sorry Abhijeet." She whispered the apology.
"Ek chai aur mil jaye toh maan jaunga!" He said in a very serious tone that took her some moments to understand.
"Abhijeet! You are impossible!" She stared unbelievably.
He burst the next moment and ran to save himself from the trail of pillows that Tarika threw at him and his heart was filled with her whole hearted laugh once again.
Forensic Laboratory.
.
"Haan toh btao kya hua tha kal?"
Daya was somewhere familiar with the upcoming investigation- only that he was not in a mood to talk about it- so just replied, "Aap yeh puchne toh nhi laaye h mujhe yaha!"
"Ofc yehi baat krne laya hu tumhe yaha!" Salunkhe held his arm and made Daya face him.
"Kyu?" He streched it unnecessarily, "Kyu baat krni h aapko? Chhor dijiye na mujhe mere haal pe!"
"Tumhe tumhare haal pe chhorna hota na toh aaj tum is mukaam pr nhi hote."
"Kaku please. Mai sachmei nhi baat krna chahta. Yeh baar baar mujhe samjhakar koi matlab nahi hai.. aap kyu koshish krte h humesha?" He spoke softly this time.
Salunkhe ignored him completely as if he was hurt by the words used by him. And he indeed was. He walked to his desk and pretended to be working on the computer kept in front.
Daya closed his eyes in disappointment and a little frustration. He was in a good mood from the day and now his uncle spoiled everything well. He sighed before taking steps towards him.
"Kaku yr! I'm.. I'm sorry!" He spoke in a tired tone which was very well understood by Dr. Salunkhe, "Aap itni si baat pe gussa ho jayenge kya?"
And the door opened introducing Dr. Tarika and Abhijeet carrying a wide smile on their happy faces. Tarika was shocked seeing him there. On the other hand, Daya felt something different finding her with the person he didn't quite like.
"Arey Daya tum yaha?" Abhijeet was the first to try to break the awkwardness around, "Aur yeh Salunkhe sahab yaha ese kyu-"
"Kya fark padta h bhai tumhe Abhijeet! Tum apne kaam se kaam rkho na!" Salunkhe cut him short in irritation and their leg pulling started.
"Mai toh apne kaam se hi kaam rkh rha hu Sir." He said eyeing Tarika with a teasing smile on his face. The same flirt, the same tone that was always enjoyed by her was enjoyable even today also but a little awkwardness was creeping around because of the new guy present in there. She tried to avoid eye contact with anyone and left towards her desk hiding her blushed cheeks and scared heart.
Daya looked at Abhijeet with a different emotion. He didn't like the way Abhijeet mentioned Tarika as ofc he was unknown about them being committed. This tone of Abhijeet kinda raged him. He glanced at Tarika and found her ignoring him intentionally.
"Khair case k bare mei toh bta hi skte h na aap? Yah voh bhi hume mtlb mujhe ab Dr. Tarika se puchna padega?"
Daya clenched his jaws and his palms balled up as he tried his best to keep calm but this man and his actions were just not letting helping.
Tarika glanced at Daya and panicked, as if she read his mind, "Ah.. Abhijeet. Laash ko lab bheje time hi kitna hua h. Abhi toh blood reports bhi nhi aayi h."
"Haan vahi toh. Roz naya murda la kr patak dete ho yaha aur apne boss jaise ghode pr sawar hoke aa jate ho." Dr. Salunkhe gritted frustrated and annoyed, as he walked to the corpse.
"Kyu Salunkhe udte udte pta chala ki tu mujhe yaad kr rha tha! Kyu kuch naya haath laga h kya?" And here the boss enters while the forceps slips from the doctor's hands.
"Naam liya aur yeh kharoos hazir!" He murmured and a small laugh came out from Abhijeet and Tarika's lips. Other juniors tried hard to control the burst while Daya stood there unaffected.
"Oye.. yeh kya muh ke muh mei barbada rha h? Haan?" Acp asked strictly though he enjoyed his friend's irritation.
"Apki tareef kr rha tha Prabhu!" Salunkhe joined his hands and gritted his teeths. All others hid their laughs again.
"Tareef kr rha h toh zor se kr. Mujhe sunai bhi toh aana chahiye!" Acp retorted and everyone laughed out this time except the only uninvited man.
None of it was fun for him. How could Abhijeet treat Tarika like this in front of his seniors? And why is she blushing on that? And why the hell no-one, not even his Kaku says anything to Abhijeet? And above all, how was all this B.S allowed in a well reputed Investigation branch?
Soon, Salunkhe filled them with the leads and they departed for bureau. It was very difficult for him to survive that hell of a discussion. Trust me, it's hard to find yourself invisible in a bunch of people you actually know. Daya sighed firstly then approached his angry uncle, "Kaku-"
But Salunkhe got a call and left the place while talking about some reports. That seemed intentional to him but was not. The call was genuine and the urgency was real.
Tarika saw everything and felt sad for Daya. But the next moment she saw him approaching her.
"We need to talk!" He said straightly looking into her eyes.
"Haan voh tum kisi decision-"
"Voh sb baad mei Tarika. Phle yeh btao what was that?" He said pointing at the place Abhijeet stood lately. His tone was loud and raged enough.
"Kya..? Kis baare.. mei baat kr rhe ho tum?" She stammered in his glare and hid her eyes finding herself in great trouble now.
"Don't even try to!" He warned her, "What was that man trying to? How.. how could he?" It was getting tough for him to control and was quite yelling.
"Daya, Abhijeet sirf mazak kar raha tha. Tum.. overreact kr rahe ho." Tarika spoke controlling her words very well.
"Mazak?" Daya shockingly mocked on her reaction. It seemed that she wasn't cared at all about it.
"Haan.. mazak." She turned away to hide the hurt that flashed on her face but he held her arm and made her face him.
"Yeh mazak nhi tha Tarika! Tum.. tumhe dikhayi nhi de rha tha kitni badtameezi se baat kar rha tha voh? Ese kon mazak krta h haan? How could he treat you like that? And why aren't you bothered with it? Tumhari koi self respect h yah nhi-"
"Enough Daya! Abhijeet krta h ese mazak. Theek h? And voh kr bhi skta h cz yeh hak h uska!" She lost her control now and blurted out whatever came to her mind.
"Hak? Tum.. tumhara dimaag toh sahi h? Kya hak h uska tumpr? Haan? Pagal h voh-"
"Shut up! He's my fiance so dare you!" She lost the little bit of control and yelled at him pointing a finger at him.
He left her arm instantly. His eyes widened at the word that came out of her mouth and tore all the little bit of hope in his heart. He didn't know how to react. He stood there opening and closing his mouth hoping atleast something would come out but.. it was impossible to speak. His eyes grew teary with that angry face turning totally blank.
"Daya.. meri baat suno!"
Tarika tried to gain his attention but he just passed a fake smile and without saying anything, left from there.
"Daya suno toh-"
But he was gone.
Tarika closed her eyes while the disappointment was clearly visible on her face. She never wanted things to end like this! She never wanted to hurt him this badly but the wrong was already done.
Somewhere she was relieved coz anyway she had to figure out her feelings for one. But the way she chose her love, it brought immense guilt and pain for hurting the other while loosing a person more than a best friend, hit really hard!
A/N:- There are some situations where you develop feelings for two people at a time.
Maybe it's true love!
Or Maybe it's just a simple attraction!?
It's a matter of how you figure out who you feel truly for and for whom you're just attracted or dragged to.
Coz pyaar toh ek hi baar hota h na? ;)
Same situation's with our female protagonist. And I guess, considering the circumstances, she did choose correctly!
So how was it? Tell me in the reviews! Fast fast!
Next update after.. umm.. 85 reviews?
Have a good day! :)
+S+