Bound by Blood: A Tale of Mafia and Medicine

7.

ADITYA'S POV

"Oh, to contact you if there's an emergency just in case, you know..." Such a fool I am, who asks for a number so quickly? Thanks to Raj for having himself treated by her. I found a great excuse for being in touch with her. She forwarded me a small white card. It had her name and number written on it. I smiled looking at her. She smiled at me back. Is she blushing? I felt something in my gut looking at her blush like that. Well, she looked like a literal goddess.

"I will be there tomorrow at 9 am. You may leave now" She said politely. I stood up from the chair, nodded at her and left the cabin. I felt a sudden emptiness around me. Well, having her presence around was such a bliss. I never spoke that much to a girl before. After all, I was exploring a new side that was unknown to me. Well, I couldn't ignore that I kinda liked her. 

I was busy with my thoughts until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Tanishk munching a chewing gum. This bastard. I'll kill him for sure. 

"Saale kutte" I smacked him on his head, making him wince in pain.

"Maine kuch nahi kiya abhi" The audacity to ask this question was making me insane. 

"Haramkhor, jo kuch bhi kiya tune he kiya. Kal subhe jo ladki ko tune thoka tha, voh aur koi nahi balki Raj ki doctor nikli." I explained to him, he just widened his eyes. 

"Adi....Adi dekh kuch bhi mat bol ha...dekh aise dara mat muzhe." He stuttered.

"Abbe kuch bhi kya saale jaa andar dekh ke aa vahi ladki hai voh, saale, logo ka first impression romantic way me hota hai, idhar mera disastrous way me hogaya voh bhi teri vajah se" I spoke accidentally revealing my inner turmoil.

"Ek...ek second...Oye veere, first impression?? Aa ki sunn reha mai???" He asked sheepishly. 

I was allergic to girls, I had been to a boy's school and hostel since childhood and never actually encountered such an interaction with girls before. My whole family knew I didn't like facing girls, so Tanishk's reaction was pretty obvious. I couldn't hide it from my best friend. He was the one with whom I was transparent. I took him outside the hospital, to the parking lot and explained every single thing to him. He had so many girlfriends back in college, so taking advice from him was a good idea. 

"Shit yaar veera, teri chodh meri first impression kya he kharab bann gayi, bhabhi ji toh mainu thappad he laga deni hai, inna vadda paap hogya sadde haatha vich" he said biting his nails. 

(Bhabhi ji will slap me for sure, I've made such a big sin)

"Oye tu fikar na kar, she had forgiven us already."

"Ohoo, bhabhi ji kitni understanding hai, tere jaise patthar dil insaan ka dil pighla diya, manna padega bhabhi ko" He spoke with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I glared at him and pinched his forearm. He whined like a child. "Bhabhiji ko complaint karunga"

"Ye kya bhabhi ji lagake rakha hai, abtak bhabhi bani nahi hai voh teri, chup kar" I scolded him, but l I kinda liked him calling her his Bhabhi. My thoughts went forward to the future, imagining myself with her, getting married and living together. I imagined her with sindoor, red chooda, mehendi and mangal sutra of my name. Uff she looked so breathtaking. 

"Bhabhi ke bare me sochna band kar, kal jab voh aayegi ghar tab kya karna hai uspe focus karte hai" My chain of thoughts was broken by Tanishk. Kutta. Harr jagah beech me aajata hai.

"Accha ek kaam kar, kal use breakfast ke liye bula lete hai, bol dena we're just trying to compensate for our mistake. Aur ha voh uska scarf to ganda hogaya, ek kaam kar usko ek scarf gift karde, aur andar ek cute si note chipka dena sorry kehte huye" I listened to him carefully and nodded. 

"Kaise bolu breakfast ka? Wapis jau baat karne?" I questioned.

"Abbe creep lagega tu, number liya hai toh direct message kar na" Oh yes I forgot. But wait, about the scarf?

"Scarf ka kya? Aur voh note me kya likhu mai? I asked him. 

"Haye rabba, chakk le mainu. Bhai, tu suhagraat pe bhi merese he poochega kya karu?" He earned a tight smack from me.

"Muskan haina, usko leke ja shopping pe, apne liye bhi thode bahut ache kapde le, ye kaale kaale kapde pehnna chodh de" He said. He wasn't wrong though. 

There are a lot of things to do. But first, let's take Raj home. Then, after settling him there, I'll head to the mall. Sounds good. I went towards my car, kneeling near the right wheel, and I saw a pinkish-red scarf stuck inside the wheel. At its corner, there was a small heart and the letter 'S' engraved on it. I immediately removed the scarf with the help of Tanishk, without trying to tear it. I successfully removed it and kept it carefully inside the car. 

Hours passed, and we took Raj home. He was awake, but not completely in his senses, still under the effect of sedatives. I went home and explained everything to Muskan. She decided to help me out. Maa and Papa Ji were going to return today at midnight from Punjab. Maa would be so happy listening to this. 

After an exhausting day, I dropped myself on the bed. Still, thinking about the encounter we had. Her eyes, her nose, and the glow she had were not leaving my mind. She was an absolute goddess. I decided to message her about tomorrow, I quickly dialled her number, saving it to my phone.

'Hey, Aditya Malhotra here. If you don't mind, will you have breakfast at our place tomorrow morning? Please don't deny.'

'Hey Aditya, thank you for inviting me, I will be glad to!'

'See you tomorrow, Good Night'

I blushed looking at our texts. This is a new feeling. I suddenly remembered her stuck scarf. I kept it on the couch before, I went towards the couch and held the scarf in my hand. I kept staring at it remembering our first official encounter in her cabin. I brought it close to my nose and inhaled a deep breath, closing my eyes. There was a faint smell of jasmine. I could feel her warmth in it. Was she fond of Jasmine? I made a mental note and held the scarf close to my heart, drifting to sleep.