Part 29

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Thick silence hung around until Aryan came back with an ice pack and hoped on the bed beside Arnav. Ayaansh wiped away his tears and composed himself quickly. Aryan started pressing the ice pack on Arnav's body. Arnav's palm fisted. It stung awfully. He felt someone giving his other hand a light squeeze and looked up at Aniket. His eyes hardened and he pulled his hand back.

Aniket winced internally.

Arnav would have ignored him, but he could hardly forget that Aniket had been wounded awfully too. He closed his eyes to gulp down the hurt. He took a moment and then spoke to Aryan, "Tere Bhaiyu ko bhi chot lagi hai, bachcha. Go get another ice pack for him as well."

Ayaansh gasped. He looked on fearfully as Aryan frantically rolled up Aniket's sleeves to check for injuries. Since Arnav's wounds had been bleeding, it was easier to be noticed while Aniket had bruises all over his body. They had missed out to notice those since Aniket had worn full sleeves to make sure his skin was covered.

"Aapko bhi, Bhaiyu?" Aryan turned to Aniket worriedly and his eyes widened when he saw the bruised skin. He looked at Aniket with equal amount of concern and anger. "Aapne bataya kyun nhi, Bhaiyu?"

"Bhabhi ne ice pack laga diya tha, Aru." Aniket forced out a smile. He noticed the flickering anger on Arnav's face through the corner of his eyes and knew he had his work cut out for him.

"Bhaiyu," Ayaansh whispered, looking at Aniket with silent question.

Aniket draped a casual around him. "I'm fine, kiddo."

Ayaansh looked away. He felt very upset. There was definitely something wrong that his brothers weren't telling. Though he agreed to Aniket and didn't probe further, thousands of questions and probabilities rummaged through his mind.

"Mai aapke liye bhi ice pack le Kar aata hoon," Aryan said and was about to get up, but Aniket held him back. "Kaha na, Aru. Bhabhi ne laga diya tha. It's better now..."

Before Aryan could respond, Arnav spoke, "Take this one, Aru," He forwarded the ice pack to him. "I'll freshen up first."

Aryan nodded his head as Arnav made his way to washroom. Aryan went on to scold Aniket for his carelessness. "Lawyer ho toh kya chot aapse darr ke khud thik ho jayega? Batana chahiye tha na, Bhaiyu," He glared at Aniket who couldn't help but smile at his little brother.

"Bhaiya ne toh ache se kaan khinche honge na aapke?" Aryan teased.

"Nhi, Aru," Ayaansh interrupted. " Apna silent treatment de rhe hai, Bhaiya. Kyun, Bhaiyu?" He looked at Aniket pointedly. He had noticed how Arnav hadn't once spoke to Aniket directly.

Aryan laughed. "Bhaiya knows when to play Hitler. Par itni chot lagi kaise aap dono ko? Dekho kya haal bana liya hai apna?"

"Kaha na, bachcha, we had a minor accident." Aniket said convincingly.

Ayaansh sighed to himself. The explanations made no sense to him whatsoever.

"Toh phir Bhaiya aapse gussa kyun hai?" Aryan frowned.

"I was driving recklessly. He asked me not to, and yet I did. Even he ended up getting hurt because of me." Aniket smiled sadly.

Ayaansh looked at him. For some reasons, he could feel that the words had much more than it showed on the surface.

"Bhaiya wouldn't have been angry because he got hurt." Aryan said with confidence. "He must be angry because you got hurt, Bhaiyu."

Somehow the simple words jolted Aniket. He had to look away to hide the shein of tears. He felt his eyes burning and blinked furiously. The lack of sleep didn't help. He reached for his phone and dialled Shivangi's number. It was unreachable. He sighed and put the phone away.

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"Aap thodi der rest Karo, Bhaiyu. You look tired." Ayaansh noticed Aniket's heavy eyes and spoke.

"Haan, Bhaiyu, aap so jao," Aryaan agreed. "I'll apply the ice pack meanwhile. Aapko aaram mil jayega. Aapko dard ho rha hoga na?" His voice dropped low as he caressed Aniket's hand.

Aniket leaned on and kissed Aryan's hair. "Nhi ho rha, Aru. Kyun pareshan ho rha hai?"

"Aap Bhaiya ki bhaasa mat bolo." Aryan glared at him. "Chup chap rest Karo."

Aniket smiled and laid down without a protest. He was actually exhausted. He didn't know if it was the familiar comfort of Arnav's room or his exhaustion, but the moment he closed his eyes he fell into deep slumber.

"Bhaiyu toh so gye," Aryan spoke after a few minutes when he was done applying the ice pack to the injuries.

"Unko rest karne dete hai, Aru. Bhaiya niche aayenge toh Bhaiyu bhi aa jayenge." Ayaansh said. Aryan bobbed his head and they left the room quietly.

After a few more minutes, Arnav stepped out of the washroom after having a shower. He saw Aniket sleeping peacefully on the bed and walked to his side. He sat down and caressed the marks on Aniket's skin. His eyes misted. Over a decade back, he had promised himself he would never let his brother ho through that pain again. He had failed yet again. It was on him that everything happened right in front of his eyes and he didn't even get a hint. He had seen Aniket getting those nightmares. He had seen Aniket troubled. He was feeling something was off. And yet he failed to do anything about it.

"Kya Kiya yeh, bachcha?" Arnav whispered in a heavy voice. He pulled out a tube of ointment from drawer and applied it to Aniket's body with gentle hands. His heart ached for the pain Aniket must be feeling.

A slight wince escaped Aniket's lips even in his sleep. Arnav had to blink away the moisture from his eyes. He ran a gentle hand through Aniket's hair who leaned into his warmth. Arnav tucked the comforter around Aniket properly and got up to leave, but he couldn't. He tried to hold back himself, but failed and pressed a soft kiss to Aniket's forehead. He straightened up and walked out of the room.

The moment Arnav stepped out of the room, Aniket opened his eyes. His sleep had been broken while Arnav was applying ointment to his wounds. He kept his eyes closed knowing that Arnav will pull back if he opened his eyes. He was starved of the comfort Arnav radiated and tried to soak himself into whatever he was getting at the moment.

His heart broke when he felt a tear drop against his skin along with the kiss on his forehead. His own eyes flooded with tears. He had rarely ever seen tears in his Bhaiya's eyes. That told him how hurt Arnav was. Those tears were the worst form of punishment he could get. He buried his face in his palms to stop the tears.

"Ani?"

Aniket looked up to find Shivi at the door. Even before he could think of anything, Shivi rushed into his arms with speed of lightning. Aniket managed not to wince and held Shivi in his arms. Once she felt Aniket's arms being wrapped around her, her tears couldn't stop. She buried her face in Aniket's chest and assured herself that he was indeed safe and sound.

"Shivi," Aniket whispered softly.

"How dare you go behind my back, Aniket? How dare you scare us like that?" Shivi hit Aniket's chest with her fist.

"I'm sorry," Aniket mumbled guiltily. Her tears rattled him all over again.

"I love you, Ani," Shivi circled her arms around his neck. She didn't want his apology. She had seen Arnav walking out of the room. The shein of tears in his eyes startled her. Then one look at Aniket's face and she knew how much pain he was bearing. She had been mad at him too, but the moment she saw him her anger flew out of the window. All she needed was assurance.

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