Rooh (Book 2 - Singhania Brothers)

Part 29

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.