MaNan: Breaking Free

8|Break-up

Nandini's POV

We have been waiting in the canteen for an hour now. There is still no sign of Cabir. I am getting really restless now, although I am not showing it. Navya, on the other hand, is frantic with anxiety.

"Nandu, I think we should look for him. What if he does something stupid?" She looks at me.

"Let's go." I say.We get up and Manik follows.

"Where do you think you are going?" I ask him in a stiff tone.

"Mr. Pathak has instructed me not to leave you alone even for a minute." He responds without looking at me.

"Listen, I can't have you following me around all the fucking time! Just stay put over here while we look for Cabir. Besides, I am sure there is no madman outside the door, waiting to kill me." I snap at him.

I know that with him around, I won't be able to focus on anything other than him.

He looks as though he is trying to say something, but doesn't. He sits back down as Navya and I make our way out.

We spend the next couple of minutes looking everywhere. Cabir is nowhere to be seen.

"Oh god! Kahan gaya ye ladka!" Navya whispers. She is on the verge of tears by now. I want to console her, but I don't know what the fuck to say. Suddenly, my phone rings. It's an unknown number.

"Hello?" I answer the phone.

"Miss. Murthy, Manik here." I hear his magical voice and calm down instantly.

"Yeah?"

"I found Cabir. He is up on the terrace." Manik says.

"But we just checked there!"

"Um..he is here now. And um..he doesn't look too good."

"We are coming."

............

We reach the terrace in a jiffy and the sight that I am met with totally breaks my heart. Cabir is sitting in a corner with his head in his hands. He is crying. Of course he is crying! Over that fucking asshole. Manik is standing on the other side.

"Raghav!" Cabir suddenly gets up and screams, pulling at his hair. He looks demented.

Navya clutches her mouth, trying to stop an escaping sob, and fails. After staring at Cabir for a moment, she turns around and walks off, leaving me to deal with Cabir alone.

Okay. So this is the time when I should say nice, comforting things to my miserable friend so he feels better. The problem is, I don't know what to say! It's like the words are there in my fucking head, but they have just gotten lost on their way to my mouth. Shit! Why do I have to be so horrible at expressing myself? Normally, I don't fucking care about this particular problem of mine, but in this moment, I do.

And Manik is really not helping. He is looking at me as if I am ridiculous for just standing and watching my friend cry, which I am! But still! Argh...he is making me nervous.

After a couple of minutes, which seem like hours, Manik walks up to Cabir.

"Hey, Cabir! I really don't know why you are crying your eyes out, but if you don't stop soon, I will have to run for the hills. I can't take it much longer! He smiles at him, holding up a water bottle.

This is the second time I have seen him smile, and Cabir seems to relax a bit. Looking at Manik intently, he takes a sip from the bottle.

"Thanks." He mutters.